Realism and Food and Yaoi

More about this below.

I had some very nice comments on my work this week and last week. On the site, All Romance, where I am a bestseller (yes, I like saying that), a reader wrote that she enjoyed all of my work. On a different site, a reader said 'just read all of her work.' That was mighty nice. Yet the most fascinating and fun comments have been about the realism I've managed to put into my books. A reader who went to see Zero Dark Thirty  said that the Seal Team Six in that film reminded her of Falcon Squad from the Soldiers' books. I had done some research on special forces units in general. We worked with one on Demon Under Glass. He came to our attention after commenting that it took longer to strangle a man than we shot in one scene. This formidable crew guy found film far more peaceful than the military (geez, he must have had a hard time as a soldier to think that). Yet, he was really affable, laid back and funny in a very twisted way. The actor who played Rik in the short film version of the Soldiers' book actually was in such a unit as well. Why do they drift toward film. Beyond that, I interview others who were in a unit or were close to people who were. The freedom about hairstyles and operating outside of protocol were not made from whole cloth. I was very pleased that someone saw my guys in characters that were even closer to the real thing. I was asked by a different reader if the menu I go into loving detail about in Ensnared is real. The answer is yes. All food I mention in my books are dishes I've had. Often times, I've made them as well. Food is an excellent way to ground even the most far flung of fantasies in reality. There is a cookbook 'written by' Vincent Greven that covers almost ever dish I mention in the Soldiers' books. The current release date is in time for the Writers Romance and Rainbows 2013 Book Fair. We'll see.

This week, I received a lovely note about a yaoi story I wrote for the e-zine, Full Metal Orgasm, called The Companion. This incredible anthology of really good and sexy prose is only $3.99! There is a large sample of the story on this site. My story starts on page 18. The story was inspired, in part, by a character in the web comic, Teahouse, that I fell in love with. Gilder is big and likely dangerous while being romantic, tender and highly sexy. The reader turned out to be a very talented writer who thought highly of the story. He also sensed the tension and danger to the main characters and that their was a great deal to the society that created their dire situation. I revealed that the civilization in The Companion is a past society from the Ensnared universe. It is one of The Time That Was. He encouraged me to write more from that civilization and the others. I do plan on doing that when I get the time. I was very proud of that story. It was difficult to put all that back story, erotica an nuance in less than 20,000 words. It was a lovely thing to take the time to do for a writer, and I really enjoyed the interaction with him. So, gentle readers, I'm here and willing to chat about writing and my work any time – even if you don't absolutely love my work. I'll be writing a really hardcore yaoi story for an upcoming edition of Full Metal Orgasm. I'll reveal more about that when it gets closer to publication.The Companion manages to have some food references as well. In fact, it took everything in me to not get carried away with talking about food and food preparation.

He is the Wild Boyfriend!

I love that yaoi is full of food in the manga and anime. Since I love writing about food, it was great to know that it wouldn't look weird in the yoai novels. And I really loved that all the dishes are real. I've had this whole ongoing adventure with cooking Japanese food, because I decided to look up octopus wieners after an episode of Junjou Romantica. I thought it would be fun to do a video blog on food seen in yaoi anime. Later, I decided to include the foods in the manga I was editing for Digital Manga in the video blogs. Ironically, the video that I saw as the first one of the Cook Like a Uke with actual ukes is only getting edited this coming week. I shot it almost a year ago! It's Tonjiru and features a real like Misaki from Junjou Romantica. So, next week's blog will be all about the two new Cook Like A Uke videos. One will cover the long overdue Tonjiru. The other will be based on a story in Sakira's 'Too Hot for Kindle' yaoi manga, Wild Boyfriend. They will both be worth the wait!

When Semes Collide -- What Happens When Characters Don't Get Along

Ensnared, the Paperback is now  on Amazon.com HERE
Ebooks for all types of players available on Smashwords HERE  
Ensnared Kindle Ebook Available HERE

Check out full chapter excerpts under Hot Links in the Menu on the right side of this page!

To write a character well, I believe the writer must be empathetic to him or her. That applies to the unsympathetic characters as well. I never think of any character as evil. They each have reasons that are internally valid for their actions. It's just that their goals are diametrically opposed to the protagonists. That said, in my writing, protagonists are good guys and the antagonists are bad guys and never the twains shall meet. I have never had an occasion to turn a protagonist into an antagonist until now.

In A Soldiers Destiny, my enigmatic vampire, Simon Molinar from Demon Under Glass, is a less than sympathetic character. He is not quite an antagonist, but he is highly problematic for Rik and Vincent. Simon remains one of the most complicated characters I have ever written. I never write him from his point of view, so those who interact with him – mostly Joe McKay – have to sift through the words and motives and hope they can figure out the truth. Simon has centuries of experience in manipulating humans. Thus, aside from being innately funny and charming, He knows how to read people quickly and completely from his experience. He can be all things to all people. This works in the Demon Under Glass books, because Simon's goals are the same as Joe's for the most part. And those goals keep Joe by his side without any manipulating. Their pursuers' motivations and goals are horrific, thus it is easy to portray Simon as a protagonist.

The Foundation for Alterds is not like the Delphi Project. They have no sinister ulterior motives. The organization exists to better the lives of those with the genetic mutation whether they become soldiers or not. There are gaps in their knowledge about Delphi that Simon can fill. Also, he knows a great deal about where Delphi technology traveled beyond US borders and what has been and is being done with it. For that more than anything else, the Foundation is willing to extend him their considerable resources and protect him in great comfort indefinitely. Simon's situation is dire because the word has become much smaller than it is now. It is virtually impossible for anyone to exist without detection of a government. And there are organizations as powerful as some governments who know what Simon is.

The match appears to be perfect. But it is very difficult for a being as ancient as Simon to turn off his instincts or curb his desires. They have ruled his life for longer than anyone can imagine. Times have changed for Simon in many ways. He does not understand how the political climate affects his position. He believes that what he has is valuable enough to give him leeway in his life at the Foundation. Simon cannot help manipulating his surroundings to his advantage in order to feel as safe as possible. Rik and the rest of the staff expect that and are prepared to counter that tendency and make him feel safe. The bigger issue for Rik and Vincent is Simon's tendency to misbehave and believe that there will be little in the way of consequences because of the vital nature of the information he holds. There Simon is potentially gravely mistaken. The military brass is not happy that Simon actually exists and they are very afraid that the real origins of the Altered program will become public. Their stance is to destroy him immediately – no matter what he may know. Most of the Foundation's Benefactors are uneasy about his presence in the facility. Vincent gleefully informs Simon that an Altered soldier can be destroyed on the whim of the military despite the millions spent in creating them, so what chance does he think he has if he crosses the line? Simon is in an unprecedented situation. Though mortal, Rik and Vincent are stronger and faster than he his. They can also be as remorseless killers as he is despite their warm and fuzzy reputation in the media.

Rik and Vincent's motivation is simple. They want to find ways to protect mutants like them from exploitation and death. They also are very protective of the family they have cobbled together at the Foundation. They have found a happiness and contentment with this odd collection of people that neither had known since entering the Altered Program. For Rik, it's the only family he has ever known. They view anything that might threaten their goals or their family with great suspicion and, in Vincent's case, hostility. Readers who have taken the journey with them through the previous books understand how hard they fought for the lives they lead. They understand the kind of friendship and support Simon could have if he can resist his impulses. So, I suggest to the Demon Under Glass fans who have not read the Soldier's books to go through and read the excerpts from both books at http://soldierschoice.com or by the books at Smashwords (scroll down to the middle of the page). The ebooks are really cheap and you can read 20 percent of the book free on that site.

Simon is in a position with these men that he has never known. Charm will not work on them. They are soldiers. Actions are what impresses them. Simon is thus faced with the notion of going through both basic and advanced military training with these men before he can hope to cut any ice with them. That gives me an opportunity for a lot of humor. Which is a relief, because I find writing these scenes very awkward. It's like having an intimate dinner party with groups of friends who don't like each other and who each wonders why I bother with the other. Since I enjoy writing all of them – or I wouldn't write them – it's been a conundrum. Still, I think the story is coming together well and will be something both factions of my readers will enjoy.