Tag Archives: A-Z Wild Duology Challenge

Mother of Dogs

15 Sunday Nov 2015

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Most of my teasers have been more focused on one of my main characters (De’vii) over the other (Caliebb) and there are a couple of reasons for this.

For starters, there are a few reveals surrounding Caliebb that I don’t want to give away. I do have a couple of posts that focus on him rather than De’vii’s world, but I had to be super careful. I would love to delve further into a few things from Caliebb’s past, but doing so is definitely spoiler territory.

Secondly, De’vii’s world and beliefs feature more in the duology, making him slightly more of the main character than Caliebb though both are POV characters.

And thirdly, quite frankly, the only things I want to write about when it comes to Caliebb, I can’t, which only leaves boring, unfun things. Okay, that’s probably not entirely the truth–I actually came up with a couple of neat things I could have done, but they would have required me to go massively on tangents and I didn’t want to do that. I wanted all my teasers to relate directly back to the story in some fashion. But I can’t do that with Caliebb because then I’ll give things away. Argh. It was frustrating.

It just means you get a lot more teasers slanted more toward De’vii, which is probably not a problem because my beta readers said he was their favorite character out of the two anyway.

And that, of course, in nonsensical logic, brings me to a scene that features neither character. Continue reading →

Haunt of the Wilds (Chapter One Excerpt)

09 Monday Nov 2015

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Haunt of The Wilds eBook CoverI went the easy route for H in my A-Z Challenge since the first novel begins with Haunt :) I’ve been doing teasers for my upcoming novel duology during the month of November and today marks the day I give you the actual first chapter from Book 1.

It’s a little over 5k words, but introduces both main characters and A LOT of dogs. I won’t blame you if you don’t remember all the dogs’ names. I only put them in the first chapter because 1, they’re vastly important to De’vii and 2, because I wanted my readers to know I was referring to a dog when I mentioned them again.

That’s also the reason why I have different naming techniques between houndmasters and dogs, to make it easier to know which I’m introducing/talking about during the story. It’d be weird to be reading along and suddenly having someone you thought was humanoid to be barking or butting their head into your crotch, etc. You know, things we all do normally :P

Haunt of the Wilds: Chapter One

He’d been out of the scene for a few months—running hard down trails past the Braken getting his pack prepped and practiced with the two new pups—so when he arrived back in the biggest doghouse in Crafton looking for a job, he’d anticipated being met with excitement. Not annoyance. And certainly not from Mi’saa.

“De’vii, De’vii.” Her voice was deep for a woman, but it fit her well, accentuating the corded muscles that ran from her neck to her calves. She kept her hair cut short, a leftover lesson from when she’d caught it on one job and almost had her scalp ripped off. She was lounging on the low couch, one of her dogs stretched out beside her, another two curled up on the floor and three more circling the area in guard positions. “You little shit.”

“Good to see you too, love. May I introduce the two newest members of my pack.” De’vii flicked his fingers, although it wasn’t necessary for Wit and Ens came forward with just an encouraging thought.

Mi’saa barely spared them a glance, narrowing her eyes up at him. “You cut out on me.”

Damn her rudeness. De’vii stroked Wit’s neck, sending comforting thoughts the dog’s way, making sure he knew he hadn’t done anything wrong. Ens was a different matter altogether. He sat glaring at Mi’saa and likely would have snarled had most of his bad behavior not been bitten out of him by Fel, Kat and Sou during the last months. He was still chafing, De’vii knew that, but he was better in public now. Especially at a doghouse where the fur flew and the scents of blood and fury permeated the air, promising a dogfight for good behavior. And any houndmaster or nocturn hound worth their weight didn’t just relish a fight, they lived for it. Continue reading →

Games Survival Kit

08 Sunday Nov 2015

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google plus 1080x608For G in my A-Z Wilds Duology Challenge, I created instructions for a Games Survival Kit. For a good long while, an annual event was held in between the territories of wild and civilized houndmasters and dogs. They were called the Lo’fel Games and were focused on mending the violent hatred between the two groups.

This story is a teaser for my upcoming novel, Haunt of the Wilds, on pre-order now for only .99c.

Games Survival Kit

CONTENTS

1 bark-made map
1 schedule of events
1 large bag of dried jerky
2 small bones
2 bottles of Runner’s Heart alcohol
2 pouches of ilarm pollen powder
1 blindfold
3 packets of unscented oil

These kits are meant to help you navigate your way through your time at the Lo’fel Games, especially if it’s your first time. If you need further help, please look for one of the volunteers. They will be wearing thick strands of blue-painted blackflower vines around their arms.*

The front side of the map shows the main staging area for the Lo’fel Games. The pup grounds have been moved into the center to help keep the pups protected. The sands to the far west are for only those houndmasters and dogs who have qualified in preliminaries. We don’t want too many bloodbaths here and equal fights are always longer and far more fun to watch—if you’re not as good, keep to the east sands where you damn well belong.

The back of the map shows the runner paths that extend into the lower mountains. We have a handful of volunteers along the foothills, but will only be sending one late-night med-team through the paths to pick up anyone who has fallen or become too hurt from random fighting to continue during that day’s races. Race at your own risk. Continue reading →

Fight for Dominance

06 Friday Nov 2015

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Originally, I’d planned on writing just a description of a doghouse to give the impression on what one was like inside The Wilds Duology. Aaaaand then I wrote a story. So for F in my A-Z Challenge, I give you Fight for Dominance, a short story walkthrough of a doghouse, written in second person, something I rarely ever do. This is a teaser for my upcoming novel, Haunt of the Wilds (gay romance/adventure fantasy) on pre-order now for only .99c.

FIGHT FOR DOMINANCE

You can probably hear the raucous laughter streets away, the noise drifting through the dark city as if beckoning you onward. You might notice a young houndmaster or two running with their packs nearby, pups jostling one another in their excitement. They come out of the shadows and disappear as quickly, paying no mind to anything or anyone else. They aren’t silent either, their passage documented with shouts and barks and boots scuffing against hard ground.

As you approach the doghouse, you hear an occasional howl of triumph. People spill from the entrance, bleeding, yet happy, as they head next door to the doctor who has taken up shop because location, location, location. You wait for the houndmasters to step away, listening to their byplay of the fight, one of them so animated despite the bite mark on his arm that he waves his hands through the air to mimic the takedown.

The door to the doghouse has been cut in two and if you’re not careful, a dog will come bounding out from the bottom half and likely bowl you over. He might gnaw upon your clothes if you don’t immediately roll out of the way because he’ll be high on the fight. You’ve been warned. Continue reading →

De’vii (Character Interview)

04 Wednesday Nov 2015

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I did a character interview for one of the leads in Haunt of the Wilds (gay romance/adventure fantasy novel) yesterday, so it’s only fitting I do one for the second lead. It’s a coincidence that their names happen to land next to each other in the alphabet, but useful in this case. Haunt of the Wilds is on pre-order for only .99 right now.

De’vii – Character Interview

Eleven dogs—twelve if I count the houndmaster—sprawl across my office. Huge, beautiful creatures. Muscled. Intelligence shining from their eyes and their teeth baring dangerously whenever I shift too close to one or other of them.

“Protective, aren’t they?” I say to the houndmaster.

He shrugs, a feral grin spreading on his face. “Only natural. That’s Kat’s pup you keep almost hitting with your chair.”

“Oh!” I quickly readjust, moving away from the nearby smaller dog. I wouldn’t have called him a pup, but he was definitely still growing given the size of the others. Then I clear my throat and check my notebook. “So, De’vii…”

He scowls and points down by my feet where my boots have come quite close to the sole gray wolf among his pack. She growls but doesn’t move. I immediately tuck my feet under my chair and hold down a return glare, deciding not to mention the fact that I could barely breathe in my own office without almost touching one of his dogs.

“Right,” I say. “Why don’t you tell me about what makes your dogs special?”

De’vii snorts, then slouches on the bench seat, his hand absently rubbing the hound beside him. A salt and pepper dog with probably the gentlest disposition of them all. “You mean what makes them different than the puny creatures you live with?”

“I guess,” I hedge.

“For starters, they are smarter. More than most humanoids as well.” He laughs a little mockingly. “Though that’s not as hard as most think. And, of course, we can communicate within our combined consciousness, making us a perfect fighting unit.” He lifts his lip in a slight challenging snarl.

“I would imagine. From what I’ve heard, people—meaning other houndmasters—greatly prefer you on their side in a fight.” As De’vii’s grin returns, I add, “But they also balk when I ask whether they enjoy working with you. Why is that? I would have thought you’d have plenty of houndmasters wanting to work with you.”

De’vii releases a quiet growl, the sound echoed by his pack. “Because they’re biased cowards. Afraid I’ll go wild on them.”

“Would you?”

His response is nothing but a self-satisfied smirk. Continue reading →

Broken Promises

02 Monday Nov 2015

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Haunt of The Wilds eBook CoverB in my A-Z Wilds Duology Challenge! B is for Broken Promises, an excerpt from the fictional textbook, An Understanding of the Planes, written for schools within the northern Empire mentioned in the duology. This is a teaser for my upcoming release, Haunt of the Wilds, a gay romance/adventure fantasy novel. It is on preorder now for only 99c. Coming December 3rd :)

BROKEN PROMISES

Overview of the Sixth Plane: MOIR

There are not many who travel into Moir, the death plane, and live to tell of it. Those who do, the people who are foolish or brave enough to open themselves to the horrors of walking among the essences of the dead, seeing the oceans of souls sweeping across the sky and watching the kings of darkness swoop within the empty voids sliced into the barren landscape, those people are never the same. They return with tales of a starless, treeless world, of races who relish pain and delight in misery, yet a film covers their eyes as they tell their stories and a bleakness seeps out from their souls.

The next chapter concerns what we know of Moir from those who have returned. Continue reading →

Animal Instincts

01 Sunday Nov 2015

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Today kicks off my A-Z Wilds Duology Challenge! Since it’s also the first Sunday of the month I wrote a short story for the letter A.

Because I didn’t want to go into spoiler territory, most everything I publish through the month of November will either take place before the beginning of the duology or will be irrelevant timeline-wise.

Animal Instincts takes place when De’vii (one of the leads in the novels) is about fourteen. De’vii and his two dogs, Fel and Sou, are mainstays in the duology. Te’iil is De’vii’s immediate cousin and is a minor character in Song for the Wilds (Book II). Si’raa is a new character I made up specifically for this story…so don’t get attached.

So without further ado, I give you…

Animal Instincts

The hunt never felt so good as when he ran with those he trusted. With his dogs, Fel and Sou, that trust had been implicit since they’d been gestating within their dam. With Te’iil, the trust stemmed from years of growing up together, knowing and believing Te’iil and his pack would come to De’vii’s aid if necessary. And knowing just as surely Te’iil would attempt to steal the kill right out from under De’vii’s teeth.

With Si’raa though… Si’raa was a different matter altogether. One De’vii hadn’t yet figured out.

The fresh scent of the underbrush filled the air. The lightly dripping leaves, drooping from the heaviness of the last dredges of the rainy season, brushed De’vii’s shoulders as he ran. His small pack—the steady Fel and the bloodthirsty Sou—ran to his either side, Sou slightly ahead, his eagerness an aphrodisiac affecting De’vii’s mind.

Si’raa and his three dogs trailed behind. His footsteps heavy on the dirt. His breathing harsh within the light pattering of droplets falling from the canopy. De’vii’s concentration split between the scent of the spindleleg they hunted and the need to know exactly where Si’raa was at all times. He chalked it up to that lack of trust, a burden during the hunt, forcing him to watch his back. Continue reading →