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Emmi Lawrence

~ MM Fantasy Romance Writer

Emmi  Lawrence

Tag Archives: adventure fantasy

Canvas Blues – LXXXIII: Present

06 Wednesday Oct 2021

Posted by Emmi Lawrence in Contemporary, Fantasy, M/M, Serial

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adventure fantasy, author, Fantasy, Fiction, gay romance, M/M, mm romance, murder mystery, Mystery, Novel, prose, reading, writer, Writing

CANVAS BLUES
Vignettes Regarding the Artwork of Brendon Kotes

LXXXIII: Present

“It wasn’t Casey’s Mustang. The cops found no evidence of blood or…anything. No evidence of it being cleaned. They went through both Casey’s mom’s house and dad’s and they were thorough. He’d been poor enough…”

Orion and Brendon lay against the bed, Brendon staring straight up at the ceiling and its dusty fan, Orion twisted onto his side, hand propping up his head. All attentive, likely stripping Brendon’s expressions into finely-tuned blocks of information to file away.

Brendon took another long breath before continuing. “He’d been poor enough that he didn’t have resources others did. Didn’t have the ability to hide what he’d done. But without any evidence of the crime, the case only had circumstantial evidence with Casey’s word against Dylan’s death.”

“And what was Casey’s word?”

“That a completely different car came driving up and crushed Dylan.”

“What kind of car?”

“That’s the thing.” Brendon turned his head toward Orion. “He claimed, at least to the police, that he didn’t know.”

“But you said Casey loved cars. Knew them.”

“Exactly,” whispered Brendon.

Orion dragged his gaze all over Brendon’s face, like he was searching for something more. Then he twisted and lay flat on the bed, the two of them staring up at the blank ceiling like answers might pop free from the white paint.

“You think it was the Le Mans,” stated Orion. Continue reading →

Canvas Blues – LXXXII: Yesteryears

29 Wednesday Sep 2021

Posted by Emmi Lawrence in Contemporary, Fantasy, M/M, Serial

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adventure fantasy, author, Fantasy, Fiction, gay romance, M/M, mm romance, murder, murder mystery, Mystery, Novel, prose, reading, writer, Writing

CANVAS BLUES
Vignettes Regarding the Artwork of Brendon Kotes

LXXXII: Yesteryears

The cause of Dylan’s death was not revealed to Brendon; he was not kin nor friend, merely a witness who hadn’t witnessed anything. But he knew Dylan had been crushed. Slammed against the wall of the garage, shaking the foundations, the car then thrown in reverse to rev away with murder in its fender.

In the aftermath, Casey was a pariah in Castlebrock, blamed by proximity before due process took hold. Brendon’s parents forbid him from calling, at least until the situation resolved itself into some semblance of responsibility, citing many things as reason, some of them frail—such as “you need to focus on something positive”—some of them steeped in reality—such as “he’s a white boy; you’re not.”

That blue Mustang was confiscated as evidence based on Robbie and Brendon’s testimonies. Then was released from custody two months later. With no arrest.

Brendon overheard his parents talking one night, the rumor mill up and working overtime through the town.

“So they’re hunting for a different car? The one that hurt that boy?”

“Seems they can’t figure out what exactly happened.”

“But they know he was crushed.”

“Cross his torso, I’ve heard.”

Silence. Mom turning the water on to scrub out her teacup. The light chime of it hitting the counter as she set it down. Continue reading →

Canvas Blues – LXXVII: Present

25 Wednesday Aug 2021

Posted by Emmi Lawrence in Contemporary, Fantasy, M/M, Serial

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adventure fantasy, author, Fantasy, Fiction, gay romance, LGBTQ, M/M, mm romance, murder mystery, Mystery, prose, reading, writer, Writing

CANVAS BLUES
Vignettes Regarding the Artwork of Brendon Kotes

LXXVII: Present

“I spent so many hours on that painting,” said Brendon. “It was a birthday present. There was this old car out in the forest at a dump site that Casey found when we were kids. A bunch of old cars, actually, but that one in particular he loved playing in. I wanted to give him something of it, but make it more alive.”

“Do you try to make things alive often in your paintings?”

Brendon rubbed his thumb over the divots in his glass. “You think that’s the clue, then? That if I try to make things alive that they might become so?”

“Just another thought. Trying to solve the mystery of Brendon Kotes.” The corner of Orion’s lips tugged up and those bright blue eyes, shadowed here in Brendon’s bedroom, all but shimmered with suggestion.

With a hard, hard breath, Brendon straightened, the action pressing their thighs closer together. Yet still, Orion didn’t pull away. So Brendon didn’t either, his heart beginning a painful thud as his sticky dreams from last night came sneaking through his mind, teasing, testing things that might not come.

“I’m not really a mystery.”

That corner tug slowly gave way to a gently warm smile filled with disbelief. “Then that must mean I am a much slower man than I always give myself credit for.” He leaned in as he spoke, gaze never leaving Brendon’s, not even when Brendon flicked his tongue out to wet dry lips in instinctual anticipation.

“You think highly of your abilities.”

“I do,” agreed Orion on a rumble that pulled straight from his throat like the deep purr of an engine. Then his lips touched Brendon’s in a gentle, coaxing question. The whiskey on his breath burned a track down into Brendon’s lungs. Continue reading →

Canvas Blues – LXXII: Yesteryears

21 Wednesday Jul 2021

Posted by Emmi Lawrence in Contemporary, Fantasy, M/M, Serial

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adventure fantasy, Contemporary, contemporary fantasy, Fantasy, Fiction, gay romance, mm romance, murder mystery, Mystery, prose, reading, Writing

CANVAS BLUES
Vignettes Regarding the Artwork of Brendon Kotes

LXXII: Yesteryears

Junior year boasted one of those moments that would forever be commemorated in a 5k walk/run title, but it started innocently enough with a local news reporter who fancied himself a hot shot journalist. The man—Tony Kepuchar—did a spotlight piece on cop favoritism. Election year and all that, with the sheriff being incumbent and his friends and family like an ant network spread about the county. Kepuchar did his research, no one could fault him for that, and yet, one little line and the word “allegation” was enough to set off a chain of events that would forever haunt Brendon’s neighborhood.

“Taylor Lee Barry, grandson to County Sheriff Joseph Barry, is one such example, having been implicated in illegal street races, but never charged, with an allegation against him of heroin dealing that has, interestingly, not been investigated.”

Casey’s father threw that paper across the living room, smacking a row of DVDs to the ground in a haphazard cascade of porn and 90s flicks. Then he went on a rampage, the alcohol singing in his veins. He found Casey in the garage, fiddling with replacing the Mustang’s water pump, and proceeded to beat him with the first thing that came to hand—the rubber serpentine belt Casey had removed and not yet returned.

“No good druggie! I knew that man was bad news!”

Though the hits remained weak, they came fast and no amount of confused questions, and then later, insistences that Casey had never participated, would assuage his father’s self-righteous fury.

Casey showed up on Brendon’s doorstep on foot, bruises starting to show across his neck and shoulders, but he paid them no heed, instead ranting and raging as loud and crass as his father had the hour earlier before finally calling his mother and—partially in demand and partially begging—asked to move in with her and Becks.

“It’s not like we’re doing anything together. The Mustang’s been done and in my name, not his and I can drive the extra fifteen minutes to school in the morning, no biggie.”

Brendon listened with a palm against Casey’s back and cheek to Casey’s shoulder, gently though, afraid of hurting him further.

“I don’t care if it’s a closet, Mom. Could be a fucking couch for all I care.” Then a muttered, “Sorry.” Probably on account of the cussing. Continue reading →

Shatter by Glass Republished :)

23 Wednesday Jun 2021

Posted by Emmi Lawrence in Fantasy, M/M, Publication

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

adventure fantasy, dasunder, dasunder chronicles, Fantasy, gay romance, mm romance, murder mystery, Mystery, Novel, secondary world, Series, shatter by glass

I’m pleased to announce that I have finally gotten my act together and republished the first in my original Loose Id novels. Murder in Color will follow in 2022.

The DaSunder Chronicles are murder mysteries featuring different characters in each book. Each can be read as a standalone in terms of the murder mystery, though they are written in chronological order.

This was my very first novel published, so it’s got a special place in my heart for kicking me on the path I’m on.


SHATTER BY GLASS

DaSunder Chronicles #1

Where dragons fly on wings of sand…

When Detective Brettoni Rhodes is called to a murder scene outside the desert city of DaSunder, he doesn’t expect the victim to be one of two sand conjurers who had fled years ago after an accident they’d caused. His past doesn’t stop there, for Luca Baino, the second man who had fled DaSunder and Brett’s old flame, suddenly appears looking to rekindle their relationship.

But all evidence in this investigation steadily points to another conjurer, one who can turn sand into glass. And the suspect pool with that capability is light, with Luca at the very top.

Every step of the way, Brett finds more and more reason to suspect Luca of murdering his own friend, his rekindled interest in Brett mere manipulation. With conjured creatures attacking DaSunder and the governor demanding a quick, brutal end to the bloodshed and chaos, there is little time to discover the truth. For the harsh laws of DaSunder hang low and ominous over the investigation, demanding retribution, and no one, including Brett, wants to be caught in that trap.

As the body count rises and the evidence mounts, Brett isn’t sure he can save Luca from the executioner’s axe. Or whether he should even try.


Thank you to everyone who has read any of my stories, whether my free short stories here on my blog or my longer novels. I appreciate every single read. Every single person.

The beautiful things people say about my writing, how much they enjoy my fantasy worlds, how much they like my characters, they keep me going and keep me writing.

This is my passion project, which I’m sure shows, and I’m so thankful for the kindness I’ve been shown on everything I write.

<3 Emmi

Lost Isle Published & Giveaway!

23 Tuesday Mar 2021

Posted by Emmi Lawrence in Publication

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

adventure fantasy, fantasy romance, Fiction, gay romance, giveaway, LGBT, long-reads, Lost Isle, Love, M/M, Novel, Paperback, prose, reading, Romance, sea stories, Series, The Ocean's Aviary, Writing

Let’s celebrate the publication of Lost Isle!

I’m ecstatic that it is complete and beautiful and out in the wide, wild world. The story does NOT end on a dreadful, horrible, no good cliffhanger, but there are hints that there is more story to come.

Firstly, I have a New Release Alert Newsletter going live tomorrow and within it is a small teaser story about the day Edwin Vlaris meets Captain Nirothe. It isn’t necessary in order to read the book, however, this will be the only way in which to read this teaser. So if you would like to read it you have only today to sign up for my newsletter!

(The New Release Alert option is exactly what it states—you will only get newsletters alerting you about publications going on sale, not about anything free I publish on my blog.)

Secondly, this is the first time that I’m publishing a paperback copy along-side of the ebook. Every previous time, the paperback has come out long after (sometimes looooong after). I’m stoked that I’ve done things the “proper” way this time around.

Which brings me to thirdly, A Giveaway! Because I actually have a physical copy to give away! :)

In order to enter:

Go ahead and drop a comment below telling me your favorite bird (or least favorite!) and why. I’ll pick a random person to be sent a signed physical copy of the book!

I’ll go first. My favorite bird is the mourning dove. I love the way they sing this haunting melody, this coo-coo-coo repetition that sparks emotional responses in me. Some runner-ups are wood thrushes, red-winged blackbirds, herons, and of course, all the magical types, like phoenixes!

And, publication day wouldn’t be the same if I didn’t do my typical list! Continue reading →

Chapter One of Lost Isle (Launch Day T-4)

19 Friday Mar 2021

Posted by Emmi Lawrence in Excerpt, Fantasy, M/M

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

adventure fantasy, Fantasy, fantasy romance, Fiction, gay romance, LGBT, long-reads, Lost Isle, Love, M/M, Novel, prose, reading, Romance, Series, Short Fiction, The Ocean's Aviary, Worldbuilding, Writing

CHAPTER ONE

Where I am is where I’ve always been,
but what I see has changed.

They cut us free somewhere near the Gulf of Caines. The water dark, the moon nothing but a sliver and the stars clouded as the ship’s canvas swelled with an easterly that took it far into the distance within precious little time. Left me rocking in a skiff, alone, but for the limp form of my companion—a man weathered by the sun and salt with a still-seeping gash under his left eye.

I calculated I had three days. If I were lucky. Though, luck had never been on my side, especially not recently.

That first long night, shivering in the unfettered ocean wind and my hunger for revenge keeping the pangs in my stomach at bay, I resisted the urge to dump that man overboard. I wasn’t sure why. Could just be I was so preoccupied by that fading black smudge on the horizon. Plus, I’ve never been one to handle loneliness well. And even a man condemned by his brothers for a traitorous nature was better company than the tang of salt spraying into my face whenever the skiff smacked on the downside. The fact he was also attractive despite the cut didn’t hurt either and I admit to dreaming of wringing a few good moments out of life with him before we succumbed.

Besides, I figured a dead man in the water brought sharks faster.

Dawn found me hunched in the stern, tired because I’d kept jerking awake, sore, since finding comfort in the wooden edges of the skiff was impossible. I gingerly raised myself high enough so I could scan the horizon. Nothing but morning color on one side and the violet haze of a relenting night on the other.

The boat pitched then, slamming my head into the side. I cursed like the sailors I’d been traveling with, calling out to that living, breathing leviathan believed to be responsible for every death upon the waves. My voice cracked, loud enough I must have woken the other man.

He groaned and twisted, his knee rising and his hand moving for his head. I settled within the stern once more and observed him as he fumbled his way to a sitting position, his hand missing the edge of the skiff once before he focused. As intelligence sparked in his eyes, the fog of unconsciousness slow to release him, he narrowed his gaze at me.

“Yer the cartographer? The grunt who made the star charts that led us astray?”

I shrugged, striving for a carelessness, but my heart hammered behind my rib cage like a fleet-footed deer and I reminded myself that not every sailor took up with men simply because their prospects were slim.

His stare turned more intense, as if he could see right past my feeble attempts to project some form of unconcern. “I’m curious,” he said, in a tone that said he wasn’t truly curious, but wanted an excuse to mock me. “Was ya purposefully leadin’ us wrong or are ya simply that inept?”

Affronted, I said, “My charts were fine. And considering they’re left in the care of the sailing master instead of dumped in here with us, I presume he knows that.”

The man cracked a sliver of a smile. “Ya’d argue ta the death over their accuracy despite sendin’ us so far from the Giant’s Belt. So tell me, where are we?”

“Given you likely know the ocean currents better than I, I was hoping you’d be able to answer that.”

“The stars did nah speak ta ya all night?”

“It was cloudy.”

He laughed bitterly. “Of course it were.”

“It was,” I protested, though I sounded like a petulant child, insisting on an excuse to free myself from punishment. I quickly staunched my whining and pressed my lips together in a thin, insincere smile.

The man hefted himself onto the thwart at the bow end of the skiff, the position putting him at an angle so I was forced to look up at him. At least with the sun at my back he was mostly within the light, which gave me a full view of the tattoos running along his shaved head. On one side the black markings were of a wicked looking sea serpent, crudely done, and low on the other curled smoke-like lines that I assumed represented the misty maidens who populated the sea between the continents.

He had a number of small scars across the side of his neck, as if shrapnel from a shattered bulkhead had embedded there once. His pale eyes were hooded from too much squinting in the sunlight, but had a piercing quality to them that only added to his intensity. His hands, rough and weathered like the rest of him, gripped the sides of the skiff as if he were prepared to launch at me at a second’s notice.

We were opposites, him and I.

Me with my hands soft and stained with ink rather than callused from rope burn. Me with none of the hardness he possessed. None of the decades’ worth of experience of facing down the fickle nature of the sea and its deadly inhabitants.

“What’s yer name?” he demanded. Continue reading →

Edwin’s Interview (Lost Isle Launch T-17 Days)

05 Friday Mar 2021

Posted by Emmi Lawrence in Fantasy, Teaser

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adventure fantasy, character interview, Fantasy, fantasy romance, Fiction, Flash, gay romance, LGBT, long-reads, Lost Isle, Love, M/M, Novel, prose, reading, Romance, Series, Short Fiction, The Ocean's Aviary, Writing

EDWIN’S INTERVIEW

(This is a teaser for the novel Lost Isle, on pre-order now.)

The man at my door has brown hair—loose, windswept, the ends just barely curling against his forehead and neck. His face is more long than round, giving him the appearance of being lean, though his body betrays that impression with enough muscle to make him unnoticeable in the working class neighborhoods—the docks, the factories, the workshops. His hands have the most personality throughout his entire person—strong, slender hands with scribe calluses built-up on two of his fingers and ink-spot tattoos where the quill had pierced deep enough to stain.

He has the look of an indoor man. The kind who would be hunched over a desk, or a book, or a map.

I step back to let him into my office and he follows me, his eyes quick to rove and quick again to come back to me. His pants were ironed, though not the most expensive. His coat was fitted, though the loose button in the middle again betrayed his throttled funds. He stood straight with shoulders back, but not with chest puffed.

As if, by remaining straight and following the narrow, he might give the impression of a proper gentleman in order to blend and not stand out. Fighting to be average, I’d have called him. A man who did not crave attention and did not seek it. A man who would step out of the light, away from confrontation were it to peek his way.

But perhaps that is me being judgmental. After all, while first impressions are everything according to perception, they are lies tricking us into crafting a reality that person cannot possibly fight against.

“Good morning,” I said, holding my hand out.

He took it with a grip that did not tighten too hard or pull away too quickly. “Edwin Vlaris. You said you wanted to speak to me of a map.”

I gesture to the bench I had just finished clearing off before he’d knocked. “A map, yes. Please sit, Edwin.”

“Thank you.” His voice is unassuming. Shall I say, perhaps even lacking a certain confrontational ability? Continue reading →

A Madman’s Journal (Lost Isle Launch T-24 Days)

26 Friday Feb 2021

Posted by Emmi Lawrence in Fantasy, M/M, Short Story, Teaser

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adventure fantasy, Fantasy, fantasy romance, Fiction, gay romance, long-reads, Lost Isle, Love, M/M, prose, reading, Romance, Short Fiction, The Ocean's Aviary, Worldbuilding, Writing

A MADMAN’S JOURNAL
Emmi Lawrence

(This is a teaser for the novel Lost Isle, that is on pre-order now.)

The shop clung to a scent that sang of ages past, of worlds and words hidden behind mold and mildew. A patina of dust lay on every available surface and long-unused webs gathered thickly in high corners and behind haphazardly stacks books. Edwin wrinkled his nose at the intricate map—done in oils with vibrant colors and care—that had been shoved against the wall and propped up with tacks so that it curled with dry depression, left to crumble.

“Done by the esteemed Marcius Hlarro,” boasted the keeper—a stooped man with eyes beady from an indoor life and hands twisted from a lack of stretching. He swept a hand across the map, crinkling the dry corners so bits flakes off and dust eddied into the air. “One of a kind. Shows the very soul of Awadar from almost six decades ago.”

Edwin kindly did not correct the man. Merely smiled thinly—not wanting a mouthful of dust—and nodded absently as he carried on through the stacks.

“Can I help you find something? A gift? A bit of historical research?”

“I’m looking for anything on the history of the Serene.”

“Oceanographer? Deep sea fishing stories? Tales of discovery? Of the first crossings?” The stooped bookkeeper moved fast among his stacks and shelves, rattling off questions

“Actually, more myth and legend was my interest.”

“Leviathan sightings? Aquaholes? Iceberg Towers?”

“The Flightless.”

From between the shelves, the bookkeeper turned those squinted eyes toward Edwin. “Birds. Birds like the great rocs or the tiny swallows that morph? Birds that shift out of sight like the flamingos and rooks? Yes, birds.” Continue reading →

Dead Ship Chanty (Lost Isle Launch T-31 Days)

19 Friday Feb 2021

Posted by Emmi Lawrence in Fantasy, Teaser

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

adventure fantasy, Fantasy, fantasy romance, Fiction, Flash, gay romance, LGBT, Lost Isle, Love, M/M, Novel, poetry, reading, Short Fiction, Song Lyrics, The Ocean's Aviary, Worldbuilding, Writing

DEAD SHIP CHANTY
Emmi Lawrence

There sailed the seas a maddened thing, called a ship of dreams

brought forth to life, by timeless strife,

to begin its reign through the Serene

 

On a current of its making, The Narwhal grew in fame,

its power vast, its nets it cast

to brandish magic before it waned

 

With riches bulked within her holds, and Xanick at her helm,

she sought a port, the hidden sort,

to unload spoils that overwhelmed

 

Then one day long The Narwhal fought, a battle none could win

Broken in half, its decks collapsed,

while within its bowels the great beast grinned

 

And the current of The Narwhal, lodged beneath the arch,

too white to see, too tight to free,

yet across the mast the gryphons march


This is a teaser song for the novel Lost Isle: The Ocean’s Aviary I. This is the fuller version of the song mentioned in the novel that talks of the myth of Captain Xanick and the current he was able to control.

Lost Isle is available for Pre-order on Amazon here!

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CANVAS BLUES
Vignettes Regarding the Artwork of Brendon Kotes

A serialized novel begun Jan 29th 2020. Here you can find links to the beginning and the most recent additions.

I: Prologue
II: Present
III: Yesteryears
IV: Yesteryears
V: Present

……….

L: Present
LI: Yesteryears
LII: Yesteryears
LIII: Present
LIV: Yesteryears

New chapters published every Wednesday!
Next up: Jul 7th 2021

FREE SHORT STORIES

THE BAYWATER & THE HURRICANE
(fantasy M/M)

WHAT SECRETS MIGHT REMAIN
(fantasy M/M)

TALL, DARK & HANDSOME
(contemporary M/M)

THE IMMORTAL LOVER OF LAKE PHANTA
(fantasy M/M)

ACROSS THAT OCEAN OF SAND
(fantasy M/M)

MY LIFE, HIS BREATH
(contemporary M/M)

POET’S BANE
(fantasy M/M)

What’s Up!

  • Canvas Blues – XCV: Present
  • Canvas Blues – XCIV: Present
  • Coffee & Conversation: How to keep your plots/stories from being repetitive?
  • Canvas Blues – XCIII: Yesteryears
  • Coffee & Conversation: How to critique someone else’s work?
  • Canvas Blues – XCII: Present

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