When I heard that Rachel Bailey's novel Dyre: By Moon's Light was urban fantasy about lesbian werewolves, I jumped at the chance to read it.
The best thing about this book is the voice it's written in. The language is smooth and vivid, as is the protagonist's personality. Jennifer "Des" Desiderio is a young, impulsive werewolf with an important duty: serving as the protector and bodyguard of the most important werewolf, the leader of all the werewolf packs in North America, called the Dyre.
But her irresponsible nature means she fails to protect the Dyre when he most needs her protection, and she fails to stop an assassin from finding and attacking him. Dying from his wounds, he bites a young human named Ruby, passing on his Dyrehood to her before having a chance to reveal his true nature.
It falls to Des to protect and guard Ruby as she falls ill from the bite -- and to explain to her not only that werewolves exist, but that she is destined to become their queen. This is a pretty conundrum for Des, who fights fiercely but who continues to struggle against her impulsive nature and the destructive nature of the wolf within her. And an amusing conundrum for Ruby, whose response to learning she's a werewolf is "I fucking hate dogs!"
Des finds herself unsure if her growing feelings for her charge are a werewolf's natural feelings of loyalty toward her Dyre, her own need to fulfill her former Dyre's charge, or real attraction. Des is a memorable and interesting character, with a fiercely loyal nature and enough flaws to keep her vivid and interesting.
The worldbuilding is suggestive as well, with plenty of clever little details. Des thinks of humans pejoratively as "Humes," and while she's a scrappy, streety person who fights fiercely as a wolf, she also becomes a cute, playful puppy around her new Dyre. Those sweet touches keep the story light despite its dark bits. A few mysteries linger after the book ends -- like a werewolf from a European pack fearing that Des is a "rabid pup" and wondering if other American werewolves are. It left me curious: are the American werewolves ill, or are they just culturally different from Old World packs?
That leads me to the main flaws of the book. Details of werewolf packs' politics and intrigues hit the reader all at once in later chapters, just as Ruby is struggling to understand her new nature and role. It might be somewhat realistic -- she's just recovered from her illness and has a lot to learn quickly -- but it confused me as a reader and made it difficult to invest myself as deeply in the new characters as I did in Des and Ruby and the fallen Dyre, George.
Because of this, when an attack presented the first major threat to Ruby's rule, I felt a bit less worried than I should have. I hope that future novels in the series have more consistent pacing, so I can feel as invested throughout.
I also felt that the terminology could sometimes get heavy. I already knew that "loup-garou" means "werewolf," so I didn't have trouble with the werewolves calling themselves "Loups" and "Garoul," and while I was a little confused by "Hume" I figured out quickly that it meant "human." But I can imagine that a reader less familiar with these terms might get a little lost in them.
All in all, though, I found the novel a fun and exciting read, with a natural voice and characters who blended the familiar and the fantastic in an interesting way that kept me invested. The cast of characters is also quite diverse. Both Des and Ruby are women of color, and several other characters of color figure prominently in the story.
And did I mention just how much of it's wickedly funny?
If lesbian (and bisexual! Yay!) werewolves sound like fun to you, go ahead and give this one a read.
Friday, January 22, 2016
Friday, November 27, 2015
Review of Laydin Michaels' novel Forsaken
I decided to read Laydin Michaels’ novel Forsaken after watching this interview.
Two things intrigued me. One, I was interested in reading a novel where one of the protagonists had social anxiety, and two, I am a sucker for stories with interesting villains. I knew from the video that parts of the story get inside the head of a serial killer, so I had to give the novel a try. I’m happy to say it delivered on both counts.
The story begins as a romance between Blake, a teacher who struggles to overcome her social anxiety, and Lindsay, a state trooper who dreams of becoming a Texas Ranger. But their budding romance is cut short when a serial killer murders Blake’s best friend, badly injures both Blake and Lindsay, and kidnaps Blake. Worse, they discover that the killer travels with a young child who has witnessed his murders. Lindsay fights to track down and capture the killer and Blake vows to -- somehow! -- save the child.
The romance is sweet and cute, if a little slow-moving. Blake struggles to work through her anxiety, take initiative, and show Lindsay how she feels. Workaholic Lindsay has always put her dream before dating, and wrestles with whether to embrace her feelings or keep Blake at arm’s length.
The suspense picks up as soon as we meet our killer. I couldn’t put the book down, even though I’d decided just before that it was slow. Once he comes on the scene, things happen fast and furious.
And that’s where Blake’s social anxiety, and its effect on the story, gets fascinating. We meet the serial killer before Blake does. So when Blake goes outside on the fateful day he murders her best friend, we know something is terribly wrong. Blake feels nervous and scared for no apparent reason and quite sensibly attributes this to her anxiety acting up. But we know that, in this case, something is about to happen -- which makes the suspense more powerful than it might have been otherwise.
And which made the story into a page-turner. I was on the edge of my seat from that point until the end of the book.
I found it fascinating to experience the events of the story, which would traumatize and horrify anyone, from the perspective of a character I knew was already prone to anxiety. It kept me invested and made me want to see when and how Blake would manage to be strong, and when things would be especially difficult for her to handle.
I also liked how the story handled injuries and danger. The characters aren’t superheroes, and Lindsay gets laid up pretty seriously by a concussion. There are real consequences when she tries to ignore it and put Catching The Bad Guy over her own health. That makes the protagonists feel like real people, not just Brave Heroes. Both women are brave, as is the little girl, but they’re also regular people, clearly in over their heads.
I also liked the villain. At first I worried that he would be an uncomfortable caricature -- he’s both a veteran with PTSD and a fundamentalist Christian, and I worried about stereotypes of either or both. But his experiences, values, and ideals mixed together in ways that made him a unique and creepy character. And his relationship to and feelings about the child made him more complex than Just Pure Evil. And just like I thought I would seeing the video, I really liked seeing things from his perspective. I found that much more interesting than just watching other characters try to piece him together.
The story is weak in a few places, though. While the chemistry between Blake and Lindsay is fun and hot, the romance felt a bit clunky. I would have liked to see more of the characters growing into their comfort with one another, and to see it spread out more throughout the story.
There were also a few bits of the plot that I felt iffy about.
(spoilers below)
For one thing, the killer disposes of bodies in a unique way. The novel nods to this by telling us the police missed it because the bodies are spread out over different jurisdictions, but I had a hard time believing no one would notice. For another, the police eventually catch the killer when the child falls ill. When faith healing doesn’t work, the killer takes her to a hospital, and is promptly apprehended. I quite liked that his compassion ultimately triumphed over his warped “mission from God." But it also felt a bit anticlimactic.
(end spoilers)
All in all, though, I enjoyed the novel and would recommend it. It snuck up on me and got me so invested I felt compelled to go back and read more any time I tried to put it down.
If you’re interested in a novel about cute lesbians whose romance becomes an exciting story about police catching a serial killer -- or any of the aforementioned things, really! -- go ahead and give Forsaken a read.
Two things intrigued me. One, I was interested in reading a novel where one of the protagonists had social anxiety, and two, I am a sucker for stories with interesting villains. I knew from the video that parts of the story get inside the head of a serial killer, so I had to give the novel a try. I’m happy to say it delivered on both counts.
The story begins as a romance between Blake, a teacher who struggles to overcome her social anxiety, and Lindsay, a state trooper who dreams of becoming a Texas Ranger. But their budding romance is cut short when a serial killer murders Blake’s best friend, badly injures both Blake and Lindsay, and kidnaps Blake. Worse, they discover that the killer travels with a young child who has witnessed his murders. Lindsay fights to track down and capture the killer and Blake vows to -- somehow! -- save the child.
The romance is sweet and cute, if a little slow-moving. Blake struggles to work through her anxiety, take initiative, and show Lindsay how she feels. Workaholic Lindsay has always put her dream before dating, and wrestles with whether to embrace her feelings or keep Blake at arm’s length.
The suspense picks up as soon as we meet our killer. I couldn’t put the book down, even though I’d decided just before that it was slow. Once he comes on the scene, things happen fast and furious.
And that’s where Blake’s social anxiety, and its effect on the story, gets fascinating. We meet the serial killer before Blake does. So when Blake goes outside on the fateful day he murders her best friend, we know something is terribly wrong. Blake feels nervous and scared for no apparent reason and quite sensibly attributes this to her anxiety acting up. But we know that, in this case, something is about to happen -- which makes the suspense more powerful than it might have been otherwise.
And which made the story into a page-turner. I was on the edge of my seat from that point until the end of the book.
I found it fascinating to experience the events of the story, which would traumatize and horrify anyone, from the perspective of a character I knew was already prone to anxiety. It kept me invested and made me want to see when and how Blake would manage to be strong, and when things would be especially difficult for her to handle.
I also liked how the story handled injuries and danger. The characters aren’t superheroes, and Lindsay gets laid up pretty seriously by a concussion. There are real consequences when she tries to ignore it and put Catching The Bad Guy over her own health. That makes the protagonists feel like real people, not just Brave Heroes. Both women are brave, as is the little girl, but they’re also regular people, clearly in over their heads.
I also liked the villain. At first I worried that he would be an uncomfortable caricature -- he’s both a veteran with PTSD and a fundamentalist Christian, and I worried about stereotypes of either or both. But his experiences, values, and ideals mixed together in ways that made him a unique and creepy character. And his relationship to and feelings about the child made him more complex than Just Pure Evil. And just like I thought I would seeing the video, I really liked seeing things from his perspective. I found that much more interesting than just watching other characters try to piece him together.
The story is weak in a few places, though. While the chemistry between Blake and Lindsay is fun and hot, the romance felt a bit clunky. I would have liked to see more of the characters growing into their comfort with one another, and to see it spread out more throughout the story.
There were also a few bits of the plot that I felt iffy about.
(spoilers below)
For one thing, the killer disposes of bodies in a unique way. The novel nods to this by telling us the police missed it because the bodies are spread out over different jurisdictions, but I had a hard time believing no one would notice. For another, the police eventually catch the killer when the child falls ill. When faith healing doesn’t work, the killer takes her to a hospital, and is promptly apprehended. I quite liked that his compassion ultimately triumphed over his warped “mission from God." But it also felt a bit anticlimactic.
(end spoilers)
All in all, though, I enjoyed the novel and would recommend it. It snuck up on me and got me so invested I felt compelled to go back and read more any time I tried to put it down.
If you’re interested in a novel about cute lesbians whose romance becomes an exciting story about police catching a serial killer -- or any of the aforementioned things, really! -- go ahead and give Forsaken a read.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Press Release: Steel and Promise - Coming 2016
October 27, 2015 Announcement: New Title
from Alexa Black
Bold Strokes Books is pleased to announce the acquisition of
Alexa Black’s new erotic fantasy, Steel
and Promise, scheduled for release in 2016 from Bold Strokes Books.
Steel
and Promise – Coming in 2016
Courtesan Cailyn Derys serves the passions of the noble
classes—but she’s never served anyone like Teran Nivrai. Everyone whispers
about the reclusive noblewoman, indulging her penchant for cruel passions on a
private, hidden planet. She’s even modified her body with retractable steel
claws. Drawn by curiosity, Cailyn can’t resist a meeting. Is Lady Nivrai the
demon everyone whispers about, or have gossip and scandal made a monster of
her?
Sex and pain draw Cailyn in, but the loneliness Cailyn sees
in everyone’s favorite villain keeps her there. When the ruling Councils decide
to use Teran’s gift for inflicting pain—and her claws—against their enemies,
will Cailyn discover that the monster is real?
About
the Author
Alexa Black lives in the Washington, DC, area where she
works as a peer mentor and advocate for people with disabilities. She has a master’s
degree in philosophy from Georgetown University, but has always returned to her
passion for writing. Though a philosopher by training, she would rather inflict
complicated questions on her characters and take readers along than lecture
about them. When not writing, she can be found gaming, seeking out new
restaurants to try, or drinking ridiculous, fancy coffee. Steel and Promise is her first novel.
*****
Visit Bold
Strokes Books Online Bookstore for this and other
exciting titles.
BOLD STROKES BOOKS, Inc.
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Reading and Classics
About a week ago I was reading an interesting blog post interviewing writer Jerry Rabushka about his latest novel. One tiny thing in the interview stuck out for me. He mentioned reading classic novels and learning from them, and said this:
I always thought that I should have read it, that I'd missed something by never quite getting to it. (Does anyone else have that feeling, hearing people talk about their favorite classics and thinking "Oh crap, I never read that one?") And when I did read it, not only did I enjoy it and like some of things it showed me about language and imagery, but I also felt like I learned something about creating worlds. And about, if you'll forgive me, being brave.
I was surprised by the very frank sexual content. Not because I was under the impression that writers didn't talk about sex in bygone days – heck, I've read de Sade, which is about as explicit (and as violent) as a writer could possibly get. But because it seemed quite bold to create a society where everyone has multiple partners back in that time period, and present it without apology.
Yes, the story itself actually critiques a world like that, and reminds readers of the importance of family and the purpose of monogamy (at least as the author seems to conceive of it!) So it's not taking the even bolder stance of arguing for a polyamorous society. But it is creating a rich world where characters who live in such a society are sympathetic and where mistreating them is wrong, even if their society is based on "bad" principles.
And that's a very important thing to remember when you sit down to write. When you're creating a world, even if you're creating a dystopia and you want your readers to clearly see what's wrong with it, you have to be careful to make your characters realistic members of that culture. Even if they critique it from inside – even if they're revolutionaries and the story is all about how they change it! – they couldn't function at all if they hated everything about the society they lived in.
Which is the lesson I took from reading Brave New World. The brilliant thing (to me, anyway) about it was how realistic every character's relationship to the society was, from Bernard's half-hearted disillusionment, to Lenina's preference for one man but inability to understand or express it, to John's disgust and frantic need to flee. It all felt complex enough to be real.
I think sometimes people have a tendency to focus on what older writing did wrong. Where it got tropey, where it got simplistic, where it couldn't say some of the things we say routinely in books now.
But so much of it lasts because it's richer than we think it is, and so much of it can teach us how to enrich our very different styles now.
Read, and read good stuff. Read good writers and, more importantly, read great writers. Read The House of the Seven Gables. Every sentence is like finely crafted furniture. Seriously, read it.I love that sentence about "finely crafted furniture," and actually commented to that effect. I'm very often drawn to classics, particularly the classics that have inspired genres that I love. Fairly recently, I read Brave New World for the first time.
I always thought that I should have read it, that I'd missed something by never quite getting to it. (Does anyone else have that feeling, hearing people talk about their favorite classics and thinking "Oh crap, I never read that one?") And when I did read it, not only did I enjoy it and like some of things it showed me about language and imagery, but I also felt like I learned something about creating worlds. And about, if you'll forgive me, being brave.
I was surprised by the very frank sexual content. Not because I was under the impression that writers didn't talk about sex in bygone days – heck, I've read de Sade, which is about as explicit (and as violent) as a writer could possibly get. But because it seemed quite bold to create a society where everyone has multiple partners back in that time period, and present it without apology.
Yes, the story itself actually critiques a world like that, and reminds readers of the importance of family and the purpose of monogamy (at least as the author seems to conceive of it!) So it's not taking the even bolder stance of arguing for a polyamorous society. But it is creating a rich world where characters who live in such a society are sympathetic and where mistreating them is wrong, even if their society is based on "bad" principles.
And that's a very important thing to remember when you sit down to write. When you're creating a world, even if you're creating a dystopia and you want your readers to clearly see what's wrong with it, you have to be careful to make your characters realistic members of that culture. Even if they critique it from inside – even if they're revolutionaries and the story is all about how they change it! – they couldn't function at all if they hated everything about the society they lived in.
Which is the lesson I took from reading Brave New World. The brilliant thing (to me, anyway) about it was how realistic every character's relationship to the society was, from Bernard's half-hearted disillusionment, to Lenina's preference for one man but inability to understand or express it, to John's disgust and frantic need to flee. It all felt complex enough to be real.
I think sometimes people have a tendency to focus on what older writing did wrong. Where it got tropey, where it got simplistic, where it couldn't say some of the things we say routinely in books now.
But so much of it lasts because it's richer than we think it is, and so much of it can teach us how to enrich our very different styles now.
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Another review of Downpour
User Rhayne on Goodreads reviewed Downpour recently. Rhayne had this to say:
As far as length, I'm working on a longer modern-day fantasy story now... ;-)
Each of the stories in this anthology had something unique to keep the reader interested. From penguins to ghosts, magic to witty humor there's a little bit of something for everyone. While some of the stories were off the wall and hit out into left field, each one followed the theme of the book well and had it's own twists and turns.And said this about my story, Thunder:
This story was strange and unusual in the best kind of way. It kept me guessing and left me wishing it had been just a bit longer.I'm thrilled to hear it! I'm often going for strange and unusual, and I love when it works for other people.
As far as length, I'm working on a longer modern-day fantasy story now... ;-)
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Reviews of Downpour
User Grey Liliy on Goodreads posted a thorough, detailed review of all the stories in Downpour here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1384739152
Check out the full reviews at the links, and thanks very much to both reviewers!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1384739152
This little collection seemed to promise a little bit of everything from steamy erotica to cute fluff all dealing with Rain!! (Yay!) Between the eight stories, I'd say that was pretty accurate. Definitely something for everyone to like in here, and I ended up enjoying nearly all of the stories. Or rather, I sat down and read all eight in a row without stopping, so definitely enjoyable.There's also another one from Christine Close here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1392449241
Each story is different, so I figured I'd talk about them one at a time. :3 I've listed the mini reviews in order that the stories appear in the collection, but if you're curious, these were my favorites: Shadow of Storm, Magnetism, Thunder, & Port In The Storm.
The 8 short stories have the link stormy weather in common. Apart from this common theme I found the range of stories very eclectic. It's the sort of collection you can dip into whenever you fancy a quick read and change of mood.
Check out the full reviews at the links, and thanks very much to both reviewers!
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Downpour
The anthology with my (lesbian erotica) story in it is out today!
You can order it here:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Downpour-Alexa-Black-ebook/dp/B0145PWE3G
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/570459
Publisher’s Website: http://www.supposedcrimes.com/products/downpour?variant=5866987201
My story is the first one, entitled “Thunder.”
Kay is a butch lesbian with a magical power: Storms have followed her since she was small. Usually when something's important. But today, she's just going to visit her girlfriend -- and taking some lightning along.
You can order it here:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Downpour-Alexa-Black-ebook/dp/B0145PWE3G
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/570459
Publisher’s Website: http://www.supposedcrimes.com/products/downpour?variant=5866987201
My story is the first one, entitled “Thunder.”
Kay is a butch lesbian with a magical power: Storms have followed her since she was small. Usually when something's important. But today, she's just going to visit her girlfriend -- and taking some lightning along.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)