Category: interview

Elizabeth Noble – the world is full of magic

Elizabeth Noble is here today to talk about the magic of her urban fantasy world and her upcoming release, Scintilla!

Thank you so much, Ally for including me. (You are most welcome! – Ally)

The world is full of magic.

Sometimes for me that magic is nothing more than having a pre-programmed coffee maker at work.

Imagine a world where some people were born with magical abilities. A world where magical humans come in four types, scintillas, aether, prisms and acoustics capable of manipulating elements such as electricity, air, sound and light.

There might be a cop who can alter the way light bends for a few seconds or minutes making it easier to catch a criminal in the act. Or, if that criminal had the same ability, they could slip past surveillance cameras. A man with the power to control electricity might use his gift to deep dive into the digital world or short out an alarm.

There are no potions or spells, but there is plenty of magic in my urban fantasy/paranormal romance series, El Corazon. 

When I was planning the first book, Scintilla, I wanted to use magic, but I didn’t want a lot of complicated rules or spells. Their society has rules governing what is considered ethical or illegal of course, but the basic magic is simple. My goal was to make the magic a natural, organic thing that was as part of an individual as their height or eye color. Yes, being magical is special, but no more so than being a talented musician or athlete.  

Magical people sometimes need specialized medical equipment. Other magicals, as they’re referred to collectively, are discriminated against because there are others who fear what they can do. And, of course, there is always some person or organization that wants to exploit those with magical ability.

What I tried very hard to do, was imagine what obstacles a magical person might encounter or what special needs might be required in unusual circumstances. For instance, the young man, Brandon, in Scintilla who manipulates and has power over electricity is Tasered. Not a good idea to do when someone has the power to push that energy back to you. Since this is a romance, there is sex and I was able to explore how an electrified body might react differently. Would it hinder improve his or his partner’s experience? Being a scintilla is a natural part of Brandon, but how much of that part of him can he, or does he share? 

Humans aren’t the only beings that can wield magic in this world, however.

There are the djinn.

Mythology gives us different types of jinni and so far, I’ve included two. One can cause havoc in computers and another sort likes to meddle in the affairs of people. Like anyone else, there are those that are honorable and good, and some that use their powers for crime.

Wait, there’s more!

My world has the magic of shifters. Technically, shifters aren’t magical in the same way as others, but the ability to look human and turn into something else is some serious magic in my opinion. Brandon’s love interest, Raul, is a werewolf, a Dom and a bounty hunter. That right there is darn magical! Werewolves are tough beasts and Raul can take more of what Brandon can dole out than a human could. That gives them plenty to explore, when they’re not fighting crime that is.

There are instances where one’s magic can be used against them. Without revealing spoilers, suffice to say, Brandon gets a harsh lesson in reality. His ability can’t always protect him and there’s always someone else who knows more about what he can do than is healthy for him.

Scintilla

How far is too far to go to save someone you love?

Brandon Lynch is magical. He’s a scintilla who can manipulate electricity. Leaving his structured, unexciting life and job at his father’s billion-dollar business in Boston and heads south for a vacation adventure in Rio Rico, Arizona. He’s living out a fantasy by traveling to the El Corazon adult entertainment club and has booked one glorious session with a werewolf Dom, complete with knotting.

Part-time Dom for his family business, the El Corazon, and full-time bounty hunter, Raul Fierro uses what nature gave him as a werewolf to bring pleasure to some, and justice to others. He hasn’t been in a real relationship for longer than he wants to think about and his gruff and growly exterior keeps any unwanted interactions at bay. He’s not against a partner, but he’s willing to wait for the person who sees the real Raul—and his wolf—who lurks beneath the surface.

A seemingly chance meeting with Brandon the day after their scheduled session leads to a week-long affair. Raul accepts it for what it is, a vacation fling for Brandon even though Brandon is someone Raul could easily fall in love with. When Brandon returns to Boston and Raul resumes his normal routine, they keep in touch until the time Brandon’s father arrives in Rio Rico, announces his son is missing, and he intends to hire Raul to find him. Raul wastes no time picking up Brandon’s trail. Rescuing Brandon from human traffickers is only the beginning and more adventure than either man wanted. Their hunt brings them together in an unexpected way. Can they bring down a powerful, international ring of traffickers all while protecting each other and their new-found love?

Excerpt

“We can run current through those barrels, magnetize them and create a barrier. All we have to find is enough copper.”

Raul nodded. “I like it. I’ll get the rods, see if you can find some copper piping, but stay in this area. If we have to go into the rest of the building, we should go together.” 

To Raul’s utter surprise, Brandon didn’t argue but simply nodded. “I’ll start over there. Looks like some sort of utility junction.” He motioned to a floor-to-ceiling metal locker that extended out about four feet from the wall and was at least another four feet wide.

Raul retrieved a half dozen of his iron rods from the van. They were three feet long and a quarter inch in diameter. He’d had them specially made and if needed he was strong enough to bend them. Holding them in one hand, Raul used his free hand to grab one of the metal barrels and carried everything to the ruined door. The rods were deposited on top of the barrel before he carried two more over and set them in a row by the first barrel. He turned to see what Brandon was doing.

“Should you be doing that?” Raul asked as he closed the distance between he and Brandon.

Brandon was poking at what looked like a circuit board, then he grabbed a hold of a bundle of wires and gave them a shake. “Eh, you probably shouldn’t, I won’t get more than a bee sting.” He shrugged. “As far as I can tell there’s no power.”

Raul stepped to the side and flicked a switch up and down, looking up at the ceiling lights. Nothing happened. “You appear to be correct. Bee stings hurt,” he grumbled. The interior of the junction was a mess of dials and wires, levers and smaller switches. There were two tanks in the center. Raul followed the copper tubing from the tanks until they disappeared into the ceiling. “Do you see a ladder or anything I can stand on?”

“Why don’t I stand on you?”

Raul glanced back at Brandon. “Can you yank these things free?”

Brandon rolled his eyes and heaved a sigh. “I’m human but we don’t have spaghetti muscles.”

“My apologies.” Raul nodded and laced his fingers together, offering Brandon a step up.

In one smooth movement Brandon was standing on Raul’s shoulders. Raul held his calves to brace him and watched as Brandon tugged on the closest copper pipe. It took them a half an hour of steady effort to pull piping loose, move to another section and repeat their task. In the end they a half dozen six to seven-foot lengths of copper tubing.

Brandon jumped to the ground still holding the last section of copper. “This should be plenty.”

Raul looked pointedly at the dark lamps. “No power, remember? Unless you’re suggesting we bang on them until they magnetize.”

Brandon heaved a sigh and cocked his head. “Seriously?” He held out his free hand and a narrow blue wave arched to the copper pipe. “Yet, you call me Sparky.”

“Can you actually generate enough power, long enough to accomplish what we need? That’s higher voltage.”

Brandon nodded. “I think so, yes. It’s not something I can maintain forever, but I think I can generate enough for a long enough time for our purpose.”

“What’s your plan?”

“Well, copper and iron and steel can be magnetized when electrified.” Brandon pointed to the door. “That door is metal. If we put one barrel on each side of the door and charge them it would be damn hard for anyone to get through,” Brandon said.

“A big version of those little electro-magnets kids make in science class,” Raul added. “And easy enough to find plans for if we need to.”

“Yep. It’ll take me a few minutes.” Brandon sprinted back to the van while Raul pulled the barrels to the door then retrieved the copper and iron.

They worked steadily setting up their barrier. Once it was ready and in place Brandon put both hands on the barrel sitting inside the building. He glanced back at Raul.

“Ready.” Raul backed up a few feet and watched while Brandon took a few deep breaths, closed his eyes and leaned into the barrel.

Buy Links:

Scintilla releases on March 10. It’ll have wide distribution for a week before going into Kindle Unlimited.

Amazon : Universal link

Bio and Social Media Links

Mystery, action, chills, and thrills spiced with romance and desire. ELIZABETH NOBLE lives by the adage “I can’t not write.” She doesn’t remember a time when she didn’t make up stories and eventually she learned how to put words on a page. Those words turned into books and fan fiction that turned into a genuine love of M/M fiction. A part of every day is spent living in worlds she created that are filled with intrigue and espionage. She has a real love for a good mystery complete with murder and twisty plots as well as all things sci-fi, futuristic, and supernatural.

When she’s not chronicling the adventures of her many characters, Elizabeth is a veterinary nurse living in her native Cleveland, Ohio. She has three grown children and now happily shares her little, brick house with an adorable mixed breed canine princess, a spunky Cardigan Welsh Corgi and their sidekick, tabby cat. Elizabeth is a fan of baseball, basketball (go Cavs and Indians) and gardening. She can often be found working in her ‘outside office’ listening to classic rock and plotter her next novel waiting for it to be dark enough to gaze at the stars.

Elizabeth has received a number of amateur writing awards. Since being published, several of her novels have received Honorable Mentions in the Rainbow Awards. Jewel Cave was a runner-up in the Gay Mystery/Thriller category in the 2015 Rainbow Awards. Ringed Love was a winner in the Gay Fantasy Romance category of the 2016 Rainbow Awards.

Website : Newsletter sign up : Circles website :  Vampire Guard website : JMS Publishers : Amazon : Facebook : Facebook Author page : Twitter : Pinterest : Goodreads : QueeRomance Ink : Gay Romance Readers Club : Smashwords :  Bookstrand:

You can read more about my own Lost in Time magic system over at Joyfully Jay! I’m writing about the Green Book of not-spells today.

Jeannelle M. Ferreira – The apparel oft proclaims the man: Hero(in)es in Breeches

Jeannelle is here today to talk about Eleanor, her fictional disaster-lesbian from her book The Covert Captain, Dr James Barry, and the women who fought in the American Civil War. And also to be wonderfully effusive about The Flowers of Time, which I am blushing about, but still not editing out.

Hello! Let’s get ready to ramble. By which I mean I have been most kindly invited to guest blog by A. L. Lester, author of the new speculative romance, The Flowers of Time, third (more or less) in their Lost in Time series but a treat on its own, featuring the many charms of Furthest Himalaya, including Mysterious Tigers, Mysterious Plants, Mysterious Codes, and a faithful Tibetan Mastiff. (I love the cover but it would only have benefited from Argo, I’m just saying.) And a pragmatic and tender romance between two people who ought to have been constrained by their circumstances, but it never feels that way while they’re getting together. (I’m trying to be very unspoilery here. You should read it. Also, it is cheap. Speaking of pragmatic people.)

Jones, whom you will meet when you read The Flowers of Time, is a person who is awkward stuffed into a dress, but comfortably competent — and perceived as competent by those in charge, which in Jones’ time and place means those socialized as male from birth  — when sensibly dressed in man’s array. Jones’ clothes become part of Jones’ character, yes, but they also dress as they do because it is incredibly damp, hazy, hot, cold,  rocky, muddy, and yak-adjacent on this adventure, and folks in breeches are just going to have an easier time.

The same could be said, except the yak part, about the Peninsular War. 
It is nearly the two-year bookiversary of The Covert Captain, my own book about a female-bodied person in breeches, and I’ve had time while writing the sequel to deepen my understanding of the ways clothes on a body can entwine with the wearer’s identity. Just to get things out of the way, Eleanor Fleming/Captain Nathaniel Fleming is a woman who only ever thinks of herself as a woman, and she enjoys the romantic company of other people who think of themselves as women — by modern standards, she’s a lesbian.  I decided to try to make this clear-cut as I was writing because I am writing in the Internet Age, even though labeling the people of the past is tricky.

Eleanor dresses as a man of her time — more specifically, she dresses in an army officer’s uniform — because she needs the socioeconomic security and the protective coloration that passing as male can give her. She may be risking her life far away from her home in England, but she’s part of a socially accepted profession, she’s in control of her fate, and she’s drawing pay. She needs the pay packet to eat.  In her case, the decision to wear men’s clothing is not complex. (And the ladies love a uniform. What can she say?)

Eleanor, my fictional disaster lesbian, came into being from two facts: the life of Dr. James Barry, who through his career and achievements proved a female-bodied person could attain officer’s rank in the British Army and more than make his name in the Peninsular Campaign; and the statistic that at least four women fought at the Battle of Antietam in the American Civil War. Surely there must have been that many female-bodied folks in the cavalry or the infantry at Waterloo. 

By conservative estimate, 750 women enlisted in the American Civil War  — dressed as men/dressed as themselves, just-for-now disguised as men, fighting and dying as men. (And some women traded corsets for trousers to follow their husbands, and would go home and put on hoops again and have heteronormative marriages and children;  and some people had been wearing traditionally male attire for years before the war and would do so long after the fighting was over.) Without their personal testimony, we can’t say whether they enlisted from patriotism, out of boredom, for money, or for adventure.  What we do know is that relatively speaking, it happened all the time. Recruitment officers, regimental doctors, and a person’s peers among a company of soldiers proved surprisingly adept at seeing what they wanted to see. Perception became acceptance. (A very timely Guardian article is here).

Eleanor’s decision to wear men’s clothing is “not very identity-freighted,” to quote my long-suffering first reader. Her Hussars’ uniform ties her firmly into her life as an officer and a member of a regiment, but her uniform is not her inner life. There is, however, a person close to Eleanor for whom every inch of tailoring, from cravat on down, is part of a careful mix of choice and necessity, freedom and concealment; they appear briefly in The Covert Captain — everyone has that one ex — but learning to write them properly has been a wild adventure, and I can’t wait for you to meet them in the sequel. 

Find Jeannelle:

Website : Amazon : Goodreads

Today, I am at Drops of Ink, talking about Jones’ thoughts on Gender.

Zaya Feli talks about journeys

Zaya Feli is the author of the wonderful Stag’s Run fantasy-historical trilogy, the Icefjord duology and has an upcoming release, Wild Sky, which has dragons! Zaya is visiting today to talk about journeys in her work- both physical ones and mental ones. Plus, making world-maps!

Welcome, Zaya!

My name is Zaya Feli. I’m an illustrator and author living and working in Denmark, writing LGBT+ genre fiction, and journeys have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.

I rarely sit down with the intention of writing about a journey.

My one exception is my upcoming novel, WILD SKY, where I created an expansive world I knew I wanted my characters to explore. From the backs of dragons, they could cover large distances in little time, so I deliberately focused on creating a world that would allow my characters to, quite literally, stretch their wings.

But most often, the physical journey simply happens. I’ll finish plotting an outline and realise I’ve dragged countless lines all across my world map in the process.

Sometimes, the characters’ mental journeys reflect their physical ones.
In my fantasy trilogy, IRON BREAKERS, the main character, Ren, is forcefully ripped from the comfort of home within the first three chapters, and doesn’t get a chance to return until the very end of the final book. At the start of his journey, the world around him feels almost like an enemy in its own right. By the end of the third book, he’s been across the nation and back, as at home in the wild as he once was in his comfortable castle quarters.

My stories rarely take place in the real world.

Maybe it’s the result of being an illustrator as well as a writer, but one of the first things I do when I start working on a new story is to draw a world map. I create a world first, then place my characters in it. The world might change as I write, and then I’ll redraw the map, but it helps me to have markers, locations and a solid layout of geography.

I think most authors have their own writing-related quirks, and mine include keeping track of distance and time. It’s something I’ve always done, even way back when I wrote my very first original story about puppy dogs when I was 10 years old.

How long will it take the characters to get from this town to this inn? On horseback? Dragonback? How much time has passed since they left home, and how long a distance do they still need to cover? I’ll cover whole pages of notebooks with timetables and charts.

In my Norse-inspired fantasy duology, THE ICEFJORD SAGA, the story takes place in two distinct locations – one for each book.

The first book centers largely around one of the main characters’ home town, while the second book sees them leave the safety and comfort of home behind, and sail to a hostile and uncharted frozen woodland in the high north, in search of a magical runestone.

In a way, this split of locations paralleled my own life at the time: when I wrote the first book, I based the map of the characters’ home on my own home. And just like my characters, I was uprooted midway through writing the series, having to adjust to a whole new place.

And that is perhaps why physical journeys keep being such a strong, subconscious theme in the stories I write.

I haven’t gone on many holidays in my life. I’ve only ever left the country twice, and have never been outside Europe. My physical journeys are on a smaller scale, but no less impactful. Throughout my life, I’ve rarely lived in one place for more than three or four years at a time.

I started my life in the capital city of Copenhagen, moved within city borders before moving to the countryside across the island. There, I moved around even more, before making a big switch to the other end of the country two years ago. And within the coming year, I’ll move again, to a different place.

Like my characters, I’ve lost and gained things and people along the way. I’ve changed and grown as a person, not to the extend I often force my characters to, but in a way that still feels profound.

Maybe I simply enjoy writing about new places and varied scenery. Or maybe I keep searching for the various ways in which I can translate the same core idea that means so much to me: that home isn’t necessarily a place. Sometimes it’s a feeling. Or a person. Or a soft sweater on a cold day. It’s what you make of it.

You can connect with Zaya here:

Twitter : Instagram : Amazon: Website : Goodreads

You can read my own post talking about The Flowers of Time and Edie’s Journey today, at Love Bytes Reviews

Visitors! Quick! Tidy up!

I’m tidying the sitting room and shoving dog-toys under the sofa with my foot and generally making sure my high-brow books have their spines prominently visible here at Lester Towers this week. I’m going to have visitors!

To celebrate the launch of The Flowers of Time this week, I have some fantastic guests coming in to talk about aspects of their own work on the themes of magic, journeys, landscape and gender.

The linked posts won’t go live until the day of the interview, but just to give you the head’s up:

Mon 24 Feb – Zaya Feli is talking about the importance of both physical and mental journeys in her books. This ties in with me talking about Edie’s journey to Srinagar, a deleted scene from The Flowers of Time, at Love Bytes Reviews. Zaya’s post.

Tue 25 Feb – Jeannelle d’Ferreira is here to talk about hero(in)es in breeches and I am at Drops of Ink with a deleted scene about Jones’ inner thoughts on gender. Jeannelle’s post.

Wed 26 Feb – Elizabeth Noble has written about the urban fantasy world of her upcoming release Scintilla and I’m talking about the magic in the Green Book at Joyfully Jay. Elizabeth’s post.

Thu 27 Feb – M. D. Stewart is here talking about the magic of her Fae-Shifter world and I am over at Stories That Make You Smile talking about the Lost in Time magic system. MD’s post. I’m also at MD’s blog later today talking about the Lost in Time series.

Fri 28 Feb – Daniel Aegan is here talking about magic and time-travel and I am at Mirrigold’s Mutterings talking about my works in progress. Daniel’s post.

Sat 29 Feb – Sarah Remy/Alex Hall talks about writing gender diverse characters. I am at Xtreme Delusions, talking about Jones and Edie’s journey over the mountains. Sarah’s post.

Sun 01 Mar – Emily Carrington interviews her non-binary character Ash, from Yew & Thorn, #3 in her upcoming Hartwood series and I am talking about Jones and her dislike of petticoats, with an excerpt from The Flowers of Time at Valerie Ullmer’s blog. Emily’s post.

Today, I am at My Fiction Nook talking about life, the universe and everything.

interview with Amara Lynn

Hi Amara! What made you decide to subject yourself to my interview technique?

My newest release, on 2/22, Tundras, Travelers, and Other Travesties! It’s a queer sci-fi novelette set in a future earth that’s covered in snow.

What started you writing?

I’ve always had a huge imagination, thinking up stories and characters all my life. I didn’t really start writing them down until I was in college, though, after reading Twilight and thinking, “I could do this, only gay.” So I started writing all kinds of things, and it’s only gotten queerer from there!

Where are you most comfortable writing?

Usually in my office, which is filled to the brim with little trinkets and pieces of inspiration on my walls. I’m most proud of my corkboard of pretties.

When you’re not writing, what do you like to read?

I’ll read just about anything, from contemporary romance to fantasy. I most enjoy reading romance stories with fantasy element sprinkled in.

What are the three books you’d take to a desert island? Why would you choose them?

How to Love a Monster by Lyssa Dering (preferably in audio), because it’s my comfort listen. It’s an odd little story, but it’s somehow perfect to me. I’ve listened to it over 5 times now.

Into the Deep by yours truly. I guess it’s weird I’d choose one of my own books, haha. I hope it doesn’t seem to vain. I spent 10 years writing that story, and it’s so important to me. It’s the story of my heart, and I’ve worked in a little bit of everything I love into it, so I wouldn’t mind having it be one of the only things I could read over and over on a deserted island, which is ironic because it’s about a pirate getting deserted on an island!

Vicious by V.E. Schwab. If you like villains, read this book. It’s amazing. I love Victor and Eli so much, and I wouldn’t mind being stuck with this book at all.

Writing is an intrinsically solo occupation. Do you belong to any groups or associations, either online or in the ‘real’ world? How does that work for you?

I’m most active on Twitter, and I love the queer writing community there. It’s one of the most welcoming spaces I’ve found, and I love hosting my own hashtags to contribute to the community. If not for that community, I wouldn’t have been able to successfully win NaNoWriMo three years in a row, or even once for that matter!

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

I watch way to much anime, and play a game or two here and there. My favourite foods are chilli and tacos or any Mexican dish. I have two cuddly cats who like to keep me company all around the house and try to trip me constantly.

Tell me a little bit about your most recent release, Tundras, Travelers and other Travesties. What gave you the idea for it? How long did it take to write? What did you enjoy about writing it? What did you hate?

Tundras, Travelers, and Other Travesties was inspired by a call for solarpunk winter stories, and I revived a long shelved wintery piece for it, made a couple changes, and did a little research to back up the story. It didn’t make it into the call, or another I submitted it to, so I decided to self publish it.

What I most enjoyed about it was making it queer, and writing about a character that shares my chronic pain. I don’t think there’s anything I really hated about this story. I’m excited for it to be out in the world! It’s a cute, hopeful piece, that’s unapologetically queer.

Tundras, Travelers and other Travesties

Eis has lived on a solar powered outpost in a tundra covered land all zir life.

After zir parents passing, Eis is left to maintain the outpost alone, struggling to do so between chronic pain flare ups, waiting for the day a traveler might come in need of a warm bed and a meal. A day Eis thinks might never come, until a mysterious craft crashes into one of the solar panels.

Eis never expected a traveler to come out of the craft, or for him to be so captivating and beautiful. Everything Eis knows could change with the coming of this traveler, and yet the greatest travesty would be never knowing what else is out there, beyond the tundra, beyond the skies.

Tundras, Travelers, and Other Travesties is a 5800 word solarpunk post-apocalyptic sci-fi short with a queer protagonist.

Buy Tundras, Travelers and Other Travesties : Add on Goodreads

Connect with Amara

Amara Lynn has always been a quiet daydreamer. Coming up with characters and worlds since childhood, Amara eventually found an outlet in writing. Amara loves anything to do with pirates, villains and superheroes, and angels and demons.

Amara is addicted to music and gets the most inspiration from moving songs and lyrics. When not writing, Amara usually reads, listens to podcasts, watches anime, plays a video game here and there (but mostly collects them), and takes way too many cat pictures.

Amara is non-binary/enby and queer and uses they/them pronouns.

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