"Hour of the Lotus" E-Book Now Available!

My new novella, "Hour of the Lotus", is out from Dreamspinner Press as of today!

You can purchase it on Amazon for $3.99 or directly from the publisher's website at a slight discount.

Here's the blurb:

"General Sho Iwata is devastated when the man he secretly loves, Prince Narita, is struck with a mysterious illness. To make matters worse, the servants assigned to sit up with the prince at night have been falling asleep, leaving him unattended.

Iwata's current lover, Hiroshi, is well aware of the general's unrequited passion. But that isn’t his biggest problem. His sister is Narita’s favorite consort, but Hiroshi believes she has been replaced by an imposter. When he convinces Iwata to investigate, they discover the true cause of the prince’s illness. Iwata will fight to save the man he loves, and Hiroshi will fight for his sister, but if they want to save the prince and find justice, they first have to battle an ancient spirit and survive."

I've had an excellent experience working with Dreamspinner Press  (in case you want to know!). They're organized, quick to respond and willing to help an author out with any questions they might have.

Now, if you do read "Hour of the Lotus", please please please leave a review on Amazon or the Dreamspinner Press website.  Don't pat me on the head and tell me it's good; I have a mother to do that for me. Leave an HONEST review. It's all I ask.

Huh? It's too small? Well, any box in a storm, I say.

Novella News!

My novella, Hour of the Lotus, will be coming out on May 29th from Dreamspinner Press. The price will be $3.99. Here's a blurb to help you decide if you want it!

"General Sho Iwata is devastated when the man he secretly loves, Prince Narita, is struck with a mysterious illness. To make matters worse, the servants assigned to sit up with the prince at night have been falling asleep, leaving him unattended.

Iwata's current lover, Hiroshi, is well aware of the general's unrequited passion. But that isn’t his biggest problem. His sister is Narita’s favorite consort, but Hiroshi believes she has been replaced by an imposter. When he convinces Iwata to investigate, they discover the true cause of the prince’s illness. Iwata will fight to save the man he loves, and Hiroshi will fight for his sister, but if they want to save the prince and find justice, they first have to battle an ancient spirit and survive."

And if that doesn't get you, here's the cover by the very talented Anne Cain:

(I love this picture, it's a little Blade of the Immortal, a little Yoshitaka Amano, and all awesome). The story is very loosely based on an old folktale that is sometimes collected under the title "The Vampire Cat" (in the world of this novella, however, cats- as one character points out- are able to interact with the spirit world but rarely bother; the same way they rarely bother to interact with this world, ha).

So a mere nine days from now you can pick it up at this website.

Love it, hate it, whatever you think about it let me know. 

Short Fiction Rocks!

A Short Film That Reminds Us Short Fiction is SF's Lifeblood

The link title pretty much says it all. In fact, short stories are the lifeblood of many genres, not just SF- where would horror and erotica be without short fiction?

Short fiction is an entirely different animal from novels. Some authors can write great short stories, but can't write a decent novel; other are reversed, and still others can do both with equal skill.

I used to think I was a better short story writer than a novelist, but lately I've had a hell of a time writing anything under 10,000 words (the dreaded bastard-length 'novelette', which has few markets). I'm not sure why I'm having such difficulty recently. Maybe my brain is shifting into 'long form' phase. Hopefully it will shift back soon, because I enjoy the unique challenge short fiction offers- with less space to explain, you really need to use your words as efficiently as possible.

In closing, here is some advice from a better writer than me, one who I think was a far superior short story author than a novelist (hmm, this might get me flamed):

Kurt Vonnegut Tells You How to Write a Short Story

Boxes for Big Cats

I have a cat. She is a 15-pound monster with a cranky attitude and fur that she sheds relentlessly, all year long.

She also likes boxes. You can't leave any box on the floor and come back to not find Mei Mei sitting in it. Even little kid shoeboxes; somehow she manages to stuff her fat ass in there.

As this video shows, all cats like boxes. Even really big ones.

Boxes for Big Cats