Coming Soon: Ravenfell (Wytch Kings, Book 6)

Ravenfell, book 6 of the Wytch Kings series, is on its way. It tells the story of Prince Jossafir of Ysdrach and Prince Bradin of Miraen, and sets the stage for the final conflict between the Northern Alliance and the Wytch Council. Ravenfell is a fantasy/romance novel of ~90,000 words, and will be available in August.

Prince Jossafir of Ysdrach should have taken the throne after his father’s death, but a Wytch Council experiment gone wrong has left him with a dangerous Wytch power he has no hope of controlling. Declared a monster too dangerous to rule, Joss is locked away, his only visitors those who have been sentenced to death… and him their executioner.

When the Northern Alliance’s dragon army invades, Joss’s brother Wytch King Delrinian is captured, but Joss escapes his prison and joins a band of rebels. Joss’s first task as a member of the rebellion is to identify a highborn Alliance prisoner who may have information about the estate where his brother is being held. To Joss’s shock, he finds Prince Bradin of Miraen, the man he once loved with all his heart, lying in a dirty cell, injured and awaiting interrogation.

Now Joss must make a choice: will he use his deadly Wytch power to aid the rebels’ quest to rescue Delrinian and reclaim the kingdom, or will he turn traitor and save the man who once set his heart on fire?

Falkrag Cover Reveal

Falkrag is on track for a late August release, and I wanted to share the cover art with you. This is the first one of the Wytch Kings series to have a character in human form on the cover, and Prince Shaine of Rhiva got the honors. Once you've read his story, you'll understand why we chose these particular elements for the cover.

Falkrag (Wytch Kings 5)

Newly released from his bondage to the Wytch Council, Prince Shaine of Rhiva strives to prove that he can be trusted. Burdened by guilt and shame, but determined to help the Northern Alliance win the coming war against the Wytch Council, Shaine ventures into the Iceshards to investigate an ancient ruin rumored to contain a hidden cache of powerful weapons. He doesn’t get far before being badly wounded by a deadly mountain predator.

Son of the hunt leader of his village, Vorri is destined to one day lead his people, a group of exiled shifters from Rhiva who have survived in the dangerous Iceshards for nearly three hundred years. When the hunters who keep the village fed begin disappearing, the fearful village elders forbid anyone to seek them out. Determined to save the missing hunters, his own brother and sister among them, Vorri disobeys, and sets off alone to find them.

When Vorri saves Shaine from certain death, the two young men strike a bargain: Vorri will help Shaine find the ruin, and Shaine will aid Vorri in his search for his kin. But fulfilling the bargain turns out to be far from simple, and in the end, Shaine and Vorri’s actions could change both the course of the war and the future of Vorri’s people.

Khalshir: Cover Reveal

Are you ready for a new series? This one is called Kingmakers, and it's another M/M fantasy romance series that will probably run to six or seven books before I'm done. Or possibly more--I know where I'm going, but not quite how I'm going to get there, or who might grab my attention along the way.

Book One of the Kingmakers series, Khalshir, is coming in March. It's the story of Rio and Dani, and as seems to be my habit, also introduces one of the main characters for Book 2, Renegade, which will be coming later this year, or possibly early next. Depends on how much Life(TM) happens between now and then.

If you haven't seen the awesome cover Chinchbug did for this one, here it is:

Book Description:

A street rat taken in by the infamous Khalshir Guild and ruthlessly trained as a spy and assassin, Rio thinks he’s ready for anything. When he balks at performing his first assassination, his mentor is furious, but gives him a chance to redeem himself: a simple bodyguard assignment, protecting the son of a high-ranking noble.

Second son of one of the most successful businessmen in the kingdom of Tallin, Dani Jherek never expected to become his father’s heir. After a suspicious accident leaves his twin dead, a grief-stricken Dani finds himself struggling not only to fill his brother’s shoes, but to protect a dangerous secret that, if revealed, could mean his execution.

Guarding Dani turns out to be far from simple. Instead of a spoiled, pampered brat, Rio finds himself watching over a beautiful, miserable young man struggling to survive in a dangerous world he doesn’t understand. As Rio spends more time with Dani, he finds himself caught up in a tangled web of conflicting loyalties. When Dani learns the true nature of his father’s business, everything changes, and Rio is forced to make an impossible choice: his loyalty to Guild and family, or his growing feelings for his charge.

Dragonwatch: Cover Reveal and Excerpt

Dragonwatch, the fourth Wytch Kings book, will be available in September. This story is about Tristin of Ysdrach, the bastard cousin of Wytch King Garrik. In the last book, Shadowspire, Tristin was instrumental in foiling the Wytch Council's plot to install him on the throne of Altan as a puppet king. Now recovering from years of imprisonment and addiction at the hands of his uncle and the Council, Tristin is struggling to make peace with his past and move forward into a future he's not quite sure what to do with.

Book Description

The balance of power in Skanda is about to shift…

Beautiful, broken Tristin of Ysdrach would rather hide in his dragon form than live with a Wytch power that forces him to feel the pain of the past in every object he touches. Struggling to come to terms with a future he never believed he’d have, Tristin needs a reason not to surrender to the beast within.

Without Wytch power, Prince Mikhyal of Rhiva is not qualified to be his father’s heir, but newly discovered knowledge possessed by Rhiva’s allies could change that. On their journey to a secret negotiation that could shift the balance of power in Skanda, Mikhyal and his father are attacked, and Mikhyal is left bonded to an ancient sword with a mission, an attitude, and a penchant for blackberry tarts.

Even with the distractions of a royal betrothal ceremony, an enemy striking from the shadows, and the complex negotiations of alliance and rebellion, the painfully shy Tristin still manages to catch Mikhyal’s eye. The two men barely have time to acknowledge their mutual attraction before an attempt is made to end the line of Rhiva.

Can Tristin and Mikhyal get to the bottom of the plot? Or will the Northern Alliance be torn apart before the ink on the treaty is dry?


Excerpt

Tristin hadn’t even paused to dress before fleeing down the tower stairs with his clothing clutched against his middle. Fortunately, it was late enough that no one was about in the hall leading to the royal apartments, and Tristin reached his suite without frightening the servants or causing any unfortunate incidents. He closed the door firmly behind him and let his clothing fall to the floor.

What had he been thinking?

Well, he hadn’t been thinking, had he? He’d been half asleep, enjoying the feel of Mikhyal’s hand rubbing his head and neck. It had felt so nice to be touched, even in dragon form, that he’d let himself forget everything else.

Mikhyal must have been absolutely horrified when he’d shifted back. Tristin knew very well he was no prize. He’d avoided mirrors for the most part, but he’d caught enough glimpses to know that his body was still gaunt and wasted, and the scars…

In the brilliant wash of moonlight, there was no way Mikhyal could have missed seeing his scars. The prince wouldn’t even want to dance with him now, and he’d been so looking forward to that.

Maybe he should have stayed at Dragonwatch, after all.

Tristin trudged into his bedroom where he curled up on the bed and squeezed his eyes shut. The things that had pleased him so much when he’d first stepped into the room now seemed only that: things. They wouldn’t keep him company when he was lonely. Nor would they gently rub his head and neck, or tell him how beautiful he looked in the moonlight.

A hot tear trickled down his face.

“Oh, this is rich. Honestly, you two.”

Tristin started and sat up. Dirit was perched on the foot of the bed glaring at him. The little dragon was bathed in silvery moonlight, making him look like some sort of glowing spirit.

“W-what… what d-do you w-want?” Tristin stammered.

Dirit tapped a long claw on the bedpost, and a glowing ball of yellow light appeared over his head, illuminating the room. “I want you to go and speak to His Royal Restlessness. He’s been in a snit ever since he returned from the tower.” Dirit narrowed his eyes. When Tristin didn’t respond, the dragon continued, “It’s impossible to sleep with all the muttering and pacing.”

“Ah. Well. I… imagine that’s because I disgust him,” Tristin murmured.

“Humans.” The dragon rolled his eyes and twitched his whiskers in apparent disgust. “So dramatic. You think you disgust him, and he’s certain he’s frightened you off. Matchmaking really isn’t part of my mandate, you know, but it appears that neither one of you is bright enough to realize that you’ve had a misunderstanding.”

Tristin stared at him, open-mouthed, as he tried to work out whom Dirit was insulting. Both of them, it sounded like.

The little dragon peered at him, eyebrow tufts drawing together in a frown. “You do know what a misunderstanding is, don’t you?”

“Of c-course I do. I’m j-just not sure what I can do about it.”

“You could start by putting some clothing on,” Dirit prodded.

Heat rushed to his face, and Tristin scrambled off of the bed and went to fetch his clothing from the main room of the suite.

“Not those.” Dirit appeared in front of him, grabbing a mouthful of Tristin’s breeches and yanking them out of his hand. He spit them out on the floor as if they tasted bad, then wrinkled his snout. “They’re all rumpled and dusty. You simply cannot go courting in dirty things.”

“Who says I’m going—”

“Have you no sense of decorum?”

“Decorum isn’t exactly a priority when you’ve been locked in a tower for most of your life,” Tristin explained. He snatched the rumpled breeches from the floor and clutched them against himself in the vain hope of preserving both modesty and dignity. “Anyway, I haven’t got anything else.”

Dirit swarmed across the floor and disappeared into the bedroom, taking the ball of light with him and leaving Tristin in darkness. A moment later, the dragon — and the light — returned. “You’ve an entire dressing room full of clothing fit for a prince. Come along, we haven’t got all night. Honestly, do I have to do everything for you?”

With Dirit’s assistance, Tristin selected a pair of dark blue breeches and a grey linen shirt. When he was dressed, he brushed his hair and tied it back with a little strip of black leather.

“Yes…” Dirit circled him, hopping up on the furniture to observe him from all angles. “Of course, a proper bath would have been better, but if I’m to get any sleep at all, we simply haven’t time. I don’t expect you’ll progress to the point where that’s really necessary, not tonight. His Royal Virtuousness is far too much of a gentleman to be invading your dignity with his most impressive royal masculinity on the first encounter.”

“Invading my dignity?” Tristin sputtered. “With his—”

“You’ll do quite nicely. That really is a charming shade of pink. Lovely contrast with the shirt. Come along, then.”

Tristin could only stare at the dragon, speechless. It wasn’t until they were entering the guest wing that he found his voice. “What if… what if he’s gone to sleep? It must be well after midnight by now.”

“A bit past two, actually,” Dirit informed him. “But he’s awake.”

“How do you know?”

Dirit’s ears flattened. “I can feel him. I’m attached to him, remember? Bonded. Cursed with constant awareness.”

Unable to think of anything else to do, Tristin followed the little dragon through the castle’s dimly lit hallways. The guardsmen posted at regular intervals said nothing, but Tristin hunched his shoulders, certain they were watching and judging. They probably thought he was off to some clandestine meeting of the most sordid kind, and he couldn’t help feeling conspicuous and rather overdressed. Face flaming, he trudged miserably down the hall after Dirit.

Shadowspire Cover Art and Excerpt

So Shadowspire (Wytch Kings, Book 3) is nearly ready for a late January release. I just have final edits and proofreading to get through. Today I have cover art to show off, and a tiny taste of the story. Chinchbug gets better with every cover, I think. Here is his latest:

Book Description

Shy and bookish Prince Jaire of Altan is not particularly enthralled at the idea of marrying the simpering Lady Bria of Irilan, but Altan needs to renew its ties with the neighboring kingdom. For the sake of the alliance, Jaire is willing to do his duty, even if he would much rather marry a prince.

When Jaire sees the ghost of a handsome young man dressed in fashions centuries old, he fears he might be losing his mind. But the ghost proves to be far more than a restless spirit, and might just hold the key the northern kingdoms need to break free of the Wytch Council’s ever-tightening grip, as well as the key to Jaire’s heart.


Excerpt

“Breaking the amulet is the only way,” Vayne said softly. “And you must help me do it.”

Jaire stared up at Vayne. What if he broke the amulet and Vayne ended up dead? Or lost? Though he’d never touched the ghost-prince, the thought of being the cause of the man’s death troubled him deeply. “I… what if it kills you?”

“I think that’s a chance we’ll have to take. If you can free me, I can go for help. If you don’t free me, there’s no chance. What will Garrik do when they threaten you to gain his cooperation?”

“I… I don’t know,” Jaire whispered. “He’ll be terribly angry. And… and Garrik doesn’t always think clearly when he’s angry. And he especially doesn’t think clearly when I’m involved.” He didn’t like to imagine what Garrik would do. Whatever it was, it wouldn’t be well thought out, and would likely place Garrik in terrible danger. He closed his eyes and let out a small sigh. “I suppose you’re right. If there’s any chance of freeing you so you can go for help, we had best take it.” He swallowed hard and raised his head to meet Vayne’s eyes. “Thank you. For risking yourself. What must I do?”

“Take the amulet off and let’s see if we can free the stone.”

With shaking hands, Jaire drew the fine silver chain over his head. For a moment he squeezed the stone tightly in his hand, then opened it to reveal the emerald green gem wrapped in an intricate net of fine silver lying in his palm.

“See how the setting wraps around it, protecting it?” Vayne asked. “It’s designed to break easily. Hold it up to the light, and you can probably see the flaw deep in the crystal. It shouldn’t take more than the pressure of your boot heel to shatter it, once it’s free of the setting.”

Jaire blinked to clear his vision and examined the amulet closely. He lifted it to the light, and indeed, there was a dark fault line deep inside it. Jaire studied the metalwork cage, found a spot near the top where two small loops of wire were twisted together.

He pointed them out to Vayne. “I think if I unwrap these… it looks like it will open the setting and free the gem.”

“Do it,” Vayne whispered.

His fingers were swollen and bruised from hammering on the stone, and it took a few tries to get hold of the fine loops. Once he began untwisting them, it went quickly, and before long, the intricate wire mesh holding the gem opened enough for him to tip the stone out into his hand.

“Now you must crush it,” Vayne said.

“Vayne… I… I don’t know if I can. What if I hurt you?”

“I would do it for you if I could, Jaire, but I cannot. You must be my hands in this. Whatever happens, you must not blame yourself. I am asking you — I am begging you — to break the gem. Please, Jaire. End my exile. Give me the chance to help you.”

Vayne’s words gave him strength. Vayne wanted this and so Jaire would do it for him. It would be selfish to keep the ghost-prince trapped just because Jaire wanted his company.

He rose unsteadily to his feet and moved away from the wall.

“Just crush it beneath my boot?”

“Ai,” Vayne breathed. “I believe that will be enough.”

Jaire set the gem on the floor and stared down at it, then turned his gaze to Vayne. He studied the ghost-prince for a long, long time, memorizing the lines of his face as he did. “If this doesn’t work… I just want you to know I’ve enjoyed your company very much, and I wish… I wish I could have known you better. I would like to have touched you.” He felt his face grow hot, but he kept his eyes fixed on Vayne, who gave him a sad smile.

“I would like to have touched you, too, Jaire.”

“Right then. Let’s do this.” Jaire raised his foot, squeezed his eyes shut, and brought his boot heel down hard on the gem. The moment it shattered, a ripple of power shivered through the mythe. He opened his eyes to see Vayne on his knees, open-mouthed, eyes wide with shock before the ghost-prince vanished.

Eye of the Storm Cover Art

Eye of the Storm (Guardians of the Pattern, Book 5) is in the final edit stages, and due to be released in early September. I just got the final cover art from Chinchbug, and here it is:

Book Description:

Wealthy playboy Nick Romani is a trouble-magnet. When the local news net obtains compromising pictures of him with a prominent politician’s married son, Nick’s exasperated father exiles him to a remote research facility until the scandal dies down. When Nick learns what kind of research he’s expected to do, he balks. Instead of obeying his father’s orders, he heads out alone into the wilderness.

Ajhani Guardian Vaya Rhivana has chosen exile over a slow death by the drug that binds his uncontrollable power over the mythe. Before Vaya finds the strength to leave his clan, his sister’s son is kidnapped by the Sky People. Heartbroken, but too weak and sick to help rescue his nephew, Vaya heads off into the mountains, not expecting to return.

When a storm dumps an injured Nick at Vaya’s feet, Vaya’s first thought is to kill him. Only a whisper of prophecy stays his hand. An uneasy bargain is struck, and as the two exiles journey through the dangerous wilderness, Vaya finds his feelings for Nick slowly changing. Can Vaya keep his promise to Nick and see the bargain through? Or will the power he struggles to control destroy both himself and the man he’s beginning to love?

Guardians of the Pattern: Release Day for Bundle and Cover Reveal for Book 4: Wildfire Psi

Today I'm over at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words with some shiny new stuff to show you.

It's release day for the Guardians of the Pattern Bundle, Vol. 1, which includes the short prequel story Facing the Mirror and the first three novels of the Guardians of the Pattern series, Psi Hunter (Book 1), Gremlin's Last Run (Book 2), and Ghost in the Mythe (Book 3) is now available at Amazon, All Romance, and Smashwords.

To celebrate, I'm giving away a copy of Psi Hunter, the first book in the series, so head on over to Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words to enter.

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is also graciously hosting the cover reveal for Wildfire Psi, Book 4 in the Guardians of the Pattern series, and there's an exclusive excerpt to keep you going until it's released on January 29th.

Coming Soon: Guardians of the Pattern Bundle

Coming on December 14 is Guardians of the Pattern, Volume 1, a digital bundle that includes the prequel story, Facing the Mirror, plus the first three novels of the Guardians of the Pattern series: Psi Hunter, Gremlin's Last Run, and Ghost in the Mythe. That's over 320,000 words of sci fi goodness to kick back with over the holidays.

Facing the Mirror (Prequel): When undercover agent Cameron Asada meets Miko, a psychic slave kept by the drug lord Cameron is investigating, he starts to question his mission priorities. The choice is clear: complete the mission or help Miko. Neither option is easy, but only one will allow Cameron to face himself in the mirror.

Psi Hunter (Book 1): Sparks fly when ex-lovers Kyn Valdari and Pat Cottrell are ordered to team up on a murder investigation. When they discover an abused, traumatized young psion powerful enough to kill with a thought, they must work together to protect him from being enslaved by the very organization that is supposed to save him.

Gremlin’s Last Run (Book 2): When independent freighter captain Rhys Tyler finds Alek McKinnon hiding in his cargo hold, he has a choice to make: help a wounded Federation agent escape from his captors, or shove him out the air lock. One look at Alek’s pretty brown eyes is all it takes to convince Rhys to take a chance on the man. Now they’re both on the run from a shady organization that wants Alek back at any cost.

Ghost in the Mythe (Book 3): Exiled from his home world, Tarrin Rhivana stows away on a Federation ship, and finds himself lost in the terrifying place-between-worlds where jump ships navigate. There he meets a beautiful ghost who might be the only one who can help Tarrin save his world from outside forces that would strip it bare.

Leythe Blade: Cover Reveal and Excerpt

Today I'm over at the Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words blog for the cover reveal of my next M/M fantasy novel, Leythe Blade, which will be available on October 26. There's an excerpt to whet your appetite, and I've also answered a few questions about how Leythe Blade fits into the bigger picture of the tapestry of stories I'm weaving.

The gorgeous cover art was done by my tame cover artist, Chinchbug. He's really outdone himself this time... come on over and take a peek!

Ghost in the Mythe: Cover Reveal and Excerpt

Ghost in the Mythe, Book 3 of the Guardians of the Pattern series, is nearing completion, and is on track for a June release. Chinchbug did up an awesome cover for it, and here it is:

And just to whet your appetite, here's another little taste:

It didn’t seem like very long before the flickering shades of Cameron’s concern filtered down through the depths. He felt it as a gentle tug on the thread he’d left connected to the place where his body rested.

It hadn’t been nearly long enough, not for Miko, but he forced himself to follow the currents back up. When he opened his eyes, he found Cameron sitting on one of the couches that lined two of the walls of Miko’s office.

Cameron looked tired. Dark smudges shadowed hard, brown eyes, and his usually neat auburn hair was tousled, as if he’d been running his fingers through it. The realization that he had no idea how much time had passed while he’d been drifting sent a twist of guilt through Miko’s stomach.

The moment Miko’s eyes opened, Cameron leaned forward. “Are you all right?” he asked quickly.

Miko blinked as the lights of the office and the intensity of Cameron’s concern jerked him fully out of the mythe. The transition into reality was sharp and cold, leaving his body shivering and his mind reeling.

He dipped mental fingers back into the net and flicked on the voice synth unit. Miko forced an apologetic smile and said, “Drifting.”

The synthetic voice coming from the speakers on the walls was flat. Miko rarely bothered using the inflections the software was capable of. He’d never got the hang of making the voice match what he wanted people to think he felt, and it was far too easy to be misinterpreted.

Miko’s own voice was gone, taken from him when he’d first touched the raw mythe during a routine passenger run gone horribly wrong. The ship he’d been on had been thrust into jump space unexpectedly, and Miko had been the only survivor.

He still wasn’t sure that survived was an accurate description of what had happened to him. Warped, perhaps. Changed, for certain. But survived?

Hardly. Not when all he wanted was to drift back into the mythe.

“I’m fine,” he added, realizing belatedly that Cameron needed that reassurance.

“You’ve been gone a long time. I got here just before dinner to meet with you. It’s nearly midnight now. Another hour or so and I was going to carry you down to the infirmary.”

Miko checked the net. Cameron was right — he’d been gone for hours that had felt like mere minutes. He bit his lip and looked away. He’d done it again — worried Cameron without meaning to.

“I’m sorry.”

“You were gone long enough to have me worried.”

He wasn’t sure how to respond to that. The same words could mean so many different things. Delving deeply enough into someone else’s mythe-shadow to discern an emotional context that didn’t always make sense to him was both exhausting and painful. Miko found it so uncomfortable that he’d given up trying, except where Cameron was concerned.

In the back of his mind, the soft colors and textures of the mythe beckoned, and he reached for them, entranced by the songs that touched the edges of his awareness.

“Miko!” Cameron’s voice penetrated his thoughts, his mythe-shadow flaring hot and spiky with fear. It hurt, and Miko flinched.

“Yes?”

“You went away again. I thought…” Cameron shook his head. “Never mind what I thought. Do I need to help you to bed?”

Miko had never seen the point of bed — he’d just as soon sleep here — but part of Cameron’s definition of normal included sleeping in a bed at night and eating his meals in the Institute’s communal dining room.

“I’m not sleepy,” Miko said, struggling to focus his full attention on Cameron. “I’m sorry I missed the meeting. What did you need?”

“It’s midnight, Miko.”

Miko cocked his head and frowned, unsure what the connection was.

Cameron let out an exasperated sigh. “I have to be up early, so we’ll make this brief. I’m meeting with the Command Council tomorrow to report on our progress in locating the missing psions. Have you found anything more? Anything I can legally use, I mean?”

“Anything your net could show you? No.”

Cameron leaned forward again, his expression eager. “Anything it couldn’t?”

“Echoes and shadows. Whispers in the mythe.”

“Nothing solid, then.”

“Connections… but… deep inside of data structures that exist mostly in the mythe. Your net only sees the simplest of the shapes and patterns. The tip of the iceberg. Your Command Council… they want things that human senses understand… surveillance vids and tracking logs. You can’t put the color of a thread or the flavor of a whisper in your report.”

“No. I can’t.” Cameron’s mythe-shadow shimmered with the colors of disappointment.

“I’m sorry.” Miko forced a smile. “I’ll keep trying.” He hated letting Cameron down. He did his best to please the man who had been his savior. Cameron had sacrificed much to free Miko from the hell of slavery: career, livelihood, reputation… all those things that Miko couldn’t quite grasp the importance of.

All the same, he did his best to go through the motions of being human so that Cameron would believe he was normal. And happy. Even though Miko knew he never would be.

He loved Cameron for wanting those things for him.

And he hated him for it, too.

Burn the Sky: Cover Reveal and Excerpt

Burn the Sky is on track for a mid-January release, so I (finally) get to show you the cover Chinchbug did for it.

And here's a little taste to whet your appetite:

Master Tevari opened the saddlebag that Kian had abandoned. He pulled out a set of chains and manacles, similar to the ones Garrik had glimpsed in the castle dungeons on the rare occasions when he and Jaire had crept down there to explore.

“What are those for?” Garrik asked, worrying his lower lip between his teeth as he eyed the chains.

“Protection.”

Garrik let out a nervous laugh. The Wytch Master arched an eyebrow. His expression was deadly serious, and Garrik swallowed his laughter. “Whose protection?”

“Yours. And mine and Kian’s, should things come to such a pass.” Tevari handed the chains to Kian and motioned for Garrik to enter the nearest bedroom. Garrik sat on the bed and removed his boots and his heavy overtunic.

A few moments later, the Wytch Master entered the room, wooden cup in hand. He offered it to Garrik. “Drink this, Your Highness. All of it.”

Garrik sniffed the liquid and wrinkled his nose. It had a foul smell, and bubbled and fizzed ominously in the wooden cup. “What is it?”

“It will help lower your natural defenses, easing the way for me to seek your power.”

He drank it down, nearly gagging at the taste, then lay back on the bed. Kian’s movements were brisk and efficient as he locked the metals cuffs around Garrik’s wrists and ankles.

“Kian,” Garrik said in a low voice, “look at me.”

Kian finished securing the chains to the bed frame and slowly met his gaze.

“Are you truly so frightened?”

Kian’s eyes flicked toward the Wytch Master and then back to Garrik. “It is your safety and your sanity I fear for, Garrik,” he whispered. “Are you certain this is what you want?”

“It is,” Garrik said. “Not just for Altan, but for Jaire. What kind of life will he have if the Wytch Council forces him to take the throne?”

“What kind of life will he have if you are dead?” Kian whispered fiercely. “Have you thought of that? Who will protect him then?”

Dead? Garrik’s certainty began to waver. Kian and the Wytch Master surely knew what they were about. If they were both frightened…

He gave himself a mental shake. What Kian and Tevari thought didn’t matter. There was no other way to protect Jaire. He tore his gaze from Kian’s and focused on the Wytch Master. “I’m ready. Do it.”

The Wytch Master moved to his side. “Then prepare yourself, boy. Because this will hurt.”

Gremlin's Last Run: Cover Reveal and Excerpt

Gremlin's Last Run (Guardians of the Pattern: Book 2) is still on track for an October release, so it's time to reveal the awesome cover Chinchbug did for it.

That's Rhys on the cover (that's Captain Tyler to you, dirtsucker), and here's a little taste...

Excerpt:

There was a flicker of tension from somewhere nearby, something leaking through his faulty shields. At the sound of the cabin door sliding open, Alek whipped his head around to face his captors.

Correction—captor.

He couldn’t make out anything beyond a fuzzy shape in the dim light until the figure across the room slapped the control panel, bringing the lights up.

The brightness stabbed through his head. Alek winced and brought his hands up to cover his eyes. His captor said nothing, and when the pain finally receded, Alek lowered his hands to see a familiar figure leaning against the door watching him with an unreadable expression. Tousled black hair, pale face, dark circles of exhaustion under his eyes—this was the man Alek had slipped past while he’d been busy with the cargo chief. He still wore the black flight suit, and even up close, there was no corporate logo or insignia of rank to be seen.

“Where am I?” Alek demanded. “Who are you?”

A slow smile spread across the man’s features as he studied Alek. “You can call me Captain for now. And I think I’ll be the one asking the questions here.” His voice was husky, and he spoke Standard with an accent blurring his vowels. He shifted his body slightly to display the weapon in his hand.

Alek went cold at the sight of the needle gun. Not a weapon he’d expected to see in the hands of a civilian. Not a weapon he wanted to be on the wrong end of, either. Those tiny slivers of metal might not clear the muzzle with enough velocity to damage the hull of a spacecraft, but they shredded flesh like nobody’s business.

“Now,” the man said, “how ‘bout you tell me just what the hell you thought you were doing in my cargo hold? Besides bleeding all over the place, I mean.”

Alek swallowed around a suddenly dry throat. If this had been a corporate ship, his status as a Federation agent might have been worth something, but here it could get him killed. He tried to speak, but all that came out was a croak.

His captor leaned toward the small desk built into the wall and picked up a water bottle. He approached slowly, holding it out to Alek. When Alek reached out to take it, the captain let go, jerking his own hand back quickly, as if he was afraid Alek would make a grab for him. Woozy from pain-killers and secured to the bunk, he couldn’t imagine that he looked like much of a threat.

He sucked down a mouthful of cold water, then set the bottle in one of the recessed spaces at the head of the bunk. “Thank you.”

The captain had moved back to his spot by the door. He nodded briefly and fixed Alek with an expectant look. “Now… cargo hold?”

“Yeah. Cargo hold. Look, I’m sorry about that. I didn’t have a lot of choice. Can we… start over, maybe without the needle gun? My name’s Alek. And you are…?”

His captor raised one dark eyebrow and made no move to put the gun away. “I’m the man who didn’t vent the cargo hold or turn around and dump you in the lap of Station Security. I’m also the man who fixed you up and put you to bed, so you can damn well do me the courtesy of explaining yourself.” His lips curved in a grim smile. “Or you can take a walk out the air lock. I don’t much care which, and I’m warning you, my bullshit tolerance is at an all-time low right about now, so you might want to consider your story carefully before you begin.”

New Cover Art: Facing the Mirror

Facing the Mirror, my free, short, sort-of-prequel to Psi Hunter has a new look! I had to ask very nicely--and carefully--because when someone you love does something nice for you--like makes you a cover for your book, and it looks about a million times better than anything you could make yourself--you don't want them to think you don't like it. And I did like it. But the old cover just didn't fit with the covers for the rest of the series, so I asked Chinchbug if he could maybe, when he had some spare time, just sort of see if he might be able to do a cover that was a bit more like the others in the series.

Wow, did he ever! Take a look at this:

The new cover is now live at All Romance and Smashwords, and will be appearing soon at Amazon and other retailers.

Now I have to go make that dude a really nice dinner!

Love's Landscapes Story: Title and Cover Art

The Love's Landscapes story I'm working on, while not a sequel to Human Frailties, Human Strengths, does take place in the same world, and anyone who has read either the novella, Human Frailties or the novel will recognize the magic system that's in place, some of the locations mentioned, and possibly a couple of the characters. It is, however, written as a stand-alone story, so no prior knowledge or background is needed to read and enjoy it.

I'm calling this one Human Choices. It will be released sometime this summer, between June 1 and September (no exact date, but that's part of the fun!). Once it's been released on Goodreads and is available for download on the M/M Romance Group's website, I'll post links here. I also plan to make it available as a freebie via the usual channels... so eventually it'll be available at all the usual ebook retailers... I'll post links as they become available.

At any rate, without further ado, here is the fabulous cover designed by Husband Beast:

Update, February 2014

Thing #1: Psi Hunter is on track for a March 3 release... manuscript is out for a final polish and then I get to do my Paranoid Final Proofread and my Frantic Search for Missing and Misplaced Words. And here, because I don't think I actually put it in a blog post yet, is the gorgeous cover art by Chinchbug. I think this one is my favorite, but then I think that about all of them...  We'll have to have a vote when all five (or more?) books are out.

Thing #2: The rewrite of Gremlin's Last Run is sitting at about 14,000 words right now, and is heading for 100K. (I hope. This one was actually written first and needs a lot of tweaking to bring all the world-building in line with the rest of the series.)

Thing #3: That New Year's Resolution? The one about not wasting so much time on the internet? The unplugging the cable thing is working out real well... except? Now there is knitting. Sitting on my desk. To pick up whenever I get stuck. I can't decide if the fact that I'm all of a sudden getting a lot of knitting done is a good sign or a bad one.

Cover Reveal and Excerpt... Right This Way, Folks...

Today is the day I get to show off the awesome cover art that Chinchbug did for Psi Hunter. Brandon Shire is graciously hosting a cover reveal and an exclusive excerpt on his blog! If you'd like to see the gorgeous cover and get a little taste of the story, head on over there!

Nominated... Me???

I was really excited to see that my free Love Has No Boundaries novella, Human Frailties, and the full length novel that grew out of it, Human Frailties, Human Strengths, have both received nominations in the Goodreads M/M Romance Group's 2013 Members' Choice Awards! Dudes, I'm kind of stunned (but not, as Husband Beast is quick to point out, speechless). In fact, I've been trying to come up with a blog post to announce this, and I'm still not even sure what to say except, "Thank you!"

Human Frailties has been nominated for Best Debut Book, Best Free Story, and Best Title, and Human Frailties, Human Strengths has been nominated for Best Fantasy and Best Cover!

I don't know that I would have had the courage to put anything else out there if it wasn't for the wonderful, encouraging reception that Human Frailties received in the Goodreads M/M Romance Group's Love Has No Boundaries Event this past summer.

Thank you so much to the folks who nominated my stories, and thank you to everyone who has taken a chance on a new author and taken the time to read my books! Your support and your overwhelmingly positive comments mean a lot to me.

And 2014? It's gonna be great...

Pants... And Cover Art

Chinchbug has been on a creative roll lately. He's working on the covers for all five of the Guardians of the Pattern novels in one fell swoop because he wants to tie them all together thematically (I hope this is artist-speak for make them look cool, but you never know).

Last night he was working on the cover for Book 3, and he showed me the initial renders so I could tell him if the model looked the way I pictured the character. Our impromptu creative consultation session went something like this:

Chinchbug: So what do you think? Does he look young enough? Androgynous enough? Are his eyes and his hair right?
Jaye: Er... yeah... he looks good... but Dude, he's not wearing any pants.
Chinchbug: Well, no. He doesn't need pants. We're doing head shots, remember?
Jaye: Yeah, but... he's not wearing pants.
Chinchbug: I know he's not wearing pants. But what do you think of the rest of him?
Jaye: I can't take him seriously if he's not wearing pants.
Chinchbug: It's artistic license.
Jaye: Yeah, but--
Chinchbug (handing Jaye the mouse and getting up out of his chair): Maybe you'd like to drive?
Jaye (staring at Daz Studio interface in techno-horror): Er... you know what? I think I can live with a little pantslessness.

So anyway, here's the cover Chinchbug worked up for the soon-to-be-released short story, Facing the Mirror.

That's Cameron on the cover. He's the main character in Facing the Mirror, and he's a secondary character in most of the Guardians of the Pattern novels. Eventually, I'd like to give him his own novel, because he has an interesting story to tell, but for now, he's going to have to wait.

And in case you were wondering... he's not wearing any pants, either.

Human Frailties, Human Strengths: Cover Art

Husband-Beast (aka Chinchbug, to his artist friends) has done a gorgeous cover for Human Frailties, Human Strengths, and I wanted to share it before the story comes out. He's currently hard at work on covers for the five-book sci fi series, the first book of which will be out in early 2014, if all goes according to plan (shh... don't tell the Universe I said that...). The nice thing about having my cover artist living in my house (and dependent on me for meals, laundry, bathroom cleaning, and kid-wrangling) is that we can have conversations like this:

Jaye: Dude, can you make Ash look a little more evil?
Chinchbug: (not Husband-Beast, because he's in Artist Mode, and we have to Respect that) Evil?
Jaye: Yeah, you know, like he eats puppies for breakfast, or something.
Chinchbug: Hmm... I think I might actually have a template for that...
Jaye: (impressed) Really?
Chinchbug: After reading your synopsis and character descriptions for that sci fi series, I figured I was going to need a lot of shocked, terrified, and generally miserable dudes for the covers.
Jaye: (shuffling feet) Er... they get happy endings...
Chinchbug: Yeah, well, let's just say I'm glad I don't live in your head and leave it at that, shall we?

So yeah, it's like that at my house. Anyway, here's the new cover:

LHNB Story: Cover and Title

Over in the Goodreads M/M Romance Group, those of us participating in the 2013 Don't Read in the Closet event, "Love Has No Boundaries", have been given permission to reveal our titles, so I thought I'd go ahead and post the whole cover for the story:

So there it is, and many thanks to the cover artist, Chinchbug. He's now hard at work on the cover for the sequel, which is sitting at about 37K and I'm pretty close to being done with the first draft (it will be longer than 37K... my stories tend to get bigger with each editing pass...).