"My Summer," by Lilia

As the camp (meaning child-free) season winds down, I thought I’d do up a little report of my summer.  Needless to say, it has been non-stop parties, adventures, thrilling car chases, and exotic travel--exactly like every summer.  Yeah right. 

First off, I got Pet to the Tentacle Monsters! launched into the world where she must now make her way without further parental input.

While the story has not quite made the bestseller list yet, I have gotten some great reactions to it. One reviewer actually called it "Goldilocks for the Depraved"--which as you can imagine pretty much made my year. 

Second off, I finally finished and sent to my proofreader a novel that I have been working on sporadically since 2009, my first ever work of erotic fiction, a contemporary ménage that spent most of its existence with the title, Convenience Store Sex Slave! A Memoir. Deciding that title was a little too low-key and elegant for Amazon, I have, reluctantly, renamed it College Bound. (Lisa Henry has a great post on the problems authors run into trying to sell books with explicit titles on Amazon. )

Here is my most recent draft of the blurb:

After a vicious fight with her stepbrother and guardian, Natalie storms out of the family McMansion, never imagining that would be the last time she’d be allowed in the house. A string of truly rotten decisions follows, until she finds herself suspended from school, friendless, broke, and camping out at the convenience store where she works. Worst of all, her college applications are due!

Thanks to a helpful teacher and her own stupendous brilliance she manages to get into her top choice college. Unfortunately, dealing with the financial aid forms proves to be too much for her supersmarts and she is about to lose her spot because she cannot get the money together to pay the deposit.

Enter Gareth Boyd, an old family friend, with an indecent proposal that will pay for everything—if she can meet his price.

I have ordered a new cover, but here, for the sake of posterity, is the cover with the original title:





I expect that the final blurb will include a long content warning, since in addition to starring an extremely foul-mouthed 18-year-old heroine, the story includes ménage, a strongly “Dubcon” premise, and scenes of both nonconsensual intercourse and attempted rape. It also seems clear that I will need to write another blog post on this issue, in particular laying out why within the context of erotic fiction I regard "dub/noncon" and "rape" as distinct entities, though I would never make that argument about real life.


On a lighter note, I have redone my website, and I’m pretty sure this one looks a lot better than the old one. If you’ve OD’d on your daily diet of kitten videos and internet quizzes, go on over—I promise my site will help you waste at least another 90 seconds of your day. Here’s the link:

http://www.liliafordromance.com/


One thing I did add was a “WIP” page. For those of you who have been breathless for news about my current projects but are unwilling to expend the effort of clicking the link, here is a summary.


Title: College Bound
Genre: Contemporary/MMF ménage
Stage: Final editing



Title: Collared Prince and Other Tales
Genre: M/M alternative history
Stage: 40,000 words



Title: The Demon Lords of Oxford
Genre: M/M Fantasy
Stage: 15,000 words



Title: A Biddable Witch
Genre: Erotic Fantasy
Stage: 85,000 words

Book 1: Blood of Adonis
Prequel to The Heartwood Box: A Fairy Tale



Title: Classified Defiant
Genre: M/M Sci-fi
Stage: 6000 words
Prequel to The Slave Catcher

That's about it for my incredible, thrill-a-minute summer so far.  I'm probably going to see Guardians of the Galaxy this weekend, which does count as "going out," right?  Well, leaving my apartment at least.  And I have not lost hope that I will at least step foot on a beach during the month of August 2014.  Hope you guys are all having at least 45% more fun than me.  Stay Cool.

New Release: Pet to the Tentacle Monsters!

I am overjoyed to announce that my newest masterpiece, Pet to the Tentacle Monsters! is now live. First off, here is the amazing cover by Jared Rackler.

Here is the blurb:

It’s been more than twelve years since the alien invasion wiped out much of the human population and forced those who were left into Refugee Communes. As far as Benji Tucker is concerned, a life devoted to bare survival is boring as hell. But when a stupid prank threatens to bring disaster down on the entire commune, the Galactic Enforcers show up and announce Benji is now eligible for adoption—by the invaders!

He wakes in a plain white cell to find three very different monsters determined to make him their pet.

 

 And just so we're all clear on the story's subject matter, here is the Content Warning:

Warning: Adult Readers Only. Contains plenty of hot, non-consensual tentacle action, including but not limited to tentacle spanking, tentacle gagging, and tentacle-sex. Quite separately, it also contains an adorable pink-rainbow-sparkle tentacle monster. Those who dislike adorable pink rainbow sparkles or hot tentacle action should definitely not read this book.

As usual, I have done up a Pinterest Board for the story, which includes my casting choice for the hero, Benji Tucker. (Hint: he just starred in the movie The Fault in our Stars). There are also some cool pictures of tentacles, some wacky 1950s movie posters that were the inspiration for Jared's cover design, and anything else that struck me as appropriately Tentacley (or is it Tentaclesque?)

For those open to the more, ahem, probing imagery associated with the tentacle genre, especially that special marriage between tentacles and yaoi, I have also posted a select group of NSFW images on Tumblr. (That means XXX-rated, Dad!) Examine at your own risk.

Pet to the Tentacle Monsters is currently on sale for $2.99 at Amazon, Kobo Books, and Barnes & Noble.

Goodreads Review: His Whipping Boy by J. A. Jaken

Blurb:

Cedric de Breos was an average son from an average farmer’s family before he was chosen—by royal decree—to befriend Alain Tomolia, the solemn and enigmatic crown prince of Dunn. As Cedric dutifully pursues their strange friendship, he begins to suspect that Alain is haunted by a dark secret, one which has its roots sunk deep in the crown prince’s past. Cedric’s situation is complicated by the gradual realization that his intended purpose is not only to serve as companion to the crown prince but also as his surrogate in the whipping yard, taking the punishment for Alain’s misdeeds. Will Cedric find a way to come to terms with the resentment, pity, curiosity, and reluctant attraction he feels toward the crown prince, or will he allow the circumstances around them to command their fate?

Review:

Excellent. This pretty much epitomizes what I am looking for in a work of erotic fiction. Way too often, books like this turn out to be nothing more than a kinky set up. This is a full story about two genuinely complex leads, with an efficiently drawn fantasy/historical setting that was intriguing and plausible within the confines of the genre. Even more crucial, the "erotic" elements were not gratuitous or just for titillation, but were absolutely essential to the world being drawn and the characters' psychology. It also doesn't hurt that the story is beautifully written and, minus a few very modern sounding phrases like "suicidal ideation," carefully edited. I was really impressed by how much it does with its 50 pages. More than all of this, the story surprised me, continually moving in unexpected directions that opened up deeper insights into Jaken's characters while never totally doing away with their fundamental mystery. Highly recommend.

[Me being annoying and picky: what's with the cheesy, ugly cover! Totally does not do justice to this story.]

Rating: Four Stars

(Originally posted on Goodreads: link to Amazon)

Goodreads Reviews: Brute by Kim Fielding

Blurb:

Brute leads a lonely life in a world where magic is commonplace. He is seven and a half feet of ugly, and of disreputable descent. No one, including Brute, expects him to be more than a laborer. But heroes come in all shapes and sizes, and when he is maimed while rescuing a prince, Brute’s life changes abruptly. He is summoned to serve at the palace in Tellomer as a guard for a single prisoner. It sounds easy but turns out to be the challenge of his life.

Rumors say the prisoner, Gray Leynham, is a witch and a traitor. What is certain is that he has spent years in misery: blind, chained, and rendered nearly mute by an extreme stutter. And he dreams of people’s deaths—dreams that come true.

As Brute becomes accustomed to palace life and gets to know Gray, he discovers his own worth, first as a friend and a man and then as a lover. But Brute also learns heroes sometimes face difficult choices and that doing what is right can bring danger of its own.

Review:

There is a special kind of pleasure in books where we see dirty, broken places and people fixed up--repaired, scrubbed clean, properly fed, and healed. (Or movies: I am thinking of Cold Comfort Farm). This is one of those books. It happens first with Brute, who through an act of bravery is given the chance to escape the hopeless squalor of his life in the town where he was born. There he is friendless and exploited--treated as a beast of burden, cheated even when he works twice as hard as anyone else, with no hope of anything better. In his new home at the castle, all of the sudden he is able to make improvements to his life--a good job, new clothes, hot baths, clean sheets and good food lead to good friends, education, and then the chance to do the same for someone else.

Watching him and Gray get cleaned up, and then find healing and happiness in each other is incredibly satisfying, especially after how much each of them has suffered. All in all, a very well-done, enjoyable fable.

Rating: Five Stars

(Originally posted on Goodreads: Link to Amazon)