More Stories!

Whew, doggie! It's been busy!

Uploaded on Friday was The Power That Dreams Have, the follow-up story to Empusa. Power was a tough one to write initially; I talk about it a bit over at my website. But once it got rolling, it was a heckuva good time. I do so love writing about uneven, unhealthy relationships. (This fact worries The Husband on occasion, but given some of his favorite movies, he has no stones to throw, hehe.) Linkage at Smashwords, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

Yesterday saw the release of The Princess and Peony, a lesbian BDSM retelling of the Princess and the Pea. I always enjoy writing descriptions of sub-space. It's so hard to get across to non-subs... Linkage at Smashwords, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

And today up goes Encore! This is probably one of my most popular stories ever. The story was inspired by a concert I went to where there were two male singers, both of who were very passionate musicians. Not that those two guys were probably lovers or anything, but the energy in the room was pure electricity. I'm trying to upload to Amazon and Barnes & Noble the night before, so hopefully Encore will be available in all three channels at about the same time.

Projects

I'm taking a break from my own stories to do a little side work on a role-playing game. It's fun to play in someone else's universe. It's even more fun to get to shape someone else's universe, muahahaha. But seriously, it's a neat project, though the part I'm doing is rather small so far, but I'm hoping to weasel my way into working on more of the project once this bit is done.

I'm also trying to frame the Encore and NaNoWriMo projects, and this is proving harder than I'd hoped. I have plenty of ideas for Derrick and Nate, but I'm having a hard time figuring out the frame—the beginning and the end points of their larger narrative. The beginning is especially messing with me, because if I can get started I can usually find my way to the ending pretty well. I'm not used to having troubles with beginnings. Usually my problems are in the middle. I think I'll probably have to start where the short story leaves off, write from there, and then figure out what (if anything) I need to add in the beginning once I've gotten to the end. This will mean (groan!) extra editing.

The NaNoWriMo project is particularly difficult in that I still don't know what happens. Silly, no? But this is much more typical of my plotting issues. I have this great beginning, and some vague ideas of where I want things to end up (more like several options, Clue-style), but no real idea of what goes on in the middle. Sigh. I should just give up on the outlining thing and pants it, but I'm afraid to try pantsing during NaNoWriMo. That sounds like a great way to derail myself fast. My first time out I'd like to have a little more of a plan than what I have currently.

Well, I still have another month to figure that out. Hopefully my research will give me some extra ideas for the middle. In the meantime I'm having fun inventing alien cultures and playing with space opera horror.

Tuesday a Little Early

Hey kids, short post this week. I'm about 1000 words into a short story I had originally planned to submit for Toy Box: Pine Switch, but I'm not getting that done by the 15th. I may finish it later and post it as a Christmas freebie.

This last week has been quite hectic. I finished sewing the outfit for the wedding I went to last Saturday the morning of the wedding. The wedding went off great, but then on Sunday I had a double-gaming day, so no time to write. And tonight, well, I'm exhausted. And whiskeyfied. It never hurts.

Next Sunday I'll be out of town for a work conference until late Wednesday, but never fear, I will make Tuesday's post! I'm heading to Boston for the first time, but I probably won't have much free time. I'm hoping to stop by Copp's Hill Burial Ground, but it may not be possible. I have two Mythos stories out on submission and I can use all the help I can get. ;)

Speaking of submissions, I'm trying to hit some more professional markets. The sad part of that is that there are very few professional markets for erotica. Not that I mind working on my horror and sci-fi stories, but I want to make sure I'm taking care of my erotica readers. Never fear, plans and research are still going ahead for the expansion of "Encore", as well as a cyberpunk erotica novel or novella that I'm planning on working on this November. If all goes well I will podcast the cyberpunk piece, and maybe a couple other stories as well. First, I have to read up on podcasting. Research, research, never enough hours in the day...

Tuesday Tip: Give Feedback

Giving feedback to your critique partners is obvious, but do you ever give feedback to authors you don't know?

Trust me, there is nothing so cool as to have some random person send you an email or leave a comment remarking on your work. To me, it's more motivating than a sale or even a compliment from my editor.

For example, I've been feeling unmotivated lately. This is mostly due to my own lack of discipline, but I've also been wondering if the short stories have served their purpose for now and maybe I will leave off those and make myself work on something longer. Or several somethings.

Then this weekend I was doing my occasional trolling of the Interwebs, looking for new reviews. (I found some too, will post links soon!) And I found over a Goodreads.com a nice little review of Taste Test: Rainy Days and Mondays. And there, at the bottom of that short review, was a message to me! "Mercy Loomis - more D/s Rockstars, Derrick and Nate please!"

That made my week. Hell, it made my month!

Here was someone who had read the anthology and been kind enough to post their thoughts, but not only that, been interested enough by my work to ask for more! I don't know if I can describe to a non-artist (because writing is an art form as much as it is a business or a science) just how much that means. So often we writers work in a vacuum. Yes, there is usually some form of feedback with an editor's acceptance, and yes, many of us have critique groups or beta readers to help, but other than that, all we have are sales numbers. And sales numbers (when we can get them, which isn't always as often as you think) only tell you so much. They say that people have bought the work, but did those people actually read it? Did they like it, or hate it, or were they completely untouched by it? Did my words and my hard work actually accomplish anything of what I hoped they would?

For someone you don't know, who you've never met or exchanged words with, to say in effect "I liked this enough that I want more of it and I would spend my hard-earned money to buy it"--wow, that's powerful. So much so that I'm now considering trying to expand on that story, when I never had any intention of working with those characters again. (Not that I don't enjoy Derrick and Nate, because I do; I just didn't have more story for them.) I can't promise anything, because muse definitely has a part to play in any story, but you can bet I'm gonna try real hard.

So if you read something you like, and you can find a way to leave feedback, do it. Not only will you likely bring a huge smile to someone's face, you may just get a story that would otherwise never have been written.

The Release of Taste Test: Rainy Days and Mondays

I'm pleased to announce the release of Taste Test: Rainy Days and Mondays from Torquere Press! This mini-anthology includes my short story, "Encore." In this story, all Derrick wants is a nice subby roadie girl, but when bandmate Nate is willing to give BDSM a try, the guys discover a new favorite rainy-day activity.

Read an excerpt below!

Derrick tried to rein in his frustration, but an edge crept into his voice. "You can be a moody bastard, but this is bad even for you." He got up and went to stand next to Nate, arms crossed over his chest, wearing his best not-putting-up-with-your-shit face. "What. The fuck. Is wrong?"

Nate spun around and kissed him.

Nate never did anything by half measures. He grabbed Derrick's face with both hands and all but attacked him, forcing Derrick to back up a step or fall over.

Derrick caught his balance, hands out to the sides halfway between a placating gesture and the first phase of an open-handed defense. His brain seemed frozen, spinning its wheels on a sheet of ice and getting nowhere. His lips parted out of sheer shock, but Nate took it as an invitation, kissing him deeper.

For one long, shocked moment Derrick couldn't think at all. Then he wondered what the hell his tongue was doing in Nate's mouth.

A Review, Love for Zombies, and a New Sale

Lots of exciting things going on! First, the anthology Bedknobs and Beanstalks was voted Book of the Week over at Whipped Cream Erotic Romance Reviews! We got four and a half cherries out of five.

Next up, author Lois Gresh has a zombie love-fest over at her blog for the anthology Hungry For Your Love, which features short blurbs from the authors about how they came up with their stories. And OMG we have endorsements from S.G. Browne and Christopher Golden!

And last but not least, I'm pleased to announce that my short story "Encore" will be appearing in the upcoming anthology Taste Test: Rainy Days and Mondays from Torquere Press.