Fairy tales often have some sort of magical moment when the truth comes out and the revelation sets the characters free, usually by breaking curses or by removing blinders from their eyes. In the Ugly Duckling, the main character discovers the truth about his parentage and is free to become a swan. In Bluebeard, the wife opens a forbidden door to discover her husband’s heinous crimes, and has blinders removed from her eyes, setting her free from the bondage of ignorance. The trope exists in many fairy tales.

In our most recent sexy retelling of a well-known fairy tale, Keira and I wrote about Jack and the Beanstalk. We took on this trope of revelation and freedom. Jack and Rion, the main characters of Ascending Hearts, begin the book with a set of beliefs about the world which shape the way they interact with each other.

Two untrue things Jack believes with all his heart:
1)      There’s a giant at the top of that bean stalk
2)      No one could ever love him with his shameful red hair

Two untrue things Rion believes with all his heart:
1)      Outsiders like Jack carry disease and only want to steal his treasure
2)      His duty is to protect the treasure and this is his destiny

In the book, Jack and Rion react to the revelation that what they’ve always believed to be true is, in fact, a lie, in very different ways, leading to the crisis of the story.

Everyone has certain things they believe are true and when those beliefs are challenged the world is turned upside down. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you realized one of your core beliefs about the world was untrue? Did the revelation destroy you or did it set you free?

***

About the authors:

Leta Blake is an author of romance, romantic, and erotica who is trying to live the dream with the help of her spouse, child, dogs, and amazing friends. Some days that works out better than others.

After writing for years yet never really finding the right inspiration, Keira Andrews discovered her voice in gay romance. She writes contemporary, historical and fantasy fiction, and — although she loves delicious angst along the way — Keira firmly believes in happy endings.

Ascending Hearts around the web:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Ascending-Hearts-Tempting-Tales-ebook/dp/B00AWPDO42

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ascending-hearts-leta-blake/1114106448

Kobo: https://www.kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=Tempting+Tales&t=none&f=series&p=1&s=none&g=both

Sony: https://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/leta-blake/ascending-hearts/_/R-400000000000000923871

Places Leta can be found around the web:

Email: leta.blake.author@gmail.com
Website: letablake.wordpress.com
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/letablake
Twitter: https://twitter.com/letablake
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6425833.Leta_Blake
Tumblr: https://letablake.tumblr.com/

Places Keira can be found around the web:

Email: keira.andrews@gmail.com
Website: keiraandrews.com
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1366040.Keira_Andrews
Twitter: https://twitter.com/keiraandrews
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/keira.andrews.author

 Ascending Hearts

Leta Blake & Keira Andrews

Part of the Tempting Tales series.

Rumors of treasure have long sent fortune hunters clambering up a magic beanstalk to a mysterious castle in the clouds. Survivors told of an evil giant who guards the gold with savage strength. No sane man would dare risk the climb—but Jack has nothing left to lose. Shunned for his evil red hair and abandoned by his cruel lover, he’s desperate to escape his life.

Rion isn’t a giant, only a man bearing the burden of protecting his family’s legacy. It’s a lonely existence, but he’s duty bound. Then Jack appears, and Rion’s world changes. After a blazing confrontation, undeniable lust sparks. Isolated in the clouds, Jack and Rion give in to their desire and growing connection. Soon they must protect the treasure—and each other—from a new threat. And they have everything to lose.

A Romantica® erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

So many folks want time on my blog, I don’t actually have that many days when I can pop in and tell you what I’m doing. I love having guests, and I hope you do too! So many authors with books I would never hear about except that they share the news here and on other sites! Love that!

But there are some things I think you should know about.

Free Book

Ellora’s Cave is offering Garden of Desire for free for a limited time, both on their site and everywhere their books are sold! Garden is one of my earliest works. I haven’t read it myself since I wrote it back in 2003 (good Lord, 10 years ago!!!) but I remember giggling several times as I wrote about my pirates trying to go domestic on an uninhabited planet. Be sure to get your copy while this offer lasts!

“…Ms. Devlin has penned an erotic adventure that will leave you smiling. This wonderful blend of humorous dialogue, vivid descriptions, and exceedingly hot sex make GARDEN OF DESIRE a must read.” ~5 Flames, Sizzling Romances

Ex-pirate Cantor Marlowe is drowning in femininity. Perfumes assail him morning, noon, and night. And the voices! High and trilling when calling to attract his interest. Low and throaty when whispering dark and sexy promises in his ears. Loud and strident when bringing their never-ending complaints for him to resolve.

As the governor to a fledgling colony, Cantor and his fellow pirates have entered into a pact to set down roots, self-govern without Dominion interference, and raise families on an uninhabited planet at the edge of the known galaxy. Who would have thought the ex-cons they liberated to make their wives would have so much to complain about in paradise? ‘Tis no wonder Cantor itches to go a-pirating.

Martha knows how to pick a lock. What the little thief can’t figure out is how to steal Cantor’s heart. When Cantor’s head is turned by the arrival of an innocent harem girl, Martha fears she’s lost her chance at love until the girl turns to Martha for a little lesson in love.

Buy at Ellora’s Cave
Buy at Amazon

Continuing Contests

 The Night Crow Pendant Contest ends April 25th. I made it myself—something dark and little creepy that I’d wear! Any comment you make on any blog until that date counts as an entry in that contest!

There’s also a Signed Book Contest happening now on the Smokin’ Hot Firemen website. Come support the 17 talented authors who wrote the stories that make that book shine! Be sure to comment!!

What I’m Doing Now

I have so many projects in the works, I don’t know what to tell you about next. Books you might see soon? I have just completed compiling a second Strokes collection of short stories. As soon as it’s edited and formatted, I’ll throw it out on Amazon for you to enjoy. The stories I chose are ones that have appeared in others’ collections. I like gathering mine together so you have a chance to enjoy them in one place.

In June, I have two books releasing. First will be the next book in the Delta Heat series, Twice the Bang. I’m thrilled to be able to share the cover with you!

I love how well it “fits” with the rest of the covers! And yes, it’s fine to snicker at the title. When people ask me what the next title in the series is, I can’t help by grin and giggle myself! Do you like it?

On June 25th, the next Caitlyn O’Connell paranormal/urban fantasy/romantic suspense novel releases! I really can’t wait for you to read the next installment. I love these books and this heroine. She’s a mess, and her ex is hawt!

Morning, ladies! Random.org has selected June M. as the winner of the $10 GC.
June, please email me at desireeholt@desireeholt.com

* * * * *

What’s better than a cowboy?

Why, a “nekkid” cowboy, of course. For everyone who loved STARK NAKED (and I do thank each and every one of you who made it such a hit), now we have BUCK NAKED. And Buck Montgomery is definitely a mouth-watering eyeful. Here’s a snippet from Naked Cowboys, Book 2.

Release date: April 30 from Samhain Publishing

Comment to win a $10 GC to Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

When Amy Stark met Buck Montgomery she was fuming over both a flat tire and his condescending attitude. It onely gets worse when they end up at the same cattle auction and his attitude doesn’t change. Little does she know that Buck harbors a secret he guards closely along with his heart. A secret that prevents him from reaching out to Amy for the relationships he really wants. Against his better judgment he cracks open the wall and lets her in, only to have his past catch up to him in a devastating way. Can Amy get past who he was and love the man he has become, or will he, once again, lose it all?

Silence instantly dropped between them with all the subtly of a lead weight. Amy fiddled with her napkin, very aware of Buck’s careful scrutiny. Again, she wondered what the hell she was she doing here, anyway. He was exactly the kind of man she told herself to stay away from—tall, very masculine, very sexy. Probably had a hundred women chasing after him. Well, she was tired of being one of the pack. Especially for a man like Buck Montgomery, who was now her neighbor.

So why am I sitting here having lunch with him?

Because my head said no but my body and my mouth said yes.

She looked up to find him watching her with his mouth curved in a slight grin. Heat sizzled across the table with an almost visible snap. She squirmed slightly in her seat and searched for a new topic of conversation.

“Do I make you nervous?” His deep voice vibrated though her, the warmth of it like a heated cloud surrounding her and washing over her skin.

Amy cleared her throat. “Nervous?” She clasped her hands on the table in front of her, hoping Buck wouldn’t notice the tremors in them. “Not. Not at all. Is there some reason why you should?”

“No. No reason. You just seem…fidgety. I wondered if it was me.”

Yes.

“Of course not.” She searched for a topic of conversation. “So, when did you buy the Hayes Ranch? I didn’t even know it had sold.”

“About a month ago. It’ll take me a while to get it into shape, but I’m working at it.”

Their conversation was interrupted by the delivery of their food. Using the condiments took up a minute or so. Amy took a healthy bite of her burger and moaned in ecstasy.

“Still the best I’ve ever eaten,” she said around a mouthful of food.

“All their food is good. I eat here whenever I come into town.”

There was more silence as they consumed their lunch. Amy kept her eyes on her food but she was more than cognizant of the heavy-lidded looks Buck kept giving her. She wondered what was on his mind. At the auction he hadn’t seemed all that interested in her, polite and nothing more after their rocky start. Yet now he seemed to be seducing her with his eyes from across the table.

When she finished the last bite of food, she patted her mouth with the napkin and leaned against the back of the seat.

“You missed a spot.” He moved his hand toward her than jerked it back.

“A spot?” She frowned.

“Mustard. On your lower lip.”

Amy patted her mouth with her napkin and looked at the yellow smear on the white cloth. How embarrassing.

“I’m not usually a slob when I eat.” She picked up her napkin and ran it over her mouth again.

“But then I wouldn’t have had the pleasure of catching that last little bit on your lip.”

I should just get up and leave before I get myself into trouble. This was a huge mistake.

Okay, where can you find me:

www.desireeholt.com
www.desireeholttellsall.com
Twitter: @desireeholt
Facebook: desiree01holt
Pinterest: desiree01holt
And…desireeholt@desireeholt.com I love to hear from you so don’t be shy.

Thanks for having me, Delilah!  I’m thrilled to be here on the BIG DAY.  I’ve been waiting for so long now to introduce readers to a set of characters while revisiting some I love to write about.  So I’m shouting out about my new series which kicks off today.  It’s a spinoff of the Powertools series.  The crew’s mechanic cousins are garage monkeys who own a car restoration business called Hot Rods (snort!).  I knew before I finished Hammer it Home that we hadn’t seen the last of the crew but there were a new group of guys who were begging to have their stories told.

Readers met Eli and Alanso, the main characters of King Cobra, in Powertools.  They got an eyeful when they unintentionally busted in on one of the crew’s polyamorous sessions in full swing.  And now they’re trying to figure out how a similar arrangement could work in their unusually tight-knit gang.

I think what I’ve really enjoyed about writing these books is that the characters are finding their way.  In Powertools, the relationship between the five men was already established and taken for granted.  Not so in Hot Rods, there’s a lot of angst and drama as seven guys and Mustang Sally work their way into a happy forever state.

The group is really vivid in my mind, in part due to the images by Sophia Renee of Unique Portraiture that are featured on the covers of the books.  Believe it or not, I came across the pictures on Facebook when I was procrastinating *ahem* one night.  They captivated me and I immediately plopped them into a series bible as inspiration.  I never thought I could get lucky enough for Samhain Publishing and Sophia to collaborate with me and bring what I see as the author to life on the covers.  As a photographer myself (who knew that degree would come in handy some day?) I could immediately envision stories for each of these people and so the series was born.

So, I’d love for your readers to meet the gang.  You’ll get to read more about them in each book of the series but I’ve highlighted who will be the focus of each book too:

Eli (King Cobra)

Alanso drives a motorcycle, a main character in both King Cobra and Mustang Sally

Salome (Mustang Sally) – second down in the strip of photos

Kaige (Super Nova)

Bryce (Rebel on the Run) – top photo

Holden (Swinger Style) – fourth picture down of him in the car

Carver half of the couple featured in Barracuda’s Heart

Roman (Barracuda’s Heart) – second from bottom image will  Roman & Carver

Good news is that the books are releasing pretty close to one another.  Mustang Sally will be out on 6/11 and all six will be out by the end of next year.  I’ll leave you with a little bit about King Cobra.  I hope you all enjoy the Hot Rods even half as much as I have writing them.

Nothing’s sexier than seven men with hot rods.
Hot Rods, Book 1

After Eli’s mother died, his father honored her life’s mission as a social worker by taking in several kids from the wrong side of the tracks. Not all of them stuck, but those who did became Eli’s quasi family.

Their bonds, forged in fires set by their personal demons, are unbreakable—or so Eli wants to believe. Especially since he and Alanso, his best friend and head mechanic, witnessed the overpowering allure of polyamory while visiting the Powertools crew.

Much as Eli would like to deepen the relationships among his foster brothers and sister in the Hot Rods Restoration Team, he’s hesitant to risk everything on a quick romp behind a stack of tires.

But when Eli catches Alanso exploring their mutual fantasy at a known hookup spot in a public park, all bets are off. And Eli must decide if it’s time to jump in full throttle—and trust his instincts to guide him through the night.  If the pair of mechanics can dodge the potholes in their own relationship, maybe they can race together toward the unconventional arrangement with Mustang Sally they both desire.

Warning: Fasten your seatbelts, this is going to be a wild (and naughty) ride!

The book is available now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Samhain Publishing and the other usual vendors!

Jayne
www.jaynerylon.com

Top 10 Reasons BDSM & Taxes are Similar

In honor of tax day I thought I’d share with everyone the top ten reasons BDSM and taxes are similar!

10. Restraints are used in both, especially when you do something naughty.

9. Both have clubs you can visit to learn more. BDSM clubs to get your kink on, and Club Feds for you tax lovers when you sharpened your pencil just a bit too much.

8. When you owe the IRS money your taxes are in the red, and what is one of the most popular safe words throughout the BDSM community?

7. One of the most common phrases used on this day is death and taxes. The French don’t call an orgasm “la petite mort” for nothin’.

6. Everyone involved must decide which philosophy they adhere to. Ask permission or beg forgiveness. Which camp are you?

5. When you get a good refund, or you’re—enjoying a scene to its fullest you scream the same thing. YES!!!!!!!

4. Auditor and Master rhyme for a reason.

3. Both have the power to make you anxious and Dominate your thoughts.

2. If you take 4, the highest single integer in 1040, and subtract it by 1, since this is my debut novel you get 3. The perfect ménage number and exactly what you’ll find in Together in Cyn.

1. For one of them you normally bend over and take it up the ass… The other is BDSM. 🙂

Wish everyone a prosperous tax day, and hope you’ll check out Together in Cyn being published by Ellora’s Cave.

Does anyone have a really great or really awful tax story?

A small book sitting out on a table shouldn’t incite fear in anyone.

But what if that book was your diary and you learned your two best friends, men you have ached for your entire life, have just read every last word? Pages and pages filled with dark fantasies and forbidden dreams so explicit they leave nothing to the imagination. And what if those two friends were included in every last one?

This is exactly where Cyn Andrews now finds herself. Stuck somewhere between wanting to hate Jared and Chris Kennedy for violating her privacy and just plain wanting to be stuck somewhere between them. She could never choose only one brother, so she’s kept her feelings buried for more than a decade, and a past mistake has kept her silent and alone…until now.

Everything she’s ever wanted may have just been handed to her in the form of an invitation to The Library. Not just a building filled with books, but a members only BDSM club the brothers own and have kept hidden from her for years.

Is it pity or desire that fueled the invitation? What other secrets have they been keeping from her? Can she protect her heart and face her biggest fear while discovering the art of submitting to two Doms?

It’d be a sin not to find out…

Unedited Excerpt

“So, Cyn, why aren’t you fucking anybody?”

I sucked a mouthful of beer down the wrong pipe, sputtered and coughed my way through it, and nearly knocked over the glass bottle as I got it under control. The beer anyways. After wheezing through another breath I moved my drink farther away. “Where in the hell did that come from?”

Jared Kennedy, one of my best friends, glanced at my fingers as I worried a heart charm at the bottom of a silver chain. A knowing smirk tilted his lips when he looked back up. “Oh, come on. Nobody creaming your Twinkie at the moment or do you not like sex in general? We want to know. So don’t be shy, just spit it out.”

The other half of the we he referred to was his fraternal twin Chris, who stood watching us across an empty dance floor and behind their bar thirty feet away. Still anxiously working the pendant back and forth, I turned once more to Jared.

He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his broad chest and an expectant smile pulling at his full lips. The brothers had always done that. Known just the right face to make so I would answer anything. They acted broody or impatient, and I ’d give anything to make them happy. Pathetic—my middle name when it comes to these two.

“I like it, J. As much as anybody does, I guess. Whether I like it as much as you and Chris, I don’t know. Your appetites have always run on the high side according to the gossipmongers around town.” I squirmed in my seat. I admit it. One of my best friends was asking me if I liked sex and all I could think was…meh. My sex life…well, visualize the Titanic sinking and you get the gist. Most guys don’t appreciate being called another guy’s name—or two guys’ names—when you’re getting off. It’s a real deal breaker apparently.

“Uh huh. It’s Saturday night, and you’re here, just like last night. Guys hit on you but you turn them down flat. You work at the gym all day and help out here anytime we ask. Love our time together on the weekends, just you and me, and I know you’ve been helping Chris during the week too. CJ’s has gotten damn busy, and we dig the help, but you’ve been restless lately and we’ve both noticed. What gives?”

Website: https://www.jenniferkacey.com/
Email: jenn@jenniferkacey.com
Book Page: https://www.jenniferkacey.com/index.php/books/together-in-cyn

Social Media –
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/people/Jennifer-Kacey/100002469553420
Twitter – https://twitter.com/#!/JenniferKacey
Pinterest – https://pinterest.com/jenniferkacey/
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/16370223-jennifer-kacey

My author page on EC
https://www.ellorascave.com/index.php/authors/index/author/slug/jennifer-kacey

Book Trailer Video link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=iamccnEVoKc

What is Safe, Sane, and Consensual BDSM Erotica?

I love writing BDSM erotic romances. But I also love writing the occasional dubious consent story (always with a warning!). In Enslaved, I wanted to make sure that some of the basics of safe, sane, and consensual D/s play were incorporated into the story in a natural way.

Especially since my heroine, Elisabeth, was basically sent to Trevor’s house by her ex-Dom. She didn’t pick him, he picked her.

So I had to make sure her desire and her explicit consent is given, even if she is a little…scared. Scared can be fun, too—as long as it’s part of the game. 😉

In the excerpt, you’ll see what I mean about consent. There’s another part of the scene that I can’t share here because it would be too long—where they go over her “hard limits.”

While putting that sort of thing in a book might seem like it would sap the fun out, it actually gave me an opportunity to show how much Trevor cares about making Elisabeth feel safe…even when he’s about to do dirty, sexy things to her…

Blurb for Enslaved, Book One in the Enslaved Trilogy

from Simon & Schuster’s Pocket Star:

From a red-hot erotica writer comes an original eBook—a sensual romp across the playgrounds of the unbelievably rich and extremely sexy.

Elisabeth Anderson has seen Trevor and his friends at the infamous Manhattan BDSM club WhipperSnapper, where everyone calls them the BAD Boys, for “Billionaire Arrogant Doms.” The BAD Boys—Trevor Brooks, Marc Wilde, and Roman Chase—are aptly named; they’ve made money hand over fist due to their aggressive investing at the Brooks Wilde Chase Fund. These guys are so rich they can get away with anything, or so the rumors go.

Trevor gives Elisabeth full reign of his estate in Westchester, letting her do as she pleases. He has only two rules. Rule One: she must obey and submit to him while she is living in his house. Rule Two: always answer the blue cell phone. She’s happy to oblige, because being with Trevor makes her want to obey, to love him the way he seems to be falling for her. But Elisabeth’s never been good at being the quiet sub; she’s feisty and gets off on the punishments more than she does by pleasing Trevor.

Elizabeth can’t submit to Trevor the way he needs her to, so his friend and business partner (and fellow BAD Boy) Roman takes her in hand. But love triangles can have sharp edges…and somebody’s bound to get hurt.

Amazon, Barnes & Noble

And here’s an adults-only excerpt that you won’t find in the sample pages.

An excerpt from Enslaved, Book One in the Enslaved Trilogy

Copyright 2012 Shoshanna Evers

Simon & Schuster Pocket Star, All Rights Reserved

Elisabeth unlocked the door and went to the bed, kneeling. She remained as motionless as possible, her eyes shut, to give Trevor the chance to see her before she saw him.

What was going to happen? To spend one evening getting flogged in public was one thing, but to be alone in a bedroom with a Dom she’d met once before was another.

The door didn’t squeak on its hinges as it opened, but she heard it quietly latch shut. And a click as the lock turned in place.

She trusted Gregory, and Gregory said to trust Trevor. Which is why she shouldn’t be so frightened suddenly. Weren’t they just bantering on the blue cell phone not a moment before?

Yes. She could trust Trevor.

She must—at this point, there was no going back. Or was there?

Breathe.

So now she was alone now with him. With Trevor.

Elisabeth could sense he was quite close to her, despite being unable to see him, her eyes still shut. A whiff of expensive cologne that reminded her of something—someone?—and then the heat of his hand on her chilled face.

She whimpered, scared now.

She didn’t know this man. What he was into. What he’d do to her, or make her do to him. Men had some kinky tastes, that she did know.

“Are you okay doing this?” he asked. “Do I have your consent?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Open your eyes, Elisabeth. Look at me.”

She obeyed, and saw he’d dimmed the lighting, casting the guest bedroom in shadow, though still softly lit. Sconces on the walls threw golden highlights across the mahogany furniture.

“You look frightened,” Trevor whispered. “Were you scared I was going to slap you?”

Why would such a gorgeous man want her, when he could have anyone? His dark hair, neatly trimmed, contrasted sharply with green eyes the color of the emerald ring her mother had given her before she passed. Of course, that emerald was of poor quality, cloudy with flecks of—

“You need to answer me when I ask you a direct question,” Trevor prompted.

Well, then. Let the games begin.

“I forgot the question,” she lied, and gave him what Gregory always called her “brat face,” but that she preferred to think of as a cheeky grin.

“Then I imagine you’re not too frightened to continue.”

Elisabeth laughed. Trevor was totally different from Gregory. From the flogging he’d given her at the club it was clear he knew what he was doing. So what did he need her for? Certainly not to practice on.

“Keep laughing, princess.”

She promptly shut her mouth, her gaze flickering involuntarily over to the large duffel bag on the low dresser across the room. He’d brought it in with him.

“I don’t like to slap faces, but I will make it difficult for you to sleep comfortably tonight.”

“Sorry, sir,” she replied, as nonchalantly as possible, hoping to make it clear she wasn’t sorry. Her nerves continued their skitter jangle, but now she was in her element. She knew how to force a man to earn her respect.

Technically she was supposed to submit to and respect him automatically because Gregory had ordered her to, but that’s not how it worked for her. Never had.

“No you’re not,” he said.

“I’m not,” she agreed. “I’m a fucking masochist. A pain-slut, remember? Do your worst.”

Trevor reached out casually and grabbed her by her hair, twisting the black strands in his fingers until she felt the sting on her scalp. “As you wish.”

Nice.

Amazon, Barnes & Noble

About Shoshanna Evers:

Critically-acclaimed author Shoshanna Evers has written dozens of sexy stories including Amazon Erotica Bestseller Overheated. Her work has been featured in Best Bondage Erotica 2012 and Best Bondage Erotica 2013, the Penguin/Berkley Heat anthology Agony/Ecstasy, and numerous erotic BDSM novellas, including Chastity Belt and Punishing the Art Thief from Ellora’s Cave Publishing.

The non-fiction anthology Shoshanna Evers edited and contributed to, How To Write Hot Sex: Tips from Multi-Published Erotic Romance Authors, is a #1 Bestseller in the Authorship, Erotica Writing Reference, and Romance Writing categories.

Her BDSM erotic romance The Enslaved Trilogy releases April 8th, 2013 from Simon & Schuster’s Pocket Star imprint.

Shoshanna is a New York native who now lives with her family and two big dogs in Los Angeles, California. She welcomes emails from readers and writers, and loves to interact on Twitter and Facebook.

Sign up for her mailing list to get an email when new books release! https://shoshannaevers.com/blog/

Sexily *Evers* After… www.ShoshannaEvers.com

Email: shoshanna.evers @ yahoo. com (no spaces)
Blog for writers: www.TheWritersChallenge.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShoshannaEvers
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shoshanna.evers

The Joys of World-Building: Mapmaking

I write gay romance; it’s what I’ve been known for since day 1 in 2005. I’ve written in countless genres, too—from sci-fi to contemporary, bdsm to fantasy, and everything in between (maybe except steampunk…haven’t gone there yet). My biggest love, though, in reading and writing, has always been—and always will be—fantasy. I’m huge fan of it and its subgenres: sword & sorcery, epic fantasy, high fantasy, historical fantasy, urban fantasy, the list goes on. When writing it, I take my time on the world itself. I have several books and websites that I refer to when I need to jog my brain on details of the cultures, the lands, and so forth.

One of my favorite aspects of world-building is the mapmaking. I’ve seen some amazing hand-drawn maps from fantasy authors, but I’m not quite that talented. So I use software for it. Profantasy.com has several great programs you can buy, from fractal maps to campaign maps, and only the gods know what else. While I’ve used the trials of a few to get a feel for them, my all-time favorite program is actually an open source program called AutoRealm. I don’t remember who introduced me to it at this point, but I’ve used it for years.

I’ve made maps for Aurora (Magic & the Pagan world) and Socendor (Secrets of Socendor world), and now I’m working on a huge one for a new fantasy world I’ll be playing in under a different pen name.

Once I’ve created my basic land masses (usually with the polycurve fractal tool), there are several categories of icons I have to choose from with which to decorate the lands: vegetation, city/town/stronghold markers, land features like mountains, etc. When I’m happy with the placements, I move the file into Paint.Net and color it, adding labels for towns, cities, rivers, etc.

I can easily spend hours and hour, day after day, working on a single map. I make notes of directions, distances between places, even how big certain notable places are. In the end, I rarely share these maps. I create for my own personal reference, to be honest. Maybe one of these days, I’ll recreate the maps for Aurora and Socendor (since the originals went missing) and share those.

Mapmaking is very time-consuming, but like any art, it’s well worth it.

* * * * *

Bio:

What do online gaming, Spongebob, cooking, writing, and an unnatural addiction to Mountain Dew all have in common?

Not a damn thing, which is what makes Mychael Black an interesting bird indeed.

Born in north Alabama, Mychael now resides on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Having run the gamut of labels in regard to gender and sexuality, Mychael now shuns society’s views on normality and embraces a poly-everything attitude. Call Mychael her or him—it doesn’t matter. Just keep reading the books.

https://www.mychaelblackbooks.com/
https://www.mychaelblackbooks.com/category/blog/
https://www.facebook.com/mychael.black
https://www.shaynetheauthor.com/

* * * * *

Click on the cover to buy it!

Book 1, The Lost Son, is available now. Book 2, Dragonblade, is due out July 2, 2013.

Dragonblade

Secrets of Socendor, Book 2

Winning this battle requires a faith stronger than steel…

Legends tell of a dragon-forged weapon so powerful, it possesses the ability to traverse time itself. Knowing the havoc it could wreak, the dragons sealed it deep beneath the mountains.

No one was meant to find it, let alone wield it.

General Kalen Ysindroc, leader of the human king’s armies and the long-lost son of Socendor’s most feared wizard-king of old, is in a race against time. His half brother, Braen, is searching for the sword as a means to return their father from the grave. Kalen must not let that happen. Joined by his elven lover, wizard Micheil Thierauf, he sets out on a journey beneath the mountains to stop Braen from doing the unthinkable.

As secrets come to light that test Kalen’s faith in every way possible, including his trust in the man he’s loved nearly all his life, the right path is as clouded as the murky, dragon-blood-tainted waters of the Ebon Sea. And Kalen is forced to make a decision that could very well be his last.