FREEDOM ... OR FRUSTRATION?

So, it's my last day *sob*. Back to the grey rain of London.

Actually, it's a glorious day today, I think Spring has finally arrived. Not quite to the extent that I'd throw off my clothes and get nude, but I know some people will. Let's watch how quickly Photobucket snatches back some of my pictures *today*, eh? *sigh*

Returning to the rather contrived theme of clothing, today I talk about none at all and whether nakedness brings freedom ... or not?

My new novella is now out at Carina Press, The Tourist.

BLURB: Visiting isn't a science, at least not for me. It's just what I do. Not that I mind, though. It's not a bad thing, you understand, to find yourself in someone else's body, stepping into a hot shower stark-naked and sporting a decent-sized morning wood.

Ace is a tourist. A spirit who spends his time visiting the lives of others for entertainment and sexual satisfaction. He can't make anyone do anything they aren't willing to do—but he is able to push them to their personal limits.

He's currently visiting Dan and his lover, Ricky—a couple struggling with jealousy and words left unsaid. Emboldened by Ace, Dan becomes more sexually aggressive, a pleasant surprise for Ricky. But when an abusive ex threatens their newfound happiness, how far will Ace want to get involved? Will his fascination with the couple's sexual games tempt him to protect them from a very real physical danger?


***

The story is about Ace. He's a ghost. He didn't choose to die and he has no real idea of why he's been allowed to "live" on as he does, with the ability to leap from one human body to another. But he's going to make the best of what he perceives as his second chance at freedom!

He loves the idea of short-term visits, no commitment, not even seen or acknowledged by his hosts. He can't make people act beyond their nature, but he can encourage their personality traits as regards his favourite and sole topic for visiting - sex :). This was the theme that I enjoyed exploring - the fact that an amoral "tourist" could come and go as he liked and seemed to have the perfect travel pass, of being a ghost and accountable to no one.

Sounds good? Invisible, Ace is naked of any specific clothing, in reality or in his lifestyle. His emotions and his pleasure are all his own. Until, of course - this being paranormal erotic romance, after all - he starts to connect with his hosts Ricky and Dan. Not just individually, but as part of their love affair, too.

Ok, so ghosts don't have a corporal body. But I don't see why they shouldn't be just like they were in real life, with all the usual human emotions, motivations and confusions. So gradually, Ace recalls how there are other things in life beyond sexual pleasure - that there's protection, and comfort, and commitment. And - though he'd probably hate to admit it aloud! - love.

Yesterday I rambled on about the fabulous choice we have nowadays in fiction and formats. I love how every new development in life is somehow empowering, from large and small issues, from the pursuit of political and sexual equality to the invention of the ereader :).

But there's a balance to be found. Perspective can get lost. What do you think? Can too *much* freedom be confusing and lonely?

Or maybe we should ask Ace! :)


Thanks so much to the DIK Ladies for the invite to come and visit this week. It's disappointing I have no tan to show for it, but I do have a reading list twice the size of the one I brought with me, a black mark against my name at Photobucket, and a sunny weekend ahead of me :).

Now, while I'm waiting for my flight home, how about another one of those special DIK Margaritas?...


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Find Clare London at her Website and Blog.

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Comment on any of my posts this week and you’ll be entered in a draw for my new short story Precious Possession, due out on March 13 at JMS Books.

BLURB: Lucas Fides has inherited his Victorian family’s auction house, good looks and a passionate mind. But he hides an illicit devotion to his friend Valentine and suffers shocking, erotic dreams. When Valentine introduces a new client, Gideon Arnaud offers important financial help and the opportunity for Lucas to realize his other desires. But Lucas will have to pay the price.

Tipping my Hat to Mr. Choice

So, today I'm continuing my theme of clothing, and HATS. Such essential clothing on a desert island, don't you think?
oooh, Photobucket deleted my original pic of nude chappy with hat on, even though he had his back to us, *sigh*...

Yes, I know you're expecting lots of pictures of cute people with or without hats. And not just *me*. But I'm using it as a rather tenuous link to the subject of wearing different *hats* as a reader and an author. Though don't worry, there's lots of pictures too LOL.


So ... as a Reader, I'm on the beach, I'm thinking of contemporary romance, probably sexy, probably a thriller plot.

But your holiday may be out on the range, and a cowboy's your favourite topic!

Or you may look forward to your holiday to have time - finally! - to read a fascinating historical.

Or you may use the real-life escapism as a backdrop for reading an intriguing fantasy novel.

Or - hell, let's throw caution and restraint to the winds - do you like to take the whole damned lot?

What kind of a reader are you? Do you take a selection of reading on holiday? Or the one book you've been looking forward to for months? Or just the first shiny cover that takes your fancy at the airport?


And as an Author, I've also written with many hats on.

I have contemporary romances with or without thriller aspects - murder mystery - vampire - fantasy world - fantasy historical - erotic paranormal - just downright horror...

Anyway, you get my point :).

There's some serious debate online every now and then about books that cross genres. In fact, I recently chatted with an author friend who's struggling to find the right category to pitch her new novel, because it spans different genres, and also doesn't have *all* the characteristics of any one of them.

Is it important to you that an author either stays within his/her genre so you know what to expect when you pick up a Mai Fayvouritt bestseller *cough*?

Or do you like to follow Mai's style into other genres?

I think the fierce growth of books in the last few years, especially with the advent of e-publishing has been a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it's given many authors a chance to be published where they'd have previously been swamped by the print-publishers' slush piles. It's also given readers a fabulous new choice and the chance to access books easily and (mostly) cheaply.

But on the other hand, it's even more difficult to stand out in amongst this rapidly growing pile of choice morsels.

So I'll leave you with those thoughts for today.

And tomorrow? Maybe I'll move to the other end of the body and talk about shoes... or maybe the lack of clothing entirely :). Which fits rather nicely with the theme of my latest novella The Tourist *smirk*.


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Find Clare London at her Website and Blog.

************


Comment on any of my posts this week and you’ll be entered in a draw for my new short story Precious Possession, due out on March 13 at JMS Books.

BLURB: Lucas Fides has inherited his Victorian family’s auction house, good looks and a passionate mind. But he hides an illicit devotion to his friend Valentine and suffers shocking, erotic dreams. When Valentine introduces a new client, Gideon Arnaud offers important financial help and the opportunity for Lucas to realize his other desires. But Lucas will have to pay the price.

Clothes Maketh the Woman...

Well, here I am, stepping off the plane on to the island and blinking in the sunlight. We Brits don’t get much practice with that, you know?

I'm late, I know, and I'd love to blame airline delays, or snowstorms, or a security alert at the airport. But really I'm just a little disorganised this month and I didn't leave myself enough time to write my blog pack my case!

And so I’m very grateful for the invitation here, it’s been a dreadfully busy time for me at work and the family have been in upheaval and the weather was grim over the New Year and my car is having trouble…

So you see why I’m so grateful? LOL

A change of pace is what we often need. Relaxing with friends, admiring the scenery, drinking too many Margaritas (I hope). And for my change of pace? I need to be dressed appropriately.

That’s what they say, isn’t it? We are what we wear. And that’s a useful tool in fiction. What our characters wear sets the scene for the reader,

For example, I’m just reading (again) J.R.Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood books, and it’s all about the clothes. Well, and the fighting and the politics and the blood and the sex ... but you know what I mean. Lots of sweeping leather, wraparound shades and big shitkickers. Weapons strapped all over the body like some new kind of alternative accessory.

And by the way, do you know I found it impossible to find an illustrative picture of Brother-like warriors with their clothes *on*? LOL

A couple of my recent short stories have featured the clothing as much as the men!
What not to Wear had Doug and Beckett wearing increasingly outrageous slogans on their T-shirts that reflected their equally outrageous love life! Until making out both in the elevator and over the Boardroom table got them fired LOL

And in How the Other Half Lives, Martin is very prim and smart, while Russ is his polar opposite, wearing ripped jeans and never ironing his shirts. And their attitudes are like their clothing: two men you’d think would have nothing in common. Until they volunteer to flatsit for each other, and gradually come around to see their neighbour as a friend rather than an alien. Which, of course, leads to more than just friendship…!

So can *you* think of anything you've read or written recently that depended heavily on what the characters wore? Do you like a lot of description in your ficton so you can really envisage what the hero looks and dresses like? Or do you prefer a bit of vagueness, so you can imagine them yourself?

It sounds like a version of the comic dolls and their cut-paper dresses I used to buy each week LOL.

So... I'll keep today's post fairly brief, to allow for more Margaritas my jetlag to ease. And I need more time to delve back into my suitcase to see what on earth I have to wear that's suitable for the rest of my trip.

Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society. So said Mark Twain.

Hmm. Not sure that'll appeal to the nude sunbathers, Mark, but it takes all sorts to make a world :).

Now, have that cute waiter bring me another a Margarita and my flip-flops, and let’s join in the fun!


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Comment on any of my posts this week and you’ll be entered in a draw for my new short story Precious Possession, due out on March 13 at JMS Books.

BLURB: Lucas Fides has inherited his Victorian family’s auction house, good looks and a passionate mind. But he hides an illicit devotion to his friend Valentine and suffers shocking, erotic dreams. When Valentine introduces a new client, Gideon Arnaud offers important financial help and the opportunity for Lucas to realize his other desires. But Lucas will have to pay the price.

Desert Island Giveaway Grand Finale

Well, all great things must come to and end. *sniffles* (Kris: Boo hoo, blah, blah.) But we hope you all have enjoyed the DIK Winter Giveaway!

We've certainly had a great time giving away all of these wonderful books and gift cards because we love you and have appreciated all of the support you have given us throughout 2010. (Kris: Actually I said that we should keep them on the island, but was outnumbered. And they call themselves Book Sluts. Hmpf!)

You all can visit us on the island whenever you'd like to party in the huts and have a tropical drink or two. (Kris: No they can’t. Remember we decided we were sick and tired of all the guests hitting on our menz. Yeah. Bugger off already.)

So we thought we'd end the most awesome DIK Giveaway with a bang. Ok, this is more like a nuclear explosion but you get the idea. (Kris: Anyone else thinking about Freud and DIKs and bangs and eruptions?? Oh, you so are. Fibbers.)

Because the finale is so big (Kris: See!) we've decided that we're going to give you a longer time to enter (Kris: *waggles eyebrows*). That's right, we're going to give everyone until the 8th of January, 2011 at 11:59pm (pacific) to enter.

For the Grand Finale we are splitting (Kris: *orifice clench*) up the books into separate categories for m/m and m/f and will draw a winner for each lot. Your read that correctly... two people will win a bunch of loot!

When you comment don’t forget to leave your email address and you will need to let us know which category you're going for - or if you want both. (Kris: *nods* We’re very flexible at DIK.) Easy peasy, right? Right.

So what's up for grabs???

Category 1: An incredibly spectacular m/m package: (not that kind of package - mind out of the gutters, people!) (Kris: HA!)

1 print copy of 72 hours by Clare London

1 ebook copy of Tigers and Devils by Sean Kennedy

1 ebook copy of Wings of Equity by Sean Kennedy

1 print copy of Jacob's Ladder by ZA Maxfield

1 ebook copy of Electric Melty Tingles by KZ Snow

1 ebook copy of Hammer & Air by Amy Lane

(Click on book names for blurbs)

Category 2: A astoundingly amazing prize package of m/f!

1 print copy of Three Nights with a Scoundrel by Tessa Dare

A 2 in 1 print copy of  Dangerous to Touch by Jill Sorenson and Protecting His Witness by Marie Ferrarella

1 print copy of Play of Passion by Nalini Singh

1 print copy of Bring on the Night by Jeri Smith-Ready

1 print copy of Skin Heat by Ava Gray

(Click on book names for blurbs)

Finally, we’d like to thank all the wonderfully generous authors who donated books to the DIK Winter Giveaway. We couldn’t have had such a terrific experience without you all. You guys rock!

Once again we wish everyone a 2011 full of good reads, good luck!

(Kris: I suddenly feel the need for a cigarette...)

Clare London Day Three: It’s Not What You See – but How You Feel?

Art is not what you see, but what you make others see. (Edgar Degas)

What an excellent quotation, eh? I may be an author but I can’t say I have any other artistic talents. I can copy a picture, which made me good at cartoons when I was younger, and I can sew a great Barbie frock, so I do have some creative talents. But real painting, drawing or sculpture? No way!

And yet it’s a theme I find myself drawn to in my fiction. My novel “True Colors” features an unruly, provocative and highly talented artist Zeke. He is infamous for his turbulent abstract art and sets up intriguing, unexpected exhibitions where he blends paintings with all the objects and treasures of real life. He and his lover Miles are drawn even closer together by Zeke’s art, finding it a medium for their emotional bond.

More recently, I have a short story releasing at Amber Quill Press later this month – the 18th, if I may pimp it LOL – called “Muse”.

Gavin McGrath's art career is in ruins, his health is failing, his wife's left him because of his promiscuity and he's alienated people in the industry with his aggressive and arrogant behavior. But when a full pot of red paint falls on his current canvas, apparently ruining it, it brings a change in his life he never expected. A strange, beautiful young man appears in his studio as his companion and Muse.

Matteo is from another time but he understands artists all too well – and now his place is with Gavin. Matteo brings devotion and inspiration across the centuries, forcing Gavin to take stock of his life and his behavior in the months he has left to him. Eventually Gavin realizes he must reconsider the capacity for love he's always scorned - before it's too late for both him and Matteo.

Matteo was inspired by a work by one of my favourite painters, Caravaggio, called “The Musicians”. Gavin’s art is more traditional, the sketching and painting of nudes, but his new project excites him in a way nothing ever did before – and so does Matteo.

And in a current work in progress, my hero is the owner of an art gallery. Charles has always been in awe of an artist’s skill, including the young Valero brothers whom he sponsors and loves. But after a murder in the gallery, Charles takes stock of his life and realises he has talents of his own. He expresses himself through his love of art, and passes on that encouragement and compassion to others. And in the process, he discovers a determination to seek out the truth –whatever the cost.

So I’m no artist myself, but I’m an enthusiastic consumer, and I love when it moves hand in hand with other mediums. When I wrote fanfiction, occasionally artists would gift me with drawings they’d made to illustrate my stories. I also entered several contests and challenges, inspired by a drawing. Of the four stories in my anthology “Masquerade”, three of them were illustrated in this way. I’ve included some of these pictures today, to share with you.

The holy grail is to spend less time making the picture than it takes people to look at it. (Banksy)

At the age of six I wanted to be a cook. At seven I wanted to be Napoleon. And my ambition has been growing steadily ever since. (Salvador Dali)

But how many of us can live that dream? We all work hard for our art, whatever form it takes. For me, visual art inspires a different response than fiction does. Fiction requires a longer attention time, and – if good - will build a path to your heart. But art generates a much more immediate response. I can admire the craft and skill of a painting, as I can a book – but my heart has already decided whether to love it.

Good art is not what it looks like, but what it does to us. (Roy Adzak)

And isn’t that what we all seek in fiction, as readers and/or writers? I know it’s true for me.


Thanks so much to DIK for allowing me on board this week. I’ve had a great time, I must admit I don’t want it to come to an end so soon. I have heard that the weather at home is cold and damp and my inbox is by now the size of War and Peace (and probably just as contentious). Hmm. But look! I don’t seem to be able to find my suitcase, to pack to go home. I’ll have to stay here. No, of course the family won’t miss me. Well, not for another month or so. And I am so in need of a decent holiday…

You can visit Clare London here
http://www.clarelondon.co.uk
or at her blog .
http://clarelondon.livejournal.com/

Pictures in order: Pensive Beauty; Kit from Freeman by Gwydi; Muse cover; The Musicians by Caravaggio; Mori from Threadbare by Agnes; Sleep from Possession by Helm; The Kiss from Possession by Helm.

Clare London Day Two - Heroes

Clare’s Dilemma: So many Heroes, So Little Time?

Everyone talks about their heroes, don’t they? We read about them, we write stories about them, we admire them and cherish them and sigh for need of them.

Can we help it if we’re entranced by the image? Our hearts are excited by adventure and strong passion, while our heads admire loyalty and integrity. To find the combination in one man – well, what more could we ask. And there’s such a range to choose from: the artists, singers, doctors, firemen, cowboys, bad-guys-turned-good, good-guys-tempted-by-bad, old and young, indoors and outdoors-men, saints and sinners, tall, blond, short and lean, rough and tough and strong and mean… well, you get the picture. Heroic behaviour can burst from any one of them.

And one of the most likely scenarios is when love comes into the equation. Then we are treated to those who love from afar, and those who fight for their love. The big, strong guys who face up to each other in a crisis but want to snuggle up in a snowstorm. Those who struggle with expression, while others charm with soft words. And we probably do have our favourites – whether we like the shy, sensitive, intellectual type, or the buff, muscled, strong and silent type.

But hey! Whoever said I had to make a choice?

I answered a question online recently about what was my favourite genre in which to write my stories of men and their loves. I found that more difficult to answer than the infamous interview question – where do you see yourself in five years’ time J. Because I don’t really have a favourite, I like plenty! I’ve written fantasy, contemporary romance and paranormal settings. I’ve written happy-ever-after, happy-for-now, don’t-know-about-happy-but-you-look-good-in-my-shower, and – to one reader’s annoyance recently – character death. My heroes are flawed and their heroism erratic. Sometimes they’re selfish, they make mistakes, they miss the damned point.

But they all have the potential to be Hero. And the fun of writing them is to see whether I can bring that out.

I don’t think it’s fickle, to find heroes in all situations – through time and space, with lovers, with enemies, with women and men. Our hearts want to seek the best of human nature, to admire kind and loyal and brave behaviour. It doesn’t have to be on a battlefield. He doesn’t have to be alarmingly handsome – which, after all, is a matter of taste. It’s the spirit that we seek. And here is my shopping-for-a-hero list.

Charmed Chap

This hero is not of this world. He may not even be human. Is that so bad, so long as his ambitions and aims are still recognisable? And there’s such glamour in the vampire bite or the magic of a man truly in love…

My first published book was Masquerade, a collection of fantasy stories that featured vampires, psychics, wizards and a beautiful young man who had more in common with a silkworm than the oppressed workers around him. And recently I revisited the fantasy theme with my vampires Edward and Ambrus, in my short story Out of Time.

Fantasy Fellow

This guy lives in an alternate universe. He may not know how to work a washing machine but he’ll wield a sword and is free from so many of the chains of modern society’s expectations.

I wrote two novels set in a fantasy world, Aza City, where women ruled as Mistresses but were supported and served by their male warriors – who then satisfied their true desires and need for companionship with fellow soldiers. That was The Gold Warrior and Twisted Brand. The Gold Warrior Maen was everything a true hero should be in his devotion to duty and his sense of place in the hierarchy – until he fell from grace because of his love for his apprentice, the Bronzeman Dax.

Modern Man

Now this one is more familiar in many ways, in that he wears recognisable clothes and has no more special power than being able to open that jar of peaches you’ve been struggling with for half an hour. But in fictional hands, his heroism is still just as valid, and with all the vivacity and empowerment of modern life.

This year, I published the contemporary romances Sparks Fly and True Colors, full of glamour, melodrama, mystery and high-powered city business. Both were based on the attraction of opposites. In Sparks Fly, playboy Nic battled with geek Aidan to the very end of the book, despite their desperate attraction to each other. And in True Colors, cool businessman Miles tried to ground the mercurial artist Zeke, even as Zeke was bringing excitement and spontaneity to Miles’ life.

And I also published Freeman, set in my home city London, in a world of crime and mystery, and with a fair dose of angst before dawn. Freeman is a very modern man who lives alone in the city, successful and rich, but who thinks he’s lost the art of connecting emotionally with people – at least until he meets Kit, a young man who disturbs everything and demands Freeman’s attention in return.

So I’ve covered all these categories *sez Clare, buffing her nails*. What about you? Do you have favourites? Or do you think – as I do – that variety is the spice of life?

And now, back to struggling with the lid of that jar of peaches until My Hero comes home from work…
J

You can visit Clare London here
http://www.clarelondon.co.uk
or at her blog .
http://clarelondon.livejournal.com/

Clare London Day One - All About Me

Today I'm thrilled to introduce one of my very favourite m/m authors, Clare London. Not only does she write wonderful books, but she is a fellow Brit and possibly one of the nicest, kindest, supportive authors I've ever met. I first got to know Clare when I emailed her after reading one of her stories and we've become good friends since then. So without further ado, I'll hand you over to lovely Clare.

Hi there everyone.
I’m thrilled to be invited on to the island this week, I’ve crammed everything into my suitcase and I’m ready to introduce myself. After all, these questions were fun! But you weren’t just asking for one answer each time, were you? I mean, were you? *cough*. A couple of the questions ran away with me. Am I loose-tongued? Indecisive? Or just plain greedy? Feel free to let me know…

Favorite Reading Position?
In bed. Alone, except for my ereader and my fictional heroes, though don’t tell Hubby that.

Favorite Heroine?
Stephanie Plum, the bounty hunter from Janet Evanovich’s books. And if I can’t be her, I want to be Grandma. I’ll pack my own gun. Do I have to learn a New Jersey accent?

Author everyone loves but you don’t.
Dan Brown (I was rather chastened to find at least 6 names sprang to mind at this question).

If you could be in one book/series/world which would you pick?
Stephanie Plum’s! Or maybe the angel world of Samaria in the Sharon Shinn books. Or back to St Mary Mead with Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple…

How old is your inside voice?
21 and 4 months.

If you could be a hero who would you be?
Jack Reacher in the Lee Child books. My book ‘Freeman’ is my homage to that man, that author, that style of fiction. OK, so I’ll never be over 6 foot, built like a brick s**thouse, an ace fighter and alluring lover (well, I’m working on one of those and it’s not the 6 foot thing….), but I enter one of those books with the delight of knowing I’m someone else totally for a while. And that’s a kick-ass hero with no one waiting at home for me to hang out the washing.

What heroine is most like you?
I so don’t want to be one of those TSTL heroines, but I’m not very heroic material. I get lost easily, I get scared in the face of physical danger (you know, like having dental work), and although I reckon I know what to do in a crisis, it’s often the wrong thing (according to hubby). So I won’t tar any poor heroine with my character traits.

What heroine would you like to be?
One of the ones who doesn’t get lost, is brave in the face of torture (like dental work) and ALWAYS knows what to do in a crisis. But still looks sexy *lol*. I’d like to look like I imagine Stephanie Plum does. She wears jersey tops and teased hair like I wish I could. Oh, and did I mention she fascinates both Joe Morelli and Ranger? A girl could have a worse aim in life.

Boxers, Briefs, boxer briefs, kilt (I say we add commando)?
Commando. Boxer briefs a close second. Tell you what, ask the guy to take them off and I’ll make a scientific comparison.

Favorite book set on a tropical island.
I can’t think of any except Lord of the Flies (was it?) and The Beach LOL. Can I stretch the tropical theme and have Skinny Dip by Carl Hiassen? Or am I just exposing the fact I’m geographically-challenged? I’m sure there are tropical islands in Florida…

What hero is most like your significant other?
James Bond. No, really. Well, my SO is the first man I’d turn to in a crisis – when I’m lost and facing the torture-thing - and what’s more, he has a fine sense of direction so I could rely on him to get us out of it. Oh, and he’d love the Aston Martin.

What hero would you like to be your significant other?
None. I have my hero already J

If you were stuck on a desert island what 3 things would you bring?
Coffee, laptopwithinternetconnection (that’s only one thing, right?) and toast. Damn, that means no marmalade on the toast, I’ve used up my 3 things, never mind.

Favorite drink to bring to the DIK party
Crème de menthe frappe. So call me pretentious. But I love it and it’s also good for indigestion after living on all that coffee and toast.

You can visit Clare London here
http://www.clarelondon.co.uk
or at her blog .
http://clarelondon.livejournal.com/