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.