New Release: Out in Colorado!

Holy shit, I almost let another new release pass me by.  The Out in Colorado anthology consists of six stories written by Colorado m/m authors (we're working on branching out, though), all set in Colorado, and I'm one of those authors.  We wanted to have something to pimp at Denver PrideFest this year and now we do!  And nooo, of course I didn't model one of my characters on my husband--what, honey?  Nooo, baby, don't worry!  No one would know even if I did!

Except all of you...

Okay, so maybe by reading my story you'll learn a little more about my personal life than you might otherwise, but the resemblance isn't too deep.  My story is called Casual Brilliance, is set right here in beautiful Boulder Colorado, and is full of things that you're going to think are gross generalizations and/or cliches: they aren't.  The biking, the pot, the snow, the spectacle--this is Boulder, people!  Come and visit it if you don't believe me, I just got back from the Pearl Street Mall and in the space of four blocks I saw five violinists, two magicians, a contortionist, an old couple playing bluegrass, a man who set his own pants on fire while solving a Rubic's cube (highly amusing), and a plethora of bohemian panhandlers.  And that's nothing compared to the chaos of Memorial Day weekend, when 60,000 people are expected to run the 10k Bolder Boulder on Monday.

At any rate, if you're interested in Colorado, there are stories from a wide variety of authors in different locations, with different themes and different genres.  Colorado is the only thing they all have in common.  Below is an excerpt from mine: enjoy, darlins!

PS, if you're going to be in Denver for Pride, come find us!  The 16th is my birthday and I want to celebrate with as many people as possible!

PPS, oh hey, wow, I just remembered that I named my main character after my sister's boyfriend.  I had some issues while writing this story, clearly, folks.  Still good, though:)

Casual Brilliance

By Cari Z

Joey Graham was suspicious of the package even before he opened it.  It was small, brightly wrapped and had a bow on one bulbous end, which for his family was a sure sign it was something he wasn’t going to like.   Presents wrapped in last week’s Sunday comics were good; presents that sparkled were nothing but a lure.  He split the wrapping paper along the seam, tipped the small glass pipe out into his hand and turned to glare at his sister.  “Oh c’mon.  Really?”

“What?  What, it’s legal there now, right?”  Carla looked way too pleased with herself.  “You can totally get away with it!”

“Maybe if I was a ski bum,” Joey said, “but I’m going to be working in a federal research lab.  I kind of doubt that they’d be so understanding of me getting high.”

“They don’t have to know,” Carla said coaxingly.  “Just get baked on the weekends.”

“Or not at all.”

She frowned, looking like a toddler on the edge of a tantrum.  “Well if you’re not going to use it, I’ll take it back—”

Their mother smacked Carla’s reaching hand.  “There are no take-backs at Christmas.  And it’s just a gag gift, of course,” she added, looking expectantly at her daughter.  Carla shrugged and rubbed her hand, radiating righteous hurt.  “Oh stop it, those eyes don’t work on me.”  She turned back to her son.  “I still don’t really understand why they hired you so late; you applied in May,” she fretted.

“I think they had a problem with their last postdoc,” Joey said, putting the little pipe on top of the rest of his Christmas gifts.  He’d gotten a Denver guidebook from his mother, an REI gift certificate from his uncle, and a pair of plastic snowshoes from his grandmother.  Hopefully those were something he would never have to use. 

“So you’re better than nothing,” his sister said with a shrug.  “I get it.”

“Carla!”  His mother looked as angry as a small, round woman with frizzy blond hair and a perpetually sunny disposition could look, which wasn’t very angry at all.  “Go and get a trash bag for all the paper, please.” 

Carla rolled her eyes but got to her feet, and his mother turned back to Joey.  “I just think it’s a bit inconvenient,” she sighed.  “I mean, I can’t get time off work to go help you move in—”

“I’ve got it taken care of,” Joey assured his mother quickly; Jesus, the last thing he needed was his mom coming with him to his first real job.  “The U-Haul is all packed up, I’ve got an apartment waiting for me, I’m good, Mom.  You know I am.”

“I know, but January is a terrible time to be in Colorado, isn’t it?  Won’t it be snowy?”

“This is Chicago, Mom,” Joey pointed out. “It’s not like I’m moving there from Florida.  I can handle some snow.”

“He can ski from place to place once he gets there,” Carla called from the kitchen.  “Or snowboard.  Don’t they mostly snowboard there?  You could hitch up to the back of someone’s ATV!  Or...” She poked her head around the door. “You could get a snowmobile!  I bet they’re street legal there during the winter.”

“Snowmobiles are death traps!” their mother scolded.  “Remember what happened to Cousin Art!”

“Mom, Art was a dumbass who got drunk and drove his snowmobile into a lake.  It was totally his own 

fault.  Besides, they found him.”

“Not before he lost toes to hypothermia,” their mother replied.  “Which would never have happened if he hadn’t been on a snowmobile in the first place.  Honey,” she said as she turned to look at Joey, “whatever you do, promise me you won’t drive a snowmobile drunk.  Or an ATV.  Or any sort of moving vehicle.”

Of all the things he had never expected to come out of his mother’s mouth… “I promise,” Joey said solemnly.

“And promise not to become a tree-hugging, granola-eating hippie either,” Carla said, coming back in with a trash bag and three cups of coffee.  She handed them around and sat back down on the couch.  “Isn’t Boulder, like, the most liberal town in the US?”

“I think that’s Berkeley, actually.”

“They do have a Catholic church there, don’t they?” his mother asked worriedly. 

“They have plenty of churches,” Joey sighed.  He’d checked when he went for his interview, because he’d known his mother would ask.  “Mom, moving to Boulder isn’t suddenly going to turn me into a stoner, or an atheist, or a drunk-driving snowmobiler.  It’s a nice town, and NIST is a great place to do my postdoc.  I’m lucky to be going there.”

“I suppose,” his mother allowed.  “I just wish you were a little closer to home, that’s all.”

“I know you do,” Joey said with a little smile.  He wasn’t about to tell her that the distance was one of the major selling points for him, after living in Illinois his whole life.

“When do you leave again?” Carla asked.

“Tomorrow.  I start there on the second.”

“Well,” his mother sighed.  “At least you got to spend Christmas with family.”

***

Ruthless Efficiency

That description doesn't refer to me.  It refers to my publishers at Storm Moon Press.  My god, they are on top of pretty much everything that goes on with their authors. 

I'm doing a blog tour/series of interviews starting May 19th for Changing Worlds, the day after the release.  There will be giveaways with goodreads, ARCs were sent out to review sites, they got me signed up on twitter...goddamn.  Twitter.  Me.  Really?

Apparently, yes.  If anyone wants to follow what promises to be some admittedly erratic and funny tweets as I figure out what the hell I'm doing, you can find me here: https://twitter.com/#!/author_cariz.

I should have the next Cinders post up in a few days, definitely before my new releases.  I can tweet about Reclaimed too, if I can figure out how:).   I'll have a couple of contests going here, and my website (which desperately needs an update, and will get one asap) will have the first complete chapters of both of them and an updated list of my free reads on Literotica.  Shit is getting done, my dahlings.  At least 50% of that is due to the girls at SMP, so mad props to them.

Changing Worlds is coming! (cue Jaws theme)

Sweet news!  My novel Changing Worlds is available for preorder at Storm Moon Press.  There are a couple of cool things about this.  One: the short story Opening Worlds is included for free with the book, which is nice for people coming into this particular setting for the first time.  Two: the book is discounted if you preorder, both in e-format and paperback.  You can even bundle it and get both, if you really love me:)  Find it here:

Storm Moon Press: Changing Worlds

There's going to be all kinds of promo to go along with this book.  There'll be a blog tour (a first for me, I had to have my publisher explain what one was...because I'm just that savvy) and a contest on my website/here that will include a giveaway, but if you don't like the giveaway odds (and I don't even know what they are yet) preordering is a lovely way to save some money if you plan on buying the book anyway. 

Changing Worlds cover and blurb

*sigh*

It's so pretty, isn't it?  The Storm Moon Press cover artist is Nathie, and I think she did a lovely job.  The book's description is included below.

In this sequel to Cari Z's Opening Worlds, former starship captain Jason Kim travels to Perelan, the homeworld of his lover, Ferran, to start a life together. The ruling council of the Perels have allowed this unconventional union to continue in the hopes of strengthening relations between themselves and the humans. And while Ferran's family welcome Jason with open arms, not all of the other major families are as pleased. The arrival of an outsider to their insular, subterranean world challenges the traditions of centuries.

Tensions soar as old rivalries are rekindled in the wake of Jason and Ferran's relationship. Inevitably, something snaps. Jason and Ferran soon find themselves literally fighting for their lives when xenophobic anger pushes things beyond the breaking point. Only their devotion to one another can see them through, but a ghost from Jason's past threatens even that. With Perelan on the brink of civil war, Jason and Ferran must find a way to stand together in the face of chaos and to change the world on their own terms before it tears itself apart.


Sound like something you want to read?  If you enjoyed Opening Worlds I think you'll be really happy with the novel.  If you like queer science fiction, I also think you'll enjoy.  It's due to be released May 17th, both as a paperback and an ebook.

Storm Moon Press as a publishing house has been amazing to work with.  They put out very quality work and care enough about having a good relationship with me to be very supportive and helpful in my writing endeavors.  I recommend looking through their library if you're searching for good GLBT and alternative lifestyle fiction.  Their works get plenty of reviews, so you can read up on almost everything there and decide if it's right for you.  Here's the website:  http://stormmoonpress.com/.

Am I pimping them?  You bet your ass I'm pimping them!  Because I love them:)

New Release: Wild Passions Anthology

Today is the release of Storm Moon Press' Wild Passions anthology, to which I am a very happy contributor.  Here:  have a beautiful cover!

and a link to their website:  Storm Moon Press

This is my first publication with Storm Moon Press but hopefully not my last.  I'm set to release my short story contribution, Opening Worlds, as an individual e-book later this year, and we're hoping for a novel based on the world for next year.  All of which rocks my world.

Not tempting enough yet?  Try a snippet, I hear they taste delicious.

***

“You’re avoiding the dining room.”

“I’m not.”

“Yes,” Florence said slowly, drawing out the vowel, “you are. You never invite people to your place these days; I get that. You’re not under any obligation to. But it’s only courteous to check on your passengers and accept some of their invitations to dinner. You’ve been holed up in your room or on duty for the past three cycles.”

“I’m busy.”

“A captain is always busy,” Florence said philosophically. “But that doesn’t stop him from doin’ what he’s gotta do.”

“At what point did you make yourself my social secretary, Flo?”

“When you started acting all weird,” she replied. “C’mon, come to dinner with me tonight. I’ll take the Perels, I’ve got a standing invitation to their table. You can hang out with some lovely, normal humans and be dashing and friendly and make people happy.”

“All that?”

“All that in one simple evening.” She spread her hands. “Amazing how it’s all coming together, like fate. You’re such a brilliant multi-tasker.”

“Don’t push it, Flo.”

“Perry’s got the bridge,” Florence said with a fast subject change. “Are you going to wear your uniform to dinner?”

“Of course.”

“Should I?”

Jason made a face. “Are you asking my fashion advice? Really? What have I ever done that makes you think I would be a good person to ask about what to wear?”

“You always look good.”

“I’m always in uniform,” he reminded her.

“Yeah, well, it so works for you.”

Jason shook his head. “I’ll see you at dinner, Flo.”

“Got it, sir.”

***

Opening Worlds excerpt

Here I was thinking I'd posted this before, and come to find out, I haven't.  *slaps self*  Thank you Ma'am, may I have another!

This is an excerpt from a story called Opening Worlds that's coming out in an anthology with Storm Moon Press in June.  They're looking to contract for a novel that continues the tale in 2012, which is 100% pure, organic, unadulterated and hypoallergenic awesomeness.  I'll keep you updated.

And in other news...hot season has returned with a vengeance, but we're promised rain for Easter.  Please, God.  Please.

******

Jason Kim looked over the mission log his supervisors had sent down earlier that afternoon and stifled a sigh. Back to Perelan. Damn it, he knew that the Silver Star was the best ship for those particular runs—part container vessel and part upper-class cruiser—but that didn’t make him like them any better. Admittedly, the cargo was good. There was always a high demand for luxuries on Perelan, and he never had a problem filling the hold while he was there, but the passengers... He could happily give them a pass. It was part of the deal, though, and while he was captaining a merchant vessel instead of a military starship these days, he always honored his deals. No pretending the life support couldn’t handle an influx of people, no insinuating that their treatment of his highly-trained civilian staff was anything other than exemplary. In fact, it was likely his staff would do the civvy version of a mutiny if he refused passengers from Perelan, and Jason didn’t want to deal with that.


He sat back in his chair and glanced at the log again, charting courses and times in his mind. He’d load fuel and foodstuffs for arrival at Ceyla City and pick up passengers there. That would include three Perels, who apparently had decided they wanted to finish their post-adolescent “tour of the ‘verse” in high and expensive style. Following Ceyla City, they’d stop by Ishtar to load elegant, hand-crafted consumer goods that would be snapped up on Perelan, and then finally circle back to the vaunted planet itself, to drop off his three interlopers. After that, thank whoever his scheduler was, he was off-duty for a month. It was past time, too.

“Orders come down the pipe, sir?” his second-in-command asked, smiling slightly. “Fluttering down to you like little angels from on high? Zipping along the information super conduit? Smacking into your brain at warp speed—”

“Thank you for that series of outdated turns of phrase, Flo; you must have been saving them up for a while.”

“Yes, well, I like Old Earth idioms as much as the next person, sir.”

“Or far, far more than the next person.”

“Yeah, that.” She peered at the screen with interest. “Where’re we going?”

“Ceyla, Ishtar, Perelan.”

“Money run,” she noted, not at all put off by Jason’s terseness. “Passengers?”

“Whomever we can fit comfortably, but we’re reserving three suites for some Perels coming aboard in Ceyla.”

“Oooh, they’ll need them,” Florence smirked. “Make sure they get the biggest beds available, too. Perels rarely sleep alone.”

“I’m well aware of their preferences.”

“They’ll be good for business. Everyone wants to travel with a Perel...” Florence’s voice trailed off as she remembered why Jason might not like to hear that. “Sorry, sir.”

“Water under the bridge, Flo.”

“Nice one,” she congratulated him.

“For you, I’m willing to make the effort.” Jason looked over the mission log again. “The delivery for Ceyla should be arriving around fifteen hundred hours, local time. Can you handle the loading and pre-flight check? Make sure all the staff are on board and prepped?”

“Absolutely, sir,” Florence said immediately. “I’ll let you know when everyone is settled and we’re ready to head out. Go and do something relaxing. Have a bubble bath. Hit a punching bag. Holo-snipe something.”

“Point taken,” Jason said dryly.
 
 
*****
 
I will probably give you more later.  I'm a giver:)  Happy weekend, people.