Happy New Year, readers, friends, and fans alike! I hope you had a wonderful set of holidays and are ready to take on 2014!
I have no hard feelings toward 2013, which is the first time I can say that about a year in... quite a few of them. It started off fairly rocky, but by April I was in a good groove and ready to tackle my schedule. I ended up getting a lot done in 2013. Five novels and... pffft... I dunno how many shorts! Seven? Let's say seven. I published probably around half a million words and have just as lofty goals this year.
So what does 2014 have in store for me? (And by extension, in store for my readers?) Most of you will be happy to know that this will be another (and probably final!) year of REN'AI RENSAI. I plan on rounding out the series with two more novels and two more spin-offs. One of those is in production right now and slated to drop at the end of February. There will be at least one short, but for the most part I think I'm done with those as I'm tapped out of ideas.
While I have the first half of 2014 pretty well thought out, I'm not sure about the second half. After book 7 of RR (currently untitled) I may go many different ways. I have a couple of "for fun" side projects related to the series I would like to round off with, but I will follow my muse at that point. There has been a non-RR lesbian romance cooking in my head since early 2012, and I am eager to write it. I plan on writing it when I finish the rounds of RR, as a segway into my next projects.
You see, for many years now I have also been a fantasy writer. I write both high fantasy and urban fantasy, with an emphasis on the urban as of late. For many of these years I have been working here and there on a large scale fantasy series that I originally intended to be my debut. But it went into the editing drawer and I've only recently started working on it again. It is my intention to have this series ready to start publishing either by the end of this year or the beginning of next. Depending on my RR schedule, that is.
For those of you who have come along on this ride with me because of my lesbian romances, I don't want to scare you off! Most conventional publishing wisdom says that you should only have one genre under each name. Well, I do have some pen names for my bread and butter projects (even though RR is very prolific... would you believe me if I told you that it's actually my creative escape?) that I adhere to this advice with, but I've had a long time to think about my "author brand." As you probably know, I am Hildred Billings. Since I was a little kid I knew I was going to be an author one day, and it was going to be as Hildred Billings, damnit. My name means a lot to me. Anything I slap my real name on is going to be straight from my heart, from the innermost creative workings of my brain. RR means a lot to me. You really have no idea. Many of the stories and the characters you have read come straight from my personal experiences, from Reina's gender dysphoria and Jun's crippling disbelief that anyone would sincerely love her, from the hurtful things Aiko has heard to even some events in Saya's past.
That's why I want to assure my readers that anything I write under this name comes straight from the parts of myself that I hold most sacred. My "author brand" is, in essence, who I am. And as a gay woman I will always be writing about my fellow women (and some men) who love each other. I hesitate to say that my brand is "women who love women" because that could always change. But for the next few years at least, it is who I am!
So even though I will gradually move on to focusing more on fantasy projects (although you can't keep me away from romances, so those will definitely pop up when the mood strikes) you can rest assure that it will be with the same force as always. In CROSS//, the series I've been talking about for the past few paragraphs, "queer identity" is a huge theme. Two out of three MCs are women who desire other women and make no qualms about it. In fact, you will probably be VERY interested to know that one of those women? Is Michiko from RR. ;) (You read that right. What, you thought her weirdass backstory was just there to confuse you? Nope!) Both series take place in the same "world," so to speak, so many characters that you already love will be making appearances! (Did you know that Reina, Aiko, Yuri and Michiko were all from CROSS// originally? RR is technically a spinoff! Or is it the other way around now?)
Regardless, I have big plans for 2014. I thank each and every one of you for your support throughout 2013, and look forward to you joining me as we go through the new year. Some things will change a little, but not the things that count. ;)
Real quick post this week as I've got...things to do. Like writing! and playing Sims 3.
Sent off Book 2 of Ren'Ai Rensai to editing and am about 1/3 of the way through with the first draft of Book 3. I'm hoping to do the cover/title/blurb reveal of Book 2, alongside a tentative release date, on November 1st. (If you've bought "DAISUKI." and read through to the end, then you already know the title and the short, short blurb! Lucky you!)
Still have no idea what I want to do for Nanowrimo. Usually I work on a CROSS// story but I don't think I'll have time this year. Odds are I'll do odds and ends for Ren'Ai Rensai, but dear god, what to put in the novel field? I'm half tempted to put in CROSS//Revenge again anyway just because I want to keep the dream alive.
IT'S GETTIN' COLD. I'm only sharing that because my room is always one of two heating extremes, which means I'm going from melting in my chair/bed to having hands too cold to type. Just like Japan!
It's the third installment of the REN'AI RENSAI character profile series. Now we're moving away from the main characters to some of the more prominent minor characters.
Today's feature is the married neighbor Yuri Furusawa. Yuri, like the main characters, also appears sometimes in the main CROSS// series, and has a connection to one of the other main characters in that series. For that reason this profile may eschew some of spoilers from that series.
(Note: As the series jumps around a span of 20 or so years, profiles tend to cover everything in that time period.)
Name: Yuri Furusawa (古澤百合) Birthday: June 16th, 1978 Zodiac (Western): Gemini Zodiac (Eastern): Horse Nationality: Japanese Height: 5'0 Weight: 90 lbs. Voice: Mid-range to high. Speech Patterns: Feminine LIKES/DISLIKES: Fave Color: Purple, White Fave Food: Hamburg Fave Drink: Piña colada Fave Music: Pop music from the late 90s Clothing Style: Skirts and blouses Hobbies: Gardening, Shopping, Going to English speaking cafes.
CHARACTER:
Family: Husband, Daughter Sexuality: Bisexual Partner: Hiro Furusawa Best Friend: Aiko Takeuchi Occupation(s): Housewife Comes Off As: Friendly, Energetic Sub/Dom: Sub
Yes, she was just dared to come kiss you. Get over it.
PARAGRAPHS OF BIOGRAPHY STUFF:
Yuri grew up in an internationally inclined household - her father often went overseas for meetings while her mother taught English out of their home. Thus Yuri began learning English from an early age, to the point her family decided to start hosting exchange students for her to practice with. One summer they hosted an American girl, who dressed "like a boy" and had a short haircut. Yuri developed a crush on her and ended up having her first sexual experience with her host sister.
They continued a long distance relationship via snail mail until Yuri's mother intercepted one of her daughter's notes and expressed concern over the contents. Although no real confrontation was had, Yuri got the point that she was not allowed to behave "that way" and promptly broke up with her American girlfriend. She finished high school and went off to college with the intent of following in her father's footsteps, and ultimately moving overseas where she could be free of her mother's hovering. However, while in university she met Hiro, who became smitten with her and asked her out. They dated until graduation, upon which Hiro asked Yuri to marry him. Yuri convinced herself she was in enough love with him to marry him and forgo her dreams of living abroad.
"I swear, you REALLY care about my problems!"
Shortly after graduating, they married, and Yuri became pregnant. Towards the end of her pregnancy they moved into a house to start their family, and Yuri took up the mantle of housewife and mother. After the birth of her daughter, she further convinced herself that she had to become the perfect woman. Yuri threw herself into the mold of Japanese housewife, which killed her energy and estranged herself from her already super busy husband. A few years into their marriage, Yuri reunited with her ex-girlfriend and rekindled their affair. Although it only lasted a few days, Yuri discovered she truly wished to be with a woman instead, but Japanese laws and customs kept her beholden to her husband. Conveniently, her neighbor and close friend Aiko was also gay and available for an open relationship, and the two began a casual romance independent of their main relationships.
Yuri spends her days attempting to keep up her "perfect housewife" facade while dreaming of divorcing her husband and still running off abroad, with or without her daughter. While she knows it's not feasible until her daughter is an adult, Yuri consoles herself with what little she can outside her marriage. She has moments of guilt regarding her husband, but is also fairly convinced he has a girlfriend elsewhere and has decided to just let things fall as they do.
After the joy and fun of last week's character profile, I decided to, you know, follow it up with another one, right on schedule! Only two more to go after this one! And then, launch day!
Today's feature is the other main character of the REN'AI RENSAI series, Aiko Takeuchi..She's practically the polar opposite of Reina, so expect! A lot! Of exclamations!
(Note: As the series jumps around a span of 20 or so years, profiles tend to cover everything in that time period.)
I really need to learn to take solo screens of my Sims.
Birthday: September 12th, 1973 Zodiac (Western): Virgo Zodiac (Eastern): Ox Nationality: Japanese Height: 5'1 Weight: 95 lbs. Voice: Low Speech Patterns: Feminine LIKES/DISLIKES: Fave Color: Pink Fave Food: Grilled salmon Fave Drink: Gin Fave Music: Popular music from the late 80s//early 90s Clothing Style (Teens): Skirts and dresses Clothing Style (Adult): Jeans with Blouses, Occasional skirt/dress in hotter months. Hobbies: Cooking/Baking, Shopping, Reading, Watching and critiquing movies with lesbian couples.
Camera's over here, sweetie.
CHARACTER:
Natal Family: Mother, Father, Two older brothers, Two older sisters Sexuality: Lesbian Partner: Reina Yamada Best Friend: Yuri Furusawa Occupation(s): Student, Housewife Comes Off As: Naive, Friendly Sub/Dom: Sub, with inclination to switch.
PARAGRAPHS OF BIOGRAPHY STUFF:
Aiko grew up the youngest child in a sheltering family. Growing up it was impressed upon her that, while it was important for her to study and get a good degree, ultimately getting married to a man and having his children was her expectation. Thus Aiko harbored multiple dreams as a child of lavish weddings and idealized the symbol of the housewife in Japanese society. Each time she got a new boyfriend her dreams were renewed, but Aiko was quick to find that none of her boyfriends were an adequate match for her.
Always, always a proper lady~
Her studies revolved around the English language and Western culture, leading her to enroll in an all-women's university focusing on international studies after graduating high school. One day she visited her cousin's place of work and met Reina, who flirted with her and made Aiko consider her sexuality for the very first time.
As she began a relationship with Reina, Aiko realized she had to choose between her/society's ideals, and what would make her happiest. In the end she sacrificed her dreams of marriage and children to become a housewife for Reina, aware that nobody would ever take their relationship seriously, assuming they even knew. In the process, Aiko lost a majority of her friends and lost the respect of her family. Even in later years Aiko retains some of her naivete and has a habit of outing herself to the wrong people at the wrong time. Although she's in a controversial kind of relationship, Aiko remains sheltered in how people will truly react to her way of life.
Somebody really should make that bed.
She is an empathetic person, always trying to help those around her. This often leads her to overextending herself and falling deeper when she realizes her unemotional girlfriend won't support her. Over time Aiko begins to become more and more jaded, and although she continues to strive to be optimistic, reality often contradicts her. She goes in and out of lesbian oriented organizations with the intent to help, but is often rejected because of her girlfriend's philandering past. This has lead to Aiko having an isolated life, with the exception of one friend, her neighbor Yuri. She is also one of the only people outside of Aiko's family to know of her sexuality, let alone support her. Although Yuri is married and has a child, she later comes out as gay to Aiko and becomes one of her only lovers outside of her relationship with Reina. Even so, Aiko often wishes she had more friends and family that didn't force themselves to be polite to her.
On one hand Aiko tries to convince herself all her sacrifices in the social world were worth it so she could be with Reina, but on the other, her moments of despair and frustration have increased. Her desire to express her emotions (especially love) often clash with Reina's listlessness and boredom. Sometimes Aiko considers breaking off their twenty-year-long relationship, but in the end, her love for somebody she's not sure even loves her back is too strong. Aiko convinces herself it doesn't matter, but lives for the day when Reina will reciprocate her feelings, willingly and openly.
There comes a time in every marketing ploy UH I MEAN campaign I do that I feel compelled to expose everyone to my ~super secret~ character profile stash, complete with illustrations from the Sims 3! Congrats, readers, you're about the fall in that hole again.
I plan on doing four of these this month, even though the REN'AI RENSAI series only technically has two characters. Which means I'll post both main characters in a row than a couple random minor characters that appear in "DAISUKI." (and also come straight from the main CROSS// universe, and originally appeared there as well. Ha. Publishing order is weird.)
Today's poor victim put up for public viewing is the not-so-private but also not-so-outgoing (so you know, like most people) Reina Yamada. I decided to launch with her because she's the one I came up with first.
(Note: As the series jumps around a span of 20 or so years, profiles tend to cover everything in that time period.)
Is this seriously the best solo pic I have of her at 40? Srsly.
Name: Reina Yamada (山田麗奈) Birthday: December 3rd, 1972 Zodiac (Western): Sagittarius Zodiac (Eastern): Rat Nationality: Japanese Height: 5'6 Weight: 115 lbs. Voice: Low Speech Patterns: Masculine
LIKES/DISLIKES:
Fave Color: Blue Fave Food: Okonomiyaki Fave Drink: Beer (Sapporo Draft) Fave Music: Female songwriters from the 1980s Clothing Style (Teens): Baggy sweaters, jeans or short-shorts/mini-skirts. Clothing Style (Adult): Jeans with T-shirt or pullover. (Casual) Women's tailored suits. (Work) Hobbies: Sex, Going to bars, Watching TV
Just chillin' like a 20yo badass.
CHARACTER:
Natal Family: Mother, Father (Deceased) Sexuality: Lesbian Partner: Aiko Takeuchi Best Friend: Michiko Kawazama Occupation(s): Waitress, Singer/Dancer, Student, Corporate Drone (In order through series.) Comes Off As: Aloof, Charming, Lazy Sub/Dom: Dom. Always.
PARAGRAPHS OF BIOGRAPHY STUFF:
Reina is a mystery to everyone but herself. She lives life with the idea of "do what I want, to an extent", and this confuses just about everyone around her, who continue to live in the Japanese group mentality. While it estranges her from most of the people she meets, her charisma makes up for it and she usually ends up with a few friends for a few hours, wherever she goes.
Growing up Reina was an only child, the daughter of a housewife and a university professor. Her father was killed in a transportation accident when she was 14, throwing her mother into severe depression and the family unit into dire financial straits. Financial problems were compounded when Reina's mother decided to send her to a "prestigious" all girls private high school in northern Tokyo. It was at this school Reina first realized her attraction to other girls while also meeting her best friend Michiko, an American-born girl with a lot of self-confidence to share.
She only has one thing on her mind.
Reina earned a reputation for philandering that would last her entire life. Her relaxed attitude towards life and relationships leads her to becoming the "experiment" for other women looking to try a different kind of sexual relations. While Reina doesn't mind this and even welcomes it at times, she does get tired of seeing the same women turn around and return to the "easier" heterosexual lifestyle. For Reina her sexuality's never been a choice, even when her mother threatened to throw her out for being a stain on her father's legacy. To ease the tension in her house, she got a job right out of high school as the underaged waitress at the only lesbian stripclub in the country. Although she enjoyed her job (the perfect place to pick up lesbians, after all), after a year she saw an ad for theater rehearsals and thought she could make more money doing it. She ended up just becoming an idolized pony show every weekend.
I had another version with epic polygon fail.
However, one of her groupmates had a habit of bringing her family around the theater, and that was how Reina met Aiko. Although Reina never thought it would lead anywhere (other than Aiko running off with an old boyfriend, like women were wont to do) they started "dating" and eventually became girlfriends. Even though Reina had slept with nearly hundreds of women before, Aiko was her first "official" girlfriend. Yet they were still the oddest couple in the gay district, since with becoming girlfriends Reina stipulated she still wanted the freedom to sleep with other women. Aiko agreed, on the condition they "did it together".
Being in a relationship forced Reina to reevaluate her role in life, especially when she was partnered with the "girliest girl" imaginable. Aiko's only real dream was to become a homemaker, and in order to make that happen for her, Reina quit her job at the theater, cut off her hair, and enrolled in university. After graduating she got a job as a desk drone at a corporation. Soon Aiko's great aunt died, leaving Aiko a paid-off house in the Tokyo suburbs. Reina and Aiko moved in together, and became an odd representation of a typical Japanese married couple.
AWESOME BENDER, BRO.
As years passed, Reina adopted a more masculine appearance to go alongside her already masculine speech and mannerisms. Her life began to revolve around work with odd moments of play, and as the economy in Japan weakened more and more, Reina became paranoid about losing her job because of her gender and sexuality. While at home and in the bars she remained the same aloof and lazy Reina everybody knew, at work her paranoia reached a point where it solidified in her brain and she began to develop Gender Identity Disorder. In Japan, everyone is expected to take up a rigid gender role, and if Reina wasn't a "woman", then she had to be a "man". This lead to her becoming strictly dominant in the bedroom, and incapable of acknowledging her old and abandoned feminine side.
Throughout her life Reina has only had a couple people considered close to her and are subsequently the only women she's acknowledged feelings for: her best friend Michiko, who returned to America when Reina was twenty and visits every so often, and Aiko, who has stuck by Reina's antics for twenty years. Others either see her as too selfish to deal with, or a fun friend for certain times, so long as they're not seen around her outside the gay districts. Reina takes this in stride and even prefers it, being naturally reclusive until her libido sparks up. Her reputation as a womanizer precedes her, and it's rumored she's slept with 300 women. Of course, only she knows the real number. Maybe. She's not the type to keep track or care. Her lack of caring about most things (aside from hiding herself at her job) has made her almost completely incapable over the years of expressing herself or her emotions. Her attitude is to bottle everything up and pretend "feelings" don't exist. But she is human, and does have feelings. Including those annoying ones like "love". Sometimes.
Well, maybe "free love".
This is my first time noticing those creepy giraffes.
Same Sim time at the same Sim place next Wednesday!
Today's the "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Blog Hop" hosted by Jaycee DeLorenzo and Victoria Smith! Let's just cut right into the meat of things:
Here are the details:
Interview a heroine of your manuscript, novel, or WIP by a fellow
female counterpart also from your written work. Your featured heroine
can be interviewed by her best friend, a heroine from another one of
your written works, a sister, the opportunities are endless!
Have your heroine answer at least 3 of the questions recommended below or make up your own!
Post a picture of your heroine, the interviewer, or both!
Post a song for the theme of the interview or a song that reflects your featured heroine's personality
Well, I ended up writing a 2k short story. Oops? Heh heh. It works though. I had a lot of fun writing it in about 2 hours about...an hour ago. I've only edited it once since then so sorry for any typos.
Of course, the usual warnings: Swearing, naughty talk, and the usual crap that falls out of their mouths. And alcohol, apparently.
And here's your obligatory picture. I went hunting through my Sims 3 screenshots folder and found this random one of them hanging out in a club at the bar. The clothes are wrong, the scenery is wrong, but hey, the intent is the same and I don't have to go taking new screenshots! Also, just like in the story, there's a Devon cameo.
"The bartender" may or may not have weaseled her way into the story. Also, I have no idea why Devon is fuming at Danielle.
You still with me? We still gonna do this? Great. Because here we go in all it's 2k short story glory.
------
The bar
door slammed open to admit Danielle in all her embittered glory while she whipped
off her jacket with a snarl. A few other bar patrons glanced up and noted her
furrowed brows and decided it best to ignore the stomping monster en route to
the bar.
“Bad
day?”
Danielle
slumped onto a stool and flung her jacket onto the bar. Beside her sat Miranda,
legs crossed and fingers flipping through a fashion magazine. Danielle wanted
to vomit at the stench of her musky perfume – her senses were heightened to the
point she thought she could also smell Miranda’s dark eye shadow. Crushed up
Crayons, maybe? Or maybe that’s just how it looked on her.
“Bad
day.”
“Aw,
what happened?” Miranda lowered her magazine and pursed her lips in Danielle’s
direction. “Childhood get ruined by the Internet?”
“No.”
Danielle saw the bartender, a young woman with her hair high in a ponytail and
a dress made for dancing in, come over and nod her head at her. “Highball. On
lots of rocks.”
The
bartender chuckled and wandered off to get Danielle her coveted whiskey. Miranda
averted her eyes from the bartender’s bouncing locks to Danielle’s limp blond
hair. “Going straight for the hard stuff, I see.”
“Yeah,
so? I ain’t driving tonight. What’s that there, a martini?”
Miranda
checked her empty martini glass, the green olive left for better individuals
who could enjoy them. “My, you’re astute today. What’s wrong with you?”
Danielle
laid her head on the counter and stared sideways at Miranda around the corner.
From that angle she could see Miranda’s manicured nails scratch against the
glossy magazine cover of a starlet promising to make men’s genitals harder. “You
ever just had a bad day? I am having a bad day. By the way, it’s a bad day.”
Danielle watched Miranda roll her eyes and then continue perusing her magazine.
“Why are you reading that trash? Since when do you care about getting dicks
off?”
Miranda
flipped the magazine closed over her thumb and peered at the cover – she chuckled
at the outlandish promises nobody in that bar probably cared about. “It amuses
me. The shit in here is so ridiculous. And the quizzes are fun, because I love
knowing how I really feel about my man.”
The
bartender returned, dropping a napkin before placing Danielle’s drink on top of
it. Danielle gave guttural thanks and hocked back a drink large enough to burn
both her trachea and stomach. She placed the glass onto the counter and considered
the bubbles in her drink. “And how do you really feel about your man?”
“Well
let’s see, there’s this quiz in here. Want to do it?” Miranda’s smile was
priceless in its goading.
Danielle
shrunk further into her seat. “Just a second.” She slammed back another drink
and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Okay, hit me.”
“Okay
then.” Giving an imbibing Danielle a sex quiz about men should be worth the
vomiting and hangovers Miranda would have to see later. “Question One:boxers or briefs?”
“Boxers.
Soooo much more comfortable. Especially flannel ones in the winter when I can’t
find my sweats and…”
“They
mean on men, Danielle.”
“Oh. Why
the hell do I care? I ain’t lookin’. Gross. Next.”
“Uh huh.
Are you sure you want to do this? Or should I just let you get drunk?”
“I ain’t
drunk. Yet.”
“That…that
was what I was getting at.” Miranda sighed and looked at the magazine again. “Alright,
well, next is…’How would you describe your hero?’ Oh, that’s fun.”
Danielle
reached out and took Miranda’s empty martini glass and brought it over to her
lolling head. She picked out the olive and stared through its eye as if it were
a kaleidoscope. “A hero? I need a hero? I could be your hero? It’s raining
heroes?”
The
bartender appeared again and bent down to see what Miranda read. “Oh my God, is
that the quiz about what you like about men or some shit? My girlfriend totally
made me do that one just to haze me the other day. I told her I like my heroes
to have long hair and wield golden lassos.” She took the martini glass and
slunk away again.
“Was she
talking about Wonder Woman?”
“Yes,
Danielle. Do you want your hero to be Wonder Woman?”
“Yessssss.
I want her to tie me up and make me tell the truth.”
“Fine.
Next question is, ‘What’s your biggest dating horror story?’ And it better not
include me.”
Danielle
stared at the spot where the martini glass once was and blinked water back into
her eyes. “Oh, that’s easy.” She sat up straight and looked at Miranda as if
she were as clear-headed as the day of a big test. “It was here in this bar,
actually. Yeah, some girl named Amy. We were gonna go back to my place to hump
like monkeys when I went into the bathroom and saw blood all over the place. It
was great. Guess what I didn’t get to do that night.”
“When
you say ‘blood all over the place’…”
“I mean
my period, genius.”
“Of
course you do. Have another drink, Danielle.”
Complying,
Danielle picked up her highball and slurped another drink down. “What’s next?
What’s my favorite penile position? Because…dicks…”
“You
have such an elegant way with words.” Miranda turned the page and giggled. “’What
turns you off from a guy the most?’” she asked with a smile.
“Penis.
Semen. Semen makes babies.” Danielle drank again, her limbs growing numb and
her brain far from lucid. “Babies bad. Babies tear your taint, and your wallet.”
“Lovely!”
Miranda signaled the bartender for another martini. “I think they meant
personality wise. Or something physical, beyond the penis. They aren’t thinking
of child-hating dykes when they make these things.”
“Oh,
fine. I don’t like…” Danielle paused, distracted by her fascinating fingers. “Huh?
I don’t like…oh my God, did I ever tell you about Seth? The guy who I once
tried to do but bailed because we didn’t have condoms and he was too
chicken-shit to walk across the street with me to buy some? I hate that guy.
Yeah, I hate that.”
“Careful,
the other dykes might hear you talking about you and penis.”
“It was
a long time ago!” Danielle flung her arms up in the air and looked over her
shoulder at the other women in the bar. Most were either in couples or small
groups, chatting about their lives while pushing back tamer stuff than what
Danielle had. Yeah, they didn’t care. Danielle would bet half of them were bisexual
like her anyway. “Come on, give me another one. This is getting fun.” She saw
her half-drunk highball. “Or I’m getting drunker. Either way.”
Miranda
peered at her over the magazine just as the bartender brought her a new
margarita. She clamped her hand over the top before Danielle could dive in an
attempt to steal the olive. The previous one still rolled around on the counter
from where Danielle dropped it earlier. “Okay, ‘What is the best date you’ve ever had?’ Do tell me
more about your period, while you’re at it.”
“Any
date I get laid.” Danielle then remembered the last part. “Oh, and no blood.
Since you asked.”
“Wonderful.
Well, at least you seem easy enough to please.” Miranda sipped her margarita and
then read, “’Kiss on the first date?’”
“Sweetie,
I will fuck your brains out on the first date.”
“With men?”
“Oh.
Maybe. Does he have a condom? Am I on my period?” Danielle opened her arms and
looked towards the shadowy ceiling.
Miranda
gaped at her before saying, “I don’t think you need condoms for a kiss,
Danielle.”
“Then
you don’t know how I kiss!” Danielle slammed her fist onto the counter. “I kiss
good.”
“Do you
even know what you’re talking about anymore?”
“Not
really.” Danielle finished off her highball in one swallow. She burped, folded
her arms on the counter, and shoved her head into her own embrace. “Go on. Tell
me more about how much I love me some dick. While you’re at it turn to page
thirty-two and tell me how to give great head.” She poked an eye above her arm
and stared at Miranda. “You would
know about that, I hear.”
Miranda
did not entertain her beyond what the next question said. “’What gets you a
second date?’”
“Your
beautiful face.”
“Ah, how
sweet! Are you drunk?”
Danielle
admittedly could not see two inches past her own nose. How could she know if
Miranda’s face was beautiful? It could have changed in the past two minutes. “Yes.
It’s wonderful. Bad day is going away.”
“You’re
so sweet when you’re drunk. That tells me a lot about you, so you should tell
me ‘What one thing tells you a lot about a person’.”
“Their
reaction to me saying ‘Roe vs. Wade’.”
“I like
it. Political with sexual implications.”
“Nothing
we women do is not political.” Danielle coughed into her arm, unaware of the approaching
bartender.
“Do you
want another?”
When
Danielle didn’t answer, Miranda shook her head on her behalf. The bartender
took the highball glass before Danielle could try to eat it. “Okay, Danielle,
before you die there’s one more question. Do you want to hear it? Danielle?”
Danielle
banged her head against the counter; clearly, a nod.
“’What
do you find most attractive in a man?’”
“Vaginas!”
The
chatter around them grew quiet – Danielle’s vibrant shout continued to echo
within the bar wall. The bartender stifled a giggle and the nearest pair of
dating dykes pointed before busting out laughing. “Fuck yeah, vaginas!” a woman
called from the gallery.
“I love
vaginas!”
“Me too!”
“Baby, I
love your vagina.”
“Oh,
yay!”
While
the lesbian love fest got underway in the peanut gallery, Miranda nudged
Danielle’s arm and then pricked a finger through her unresponsive short hair.
When she didn’t respond, Miranda leaned back and, with a sigh the size of the
room, closed her fashion magazine and shrugged at the bartender. Danielle began
to snore.
A few
minutes later the bar door opened, and an awkward hush fell over the room.
Miranda craned her neck around to see a short dark figure wade its way through
the throng of women all looking at it suspiciously. She held up her hand so the
figure could see her.
When
Devon reached the counter he yanked Danielle’s head back and clicked his tongue
against the back of his throat. “Drunk? Or dead?”
“Drunk.
Highball in less than ten minutes. Do you expect less?” Miranda crossed her
arms and shook her head at the lingering bartender. “We were discussing the
finer points of boxers, periods, and vaginas.”
“Yeah,
well, she’s out. When she left us earlier she had already had like five beers
so I’m not surprised.” Devon tugged Danielle’s body out of the stool and lifted
her into his arms. “I’ll take her home.” He turned and saw the dozens of eyes
staring at him with contempt. “Um…”
“You’re
in a lesbian bar, by the way.”
“Of
course I am. Of. Course. I. Am.” Devon shifted Danielle’s weight until he knew
he could carry her out of the bar without hitting her head against a chair, a
table, or a lesbian. “Night.”
Miranda
leaned her head against her hand and watched him maneuver Danielle through the
crowd and out the door held by a woman looking at him as if he were a caveman.
It made Miranda smile.
“Who was
that?” the bartender asked.
“Some
guy she knows. He’s harmless.”
“You
just gonna let him make off with your drunk woman like that?”
Miranda
laughed. “My woman? What makes you
think that?”
“Well,
just the way you two were…I mean…” The bartender blushed. “Never mind. Vaginas.”
Miranda
lifted her martini glass up. “Vaginas!”
“Vaginas!”
came another chorus.
“Yeah,
sorry.” The bartender stepped away.
After
another second Miranda lowered her arm and asked, “Is it that obvious?”
“What?
That you’re in love with her? Just a little.”
Watching
the bartender walk away, Miranda fingered the glossy cover of the magazine and sniffed
at her margarita. She looked at the magazine and read the headline, “Let’s talk
about men!” through narrowed eyes. She finished off her margarita and tossed
the magazine into the nearest trashcan.
---
Yay! For your listening pleasure, here's the fierce and flawless Kumi Koda telling us about dem menz in the clubz. I think it's fairly obvious when you watch it while it's included here as the soundtrack piece.
Hey all! Finally getting back into the Blogger writing world with a couple of blog hops. The first one to mention is Vicki Orian's "BE INSPIRED" bloghop going on now (I do believe). The point is to answer ten questions about the origins of any book you're working on and then tag 5 more people to answer them. So, more of a meme, but should be fun for a spell anyway!
"Answer the following ten questions. Then, tag five people to answer the questions. (You can use the same ones, or make up your own. Just remember - they all have to be about the writer's book!)"
1. What is the name of your book?
CROSS//Rebirth
2. Where did the idea for your book come from?
From a dream I had back in 2007. The best dreams.
3. In what genre would you classify your book?
Urban fantasy. (With healthy doses of science-fiction.)
4. If you had to pick actors to play your characters in a movie rendition, who would you choose?
I...I have no idea. I really don't think about this. I really wouldn't want this being turned into a live-action movie. It would turn out absolutely HORRIBLE oh dear god the CGI.
5. Give us a one-sentence synopsis of your book.
Sorcerer killing everyone in the universe; couple kids reborn a few dozen times and bitter about it - with t3h ghey.
6. Is your book already published/represented?
No. Slated for 2013.
7. How long did it take you to write your book?
First draft was completed in 2011. Took a few month break to work on other novels and picked up edits in late 2011. Currently doing the last full-draft edit before sending it off to betas.
8. What other books within your genre would you compare it to? Or, readers of which books would enjoy yours?
I really have no idea. It's not THAT ORIGINAL to not be compared to anything else, but I've personally never read much else like it.
9. Which authors inspired you to write this book?
Nobody, really. I've been writing for a couple decades now so I just go off my own ideas and have my own writing style pretty much down.
10. Tell us anything that might pique our interest in your book.
LESBIANS. Let's be real that's pretty much the making or breaking point for most potential readers out there. Yay society.
Next it's time to plug the Girl's Just Wanna Have Fun Bloghop on June 22nd, hosted by Jaycee Delorenzo and Victoria Smith. Premise is to write a ~chat~ between two female characters from your book while answering the questions provided. Basically, they're all about t3h boyz and dating them or something. So I HAD to sign up since, if anyone's been paying attention at home, LOL LESBIANS. What better chance to write some cynical / bitter conversations than with a couple lady-loving-ladies. I know you're looking forward to it. BECAUSE I AM.
And now Cyndi Lauper is stuck in my head. Fantastic.
