A Pretty Cover and an Ugly, No-Spirit-Of-The-Season-HERE Rant

Looky! It's a cover!

Fortune's Fool, an anthology of erotic fiction based on the theme of psychic phenomena, is set for release by Phaze in Spring of 2007. Contributing authors include Bianca D'Arc, Eva Gale, Cassidy Kent and ME!! And...AND...it's likely going into print and will be carried by at least some Borders and maybe a couple of other chains, as well as a few indie bookstores.

Pardon me whilst I sqeeeeeee at a frequency only dogs can hear.

My contribution is titled "Flesh and Bone." It's a trés dark and violent little tale of an eeeeeevil Dominatrix with Daddy Issues, and what happens when an undercover police detective and an English professor find themselves caught in her scary-ass web.

One of my crit partners* has suggested that I might get into some trouble with BDSM community over my portrayal of violence and murder as part of the "lifestyle." My initial reaction to that was...huh? It's fiction. Readers are smart enough to understand that the creating of fictional characters and fictional worlds isn't an automatic indictment of how real people live their lives, no matter how they choose express their sexuality or affection or WHATEVER.

But then I thought about it. And I saw how some folks could get bent out of shape over seeing people who practice their lifestyle made out to be villains. So I'm going to include a disclaimer at the start of my novella -- editor willing -- that says the following:

"The people depicted in this work of fiction are not real. Any resemblance to real life is entirely coincidental. Furthermore, the vast majority of people who live and play within the BDSM lifestyle are not insane, violent or murderous. This story just happens to be about some who are."

There's a part of me that rebels at including this disclaimer. Because where will it end?

"This is fiction. The vast majority of people who: are of Italian descent/ are of Irish descent/ are of *fill in the blank* descent, and/or are cops/ are doctors/ are hedge fund organizers, and/or have: blond/brunette/red/black hair, blue/green/gray/brown eyes, live in apartments/townhouses/ranch-style duplexes/mansions/huts/caves... are not bad guys. Because remember? This is fiction."

Hello?

While I'm all for being sensitive, inclusive and even politically correct if it avoids hurt feelings, I'll be damned if I'll write bland, faceless, identity-free villains just to keep people from losing their shit over something so inane.

Ahem. Pass the @#$$%^& eggnog.

*Have I mentioned my crit partners? I LOVE my crit partners. ADORE. WORSHIP. Would not get SHIT-ALL done if it weren't for knowing how I'd disappoint them** if I chucked it all in to become a Girl Scout Leader and President of the local PTA.

**Psssst. Don't tell anybody, but I don't fear their disappointment nearly as much as I do their wrath. Seriously. You don't want to piss these people off. Barbara in particular. The girl doesn't make idle threats. And Eva? She has fruitcake and is not afraid to use it. The less said about Don, the better. Scaaaaary dude. Really. You can't possibly even imagine. Or you might, if you read his books -- particularly ADVENT, which is the darkest of dark thrillers and is set in the month of December. Ho-Ho-Run! Hide! That sound you hear isn't sleighbells.It's the Angel of Death and he's coming for YOU! *cowers*

SelahMarch.com - Romance of Dubious Virtue

In Which José And I Stare Each Other Down

Say you send out a partial manuscript to a publisher, and the kind, sweet, lovely, incredibly insightful editor requests the full. A few weeks later, the same editor informs you that she's leaving said publisher, and your manuscript will be passed along to someone else.

Should you:

a) Break out the Cuervo. At least she informed you of the switch, and hey...she could've just rejected it outright as she cleaned off her desk in preparation to go. This probably means you've still got a pretty good shot.

b) Break out the Cuervo. The kind, sweet, lovely, incredibly insightful editor was the one who liked the manuscript enough to request the full. What are the chances the new editor will like it as well? Pretty small, because you're just not lucky like that. Ho-freakin'-ho, and pass the salt.

c) Break out the Cuervo. There's nothing you can do about it either way, so you might as well put that lime that came in the fruit basket from your Aunt Bonnie to good use.

d) Tell José to sit his damn self down and quit beggin' like a dog for attention, because you're busy writing. Dammit. Two deadlines in the next month, remember? The lime will keep, and there's always more salt in the cupboard.

In the past six hours, I've considered each option carefully. Anyone care to guess which one I chose?

In other news, two nice reviews:

From Ellie McBride at RomanceNews.org, for LIE TO ME:
"Wise-cracking MJ Peters has secrets to keep, but Drew Donnelly is shaking her world to its core. When MJ finds a blood-stained note with an ominous message, she hopes it isn't meant for her. And when the handsome Drew shows up he seems to have more information than he should. In this fast-paced, short novel...from Selah March we get chuckles and plenty of action, a mystery, and lots of sexual tension. Selah March definitely has her pacing and dialogue down. LIE TO ME is quick, clever, and jammed with movement. A snappy, satisfying read."

5 HEARTS from A.J. Cove at TheRomanceStudio.com for TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT:
"The love scenes in this novella are so passionate and well-written, the reader will get caught in them from the first word to the last. Jack is such an excellent lover, that I forgave him for everything he put Laura through, every time he touched her.

Laura has her chance throughout this story to tell her side of the state of her and Jack’s relationship. She makes plain her willingness to lay everything down for him. Yet even as she sits waiting for his attention, the real focus of this story is Jack and his sexy transformation into the ultimate vampire lover, with plenty of hot descriptions of his hungry bites in various places on Laura’s body.

This story is very hot, very sexy and extremely well-written. It keeps the reader panting for more even as the couple face danger in a ravaged city. My only regret in To Have and To Have Not is that it was not longer, so I could enjoy Jack much much more."

Have a fantastic weekend. :)

SelahMarch.com - Romance of Dubious Virtue