Sales, sales sales! {Won’t Back Down’s End of Life, Pride Month, and Pre-orders, OHHHH MY!}

 

Happy Pride Month, everyone! And happy June. Thankfully 2017 is almost half over. These last five months have felt like an entire year onto themselves. :S

So here’s something happy… sale time. During June, readers can purchase eBooks from Less Than Three Press’s book market for 20% off or more! Books that are reaching End of Life are available at 52% off until they reach their end date, pre-orders are available at 32% off, and print books are available at 25% off. Awesome savings across the board.

All of my works are part of the sale (including the anthologies I have stories in):

 

 

Won’t Back Down contains my novella, Rule Breaker, #0.5 in The Republic series. This is the last week RB will be available in this form until whenever I figure out what’s going to happen with it in the future. At $2.88 for 189,000 words spread out over 12 stories, this anthology is a HUGE deal!

Put that together with The Republic books #1, #2, and #3 and readers can get the first four stories in the series for under $18! Not to mention there are ALL THE OTHER BOOKS on the website with just as fantastic prices. There are soooooo many, so go check it out!

(This includes books from just a few of my favourite queer romance authors: Megan Derr, Sasha L. Miller, Lexi Ander, A.M. Valenza, A.F. Henley, and Victoria Zagar!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* Note: This sale applies only to books on LT3’s site, not at other retailers. But fear not! Their eBooks are available in mobi, pdf, and epub formats.

 

Cover Reveal & Pre-order!! Blood Borne (The Republic #3) is Coming July 2017! <3

 

It’s official: Blood Borne has a cover, a release date, a blurb, and pre-order link! *busts out the confetti and bubble machines*

Thanks to the amazing, magical cover design goddess, Natasha Snow, and Less Than Three Press for this cover! It’s a perfect fit for the story: dark and sinister but colourful with a touch of life. That’s pretty much the characters’ lives in a nutshell.

Blood Borne is the story of Ress, previously introduced in Four, and Adren, a new character with a key role in the series. There’s a lot addressed in the book. On one hand, it’s a story about being a survivor, trying being a good person despite terrible circumstances, and going forward even when you’re falling apart and giving up. What happens when you’re isolated in toxic power games, watching horrible things happen, and you can only do so much without losing absolutely everything.

On the other hand, the book is about identity and being seen and accepted for who you are, even when you don’t know all the answers about yourself. About saving yourself when no one else will, rising up from oppression and harmful emotional/mental conditioning, and doing what’s right in the face of adversity.

There’s more to it, but that’s for later. Right now, here’s the C O V E R!

 

 

 

 

Publication date: July 12, 2017
Genres: Fantasy, romance
Series: The Republic
LGBTQA+ identities: Asexual, non-binary, genderqueer, trans*, panromantic

 

For Ress, survival is a complicated nightmare. Caught between two masters on different sides of the law, his life is falling apart one bad decision at a time. All he wants is to be is a good person, a loyal family man, and a successful metalsmith–a dream he can never obtain while he works for the Shar-denn, the violent gang that plagues the republic of Kattal.

To make matters worse, he works as an informant for the High Council. He scrapes through both jobs waiting for his last breath. As the Shar-denn motto says: the only way out is dead.

No stranger to living complicated decisions, Adren is caught between worlds of cir own. As the child of a Shar-denn faction boss, cir life is a conflicted tangle of expectation and duty. When cir family is arrested, Adren manages to escape, but nowhere is safe. Desperate and on the run, Adren is determined to punish Ress for turning in cir family. No one who betrays the gang can live. Ress must pay the price, even if Adren has to go against everything ce is.

 

*  Pre-order the eBook from Less Than Three Press for 15% off!  *

{Available as mobi, ePub, and PDF. Pre-ordering from the publisher directly gets you the book the night before release day!}

 

You can also add it on Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35069062-blood-borne

 

Updates & Book Sale! ONLY 3 DAYS LEFT! {30% Off *All* LT3 Press Books + A Chance to Win THINGS}

 

It’s been another long month and a half since my last post, where The Head Cold of Head Colds was in full effect. I got over that ick situation… only to find myself in a new one. Following said HCoHC, I was left with permanently messed-up vision, complete with the need to wear an eye patch while trying to work. (Note: Wearing an eye patch AND glasses over it is SO not comfortable.)

Since then, I’ve met with an optometrist and got new glasses. Turns out my right eye is better than my last prescription and my left eye is dramatically worse and “cause for [some] concern” due to one of a few possible issues. (There was a lot of hmmm-ing during my eye exam and quizzical looks, though the exact cause is still a mystery, especially since my answers didn’t fall in line with other anticipated symptoms. I swear my cold did it, but apparently diabetes is a highly likely culprit. That or stress. SIGH.)

The good news is that my new glasses are fixing the problem so I can work again. \o/

That takes me to the great news:

(1) I received the cover for Blood Borne a few weeks ago! It’s lovelyyyyy, thanks to the always awesome Natasha Snow. (And by “lovely” I mean sinister, colourful, and holds a very special, unique place in the series.) I’m sitting on it until I have a release date and blurb, but the reveal is coming soon!

(2) I sent the completed first round of Blood Borne edits back to the publisher not too long ago.  I’m expecting a summer release date.

(3) Since I have my reading abilities back, I’ve resumed edits on Soulbound. There’s SO MUCH to do. Chop, chop, chop.

 

But Hey, There’s a SALE!!!
ON BOOKS!

 

It’s April, meaning it’s my publisher’s anniversary. Less Than Three Press is 8 years old, so they’ve been hosting a massive 30% OFF sale on ALL of their books ALL MONTH, plus a really awesome raffle, and multiple giveaways. There aren’t just grand prizes but also giveaways on the company’s Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr account.

There’s only 3 days left in the sale, so head on over and check out all the awesome works by my publisher brethren!

For the official  information on how to enter the raffle and everything anniversary, visit LT3’s website. Note: This sale applies only to books on their site, not at other retailers. But fear not! Their eBooks are available in mobi, pdf, and epub formats.

 

 

 

On a shameless promotional note, this means all of my books are available at 30% off at LT3. Until the end of April 30th, you can purchase any of them as eBooks for less than $5 each.

(Psssst… This is a great time to catch up on The Republic series before the next book comes out! Here’s the series reading order: Rule Breaker [The Republic #0.5] in the Won’t Back Down anthology + A Question of Counsel + Four.)

{For the Clan is a standalone sci fi-fantasy-dystopian, and the Enchanted Soles anthology contains my urban fantasy, Heart, Lace, and Soul, with four other fabulous stories. Click here or on the graphic below to see the listings for them all!}

 

Annnnnnnd the clock tells me it’s 8:30am, meaning it’s bedtime! (I am vampire, hear me hiss.) Have a lovely Friday, folks.

 

To Live A Dragon (new WIP), Soulbound Edits, and a Cold I’d Like to Boot

 

Welcome to March. It’s been a while since I last posted, mostly because I’ve been editing but partially because I’ve been sick. Productivity has been at 0% for the last several days thanks to a nasty cold that’s rolling out headaches like they’re in style and screwing with my vision. Things are still pretty ick and my clarity’s in and out, but here’s an update!

 

Soulbound: Currently in Editing Mode

The big news: I finished the first draft of Soulbound at the end of January. \o/

Of course, it ended up being a whopping 173,500 words. A BRICK.

Yeah, that was so not the plan but mea culpa. Instead of sticking to Story A + B like the rest of the series, there’s A + B + C, split between two perspectives. Seeing as all of it converges, removing any of the story lines actually screws it up and alters later stories.

With that in mind, February was all about cutting back. The second draft currently sits at 149,000 words — not great, but better. (For comparison: an average novel for adults is usually between 50,000 and 120,000 words. Several epic fantasy/high fantasy novels like George R.R. Martin’s are somewhere between 150,000 and 200,000, which I’m no stranger to but not aiming for.) Once I’ve recovered, I’ll see about trashing a few thousand more words. So… there’s that. At least the first draft is done. I don’t feel as bogged-down and depressed as I did.

 

To Live A Dragon: New WIP!

I mentioned To Live A Dragon in January, but I didn’t have much except a loose plot. But once I watched the first episode of The Shannara Chronicles, everything changed.

Fact: when I get TV shows, movies, or books, I often don’t watch/read them right away. I shelve them until I’m ready. In the case of TSC, I’d put off watching it while I worked on my books. I adore Terry Brooks’ Shannara series (I’ve been reading his books since I was 12, maybe younger), but I didn’t want his world and my world getting all smashed up. So I waited until I had a clear head… which was absolutely brilliant because when I heard the opening song — “Until We Go Down” by Ruelle — THINGS poured out. I went from no story to ALL the story. Everything came up dragons.

 

 

Additionally, I found Ruelle’s “This Is the Hunt” (theme song from the TV show, Shadowhunters), “Where Do We Go From Here?“, “War of Hearts“, plus the rest of Ruelle’s catalogue and related artists (including Fleurie’s “Hurts Like Hell“). I’ve also been listening to The Phantom of the Opera soundtrack, Sarah Brightman, and Nightwish.

I’m so excited to be working on this project. It’s my first dragon story! More about it:

 

Genre: High fantasy + paranormal + urban fantasy
Paranormal aspect: Dragon shifters!

Characters: Paise & Kildee
Relationship: M (gay) / M (homoromantic asexual)

 

In a world where dragons are considered myths and frightening beasts of creative proportions, living as a dragon shifter requires secrecy above all else — a fact Paise Deschita has paid for with his life. After an accidental shift gone wrong, Paise went from successful structural engineer and city architect to dragon corpse, downed by military forces that feared he was an alien incursion or a terrorist attack.

That was when the rest of his life began.

Paise died a mortal of the Zunitsa nation but woke up a resident of Aramyra, the dragon afterworld. Surrounded by dragon shifters, full-blooded dragons, and allies of dragonkind, Paise is not alone in his tragedy. With the help of Kildee lale Morove, a shifter who died centuries before Paise was born, Paise has adjusted to his new home, a land where magic is everywhere and all dragons are safe. Thanks to a band of sympathetic mages, the dragons’ souls are tethered and controlled by their will, each bound to an egg kept in safeguarded hoards. Should any dragon wish to return to the world of the living, they have two choices: break their egg and be resurrected or take their egg to a mage and be reborn.

For Paise, staying dead is better than a second life. Though Paise has a secret too difficult to keep: he’s fallen in love with Kildee. After fifteen years of friendship, he wants to be boyfriends or even more — mates. Except Kildee doesn’t appear to feel the same, and asking to be more could end what they have.

But when Kildee disappears, his egg broken by a thief, it could be the end of their very deaths.

The people on the other side can’t be trusted, and the world is nothing like the one Kildee knew. If Paise is going to bring Kildee home, there’s only one way: rejoin the living and save Kildee from whatever nightmare awaits, even if it means facing fears that have never been gone or buried.

 

There’s so much more, but that’s the gist. Other highlights:

• Paise and Kildee are complete opposites. Paise is very much a fire, earth, and stone type dragon: heavy, stubborn with a temper, and has the capacity to go completely Smaug on people. Kildee is chill, calm, all water, air, and ice — much more a pacifist…. unless he’s cornered.
• Paise has a rugged, rocker vibe from the 1990s/2000s, and his idea of a shiny is the best motorcycle available, all chrome and expensive. Body modifications of note: full tattoo sleeves on both arms and dragon scales embedded in his back. Meanwhile, Kildee is a proper Victorian-esque gentlemen, three-piece suits and all. He used to be a Master Principal Artist, having achieved the roles of principal dancer, singer, and actor for an elite performance arts company. He’s classically trained, is very sweet on the eyes, and loves wearing shiny jewels, but also costumes and glitter.
• And for those who want to see more aces in literature: Kildee is. He’s down with romantic gestures but not really with much more than that, and he doesn’t respond to sexual jokes/commentary or enjoy anything particularly lewd. Not to say he doesn’t like being courted — he revels in it, but only if the wooer actually pays attention to who he is and respects what he’s comfortable with. Sadly, the list of people who’ve done so is woefully short. He’s had it tough. But I promise this story has a happy ending.

 

So there’s the update for now. No doubt I’ll have something new in a few weeks!

 

 

FOUR Blog Tour & Giveaway with Xpresso Book Tours!

 

 

Four is on tour again this month! Once more, I’ve hooked up with Xpresso Book Tours for a review tour, complete with giveaway. There’s a chance for *4* lucky winners to win Amazon gift cards! Two winners will get a $10 gift card and two winners get a $5 gift card.

The tour runs all this week until this coming Saturday, February 11. Here’s the schedule, which will be updated with the specific links as the tour progresses. You can visit any of the posts to take part in the giveaway or follow this link to the Rafflecopter!

Huge thanks to all the bloggers and readers who are on the tour with me.   ♥♥♥

 

 

FOUR Blog Tour & Giveaway with Signal Boost Promotions!

 

 

Four is on tour this month! Thanks to Signal Boost Promotions, I’ve hooked up with a handful of bloggers on a quick tour complete with giveaway. There’s a chance for *4* lucky winners to get a $5 Amazon gift card! (See what I did there?)

Below are links to every tour stop up to today. I’ll be updating this post with the links to the other two posts as they come in. But you can visit ANY of the posts to take part in the giveaway! (It ends on January 21.)

Huge, huge, huge thanks to all the bloggers who are on the tour with me!   ♥♥♥

•••

 

January 9, 2017 – Interview @ Prism Book Alliance
Read about the characters and why I’m proud of Four, plus more on my writing process, what’s in my bedside table, how the world will end, and more!

 

January 12, 2017 – Guest post @ The Novel Approach
A little piece about one of the most major themes in Four: “The 4 Cs of True Love” and why these guys are so dear to my heart.

 

January 13, 2017 – Interview @ Queer Sci Fi
Read about when I started writing, what I wanted to be when I grew up, why I’d love to sit down and chat with George Orwell, plus learn about the furbaby who helps me write! >>>

 

January 18, 2017 – Guest post @ Diverse Reader
What’s the significance of “four” in the book? Why is it more than a mere number? I talk theme and threads in this guest post.

 

January 20, 2017 – Guest post @ Love Bytes
So just how did Mayr steal the series out from under pretty much everyone? Over at Love Bytes, I go into how Four came around thanks to a sexy plot bunny.

 

2017: What I’m Up To & Where I’m Going… Maybe. Sort of. Kinda?

 

Last week I revisited 2016 and waved it bye-bye ’cause it’s sooooo last year. (Yeah, I went there. I’ve been binge-watching Project Runway. Bad puns can, and will, happen!) This week, I’m delving into what’s currently on my desk and what’s coming up in 2017!

 

Literature of the Writer’s Present

At the moment, there’s only one project taking up all. my. time: Soulbound, which I started this past June. I had hoped to have the first draft finished in the fall but surprise, I’m still writing it. The length of the manuscript is mostly to thank: it’s twice as long as expected. The manuscript is at 155k with another 15k left… It’s a beast. >.<

Having said that, I’m happy to announce the first draft is *this close* to being finished. Within a couple chapters, it’ll be done and ready for editing, which will likely take 2 months given my rigorous process (*cough cough* perfectionist *cough cough*).  I’m hoping to cut it by 30k.

For those who have read Four, this is a sequel in the Mayr & Tash love story. I hadn’t originally planned on writing another book for them — just a novella — but now they’re getting three books. Four brought them together and showed them what could have; Soulbound is where things really change for them as a couple rather than just individuals. They get to explore the future rather than being stuck in the past. There’s plenty of drama and sweet, fluffy love stuff. (It gets pretty saccharine!) There’s also an MMF relationship — part of their “growing up”. Nothing will ever be the same. *curious music playing in the background*

 

 

Rubbing the Magic Eight Ball and Seeing the Future…

In terms of new releases, 2017 will be quiet. Only two stories are on the roster: Blood Borne (The Republic #3) and Prince of Patches.

Blood Borne is awaiting edits, so I don’t have further information. My guess is it’ll come out in the summer. More info to come.

Prince of Patches is also in edits, though in the second round. This is a sweet short story I’ve written for a special project I can’t talk about yet. I can say the story is a New Adult fantasy-paranormal romance with a cute spin on shifters. When the release information comes out, I’ll definitely post all about it!

That’s it for publications themselves. Most of this year will be about producing new stuff. Here’s a glimpse of projects I’ll (likely) be working on in 2017:

 

{#1} To Live a Dragon

Genre: Fantasy + paranormal
Relationship: M/M

Dragon shifters! Originally I planned to write this for LT3’s For the Hoard collection call but due to time restraints, I’ve decided to work it as a general submission. I’d rather go into the project relaxed and ready than stressed out.

The story involves the dragon afterlife and what happens when someone screws with it. I have an idea of what things look like but some things are still fuzzy. There will also be research involved, meaning a few weeks of reading, planning, and outlining like a fiend.

 

 

{#2} Ashsender (Kindle Overthrow #1)

Genre: Science fiction
Relationship: M/M (bisexual / gay)

Executioners. Corpse Collectors. Assassins. Corrupt businesses and a government falling, falling, falling through the intergalactic wasteland…

This is where my next series is going to go: dark, M/M science fiction in a world that’s pretty messed up. And this series will be conjoined at the hip with a second series, Kindle Redemption (F/F sci fi). Both series will exist in the same universe, sharing characters, issues, and the same office.

Ashsender will kick off these series. It features Evesen, a Collector (retired) for the Strategeum of Population Management and Resource Allocation, and Lexxen, a corporate-owned assassin. One is a political slave who found out the government wasn’t sending him to clean up the trouble or criminals in the universe like they said but using him to dispel of innocent people who pose threats to the system; the other thought he’d rid the universe of scum but ended up working for them. (I know… the happiest of concepts. Did I mention I don’t usually do fluffy?)

This will be a story about young love that got away, redemption, and doing everything in your power to save the one you love. Even if it means hacking the system, full-out recons with all the dangerous toys, and generally just kicking ass. Evesen and Lexxen are faced with saving each other from the holes they’ve been thrown into. This is their refresher in humanity. A chance to fight back and challenge the status quo. They’ve been kicked around so long, it’s time to bite back. Smells like rebellion.

I have an entire post ready to go once I start writing it. It’s currently in the outlining stage. But it’s written up in my head, right down to the Fuck Me card.

*evil smile*

 

 

{#3} FSF Corp. #1

Genre: Paranormal + science fiction
Relationship: ?

The FSF Corp. series is going to be a mashup: paranormal meets science fiction, where the paranormal is manufactured and the science is money-making. The idea came from the submission calls for LT3’s My Dearest Friend and My Dearest Enemy collections. I’d played with the idea of submitting a story to each collection where the stories were connected. Again, time got in the way, so I shelved the concept — but not completely. In the last few months, I’ve built on the possibilities, playing with new ideas. I’m finally getting near the point where I’ll commit.

The intention is for the series to be fun, quirky, and odd. I’d really love to channel my love for things like The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Doctor Who, and Stargate: Atlantis with the paranormal, the abnormal, and the corporate. It’s a series I’d like to work on as a break between heavier works. The first book looks like it’ll deal with alternate dimensions/reality and the ghostly plane. In the rest of the series, there will be vampires, banshees, shifters, faeries, and so on but with a spin: they’re manufactured and customized, sold and experienced by clients. It’s a business complete with contracts, investments, academia, R&D, and all those things. And no one knows a thing about the guy who owns the company… or his big secret.

I have a lot of research to do!! I’ll be burying my nose in science publications as well as folklore and history. It’s all the reason I need to camp out at the university libraries like I used to. ^_^

 

 

{#4} Hunter (The Republic #5)

Genre: High fantasy
Relationship: M/M (both bisexual)

If you’ve read Four, you’ve met Rathen, one of the MCs in this book. The surly bounty hunter gets the most unlikely boyfriend in this one: Nerrik, a pretty politician who isn’t what Rathen anticipates.

Funny story: I started this story well before writing A Question of Counsel but put it aside to focus on AQoC. Then came all the other stories and this one got pushed back. Once I outlined the series, I figured out where Hunter would go, except I wasn’t grooving with the original outline so I’ve wanted to rework the chapters I’d already laid down. It felt too blah.

At the beginning of 2016, I came up with fresh material and ways to fix the story. Turns out all I needed was a few more elements to twist up the characters. With those in place, the rest of the story has just tumbled out in a collection of notes I can plug into a new outline. It’s totally renewed my interest in writing it. And all that’s spawned notes all over the place for other books and situations in the series.

I won’t go too far into the plot right now, though I will say there’s a quest. And snarkiness mixed with sweet moments among other things. Rathen and Nerrik form a very special relationship that will be unique to them in the series. It’s going to be an interesting ride.

 

 

{#5} Light from Shadow (The Republic #6)

Genre: High fantasy
Relationship: F/F (pansexual / lesbian)

This book follows directly on the heels of Hunter. Since they’re closely tied, I’m considering writing them relatively at the same time. Ideally, I’d like to submit them to the publisher within two or three months of each other so they’ll be published close together.

Where Hunter was Rathen’s story, this will be Kirra’s. Kirra is Rathen’s bounty hunting partner and occasional fuck buddy. They’re also best friends and best friends with Gren from Rule Breaker. This book is what happens when Kirra’s thing for Councilman Severn comes to light…

It’s going to be hot. It’s going to be sexy. It’s going to hurt.

Severn is abrasive and a hardass. As Councilman of Public Protection, she’s 100% not fluffy and glittery. Most of her time is spent worrying about the nation’s assholes and managing bounty hunters, soldiers, and anyone to do with law enforcement. Showing weakness could kill her career. But then there’s Kirra: fun-loving, badass, and too pretty to keep ignoring… Yep, it’s going to be fun.

 

 

So that’s my 2017 in a glance! How much of it happens just like that, we’ll see. One word right after another, right? And a pinch of How’d That Happen?!? just to keep things interesting.