Chaos, Craziness, and M/M Shortie Excerpts

I’m sorry I haven’t posted one of my rants or warped-sense-of-humor posts this week. I live in Ohio, one of the states hit hard by the storms last Friday, so the power was out nearly everywhere and entire towns in total blackout. Although our power wasn’t knocked out, the rest of the family didn’t have any electricity so guess whose house they camped at? LOL. Last night my parents’ power was finally restored. The oldest dau and her family has their power back, too.

So, as a result of this chaos and craziness, my writing and blogging has suffered.

One thing’s for sure. I have plenty of material to blog about when my next week at 4SW comes up!

Also, if you scroll down (depending on how you accessed this post) or go HERE, you can read my latest book review. It posted on Tuesday, because I sent the link out, but somehow blogger suffered a snafu and the post disappeared, so I had to re-post.

I thought about posting an excerpt from one of my upcoming titles, but since there are seven different ones, I couldn’t decide which one to go with nor do I yet know when any of them will be released.

  

For now, I leave the fans of m/m romantic fiction some shortie excerpts of my work in this genre. J

The Crimson Bane Battles—the first three books in this series are m/m, paranormal/sci-fi romance involving Ian, an Earthie, and Skorpe, a Parallelan.

Book 1 Absinthe Forever

Lost in bittersweet memories of Skorpe, the gorgeous hunk of Goth who crushed his heart and stole his money, Ian takes an after-dinner walk in Manhattan to clear his mind. A bizarre red fog belches from the New York City sewers, and Ian, like so many others, succumbs to its otherworldly caress. As he lies in the street, unable to move, he watches creatures composed of no more than red, glowing outlines and with eyes like flaming coals wander the streets like an invading army. Ian can do nothing except think about his vanished lover and pray that Skorpe has not been afflicted by the strange, numbing poison.

Skorpe is from Parallel Earth and on a mission to defeat the Crimson Bane. Falling for Ian wasn't in the plan. To save Ian from the Crimson Bane, Skorpe steals a large sum of money from him and leaves him to set up a safe haven for them before the Crimson Bane Battles officially begin. He returns to the city only to discover that he's too late in reaching Ian before the first attack. Can Skorpe find Ian before one of the demons delivers a killing blow to the incapacitated human?

Genre: Paranormal romance, sci-fi, erotic romance, GLBT, end-of-the-world

Someone tugged the cover off Ian's head. Stunned, he stared up into Skorpe's dark, worried eyes. Delight, relief, and a host of questions bounced around in Ian's mind and heart. I can't believe this is really happening. Where the hell's he been all this time? Frustrated with his lack of speech, Ian tried to convey his thoughts through his eyes.

Skorpe placed his hands on either side of Ian's face and looked him directly in the eyes. "You're safe now."

Holy shit! He knows I'm aware of everything! Thank God!

"I'm going to do something that will shock you." A smile tweaked Skorpe's full, black-painted lips, but the concern in his eyes intensified. "It's essential I do this to free you." Skorpe pulled the sheet off Ian's body, unfastened Ian's pants, and then yanked on them several times. "There's a reason I never let you make love to me, Ian. We're both pure."

Confusion drifted through Ian. What is he going on about? We're finally reunited, and he's talking about purity?

"Neither you or I use any man-made products or cosmetics," Skorpe continued, his tone even. "We both utilize alternative medicines to heal ourselves instead of synthetic drugs, and everything we eat is chemical and preservative free, and most of our beauty products are natural, right down to using baking soda to brush our teeth. We only drink bottled spring water, and we both use distilled water to bathe in most of the time. The only liquor we drink is absinthe, and it's pure, too." Skorpe smiled down at him and ran one hand over Ian's chest, a chest that hadn't moved up and down with life for nearly three days. "I've missed our evenings talking over a bit of absinthe so very much."

Ian stared up at his love, both elated and confused to see him. What the hell does eating right or using organic substances have to do with any of this?

Laughing sympathetically, Skorpe answered Ian's unspoken question. "I imagine you're wondering what I'm going on about when you'd rather know why I left you and what's going on with you right now." He stripped off his boots, trousers, and briefs, then hiked his purple, velvet robe up around his waist. He grasped Ian's flaccid cock and began kissing and licking it. "Bear with me, Ian. All will become clear to you very shortly."

Surprised, Ian relished the warmth spreading through his body. The heat slipped into his abdomen, permeated his limbs, and coursed up into his skull. Slowly, sensation began to return, and a steady thump penetrated his ears. 

"I'm going to consummate our union." Skorpe raised his head and looked up at Ian. "I'm from Parallel Earth. Whatever happens to one Earth will happen to the other, only with slightly different circumstances. In our world, we're only permitted one mate. If we have sex, it means we're joined by our souls until one of us dies. And on Parallel Earth, sex has healing properties." He indicated his face and lips and then wiggled his fingers at Ian. "Parallelans look like Goths, but our black lips and nails and our pale skin isn't from makeup. It's all natural." Skorpe straddled Ian's abdomen, and to Ian's surprise, desire roared through him.

Book 2 Absinthe Flames

Struggling to comprehend a world turned upside down, Ian wants nothing more than to be with his partner Skorpe at The Castle, an underground stronghold where Parallelans and Earthies hide from the deadly Crimson Bane.

However, Ian’s unpredictable ex-fiancé is the residing M.D. Skorpe worries that Ian still harbors lingering feelings for Regina Clearcash, but when the Bane sends The Castle into a Level Two emergency, Skorpe is called away to the command center, leaving Ian at Regina’s mercy.

Regina swears she’s a changed woman, but when Ian tells her that Skorpe is his mate, she lashes out at him just as explosions rock The Castle. Skorpe is cornered in the compound, and Ian awakens in Regina’s arms as they ride to a new Regrouping Point. Separated again, both men vow to find the other, but with the Crimson Bane taking so many lives, Ian and Skorpe pray they find one another before it’s too late.

Genre: Paranormal romance, sci-fi, erotic romance, GLBT, end-of-the-world

“I’m afraid a bath isn’t possible,” Skorpe stated. He tossed his robe across the back of a chair and placed the food containers on a counter that separated the kitchenette from the living area. “We ration water because we’re uncertain what the Bane has done to other water sources, if anything. Plus timed showers keeps everyone from wasting water. Our water feeds off a system of springs that fills the Blackmire Lake.”

“Will anything be normal again?” Ian asked abruptly. He didn’t mean to sound short with Skorpe, but after being saved from a frightening fate on the street, the future looked bleak, uncertain.

Skorpe’s mouth flattened into a line that showed both sympathy and understanding. “Oh, baby, where do I even begin to explain things to you?”

“Is it really that bad?” The need to know the truth and the desire to not know battled in Ian’s brain. “Judging by how high tech this place is things have got to be extreme. You have things from the military, for shit’s sake! Computerized things that I never even knew existed!”

“Some of the technology you saw comes from Parallel Earth,” Skorpe said, “because my world is a little more advanced than yours. In truth, Parallelans have been building these Earth fortresses for several years.”

“You knew about the Crimson Bane all this time?”

“Yes and no,” said Skorpe. “There are many alternate dimensions that most know nothing about. However, world after world has succumbed to the same things: greed, laziness, convenience, selfishness and so on. Sooner or later the Crimson Bane arrives. It’s complicated and confusing.” He pointed to a door behind Ian. “The bathroom is there. Go take a hot shower, and then I’ll try to explain some of this craziness to you.”

Ian turned and entered the tiny cubicle that served as the bathroom. It reminded him of a toilet closet on a travel bus except it had a sink opposite the commode and a narrow shower stall. He discovered dispensers in the shower with soap, shampoo and conditioner. Stripping off his clothes, he stepped into the cubicle and picked up a clean cloth on a tiny inverted shelf by the glass door. A sensor blinked red, and water sprayed down on him.

He stood there for a couple of minutes just enjoying the sensation of hot water sluicing over his weary body. Due to lying on the hard pavement for nearly three days in the same position, many of his muscles and joints protested his every movement. As he began to wash, he found bruises where his flesh had been pressed against the asphalt.

Groaning, he washed carefully, but his right arm refused to move without dire pain, so washing his back was impossible.

“Here,” Skorpe said outside the door, “let me help you.”

Ian handed him the cloth.

“I can only imagine what your body feels like after lying on the street in the same position for so long,” Skorpe added.

“Trust me, there isn’t enough herbal remedy in the world right now.”

Skorpe chuckled softly. He discarded his clothes, stepped into the stall and began washing Ian’s back.

“Want me to wash your hair for you too?” Skorpe asked as he rinsed the body wash from Ian’s body.

“If you don’t mind. It’s difficult to scrub my hair when it hurts to raise my right arm above my waist.”

He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of Skorpe’s fingers in his hair, his touch firm but gentle. Skorpe rubbed Ian’s scalp and then nudged the back of his skull, indicating Ian should rinse.

Finished, he remained beneath the spray and said... 

Hee! Hee! I know, I'm a meanie. Lastly, from book 3, Absinthe Dawn (release date to be announced).

With The Standoff Point destroyed, Earthies and Parallelans must evacuate to new bases, but find those destroyed by the Bane, too. Separated again, Skorpe and Ian vow to find one another.

However, Regina, Ian’s old fiancée, is determined to make him hers again. Stuck in the mountains with her, Ian is determined to make his way back to his mate. However, Skorpe has a problem, too, a very handsome one.

The two men embark on quests to find the other, but the Converts are spreading and attack in unexpected places. Now Ian and Skorpe face not only death, but something worse—conversion. Will Ian and Skorpe’s love survive?

      Skorpe reached the ground floor and strode through the lower level to the hall leading to the cafeteria. He didn’t look back; he didn’t have to. Avionne’s footsteps kept pace directly behind him. Once he reached the kitchen, he gathered granola bars and fruit that were easy to carry as well as commandeering a stainless-steel bottle for water. He zipped up his pack and turned to go, but Avionne stepped in front of him.

       “Maybe you should rethink what you’re doing,” he said.

       “Look, I appreciate your concern,” Skorpe replied, his irritation mounting, “but we barely even know one another so what I do is none of your business.”

       “I’d like to change that.” Avionne stepped closer.

“Sorry, not interested.” He hoped the guy thought better of it and backed off.

“Wouldn’t it be wiser if you wait a few days and see if your partner returns? Maybe you’ll receive word from another group. He could be looking for you, too. What if you miss one another?”

       His latter statement was one he’d never considered. What if Ian had the same idea and went out looking for him? They could pass one another in the night or even in broad daylight through woods or a town and never even know it.

       Still, Skorpe couldn’t just sit here and do nothing. If his mate was out there somewhere hurt or in trouble, maybe he could find Ian in time.

       No, waiting was worse. He had to at least try to find him.

       “I’m leaving, Avionne.” Turning, he walked around the island table so he wouldn’t have to put himself in contact with the guy. “I’ve already discussed all I need to with the commander. I wish you well.”

       With that, he left the cafeteria, stopped at weaponry, where he was given a snubnosed .38, and then made his way through the prison to the nearest exit.

       He glanced at the little pistol in his hand. Oh, yeah. It was a major beast. He sighed. A big stick would probably serve him better.

Books available HERE and HERE and HERE.