Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Promo for Swordmaster Dasan

I'm happy to say that the edits on the second and third book are underway, which means that the trilogy should be published in completion with new covers by February!  YES!  *fistpump*

Also, coincidence - Was given a scanner for Christmas, so I doodled this at breakfast and have a story to go with it for the holiday season.  Well, sort of haha.  The story doesn't involve a traditional Christmas, I had to work out a different holiday for them obviously, and therefore there's no wrapped gifts in the story, but *shrug*


Also it occurs to me now that I'm looking at it that they're both skinny as hell...  I haven't drawn in years, and this was a doodle done with an eight year old's art supplies haha.
I have a few um  *cough* dirtier  *cough* sketches I may finish...  Rather awkward to draw with people moving through the room constantly.  Accursed Holiday visitors and their hyperactivity, I'm sure you understand.

Anyway, second book's nearly complete with the editing process, third is waiting for me to skim through it.  So, here's a code for Swordmaster Dasan the original, available at Smashwords!  FREE COPIES!!! Tell your fantasy/gay erotica/bondage loving friends! 

Enter this;
KP29S
at checkout and it will give you the book at 100% off.

Enjoy and have a great New Year everyone  :)
Please contact me at Goodreads.com or here if you have any opinions.  (you'd be surprised how few people apparently have opinions on the internet.)

S. <3



Tuesday, December 25, 2012

2013 To-do list. 1) Lirn two spel

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to everyone, along with best wishes for the upcoming New Year.  Last year, my goal (because I don't do resolutions.  I finally like me, so I'm keeping it the way it is haha) was to get the guts to publish at least one book.  I did that with Playing with Tigers in May, then again with Swordmaster Dasan in June, shortly followed by the sequels for both.  At some point I wrote the Cat & the Crow, I don't even know when... That one sort of was unplanned.  It just happened, as if I watched it write itself.  Stress makes me productive, and it has been a very efficient year!

Goals for last year were to write and actually publish at least one novel, knocked that one out.  Did not gain the ability to turn people's arms into snakes as I had planned, so bummer there.  Next year!  I made a few friends and had some fun, so altogether good year.  Aside from the many inspirations for the Cat & the Crow, it was pretty successful. 

So, here goes - 2013 goals.

1) Fix Playing with Tigers and the sequel.  They read like someone is clubbing the reader in the face with their e-reader -> that's no good <- going to fix that one lol.

2) Actually do something with my deviant art account.  The husband has gifted me with a scanner, so I have no excuses now.  The gift of obligation, yay!  I have mountains of sketches that could be scanned, enough that I could've illustrated most of the books I've written.  So, I should do something with that, even if I fully intend to keep H. C. Fang as my cover artist because that woman kicks the ass off of every other person I have ever approached for a cover in professionalism and accountability.  Including myself, actually...  I procrastinate on my so called 'art' it's terrible.

3) Finish both series I started, publish the next.  Wolves of Kureshna, starring a shifter community in the same fantasy setting from my other (currently available) stuff.

4) Move out of the Erotica/Romance genre and on to the paranormal/sci-fi/horror things that I love so much.  I do still plan to write all of the other stories on the side, but will likely not be making as many once I get the E.S. stories going. 

5) Learn to shoot lasers from my eyes, and grow another six inches so I can stare people down. (subject to reality, more on this later.)

6) Begrudgingly start playing with my friends online again (subject to coffee intake vs. sleep patterns)  All are welcome, we're picking a game soon and may start streaming, will mention that if I get the feeling that anyone cares.  Probably not.


And, I think that's it.  Here's hoping everyone had a terrific Holiday!  Cheers. 

~S. Kaeli Hart


Monday, December 17, 2012

Quarterly Work Rant - Also, werewolves.

I have to take a brief moment to bitch here (one of my many talents.) about the many people I know who call themselves writers.  Not online, no.  They actually write.  They're fine.  No, I'm referring to the many many people I know who say that they are a writer, until they are asked for their work in a friendly, "Hey, I love reading" sort of fashion. 

I do write.  Often enough that I have forgotten to fucking eat before.  My husband has had to get out of bed, come down to our office and remind me that I only have four hours left before I have to be awake on multiple occasions.  And I debate if I could get any more useful stuff in before bed because this is what I like to do.  It's my passion, and I know, I'm not great at it.  But it's what I strive to be and do.  It is my opinion, that in order to call yourself a writer, you need to write.  I don't use the "I'm a writer" tagline, and I've written four novels and ten short stories in the last five months.  Two of which were not even painful to read.  Sort of.  Point is, I could.  But I refuse to, because I don't feel that my work is high enough quality yet to insult actual novelists by trying to lasso myself in with them.  I am getting sick of people who haven't written in the last two years, and never did anything with it, trying to impress others with their skill that they don't practice.  I did ballet when I was far younger, but I don't go around prattling about how I am a ballerina.  (if I ever do, shoot me until I cease to be alive, and then a few times just to ensure that my soul has gotten the point as well, because I've clearly lost my mind.)

My point is that in order to get better at something, you need to do it.  Some people are born with the talent that means they will have a bestseller on their first try.  Then there's the majority of the writing world, where people such as myself type keyboards into nonexistence.  This is my fourth one this year, I beat the poor things to death.  I said, I'm not great at writing.  But you know what?  I'm improving.  Quickly.  Every book that I write trumps the last, every short story and writing exercise that I play around with gets more fluid and entertaining.   Because I put in the time.

I have a friend who tried to explain to someone else that "Well, writers are very eccentric."  His basis for this when questioned was that he was a writer.  I've known this man for awhile.  He is not a writer.  He wants to be, but doesn't want to put in any time to become a success, and can't take criticism at all.  Much like a child, when you politely point out that something is so much as phrased poorly, he will quit that project, declare it too difficult, and return to ice cream and video games.  The truly sad part?  His work could've been fucking great.  So many ideas, so much creativity and a great sense of humor, he could easily be a chart topper.  Just not tomorrow, and apparently that's not good enough. 

A writer writes every day.  I didn't agree with that phrase when I first heard it, but it makes sense.  I had given up on my writing for receiving some scathing criticism a few years back.   I wasn't sure that it was what I wanted to do.  The funny part is that the person who insinuated that I would need to try harder for a few more years before I could impress them; they were right.  I just sent a copy of my recent novel to her, and I was given praise. 

It's something that every writer does when they're starting out, trying to convince whoever is reading their work that they like it.  To find out if you're getting to be a good writer, all you need to do is put your work out there, and people will let you know.  No disclaimers or excuses.  One way, or the other, they will tell you, even if you don't expect it.  And the good news?  You can always improve if you don't like what you see. 

I think that everyone should write.  It's a good skill to have, and furthermore,I find it extremely relaxing.  Granted, anyone that knows me personally can understand better why the thought of relaxation has me throwing myself at the keyboard like a whore on a rich man.

But here's the thing - You are not a writer unless you are:
1)  WRITING.  You would be surprised how many people miss this critical step.  Not "I've written in the last decade."  More like, "I wrote a few paragraphs this month."  Yes, even that would suffice.  Because eventually, that piece would be completed. 

2)  Able to accept/tolerate criticism and opinions about your work without running for the nearest razor to slash your wrists.  Because when you publish, there will be negative feedback.  Count on it.  Nobody gets only perfect scores.  The Bible doesn't even get a unanimous thumbs up,you're hoping to trump that one if you expect a perfect 5 star rating from everyone.  I'll believe it when I see it.

3)  Showing your work to someone else.  Published, unpublished, in an email, posted online or in a forum, on a napkin with grease stains, written in the sky by one of those old-timey skywriters.  Something.  It's a scary thing to do when you're just starting out, and it makes or breaks the desire to write for many people.  But, it is a necessary thing to do to improve.  If you wanted to be a cook, but nobody ever tasted your food, could you trust that it would be the best flavor that it possibly could be?  Probably not.  Opinions are terrifying and sadly, necessary.


Rant done ->  MOVING ON.

Next book is going to be wolf shifters from the same little fantasy land that the rest came from, should be fun.  Have an idea for a short series.  The Wolves of Kureshna.  I may be moving on to another genre after that one, but I'm undecided.  We'll see how they do.  My most amazing cover artist ever, has already started to do some thinking on how she wants to do the cover for the first, so hi5 and thumbs up for that, yaaaay! 

Again, that's H. C. Fang ->   http://bloodyvampire18.deviantart.com/
This is the only cover artist that I have ever enjoyed working with, I highly recommend her to anyone looking for an affordable and timely cover for their work.

Until next time.

S.  <3


Sunday, December 2, 2012

Happy Holidays indeed

I'm happy to say that the new book is up and ready for enjoyment.

I want to take a moment to let anyone looking for a great artist know where to find one, lol
Not only affordable, H. C. Fang was the first artist I had worked with who understood what I wanted and put effort into perfecting it.  I asked for the cover by mid December, and she had it finished by ten last night!  An artist who can meet and beat a deadline, very rare, and as you have seen already if you're here, she does amazing work.
Find her here:  http://bloodyvampire18.deviantart.com/

Please, if you enjoyed the book, let me know.  In a review, in a message either here or at goodreads, by burning my house down and sewing the ashes with salt...  Whatever your style, I won't judge.  I just prefer to know if my work is enjoyable and I can use all of the feedback that I can get to bring all of you a better product in the future.  :)

Free copies until the 10th only at smashwords.  If you take a free copy, please at least take the time to rate it, even if it's that you hate the book and wish I would up and die, I would truly love to hear from you  :)

MA98Z   <-  put that in at checkout.  It will still ask for a card, but it will be 100% off.  :)

All for now, goodnight world.  *internet hi5*
~ S. 'Kaeli' Hart

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Incoming!

So, one free holiday short story up, possibly two more to go  :)
The covers for the free stories will be very lame, I'm sorry.  But, they're meant to spread some holiday cheer and remind people that I'm not dead.  So, mission hopefully accomplished!  I didn't have any proofreaders for the one I just posted, I wanted to get it published early enough that it would be there before Christmas, so sort of hoping that everyone is a bit forgiving on that one, heh...
I would like to do a holiday based short story with Keel and Kaji, and another from the Swordmaster Dasan series, so if I feel that they're good enough, I'll upload them.  The ones with Loki that I have written were promptly deleted for not having the correct amount of kink.  Once I have the proper idea, it doesn't take me long.  The one I just published was written tonight in one shot with a steady IV of coffee and curses, but, it took a few days of constant dwelling to work out what I wanted to do in it.  And therein lies the problem with the other two possibilities, because Loki and Kyo are a handful, and Keel and Kaji are in an interesting position because I don't want to have people asking for the next book lol  (see below)
I react very well to feedback.  PLEASE RATE! lol  I always like to know what I've done right and what I can do better.  My thanks and love to the people who have and the one who always does. 

The Cat & the Crow update;
Book.  Is.  Done.  *internet hi5 to my only other team member*
I just got a preview of the cover from the extremely gifted artist that I commissioned, and well..  Ha, this is odd.  I don't fluster easily, but lets just say that it had me drooling.  Literally, that actually happened.  You'll see what I mean when it's done, because I'll have that book published in a heartbeat.  When it's up, I'll run a two week promo code here for smashwords users to get a copy for free, so look for it  ;)  Then, I'm gonna get that image as a poster and stare at it all day until my eyes bleed.

Swordmaster Dasan 2 is still being edited, because I got distracted.  I blame candy canes and a collection of rowdy friends with tequila. 

The last Playing with Tigers book is on hold indefinitely because I would like to rework the first two books.  In my opinion, I could do better.  So I will. 

That's it I think.  I wrote myself into a migraine, so I will go and get some sleep.  Need to be up in four hours to get some errands done, sadly.  

Monday, November 26, 2012

Soon!

I've been lamenting on here often about the new book.  Everything from the cover to the blurb, then back to the story itself...  Well, I have great news to share!  I am on my last edit, my thanks again to my editor for an amazing suggestion regarding one of the plot threads.  As for the cover, I found a very talented young lady who agreed to make me a cover with the main character being all sexy on it and after seeing the concept sketched out, I'm excited!  So here's hoping all of you will be as well!

Once I have a finished cover image I can have the book up and available for purchase within 10 hours at the most.  As usual, I plan on running a promotion for all of my work, more news on that when it's released.

The Cat & the Crow - Hoping you all find it worth the wait.

~ S. K. Hart

Friday, November 16, 2012

Work work...

Every now and again I feel like Atlas, with the weight of the world on my shoulders.  I'm sure quite a few others can relate to that.  The only good news is that I relieve my stress by diving into my work, and the newest novel is complete.  All I need for it is a cover and a working title.  Admittedly, I would feel better with another few proofreaders as well, but I'll take what I can get, lol.  85k words, so about the length of a quick novel.  I think I did well with it.  For the record, this will be the first story I actually tried with.  I've said before that Swordmaster Dasan was a two week boredom project, and Playing with Tigers is a mix of every request I've ever gotten from friends (bets and dares as well, actually) just strung along with a plot. 

The new book, is entirely me.  And it's me, trying to write well.  I sincerely hope everyone enjoys it.  In order to get the attention that it deserves, I'll need to write an amazing blurb and get an incredible cover image, which is harder to create when I hurt my hand.  *sigh*   So, here's hoping that I can have it out by Thanksgiving. 

Speaking of the Holiday Season, I will be offering a few free stories around Christmas if all goes well with my time constraints.  Just holiday things starring the main characters from my books, including the new one.  So, enjoy  :)

I took a quick glance at Playing with Tigers, and although I do like the story it tells and the characters in it, I really and truly think I can do better than I did with the delivery of the story.  So, I am planning on reworking it into the same story, but done well, as a second edition.  Expect the same for Playing with Tigers 2 shortly afterwards.  The third is on hold so that I can focus on a few other projects, but, as always, I do typically change gears when I receive any request for one of my upcoming stories. 

Hoping that everyone is doing well - S. Kaeli Hart


Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Playing with Tigers 2 is now at Amazon

After another quick edit and adding a new scene to the book, I'm happy to announce that Playing with Tigers 2 is at Amazon and has been updated at Smashwords!  There will be a third (and final) novel in the series, however, I am currently devoting all of the time where I can write in peace to current projects, so I have no accurate estimate on when that will be available.  My best guess is before valentines day, give or take a few weeks due to cover art drama. 

Speaking of which, I have done a few sketches for the Swordmaster Dasan series, and will be updating the cover art on the first around the same time as I publish the second and third.  I plan to offer all three in one package for roughly the same price as they would be separately, and as usual I wish to thank the few who did review it.  It's not the sort of thing that many people will admit that they read, but I appreciate the feedback because it lets me know that someone somewhere enjoyed it, and that my friends is better than money. 

I am doing another edit on the promotional short for Playing with Tigers, and I'm toying with the idea of offering another one, since there's a lot of content that was cut from the second book to keep it at only far too large instead of unbearably large.  I got carried away with it, lol.  The question is, who from the series should it star?  I liked the way that the original showed Keel through Kaji's point of view, but I don't really want to get into Kura's head either lol...  There is a scene between him and Loki that could easily be a very hot and nearly scandalous short story, especially because of Loki's kinks, but that crosses the line between the two series, and I already do that too much. 

I have had a flood of story ideas lately, and I mean flood.  At least one a day over the last week.  Only, I don't know if I want to do a collection just yet.  Perhaps offer them for free?
I'll keep you posted on that.

The Cat the Crow and the Carriage is waiting for a final edit and a rewrite on one of the scenes before it's published.  I have been procrastinating, but it should be along soon enough.  I was advised by my only honest friend that I should keep from making the story too long (bad habit of mine) so depending on what sales look like I may write a second one to that, because I have so much to work with in the story that a sequel would be quite easy.

Well, that's it for now I guess...

<3
S. Kaeli Hart 

Monday, October 8, 2012

Wow

I don't flatter easily, I want to make that known, lol.  I have been taking my time with many side projects, more or less ignoring the Playing with Tigers series for now because I received more feedback on the Swordmaster Dasan stories.  Odd now that I think of it, admitting you like those is probably more risky to the public eye than Playing with Tigers.  Still, it seems that the people who do like it, really like it. 

Every now and again I'll take a look at the pages for my books, always hoping someone has left their thoughts there for me, and usually I am disappointed, except on Smashwords itself, anyway.  I was having one of those writer moments where you look at your past work and wonder if you should continue, and I figured, why not go and take a look at Amazon? 

Well, I am very glad that I did.  I had forgotten to upload Playing with Tigers 2 up there, because I figured it wouldn't be desired anyway.  I was not only shocked to see that there was a rating, I nearly had a heart attack.  Five stars...  I disagree with that, and I know I can do better.  But, I'm still quite happy with my five stars and as a response to that, I am going to spend tonight rereading the sequel and hammering out it's kinks (HA! GET IT?) so that it can go off to Amazon with my blessing. 

If my reviewer happens across this blog, please be aware that there is a short promotional story that has been out almost as long as the actual book has.  It's available for free on every retailer except Amazon because they insist that I charge money and so I put on my angry eyes and gave them the finger. 

Other news

Since my artist for Swordmaster Dasan 2 flaked out on me (the brat) I did a few sketches myself.  I haven't drawn since I was seventeen, and although I was pretty decent at the time, ten years does a lot to deteriorate what I have in me lol.  Need to refine, color crop and scan.  It's lewd, you've been warned.

Other book is coming along well.  And that's all I have to share, have lots of work to do!  <3

~ S. Kaeli Hart

Monday, October 1, 2012

Upcoming work

So, anyone that frequents my blog (ha, let me believe) might remember I had mentioned a short story that was untitled awhile back.  An extremely dark gay romance short, that I was writing away at to no end.  Well, I was looking at it a few weeks back, and I realized it has quite a bit of potential.  More than I was giving it credit.  So, instead of a short, it's being converted into a full novel. 

The Kitten, the Crow & the Carriage is the title I was thinking of, but one of my friends stated that perhaps it should just be called the big book of words that start with 'c' because they're my favorite critics lol.

Because I am reworking that to try and pull it into the right shape and still keep the same feeling that I had in the short story version, it will be probably closer to thanksgiving or Christmas when I release it, if I don't decide to send this one to a publisher.  I really can't deal with the rejection that I have been promised by all of my published friends on my first try, lol.  I'm a coward, but at least I'm honest about it. 

Besides, I already have the cover done ;D

My first try at a book with an actual story and not just enough to string a long line of sexual scenarios together...  Big step, need to actually try to be romantic (not my strong point) but I think I'm doing okay with it.  I'm taking my time with this piece because the main character more than ever thinks like myself, which is why (also for the first time ever) I have decided to give first person a valid attempt. 

For anyone interested in what to expect, the book takes place in an entirely new setting, and was written in it's entirety to 3 songs. 
Gaelic Storm - The storm
Parov Stelar - The snake
Parov Stelar - Catgroove

Odd that all three titles actually are in the book in a way.  I really am trying to get away from my dark storylines, and they keep sinking their claws into me and pulling me back.  Actually, I didn't think they were dark until a few other people brought it up, lol, I always thought that it was better to see someone rise up from very extreme circumstances myself.  Anyway, back to writing and playing that accursedly addicting MMO that I won't mention because it has enough victims, including me...   At least I have a tiger to ride in the game though, anyone who's read my novels understand why that makes me giggle and clap with glee haha

Happy hunting everyone ;) 

Stephanie Hart - Hakura on Moonrunner if you're an addict as well.  ;D

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Swordmaster Dasan part 2 at Smashwords

I have decided to leave the second Swordmaster Dasan book, which is far larger than the first short story, FREE at smashwords.com for a month while I weed it's typos and whatnot.  Because it's free and many of the people that will want to read it sort of need to see the first to understand it - here's a promo code for the first Swordmaster Dasan to get it 100% off at Smashwords.

FK62D

This is a limited time offer, please enjoy the book while it is free and if you love/hate it you can always review it, or contact me personally at this blog or my account on Goodreads.com
Look up Playing with Tigers or Swordmaster Dasan and my profile is attached to both; I'm not actually that mean.  I think.  I have no intention of stopping my dubious writing and any commentary received, be it good or bad, will help me improve the quality of work I'm putting out. 

In other news, I'm still working on the edit of the other short I've written, which still needs a title.  Unlike the other two series I have published, I've been referring to this one as a story with flavor, and I think everyone will enjoy it.  Back to work for me, editing one epic sized novel, another novel, and a short story too!  I really wish I had enough to pay someone else for moments like these!  

~ S. 'Kaeli' Hart.


Monday, August 27, 2012

Playing with Tigers 2 at Smashwords

I'm happy to tell anyone that stumbles on here that I've published the sequel to Playing with Tigers at Smashwords.com and will be uploading it to Amazon near the end of the week.  As with all of my work, it's $0.99 - I won't charge more than the minimum because I know they need more editing than I can give them and I cannot afford a proper editor. 

I truly hope that anyone that enjoyed the first book will enjoy the second as well, and I do appreciate comments and ratings more than you can possibly know.  That includes the ones that tear my work apart.  They let me know what needs improvement, and since I have no intention of stopping with my dubious writing, I can always stand to get better.

If anyone is looking to contact me in a place where they won't be seen by the public (I understand that lol) then I have an account on Goodreads and can be reached by private messages there.  Despite what I put as my profile, I'm really not that mean.  Well, maybe to my characters, but that's rather the point I think. 

I write because I enjoy it.  I write fast and I write often.  That means I'm prone to make many errors.  As I discover them, I fix them.  Sadly the first edition of my books will probably always have typos in them.  By typos I don't mean misspells, I mean words that are just wrong.  Had a hilarious one the other day.  Was supposed to be "Rewarded with a smile"  but was actually "Retarded with a smile."  See what I mean?  One letter, which spell check won't find in a 400 page document, and it changes the meaning to something that had me smacking my face on my desk as I mocked myself.  Those are fun to locate.  At least I read all of my work even far after publishing, catch a new one every time, and sigh and chastise myself every time.  The amount that I had to alter in the first Playing with Tigers was overwhelming, and I'm not even finished weeding that mess.

I guess the only good news regarding that is that I can throw out a new book in no time.  The original Swordmaster Dasan was written in my spare time over 2 weeks.  Playing with Tigers; Broken...  That was written in one night, proofread the next, published the following morning.  I wrote two different stories for Playing with Tigers 2, then tore them apart, reworked them, wrote a draft, decided it was crap and did it again.  I really need to find another hobby to occupy myself I think, haha.  Technically, I'm sitting on 3 relatively finished books now, that I'm letting collect some dust because I just don't want to edit them.  The curse of writers with ADHD.  Passion in only one area, and the desire only to move forward with new work, regardless of how much more could be accomplished by sitting still for a moment.

In other news the Swordmaster Dasan story is coming along well.  Yes, I'm forcing myself to do it, because it's worth it.  Decided to rewrite it and use what I had only as a very good draft for reference purposes.  It doesn't pack enough punch for me.  A friend is working on a new cover for that, and I will be releasing a pack with the three bundled hopefully by Christmas (no promises on that though, the fall is hell for me).

Well, back to work for me.  I can be found on Steam for anyone who wants.  Just message me on Goodreads and if you don't seem too stalkerish, I'll give you my steam e-mail.  Love my games almost as much as I love my coffee.   Almost.


~ S. "Kaeli" Hart  - Twisted pervert.


Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Lots of stuff on it's way in upcoming weeks

So, I'm rather proud to tell anyone who's interested that I've finished yet another piece that will be published within the month.  That makes four upcoming releases. 

Playing with Tigers 2 - Editing complete - awaiting cover and formatting
For anyone who read the first, the sequel deals with a few unresolved issues from that novel.  I'm rather proud of the last half of the book at the moment, but give me time, I'll find something I did wrong and start to criticize myself  ;)  Hoping that it's not too much for everyone, I get carried away on the story occasionally and lose the fact that it's erotica on the way.  The requests that I was given were worked in, and I did tone down what happens to Keel a bit, so, again, hoping that it won't be too much for readers. 

Swordmaster Dasan 2 - Editing now
The sequel with my sadistic Swordmaster and one of my favorites from Playing with Tigers is nearly done.  Kyo alone makes these stories fun to write, but again, hoping he isn't too much for people to handle.  Altered my original plan of what would've happened to Kyo between the books to something more suitable and enjoyable, because honestly, once I got to know him I felt like keeping him around.

Swordmaster Dasan 3 - On the back burner, lol
I have a lot of work to do on what I've already written, and since the bridge between stories has yet to hit the kindles and nooks of the world, I see no reason to drive myself mad over this one until the prequel to it is out for your enjoyment.  Expect it soon, though, I won't procrastinate.

Untitled - awaiting editing
Set in another country that's briefly mentioned in PWT2, this one stars a character in an interesting position as he is assailed by women he doesn't want and a young man he shouldn't try for.  May alter the timeline, but will be working on it when I need a break from my previous work. 


Aside from that, I think I should mention that this time of year is literal hell for me, but luckily I've been able to put all of my angst into my work.  I took a look at Playing with Tigers, and I'm still editing that one when I have the time.  I even entertained the idea of rewriting a few of the chapters for fluidity reasons, since some are very jarring.  We'll see.  Anyway, it's 2 am and I've been awake now for 24 straight hours.  Time to go and pass out beside my husband and kick him when he snores.  High five everyone, and off I go. 

~ A very tired S. 'Kaeli' Hart

Friday, August 10, 2012

Playing with Tigers 2

I'm proud to say that after five straight days of work, the second book is completed, awaiting a cover and extensive editing.  For length reasons, the content has already been whittled down dramatically.  The book again follows Keel as he deals with the Sahrketh.  He decides to travel, and through horrible circumstances end up in a very dangerous situation that gives him insight into what is about to happen to the Sahrketh Empire as a whole. 

Fun fun. 

Editing this story will take some time.  Even having cut as much as I have, it's still as large as the first book, which sort of bothers me...  I seem to get carried away haha.  While weighing what to keep and what to discard I also thought of a few more things to make it better, so, the sad reality is that for every piece I take out, I have ten more to put in...  Overactive imagination induced by avoiding reality - the curse of many a fantasy writer I'm afraid. 

The question of what to do with one character in particular has been giving me some trouble, but I think I've hammered out a satisfactory means to approaching the issue, and hope that my readers enjoy it.

Swordmaster Dasan 2 & 3 are on a temporary hold in the editing process, although I will be meeting with someone today to discuss possible covers, since they may warrant a professional piece.

With that update, and with much to expect in the upcoming weeks, I'll turn my attention back to what I should be doing - namely editing anything I can while I have the time. 

Happy hunting everyone -  Stephanie 'Kaeli' Hart

Monday, July 30, 2012

Swordmaster Dasan parts 2 & 3 finished

The kinky pair of Swordmasters have returned with a vengeance.  What was missing from the first Swordmaster Dasan story has been added in two installments, which are thankfully finished and awaiting proofreads.  Don't get too excited yet, finding proofreaders for this is absolute hell - I only have two friends that are willing and they're busy for the foreseeable future.  Expect publication soon with all new covers and a deleted scene from Playing with Tigers 2 which stars them both in an interesting position. 

Unlike the first short story, I had to take breaks to regain my composure, so I assume it'll pack the same punch as the first.  Again, I'm waiting for a second and third opinion, so much is possibly going to change.  As of right now here's a fast blurb draft-

Part 2 (title pending) -

The news that Lassieta has taken the throne at the Sahrketh Palace lures Kyo there to congratulate his occasional lover Madau, since it's her student that she now serves.  He finds shortly after arriving that Loki took the news rather poorly, and has gotten himself thrown in a cell.  Since nobody else is eager to offer any aid to the young man, he challenges Madau to a fight over who would have custody of Loki for the duration of his imprisonment.

Part 3 (title still pending)
Kyo is greeted by a foregnier on his doorstep looking for Loki's next of kin.



*evil chuckle*  I rather enjoyed myself writing these, and I do so hope that all of my readers will as well.  It's hard to tell if anyone liked the first, since it only received two reviews, although both claimed that it was pretty alright...  Unlike many of my friends that write, I don't work for the money, I work for the sake of keeping myself sane and because, let's face it, I like to hear that someone enjoyed what my demented mind has to offer.  I've been a long-time lover of dark humor and horror, so the leap to bondage and power play erotica with two typically violent men wasn't that far.

The second and third parts are longer than the original, and the third I'm not sure should even be classed as erotica.  It's more there for anyone who's curious to know what became of the pair in my timeline, but the sex by comparison to the first two is less frequent.  Not that what is in there is dull by any means, it's just a longer wait to get them into a bed.  What it lacks in frequency it definitely makes up for in quality.  I'm toying with the idea of offering both for free for a short while, but again, I have offered in the past in trade for any feedback I could get and aside from the very few people who did review it publicly and the one who found my email, I have been disappointed. 

Look for it on Smashwords and Amazon within the month, if anything changes I'll update here. 
Thinking of you all - S. 'Kaeli' Hart.  (not to be confused with Scaly Heart.)

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Thoughts on Swordmaster Dasan and it's sequel.

I had written the short story to promote the book. The only problem, is that it's a quicker read, and because it's so much smaller, its far easier to edit.  Therefore, in many ways, it's better than the book, lol.
Someone had said that something was missing from the story that would blow them out of the water, and I knew when I published it what was missing, especially using a tag "Yaoi."  There's only a mere hint to the fact that one of them may like the other enough to opt for something more.  I am very aware of this, because that had been my intention.  I didn't intend it as a romance, because the story precedes the book, and Loki's future is already set in stone, at least for a few years.  Since he mentions Kyo fondly while out with another man, I had to make sure that anyone who reads both won't hate him more than I had intended.  So, I ensured that they had the sort of relationship where neither laid claim to the other, which also fit into building Kyo as a character.

They are both military types, who love sex, but don't have much time for anything further than that.  Well, arguably Kyo does, since he's retired, but I don't think it would be believable for him to have a total turnaround and drop everything to braid Loki's hair and coo sweet nothings at him.  We're talking about a reclusive sadist, here.  Loki develops into someone similar over time.  They are fun to write and to read because they are both the doms in their relationships.  Playing with Tigers is free at the moment, anyone who wants to see what Loki turns into see chapter 55.  That's only a shred of what Loki ends up like, and yes, I had meant for that to be an aftereffect of spending so much time with Kyo.  If one reads the book first and then the short story, it really explains quite a bit about Loki.

Now, I do intend to have these two play again, and I am working on that as I wait for the hellbeasts we call realtors to finish closing on my house, but just how far should I take it?  When they parted ways, in order for Loki to accomplish what he has by the beginning of Playing with Tigers, he needs to focus on his work.  There is one other situation that I can use to put him and Kyo back together, but I'm not sure that I want it to go too far there either.  Basically, to sum up this rant, I will be writing a sequel, it will have a lot more content (of both kinds) but the romance will still be realistic, if present.  It should still be sexy as hell though, and I have added a situation in PWT2 where Kyo does show up, which was extremely entertaining because he finds Keel in Loki's house and... Well, you'll see.  :)

Back to work and coffee - Please enjoy both stories as much as you can and I do so love reviews because they let me know what you all want to read.  I enjoy pleasing as many people as possible, if my novel wasn't enough of an indication.

~ S. "Kaeli" Hart.


Friday, July 6, 2012

Unusual hiatus from writing...haha

So, if someone in a grocery store walks up to you, like HUNTS you down in the store specifically, and hands you $20, what do you do?  This just happened to me...  Not only did the man who gave it to me look specifically for me, he passed a pregnant young lady without even giving her a glance, marched up to me, asked me how I was doing, and handed me a twenty.  Said he was sent by god to take care of me. 
Keep in mind, I'm not religious - If I was I wouldn't be writing the genre I have been lol.  I told him I couldn't accept his money, and he flat out ran from me.  I don't mean he walked away.  By ran, I mean he was running like the cops just found a body in his trunk.  I'm a smoker, and a mighty fine one at that.  *Debonair smile and wink before hacking a black lung into awaiting hands*  So, yeah...  The chances of me catching this 50something year-old guy?  Not happening.  27 and unhealthy as can be  ;D 
Which brings me to the next thought I had.  I'm 5' 7" and I weigh practically nothing.  110 lbs.  Basically if you take a pez dispenser and tack on a set of tits, that's me.  To make matters worse, none of my clothes really fit properly, they're sort of too big.  Add to that image now, that my face broke out in hives, lol, yeah we're getting attractive now aren't we?  And, lets not forget that I was just yelling at my friend to stop chucking shit in my carriage because I couldn't afford it. 

This man thought I was a charity case.  I don't know how to feel about that.  I was about to hand the $20 to the pregnant young lady until she approached me with a smug smile and outstretched hand and said, "If you don't want it, I'll sure as fuck take it."  I glanced at my 11 month old, while out shopping for my other son, who turns 8 at 2 am, and put it in my wallet instead.  Gonna be a bitch about it, I'm sure I can put it to better use than you can.  So, I figured it was my lucky day.  And then I dropped my gifted 20 into the feed the hungry box at my local supermarket.  And then ten more.  It's odd.  If not for that random good christian, I would've filed past that box using the excuse that we just spent too much on a birthday.  He hands me money, I hand it and some of my own to help out some local families.  Go figure. 

So, for now, I'm high on life.  That's extremely rare for me, by the way.  Usually I just sneer at people while I sit at my computer and drink deadly amounts of coffee, and write.  Back to work for me, an unusually content 27 year old pez dispenser with hives on her freaking face and two spoiled brats that are better than all the money in the world. 

Stephanie "Kaeli" Hart - hunted by the charitable.

Monday, June 25, 2012

Just another update

Swordmaster Dasan hits Amazon today.  The short story will be available in Ebook format at all major retailers by 6pm EST.  This is the last opportunity to download it for free at Goodreads and B&N before it's set for purchase only. 

The short story falls into too many categories, which seems to be my most used complaint.  If I name them all then we're talking about a gay bondage erotica fantasy short.  That's four and as usual I'm limited to two classifications  *sigh* 

Apparently gay bondage erotic fiction featuring full suspension is extremely rare, please correct me if you know a place I missed, my friends would be thrilled.  It's at times like this I'm glad that one of my closest personal friends has a kink that involves so many knots, because I needed to research relatively nothing, which make the story a cakewalk to write.  Admittedly, there are only two scenes that really get rope crazy...  Three?  I'm not sure if the third counts.  But, it's a quick read and I tried to keep it interesting so, again, feel free to check it out and please rate and comment if you do.  It will remain a free download at certain retailers only for about the next week before the price sets in. 

A quick description for anyone looking;

Swordmaster Kyo Dasan was the man who trained the character Localem (Loki) Arada from the Playing with Tigers series. Since Loki hailed from basically nowhere, he had nothing to offer in trade.  Kyo sees the opportunity and offers an alternative means of payment, namely Loki's body. 

Because Loki needs the title to escape the mundane future he would otherwise be forced to endure, he reluctantly agrees.  As a result, he spends much of his time recovering from Kyo's attention, and eventually discovers something about his Swordmaster that explains much of his cruel and indifferent behavior. 


My thoughts:
I could write about these two endlessly, because they work so well together.  It's hard to make a sadist that the reader likes, but harder to make a masochist who can hold their ground against them.  They present a constant challenge because one phrase from either character can turn the story in an entirely new direction, and steering it can be both fun and difficult.  I love the challenge, but I don't like to waste my already strapped time.  Depending on the sales and reviews of this story, I may have found my niche.  I will still finish Playing with Tigers, and I fully intend to write my other fantasy novels as well, but this was a fun escape from the ordinary, or at least as ordinary as I get. 

In any event - Thank you to those of you who reviewed my book.  I glance around every once in awhile to see how I can improve my storytelling and writing as a whole, and the constructive criticism is appreciated more than you probably realize.  Many independent authors are dying for recognition and praise - don't think I'm any different.  But I know that I have a long road ahead of me in my writing and I'm prepared to trip a few times if necessary to get there.  Your reviews help me deliver a better product to you, and I can't thank you enough for it.

Now, back to work for me.  Feel free to contact me at my blog or on Goodreads.com if you're actually bored enough.  I'm not as bad as I make myself out to be.  Or am I?  *ominous music* 

- Stephanie 'Kaeli' Hart

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Swordmaster Dasan & Playing with Tigers 2

Swordmaster Dasan is now available for free and full download at Goodreads.com and the potential sequel to that is brewing in my mind no matter how hard I try to focus on the task at hand, namely PWT2.  Both are giving me their own version of trouble. 

I had written the story with Loki and Kyo to promote the book and get some much needed feedback.  Although the one review was lovely, it seems that relatively nobody else spared the time to let me know if they enjoyed it.  So, I have recieved zero money for that piece, very little feedback, and almost no pageviews for the book itself in relation to the short story.  That's the internet for you.

As an independent author, I rely entirely on the kindness of my readers and word of mouth advertising.  If I could afford other means to promote my book, I would.

The review I received of Playing with Tigers is one of the only reasons I sit at my computer every single moment that I can and work on the sequel.  Because one person said they couldn't wait for it.  I would dedicate the book to their username if I wasn't worried that they would dislike that, or that the book wouldn't live up to their expectations.  Both are possible, after all. 

The sequel for Swordmaster Dasan will be written eventually, and it is entirely due to the lovely review I received on Smashwords and the phone call of praise I was awarded from my closest friend after she read it. 

The Playing with Tigers series will be written because I will go insane very quickly if I don't get that finished and move on to the genres I enjoy.  I know from experience that if I neglect to write something, it will kick around in my mind and I will never be capable of forgetting it. 

To prove that I am sincere in my plea for more reviews, I will again be offering a code to discount the book to 100% off on smashwords and will be posting it on here in the upcoming days.  It will still ask for a credit card, but if you enter the code before checkout, you should not be charged.  If you do not have a credit card, then you are under 18 and need to stay away from both my book and my short stories, you rotten, perverted kids.  Or, anyone interested could always find a way to contact me - I'm not quite as evil as I claim in my profile and I do give copies via e-mail to those that ask. 

In other news, I will be moving into my new home in the next week.  What that means for my readers is that I will not have access to my beloved internet, and possibly even be separated from my computer for awhile as I scramble to gather my things and fix that house.  It's all robin's egg blue on the interior - far too happy a color to remain.  My writing will be put aside for awhile, and it will delay any publications until I can tone down the purely white and neon blue decor.  Anyone else that suffers from constant migraines can probably understand why that's a priority over everything, including food. 

I think that's everything I wanted to rant about for now...  Anyway, happy hunting and please remember to check out Swordmaster Dasan and look for me on Goodreads.com  (I have no friends there, it's pathetic.)

- Stephanie (Kaeli) Hart.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Considering Swordmaster Dasan Sequel

So, for anyone who visits my blog (a laughable thought admittedly, but let me dream) I am thinking of publishing a second story starring Kyo and Loki, set a bit closer to the beginning of Playing with Tigers.  It would coincide with Lassieta taking the throne, and therefore Loki would have grown a bit more into his own kinks, which makes it difficult to write.  Would like some thoughts on that if anyone wanders on here.

Also, I set up an account on Goodreads and claimed the authoring of my book, so feel free to contact me there if it's easier for you.  :)  Happy hunting everyone.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Quick Update

I'm somewhat surprised by the amount of downloads from the Swordmaster Dasan story, it beat the other promotional short almost instantly.  I suppose that's because the content is apparently rare, gay bondage with full suspension is hard to find, or so I hear.  Makes me want to write more on that, perhaps even go all out much to the dismay of my friend who can't deal with me at my worst, or is it best? lol  Anyway, if i can think of a fun context for that then you may have another in the future, but no promises. 

As a response to the lovely review of Swordmaster Dasan -I greatly appreciate hearing that someone enjoyed the story.  I was having more than the usual doubts in my own writing when I stumbled across that and it was enough to get me back on track.  So, thank you very much.  I write fast and often, and as a result I do need to edit everything.  The problem is that:
a) I suck at it 
b) my friends are all already swamped just reading the unedited stuff I throw at them - think about getting 14+ pages a day (I am so sorry guys lol) 
c) I can't afford an actual editor.  I can barely afford the coffee I drink, lol. 

I didn't drive myself insane over that story with editing because it was written in spare time over the course of two weeks and I was eager to get that up on the site for everyone to take a look at.  Technically the cover is sitting on my desk, waiting to be scanned still, lol.  I jumped the gun on that too.  

The edit on Playing with Tigers is finished on the kindle, and is being implemented when I need a break from writing the sequel, since I keep running out of short stories to occupy myself.  I keep finishing them...  I have hundreds that are unpublished, but they don't focus on the same genre as what I've been putting up and I think that my readers just expect more on that, so for now they stay on the hard drive.  

Playing with Tigers 2 is still on schedule, but I decided to take a brief hiatus from writing to push the evil creatures known as realtors into closing on the house we purchased.  Thankfully, my stupid plan of writing the plot driving scenes first worked out, so it's just adding the copious amounts of sex with everyone willing and many that aren't, and then it's finished.  

The person who is organizing the creative writing site for me and my group of friends had to relocate quite suddenly, which pushed that project off to the side indefinitely, but when it is up, I intend to share that both here and on my profile.  It will feature many (typically hilarious) stories from myself and a few other writers that I spend my time with, many of which are in my opinion far better at writing than I will ever be lol.  It will be open to the public, and since we're all competitive, I am thinking we will have an ability to vote for who had the best story for each week.  *elbow elbow*  You know, I am so not above bribing  ;) ;)  I may make a sign "Will write more gay bondage for votes."  

Anyway... It's 2am and the sun comes every morning no matter how much I beg for it to stop, so I need to go drag my sickly looking self to bed.  Look below for a code to get a free copy of Playing with Tigers - the book is insanely long and still reads like being thrown down a flight of particularly steep stairs at the moment, but it's free and I did put a lot of work into the damn thing, so please enjoy it  :)  I will fix what I can find in the upcoming weeks and publish the second edition, starring nearly decent English!  Yay! 




Saturday, June 2, 2012

Swordmaster Dasan

So as anyone here probably knows, since the only link to this blog is in my profile, I published the short story Swordmaster Dasan yesterday afternoon.  And, since I will likely receive no feedback on it whatsoever, I decided to share my thoughts on it here.  The story itself was written in two weeks, somewhat haphazardly and I'm sure it shows lol...  I had mentioned twice in the novel that Loki had been forced to trade sex for training when he was younger and came to power mostly on his own afterwards.  So when I saw the sheer number of downloads from the other promotional short and wished to do another, it was an easy choice of which I would do next.  Any romance in the story was entirely unintentional, I'd wanted to get across more that Kyo was seeking companionship and got a bit attached, but only temporarily.  Mostly because Loki speaks well of him but offers no feelings one way or the other when he broaches the topic later on.  Also, this story allowed me to show where Loki discovered his own tastes. 

One of my friends felt that this story was very edgy, racy and scandalous.  Personally, I thought I was rather easy on Loki...  But to each their own.  I can write nearly anything after the two scenes in the Playing with Tigers series that had given me trouble, so long as there's a story to write in there as well.  I had asked people to give it a once over, and after I fired a few bullets and stabbed a guy they finally agreed.  If not for one of the two people that read my work before it's published, the story would've ended after the first night that Kyo has Loki.  He demanded more, and here we are.  I don't plan on doing another bondage short anytime soon, but I would be willing to add more to this one possibly.  I just have to publish the second PWT book first. 

Speaking of which, since you gave enough of a crap to stop by my blog, help yourself to a free copy of my novel.  Smashwords will still ask for card info, but put the code below in at checkout and it will be discounted to 100% off.  That needs considerable editing and also stars a bisexual young man, so there are many scenes with him and a woman, but I tried to keep it as even as I could throughout.  The final edit of that is pending, but the only reviewer who had the balls to say they enjoyed the book said he couldn't wait for the second novel, and I like to reward anyone who gives me my much needed feedback. 

Coupon code for Playing with Tigers (be careful the book is insanely long) -

KP53L
 

Friday, June 1, 2012

Fixed temporarily

I made a crappy cover to hold it over out of an old doodle I did and had no intention of using for anything else, so please enjoy, rate and comment. 

Setback


So, minor setback.  My scanner is packed up with all of my other crap and is thoroughly inaccessible, and I prefer to make my covers by hand...  That way I can frame them and have them stare at me when I start to wander away from writing.  I'll see if I can harass some of my friends to let me use theirs but I already have them at knifepoint to read for me so often, lol, I feel I might be pushing things by asking for more.  I wanted this piece up by the weekend, so I'm debating just making a crappy cover for now to hold it over.  I'll see what I can do. 

PWT2 is nearly complete, right on schedule.  I'm hoping to be editing it by mid June, which would put it's release in July at some point, August if I get another month from hell.  I intend to charge for it, but anyone that actually gives enough of a damn to come to this blog will find a 100% off coupon code on the day it's released for Smashwords and I will make it count for a few weeks. 

The only trouble I'm having writing at the moment is that I like to jump between a large project and a short story when I need a break from one, and I keep finishing the short stories.  One of my friends, because of the story I'm about to put up, wants me to do serialized short stories on Loki.  He's one of my favorites, I'm not going to lie.  I would, but not all of them would end up as erotica.  In fact, most wouldn't.  I was thinking of doing one as the backstory for Jade, which would explain how they ended up in the love/hate relationship they have, which was only very barely hinted at in the first book. 

I will try to upload the story over the weekend, one way or another.  If you enjoy it but are shy, please email me.  I don't bite, and if you want, I won't even respond, just say so in your message.  I work off of feedback; the more I get, the more I get done.  

Now, off to work on that cover problem...  

Monday, May 28, 2012

Update on promotional short story

The story with Loki and his Swordmaster is complete and awaiting a cover to be uploaded, since it is a decent stand alone story that involves characters from Playing with Tigers and deserves at least a shred of individuality.  Again, this story is not intended to be a romance, nor will it please everyone.  But, it is interesting...   Keep an eye out and feel free to send me death threats if you find it disturbing  :) 

Look below at my last post for a code to entitle you to a free copy of Playing with Tigers on Smashwords - I am aware that it needs considerable editing and I'm doing that between multiple projects of varying kinds.  If you enjoy it, please comment, rate, review or email me with any commentary.  I can use the criticism, and it makes me write faster lol 

See anything that made you curious in my work?  Want a story for it?  I probably already have it tucked away, just let me know and it will be given as a promotional short for free as soon as I deem it decent.  If not, I'll probably come up with my own anyway when I need a break from PWT2. 

Friday, May 25, 2012

As promised & a reply to a lovely review

I said in my most recent post that if I received even one review, be it positive or negative, I would give anyone who happened across this blog a code that would make Playing with Tigers free at checkout on smashwords.  As promised:

KP53L

To my reviewer - I can't thank you enough.  I was recently made aware of the vast difference in the writing between the beginning and end of the book when I took a look through it myself.  That will be remedied, but will not push off the second book, as per your wishes.  I need a break from the first book (please see tooth extraction/killer bee snorting comment in previous posts haha)  since now it reads like origami instructions to me; 'insert tab P into slot A.'  The problem with writing romance erotica I guess. 

You seem to enjoy my work, which has made a very horrendous week turn into the best in my writing career.  You mentioned in your review of the short story that you wouldn't like to see that end for Keel in the second book, which makes me now look at the second book and wonder just how many others would agree with you.  I had no intention of alienating by readers from the character, in fact that short story was at the end of the second book to segue into the third and definitely final portion of Keel's story.  But, now, I wonder...  I find myself dreadfully curious, and since I can't communicate with you, it's eating away at me.  If you're interested in the second book, and don't mind ruining the surprise - it's almost finished. 

I spend most evenings writing, but will occasionally hunt down some friends for a second opinion.  I'd like yours as well.  I doubt you'll be visiting this blog until I publish something, but in the off chance that you do -  sahrkaan@yahoo.com 

I'd be willing to give you a run-down of the basic plot, in trade for your feelings on the matter.  I'll assume if I receive no email that you haven't seen this post, but I do hope that you do.  And I hope that, if you do, you'll get in contact with me. 


MOVING ON -
You'd think someone who invented the Sahrketh could be a bit less sappy, huh?  Anyway, the next promotional short is nearly complete; I've been using that as a break for PWT2 when my eyes bleed.  Anyone that read the book may remember that Localem Arada (Loki for short) had mentioned a Swordmaster that he had trained under, and more importantly that he had to trade sex with the man for such a privilege.  I'm writing that.  Yes, I am smiling.  It's not a romance, and I really would hate for it to be confused for such.  It's a bit more on the sharper side of what I write, and I do not recommend it for readers that didn't care for the scene where Loki took his aggression out on Keel's clothing.  I had written the basic concept before, but in action it's something that I am only proud of when my family isn't looking at me.  It's already substantially larger than the other short, and is a complete work on it's own.  Starring the character before he was anybody worth even a second glance, it shows anyone who likes Loki where he became addicted to his considerable kinks.  Personally, Loki is one of my all-time favorites because I can switch him to a hero or a villain just by changing where he stands. 

Keep an eye out for it.

I've been informed that I should eat, so I will be leaving now.  Happy hunting everyone, and I'll post again soon. 

Saturday, May 19, 2012

More on the novel -

This book will kill me.  Or anyone that crosses my path, perhaps.  As I said in my last post (I think) my recent gift of a kindle fire allowed me to enjoy my recent novel as I hadn't been able to before, namely in a book format instead of burned into my retinas on the screen in front of me.  This new perspective made me painfully aware of how much editing the first novel requires, but I am something of a psychopath about meeting my self-appointed deadlines.  Since I want the second novel online within a few months at most, this leaves me in an interesting position.  I could take the time to hammer out all of the kinks in the first story and polish it to an extreme, perhaps fix the fact that the first chapter overwhelms some people with the speed at which Keel is rushed out of his house, since I've received a rather wordy complaint.  Or, I could focus most of my time on the second novel and the free promotional stories for both, and get that out of the way now. 

I guess the real question is, does Playing with Tigers stand well on it's own the way that it is?  Right now, I will stand behind my characters, plot and dialogue, but the delivery of it is on par with having tooth pulled while snorting angry bees.  Okay, well... Maybe not quite that bad, but it needs considerable time to be fixed and it drove me to the brink of madness once before. 

For now, I intend to continue writing the second novel, but in light of the noticeable flaws of the first, I'm considering offering another coupon to allow any potential readers to purchase it 100% off.  I don't like to charge for an unfinished product.  So, here we are.  I'll make a deal with you all; If I get one review, be it positive or negative, for either the promotional short or the novel itself, I will put a coupon up here within eight hours of it showing up on my screen and I'll make it good for two weeks.  That way, you can get the novel and the eventually updated one for free, I get much needed feedback.  I see it as a win-win. 

Also, I mentioned this before, but that post has fallen into the archives for this blog; I do accept requests so long as they don't conflict with my incredibly lax morals.  The few I have received were via email, which leads me to believe that I have left my email visible somewhere that I likely shouldn't have. 

Now, back to the heaps of work I've assigned myself with my coffee in one hand and my kindle in the other.  Happy hunting everyone.  ;)


Friday, May 18, 2012

So, some ideas


Firstly, I am considering writing for Cracked, since I apparently have the bad luck that everyone laughs at whatever I write anyway, I figure I might as well get paid.  I was tricked into purchasing Fifty Shades of Grey, since it mentioned BDSM in the reviews and anyone that's read my recent novel can guess that I'm a rotten pervert.  Since it seemed to be nothing other than a Twilight fanfic, I looked deeper and found out, yes, it was at one time a Twilight fanfic.  All the author did was change some names around and take out the whole vampire thing.  How did I figure it out, you ask?  Well, my hatred for the ingenious manipulation of the stupid high school girls started with reading a mere page of Twilight, when I then tossed the book aside, never to revisit it.  I prefer a strong female lead.  Should they be mildly insane, I require a reason.  Since Fifty up there happened to have a woman who switches moods faster than a car switches gears on an obstacle course - I figured something was up.  Add to that the fact that she dragged out the reason behind Mr. Grey being screwed up and tried (poorly) to mask it with sex scenes that I guess some people find racy (really the sheltered people today make me ill) and I had to look deeper.  Sure enough, the entire first book and apparently much of the second were originally a serialized fanfic about Edward and Bella. 

The same travesty happened to me when I heard about the hunger games, and being the soulless terrible person I am, clapped with glee at the idea of a 24-way deathmatch that resembled the short story 'the lottery.' "You win the first prize, poor kid."  Imagine my surprise when the lead female was inexplicably stricken retarded as soon as she left her home.  Post traumatic stress maybe, I don't know, but it had me angry enough that the potential behind the story was wasted on a badly pieced together teen romance that I was ranting on and off for two days.  So, Cracked.  Look for an article by Kaeli (my alter-ego) regarding why the book Twilight has ruined so many other genres and defined how women apparently should act.  I have so many things to tear apart from these books, and only so much time...

Did I mention that I'm a bitter, terrible person?  My reason for it is this; these other two books could've been spectacular.  If you go by their sales, then they already are.  But, take into account the fact that they avoid having to be creative by dragging a story out, having their characters never just get fed up and ask what's going on, and they suddenly seem cheap.  "Why does he keep saying he loves me?" Hrm - maybe he does?  That thought never seems to occur to these female leads.  Infuriatingly, I know that a decent portion of the fanbase relates to it, but it could've been done so much better.  What a waste.

Rant ended, for now.  Back on business -

Secondly, I will be starting a website for the creative writing group that I run with some friends, all are welcome to read what we have available when the site goes up and of course commentary is always appreciated.  A favorite of our writers is a three topic, three page short challenge, where the three topics chosen have to be integral to the story.  My personal favorites were my stories Lloyd (dishes, the color white and 80's pop music were chosen as topics) and Nina (ketchup giraffes and clouds.)  Like story dice, these are riotous lol - I will post within the month with the address of that gem.


Third; Since my recent acquisition of a Kindle Fire (they are very awesome btw) I came to a startling discovery; PWT needs faaar more editing.  I will be releasing the second edition in a few weeks, hopefully that will fix the problems mentioned in my first blog post regarding the flow of the story.  As I know I've said before (somewhere) I do try to improve on my past work when I see the opportunity, so I am spending most of my mornings on said kindle, editing the crap out of that story.  Seeing it in a book format instead of on a monitor really made the difference; now I can critique it like I pick apart other books (see above.)

Lastly - Updates on story progress;

The second installment of Playing with Tigers is moving along quickly and with no foreseeable problems.  I've found the way I am going to be working in the requests that I did receive via E-mail from extremely anonymous peoples.  From now on all requests need to state such in the title, or I will consider your message spam mail that is promising me a larger penis.  A preposterous idea; although admittedly it may need work since it is completely lacking, to the point of being nonexistant.  That was a joke for the few of you who actually wondered, and shame on you for it.  I'm entirely female. 

The steampunk/comedy/murder-mystery is paused temporarily because of a logical error in the plot that I am working quickly to resolve.  The Character I devised is too rotten to give a crap about the device I was going to implement, and I refuse to just use it anyway and get the book done.  If I'm doing it, I'm doing it right.

New short story work - Dr. Shenanigans and Mr. Fingers guide to proper thievery is nearing completion when I need a break from Keel screwing everyone. 


And with that, I am off to write again.  Please comment, like it or hate it - I just love the attention  :)

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Playing with Tigers now heading to Amazon.com

Since PWT has been so excessively successful even before it's release to major e-book retailers, I have decided to publish it on Amazon as well - It should be up by the end of the week!  :)

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Playing with Tigers - Book 2

Book two in the Playing with Tigers storyline is in the works currently, and is coming along quite well.  I am accepting reasonable requests now via comments or email.  If requests can be worked into the story without breaking or cheapening it, they typically make it into the final copy.  By reasonable, I mean that I will not take a pop culture character and add them solely for a sex scene, or at all for that matter.  That would be a fanfiction, and although I on occasion will write one for the hell of it, I have no intention of charging others for it.  Requests that have been accepted so far include two additional characters, one a male stripper that resembles a witch in his abilities, the other a 'deformed' Keth; a cat girl.  Worry not, I made her hot.  A request to see Traichi (fire elf city) was put in and eagerly accepted, because I didn't realize anyone would like these stories for anything more than the sex.  Costumed play was easy enough to work in, as was a scene with Loki that would otherwise have only remained in my considerably twisted head. 

I hated the idea of leaving so much unresolved at the end of Playing with Tigers.  For many reasons, one the size of the first book, another the fact that nothing interesting would technically be possible for awhile, PWT had to end where it did.  The second book picks up storywise where the first left off and again follows Keel.  I don't want to give anything away, but I think that anyone that enjoyed the first book will also enjoy this one.  The only problem I can foresee is a third book, which would be the end of Keel's story because three is a good number and there's only so long I could keep making him have mindless sex with everyone before I break the appeal of the character. 

Release for PWT2 is hopefully going to be within the next few months if all goes well.  I write very fast and very often.  The only thing that may delay it's publication is the other book that I have been working on.  It's not erotica or romance but here, let me tell you about that as well  :)
Since it's untitled, I'm finding it harder than I had hoped to talk about haha - Set in the same fantasy universe as PWT, the story centers around a young man named Azriel and the murder of his fiance six years prior.  By the time the story starts, he's very reluctantly given up on finding the one responsible, but when the Gerudai bring him some interesting information he picks up the hunt again with the help of one of their own.  This story not only takes the reader where Playing with Tigers could never go, but also allows me to indulge in a character that puts all others I've written to shame.  Dark humor, mystery, fantasy and adventure all wrapped up in one. 

Anyway, back to writing.  Happy hunting everyone

Friday, April 20, 2012

Playing with Tigers

Chances are if you're here then you've either seen the novel on a site, or purchased it.  If you did, then thanks for the support.  If not and you somehow stumbled on here, then here you go -> https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/152572
Now you're part of my one sided conversation as well.  If you're thinking of buying it but can't afford it, I have a confession; money was not the reason I wrote it.  Use the code ZF48T at checkout to receive it 100% off.  Well, until the end of April anyway haha.  Not going to lie, I could use the cash, but I like the feeling that someone somewhere is enjoying my until now fruitless work far more than being able to afford trivial crap.  My husband doesn't understand or condone that, but the way I see it, if he wants to make cash off of a novel, he better get to writing.  Hell, I've been writing since I was fourteen.  It's amazing how terrible my work was when I started lol, I look at it now and the expression I wear when I skim through it makes anyone that sees it on my face worried for my health.  I've come a long way, but I'm still not happy with my work.  The curse of all writers, isn't it?  Makes me wonder how many amazing stories are backed up on PC's never to be read. 

So if you are here because you're going to give the book a once over, I didn't put an introduction to it.  I'm not sure why, probably because there was nothing I wanted to precede the story.  In truth this book started as a short story a few years ago.  My friend and I have this need to outdo each other, and she had presented a very basic idea to me, and I couldn't help but show her how I would go about it.  The Sahrketh were made for the book I already see as my masterpiece story, which won't be published for some time (I'll explain that later, not important right now).   The story idea was this; what would be the best way to make a man with latent bisexual tendencies realize it?  I've developed a few cultures in my own imaginary universe, but the Sahrketh fit the situation perfectly.  Well, I hammered out about 30 pages in two nights, crammed full of spelling errors and grammatical horrors, and sent it to her.  We'll just say she liked it, quite a bit. 

I let the story sit there for awhile, but the more I thought about it, the more fun I had with it.  Eventually I revisited it, and rewrote it as a novel.  No, that's not the one that's for sale.  That version was murdered by my last computer's unexpected suicide.  So I wrote it again.  I didn't like that version either.  In truth the one that's attached to the link up there is the fourth copy.  I've written this book four times, three times at the length it's currently at.  My poor keyboards can't keep up, they keep quitting. 

I write, often and in every genre.  The problem with that, is that over the course of writing this book in particular, my writing style improved drastically between chapter one and eighty.  And it shows.  I can't write this book again, at least not right now.  I have a steampunk murder mystery set in the same universe, and the sequel for Playing with Tigers on the back burner already, along with about ten shorts of varying types.  I know it's work to read a handful of sentences in the novel, which is why it's offered (for now at least) for free if you're willing to type a code in.  I like to keep moving forward with my work.  Rest assured, if you think it's bad now you should've seen it before I spent four months editing the thing every day that I possibly could.  I'm nearly content with it.  Nearly.  I suppose I never will be.  Unlike my first short story, I do care about Playing with Tigers.  Replacing Sarah was published just to see if I could bring myself to do it, and it was (in many ways) not ready.  PWT wasn't going any further than I had brought it. 

If you do like my work, I'm always looking for more opinions.  Also, I do accept requests.  *see chapter 13 of PWT  (I got a chill there)  I'm currently accepting requests for the second book.  Not all can be answered, but I will honestly entertain the idea of anything so long as it doesn't conflict with my very lax morals.  Well, back to work on PWT 2.  I hope to see some people take advantage of that coupon.  And despite the fact I just created this blog for the novel, I intent to be on here every once in awhile.  Feel free to leave comments, opinions, requests and death threats.  ;)