A report from the trenches.

Figuratively speaking, of course. Or... maybe not.

I've been struggling with a wayward muse as of late, but I'm starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. So, what have I got in the works...?

First up, I'm working on a YA novel starring two gay Alabama college students, one of whom is autistic. (This will be under a different pen name, though, to keep young eyes from finding Myc's stuff.)

Second, I'm slowly but surely working with Shayne to get TPA 3 (Forever May Not Be Long Enough) into some semblance of a working novel. :P

Third, I've got a story to do for Torquere's new Spice It Up line. My spice? Clove. :D

Fourth, I'm bound and determined, come hell or high water, to write a novel (fantasy) for Tor or Daw, damn it. I WILL do it!

In the meantime... My upcoming release, 'Necessary Evil: Two of Wands' (Torquere's Arcana line) is a sequel to mine and Shayne's Pearl Birthstone, 'Sight Unseen.' It's in the Inferi Brotherhood line of the Romanorum series. Here's the blurb and a little teaser. ;)

BLURB:
Lance Shaw knows life with his lover Triarius is anything but dull, but when Triarius tells him about a vampiric son named Aldrich, Lance isn't sure what to think. To make matters worse, Triarius' trusted friend and general, Apollonius, has arrived to help with bringing Aldrich to justice for his crimes against the Romanorum, and Lance finds himself drawn to the general despite his reservations. It isn't until he stumbles upon what is intended as a private moment that Lance realizes there was -- and possibly still is -- something deeper than friendship between Triarius and Apollonius.

Just as the three of them come to an arrangement, however, Aldrich pays the Inferi Brotherhood a visit, armed to the teeth and ready to take over his Father's rule by force. Can Lance, Triarius, and Apollonius keep their people -- and their hearts -- safe? Or will an announcement from Triarius seal their fates once and for all?

***

EXCERPT:
"A Son. You have a Son?"

"Vampirically speaking, yes." Triarius didn't seem inclined to elaborate, which meant I had the rather unpleasant task of hounding him until he talked. Since he’d returned from his brief visit with his Father Diocourides, Triarius had been quieter than usual. I had the feeling his Son, whom I'd heard nothing about before, had something to do with it. "You're angry."

"A bit," I admitted. "You having a Son doesn't bother me. It's the fact that you kept it from me. I’m your lover. I have a right to know, don’t I?"

Triarius sighed and stood. "What's done is done. You know now."

"Goddamn it!" I grabbed his arm before he could walk away, ignoring the look he gave me that would've scared the piss out of anyone else. "When were you planning on telling me?"

"And say what? Admit that I failed as a Father? That Aldrich was my worst mistake?" Triarius jerked free and backed me up against the wall, voice low. "Or would you rather I told you with his blood on my hands after I slit his throat?"

I swallowed. "You're going to kill him? Why?"

Triarius spun on his heel and started for the door. "Because he threatened to destroy everything my Father and I have worked for," he shot over his shoulder before slamming the bedroom door behind him.

What had just happened?

I blinked, still standing in the middle of the bedroom, wondering what I’d said to piss him off so much. A lot of parents, even vampires, I imagined, went through the whole "I’m a bad parent thing", right? So why was Triarius making such a big deal out of it? I sighed and raked a hand through my hair. There were times when I really didn’t understand the man and his moods. He was over two thousand years old, sure, but he still acted like a damn teenager sometimes. Then again, having done the math, I’d finally realized a while back that he’d been eighteen when Dio turned him.

How I managed to get myself into these things, I didn’t quite know.

One thing I did know, however, was that I needed to find him. I hated fighting with him, and I much preferred a smile or a breathy moan coming from those lips than a frown or an angry growl. Sighing, I left our bedroom and went in search of my temperamental lover. I found him in the Council room, staring out the window onto his underground empire. He didn’t move or speak when I closed the door, but when I slipped my arms around his waist, one of his hands covered mine.

“I’m sorry.”

“I know I am not perfect,” he said quietly.

“No one has ever asked you to be. No one is perfect, Triarius.”

“But as a ruler, as a Father, I’d hoped to be.” He finally leaned back against me and I closed my eyes as I nuzzled his hair, breathing him in. “I’m tired, Lance.”

“Somehow I don’t think you mean in terms of needing sleep.”

“No.”