Thursday, March 27, 2014

Welcome author Michael Mandrake

I'd like to welcome author Michael Mandrake to my blog today.   Let's find out more about her and her book "Mon Frere Facing Our Fears"


1-How long have you been writing? 

SL: Professionally, almost 4 years.

2- What is your favorite genre to write? 

SL: M/M by far. I do M/F and M/M/F as well but I love writing men over anything.

3-What are you working on now?

SL: Right now I’m doing a story for the Love Landscapes from M/M Goodreads and a new story with another author who is one of my favorites. Top secret. *smiles*

4-When you begin a story do you start with character or plot? 

SL: I usually start with the characters. At times I see a good looking man and some details for a story might jump out at me. Most of the time I have no title or character names but I have some basic plot points for that muse.

5-Tell us about your latest/upcoming release. What inspired it? 

SL: My latest release is the 4th in the N’awlins Exotica Paranormal series, Mon Frere: Facing Our Fears. This series features twin vampires in love who are in the process of taking a third lover. In this book their coming to terms with their own insecurities as well as facing an arch nemesis.

Reader Judie S inspired me to write this series. She wanted twincest with angst so Ryland and Ryder were born.



Ryland and Ryder are in danger…

Celebrating their 298th birthday, the Durand brothers are still at an impasse over their third, Dale Mooney, and the cause of their maker Gren DuMont’s death. As they battle personality clashes, Ryland and Ryder set out to slay Gren’s killer as well as conquer their own fears; Ryder’s fear of losing Ryland to Dale and Ryland’s fear of the unknown lurking around their safe haven in New Orleans.

With little help from the demon Valios, the twins travel to Paris to meet the murderer face to face but will their own insecurities impede their goal of slaying the killer? At this point they only have each other to rely on and the fate of all vampires lies in their hands.


“Happy birthday, dear Ryland and Ryder! Happy birthday to you! Yay!” Dale, Kajika, and Waylon sang the dreaded song for the twins to celebrate their two hundredth and ninety-eighth year on earth. Although this was a joyous occasion, Ryder could think of a million other places he wanted to be.
My brother doesn’t love me anymore.

Ryder sighed inwardly and thought about the moment he and his brother had alone a little while ago. Everything was perfect. They were at the club, inside the office, alone, just the two of them, as it had always been. Ryder asked for Ryland to let him drink from him while they made love. Not fucked but made love. No one would satisfy him as much as Ryland could despite anything anyone had tried to throw at him. Everyone, including the luscious Kyla, tried to tempt him into bed, but like Ryland, he had a conscience. A fucking conscience to tell him no, don’t fucking be with anyone other than your brother and Dale. Why? Why the hell should Ryder care so much when his brother didn’t give him the same regard?  Ryder bristled at the thought of turning down all those offers to have mindless sex with others while Ryland got his fill of the human.

Damnit.

Ryder clicked his teeth and glared at Ryland who shared a kiss with Dale. Of course he wouldn’t kiss him in front of Kajika. Their nephew had no knowledge of their relationship.

“Happy birthday, brother. Mon frère!” Ryland gently kissed the side of Ryder’s head. “I am thrilled we made it to this point.”

“So am I.” Ryder shrugged his shoulders and got up from the table, wanting to get away from the party. He wasn’t in the mood to celebrate anything right now.

“Unc, what’s wrong, huh? Would you like a little cake? I know you don’t really eat this, but… I was hoping you and Unc Ry would for your party.”

Ryder shook his head. “No thanks, Kajika. I’m good.” Ryder walked to the window, aching to go outside and hunt for food, but he knew Ryland would be upset if he did. It was the perfect time to do so too; a perfectly clear night and cool air, meaning there were plenty of good tasting humans walking around to prey on in the Quarter.

After all, it was almost the end of summer festival season. Many tourists were still in town, getting drunk at wild parties, not caring about their welfare. Ryder loved to prey on them because in his mind, if they were too stupid to pay attention, they didn’t deserve to live.

“Mhmm, Ryder, come have a little, please? It is actually very good. Kaj made sure the color was similar to blood, and it isn’t overly sweet. You must try a little, my dear brother. It’s our party, Ryder. Come enjoy yourself.”

Ryder only shook his head and kept looking at the moon, wishing he was outside. Despite the happy time this was for him and Ryland, he refused to be part of this celebration after Ryland rejected him earlier. His eyes narrowed, looking out the glass at the bright full moon in the sky. “Ah, Gren, wherever you are, I wish I was there with you right now.”

* * * *
Ryland shook his head and stopped eating the small piece of cake his nephew had given him. Suddenly, he’d lost his appetite for human food and set the dish down on the table. “I’ve had enough, Kajika. Thank you very much.”

Kajika nodded and hugged Ryland. “You sure, Unc? Are you all right? And what’s wrong with Ryder? Did something happen between the two of you earlier?”

Ryland inhaled and twitched his nose. “No, nephew, nothing to worry your pretty little head about.” Ryland softly stroked Kajika’s hair and pressed his lips to his temple. “Why don’t you go and talk with Waylon a little bit, hmm, and send Dale back over here. There’s something I want to ask him.”
Kajika flashed him a smile and did as Ryland asked.

Ryland watched Kajika with interest, hoping he didn’t read too much into his brother’s poor attitude and lack of hospitality. It was hard enough to keep things from Kajika and Dale without Ryder acting like a spoiled brat.

Ryder, you need to stop acting like a petulant child! You’re making me angry, and you felt a taste of my wrath earlier tonight. Don’t push me anymore, mon frère. Don’t fucking test me on our birthday!
Ryland closed his eyes tight, sending the message to his brother across the room. When he opened his eyes, he noticed Ryder look back at him with a slightly startled expression but then he looked back out the window. Obviously Ryland’s threats didn’t concern him all that much.

“Yeah, babe, what’s up? Ready to have our own little party, hmm? I mean, I’m enjoying hanging out with Kajika and my older brother, but I want you so badly tonight.” Dale wrapped both arms around Ryland’s waist and pulled him close.

Dale’s touches caused a tent in Ryland’s tight leathers. He sighed inwardly. “Just tonight?” Ryland elbowed him in the chest and flashed him a wicked smile. “Lover, we need to ask Kajika and Waylon to leave. I have a very upset twin over there that needs our attention. He’s acting like a spoiled brat, but I need to at least attempt to make him feel better.”

Dale glanced in that direction before turning Ryland around to face him. “Oh, yeah? You mean…”
“Yes, that, love. I refuse to allow him to be the gloom and doom of our birthday celebration. And actually, I might need to have a little alone time before you come with us. Is that all right?”
Dale’s smile turned down, and he dropped his gaze. “Aw, shucks, sugar, I suppose. I mean, I know you guys are brothers and all, but even if I don’t participate at first I’d like to watch, you know? It’s hot seeing the two of you together.”
Ryland stroked the side of his face and planted a firm kiss on his lips. “I would agree that it is, but I believe he needs a little brotherly nurturing first. He thinks I don’t love him anymore. I need to settle his fears before he goes out amongst the masses and kills everyone in his path. He can get that way, you know. I’m saving the world heartache by reeling in his energy and allowing him to unleash it all on me.”
Dale looked sheepish, disappointed. “Oh damn, man. All right. I’ll wait in the other room or something. You wanna say bye to Kajika and Waylon right now then?”

Ryland sighed and kissed his lover once again. He really hated disappointing Dale, but his brother’s mood bothered him a lot more. He’d read things from his mind and heart that needed urgent attention, and that meant leaving his lover alone for a while. Ryland leaned his head against Dale’s and caressed his chin. “Yes, Dale, let’s do that. The quicker we can say goodnight, the faster I can get to my twin and make him happy.”

Michael Mandrake pens complex characters already comfortable with their sexuality. Thorough these, he builds worlds not centered on erotica but rather the mainstream plots we might encounter in everyday life through personal experiences or the media. To find out more please visit http://tabooindeed.blogspot.com.

Author Sharita Lira: In one word, crazy. Just crazy enough to have 3 different muses running around in her head, driving her to sheer exhaustion with new plot bunnies and complex characters.

This happily married mother of two beautiful children loves music, computers, reading, and still enjoys reading and writing fanfiction. She’s a proud member of the Erotica Readers & Writers Association, as well as an advocate for rights of LGBT citizens.  She’s also a contributor to the heavy metal ezine Fourteeng.net.

For more information, please visit http://www.thelitriad.com as well as her Facebook fanpage, The Literary Triad.


The Literary Triad - http://www.thelitriad.com/#!

Michael Mandrake – http://tabooindeed.blogspot.com


Rawiya - http://rawiyaerotica.wordpress.com


Twitter - http://twitter.com/#!/rawiyamikembl

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/TheLiteraryTriad


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Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Weds Brief-the Get Away

It's that time of the week again.  Time to Flash.  This week Ben and Tom take a road trip to get away from it all.  Ironically it's the same place I escaped to for the day.   Old Town Alexandria

This Week's Prompts:

“I couldn’t help myself.”
"Saved by the bell."
"Why are you asking me these questions?"
"Honesty is the best policy."
"You can't do anything if you don’t believe."
"Remind me again… Why we are friends?"
"Did you hear about...."
“Who is that?”
“Let’s try this again.”
or use: knife, radar, pin
or have character giggle until they cry
or use: blanket, picture, gun
or use: fan, bedspread, mayo
or use: balloons, egg carton, razor
or have a character throw up
or have a character wearing a ball cap
or feature some sort of a dive, whether swimming or a cheap bar
or ply someone with liquor
or "Hit me with your best shot, big boy"
or "Jim Dandy to the rescue!"
or make a Gilligan's Island reference
or feature a wedding cake


The Get Away by Lily Sawyer

“Why are we here again?”  Tom said after he took a swig from the glass of Guinness sitting on the table in front of him.  The dark ale went down smoothly. It did leave a foam mustache on his upper lip.

“Because we have a weekend off and I’ve always wanted to spend time in Old Town Alexandria. I mean Virginia isn’t that far from Lancaster.”

They’d taken an Amtrak train down there and were experiencing all that wonderful place had to offer.  They took the King Street Trolley down to the waterfront, took a ton of photos, and started to walk their way back up, stopping at the different shops along the way.

“I am so glad they have that trolley. It’s quite a hike up and down King Street.”

“I’m glad it’s free.”  Ben was the one who had his eye on the money end of things.  Not that he was a tightwad, but why they ended up in this dive, Tom didn’t know.

“Lamplighter? Who ever heard of a pub with that name? Why couldn’t we have picked one of those restaurants we passed a few blocks back instead?”

“Why are you asking me these questions?”

“Because I would have been happy to have eaten at the Flying Fish place instead.”

“So why didn’t you say so?I wasn’t twisting your arm to come in here.”  Ben was starting to lose his temper. Their raised voices were getting some unwanted looks from their fellow patrons.

“How about we take a deep breath and take a walk,”  Tom suggested.  Walking always seemed to calm their nerves.   Tom didn’t know why they were both on edge. This trip was supposed to be an enjoyable one. 

Tom paid their tab, and he and Ben exited the pub onto the busy street.   They navigated their way past the throng of people. Some of them were walking their dogs. There must have been practically every breed present. 

They walked silently up to the restaurant.

“Hello, gentlemen,”  The maitre d'greeted them. “How many in your party?”

“Two,” Ben told him. He and Tom followed the younger man through the myriad of tables that dotted the dining room.

“Here you go, sirs.”  He showed them to a table along the wall, and left two menus on the table.   “Someone will be with you shortly to take your orders.” He smiled and left them alone.  Ben and Tom took a seat and picked up their menus.  Tom noticed Ben glancing at him over the menu he held.

“Would you gentlemen like to start off with some drinks?”

“I’ll have a Chardonnay,” Ben said.

“And I’ll have a glass of water,”  Tom told him.

“I’ll be right back with your drinks.”   The waiter turned and left.

“Okay, you want to talk about it?”  Tom started off the conversation.

“Talk about what?”  Ben kept his focus on the menu and not on his husband.

“Come on, Ben, we’ve told each other that we’d always talk out our problems.”

“I’m sorry, hon, I know I’m being a jerk.  It’s work.” Ben put his menu down and looked at Tom.

“Work?  Is there a problem?” 

“I’m having problems with the banks. They’re really making closing the deals very difficult.  I’ve got some short sales I’m having problems getting through.  I know the process can be a long one, and I told my buyers that.   But you know how impatient new homebuyers can be. This one bank I’m dealing with is driving me crazy.  That’s one of the reasons I wanted to get away for a few days.  Just to get away from them. “ Ben reached out and took Tom’s hand  “And be with you, of course.”

“I know your job is not easy, baby.” Tom squeezed Ben’s hand.   “How about we forget real life for a while and enjoy the moment?”

“Yeah, I’d like that a lot.”

“Can I take your order?” The waiter returned.

“I’ll have the wild salmon,”  Ben told the waiter.

“I’ll have the steak, medium.”   Tom liked steak and potatoes.

After their meal, they returned to their room at the Hotel Monaco.   Theu cuddled up in each other’s arms and turned on the TV.

“In other news, Wilton Ranker of H&P bank in Lancaster has been charged with unfair loan practices.  He’s been charged with discrimination, especially against homosexuals.”

“What!?”  Ben leapt out of the bed and started pacing.

“Ben? What’s wrong?”

“That son of a bitch. He’s one of the loan officers I’ve been dealing with for one of the couples I’ve been trying to sell a house to.  They’re a gay couple.  That bastard!”


TBC