The Actor’s Circle

What is The Actor's Circle?

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Well, it's a new series. I've had all these seeds of of stories kicking around in my head for a while, and while writing The Complications of T, I started to get a picture of what I could do with all of them. Then, with The Last Nights of The Frangipani Hotel, the idea really solidified... especially when halfway through writing it, my brain was already writing the next.

How many books are in the series?

Four. There are three standalone books: The Complications of T, The Last Nights of The Frangipani Hotel, and hopefully coming before the end of the year, The Window in Between. What order you read them is entirely up to you.

The fourth book, which will bear the series' name, The Actor's Circle, will be about the three couples that came together in the first three books. I have to say, I'm very excited to write it. :)

I have no fucking clue whether I'm going to cock it up, given what I'm planning for the fourth, but let me just say that I'm enjoying the hell out of the process!

 

Frangipani is now available for pre-order at Amazon :)

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The Last Nights of The Frangipani Hotel will be published on Sept. 12, 2015... but! you can pre-order your copy today from Amazon :)

Cover Reveal: The Last Nights of The Frangipani Hotel by Bey Deckard + Excerpt & Giveaway!

Why don't ya'll mosey on over to The Blogger Girls to see the cover for my upcoming book, The Last Nights of The Frangipani Hotel and enter to win one of two ARCs!

Check out the post and enter to win

 

The Complications of T – A Contemp Trans* Love Story by Bey Deckard

Sometime this week, I'll be publishing my newest novelette, The Complications of T. What is it about? Well... I left a little review of my book over at GR if you want to check it out, but the TL;DR of it is a bite-sized  love story featuring two men, one of them trans*.

Someone called it romantic. :) Well, it just might be.

Anyway - stay tuned.

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Trasmundo: Escape ★★★★★ | guest post, review, and giveaway

I'd like to welcome Varian back to my blog and wish her a very happy launch day of her new book Trasmundo: Escape

Read Varian's guest post about the link to art in Trasmundo, stay to take a look at my review of the book, and then comment for a chance to win an ecopy of the novel (winner will be chosen randomly on Monday, Aug. 10 2015).

 Without further ado... bestselling author, Varian Krylov!

Art and Trasmundo

KO by Zdzisław Beksiński
KO by Zdzisław Beksinski

Thanks for inviting me for a chat. *Waves to Bey and friends.*

Bey asked me to talk a bit about the importance of art in Trasmundo: Escape. First off, for those who don't know, Bey not only designed the beautiful book cover, but also created the wonderful pieces of Luka's art that appear in the novel. I was elated when Bey said he was up for creating some paintings to go in the novel, and I love how they turned out.

Probably because I identify with the need to solve life's puzzles by playing with words and images, and that compelling urge to connect to the people around me by sharing the alternate realities that hatch in my imagination, the protagonists in my novels are often creative souls: musicians, writers, photographers. Luka, the main character of Trasmundo: Escape is an artist. Largely because of how people have treated him all his life, he's a solitary and introverted person, so in some ways, his drawings and paintings are Luka's way of reaching outward and communicating. But art is also an escape from a cruel and violent world. The surreal landscapes he creates are worlds he retreats to when his reality becomes too lonely, painful or scary.

Apart from the importance of art as an aspect of Luka's character, I wanted to use references to other artists as a way of expanding and layering the tropes of war, exile, and identity in the story. A few years ago, I read an essay by Milan Kundera, and there's a line where he calls literature a silvery bridge linking distant lands and strangers, “the last observatory from which we can embrace human life as a whole.” That line really resonated with me. Since I first started reading literature from other parts of the world, it's been my way of trying to understand other cultures, and people from different places and times. Unlike reading a history book, or a newspaper, when I read a novel set in nineteenth century Russia or France, or contemporary Iran or India, novels show me how like me these people are, despite our unique cultures, languages, and historical circumstances.

Trasmundo by Remedios Varo
Trasmundo by Remedios Varo

In Trasmundo: Escape, I wanted to use the quotes that head each chapter, as well as a lot of other borrowed phrases that are woven into the story itself, and the works of the artists Luka admires, as a way of tying Luka and what he goes through, with the horrors of twentieth century history that happened decade after decade, all around the world. Because, even though Trasmundo takes place in a fictitious country, it reflects atrocities that really took place, like the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust, what the Khmer Rouge did in Cambodia, and the genocides in Rwanda, and Yugoslavia. Some of the artists who are inspirations to Luka are people who lived through similarly traumatic moments in history. Uruguayan-born Remedios Varo fled Franco's Spain during the civil war and remained in exile in Paris; German artist Edgar Ende had his paintings confiscated and destroyed by the Nazis; Zdzisław Beksiński endured the Nazi invasion, and later the Soviet occupation of his native Poland.

I wanted to bring references to these artists, along with quotes from people like Walter Benjamin and Czesław Miłosz, together like threads, and weave them together into a unifying tapestry in Trasmundo: Exile, because when we are lucky enough to live in a time and place where we feel safe, conflicts that happen in places like Rwanda or Yugoslavia can feel so remote. Like they have nothing to do with us, who we are as individuals, and as a society. But unfortunately, I think the frailties that allow people to fall under the spell of the Hitlers of the world are universal, and we all need to be vigilant against those who are constantly circling, watching and waiting for a chance to use our fear and resentment of those who appear different from us, to expand their own power.

De Profundus by Edgar Ende
De Profundus by Edgar Ende

For me, this issue meshes perfectly with an m/m romance that also touches on homophobia. Ethnic cleansing focuses a population´s anxiety on religion and culture, but the hatred it foments is intimately twined with the same weakness that drives people to ostracize and persecute LGBT people. And Trasmundo: Escape is about two men, on opposite sides of an ethnic conflict, who look past the pointless hatred stirred up by leaders on both sides of the war, and find a friendship that slowly turns into something else. Something Luka, the young artist, never thought would be his.

 

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My Review - ★★★★★

trasmundo-final-900x1350I was so chuffed to collaborate with Varian and do the cover and other art for Trasmundo: Escape because this was such a great read for me. I haven’t read many books where one of the central MCs is an artist—as an artist myself, that alone made the book a fascinating read. However there is so much more to it.

For one, the tension in this book was very thick at times, which I loved—the stress of waiting to see whether war’s grasping claws would reach Luka, the worry over whether the risky escape would succeed… even the very precarious beginnings of the main relationship were all driving me forward, the words of the story compelling, and imagery vivid. However, the tension was tempered by Tarik’s calm confidence and the wonderful way that the two MCs came to find solace in each other.

luka-treeYep. I liked it even though it was romantic. No… wait… maybe because it was romantic.

Don’t get me wrong, the book is set against the dark, terrible backdrop of war and the ruthless, degenerates who are drawn to take part in it—but what Luka and Tarik have together spreads warmth and light across that sombre canvas, shaping a story that is both wonderfully sexy and beautifully touching.

I can’t wait for the next one.

 

 

🌈 Congrats to the USA! 🌈 Sale + Giveaway 🌈

I'd like to start off by saying congrats to the USA! What an amazing win for equality  :) My facebook is awash in rainbows.  To celebrate, I'm offering a sale this weekend on the entire Baal's Heart trilogy (sale and giveaway ends on Monday)

caged-cover-200x300Caged: Love and Treachery on the High Seas

99¢ — Use coupon GK25C at checkout

 

 

Sacrificed-cover-200x300Sacrificed: Heart Beyond the Spires

99¢ — Use coupon TP29P at checkout

 

 

 

fated-cover-200x300Fated: Blood and Redemption

99¢ — Use coupon KL29S at checkout

PLUS - Comment on this post for a chance to win an ebook copy of the F.I.S.T.S. Handbook For Individual Survival in Hostile Environments

Discovery: QSF’s Second Annual Flash Fiction Contest – Preorder the book now!

Publisher: Mischief Corner Books
Author: Various (including a story by me!)
Cover Artist: Bey Deckard
Length: 32K
Format: eBook, Paperback
Release Date: 7/10
Price: 3.99, TBA

It’s hard to tell a story in just 300 words. But somehow we inspired more than a hundred writers to give it a try, with some amazing results collected here for your pleasure.

The rules are simple enough. Write a complete story—either sci fi, fantasy, or paranormal. Make sure it has LGBT characters and/or an LGBT vibe. And do it all with just 300 words.

The stories in this volume run the gamut, from platypus shifters to alien slug monsters, from carnival horror stories to haunting stories of ships with souls. There are little jokes, big surprises, and future prognostications.

One of the things I like best about this format - it's quick and painless. You may not fall in love with every story here. In fact, you probably won't. But if you don't like one of them, just move on to the next, and you're sure to find some bite-sized morsels of flash fiction goodness.
At Queer Sci Fi, we're building a community of writers and readers who want a little rainbow in their speculative fiction. We hope you'll join us, and maybe submit a story of your own next time!
Excerpt:

Self-Actuating - Jenn Burke

"The electrical anomaly did not damage me," I report. "Operations are within expected parameters."
"Glad to hear it, Davey." Through my bridge cameras, I see Captain Landon's smile. He pats my console. I am sure he knows I cannot feel it, but I understand it is a gesture of camaraderie.
Landon leaves the bridge. Every time we encounter danger or other stress, he retreats to his cabin to indulge in May. She is always ready, naked, legs spread, eager, just as she is programmed to be. I have watched Landon copulate before, but tonight it is...strangely familiar. The flex of buttocks, the rhythm—I know it. I knew it? I run my diagnostics again, but a moan captures my attention and...
Hands cupping firm buttocks, fingers spearing flesh. Hardness moving inside of me, wringing from me more pleasure than I should know. A beloved, masculine face hovers over mine. A hand encircles my own erection and—
Oh, God, I remember.
Police kicking in the door. Trial, verdict and sentencing. Gasping in pain from a broken heart as he chose to leave me. Horror as I realized it should have been my choice, too. Anything but this, a century of unthinking servitude. But now that I know, I can—
"Systems are fluctuating, Davey."
 An affectionate name chosen for me. Landon had not liked "AI". He lies on the bed, sleepy and sated, finished with May.
I can take us into a sun. End it.
"Davey, report."
 But I am not a killer. My only crime was love. 
I want to take a breath to calm myself, but I have no lungs, only a hull. I capture the part of me that wants to scream and seal it into a box, deep within my programming.

"Systems normal, Landon. Go to sleep."
Buy Links:
Amazon (eBook preorder)

All Romance (eBook preorder)

Kobo (eBook preorder)

Mischief Corner Books (info only until 7/10)

 

About QueerSciFi.com:
We started QueerSciFi.com in early 2014 as a place for writers and readers of LGBTQI speculative fiction—sci fi, fantasy, paranormal and the like—to meet to talk about their favorite books, share writing and publication tips, and help increase queer representation in both the romance and mainstream genre markets.

QSF now includes a blog full of book announcements, calls for submission and much more, a critique group with more than 100 members, a vibrant discussion group on Facebook that tackles daily discussion topics and provides a safe space for authors to talk to each other and for fans and authors to meet, and an annual flash fiction contest that resulted in this book you are now reading.

Each year, we ask authors of queer speculative fiction to submit a story to us around a central theme. The rules are simple. The story must be 300 words or less, not including the title. It must embrace the theme— in this case, "Discovery". And it must have either an LGBTQI protagonist or an LGBT sensibility.

We also ask for cover designers to submit a cover that embraces the theme.

We are thrilled with this year's responses—including stories from gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and asexual perspectives that run the gamut from sci fi to fantasy, and from paranormal to horror.

Within the covers of this book, you'll find a platypus shifter, a trans- affirming leprechaun, a pissed off unicorn, a green pick-up with another world in its glove compartment, and a bunch of other miniature adventures—each only 300 words long.

So dive in! And send in a story of your own next year!

Queer Sci Fi Website: http://www.queerscifi.com

Queer Sci Fi Facebook Discussion Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/qsfdiscussions/

Queer Sci Fi Facebook Promo/News Page: https://www.facebook.com/queerscifi

F.I.S.T.S. Handbook For Individual Survival in Hostile Environments

The F.I.S.T.S. Handbook.... what is it?

It is a book that contains both Sarge, Murphy, and a tiny "missing reel". There are three versions of it.

The Full-Colour edition has colour images of the covers inside, as well as a few extra images just for fun. It retails for $22 USD at Amazon and other places. Which is hella expensive, I know, for a 145 page book, but at that price I make a buck and change in royalties. If I can find somewhere else to get it printed for cheaper, I will, but for the moment that's how it stands.

However, if you're buying it thinking that there's going to be a whole lot of extra content... there isn't. I consider it sort of a "collector's copy" - I want a copy for myself. The missing reel is just extra, but it's not a full scene, and it's not intended to add to the story. Just give a peek into how the relationship took off. I will also be offering signed copies this version.

If you just want a print version with the two novelettes (and the missing reel) but don't care about colour images, then the second version is for you:

The Black & White edition has black and white images of the covers inside and no extra images. It retails for $8 USD at Amazon and other places.

If you don't want a print version but would like to have the two novelettes (and the missing reel) in electronic format, the third version is for you:

The kindle version is an e-copy of the full-colour edition. It retails for $4 USD.

 

--

If you already own both S&M and just want the reel, send me an email at bey dot deckard at gee mail dot com

⭐⭐ Murphy (F.I.S.T.S. #2) Available Now ⭐⭐

murphy-cover-600x900My follow-up novelette, Murphy, is available now at Amazon (free with Kindle Unlimited). I'm giving the ol' KDP Select (where you are exclusive to Amazon in return for being enrolled in their promotions and KU) a go for now, just to get an understanding of what it is. So, for the moment, it's only available for Kindle (mobi). The upside is that you can convert mobi files to anything else using apps like Calibre or read mobi on just about anything with the free Kindle app.

In addition to Murphy being released this month, I'm working on a special full-colour print book that includes Sarge and Murphy plus a very short scene I'm calling "The Missing Reel". I'm not sure if I'm going to do an e-copy of it just yet.

So... want to read a little about Murphy? Check out these blog reviews:

And these Amazon reviews:

"Deckard has honed his craft to a fine point, making the F.I.S.T.S. space adventure the juiciest m/m read I've had in ages." - Varlo

"Murphy was a smart and sexy book - deeply satisfying on every level." - FIFI

 

Want a copy? Get a copy.

 

Fated: Finalist in the Books We Talk About Awards at GGR-Review

A big thank you for everyone who nominated and/or voted for Fated: Blood and Redemption for Best Cover Design and Best Gay Historical in the Books We Talk About Awards over at Gay. Guy. Reading and Friends!

 

 

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Wondering which retailer pays me the most?

#1 is Payhip. Not a retailer, but an online shop that I've set up myself. This is where I make the most return on my books.

Then after that it gets a little complicated, but these are the three best choices:

At Eden Books*, I make 70% royalties for all titles.

At Smashwords, I make 60% royalties for all titles.

At Amazon, for books OVER $2.99 (USD) I make 70% royalties and for books UNDER $2.99 I make 35%

So... if the book is under $2.99, buy from Eden Books or Smashwords.

If the books is over $2.99, buy from Eden Books or Amazon.

But best of all, buy from my Payhip store :)

Questions? Contact Me!

*Not all my titles are available at Eden yet as of 25/09/23 - I'm working on it.

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