Hey there, guys and dolls!
I'm putting out the call for a beta reader to help me finish polishing Shadows and Light 4. My regular beta is currently unavailable and I've got to get this thing posted before June or I shall lose a measure of self-respect that frankly I can't afford to let go at the moment, so this is my shout out for a helpful pair of eyes.
Never beta'd before? It's not that hard. In this instance, you have to have read the other parts of Shadows and Light, you have to have a good grasp of English, and you have to be willing to be honest with me without resorting to flames. Constructive criticism I can handle, but no one likes being set on fire. You also have to be willing to read the story and give me feedback on it by the end of the weekend, the sooner the better. Even if your only comment is "Cari, you nailed it!", which I doubt but might happen:)
So email me at my hotmail account if you're genuinely interested, with Beta in the subject line. The addy is on the front page, right-hand side, down there somewhere. In case there are more than one of you (squee!), I'll pick someone and let the rest know the score. Thanks in advance for your help, whomever you may be. Once I get this into the Literotica queue I can stop neglecting Pandora.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Friday, May 13, 2011
The Hell You Say!
Yes, the rough draft of Shadows and Light 4 is finished! Twenty five thousand words of anguish and toil, and now I'm going on vacation to (wait for it) a country with more than one paved road (I know! Crazy, yeah?) for five days and I won't look at the story or think about it until I get back. Then it's revisions, beta, more revisions, posting on Literotica, and FINALLY! THE STORY WILL BE COMPLETE!!!
Sorry, I felt the need for dramatic emphasis, and/or yelling.
So, y'all have a lovely weekend, and hopefully when I get back I'll have the next part of Pandora ready to go shortly thereafter.
Phew.
Sorry, I felt the need for dramatic emphasis, and/or yelling.
So, y'all have a lovely weekend, and hopefully when I get back I'll have the next part of Pandora ready to go shortly thereafter.
Phew.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Sh*t I need to get done:)
It turns out that when you start to wrap up your Peace Corps experience, there's a whole bunch of crap you have to do with regards to your site, your successor, your projects, your medical history and your travel itinerary. I have never worked in a solid and entrenched bureaucracy before, although both my parents are civil servants, and being confronted with reams of paper and the expectation for me to remember who each one goes to, when, and accompanied by what, is almost dizzying. I would be a piss-poor paper pusher. Even knowing my weakness, however, nothing is off the table when we get back to the states, because I'm gonna need a job until I can make writing pay my way. Which could be a bit.
We head back to the states at the end of the summer, but in the meantime, we're taking a mini-vacation into the desert next week. Why do you care? Good question, allow me to explain. Shadows and Light 4, which is almost twice as long as all its predecessors, has to be finished in rough draft form and given over to my beta before I take off on my little wilderness jaunt, because otherwise that's another week it would be behind. I said I'd get it out this month and I will, come hell or high water or plagues of locusts.
This means of a necessity that Pandora probably won't be updated until the middle/end of the month, which is cruel and unusual but also unavoidable. I'm trying to finish a short story for a Dreamspinner antho as well, and writing up an exercise science lesson for an upcoming camp in French. I don't know the words for pulse oximeter or resting heart rate in French, so I'd better get my ass to work, huh?
Happy May to everyone, especially the moms:)
We head back to the states at the end of the summer, but in the meantime, we're taking a mini-vacation into the desert next week. Why do you care? Good question, allow me to explain. Shadows and Light 4, which is almost twice as long as all its predecessors, has to be finished in rough draft form and given over to my beta before I take off on my little wilderness jaunt, because otherwise that's another week it would be behind. I said I'd get it out this month and I will, come hell or high water or plagues of locusts.
This means of a necessity that Pandora probably won't be updated until the middle/end of the month, which is cruel and unusual but also unavoidable. I'm trying to finish a short story for a Dreamspinner antho as well, and writing up an exercise science lesson for an upcoming camp in French. I don't know the words for pulse oximeter or resting heart rate in French, so I'd better get my ass to work, huh?
Happy May to everyone, especially the moms:)
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
New(ish) Reviews for Myths and Magic
So, those who are wiser than I have informed me that when I get a rockin' review, or even just a nod, I need to use it as promo. And lo and behold, I reckon they're right and so I'm doing some of that now.
I published a short story in the anthology Myths and Magic, by Dreamspinner Press, called The Wild Hunt. Apparently a lot of peop enjoyed it, I've never gotten so many reviews that specifically mentioned my story out of the anthology line-up. Because it's fun to share, here are some excerpts from said reviews below.
Reviews By Jessewave link
From Jenre: One of the reasons I picked up this anthology, where all the stories are based around myths and legends, was because it had a few stories by my favourite authors. I’m happy to say that those stories didn’t disappoint, plus I found a few new authors whose stories were also very well written and who I shall probably look out for in the future.
My favourite of all the stories was The Wild Hunt by Cari Z., which tells the story of a young boy who becomes fascinated by the leader of the Wild Hunt during Halloween, and how this fascination colours his entire life. The author managed to skilfully interweave the Hunt mythology with the very ordinary tale of a young man who has one foot in a painful reality and another yearning for fantasy. I found it in turns exhilarating and heartbreaking and is worth the price of the anthology alone.
ERWA review link
Review by Vincent Diamond: One might argue that love itself is a myth, but that would cynical, wouldn't it? This anthology lets love mix it up with legends and myths from many cultures, times, and places. Thirteen male/male stories ranging from sad to serious to a bit silly, and many work quite well.
"Wild Hunt" by Cari Z. is another strong piece. As a small boy, David first encounters the horse, hounds, and huntsman of the Wild Hunt, and he's entranced from that moment on. The omniscient perspective works well in this piece with just a touch of David's sister and mother on the page. But it's largely David here, and he's a charming, sympathetic, and likeable character. Readers will root for he and the huntsman to get together. Beneath the love story, the undercurrent of grief and pain in this piece make this a story tinged with real sadness. Emotional and effective.
Amazon.com reviews
By J. Thomas: This book had so many different stories and authors to enjoy. With a wide variety of writing styles and plots there is sure to be something for everyone in this anthology. Whether it is a story about the Genie in the lamp or a Chinese dragon you are bound to find a wondrous tale of love and myth in this book.
There were many stories that I enjoyed and a few stood out more than the others. In The Wild Hunt by Cari Z. we see a child grow into a man and his intense love that never dies. This was an interesting story that used the mystical legend of the wild hunt.
So...nice, right? Yeah! A pick-me-up for me as I grind through the rest of Shadows and Light, a new perspective for anyone looking in for the first time who maybe hasn't thought about this particular anthology before, and for those of you who've already read and enjoyed it...good on ya, darlin'! I'm throwing the Dreamspinne book link in just to be complete: Myths and Magic link.
In other news, you may be wondering why the heck I haven't promo'd any new stuff here lately. Just Pandora and promises of S and L. I do have new work coming out next month, a novella for Pink Petal Books that's the sequel to Treasured and a short story in Storm Moon Press' anthology Wild Passions. There's more on the way later in the year as well. I'll have new cover art, new excerpts and new links for you soon. Promise!
I published a short story in the anthology Myths and Magic, by Dreamspinner Press, called The Wild Hunt. Apparently a lot of peop enjoyed it, I've never gotten so many reviews that specifically mentioned my story out of the anthology line-up. Because it's fun to share, here are some excerpts from said reviews below.
Reviews By Jessewave link
From Jenre: One of the reasons I picked up this anthology, where all the stories are based around myths and legends, was because it had a few stories by my favourite authors. I’m happy to say that those stories didn’t disappoint, plus I found a few new authors whose stories were also very well written and who I shall probably look out for in the future.
My favourite of all the stories was The Wild Hunt by Cari Z., which tells the story of a young boy who becomes fascinated by the leader of the Wild Hunt during Halloween, and how this fascination colours his entire life. The author managed to skilfully interweave the Hunt mythology with the very ordinary tale of a young man who has one foot in a painful reality and another yearning for fantasy. I found it in turns exhilarating and heartbreaking and is worth the price of the anthology alone.
ERWA review link
Review by Vincent Diamond: One might argue that love itself is a myth, but that would cynical, wouldn't it? This anthology lets love mix it up with legends and myths from many cultures, times, and places. Thirteen male/male stories ranging from sad to serious to a bit silly, and many work quite well.
"Wild Hunt" by Cari Z. is another strong piece. As a small boy, David first encounters the horse, hounds, and huntsman of the Wild Hunt, and he's entranced from that moment on. The omniscient perspective works well in this piece with just a touch of David's sister and mother on the page. But it's largely David here, and he's a charming, sympathetic, and likeable character. Readers will root for he and the huntsman to get together. Beneath the love story, the undercurrent of grief and pain in this piece make this a story tinged with real sadness. Emotional and effective.
Amazon.com reviews
By J. Thomas: This book had so many different stories and authors to enjoy. With a wide variety of writing styles and plots there is sure to be something for everyone in this anthology. Whether it is a story about the Genie in the lamp or a Chinese dragon you are bound to find a wondrous tale of love and myth in this book.
There were many stories that I enjoyed and a few stood out more than the others. In The Wild Hunt by Cari Z. we see a child grow into a man and his intense love that never dies. This was an interesting story that used the mystical legend of the wild hunt.
So...nice, right? Yeah! A pick-me-up for me as I grind through the rest of Shadows and Light, a new perspective for anyone looking in for the first time who maybe hasn't thought about this particular anthology before, and for those of you who've already read and enjoyed it...good on ya, darlin'! I'm throwing the Dreamspinne book link in just to be complete: Myths and Magic link.
In other news, you may be wondering why the heck I haven't promo'd any new stuff here lately. Just Pandora and promises of S and L. I do have new work coming out next month, a novella for Pink Petal Books that's the sequel to Treasured and a short story in Storm Moon Press' anthology Wild Passions. There's more on the way later in the year as well. I'll have new cover art, new excerpts and new links for you soon. Promise!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Pandora Post #16
Title: Pandora
Part Sixteen: Strangely Entertaining
Notes: This is the next part of a spin-off story of a series I posted on Literotica (titled Bonded, as Carizabeth) and the subject matter is m/m sci fi. Nothing dirty here, just good, clean, meteor-fighting fun! Enjoy, guys. Do keep in mind, these aren’t beta’d yet. Forgive me my mistakes, misspellings and misstatements. Oh, and incidentally, Happy Independence Day, Togo. The fireworks were a particularly nice touch.
***
The entertainment center on the Neptune was a huge compound next to the docking bay that held all the amenities of a small, modern metropolis. There were five different restaurants with designated chefs who guaranteed that what you ate would taste different than what you could order from the mess. There was a massive zero-grav chamber for people who needed job training or for those few insane enthusiasts who enjoyed zero-g handball, and a smaller gravity gymnasium for kids to play in. There was a nightclub, several bars and a specialty ice cream shop. There were also two movie theatres, one that catered to adults and another with all the bells and whistles of a children’s paradise, and that was the theater to which Garrett was hurrying now.
Garrett had fucked people who were parents before. He had even gone on dates with people who were parents before. But he had never gone on a date with a parent and their child at the same time, and his lack of previous experience bugged him. Did you dress up or dress down? Did you cater to the kid or give them some money and point them towards the arcade? Did you just gut it out and grit your teeth and hope the silences didn’t become too awkward? He had no idea, and he was unusually determined that this turn out good for everyone.
Garrett ended up dressing in a pair of casual dark jeans and a simple long-sleeved shirt with a mandarin flair. He styled his hair with a little gel, glanced at his chrono and called it good enough; he didn’t want to keep them waiting.
It took a little over ten minutes to get to the theater, and by the time he did his particular party was almost at the head of the ticket line. Cody saw Garrett first and started hopping up and down with excitement, and Garrett slipped into place next to them, ignoring the glare he got from the mother of five behind him. “Hi.”
“You made it.” Jonah sounded mildly surprised. “Kinda thought you weren’t coming.”
“Why?”
“Because you didn’t let me know you got the message.”
“I was in a rush to get ready and get down here.”
“Doesn’t take much time to make a call.”
“It doesn’t take much time to drink a cup of coffee either,” Garrett snapped, irritated by Jonah’s nitpicking. The other man flushed slightly and looked away, and Garrett immediately felt like a dick. There was no need to bring that incident up. He was saved from having to apologize by Cody taking up the reins of the conversation.
“See him?” The boy pointed at the neon-green space ninja on his shirt. “He’s Marco, he’s the green Space Ranger and he’s my favorite. Nala is the red, and she’s good too. The purple is John. John is kind of boring, but Nala has a pet monkey that fits in her spaceship and it wears a red suit too. Its name is Kiko.”
“Kiko the space monkey, got it,” Garrett said.
“Should be Cody the space monkey,” Jonah said, ruffling his son’s hair. He glanced at Garrett as he bought three tickets. “You ever been into a children’s theater before?”
“Not since I was a child, no.”
“I reckon they’ve improved some since then. You don’t get motion sickness, do you?”
“No…” Garrett replied cautiously.
“Good.” Jonah led the way through the old-fashioned revolving doors. They bought popcorn and sodas and then a holographic usher directed them to their seats, which were large and reclined. They all lay back and stared up at the dome-shaped screen above their heads. Cody was chatting a mile a minute and Garrett let the words just wash over him, not feeling quite up to making more conversation just then. He had been a dick outside. Jonah had a right to know whether he could plan on company or not, and there was no call to be as rude as he had been. He ate a tiny handful of popcorn and grimaced. What the hell was it flavored with, anyway?
“Not to your taste?” Jonah asked softly from where he sat. Cody was between them but the way the chairs swiveled, their heads were close together.
“It’s just been a long time since I’ve been to the movies. I’ve just got to get into the right headspace,” Garrett replied. “Jonah, I'm—”
The lights in the theater suddenly went down, and Garrett was forced to stop talking as the sound came on. There wasn’t really any other option. Space Rangers vs the Meteor of Death had a score that sounded like xylophones played by monkeys on crack, and the speakers were loud enough that it would have been impossible to get a word in edgewise. Then there were the lasers, all of which made a satisfying zing sound as they fired despite it being the depths of space with nothing for sound waves to resonate in, and to top it all off the wicked Meteor of Death had what sounded like a classic Transylvanian accent. Also, whoever had thought to anthropomorphize a meteor needed, in Garrett’s opinion, to be booted back to kindergarten-level natural science.
The chairs rocked and rumbled along with the action as the valiant Space Rangers duked it out with the fireball-spewing Meteor of Death. They managed to prevent it from crashing into the planet Earth, conveyed very fancifully as a modern-day Garden of Eden instead of the cesspool of pollution Garrett knew it to be, and then at the end of the movie the green Space Ranger and the red Space Ranger kissed, which got a lot of groans and yucky faces from the little boys in the audience.
The only saving grace of the entire movie experience was the moment when the Meteor of Death almost swallowed the red Space Ranger’s monkey. It was a scene fraught with tension, and Cody had gasped and grabbed onto Garrett’s arm with one hand, and his father with the other. That caused a sudden brief flood of something warm to flow through Garrett’s chest, and he was able to bear the vampire-wannabe Meteor and his zinging assailants with better composure after that.
They went and got ice cream afterwards. Garrett insisted on it, despite Jonah’s assertion that they hadn’t even had lunch yet.
“Lunch was popcorn,” Garrett said blithely, ignoring the fact that he’d eaten less than a handful from his bag.
“We’ll have a real lunch when we get home,” Jonah warned his hyperexcited son. “So just a small one.”
“But Daddy…”
“One scoop or none, bucko.”
Cody ended up getting a scoop of strawberry swirl with rainbow sprinkles, Garrett got caramel vanilla bean, and Jonah, with a sly aside grin at his one-night stand, got coffee flavored. Cody finished first and darted across the hall to play on the nearest jungle gym. Garrett and Jonah sat and ate in silence for a moment, just watching him, before Garrett spoke up.
“Was that particular choice in venue a set-up to get me to leave you alone in the future?”
“What, you didn’t like the Meteor of Death?” Jonah asked, his eyes crinkling slightly as he smiled. “Nah, it wasn’t a set-up. Cody asked to bring you with and I didn’t remember until you got here that this might not be your thing, but I figured since you came anyway…” He shrugged. “It’s the only movie playing at the children’s theater until we land. Cody’s seen it twice already, but today is his day and so we do what he wants to do.”
Garrett licked a long, slow line around the edge of his ice cream, coaxing a patina of sweet chillness onto his tongue. “Even if what he wants includes inviting me to a movie.”
“Told you, Cody likes you,” Jonah mumbled, his eyes fixed on Garrett’s mouth.
“He’s a great kid,” Garrett offered, and he meant it sincerely. Bad taste in movies aside, Cody was gregarious verging on charming, and very cute. It would be almost impossible not to like him, and given Garrett’s persisting fascination with the kid’s dad, that was a good thing.
“He is, yeah,” Jonah said with a faint sigh. Garrett could almost see Jonah rein in a nascent lascivious thought .
“If he really likes movies, the next time we all get together you should come and visit the lab. I have a climate simulator that can do some amazing things.”
“Garrett…”
“Friendly, education-oriented visit to the science lab on your next day off,” Garrett interrupted with a casual wave of his hand. “Bring some of Cody’s friends if you really want to make a production out of it.”
“Lacey’s dad is a scientist,” Cody offered from just behind Garrett’s elbow. Both of the adults started in surprise at his sudden appearance. “Lacey says that her dad says that the lab is a great place to work as long as the—see, then she said a word that I can’t say but it rhymes with witch—isn’t looking over your shoulder. And then she said her dad said another word I can say, but it rhymes with bucking—”
“Good time to quit there, Cody,” Jonah interjected, getting to his feet. “And we need to get you some real food before the sugar makes you keel over.”
“Can Garrett come?”
“Not this time,” Jonah replied, to the disappointment of both of his companions. “But our next day off we’ll see him again,” he added. The glance he threw at Garrett was a little defensive and a little resigned, but more than a little interested. It was enough encouragement for Garrett, who grinned cheerfully back as they exchanged polite goodbyes, then watched the pair walk away.
A project. He had a project now, a personal project, and that felt good. Garrett had friends on board the Neptune but Jonah was the first person he’d felt more than an everyday kind of interest in. Tall, lanky, comfortable, gorgeous drifter-turned-colonist Jonah was someone Garrett could see spending hours and hours with. Hell, he already had, and as bad as that movie had been he wouldn’t have traded the time for anything. It eased the sense of detachment he’d been feeling after the trials and exertions of yesterday, and despite the Jonah’s reservations Garrett didn’t see any reason to deny himself someone he wanted, and who wanted him at least as badly.
A project. Perfect.
Part Sixteen: Strangely Entertaining
Notes: This is the next part of a spin-off story of a series I posted on Literotica (titled Bonded, as Carizabeth) and the subject matter is m/m sci fi. Nothing dirty here, just good, clean, meteor-fighting fun! Enjoy, guys. Do keep in mind, these aren’t beta’d yet. Forgive me my mistakes, misspellings and misstatements. Oh, and incidentally, Happy Independence Day, Togo. The fireworks were a particularly nice touch.
***
The entertainment center on the Neptune was a huge compound next to the docking bay that held all the amenities of a small, modern metropolis. There were five different restaurants with designated chefs who guaranteed that what you ate would taste different than what you could order from the mess. There was a massive zero-grav chamber for people who needed job training or for those few insane enthusiasts who enjoyed zero-g handball, and a smaller gravity gymnasium for kids to play in. There was a nightclub, several bars and a specialty ice cream shop. There were also two movie theatres, one that catered to adults and another with all the bells and whistles of a children’s paradise, and that was the theater to which Garrett was hurrying now.
Garrett had fucked people who were parents before. He had even gone on dates with people who were parents before. But he had never gone on a date with a parent and their child at the same time, and his lack of previous experience bugged him. Did you dress up or dress down? Did you cater to the kid or give them some money and point them towards the arcade? Did you just gut it out and grit your teeth and hope the silences didn’t become too awkward? He had no idea, and he was unusually determined that this turn out good for everyone.
Garrett ended up dressing in a pair of casual dark jeans and a simple long-sleeved shirt with a mandarin flair. He styled his hair with a little gel, glanced at his chrono and called it good enough; he didn’t want to keep them waiting.
It took a little over ten minutes to get to the theater, and by the time he did his particular party was almost at the head of the ticket line. Cody saw Garrett first and started hopping up and down with excitement, and Garrett slipped into place next to them, ignoring the glare he got from the mother of five behind him. “Hi.”
“You made it.” Jonah sounded mildly surprised. “Kinda thought you weren’t coming.”
“Why?”
“Because you didn’t let me know you got the message.”
“I was in a rush to get ready and get down here.”
“Doesn’t take much time to make a call.”
“It doesn’t take much time to drink a cup of coffee either,” Garrett snapped, irritated by Jonah’s nitpicking. The other man flushed slightly and looked away, and Garrett immediately felt like a dick. There was no need to bring that incident up. He was saved from having to apologize by Cody taking up the reins of the conversation.
“See him?” The boy pointed at the neon-green space ninja on his shirt. “He’s Marco, he’s the green Space Ranger and he’s my favorite. Nala is the red, and she’s good too. The purple is John. John is kind of boring, but Nala has a pet monkey that fits in her spaceship and it wears a red suit too. Its name is Kiko.”
“Kiko the space monkey, got it,” Garrett said.
“Should be Cody the space monkey,” Jonah said, ruffling his son’s hair. He glanced at Garrett as he bought three tickets. “You ever been into a children’s theater before?”
“Not since I was a child, no.”
“I reckon they’ve improved some since then. You don’t get motion sickness, do you?”
“No…” Garrett replied cautiously.
“Good.” Jonah led the way through the old-fashioned revolving doors. They bought popcorn and sodas and then a holographic usher directed them to their seats, which were large and reclined. They all lay back and stared up at the dome-shaped screen above their heads. Cody was chatting a mile a minute and Garrett let the words just wash over him, not feeling quite up to making more conversation just then. He had been a dick outside. Jonah had a right to know whether he could plan on company or not, and there was no call to be as rude as he had been. He ate a tiny handful of popcorn and grimaced. What the hell was it flavored with, anyway?
“Not to your taste?” Jonah asked softly from where he sat. Cody was between them but the way the chairs swiveled, their heads were close together.
“It’s just been a long time since I’ve been to the movies. I’ve just got to get into the right headspace,” Garrett replied. “Jonah, I'm—”
The lights in the theater suddenly went down, and Garrett was forced to stop talking as the sound came on. There wasn’t really any other option. Space Rangers vs the Meteor of Death had a score that sounded like xylophones played by monkeys on crack, and the speakers were loud enough that it would have been impossible to get a word in edgewise. Then there were the lasers, all of which made a satisfying zing sound as they fired despite it being the depths of space with nothing for sound waves to resonate in, and to top it all off the wicked Meteor of Death had what sounded like a classic Transylvanian accent. Also, whoever had thought to anthropomorphize a meteor needed, in Garrett’s opinion, to be booted back to kindergarten-level natural science.
The chairs rocked and rumbled along with the action as the valiant Space Rangers duked it out with the fireball-spewing Meteor of Death. They managed to prevent it from crashing into the planet Earth, conveyed very fancifully as a modern-day Garden of Eden instead of the cesspool of pollution Garrett knew it to be, and then at the end of the movie the green Space Ranger and the red Space Ranger kissed, which got a lot of groans and yucky faces from the little boys in the audience.
The only saving grace of the entire movie experience was the moment when the Meteor of Death almost swallowed the red Space Ranger’s monkey. It was a scene fraught with tension, and Cody had gasped and grabbed onto Garrett’s arm with one hand, and his father with the other. That caused a sudden brief flood of something warm to flow through Garrett’s chest, and he was able to bear the vampire-wannabe Meteor and his zinging assailants with better composure after that.
They went and got ice cream afterwards. Garrett insisted on it, despite Jonah’s assertion that they hadn’t even had lunch yet.
“Lunch was popcorn,” Garrett said blithely, ignoring the fact that he’d eaten less than a handful from his bag.
“We’ll have a real lunch when we get home,” Jonah warned his hyperexcited son. “So just a small one.”
“But Daddy…”
“One scoop or none, bucko.”
Cody ended up getting a scoop of strawberry swirl with rainbow sprinkles, Garrett got caramel vanilla bean, and Jonah, with a sly aside grin at his one-night stand, got coffee flavored. Cody finished first and darted across the hall to play on the nearest jungle gym. Garrett and Jonah sat and ate in silence for a moment, just watching him, before Garrett spoke up.
“Was that particular choice in venue a set-up to get me to leave you alone in the future?”
“What, you didn’t like the Meteor of Death?” Jonah asked, his eyes crinkling slightly as he smiled. “Nah, it wasn’t a set-up. Cody asked to bring you with and I didn’t remember until you got here that this might not be your thing, but I figured since you came anyway…” He shrugged. “It’s the only movie playing at the children’s theater until we land. Cody’s seen it twice already, but today is his day and so we do what he wants to do.”
Garrett licked a long, slow line around the edge of his ice cream, coaxing a patina of sweet chillness onto his tongue. “Even if what he wants includes inviting me to a movie.”
“Told you, Cody likes you,” Jonah mumbled, his eyes fixed on Garrett’s mouth.
“He’s a great kid,” Garrett offered, and he meant it sincerely. Bad taste in movies aside, Cody was gregarious verging on charming, and very cute. It would be almost impossible not to like him, and given Garrett’s persisting fascination with the kid’s dad, that was a good thing.
“He is, yeah,” Jonah said with a faint sigh. Garrett could almost see Jonah rein in a nascent lascivious thought .
“If he really likes movies, the next time we all get together you should come and visit the lab. I have a climate simulator that can do some amazing things.”
“Garrett…”
“Friendly, education-oriented visit to the science lab on your next day off,” Garrett interrupted with a casual wave of his hand. “Bring some of Cody’s friends if you really want to make a production out of it.”
“Lacey’s dad is a scientist,” Cody offered from just behind Garrett’s elbow. Both of the adults started in surprise at his sudden appearance. “Lacey says that her dad says that the lab is a great place to work as long as the—see, then she said a word that I can’t say but it rhymes with witch—isn’t looking over your shoulder. And then she said her dad said another word I can say, but it rhymes with bucking—”
“Good time to quit there, Cody,” Jonah interjected, getting to his feet. “And we need to get you some real food before the sugar makes you keel over.”
“Can Garrett come?”
“Not this time,” Jonah replied, to the disappointment of both of his companions. “But our next day off we’ll see him again,” he added. The glance he threw at Garrett was a little defensive and a little resigned, but more than a little interested. It was enough encouragement for Garrett, who grinned cheerfully back as they exchanged polite goodbyes, then watched the pair walk away.
A project. He had a project now, a personal project, and that felt good. Garrett had friends on board the Neptune but Jonah was the first person he’d felt more than an everyday kind of interest in. Tall, lanky, comfortable, gorgeous drifter-turned-colonist Jonah was someone Garrett could see spending hours and hours with. Hell, he already had, and as bad as that movie had been he wouldn’t have traded the time for anything. It eased the sense of detachment he’d been feeling after the trials and exertions of yesterday, and despite the Jonah’s reservations Garrett didn’t see any reason to deny himself someone he wanted, and who wanted him at least as badly.
A project. Perfect.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Shadows and Light 4 excerpt
So, for the patient and devoted, and I suppose for everyone else too, here's an excerpt from the next chapter of Shadows and Light. It's not beta'd or heavily edited, so it will undoubtedly be tweaked again before you read it on Literotica (soon), but I felt compelled to share regardless. It's close to the beginning of the story. Enjoy:)
***
It was Xian who ended up finding them a den about fifteen minutes later, and Rafael was more than ready to stop at that point. The appointed spot was a dense thicket down a hill several meters off the trail, heavily shadowed by pine trees. It would be nearly invisible from the trail even in the daylight, and there was a slender stream right next to it, which would be good for the horses and for the two of them. They both dismounted once they’d made their way down the hill, and Xian handed the reins over to Rafael.
“I’ll prepare the camp while you care for the horses.”
That was one of the new skill sets Rafael had had to learn: how to tend to a huge, odiferous, time-consuming animal in a way that would keep it fit to ride. It was far from his favorite aspect of the trip, but after several weeks and with Xian’s help, Rafael was fairly efficient at it now. He found a place beneath the trees where the horses could stand comfortably, and even graze some, and then took off their saddles and pads and exchanged the heavy bridles for simple rope halters. He staked their leads to the ground, then spent some time brushing both of the beasts down and checking their hooves for stones. Then he hauled some water for them, and by that point he was sweating and freezing simultaneously. His horse looked down at the ground, sniffed for a moment, then whuffled indignantly.
“Do I look like a miracle worker?” Rafael demanded. “I can’t make grass spring up from rock.” His horse continued to stare. “The grain cakes will be harder and harder to get. Just be patient and I’ll find you food later.”
This provoked a whinny, and Rafael gave in to the inevitable. “Fine. Don’t blame me if you’re starving in a week.” He took two thick grain cakes out of his saddle bag and fed one to each horse. “Now stop your whining.”
“I never thought I’d see you argue with something that couldn’t argue back,” Xian remarked from the entrance to the shelter that would be their home for the next day. The inside of it had been lined with heavy wool blankets, which would serve the dual purpose of keeping out the light and keeping in the heat. He had pulled the rest of their personal belongings inside and made up a pallet on the ground that would be just large enough for the two of them, if they stayed close. After experiencing the pleasure of sleeping with Xian for the past two weeks, Rafael had every intention of staying as close as humanly possible.
“Arguing with inanimate objects is one thing; arguing with that beast is another. Just because he can’t speak doesn’t mean he won’t try to drown me in guilt.”
“My poor pet, a slave to the will of his noble steed,” Xian smirked as he slipped his arms around Rafael’s waist from behind, pressing cool lips to his neck.
“I live to serve,” Rafael replied flatly, but he nevertheless leaned back into the embrace, craving the physical connection to Xian.
“I know,” Xian said, and kissed him again before pulling back. “The snares are almost ready.”
“I’ll help you set them,” Rafael said.
“As you wish.” They walked together past the stream, wending their way through the thick press of pine needles. Xian held a length of slender wire in his hands, and was expertly tying a noose into the end of it. Once finished, he handed it to Rafael and began on the next one. “We may get lucky with one of the larger traps here. A badger would bring plenty in trade.”
“Or we could simply pay for food,” Rafael offered, not for the first time. He winced as a finger suddenly flicked his ear, hard.
“Or you could learn to be self-sufficient,” Xian said. “I don’t show you all of this because I enjoy boring you, Rafael.” He handed him the second snare and began tying the third. His long, milk-pale fingers dexterously slid the wire into the appropriate loop. “These are things you need to know if we’re to succeed. Once we reach—” He stopped speaking as the wire suddenly slipped from his hands, falling limply to the ground. They both stopped and stared at it for a long moment. Rafael looked uncomprehendingly down at the wire, and then over at Xian.
Xian’s face was always hard to read, his casual expression of imperturbability down to an art after half a millennium of life, but something about the sudden lowering of his eyelids to half mast, hiding the blank white orbs from view, was very disturbing. In all the years of his apprenticeship and the short time they’d been together since then, Rafael had never seen Xian fumble. To see it now meant that things were happening that Rafael had steadfastly refused to discuss for the past two weeks, and the cold ache that swelled suddenly in his chest had nothing to do with the weather.
After a moment, Xian bent and retrieved the loop of wire as though nothing had happened. He expertly finished tying the knot, then turned to Rafael. “Get those two set and baited, then meet me back at camp. Dawn is coming fast.” He took the one left in his hands and moved on, leaving Rafael staring after him in the iron-grey light. After a moment he snapped out of his fear-induced fugue and went to do just that, trying to find signs of animals and choose likely spots for the snares, but in the end he simply tied them down within five feet of each other before sprinting back to their camp.
Xian was already there, not sitting in the den he’d prepared but stroking the nose of his own horse, a large grey male with tufted black ears and a much less argumentative disposition that Rafael’s. He looked over at his former apprentice as he skidded into the small clearing. “Problems?”
“No,” Rafael said after a moment, trying to slow down the anxious beating of his heart. “No problems.”
“Then we’d best get inside.” He stepped away from his horse and took Rafael’s hand, then led him back into the den. They both sat down, and then Xian lowered the final heavy blanket over the entrance, plunging them into total darkness. Rafael sat and shivered, completely unnerved, and jumped when he felt Xian’s hand on his shoulder.
“Sleep,” Xian said.
“Shouldn’t…but shouldn’t we—”
“We’ll talk about it later, pet,” Xian soothed him. “It will keep for a few more hours, and I know you need the rest. Lie down with me.”
“Xian…” Rafael didn’t think he could sleep with the specter of the dreaded “talk” hanging over him, something he’d gone out of his way to avoid up to now, but he was tired from hours of riding through the dreary, interminable hills. The environment simply didn’t energize him the way living in a city had, and he had lived in Clare in whole life before their exodus. To be a stranger in what was essentially a new world was a new and uncomfortable fear that he fought with constantly.
Rafael let himself be coaxed onto his side on the pallet of blankets and cloaks, and when Xian nestled in behind him and fit their bodies together like lock and key, the ache in his chest began to dissipate. He focused on the soft touch of his lover’s breath on his skin, and the steady cadence of both of their heartbeats, and slowly he allowed himself be comforted until he couldn’t stop from sleeping.
If Rafael’s waking moments were marred by an underlying fear of impending change, his sleep was just as invaded by twisted memories shaped into terrifying dreams. He saw his ejection from the Upper City over and over again, and each time Xian brought him back from the brink of death, he did it while laughing, delighting in his former apprentice’s pain. Rafael saw himself bound in the circular chamber, hanging from chains and waiting with breathless anticipation for his master’s hand, or his whip. Instead of Xian it was Myrtea who wielded the weapon, though, and she bit brutally deep into his skin, drawing blood and baring bone.
Even worse were the dreams where she had Xian under her control, chained and helpless. She called him “My beloved,” and she touched him intimately with hands like burning brands, leaving bright red blisters on Xian’s perfect, pale skin. They should have healed almost instantly but they couldn’t; the Blood of Erran had left Xian, abandoned him to his latent mortality, and he was dying now and it was all Rafael’s fault. All he could do was watch and listen as his lover screamed, strange and high and breathy, hardly more than a whimper but—
“Rafael.”
***
It was Xian who ended up finding them a den about fifteen minutes later, and Rafael was more than ready to stop at that point. The appointed spot was a dense thicket down a hill several meters off the trail, heavily shadowed by pine trees. It would be nearly invisible from the trail even in the daylight, and there was a slender stream right next to it, which would be good for the horses and for the two of them. They both dismounted once they’d made their way down the hill, and Xian handed the reins over to Rafael.
“I’ll prepare the camp while you care for the horses.”
That was one of the new skill sets Rafael had had to learn: how to tend to a huge, odiferous, time-consuming animal in a way that would keep it fit to ride. It was far from his favorite aspect of the trip, but after several weeks and with Xian’s help, Rafael was fairly efficient at it now. He found a place beneath the trees where the horses could stand comfortably, and even graze some, and then took off their saddles and pads and exchanged the heavy bridles for simple rope halters. He staked their leads to the ground, then spent some time brushing both of the beasts down and checking their hooves for stones. Then he hauled some water for them, and by that point he was sweating and freezing simultaneously. His horse looked down at the ground, sniffed for a moment, then whuffled indignantly.
“Do I look like a miracle worker?” Rafael demanded. “I can’t make grass spring up from rock.” His horse continued to stare. “The grain cakes will be harder and harder to get. Just be patient and I’ll find you food later.”
This provoked a whinny, and Rafael gave in to the inevitable. “Fine. Don’t blame me if you’re starving in a week.” He took two thick grain cakes out of his saddle bag and fed one to each horse. “Now stop your whining.”
“I never thought I’d see you argue with something that couldn’t argue back,” Xian remarked from the entrance to the shelter that would be their home for the next day. The inside of it had been lined with heavy wool blankets, which would serve the dual purpose of keeping out the light and keeping in the heat. He had pulled the rest of their personal belongings inside and made up a pallet on the ground that would be just large enough for the two of them, if they stayed close. After experiencing the pleasure of sleeping with Xian for the past two weeks, Rafael had every intention of staying as close as humanly possible.
“Arguing with inanimate objects is one thing; arguing with that beast is another. Just because he can’t speak doesn’t mean he won’t try to drown me in guilt.”
“My poor pet, a slave to the will of his noble steed,” Xian smirked as he slipped his arms around Rafael’s waist from behind, pressing cool lips to his neck.
“I live to serve,” Rafael replied flatly, but he nevertheless leaned back into the embrace, craving the physical connection to Xian.
“I know,” Xian said, and kissed him again before pulling back. “The snares are almost ready.”
“I’ll help you set them,” Rafael said.
“As you wish.” They walked together past the stream, wending their way through the thick press of pine needles. Xian held a length of slender wire in his hands, and was expertly tying a noose into the end of it. Once finished, he handed it to Rafael and began on the next one. “We may get lucky with one of the larger traps here. A badger would bring plenty in trade.”
“Or we could simply pay for food,” Rafael offered, not for the first time. He winced as a finger suddenly flicked his ear, hard.
“Or you could learn to be self-sufficient,” Xian said. “I don’t show you all of this because I enjoy boring you, Rafael.” He handed him the second snare and began tying the third. His long, milk-pale fingers dexterously slid the wire into the appropriate loop. “These are things you need to know if we’re to succeed. Once we reach—” He stopped speaking as the wire suddenly slipped from his hands, falling limply to the ground. They both stopped and stared at it for a long moment. Rafael looked uncomprehendingly down at the wire, and then over at Xian.
Xian’s face was always hard to read, his casual expression of imperturbability down to an art after half a millennium of life, but something about the sudden lowering of his eyelids to half mast, hiding the blank white orbs from view, was very disturbing. In all the years of his apprenticeship and the short time they’d been together since then, Rafael had never seen Xian fumble. To see it now meant that things were happening that Rafael had steadfastly refused to discuss for the past two weeks, and the cold ache that swelled suddenly in his chest had nothing to do with the weather.
After a moment, Xian bent and retrieved the loop of wire as though nothing had happened. He expertly finished tying the knot, then turned to Rafael. “Get those two set and baited, then meet me back at camp. Dawn is coming fast.” He took the one left in his hands and moved on, leaving Rafael staring after him in the iron-grey light. After a moment he snapped out of his fear-induced fugue and went to do just that, trying to find signs of animals and choose likely spots for the snares, but in the end he simply tied them down within five feet of each other before sprinting back to their camp.
Xian was already there, not sitting in the den he’d prepared but stroking the nose of his own horse, a large grey male with tufted black ears and a much less argumentative disposition that Rafael’s. He looked over at his former apprentice as he skidded into the small clearing. “Problems?”
“No,” Rafael said after a moment, trying to slow down the anxious beating of his heart. “No problems.”
“Then we’d best get inside.” He stepped away from his horse and took Rafael’s hand, then led him back into the den. They both sat down, and then Xian lowered the final heavy blanket over the entrance, plunging them into total darkness. Rafael sat and shivered, completely unnerved, and jumped when he felt Xian’s hand on his shoulder.
“Sleep,” Xian said.
“Shouldn’t…but shouldn’t we—”
“We’ll talk about it later, pet,” Xian soothed him. “It will keep for a few more hours, and I know you need the rest. Lie down with me.”
“Xian…” Rafael didn’t think he could sleep with the specter of the dreaded “talk” hanging over him, something he’d gone out of his way to avoid up to now, but he was tired from hours of riding through the dreary, interminable hills. The environment simply didn’t energize him the way living in a city had, and he had lived in Clare in whole life before their exodus. To be a stranger in what was essentially a new world was a new and uncomfortable fear that he fought with constantly.
Rafael let himself be coaxed onto his side on the pallet of blankets and cloaks, and when Xian nestled in behind him and fit their bodies together like lock and key, the ache in his chest began to dissipate. He focused on the soft touch of his lover’s breath on his skin, and the steady cadence of both of their heartbeats, and slowly he allowed himself be comforted until he couldn’t stop from sleeping.
If Rafael’s waking moments were marred by an underlying fear of impending change, his sleep was just as invaded by twisted memories shaped into terrifying dreams. He saw his ejection from the Upper City over and over again, and each time Xian brought him back from the brink of death, he did it while laughing, delighting in his former apprentice’s pain. Rafael saw himself bound in the circular chamber, hanging from chains and waiting with breathless anticipation for his master’s hand, or his whip. Instead of Xian it was Myrtea who wielded the weapon, though, and she bit brutally deep into his skin, drawing blood and baring bone.
Even worse were the dreams where she had Xian under her control, chained and helpless. She called him “My beloved,” and she touched him intimately with hands like burning brands, leaving bright red blisters on Xian’s perfect, pale skin. They should have healed almost instantly but they couldn’t; the Blood of Erran had left Xian, abandoned him to his latent mortality, and he was dying now and it was all Rafael’s fault. All he could do was watch and listen as his lover screamed, strange and high and breathy, hardly more than a whimper but—
“Rafael.”
Saturday, April 16, 2011
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.
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.
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