WIP Wednesday: Crazy Dream Inspiration

Guest authors needed - all genres! Are you an author? Would you like to share a little bit about a current work in progress on a future WIP Wednesday? Then I invite you to be my guest. Please e-mail Erin O'Riordan (erinoriordan AT sbcglobal DOT net).

Erin O'Riordan: I've been busy this week with my day job, editing. I have about two more weeks to put the finishing touches on the story I'm tentatively calling "Polyandry" (see last week's WIP Wednesday). Actually, I think a nice title for it might be, "It's Good to Be Princess." Any thoughts on that title?

Any thoughts on this, the cover of an upcoming book that contains my short story "Aftercare?"

On Friday morning I woke up from a really detailed dream that I'm considering turning into a short story. I hesitate to share too much of it for precisely that reason. Suffice it to say, under a scenario in which a weird biohazard reduced the human population to about 300 individuals, including myself and the de facto leader of the survivors, my husband Tit Elingtin. Hubby was busy, what with the effort to ensure the survival of the human race and all, so I developed an attachment to a fellow survivor.

When I woke up and told Tit E. of this dream, he gave me a good idea for how this could be a pretty compelling piece of short fiction. But I won't have time to start it in earnest until Friday, despite the fact that my brain's trying to tell it to me when I'm falling asleep this past few nights.

Thursday night TV is a particularly rich source of material for dreams. First there's The Vampire Diaries. On the CW, it's followed by the other TV series based on a series of novels by L.J. Smith, The Secret Circle. I watched only the first couple of episodes, but I stopped watching it because I found some of the characters too mean-spirited, and I felt like some of the mean-spirited girls were being put out there as protagonists instead of villains. (It's kind of the same problem I had with Kiss, Crush, Collide.)

So then I started watching Person of Interest on CBS after Vampire Diaries. The main thing that recommended it to me was that it stars Jim Caviezel. He's in one of my favorite movies (don't laugh - I know the plot is highly improbable), Frequency. On P of I, Caviezel plays rogue government agent Mr. Reese. Mr. Reese will shoot you in the kneecaps if he needs to. He's a badass. It's totally hot.

Last week's episode called for Mr. Reese to be handcuffed to a pole inside a freezer truck with a baby. To keep the baby from freezing to death, he had to break out of the handcuffs. His wrists were all bloody and raw, and this causes me to imagine several BDSM scenarios.

Therefore, it should not surprise you to learn that in my dream, the survivor in whom I had a great deal of interest resembled Mr. Reese. He is as yummy as the chocolate-covered peanut butter cups which bear his name.

Since that night, I have decided that Mr. Reese and Detective Carter should be gettin' it on. No romance, just stress-relief sex. I am not the only one who considers the possibility of Reese/Carter; consider only "Pushing Boundaries," fanfic by The Dork Mistress. I haven't loved a fanfic this much since Shameless by Helens - and that has a bisexual Christian Bale.

The Dork Mistress writes:

Carter licked her lips, "Y-Your idea of fun can be rather…flawed, John."

"Care to test that theory, detective?"

His idea of fun, in this fanfic, is eating her out in an elevator. TDM goes on to write:

She moaned loudly; her head thumbing against the wall as one of her hands raked its way through his short black and grey hair. She felt his tongue dart in and out; her hips rolling through each wave of pleasure.

Carter was a gasping and moaning mess, trying to remain upright as he dragged the tip of his tongue over her clit. It was as if hot electricity had struck through her, and she swore she had blacked out for a second. Carter was getting close.

Tugging on his hair, Carter dropped her mouth open in an attempt to warn him, "J-John…John…I-I'm…"

Her words failed her as John decide to hum in response; the lewd noises his actions made reaching her ears. She cried out; her orgasm very strong and very intense.

****

Um - yes, please. But I do feel a little bad for Reese, 'cause he doesn't get his in this story. Now he has to go home and take a long, hot shower. 

By the way, some people also "ship" Reese and his male associate, Mr. Finch. I'm not so into Reese/Finch. Mr. Reese is a 10+, but Mr. Finch is a 7 on a good day. Not that looks are everything, or that I object in principle to M/M ('cause we all know I don't), but I really enjoy the Reese/Carter chemistry. 

21st Century Psychic Warriors~Guest Post by P.M. Terrell

Because science has displaced a lot of psychic phenomena that was once considered the norm, we sometimes think of psychics in an historical sense. But what if our present-day governments were using psychic spies right now?

The concept might seem far-fetched but it’s actually true.

During the Cold War, intelligence sources in the United States Government discovered that the Soviets had embarked on a project to use psychics to infiltrate our best-kept secrets. Imagine if someone halfway across the world could enter our nuclear facilities in their minds and draw a blueprint so detailed that it could be used to disable or destroy it. Imagine if they could sit completely undetected in the highest cabinet meetings; if they could hear our strategies and read our most secretive documents.

United States officials approached the highest levels of our government with a request to study psychic phenomena in an effort to determine whether it was possible to use psychic warriors. And if the Soviets could train their psychics to infiltrate our most secure defenses, perhaps we could do the same with theirs.

The Department of Defense, the CIA, NSA and other agencies have since used psychics in a variety of missions. During the Iran Hostage Crisis, President Carter received information from psychic spies on where the hostages were being held and even when they were separated and moved. Psychic spies assisted in identifying the area in which Saddam Hussein was hiding in Iraq. They have even identified and mapped Iran’s nuclear facilities. Their role is not confined to foreign intelligence, but is also now being used in drug smuggling operations.

In Vicki’s Key, my 13th book, Vicki Boyd is capable of astral travel, or what the CIA terms “remote viewing.” A psychic spy, Vicki’s last mission goes horribly wrong and she decides to leave the agency and start life anew in a small town assisting an elderly woman. But when she arrives, she finds Laurel has suffered a stroke and her nephew, Dylan Maguire, has arrived from Ireland to care for her. Though Vicki tries to hide her gifts, to ignore their calling and the signs being given to her, she soon finds her past as a psychic spy and her future are about to collide… in murder.

It’s part of a series called Black Swamp Mysteries in which Vicki will be brought back into the CIA—and you’ll be given a front row seat to see what our real psychic spy program is all about.

p.m.terrell is the award-winning, internationally acclaimed author of more than 13 books, including River Passage and Exit 22. She is the co-founder of The Book ‘Em Foundation and the organizer of Book ‘Em North Carolina, which brings public awareness to the link between high crime rates and high illiteracy rates. She makes her home in eastern North Carolina where the swamps are as impenetrable as the Irish bogs and English moors. When she is not writing, she is busy rescuing homeless animals. For more information, visit www.pmterrell.com.

www.pmterrell.blogspot.com/
www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/pmterrell/

For St. Patrick's Day's Week, "Blue Monday" is "Green Monday"

Blue Monday is my weekly Pinterest feature. I'd normally feature selections from my "I've Got the Blues" board. However, in honor of St. Patrick's Day on Saturday, this Blue Monday will be a Green Monday.





This book cover is from Lydia Nyx. Lydia's Monday meme is Monday Funday, in which she'll share some fun links, and she encourages others to share their links as well. Hook up with Monday Funday - it's free promo!

SOC Sunday: Age Ain't Nothing But a Number

Stream of Consciousness (SOC) Sunday is the brainchild of Fadra N. at All Things Fadra. Post your 5-minute brain dump and link up there.

Today’s (Optional) Writing Prompt: Have you reached the prime of your life? What do you want to be your legacy?

I've been writing as far back as I can remember, but I didn't start writing for publication until 2005. I was 28. I had my first short story published for pay, making me a professional writer in my own mind, around my 29th birthday. Do I wish I had started earlier? Sure. I was still happy to be able to say I got started writing in my 20s.

Writers, it's said, hit their stride in their 40s and 50s. I've published five novels now, but I'm just getting started. By no means do I feel as if I've already made my major contribution to world art and literature. This is just the appetizer. The main course is still on its way.

Some writers start even later in life. Anne Patchett's mom has written several successful novels now, and she spent most of her professional life as a RN. She was in her 60s before she decided to follow in her daughter's footsteps.

I still hope my mom will follow in my footsteps and write her vampire late-life romance novel. I want her to call it You Can Have My Vampire When You Pry Me From His Cold, Dead Hands.

Remember what Aaliyah said: "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number."

Anne Patchett's mom is Jeanne Ray. I couldn't remember it during my free write, but I looked it up afterward. I should be ashamed, because I met Ray at a literary event at my local library.

A Word With Brenda Youngerman, Author of 'Skewered Halo'

Writing… reading…. Talking… breathing. These are all adverbs when you take them singularly; but to me they are vital parts of my life. I cannot imagine any facet of me without all of these adverbs interacting. Obviously we all breathe and have done so from the moment of birth.

Talking? Well…I have no idea when that started, but reading I distinctly remember doing from a VERY early age. Trips to the library to check out children’s books (which I later checked out with my own children) and then as my reading level progressed, my walks down the aisle of the library to grab a book that looked interesting.

And writing? Well I’ve definitely been writing since I was in high school with a precise memory of a short story I wrote about love and loss. It started with “Her memory hung in the air like the scent of a rose.” I printed out that short story and put in on my bulletin board. I had no idea then (when I was sixteen) that I would end up writing novels, nor that I would enjoy writing so much.

A Youngerman novel will take you on a journey into a life that you may or may not ever imagine. There are always twists and turns that the reader does not expect, and although life does not necessarily have happy endings, my books try to leave the reader with a bit of hope that things will be better for our star character.

I hope you give it a try…. Check out my latest book: Skewered Halo. You can buy it directly from me and I will autograph it for you! Come on by my blog or my website.

Brenda Youngerman, Author
Fiction with a Purpose
One person can make a difference
Follow my blog

Check out all my books with Strategic Publishing:
http://sbpra.com/BrendaYoungerman/

Review ~ Kiss, Crush, Collide by Christina Meredith

Kiss Crush Collide by Christina Meredith

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I really hesitate to state that I didn't enjoy a novel, especially since this is Christina Meredith's first novel and I really don't want to discourage her. Her writing style isn't bad, but I disliked this book for specific reasons that have to do with character development. The main character and narrator is Leah Johnson, the youngest of the three gorgeous, wealthy, high-achieving Johnson sisters. Meredith does not make her narrator an easy one to sympathize with. Other authors have made the supermodel-like blonde teen their heroines, including L.J. Smith in the Vampire Diaries series - but while everyone in Smith's series universally loves Elena Gilbert, Leah Johnson is universally hated by her (jealous) classmates. Yet she's far from a sympathetic underdog. The biggest problem in Leah's privileged life is the pressure she feels to conform to the expectations of her shallow, self-centered mother. This is the primary motivator of the action in the novel. Yet, even as she complains about her somewhat overbearing older sisters being clones of her mother, Leah's actions toward others show her to be every bit as shallow and self-centered as the mother she supposedly opposes. The pivotal moment of conflict in the novel calls for Leah to go against her mother's wishes. Once Leah decides to do that, she becomes a tiny bit more sympathetic to her rival, Valerie, but there's no sense that either Leah or her mother are changed in any significant way by Leah's decision.

Leah reveals in the early pages of the novel that she suddenly finds herself unable to do math, something she's been good at up until her junior year of high school. She knows how to drive and owns a car, but has no confidence in her abilities to drive, so she chooses not to. These are but two examples of how Leah is presently as a helpless, childlike young woman - a stereotype young women have worked long and hard to overcome.

The character of Valerie is also problematic to feminist readers. Valerie is competing with Leah to be the class valedictorian. Her focus is on reading and schoolwork rather than fashion, and up until the very end of the book when Valerie proves to be useful to Leah, Leah reviles her for being smart. As a reader, I like to root for the smart girl. I felt really bad for Valerie, and also for the woman who appears at the pool in one chapter whom Leah mocks for looking too athletic. These are more examples of female stereotyping, and of how much Leah has internalized her mother's shallow viewpoint (which the plot supposedly turns on Leah opposing). It feels like Meredith bet on the wrong horse - a book from Valerie's point of view would have been much more interesting.

The other thing I disliked about this novel is that the plot is also shallow. Not much happens. Leah's life is so perfect, her problems all seem trivial. Since not much is ever at stake for her, there's no sense of urgency to her narrative. It simply meanders along, going through the motions as Leah does when she's helping her oldest sister plan her wedding. I really enjoy the romance genre, so I wanted something grand and dramatic to happen in the Leah-Shane-Duffy love triangle. It never does. Duffy exits briefly, Leah claims to be devastated (not very convincingly), but then Duffy comes back and all is well again. With a few more rewrites, this novel could be something. As it stands, it relies too heavily on stereotypes of girls and not nearly enough on real, recognizable human emotions.



View all my reviews on Goodreads

WIP Wednesday - Purim and Polyandry

Are you an author? Would you like to share a little bit about a current work in progress on a future WIP Wednesday? If so, please e-mail Erin O'Riordan (erinoriordan AT sbcglobal DOT net).

When the sun goes down tonight, it will be Purim, that most festive of Jewish holidays.

(Guy Ritchie and Madonna dressed as the Pope and a nun for Purim 2005)

What am I working on this Wednesday? Now that I've finished "Rhapsody in Blood," I'm back to work on editing a story for the Melange Books Having My Baby anthology. This one is not erotica; its working title was "Polyandry," and as you'll see in this excerpt, it presumes a queendom in which the queen and her daughters each have several husbands:


The two women had retreated to the sitting room, leaving Morgan’s husbands and baby in the dining room as the servants cleared the table. “You know, Eva,” said Morgan, using her sister’s name within the family, “Mother was asking me the other day how you would feel about getting married.”

Evangeline laughed. She had inherited her mother’s Middle Eastern complexion, but had her father’s red hair and green eyes. A band of dark freckles crossed her nose. “I’ll bet she already has a husband picked out for me.”

“She does,” Morgan said seriously. “She wants you to marry her minister of finance, Eric de la Fontaine. She’s probably already talked to him about it.”

Evangeline, who had plopped down on the sofa, squeezed her eyes shut and tried to imagine Eric de la Fontaine. He was an older man, she knew. He was probably about forty, and not unattractive. He had lovely hazel eyes, dressed himself very well and had a sexy deep voice. “Oh, but Morgan, he’s friends with Gabriel. He must know that Gabriel and I are in love.”

Morgan sat on the sofa beside her sister. “You’ve every right to say no. But I enjoyed Eric’s company before I fell in love with Chow.” She smiled dreamily.

“It isn’t strange for you, Mor, to imagine your ex-boyfriend marrying your sister?”

“I imagine it would be even stranger for Eric, sharing beds with two different princesses.”

The doorbell rang. A moment later a servant came in, bowed and said to Evangeline, “Excuse me, Highness, but Her Majesty is here to see you.” Evangeline and Morgan went to greet their mother.
Queen Jasmine greeted her daughters and sons-in-law warmly. She took the baby from Chow’s arms and carried Lily into the sitting room, saying, “Come, Evangeline, we have to talk.”

“I already know what you’re going to say, Mother,” said Evangeline, being a bit smart. “You want me to get married.”

“I’d like to retire from all the formalities of public life soon,” the Queen said. “As my successor, you must be prepared. A husband would help you keep your personal life in order as you adjust to public life. I’d also like to know that you will have a successor.”

“Mother, I’m only twenty. As I’m sure you’ve heard, I’m in love with John Gabriel. Gabriel has told me that he’s be more than happy to provide me with an heir. . . after he and I are married, of course.”

The queen said, “I certainly do hope you’re taking precautions to prevent me having an illegitimate grandchild.”

“Of course, Mother.”

“Let’s suppose for a moment that you’ve decided to take John Gabriel as a second husband. He is, after all, Irish, and not of royal ancestry. If you have to take a native-born man as your first, how would you feel about Eric de la Fontaine?”

“He’s handsome enough, I suppose. I barely know him, though – and doesn’t he already have a wife?”

“I’ll arrange for you to meet with him,” was the Queen’s only reply. She did not stay to socialize. She handed Lily back to Chow and said goodnight.

After the Queen left, the women returned to the sitting room. “Eric never did get married,” Morgan told her sister. “I guess I ruined him for all other women.”

Evangeline sighed. “How well did you know him, Mor?”

Morgan shrugged. “As well as I ever knew any man before Chow and Oba. I thought about marrying him, but…”

“But what?”

“He was married to his job at the finance ministry.”

“So he’s one of those guys who’s obsessed with his career,” Evangeline said. That might not be such a bad thing, she thought. Since Gabriel already fulfilled her emotional needs, a husband who’d stay out of her hair and stick to official Avalonian business might not be so bad.

“I wouldn’t say that,” Morgan replied. “He’s an old-fashioned patriot, Avalonian to the core. He loves working for the ministry because he gets to do his duty, serve his country. He’s really very sweet, Eva.” She ran her fingers through her sister’s straight red hair. “Besides, he has that gorgeous curly hair. Don’t you want to pass that on to your babies?”

Chow entered the sitting room, carrying a softly whining Lily, and took a seat beside Morgan. “I think she’s hungry,” he said.

Morgan lovingly took her baby, rested Lily’s tiny head on her shoulder and comforted the little bundle. “She just misses her mama.”

“I bet you can’t wait until you have one of these,” Chow said to Evangeline.

Evangeline laughed. “Mother may want me to get married, but she can’t make me have a baby. It’s a lot of responsibility…and I always imagined it would be me and Gabriel.”

“Give Eric a chance,” Morgan said as she unbuttoned her blouse to feed Lily. “FYI, Eva, he has the perfect amount of chest hair. It’s not too much and it’s not too little.”

“Probably more than I needed to know,” Chow said, rising from the sofa. “Unless you need anything, darling, I’m going to grab a Guinness with Oba while you have Lily.”

“Go,” Morgan said. “I’ll have the nanny put her to bed. She’ll be out like a light once her tummy is full.” Chow kissed Morgan’s forehead and took off toward the kitchen. Evangeline watched her sister feeding Lily and wondered what it would be like to have a baby of her own. As sweet as the tiny princess was, Evangeline didn’t feel ready.