Sarge, F.I.S.T.S. #1 Sometimes it’s just about being in the right place at the right time… with the right person. Sarge is the short story of a burgeoning D/s relationship between two Space Marines stationed on an alien planet where an endless war drags on. Sergeant Wilkes is a hard man with a long, celebrated military career. Brawny, tattooed, and utterly submissive, Murphy is just an interesting diversion… until Sarge realizes he has found something truly rare.
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Murphy, F.I.S.T.S. #2 Sometimes when it seems like it’s too late, the right person comes along and opens your eyes… Murphy is the continuing story of a D/s relationship between two Space Marines who found each other in the midst of hopelessness and misfortune. Sarge and his newly minted squad travel across the galaxy on a top-secret mission that could help win the war. However, to Murphy something about the mission stinks, and it’s not just the planet they’ve landed on.
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Bonus content: The Missing Reel - Short deleted scene between Andrew Murphy and Sergeant Wilkes.
When I was very young, I remember being in the car a lot at night on the highway—my father driving and me resting my head against the window, watching the moonlit trees whip by, mesmerized by the way the guardrail seemed to undulate as we sped on through the dark.
On the darkest stretches of these curving two-lane highways, I could see what seemed to be misty shapes, flowing alongside our car. Ghosts that had long lost the way back to loved ones, drawn to the sinuous paths the highways carved through the silver and black woods, pulled along by kinetic energy, yearning for the warmth of the living to give them purpose.
"Come," I would whisper through the glass. "Come with me. Follow, and I will show you love. Obey me, and you will find a home in my heart."
And I drew them to me, the lonely ghosts. By the dozens, by the hundreds, by the thousands, they heard my words and joined me on my journey.
For a lifetime, I've collected them, and when I lay my head down to rest, they comfort me and call me their own. My ghosts. My loves.
Every once in a while, I'm overwhelmed by a "what the fuck am I doing?" sort of moment. It goes a little like:
I'm not a writer, I'm a painter... or a computer tech... or a web designer... or a manager... or or or... shit, what am I doing writing? I don't know how to write... Am I going to keep writing? Is there a point to it? Is it a medical symptom? Have I gone mad? Should I go get an astrophysics degree instead?
Then I sit down and read a few chapters of something I wrote, smile, thank my characters, and get back to business.
It's not so much a lack of confidence thing... more like I am literally trying to figure out how suddenly I've become a writer. It feels weirdly surreal at times. Last week was my two year anniversary and I think it spooked me some. How can it be two years already? What I figured was going to be a hobby that I'd abandon after a few books has turned into a real thing that I do almost every day. I'm certainly not making a living off of it. Not yet. But... it's not nothing.
Anyway - so I've hit the 70k mark on Kestrel's Talon after being a touch spooked and overwhelmed and uncharacteristically concerned about whether people would care for it at all. Thankfully, my brain's gone back to normal and the words are flowing again with me as their target audience (though I do hope at least one other person will enjoy it!). The worst part (ie. hard to write bits) is behind me. The next 50k should be smooth sailing. I'm excited. I'm tempted to release the soundtrack before the book, but I'll wait at least a few weeks until I know for sure I don't need another song. I'm also going to do a few more cover ideas for it... if you've signed up for my newsletter, you'll be able to vote next month on your favourite and help me choose :)
Today marks two years as an author. Time flies when you're having a blast!
Two years ago I hit "publish" for the first time... and send Caged out into the wild.
To celebrate, I've put Caged up for a Kindle Countdown Sale. What does that mean? Well, right now, you can get Caged for 99¢/£0.99 at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk, but the price will continue to increase every two days until it goes back to the usual. Just follow this link and get your copy today! :)
Independently wealthy, elegant, and powerful, Byron's in the prime of his life. However, while the work he's so passionately driven by has him meet new guys all the time, he's never really found "the one". Is he destined to be single forever?
Enter Michael. Handsome, charming, and usually fun-loving, he's found himself in a slump that he just can't seem to shake. He figures work is the problem, but he doesn't know what to do about it—it's gotten so bad that he barely leaves the couch on his days off. Something's gotta change.
So when Michael gets talked into a date by Byron's matchmaking personal assistant Gloria, he's not really expecting much. However, the enigmatic older man might just be the one to put the smile back on Michael's face.
Heads up! UnCommon Bodies is on sale until 2/7 for 99¢ at Amazon. Get your copy today :)
Murphy approved! Look at that face... how can you say no to a copy? :)
List of Stories Included:
Don’t Touch Me by Bey Deckard: Fighting is what Beau does best, because the very thing he dreads is exactly what lends him the extraordinary strength to defeat even the worst odds. And he does it all with the help of his angel, the woman he longs desperately to hold… but can’t.
We is We By Michael Harris Cohen: We is we follows a day in Mary and Millie’s life, traveling sideshow freaks who’ve lost touch with the outside world.
Undead Cyborg Girl by Kim Wells: When she wakes up undead after receiving a cyborg assassin upgrade surgical procedure, Undead Girl’s life is forever changed. Is it for the better? She has all the skills, but she needs a job, she needs some friends, and she needs to remember who she is. Part 1 of the Cyborg Story trilogy.
Skin By Brent Meske: After constant bullying in high school, Patricia vows to change her name and her entire being. When she gains the ability to mold and sculpt flesh, that vow very quickly becomes a terrifying reality.
Scars: First Session by Jordanne Fuller: After a life of abuse, Abigail made the decision to cover her scars with tattoos. What she didn’t expect was to confront her emotional scars in the process.
Mermaids By Robert Pope: Recently graduated from college, with no work prospects, Aqua-boy—so called because of the webbing between his toes—watches and listens to a group of musicians at a bar/restaurant when he notices the woman playing a diminutive red accordion has six fingers.
In Her Image By Vasil Tuchkov: An English PHD student arrives at the scenic but haunting countryside of Matera, Italy, looking for answers. His translator introduces him to a crippled local painter who claims to have depicted the impossible. As the three men converse near the ancient settlement’s caverns, a mystery unravels.
Three Poems By Deanne Charlton: It Runs in the Family, Brenga’s Body, Eternity in a One-night Stand
Reserved by SM Johnson writes: It’s been five years since the accident that killed Pete Spencer’s younger lover and left him grieving, bitter, and broken. He’s tired of his lonely world, but the kind of young men he’s attracted to dismiss him the moment their eyes land on his cane. Pete’s learned to hide behind the safety of his reserve, but he’s never met anyone like Rory.
UnTamed by Laxmi Hariharan: Wolf girl Leana Iyeroy, the first half breed in her family, only ever wanted to be 100% human. An unexpected encounter with the Hugging Saint of Bombay, forces Leana to face the wolf inside her.
Ruby and Deidre by Robb Grindstaff Writer-Editor: A shorter than average man admires a taller than average woman from afar.
All The Devils by @Keira Michelle Telford: It’s 1889, and women are being killed in the East End of London. They’ve become the targets of a deranged sexual killer, but why? Because they’re prostitutes? Sapphists? Or something else entirely?
Ruby By Bob Williams: It’s nineteen thirty-six and the town of Ransom, Oklahoma is barely functioning after the “Dust Bowl” storm of the year before. Michael Wootten sits upon the porch of his dilapidated house and watches a caravan of trucks pull into town. Melvin Mitchell Presents: Ruby and her Amazing FreakShow Friends. Maybe this is just the thing to pump a little spirit into the near-dead town. But everything comes at a price, and Ms. Ruby always takes her cut.
Phantom Pain By Philip Harris: Phantom Pain follows amputee, Mariana Jacobs, as she visits a man who claims to have information she needs. But that information comes at a cost.
Daedalus’ Daughter By PK Tyler: After her father’s death, Isha begins sprouting feathers.
The Zealot By Chris Godsoe: Six months ago, Tobin Maldovan was in charge of a manhunt for an enigmatic hacker named ATLAS. He lost his man near the Canadian border after a high speed chase, but not before ATLAS pulled strings to transfer the woman he Tobin loves across the country, hampering any chance at reconciliation. With ATLAS having escaped his jurisdiction, Tobin had nothing left but to follow his wife to California, seeking reassignment at the West Coast cyberterrorism field office. His reputation preceeds him, and he has drawn the case pursuing a man the media has taken to calling “The Zealot.” As usual, Tobin pours himself into his work, but the work becomes personal in ways that he never would have imagined.
Made for This By Sessha Batto: On the heels of unimaginable loss comes reinvention. Sometimes the gain is worth going through hell.
Unbreakable Heart By Rebecca Poole: A cyborg must escape her creators in order to survive.
Saltwater Assassin By Samantha Warren: Syren has spent her life as a sideshow freak, caged in a tank of saltwater and gawked at by hundreds of normal humans. She has a secret, though. At night, when the lights are finally off and the fair goers leave, she turns into a human–a mermaid assassin.
The Well-Rounded Head By Sally Basmajian: A woman is smitten with her husband’s big, entirely round head. One day she notices that his temples appear to be slightly indented, so that his head is no longer a perfect sphere. This revolts her, and she moves into their guest room in order to avoid him. When he breaks in, she kills him, in a most bizarre way.
Howdy! I'm back in the land of snow and cold and ready to get back to writing. I did "cheat" a bit while I was on the beach and did the equivalent of scribbling down scenes on napkins (Notes) and scraps of paper (iA Writer) which I started to sort through yesterday. Kestrel's Talon has hit 60k which is about the halfway mark in the story. I think. I'm a little obsessed with this story... Instead of reading the 10 or so books I had in my pile to read while in Barbados, I spent a lot of time reading over what I'd written of Kestrel and editing. However... the one book I did read was a huge one—Xperiment by Dan Skinner—so there's that.
But mostly, and I really swear, I just relaxed, suntanned, swam, drank, people-watched, chilled out... I have a post in me about Barbados in general, but that will probably be next week. In the meantime, I've put all my vacation pics at the bottom of this post if you want to take a look.
Did you know that I'm running a few giveaways at Goodreads right now? Here they are:
Toni over at Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents says:
"Fated: Blood and Redemption is one of my top reads for 2015. I contacted the author for an interview on previous and upcoming releases. Continue reading for author questions and answers as well as an excerpt from a future book.
Thank you Bey for your time and excellent writing skills."
Sarge, F.I.S.T.S. #1
Murphy, F.I.S.T.S. #2
