A Hero's Blog Hop

For my part in the Hero's Blog Hop, I'll be turning my blog over to my favorite werewolf, Calliph, from "Omarati" and "No Place Like Home."

And now, without further ado....


"Becoming a Hero" by Calliph

When Daniel asked me to write a post for him, I was apprehensive and skeptical. I don't live in a world of computers and blogs. I live in a world of magic, war, and passion. Everything in my world is tactile and real, whereas Daniel refers to many of his friends as "virtual." But he prodded and begged - and he's very beautiful when he begs....

::glances at my kitten, Mateo:: Daniel's prowess notwithstanding, I wasn't certain I was the proper person to talk about heroes. After all, I'm anything but. Daniel says I can't reveal too much, but suffice it to say my time during the war was horrific. I did things I am, to this day, not proud of. Things I have never forgiven myself for.

And then Daniel reminded me of something - in the eyes of  my son, Jonus, I am every bit a hero. Jonus came to me at a time in my life when I was not prepared to be a father - I had no intentions of settling down and raising a child. I was, in fact, as Daniel would say "hell bent" on sailing the world with my kitten. But life has a way of putting us exactly where we need to be, regardless of if we recognize our purpose.

Jonus sees nothing but the man I am now - he does not judge me on who I was, or what I had done. He believes that a man's worth is constantly changing, and so he must be constantly evaluated, and cannot be looked down upon for something that happened in the past.

For that, I am eternally grateful. And perhaps my son has the right of it. Perhaps a man's worth is a fluctuating thing, instead of a fixed mark. Perhaps no one deed is great enough to rule our destinies. I certainly hope that is the case.

Daniel has asked me to let you know that, for his prize, he is offering up a "free pdf copy" of my story "Omarati." I know not what a "free pdf" is, but I can attest the story is a sound one.

Here is the "blurb":

Everything changed for werewolf Calliph after the Shifter War. Now nothing more than a slave and plaything to human Prince Obyn, Calliph finds himself on the Golden Magus, sailing across the sea with his owner.  But fate has something more in mind for Calliph in the form of Ship's First Mate Mateo - who just happens to be Calliph's Omarati - his soul mate...and a werecat. Heartbroken, Calliph knows he can't stay with Mateo - he is forced to follow Obyn wherever he leads. Years later, when an attack at sea lands Mateo in the hands of vicious pirates, the cat discovers that, though time has changed some things, his bond with Calliph is eternal.

Daniel says to be eligible, you must leave your "e-mail" in a comment below.

I bid you good morrow and wish you much luck!

~Calliph



****PLEASE BE AWARE:  I write GLBTQ romance. GLBTQ stands for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer. This means my works feature same sex relationships AND same sex sexual acts. If being associated with that isn't your cup of tea, kindly pass on to the next blog in the hop and leave the spot open for someone else. Thank you.****

The Love Stallion Challenge

This is an old post that originally appeared in my long-defunct LiveJournal account. I found it while looking for something else, and figured I'd move it over here. I didn't, as the 8/12/09 entry implies, end up in any WIP I'd been working on at the time, but it does give a little bit away about the Calliph/Mateo #3 story (so far untitled) I'm working on. But maybe it's enticing? LOL Enjoy. 

The "Love Stallion" Challenge

• Aug. 12th, 2009 at 12:10 AM

::giggle:: So... earlier today - well, yesterday, to be accurate - I was on twitter and Author Sara Bell (wavyscribe) and I were discussing the phrase "love stallion," which she had read in an ebook.

Now... I guess I finally have to come clean and admit it:  I *love* purple prose. I grew up reading romance novels full of heaving mounds of creamy satin skin and throbbing tumescent love shafts.  And sometimes...in the deep watches of the night... when no one else in the world is near to hear it...I heave a sad sigh that we've progressed all the way to nipples and cocks.

I don't *use* purple prose, of course.  ::cough::  At least not in my writing...  ::nervous chuckle:: ANYWHO... I do, however, like to poke fun at it in my writing when I can.  So when all the earlier talk about love stallions lead to a mention of a man pole... the challenge was on.  So here it is, my attempt to use both in a way that won't make you vomit (hopefully).

This is a snippet from my current WIP.  It's rough still, and I have *NO* idea where I'm going to put it, but it's going in there by god!

******

Nostrils flared, muscles taut, hair falling around him in shimmering waves, Mateo oddly reminded Calliph of a horse—a stallion he'd known in his childhood, to be more specific, named Love because of his habit of nibbling and licking people's necks. The werewolf smiled wickedly. My own little love stallion. Oh, Mateo would adore that nickname, wouldn't he? "Come here, my little love stallion," he whispered, barely able to keep a straight face.

"Your what?" Mateo gaped.

"Don't like it? I think it fits you perfectly." 

"It sounds like something out of a sex story. Next you'll be asking to impale me with your man-pole." 

"Man-pole!" Calliph roared with laughter. It was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard, but that didn't stop his cock from twitching at the sound of it on his lover's lips. "Where did you read such naughty tales, stallion?" 

"They left them with me in the sick ward. It was part of my treatment." 

The werewolf grimaced, having forgotten for a moment that the well-adjusted cat he shared his life with had once been a helpless captive, just like him. "I'm a right bastard, Teo. I didn't even think—"

"No, really, it's kind of funny." Mateo chuckled. "I rather liked reading them. It was the only time I laughed in there." He pushed a lock of hair back from Calliph's face. "I can be your love stallion if you want."

"Does that mean I get to impale you with my man-pole?" Calliph licked the pointy tip of Mateo's ear. 

Mateo shivered and sighed, pressing into the contact. "You can impale me with anything you like!"

Why is Calliph on Another Author's Book??

That's the question I received in an e-mail the other day from a very concerned reader. She'd stumbled upon another author's book with the same cover image as mine. Not exactly the same, of course, but the male cover model was the same as the one on my book, "Omarati."

What a lot of readers don't know is that covers are made (most, not all - some publishers have in-house artists or use freelance artists who come up with their own drawings or digital renditions) with stock photos. Basically the cover artist and author collaborate on a vision for the cover, and then the cover artist goes to different websites in search of something that works. When they find an image they like, they buy it, along with a license to use it. So it's not impossible, or uncommon, to have two different covers of books written by two different authors, published by two different publishers that have the same or similar images. Why? Because there's only so many stock photos that work.

www.istockphoto.com is one site that's really cool. Lots of interesting images and even some videos.

So, no worries. Calliph hasn't been hijacked. :-)