>Above the Dungeon by SM Johnson

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Above the Dungeon
by SM Johnson
Torquere Press
Length: 183 pages
Characters: Dare (Adair), Roman, Jeff
POV: 1st and 3rd
Scene Setting: Modern Day
Sub Genre: BDSM
Book Cover Rating: 4 Kisses
4 KISSES


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Blurb:

With the ink barely dry on his Ivy League diploma, Dare is expected join the family business, marry his high school sweetheart, and commit to life in conservative suburbia. But in a moment of panic he runs away to NYC, where his cousin gets him a bartending job at a club above the legendary Master Roman’s dungeon. When Roman takes an interest in Dare, he’s not sure if he should run like hell, or follow his submissive heart.

As he draws Dare into the world of BDSM, Roman has to contend with the feelings and insecurities of his primary partner, Jeff, who has a habit of falling in love with others. But this time it’s Roman’s turn, and Jeff’s not sure their relationship can survive the inclusion of a new guy.

Alternately told from points of view of Dare and Jeff, Above the Dungeon is a series of highly erotic BDSM scenes tied together with tight plot and intense relationship dynamics

Review:

What caught my attention with this book was the title, Above the Dungeon, and then the belt on the cover. The blurb put this book on my “must have” category. And then the name of one of the central characters. Dare. Blend that with the BDSM theme. Sweet stuff right?

Well, lets see. The story starts off with Dare, a late twenty something ivy league graduate, running away from his suburbia home, to his cousin’s home in New York. His cousin gets him a job as a bartender in a gay bar, something Dare didn’t know until his first night on the job. What’s cute in the first scenes is when his cousin takes him on a shopping spree by orders of Roman, the bar owner, so he’d have something to wear and fit in. Wait until you see what this straight boy ends up getting.

Things start off well enough for Dare, he’s tending bar and not stuck back home being someone he clearly wasn’t. He ran away from his family business and future fiancé all in one fell swoop so he could live life a bit before he ended up with 2.5 kids and a 3 car garage living unhappily ever after. Good for him I say! But I bet he never expected what was right around the corner.

He’s a great bartender, he’s well liked, even if he is a straight guy at a BDSM club, and he soon finds himself curious about the owner of the place. Master Roman. Just as Roman finds Dare intriguing.

Now, Roman is in a relationship with Jeff, who is his 24-7 live in slave and they’ve been a couple for twelve years. Roman adores his slave, as his slave adores him but…Jeff often finds himself needing to fall in love every 3-4 years with someone new. Not saying he doesn’t love his Master, he just in love with those new feelings of love. He even tells his Master when this happens, and I think this is where this story really starts moving along.

The coat hanger at the club is named Tristan, and Jeff wants to fall in love with him, he’s cute and I guess that’s all it takes for Jeff. Well, Roman has other ideas of bringing someone home to fall in love with and his sight is set on the new straight bartender. Being the understanding Master that Roman is, he encourages his slave to go ahead and do what he does, while he goes and does what he does.

One night, Jeff manages to set it up so that his Master can meet his new love interest and let me tell you, his Master was none too happy, but obliged his naughty slave and brought the new boy home. SJ certainly knows how to whip out intense BDSM sex scenes!

So, while Jeff is rethinking his falling in love feelings, all because his Master does indeed have sex with the new possible slave, Roman is out and wooing the hot bartender by having him get his nipples pierced. He even invited him to his dungeon to watch him as he worked over a paying customer and Dare had to be restrained in a chair—naked.

Things do move rather quickly for Dare and Roman. In under a month Dare went from being straight vanilla to a very devoted submissive to Roman. All that’s fine and well, who am I to harp on something like love, admiration, and finding one’s true meaning in life? I’m all for it.

Now, let me talk a bit about Roman. He’s the Master that all slaves/subs yearn for, he’s confident, sexy, strong, has an amazing personality, and I want to meet him. I just want to ask him if he’d of given up Dare if Jeff had asked him to. I want to think he would but I am also thinking he’d say no, and Dare would have to just deal with it cuz he’s the slave and he must do what his Master says he must do.

I am so torn in the middle about how I feel about the plot of this story. A Master who finds another slave to bring into a 12 year relationship and expects his slave to be okay with it. I guess the same can be said of his slave, Jeff. But I’m a girl, I don’t always understand any man’s mind. So, no over analyzing.

The one thing that kinda made me crazy: The shifting of the POV. We went from 3rd person and hot into the 1st person without warning. So, we spend time with Dare as the 3rd person character and in Jeff’s head, as the 1st person character, throughout the book. I got to know Roman through Jeff and through Dare. So that was interesting. One more thing, I wish SM would have given us more of Dare and Roman and Jeff as a threesome. Not so much the sex but the relationship they were to develop before jumping hot into a hot BDSM scene.

An off the wall moment: When Dare’s ex shows up, she’s a bit shocked to walk into the club to find her ex naked and being spanked by Roman but she’s all good with it. She didn’t want to marry him anyway and they promise to remain great pals.

Overall the story is a fast BDSM read. The sex scenes are superb, so are the BDSM scenes. I’d like to see more of these three just to see how they’re doing as a threesome. I give it up to SM for being able to create this intriguing BDSM story.

Reviewer: Michele

>SM Johnson

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SM Johnson

Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions, SM. We are very excited and can’t wait to learn more about you.
Thank you! I must say, though, sending a big list of interview questions to a novelist and saying “take your time,” isn’t exactly a good way to save space…

Can you tell us a little bit about your background?
How far back would you like me to go? When I was a kid, my dad was a firefighter and my mom a school librarian. My mom was always reading, and of course read to me until I could read to myself. The library was eight blocks from our house, and I would stagger out of there with my backpack stuffed full and my arms loaded. Once I got home I’d lay them out on my floor and agonize over which one to read first. It was a big deal for me to stock up on library books before family vacations (typically by car), and I clearly remember my dad saying, more than once, “Get your nose out of that book so you don’t miss _______.” [insert Mount Rushmore, Rocky Mountains, all of Route 66].


I wrote a few short stories when I was 12 and 13. They were about teen pregnancy and teen domestic abuse – things I knew nothing about. They were hyper-dramatic crap, really.


At 14, I fell in love with a boy and wrote scads of terrible poetry. If they were ever published, the collection could be called “A Thousand Pathetic Poems to a Particular Boy.” Of course at the time, I thought maybe I’d publish them under the title “The Tears and Triumphs of Teenage Love,” with dramatic narrative in between poems. Ouch!


I majored in Social Work in college, although my advisor always wondered why I wasn’t an English major. I wasn’t an English major because they made English majors read things like Canterbury Tales, and I didn’t have the patience or attention span for any of that.


What was your first book and how long did it take to get it published?
I started writing DeVante’s Children in 1992, if you can believe that, and after a million rewrites it was published as an e-book by Torquere Press in 2009. I’m just finishing a revision of it now for release in paperback by Rebel Satori Press. I am so sick of that book I could scream. Seriously. I have it memorized. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lovely story and I think everybody should read it, but it was my learning novel, and every sentence has been written a dozen different ways. I almost changed the point of view to first person this time around just to spice it up for myself.

How many books have you written thus far?
I have three completed novels. Two books of the Vampire DeVante Trilogy, DeVante’s Children and DeVante’s Coven, and a stand-alone erotic novel called Above the Dungeon.

I wrote fifty-thousand words of the third vampire novel, DeVante’s Choice, for NaNoWriMo 2008. I also have a 60,000 word novel from NaNoWriMo 2007 called Assassin Jaxx, but everyone who’s read it feels it needs a few more chapters. Like maybe 10.


I have four other books in various stages, and several requests from readers for a sequel to Above the Dungeon. I can definitely keep myself busy writing.

When did you start writing in your current genre? What about this genre interested you the most?
I would enter my specialty here, except genre confusion has probably been one of my biggest barriers to publication. Do I write horror, romance, sci-fi, fantasy, gay fiction, GLBT fiction? Erotica? Gay erotica? Is vampire fiction a genre in itself? (Right now, in the thick of the Twilight craze, I would say yes).


Everybody wants a genre classification that fits into a neat little box with a cute little bow, but I have a lot of trouble with that. Ultimately I write romance. And believe me, when I discovered that (in a workshop at the Space Coast Writers Conference in early 2009) I gagged a little. I did not want to be a romance writer. Ew. But there it is – relationship fiction with mostly happy endings. Romance.

The description that I like best is “Character-driven fiction.” I start with a person who has a problem, and start writing about it, and generally that person with that problem tells me the rest. If that person winds up being gay, or being a vampire, or being a gay vampire, it’s not on purpose on this side of the keyboard. Sometimes the character and the book allows for explicit erotica, sometimes not.


In Above the Dungeon, Jeff and Roman, and Dare by default, are comfortable inviting the reader into both the bedroom and the dungeon. That’s their world, and the purpose of their world is to get people hard or wet.


But DeVante? Not hardly. He’s a mystery wrapped in an enigma kind of character, and he doesn’t ever want anyone to see him lose control. He’d rather be observed killing than fucking. Which doesn’t mean the Vampire DeVante Trilogy isn’t erotic. It has its moments.

Do you write full time?
I wish! I have enough work to write full time, for sure. But no. I am the carrier of the health insurance for the family, and as such, I work part time on a locked inpatient psychiatric unit. It’s an interesting job. I could tell you some stories…

Looking back was there something in particular that helped you to decide to become a writer? Did you choose it or did the profession choose you?
As I said in the background question, I starting writing short stories and poetry when I was young, so in that regard, writing chose me. I have always processed emotion and angst through writing.


But it was my husband who suggested I write a novel. I was crazy for Anne Rice’s vampires, and would wait a year (or more) for her next book in the 1990′s and early 2000′s when she was continuing her Vampire Chronicles. I’d rush to get the hardcover the day it was released, and devour it within twenty-four hours. And I’d kind of fall into a depression when I realized it would be at least another year before I could escape into that world again.

I was complaining about the wait when my husband said, “Why don’t you just write your own vampire book?”

Well, famous last words, and all of that. When I refuse to go to bed until the wee hours, I always remind him that this was all his idea.

On a typical writing day, how would you spend your time?
I wish I had a typical writing day. I am the most prolific when I write every day. Whether I have a schedule or not, the more I write, the easier the words flow. It’s like the story just continues in my head, and so long as I’m recording it regularly, it rolls out of me with no effort.


I write whenever I can free up an hour or two, whether that’s with a pen and paper on suicide watch at work, or at the keyboard at home. I prefer writing late in the night or early in the morning when every living creature in the house is sound asleep. Dog and cat included.

When it comes to plotting, do you write freely or plan everything in advance?
I create a character with a problem, and have a snapshot of the first scene and the last scene when I start writing. The character and story logic fills in the middle. And believe me, there are some crazy detours along the way. I’ll yell things while I’m writing, like, “Holy crap! Get this, Daniel’s GAY!” Or “Oh. My. God. DeVante was made by a woman!” My husband gives me strange looks and says things like, “Um, as the writer aren’t you in control of the story?” But no, I feel like I’m channeling way more often than steering.


Sometimes I run into problems that require a bit of plotting or brainstorming, but eventually the story itself reveals the answer. In DeVante’s Coven I had a dead girl but no idea who killed her until the rewrite. It drove me crazy for months, and wham! One day the characters let me in on the details. It’s very weird.

What kind of research do you do before and during a new book?
I use Google and Wikipedia for the small stuff – like what year Corvette Daniel smashed up, little details like that. With bigger stuff, I’ve been fortunate to find people willing to educate me.

How much of yourself and the people you know manifest into your characters? How do you approach development of your characters? Where do you draw the line?
There is definitely some of myself in every character. More of me in some than others. I don’t intentionally write myself or people I know into characters, but traits that I admire or hate in people in my life do work their way into my stories. Characters develop mostly through story logic, although if I need to get to know a character I’ll write a list of 100 things.


Line? Which line would that be? (Evil grin).


My first drafts tend to contain extended flashbacks or background information that later ends up on the cutting floor. I think a lot about character motivation and try to get a sense of what’s important to my characters, because that affects the decisions they make.

How long does it take for you to complete a book you would allow someone to read?
Allow to read? I beg for early readers. I love feedback, and I love having people pick out inconsistencies and such. I guess I’d like to have a few chapters finished so I have a sense of who these people are and where they’re going, but then I’d be happy to have readers along for the ride right from the get-go.


One of the huge things I’m lacking right now is a critique group.

If you weren’t sitting there right this very moment answering our book of questions, what else would you be doing?
Surfing the internet, setting up my week’s worth of tweets, playing with my child, doing dishes or laundry. Which reminds me, eek, laundry! Be right back…

Do you write straight through, or do you revise as you go along?
I do a lot of editing and revision as I go along. Usually I start my time at the keyboard reading and editing what I wrote the day before. I love writing longhand and later typing it all up in a rush, then going back over it to edit and smooth out the language.

Often I will concentrate on one story arc and write that from beginning to end in several sessions. Then I repeat that for each character or set of characters. Using DeVante’s Children for example… there’s a story arc for Daniel and Roderick’s relationship, and one for DeVante and Emily’s, and so on and so forth. I write each one separately to the point where all their stories merge. In the revision process, I cut and paste scenes into some logical order, like a jigsaw puzzle, all while trying to keep nights and days straight (not so easy with a mix of vampires and mortals). I try to order them so each scene is a cliff-hanger.

Writers often go on about writer’s block. Do you ever suffer from it, and what measures do you take to get past it?
I don’t suffer from writer’s block nearly so much as pure procrastination. I don’t know what it is, but sometimes I just can’t get myself to sit down and write. And I love writing. What’s tricky for me is more like writer’s ambivalence. I have so many exciting projects in the works that it’s hard to force myself to work on just one. And yet if I don’t make myself stick with one book at a time, I would never complete anything.


I participate in NaNoWriMo every November, which is a great way to try out a new genre and give myself permission to write something brand new.


Revision and rewriting always feels like something I don’t want to do, and yet once I get myself going, I remember it’s one of my favorite parts. Fitting everything together is where I get to take control of the story again and be God. In the first draft, the characters never let me play that part.

When someone reads one of your books for the first time, what do you hope they gain, feel, or experience?
I just want them to fall in love with my people and enjoy visiting the world I’ve created. Ultimately I’d like my readers to close the book and continue the story in their own heads.

Does the title of a book you’re writing come to you as you’re writing it, or does it come before you even begin the first sentence?
I always have a working title. So far the working titles have stuck. Although one of my current working titles is Dyke Detective, and I’m not sure I want that one to stick (grin).

How would you describe your sense of humor? Who and what makes you laugh?
I’m not funny. Inside my head, I think I’m hysterical, but I’m sort of that lame-trying-too-hard-to-actually-be-funny person. Fortunately I’m very cheerful and my normal state of mind is happy. I’m like a cheerleader, goofy and smiley to the point where people think it’s odd that I write dark tales of vampires and BDSM.


I appreciate the wry, dry, deadpan sort of humor. Someone with a cynical, snarky view of the world can crack me up to no end. It’s too bad that those kinds of people usually have no patience for my bright, sunny outlook. I’m like Pollyanna. For real.

In what order should I read the Vampire DeVante Trilogy?
Chronologically DeVante’s Children is book one, DeVante’s Coven is book two, and DeVante’s Choice is book three.

DeVante’s Coven was a grand prize winner of the 2008 Project: Queerlit contest. The grand prize was a paperback contract, so it is the first book of the trilogy available in paperback. Complicated? Yep. But I think it’s fine if people read Coven before Children – each book is more or less a stand-alone story.


People who know me socially always want how I can write explicit erotica, being that I’m so sweet and all. The only answer I have is that the inside of my head is a strange and scary place. And I love it there.

What are you working on now?
At the keyboard, I’m revising DeVante’s Children for paperback release. This revision involves writing an early story arc for the characters of Tony and Lily, who figure prominently in books two and three, but don’t exist at all in the e-book edition of book one.

What was the best piece of advice you’ve received with respect to the art of writing? How did you implement it into your work?
Ah, there are so many bits of good advice. Probably the most helpful for me was learning to recognize and eliminate passive voice. Passive voice feels dramatic when you’re writing it, but it’s annoying as hell to read. Eliminate adverbs. Don’t head-hop – pick a point of view and stay there. Write, rewrite, rewrite, rewrite again. The road to publication is perseverance, and perseverance is the only way to learn the craft. When you finish one book, start the next one immediately. If nobody wants to publish your novel, it probably needs more rewriting.

When it comes to promotion, what lengths have you gone to in order to increase reader-awareness of your work?
Egads, I suck at self-promotion. I had business cards printed and I hand them out whenever possible. I leave a trail of signatures on CafeMom when I have time to post in groups. I have several blogs and social network sites that I try to keep updated, but don’t have millions of followers or anything like that. I think I have all of one follower on Blogspot. I use HootSuite to update Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace simultaneously. Usually I post what I’m reading with a link to a review. My goal for social networking is to celebrate the success of other writers. Tweeting “buy my book” every other day starts to look like roadkill.


I’m thinking about taking out paid ads on porn sites. Okay, I’m mostly kidding about that, but the thought is there. I’m going to bring copies of my paperback to my class reunion, and hopefully share a table with a local newspaper at our PRIDE celebration over Labor Day weekend.


I try to go to a writers conference every year. So far my favorite is the Saints and Sinners Writers Festival, which is held in New Orleans in May. I’m planning to be there every year.


Marketing is really a trial for me. I’d much rather spend my keyboard time writing.

Writing is obviously not just how you make your living, but your life-style as well. What do you do to keep the creative “spark” alive – both in your work and out of it?
I have to make an effort to step away from the keyboard and engage in life. I forget to do that sometimes. I went to the Sturgis motorcycle rally last summer, and took a beginner’s motorcycle riding course this summer. I wasn’t good at it, in case anyone is interested. Horses seem much safer. I mean, if you get distracted for a minute on a horse, probably nothing bad will happen. It’s not like a horse is just going to fall over. Which I can’t say about a motorcycle. I’m a small, blonde hundred pound weakling, which means even a small motorcycle is really heavy.


I’m a little bit like my character Jeff from Above the Dungeon, because I tend to fall in love with people. I will always choose my husband over anyone else, but the rush of falling in love feels the same now as it did when I was an adolescent. Last year I fell in love with this amazing woman, and wow, talk about spark! The intensity of our friendship reminded me that the best parts of life are the moments of utter bliss.


The other day my daughter coaxed me to run through the sprinkler. Ah, memories of childhood summers. It was all very spur-of-the-moment. Let’s just say I hope my black bra and panties looked like a bikini, because I was wearing the amazing see-through-when-wet dress.

What pros and cons surround the e-publishing industry, and how do you envision the future of e-publishing?
The only real con to me is that, as an author with a lifelong love of books, nothing can describe the awe of holding my own novel in my hands and flipping through the pages (high quality crème paper – yay!).

Despite my love of paper, I do believe e-books are here to stay. They are cost-effective to produce, available for immediate purchase from almost any location, are being offered for check-out in many library systems, and, with an e-reader, are just about as portable as a paperback. More portable than a hardcover. And let’s not forget the privacy factor – for erotic reads, I think e-books will become the gold standard and preferred format.

And as a writer, e-formats offer me new avenues to publication. My editing team at Torquere Press takes their task seriously. They asked thoughtful questions and made great suggestions, and corrected a few typos along the way. I can’t imagine that they were “lesser” editors than what you find at the big publishing houses. Almost any avenue to get books to readers is a good thing.

I have a Sony Touch e-reader, and I like it fine. I’m not sure it will ever replace paper books as my preference, but I enjoy carrying multiple novels around without the weight or the bulk of multiple books. I did find that I worried constantly about dropping it or spilling something on it, and the one time I used it at work, I realized that keeping track of my e-reader distracted me from my job, and that is unacceptable. A normal book I can just toss aside in a crisis situation, and if it gets lost or destroyed, I’m out $25.00 at the most.

I want to mention Print on Demand (POD) publishing while I’m here. POD is a lovely way to get books out in paperback without the huge expense of “print runs” of thousands of books. It’s kind of a pre-order deal. You order a book, and then the printer prints and ships it. Not as immediate, but it gets a book out there in paperback, and for about $12.00 a year, your book remains “in print” for as long as your publisher exists. POD is one of the reasons small publishers can take risks on unknown authors.

What kind of books do you like to read?
I love reading Young Adult fiction. To keep the attention of kids, YA authors have to suck the reader in fast and make them care about the characters immediately. I’m not talking Twilight or Harry Potter, I’m talking mid-list or first novel writers for Tweens and Teens that are writing awesome books about pretty normal kids. Anyone who follows me on Facebook or Twitter will get updates about what I’m reading.

What is your favorite TV show?
Current favorite would have to be the United States of Tara. Or maybe Big Love. Or The Real L Word. My all-time favorite show, hands down, is Queer as Folk, particularly the first 3 seasons.

What is your favorite fast food restaurant? Just thought we’d throw that in for fun…
I like the chicken bacon ranch salad at McD’s… but since I hate cooking (and I’m diabetic) I have to avoid fast food pretty much altogether because it’s way too easy.

Without getting up, can you tell us what’s under your bed? (yep, another sneaky question.)
LOL. I can, actually. There’s a wooden tray from my hope chest. There’s also a bottle of lube (well, you asked). And our new (and very first) cat hangs out under there. I think he’s hiding from the dog.

If you weren’t a writer what would you be?
A basket-case. Definitely.

When it comes to the covers of your books, what do you like or dislike about them?
I love the covers of my books! Above the Dungeon is a black and white close-up of a leather belt with a chrome buckle, and it’s just exactly the style I envisioned. The Vampire DeVante Trilogy covers feature elements of the stories — an ankh, and different bridges. My publisher, Sven Davisson, and his partner, Nate, designed the paperback cover for DeVante’s Coven, and it just blew me away. The bridge on the cover of DeVante’s Children is a major landmark in my hometown, and I took the photo that will be on the paperback edition. The graphic designers at both Torquere and Rebel Satori are kick-ass.

Aside from writing, what else do you enjoy doing?
Reading, naturally. For total indulgent stress-relief, I do some scrap-booking while listening to The Bob and Sheri Show (syndicated radio) on podcast. Listening to them feels like hanging out with really funny friends.

I’m not exactly an outdoorsy-wilderness-exercise kind of girl, but I love riding horses even though I don’t get to do it very often.

Any special projects coming out soon we should watch for?
The revised edition of DeVante’s Children will be coming out in paperback within the next few months from QueerMojo, an imprint of Rebel Satori Press.

New writers are always trying to glean advice from those with more experience. What suggestions do you have for new writers?
Keep writing! And eventually stop writing that first novel, stuff it in a drawer, and start writing the next one. You don’t figure out how much you’ve learned until you write your second book. And you also won’t know how to fix the first book until you write the second. At least that’s how it worked for me. It took me 10 years to write my first book and 18 months to write the second. Talk about a learning curve.

Can you please tell us where we can find you and your books on the Internet?
Above the Dungeon and DeVante’s Children are available at Torquere Press http://www.torquerebooks.com/
DeVante’s Coven is available in paperback at http://www.rebelsatoripress.com/
Follow me on Twitter DeVante9901, or my Facebook fan page, SM Johnson Writes. I’d give links, but I don’t even know where to find them.
Visit me at LiveJournal http://devante.livejournal.com/
Be the 2nd person to follow my blog at http://smjbookteasers.blogspot.com/
If you snoop about blogspot enough you might find a passel of newspaper columns I wrote a few years ago.
You can also find old, snarky blogs on MySpace www.myspace.com/sweet_writer
And last but not least, send fan mail to devante9901@aol.com

>DeVante’s Children by SM Johnson

>

DeVante’s Children

by S.M. Johnson
Publisher: Torquere
Length: 231 Pages
Characters: Daniel, Roderick, Devante, small key players: Emily and Catherine
POV: 3rd
Scene Setting: Could be modern day/past day/future day
Sub Genre: Horror
Book Cover Rating: 3.5
3.5 KISSES
Buy Here

Blurb:

Kicked out of his house by his father and stepmother so he won’t infect anyone with his gayness, Daniel is a little adrift. He has plenty of doubts about the gay life, too, until he meets Roderick, who teaches him that there are a lot stranger things in the world than men who love men. Roderick has designs on Daniel, but they’re far from honorable, which Daniel soon figures out to his dismay.

Enter DeVante, Roderick’s creator, who’s furious about Roderick’s treatment of Daniel. Between learning about his new world and a family emergency that pits Daniel against his estranged family, Daniel has a lot to deal with. Finally, Daniel must decide who he is, what he wants, and if he’s willing to sacrifice human life to get it.

Review:

Devante’s Children is a story about Vampires and a young boys desire to find love and be loved. At the start of it, Daniel is standing beside a crushed Corvette. This crushed Corvette just so happened to belong to his father and Daniel is the one who did the dirty deed. Why? How could a sweet 17 year old kid take and try to wrap a priceless antique car around a tree trunk? Well, I imagine he was looking for attention from his father and let me tell you, he got it alright. His father threw him out. How’s that for attention? He told his son, go stay with your faggot friends or some shit like that.

So, Daniel does and ends up at a friend’s place, an older friend whom he had a major crush on, but sadly the friend is straight. Enter, Roderick the Vamp. This young looking Goth Vamp has his eyes set upon Daniel and proceeds to stalk the poor kid for a couple weeks or months until Daniel feels too afraid to go out alone. Then one night, Rod decides to make himself seen and this begins the wild ride that will change poor Daniel’s life forever.

For a year Roderick strung Daniel along, at Daniel’s insistence, all over the place. They traveled to places I only dream of. Roderick would set Daniel up by buying his plane fare and paying for the hotel rooms while he traveled there using his Vamp powers. One of those is flying but I never really found out if he traveled with his casket? Anyway, Roderick is a wild Vamp, he lives on the edge and has no second thoughts about what he’s doing to young Daniel. Daniel of course finds himself madly in love with the awesome Rod, but hasn’t a clue as to what he truly is.

Well, things go from dark and gloomy to darker and gloomier for me in the book. There just doesn’t seem to be any hope for the human in the story. I mean, he was blindsided and to top it off, he’s a midnight snack for the silly Rod. This Vamp bites and feeds off Daniel and had been for a year and Daniel had no clue and to make matters worse he gives his blood to his sweet boy Daniel in turn. Why? Uh, cuz. He’s a bratty vamp is why. Well, it just so happens that Daniel finally figures things out, and he decides he wants to be a Vampire too but Roderick refuses to turn him because he’s too young…I didn’t get it. The boy is old enough to run off from home for a year chasing said Vampire all over the place but he’s too young to be a Vampire? Ends up Roderick is killing Daniel because his blood is eating at the human blood in Daniel’s body. Does Roderick know this? Yep, so instead of either killing the human or making him a Vamp, he takes the boy back to where he is from. Minnesota. And it is here in this place where Roderick’s Maker and Master resides.

Enter DeVante. The Master Vamp. He scolds Roderick and tells him to kill the human because he’s dying. Rod refuses and says he loves Daniel and wants to keep him. Well, DeVante, who refuses very little to his child, his creation, says okay under one condition. That he leaves Daniel in his care so he can be trained, so he can learn to submit, so he can be controlled by the Master Vamp. Roderick isn’t happy but agrees because really, DeVante doesn’t give him a choice in the matter.

Now, DeVante is a straight Vamp, he has no interest in Daniel sexually, but that’s not to say he hasn’t had sex with men before. I do believe he may have had sex with Rod, but it was never made clear. What is made clear is that DeVante is a very powerful and old Vampire and he is one I would never want to meet up with. Ever. We do see a sweet gentle side of him when he finds a young lady who lost her child and husband in a bad car wreck, and helps to mend her by giving her sleep without it being haunted by nightmares. He really does her a lot of good and I really liked her as a character. Though, she wasn’t around nearly long enough. Does he kill her? I am not saying.

So, the story goes along and while Daniel is dying and learning how to submit, by dropping to the floor the second his Master tells him to. Then some action scenes take place with this hateful evil Vamp called, Katerina. She is DeVante’s creator, or mother, or maker. Take your pick. SM Johnson knows how to create a character to dislike, that’s for sure.

Moving on, Daniel’s little sister comes up missing and it’s up to Daniel and his Vampire friends to locate her. I’m not going to say a name here but I am going to point my finger to the individual responsible for her disappearance. All done to get a certain someone back to a certain someone’s bed. Age old tale there right? Daniel rescues her and takes her home and the poor kid thinks he’s going to be some type of hero to his hateful bigoted father. Right. So did not happen.

Well, here we are almost at the end of the book and hardly no sex at all whatsoever. Well, there was sex between DeVante and that evil Katerina and it’s a bit detailed but that was it really. This is okay though, I don’t need sex in all of my books, but I do enjoy when Vamps and Humans hook up.

Overall the story was long, and a few times I found myself wondering where it was headed to. I never really found out. Overall the plot didn’t do it for me, I didn’t get where the story was headed really other than Daniel wanted to be a Vampire. The characters seemed a bit aloof for me but I really did like Emily. Daniel I felt bad for, he just wanted someone to love him and really isn’t that what life is about? Poor kid, as far as I know according to the ending of this book, he still hadn’t found love, but he did find what he wanted secondly. I’d like to see more of DeVante’s power though, his Mastery skills. Going on that, I’m going to read the second book in this series. DeVante’s Coven.

Reviewer: Michele

>DeVante’s Coven by SM Johnson

>

DeVante’s Coven

by SM Johnson
Publisher: Rebel Satori Press
Length: 302 pages
POV: 3rd
Scene Setting: Modern Day- L.A. and Las Vegas
Sub Genre: Paranormal
Book Cover Rating: 5
4 KISSES
Buy Here

Blurb:

Vampires, mortals, and Tony, who’s something else altogether, are all beholden to DeVante for protection, though each has a special talent. DeVante notices this and begins to suspect that an outside force has brought all these children to him for some nefarious purpose. Before he can put the pieces together, the whole group is snatched and held for ransom. The price? Help a vicious vampire from DeVante’s past take over the mortal world. The monster would use their talents against them, but the coven discovers that together they can defeat even the strongest evil

Review:

DeVante’s Coven picks up not long after DeVante’s Children left off. With a lot of things changed. At the start Daniel, the sweet boy from book 1, is now a full fledged Vamp, a fledging to be precise. A fledging is a baby Vamp and baby Vamps need a lot of training, and looking after. They need a strong Master to not only teach them but to keep them safe from not only humans but from one another as well. At the end of the first book, we missed out on an ending that was fulfilling however the beginning to this one made it all better.

So, there’s sweet young Daniel, who is in California with DeVante and he’s a lonely one. DeVante didn’t want to have a lot to do with him, so for the most part the boy or fledging was ignored and left to his own devices. He hunted on his own, found entertainment and all that because he had no one else. When DeVante tells him he’s moving out of their safe house and going else where, Daniel decides to go off and find his own life. DeVante allows him to keep the house, tells him more or less later, and takes off to parts unknown. But don’t worry too much, he’s the Master here and he knows what his fledglings are up to all the time. He just doesn’t want to be bothered.

Did I forget to mention Daniel was alone? Should he be? Well, no. He should be surrounded by many others like for instance: Emily-she is the human that DeVante is in love with and she is also the one who aided Daniel when he was deathly ill and dying over Rod’s stupidity. Well, she’s not in the story until the end. Roderick-well that dark son of the Master is one bratling and he’s off on adventures without his fledling because he just can’t deal. That pretty much sums that up.

So, Daniel ends up standing on the side of the road, hitch hiking to anywhere but where he’s at. He’s bored out of his mind and needs something to do. He ends up being picked up by this guy Reed, who is a tad bit older than Daniel. Right away you can feel the power behind this character. Reed shows concern for his safety and tells Daniel he shouldn’t be out there on his own and of course Daniel assures him he’ll be fine. I mean, the kid is a Vampire what does he fear? He drops the boy off near the busy intersection and Daniel, after having a heavy make out session with Reed in the car, leaves and heads to find a club to hang out at.

Well, one thing leads to another and at the end of the night, Reed is taking Daniel home with him, to keep him from going home with another guy who had the hots for the young hot looking boy.

The one thing I do want to say here is that in the prior book, DeVante’s Children, there wasn’t a lot of sex going on in the pages with the characters. I can remember a scene between DeVante and his maker but nothing really on the other characters. Let me put you at ease here. SM did indeed include sex scenes in this book and they are filled with BDSM! But, I’m getting ahead of myself a bit.

Next the story jumps to a new character, Tony. He’s another young boy and he’s headed to a party. This is not your everyday teenager party, this is a heavy rich man party where they find these prostitutes on the streets and offer the kids money to keep their mouths shut, strip naked, and do what they’re told. So, Tony who is apparently straight gets caught up in this because he has urges to submit to someone and the thought of being in chains, and being told what to do thrills him. However, he’s straight so I have no idea if he’s really in search of a Domme or a Dom or if he even knows what he’s looking for. All he knows is that being told what to do, at that time turns him on and that gets him into heaps of trouble.

Of course our bratling Rod is around to save his day and this is story three. I think. DeVante is off on his own story, Daniel on his, Rod on his. But wait, I have more coming up.

So, Rod saves Tony from a certain death and ends up with another fledging to care for. Talk about a bratling! He’s off in Las Vegas, he makes a new baby Vampire, and he has no idea what he’s gotten himself into. His new baby Vamp requires no sleep, and he rarely eats and when he does its sips from the humans. He’s almost like a poetic vampire. Very sweet indeed. Well, one night Rod takes him out on the town and is trying to train him, but this is Rod. The same Vamp that couldn’t handle Daniel and things go very bad in a very short amount of time.

Enter two detectives assigned to the mysterious death of a young girl drained of blood and found by a dumpster off the strip. They ask the right questions but get no where really. Not in the whole story did they ever figure things out that made any sense. I don’t honestly know what happens to them and if they ever solved the crime.

Anyway, that’s story four. Then we have a visit with Daniel again and find out that he’s falling for Reed. Hard core. Of course Reed has a story of his own, so that’s five. He has this ongoing relationship with a woman who was his ex-wife’s friend. I think. They are very close, BFF’s if you get my meaning. She’s a nosy thing with all the answers. He’s a heartbroken man who is, after twelve years still trying to get over the death of his young son. And she just can’t seem to let the subject drop even going as far as telling Reed that Daniel isn’t for him, he’s too young, he’s this and that until I wanted to just slap her and tell her to stop already.

We jump back to Tony now, and he who is a baby vamp and all that, goes out in Daylight! He didn’t burn up though thank the gods. He’s not a normal vamp that’s for sure but as to what he is? I dunno. An old spirit of something I think. Well, Tony goes off and heads to his house or apartment that he shares with this other girl, Lily and wants to get some of his things before going back to Rod’s. Well, guess what Tony did…YEP…he created his own baby Vamp. OH Roderick is in soo much trouble with his Master.

Five. Lily and her issues brings us to five. Don’t worry it’s okay. SM has loads of talent and she brings all this together with a pretty bow. Well, I’m still looking for the detectives. But let me say that sweet Tony ends up getting revenge on the guy who killed him but things aren’t what they seem and the threat to DeVante’s Coven stems from the man who killed Tony.

Reed is in every sense of the word a Dom/Master if you will. And he sure knows how to Master Daniel. Their story is the one I was after in the book. I loved reading about Daniel and Reed and I even loved the DeVante interaction with Reed as he protected his baby Vamp. The BDSM is written very well and to see Reed in his Master suit..OMG. Very well done, SM! I want to see more of Reed and Daniel, watch them grow as a couple and as a Master and Slave. What a lovely story that would be.

Overall: I enjoyed the series. My heart went out to Roderick, and to Daniel and to Reed. Even DeVante grabbed me. The setting was perfect not over done at all. Dialogue was very well done. The only issues I had with the book are very small and I’m sure with her next in the series will be cleared up. Just please, SM, no Lily and DeVante…

Reviewer: Michele

Brothers Without Borders by Leiland Dale

Brothers Without Borders
by Leiland Dale
Silver Publishing
82 Pages
Characters: Hunter and Avery Grey
POV: Third person
Sub Genre: M/M, SIBLINGS, CONTEMPORARY, EROTIC, ROMANCE
Book Cover Rating: 3
4 KISSES
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Blurb:

Hunter Grey, the tough guy athlete, tried to focus on everything other than the one person who caused the ache inside his heart. For years, he had managed to keep his secret locked up inside him. Although some of his teammates didn’t know he was gay, this was the least of his worries. His biggest secret haunted him and had him waking up in the middle of the night soaked to the bone in sweat. The guilt and disgust within him tore him apart each day.

When secrets are exposed, how will an unconventional love between brothers change the lives of these two men? Can their bond and love for each other survive and flourish, or will it ultimately rip them apart?

Review:

Many of you, and I’d bet my money on it, may have enjoyed Leiland’s books,  but you’ve passed up on this one due to what the story entails. I’m going to confide in you all that read my review. When I was given the offer to review this book I looked over the title and the summary to glimpse at what I would be faced with when delving into this story. I admit that I had bought it, but it hadn’t hit the top of my pile and was pushed down a few sleeves. I will tell you in all honesty, although I’ve enjoyed Leiland’s books in the past that he has written, went into reading this one without reserves or prejudices, to give it the just dues the story in itself deserved.

I felt this book was offered over as a challenge, but was it truly a challenge? I’d have to honestly say it was not. Reason being: I looked past the title and bypassed the fact that this story was about two brothers. Both of the same ilk, blood with the same mother and father. The way that I looked at this book when reading it was that this wasn’t about incest. Whereas we’ve all heard of this in real life between brothers or a brother and a sister or even between cousins because it IS out there and it’s shunned or turned a blind eye upon… well… So what! Love is love between two people no matter how you look at it, and if the feelings there are mutual and that powerful, who are we to say otherwise? It’s no different than different races or colors intermingling or a man with a man and a woman with a women. It’s all the same concept if you delve into the deep thinking of the concept enough.

Having said that, I read this with the whole mindset of an open mind, and the fact remains that these were two grown men who loved each other unconditionally and without reserves, setting aside them being siblings. As the title proclaims, Without Borders.

Hunter and Avery shared more than growing up and knowing each other inside and out. They are best friends, close confidants and share a bond that you really wouldn’t share with any other but your own sibling. With their father having passed on and their mother doing the best to put food on the table and provide for them, they grew to rely on each other. While advancing in school and/or carrying a job, they start out living at the dorm yet in separate rooms so as not to arouse or bring suspicion to themselves. As time progresses they find a place where they are behind closed doors, not scrutinized and are open with each other the way their desires have taken them, even knowing their path ahead is going to contain many bumps in the road.

In reading this book with everything I conditioned my mind, and to my way of thinking, this story was in fact a very good read. It was choppy and could have had a better, smoother flow to the words, almost making the words sing, but otherwise easy to follow. Leiland writes quite the erotic sex scenes and the two brother’s involvement will still have you feeling the man on man love that turns your crank and we all enjoy and read wholeheartedly.

Reviewer: Sidney

>A Loving Hart by Leiland Dale

>

A Loving Hart
(Book 2 of the Heart of the Mountain series)
by Leiland Dale
Silver Publishing
90 Pages
Genre: m/m romance, paranormal
Book cover rating: 5
4 KISSES

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Blurb:

For seven years, Jasper Elliot felt betrayed and all alone when his brother left their home. When an unexpected visitor shows up and voices the truth as to why his brother left, Jasper was faced with a decision that would change the course of his life. Arriving at The Mountain Hart Ranch not only didn’t things go the way he expected them too but he also found something he thought he never would.

Seth Hart had a secret, one that had scars of its own. To keep his secret safe he never dated and always made sure to not get his heart involved. With the arrival of Jasper, Seth’s resolutions flew right out the window. The instant attraction Seth felt for Jasper was exhilarating but also scared him. Just as things started going better than Seth ever expected, their past catches up to them.

Will their past tear them apart or will Seth’s secret bring them closer together?

Review

A Loving Hart is book two of Leiland Dale’s Heart of the Mountain series, beginning precisely where When the Bluebird Calls concludes. The central characters from book one are secondary in the sequel and only play a minor role in the story. A Loving Hart focuses upon Jasper Elliot, brother to Greg who was the love interest in the first book.

Jasper arrives at the Mountain Hart Ranch, which is an all-male, all-gay, small-town Montana horse ranch, after his father rejects him and kicks him out of his home upon discovering his sexual orientation. The ranch is owned and operated by Seth Hart who had acquired it several years prior and has allowed it to become a safe haven for gay men who have been unable to find acceptance and happiness within their own families and communities.

When Jasper first lays eyes upon Seth, there is an instant attraction, and he senses that these feelings are mutual. Although Seth is initially very guarded and hesitant, Jasper begins to realize that Seth has taken a keen interest in him. It becomes confusing to Jasper when Seth pulls back a bit, and this apparent reluctance on Seth’s part sends mixed signals to Jasper, who is becoming all-but obsessed with his new boss.

It is early one morning when Seth finds Jasper asleep in the barn and tries to gently awaken him that they share their first kiss. Things do not immediately heat up for the couple, though, for Seth cannot bring himself to a point of trusting Jasper enough to reveal a startling secret from his past. Seth had previously experienced rejection and harsh judgment when he’d allowed himself to trust another like this, and he’s terrified that Jasper will ultimately reject him as well.

Eventually Seth must face his fears and find the courage to be honest about his identity, while Jasper must examine his own heart and determine whether or not he is open-minded enough to accept the shocking paranormal nature of Seth’s secret.

Having now experienced several of Leiland Dale’s stories, I’m finding myself becoming a bigger fan of his with every read. I enjoy his writing style immensely, and it seems to me that he’s getting better with every piece he publishes. His material is now much more carefully edited, and his love scenes are even hotter than before.

The paranormal element within this story was a huge shock to me, for in the first book of the series there did not even seem to be a hint that the series would head in this direction. Although initially I was a bit flabbergasted, I felt that the twist was unique enough to make it intriguing. I also particularly appreciated the fact that the erotic content was progressive. There was only one climactic scene toward the end of the story when the couple finally consummated their relationship, and it tied in with the big revelation. Had the author gone another route and laced the story with torrid, passionate sex scenes, it would have lessened the impact of the beautiful moment shared by the protagonists at the end.

As is typical with Leiland Dale’s stories, the reader is left with some plaguing questions. Where will the series go from here? What will become of the situation with Seth’s ex-lover Wayne, who makes a brief foreshadowing appearance and is not heard from thereafter? Will Greg and Jasper’s tyrannical and controlling father reemerge in a future episode? Will the frisky ranch hands who have their eye on Jasper throughout the story create problems which could jeopardize Jasper and Seth’s happiness?

I guess we will have to wait for book three in order to find out all these answers. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the story and look forward to future installments.

Review by Jeff

>Aleksandr Voinov

>Aleksandr Voinov

Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions, Aleksandr. Thanks, guys, for having me.

Can you tell us a little bit about your background? I’m a German writer in “exile”, based in London, hitting the mid-thirties now, and starting to lose my native language. I went to university, started to study something respectable (hah!), namely law, was bored out of my skull and then went to study medieval history, ancient history and American studies (which is literature and culture of the USA). I tried to get a job in academia, but the German economy went down and there were no jobs, but I thought what the hell, the only thing I’ve ever really wanted to be is a writer. I then followed my partner to London, and never regretted it. Apart from days, of course, when I crave German bread or have to deal with the London transport system, so about twice daily, but it’s okay, you get used to it.

What was your first book and how long did it take to get it published? My first novel was part one of a fantasy trilogy and thank gods nobody touched it. The first published book was in German and heroic fantasy. It wasn’t very good, but it paid my rent a few months, so for me it was great. And being a published paperback writer at 26 gave my ego a boost that it has never recovered from.

When did you start writing Gay & Lesbian, Historical Fiction, Romance? What about this genre interested you the most? Even while I wrote mainstream fantasy and thriller, my main characters were always gay or bisexual, but the love story was always in the background. In Germany, there was/is really no market for “gay fantasy novels”, so I wrote fantasy novels where the characters happened to be gay. Readers loved the sexual tension, and when I discovered there is a market for this, all I did was have the characters do it “on camera” and I could finally give the love story and relationship all the space it deserved.

How long did it take you to get published? How many books have you written thus far? I was ridiculously gutsy when I pitched a novel idea to a publisher with nothing more to my name than two published short stories. But they liked the idea and bought it based on the three chapters and the exposee. I think I wrote about 13 or 15 novels or maybe a couple more. I’d have to make a list.

Do you write full time? I sometimes joke that I do. I work as a financial journalist, so yes, I live off writing. A serious writer tends to write fulltime, we constantly plot and think and research, so I tend to tell people I have two full-time careers, or the schedule of a CEO. One career doesn’t pay as “well” as the other, but it’s more rewarding. Working a day job beats living under a bridge, and I do like having a pension and being able to afford internet and research books.

Looking back was there something in particular that helped you to decide to become a writer? Did you choose it or did the profession choose you? I was one of those arrogant bastards that read badly-written stories and thought “hell, if that person can do it, I can do it a hundred times.” It just took me thirty years to be able to write, and I’m still learning.

On a typical writing day, how would you spend your time? I get on the London transport system and read (usually research). I arrive in the office, I work, I write during lunch. In a very good lunch break, I can write 700-900 words, but I can’t write emotionally complex scenes with people around me. When I get home at 19:00, I eat something fast, sit down, start working and try to get 500 or 1,000 words out. I go to bed at midnight.

Do you write right through or do you revise as you go along? Both. In large projects, I edit for typos as I write, but the first draft is the main thing, and then I edit for consistency and facts in a separate step. With short stories, I do both at the same time.

When it comes to plotting, do you write freely or plan everything in advance? I have what I call my “core” scenes. Three scenes, sometimes the beginning, middle and end, and I fill in the blank spaces as I go along. It all changes, of course, so I have written totally into the blue and I’ve plotted scene-by-scene. It’s often a mix, but I like to have a rough idea where it’s going. Doesn’t mean I don’t have to re-plot when my characters decide, no, that’s not what we’re going to do. They are usually right, so I let them do their thing.

What kind of research do you do before and during a new book?  I research all the time. If I go to a nice restaurant here in London, it’s research. When I need to research something specific, I immerse myself as much as possible. Right now I’m writing a story set in WWII, so I read literature of the time (a little Graham Greene goes a long way), watch films set in that time (Like “Downfall” or “Schindler’s List”), read non-fiction and biographies.

I’m currently researching horse breeding in Eastern Prussia, the Eastern Front, Spitfire pilots, and the war economy, for example. I underline books, make random notes, and off I go. I’m buying many books on topics that I want to write about in a future project and pile them up. Sadly, with that approach, I can justify just any book purchase. (“Oh, that would make a great book!”) I’m sure the London bookshops around Piccadilly Circus, namely Waterstones and Foyles, recognize me by now. Well, somebody has to keep the independent RL bookstores going, I guess.

How much of yourself and the people you know manifest into your characters? How do you approach development of your characters? Where do you draw the line? Ah, that would be giving away a secret. Honestly, I have to feel it to make the reader feel it. My characters are parts of me, or “alternative mes”. Me in that situation, with that upbringing, that career, that goal in life. How would I react if I was a 12th century knight who joined the Templars and is suddenly faced with his past? My method is probably like that of a method actor… I become the character. I get really angry when I write, I laugh maniacally at my own jokes, I’m suffering like an animal when my characters suffer or die.

I’ve used other people in my writing. Richard, of Iron Cross, looks like my grandfather, which freaks me out, because my grandfather was most definitely straight and imagining him close and personal with another man is a bit freakish, but I don’t have to tell the rest of my family, this remains between us, OK? I’ve used dynamics between real people for other stories. My family is a toxic treasure trove for really messed-up people. I’ll never run out of material.

How long does it take for you to complete a book you would allow someone to read? Do you write straight through, or do you revise as you go along? I’ve taken anywhere between 6 weeks and 18 months to produce a book at a quality I’m happy with. I trust a few people enough to give them unfinished stuff and I trust them to tell me if it’s any good, because right after and during writing that first draft, I tend to believe I’m god and doing great. It takes great friends to tell me, no, it sucks, but it’s not hopeless.

Writers often go on about writer’s block. Do you ever suffer from it, and what measures do you take to get past it? Writers’ block in my experience is one of three things: a) exhaustion, b) lack of research, or c) fear. If you’re exhausted, go read a good book and do some exercise (yes, pushing weights or running/walking). Lack of research – get into it, get a specialist/a knowledgeable person to help, watch a film/documentary, check out youtube, go to the library.

Fear is the worst enemy (“fear is the mind-killer, the little death”). I’ve had that for years with some projects. The best way to kill a project is for my literary agent to say “oh wow, I’ll sell that for a five-figure sum, no question.” Errr, yeah. Four years later, he’s still waiting for the medieval mystery novel. Thinking about money (especially vast amounts of money and enormous expectations of other people) can block me to hell. I can’t write what’s not mine or what I don’t feel. I’ve tried being a ghostwriter or write a novel for somebody else, and that was like being sentenced to a Roman galley, and I was just about ready to cut my own throat after six months of being blocked about it. The only way is to say “nope, sorry, can’t do it.”

When someone reads one of your books for the first time, what do you hope they gain, feel or experience? I hope they feel. I try to give them an emotional journey that will make their lives brighter for a few hours or minutes. I want to give them the full dolby-surround experience of the stuff I have in my head. In my own funny way, I’m telling lies to tell people the truth. Writing is a lot about giving and being generous, and a reader’s email along the lines of “wow, you helped me through a really dark patch last year” makes my day. Scratch that, it makes my week.

Can you share three things you’ve learned about the business of writing since your first publication? Can I have ten? Okay, three, then.

• One – nobody gives a fuck about your ego. Get on with the job.
• Two – in all things, honor. Yes, publishing is a business, but if you think you can play people, think again. Your honor, integrity and professional courtesy are major assets.
• Three – In the end, the core relationship is between you and the reader. That means to be honest, to always give your best, to be visible and authentic, because the last book will sell the next. Deliver, consistently, at the highest level.

Does the title of a book you’re writing come to you as you’re writing it, or does it come before you even begin the first sentence? Depends – I often have a working title. “Risky Maneuvers” had the working title “Underground”. “Iron Cross “ was always called that, because the Iron Cross, the medal, plays a major role in the book. I tend to have titles fairly early on and they just come to me.

How would you describe your sense of humor? Who and what makes you laugh? I’m German, what is this humour thing you speak of? No,seriously, I like the clever pun. Slapstick or Hollywood-style romantic comedy has me running for the hills (where I have my bomb shelter).

What is the most frequently asked Aleksandr question? “How do you actually spell your name?”

What are you working on now? I’m editing and re-writing Raev Gray’s and my contemporary ménage “To Catch a Spy”, writing “Iron Cross”, which features a German officer and a US spitfire pilot in WWII, and working on the medieval project “Lion of Kent” with Kate Cotoner.

What was the best piece of advice you’ve received with respect to the art of writing? How did you implement it into your work? “This sucks, do it again.” Sometimes, you just feel clever and write without stretching yourself, and that is when you get lazy and complacent. If it sucks, do it again. You’ll never be perfect, but you’re honour-bound to keep trying. Nobody said it was easy.

When it comes to promotion, what lengths have you gone to in order to increase reader-awareness of your work? I’ve done everything but tell readers “BUY MY BOOK, NOW!” Because that’s “hard-selling” and it doesn’t work. I hate getting “sold” to, but I love discovering good writers. I just assume readers are the same, so I post freebies, give away free stories, keep my website updated, answer questions in forums, and listen to my readers. I try to be approachable and visible, but as a person, not as The Guy Who Has To Sell Something. That can sell books, apparently it does, but it’s not the aim of my interactions. Like in dating, desperation is not sexy. Don’t be the guy desperate to close a sale.

Writing is obviously not just how you make your living, but your life-style as well. What do you do to keep the creative “spark” alive – both in your work and out of it? I feed my curiousity. I travel, I read, I experience, I talk to people, I watch them, I ask them indiscreet questions, I never cease to be amazed at life. It’s a sense of wonder that I just can’t do without. I have to feel that all this, life, loving, other people, are full of wonder and mystery. Nutrition and exercise help. I feel I’m more productive when I eat well, drink enough water (not just coffee) and exercise a couple times a week. I usually lift weights or punch bags. Punching bags is great when you get a rejection email, I recommend it.

What pros and cons surround the e-publishing industry, and how do you envision the future of e-publishing? The pros: You write something and it’s out two months later. Amazing! In paperback, that is two years. It drove me insane, that waiting. Publishers are taking risks, they can publish stuff that would never be a bestseller, but can make sense if it sells 300 downloads. I did two anthologies with Noble Romance, for example. I had an idea, and Jill Noble told me “sure, run with it”. Books are, in theory, available everything, anytime. I can reach readers in Singapore, India, and Chad and e-publishing reaches visually disabled or blind people, two of whom are my most devoted readers, and they would be excluded from my writing if it was just on paper. What we have here is something utterly amazing – books for everybody, everywhere, anytime. It’s the coolest thing ever.

The cons: The quality. Sometimes, stuff that gets published just shouldn’t. Abominable covers that make me laugh rather than interested. I believe e-publishers should devote themselves more to quality, and there are some I’m not submitting to or buying from because of their bad rep. Good writers can choose their publishers, and they will choose those that work hard on the books, as real partners.

What kind of books do you like to read? I like books where writers take me seriously as a reader, challenge me, are honest, and write the truth. I like good style, a fresh voice, good characters, a good plot. I can’t deal with lazy writing or glaring issues or books that have no soul. Hence I’m finding I’m reading less and less current fiction and more classics and non-fiction. But I turn into a rabid fan when I’ve found a contemporary writer who delivers, and I buy everything I can get my hands on. And then send fan mail and review them all over the internet.

If you weren’t a writer what would you be? I sometimes think I want to be a literary agent when I grow up, but then I see all the shit they have to put up with and I think they are heroes and I lack that heroic quality. I would have been happy as an intelligence officer in the German army, potentially, or a professor of history.

I recently read your story Deliverance. Where did you get the idea for that story? Good question! I have no idea. It just appeared, in one piece, in my head and wanted out, NOW. Who am I to say ‘no, you can’t?’ You don’t mess with the Templars.

When it comes to the covers of your books, what do you like or dislike about them? I’m commissioning a friend, Raev Gray, to do my covers if possible. She has her own design website at http://www.raevgraydesign.weebly.com). I was lucky to get Paul Richmond as my cover artist for “Clean Slate” (co-written with Barbara Sheridan), the cover is spot-on. Another young cover artist, Clerah Jai, made me a couple covers for my free co-written story “Special Forces”. I’ve been lucky and some of my paperback novels got covers from another artist friend, but I do meddle with the cover process as much as I can. A bad cover can ruin the book, and I’m not letting that happen after I put up to 18 months of work in. Obviously, e-publishers are more flexible about that than print publishers.

Aside from writing, what else do you enjoy doing? I cook a mean lasagna. So, cooking, exercise, exploring, traveling. Xbox. Oh I love a good first person shooter, like “Gears of War” or “Splinter Cell”. I love networking with other writers, critiqueing their novels and stories. I teach creative writing (which is fun). I like cinema, DVDs, meeting friends to chat… I’m probably a quite boring workaholic, when it comes down to it.

Any special projects coming out soon we should watch for? There’s always a project that’s closer to the heart than others. It’s usually the ones that are hardest to write. “Iron Cross” and “Return on Investment”, my financial thriller, are the novels that are my current favourites and I’m nervous whether people will like them because they were so much hard work and I struggled with them so much. Still am.

New writers are always trying to glean advice from those with more experience. What suggestions do you have for new writers? The only thing you owe anything to is the story, nobody and nothing else. It’s all about the story. Never mess with the story. If the story needs that kind of ending, and five publishers tell you to change it, think about it, but don’t mess with the story for a few bucks. The story is forever, the five bucks only make it to the next coffee chain store. Be kind and cruel to yourself. Write with blood, and then tell people you’re just making shit up.

What future projects do you have in the works? Once “To Catch a Spy”, “Iron Cross” and “The Lion of Kent” are done, I have lots more stories lined up. There’s “Pawn”, the prequel to “To Catch a Spy”, or “Chaosborn”, a gay urban fantasy story, and “Project Loki”, another urban fantasy project, and “Moscow Spring” (working title), as well as sequels to “Clean Slate” and “Risky Maneuvers”. I do have a spreadsheet to keep track of them all, it’s getting a bit ridiculous. I have like 15 projects in various stages of development right now.

Can you please tell us where we can find you and your books on the Internet? My website is the best place: http://www.aleksandrvoinov.com/

Forbidden Love anthology

Forbidden Love

Authors: Stormy Glenn, H.C. Brown, Anna O’Neill, Aleksandr Voinov
Publisher: Noble Romance Publishing
Length: 87 Pages
Sub Genre: Erotica, Anthology
Book Cover Rating: 4
5 KISSES
Buy Here

Blurb:

A four-story anthology featuring Stormy Glenn, H.C. Brown, Anna O’Neill and Aleksandr Voinov.

My Outlaw, by Stormy Glenn
After getting injured and losing his horse during a cattle drive, Daniel Branson is ordered to ride the stagecoach back home. Little does he realize that it will put him in the hands of the notorious outlaw, Black Bart. And the handsome outlaw has plans for Daniel that don’t involve holding him for ransom!

Forbidden, by H.C. Brown
England 1075—Sir Renoir Danier finds himself in an intolerable situation when he is ordered by King William to marry an elderly Spanish countess. Five years earlier, he met the great love of his life, Sir Sebastian. This deeply sensual dark angel taught him all that a man could give to another. Renoir became a slave to his erotic punishment. After a month of bliss, Sebastian sailed to Spain. Will he return or leave Renoir with a shattered heart?

Poisoned Heart, by Anna O’Neill
The ultimate betrayal . . . . In Edo-period Japan, a prominent family might choose to foster a son from another clan in order to encourage peaceful political relations. When Raiden’s family invites twenty-three year old Masashi into their lives, their gesture has the opposite effect: Masashi kills Raiden’s parents. Now years later Raiden is studying with a master of magic who allows Raiden the chance to go back in time to kill Masashi before Masashi can lift a finger against his family.

But when Raiden is faced with his guest-brother once again, much to his horror he finds that his old feelings for Masashi return. With the weight of the future bearing down on Raiden’s shoulders, can he overcome these troublesome emotions, or will his new weakness destroy everything?

Deliverance, by Aleksandr Voinov
William Raven of Kent joined the Knights Templar to do penance for his sins. Formerly a professional tournament fighter and mercenary, William is brought face-to-face with a past he’d thought he had escaped.

Review:

Forbidden Love is an anthology containing four books by four authors who made this an outstanding read for me. It’s often so difficult to rate anthologies because of the differences in authors’ writing styles, and there is frequently a tale, or maybe two, that are technically stronger, but each story in Forbidden Love excels on its own merits, although I confess that one tale did resonate with me a bit more than the other three.

- Stormy Glenn’s My Outlaw is an erotic tale set in late 19th century Texas. The romanticism of the old west comes to life in the form of Daniel Branson, a cattle driver who loses his beloved horse and is injured on his latest drive. Daniel is forced to take the stagecoach back to Brownsville and the ranch where he works. In a time when masked bandits ran roughshod over the landscape, the coach is held up by the notorious Black Bart. What erupts is an erotic tale of Dominance and submission that sets Texas aflame and ends in a twist that left me feeling as if I’d just witnessed one of the most elaborately romantic D/s scenes I’d had the pleasure to read.

Daniel and Black Bart smolder with a passion that comes alive against the stark backdrop of a long ago era when a man’s guns often spoke louder than his words. The tale comes together both fluently and fluidly, leaving the reader’s appetite whetted for more.

- H.C. Brown’s Forbidden, is set in medieval England, a time when knights, tournaments, and chivalry reined. It was also a time when marriages were arranged between nobles and royalty to increase land, wealth, and to make allies of enemies.

Sir Renoir Danier is a member of a landed Norman family who is the victim of just such an arrangement. On the orders of King William, Renoir is obliged to marry the widowed Lady Isabella, a woman some years his senior, to keep her seaside estate from falling into her brother’s hands, leaving the estate open for the invading Spanish.

Years before, Renoir had met his soulmate in the form of a knight of the Spanish ruler, El Cid. Their union is incendiary and the knight, Sebastian D’lergo, becomes Master to the submissive Renoir, creating a bond between the two that will endure separation and a sham marriage.

In a ruse to help Renoir survive the idea of being married to a woman he can’t possibly love, he schemes to fulfill his obligation to the crown, while also remaining true to himself. When Sebastian returns after an extended absence, the two reunite and a Master lays permanent claim to his sub.

Erotic, passionate, and exuding the romanticism of an age of bravery, honor, and gallantry, Forbidden ignites.

- Anna O’Neill’s Poisoned Heart is an alluring tale of the possibility to travel back in time to change the course of the future. The story provokes the question, if one could seek vengeance for a past wrong by traveling to the past to attempt to prevent that wrong, would such interference actually alter the outcome of the event, or would it merely redirect a preordained event toward a different path to the same outcome?

Set in Japan, Raiden, orphaned by the murder of his parents, is living under the tutelage of Osamu, a sort of shaman and mage. Raiden is determined to go back in time to avenge his parents’ murder by attempting to prevent it. Masashi is a foster brother living with young Raiden and his family. As a boy, Raiden was infatuated with the older Masashi, but Masashi has a secret which leaves him torn between loyalty to his biological father and doing what is right. It is a secret that threatens to compromise his honor for the rest of his life.

Masquerading as a visiting cousin, the older Raiden arrives in the past with the intent to neutralize Masashi and change the future, but when long lost passion returns, Raiden instead makes a decision that will save both his and Masashi’s souls.

Lush, vivid, and compelling, Poisoned Heart is a tale of fate and free will.

- Aleksandr Voinov’s Deliverance is one of the finest examples of literary alchemy I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing in quite some time. Following his hero’s journey from beginning to end was a sheer wonder for me.

Brother William Raven is a Knight Templar, sworn to protect Christendom from the infidels. William is a man torn between his immortal soul and the mortal flesh. Having fled his lover, Guy de Metz, in a crush of religious conscience, William joins the Templar order in an effort to find absolution from the sin of loving another man. As destiny conspires to reunite the lovers, duty and conscience collude to tear them apart.

Following William on his alchemical journey through the figurative death of the person he’d been before, to the cleansing phase of witnessing the higher power of love that transcends and transforms, to his rebirth, altered by his belief that his soul and his love can coexist within the same man, the reader is treated to a journey that is complex and a categorical success.

I absolutely devoured the imagery in Deliverance. It is a feast to those who dare to delve a little deeper into meanings and symbols. It was positively a sublime read for me.

Reviewer: Lisa

>AC Katt

>

AC Katt

Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions, AC. We are very excited and can’t wait to learn more about you. Can you tell us a little bit about your background?AC Katt was born in the Greenwich Village Section of New York City; the only child of older parents. Summers were spent eating ice cream in Washington Square Park; playing in the fountain and listening to the bongo drums and folk guitars until the family bought a house in New Jersey when she was ten.


After the move, AC found boxes and boxes of novels in the garage and that was it, she became a bibliophile, and so she has remained. She now lives in New Mexico with her husband and a superior cat, who rules the roost. She started to write when her husband slashed her book budget, and she had to make up her own stories.

What was your first book and how long did it take to get it published? The Sarran Plague was my first book. I began writing it in August of 2008 and it was published in April of 2009.

How many books have you written thus far? So far, I have written three books, The Sarran Plague, A Matter of Trust, and my latest release, Shattered Glass.

When did you start writing GLBT Erotic Romance? What about this genre interested you the most?  Although I have written in several sub-genres (Sci-Fi, BDS&M Light, and Contemporary) they are all in the GLBT general genre. Because of the prejudice that still exists in this society against gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender persons, I find it easier to create conflict in this genre. I also like to think that I provide a bit of enlightenment with the story.l

Do you write full time? Yes and no. I have Mixed Connective Tissue Disease which is somewhat similar to Lupus. I don’t always have the energy to write.

Looking back was there something in particular that helped you to decide to become a writer? Did you choose it or did the profession choose you? Writing was always an ambition, however, raising children and holding a full-time job didn’t give me much time to indulge. When I became disabled, I had time on my hands when I felt good so, I decided to put it to use.

On a typical writing day, how would you spend your time? When the muse strikes, I write until I drop and then sleep and begin again. When the muse takes a vacation, it is torture to write a page.

When it comes to plotting, do you write freely or plan everything in advance? A little of both, I have a general outline in mind but try to leave room for where the characters take me.

What kind of research do you do before and during a new book? I do research as it is needed. For Shattered Glass I collected pictures of rooms at the Plaza Hotel in New York City and of Carnegie Hall. I also looked up tour schedules for rock groups.

How long does it take for you to complete a book you would allow someone to read? It varies. The Sarran Plague took three months, A Matter of Trust was in first draft in a week and Shattered Glass took a year.

If you weren’t sitting there right this very moment answering our book of questions, what else would you be doing? Besides writing, I garden and cook and look for things to buy and send to my eight (soon to be nine) grandchildren.

Do you write straight through, or do you revise as you go along? I revise as I go.

Writers often go on about writer’s block. Do you ever suffer from it, and what measures do you take to get past it? I just keep writing until the muse returns.

When someone reads one of your books for the first time, what do you hope they gain, feel, or experience? First, I hope they get into the characters and enjoy the story. Second, I hope it takes them to places they have never been and opens their mind to other customs than their own.

Does the title of a book you’re writing come to you as you’re writing it, or does it come before you even begin the first sentence? It depends on the book.

How would you describe your sense of humor? Who and what makes you laugh? I have a dry wit. I love political satire.

What is the most frequently asked AC question? Why does a straight grandmother write GLBT erotic novels.

What are you working on now?  A re-write of my first book, The Sarran Plague and a sequel to it.

What was the best piece of advice you’ve received with respect to the art of writing? How did you implement it into your work? Write every day.

When it comes to promotion, what lengths have you gone to in order to increase reader-awareness of your work? I do social networking and take out ads on the web. I hold live chats on my website and do giveaways.

Writing is obviously not just how you make your living, but your life-style as well. What do you do to keep the creative “spark” alive – both in your work and out of it? Read, books, magazines, watch educational and political TV shows, and read some more.

What pros and cons surround the e-publishing industry, and how do you envision the future of e-publishing? The obvious con of e-publishing is that you don’t have the advertising power and exposure that a big publishing house would give to you. However, e-books are a green technology and I believe that eventually, all books will be e-published and hard covers will be a rarity. When that happens the paradigm will shift and all the services the big houses now offer authors will be offered to e-published authors.

What kind of books do you like to read? I read the competition. I love science fiction and fantasy.

What is your favorite TV show? The Tudors.

What is your favorite fast food restaurant? Just thought we’d throw that in for fun…McDonalds.

Without getting up, can you tell us what’s under your bed? (yep, another sneaky question.) The cat, Tigger.

If you weren’t a writer what would you be? An Administrative Assistant which is what I was before I became a writer.

When it comes to the covers of your books, what do you like or dislike about them? I had a hand in designing all three of them, so I can’t say there is anything I dislike.

Aside from writing, what else do you enjoy doing? Reading, baking, gardening.

Any special projects coming out soon we should watch for? Shattered Glass was released from Captiva Press on June 25.

New writers are always trying to glean advice from those with more experience. What suggestions do you have for new writers? Keep writing.

Can you please tell us where we can find you and your books on the Internet?

Shattered Glass is at http://www.captivapress.com/

A Matter of Trust is at xoxopublishing.com

The Sarran Plague is in the process of being re-edited for re-release.

>Shattered Glass by AC Katt

>

Shattered Glass

by A.C. Katt
Captiva Press
258 Pages
POV: 3rd person
Scene Setting: Modern Day
Sub Genre: M/M Romance/Contemporary
Book Cover Rating: 4 Kisses
3 KISSES
Buy Here

Blurb:

Can love survive and be rekindled when a heart is broken like Shattered Glass? Milo grew up in fear, hiding the fact that he was gay. Becoming a rock star with his band Shattered Glass was a dream come true. Finally lovers with Liam, the friend he’d desired since childhood, Milo worries about his image and keeping their relationship a secret. Liam knew he loved Milo, even as a kid. But their fame and fortune can’t buy him the happiness of talking Milo out of the closet, able to freely express their love. Unfortunately, a fellow band-mate with vengeance on his mind conspires to break the lovers up in the most vicious way possible, destroying the couple’s relationship and shredding Liam’s peace of mind. Six years later, Liam is older, wiser, and has rebuilt his life after the devastating loss of Milo and the band. Forced into a tenuous working reunion, Liam knows his heart still belongs to Milo. Working together to uncover the web of lies that pulled them apart, now all they have to do is survive the psychopath intent on silencing Liam and his music forever. Contains hot rock star manlove, mysterious motives, and a brotherhood of friends strong enough to forgive.

Review:

As the story has drawn to a close and has completely drained me both emotionally and mentally I’m going to drain what’s left out in my review. I have a lot to say, but this book brought out the worst or maybe the best in me. I haven’t figured out which one yet.

From the day that his mother moved him to town Liam was nothing but an innocent little boy who at a very young age realized he was gay and fell for one boy who he figured in his life would be it for him, but as they grow, thrive and learn to become one of the hottest bands around and prosper. Liam’s mum, Lily, entrusts that one person, Milo along with Sam to seeing to Liam’s growth and health as his guardians. Little did she know what was to become of her only talented son in the years ahead and what he’d be subjected to at the spiteful hands of plotting and planning by a one man’s vindictive rage of revenge who will twist everything to his advantage from truth into lies and it tears the two men apart, but does it stop there? No. What were friends and lovers were torn apart by lack of communication and it took six years to finally reach that point but not without the obstacles of once thought friends planting so many seeds of doubt that it had ripped them apart.

I know I had made comments and remarks during the reading of this book and at one point I chucked it off to the side and I had done it a few times. I didn’t go back to it for the reasons of the brutality and the treatment that Liam has to suffer and endure. I was fawking appalled by it and all the lies, the twisted truths and deceit that continuously carried on throughout the story for most part which made me want to rip heads. But I kept going and for one reason only: To know the final outcome.

If you’re considering tackling this book be warned that there are many parts that are objectionable and seriously could be sensitive to various readers for various reasons.

The incident that had my balls twisted up into the cavity of my chest was just about where I was ready to draw the line and forsake this book to the pits of ebook Helldom, but the details about to occur were left out although the aftermath and what took place afterward were enough to give unwanted visuals on what had happened. I will attest to having read books that have been more degrading of the characters than this one, but there was light shed even if said characters were a bunch of hopeless, fawktard sods throughout most of the book.

It took Milo’s treatment, jealously and his own stupidity to even come to the realization of how he wronged the man he professed to love since he’d been a child with the outside views of a woman. It’s just pathetic that they all failed Liam in my opinion and he was too young and innocent to see this and chose methods that consisted of dire straits, but he comes through and I’m proud of him for that. Sam came through for Liam, but I had wondered if he was too late. In some aspects I believe he was, yet on others he was the support system Liam needed to get back on his feet again, but Liam was never whole. As his band he was shattered.

What was meant to be a love story finally after the lights went out and the curtains came down wasn’t for me. In interactions between Liam and Milo I just wasn’t feeling it. I wasn’t feeling the connection when they showed affection towards each other, the connection that should have been. Something was lacking for me. Six years of pain and anguish forgotten in a matter of hours? This is more than a typical story of a band tribulations and turmoil in the success of fortune and fame. Drugs and booze intermingle and play into most part of the story. It’s a non stop tragic and depressing story overloaded with an abundance of bad decision making and bad judgment calls by all the members of Shattered Glass.

The story garnered points for creativity in paragraphs of poetry which are well written and thought out as the plot thickens, points for description in giving a clear, concise visual of what we should be seeing while reading the story and points for not jumping a 6 year gap, instead filling you in on what’s taking place during that time with everyone’s angst. Point loss was for contradictions in areas. Such as: Liam doesn’t touch a drink during the 6 year separation but does as soon as he meets up again with Milo. Liam never drinks coffee because it doesn’t sit well with his stomach, but all of a sudden after he agrees to drinking tea he drinks coffee. Minors such as this and some others you’ll notice.

Review by Sidney