Tag Archives: Novel

The Rooftop Garden and the Terror of Heights

13 Tuesday Jun 2017

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Ari’s Tour
(previous installments)
4A—Ari Nix and How It All Began
4C—Mrs. Jameson and Her African Violets
4B—Jasmine Leit and her Collection of High Heels

The Rooftop Garden and the Terror of Heights

Not everyone could be as boring as Jasmine Leit though. Ari hoped at any rate. There was the artist in 2B who never showed Ari his work and then the glamourist in 3C. Maybe they held secrets in their apartments? Or maybe, he just needed to be looking in bedrooms rather than living rooms.

In fact, one bedroom in particular stood out in his mind. A bedroom with a delightfully attractive man in its bed. A delightfully attractive man who ignored and dismissed Ari on a constant basis.

“Never mind. We’ll go see the artist’s secret paintings,” he said to the swaying branches of the bushes as he finally flew free of the oppressive building.

The brightness of the night sky lit up the roof, the moonlight shining off leaves and causing the glass of the nearby wind chimes to glow. He couldn’t hear his music from up here, just the swishing of the occasional cars driving past and the tapping of the larger wooden chimes along the edges of the roof. That breeze likely held a chill, though Ari couldn’t feel it. Couldn’t feel the wind at all in fact.

“Can you imagine being blown away on the wind,” he mused to himself.

He fluttered his fingers just as a bat came dodging through the small trees. Ari followed the creature’s progress, only noticing after the fact that those trees were quickly shrinking in his sight. The outer edge of the rooftop became visible, concrete ledges that wrapped about the deep wooden planter boxes and the paths between them.

“Oh no. Wait, not good.” Continue reading →

Lost Isle Teasers (WIPTruthOrDare Twitter Collection)

11 Sunday Jun 2017

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For the month of May I participated in a twitter game called #WIPTruthOrDare for Lost Isle: The Ocean’s Aviary I, though many of the questions had less to do with the novel. On each day there were two options, a truth or a dare, so I made sure to show which I chose for each day. I did skip a few days where both the truth and dare didn’t correlate with my novel much.

Day 1 Truth: What is your current word count for Lost Isle?

Day 2 Dare: Write a pitch line for your WIP.

Continue reading →

Jasmine Leit and her Collection of High Heels (4B)

08 Thursday Jun 2017

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Ari’s Tour
(previous installments)
4A—Ari Nix and How It All Began
4C—Mrs. Jameson and Her African Violets

4B—Jasmine Leit and her Collection of High Heels

Ari’s sickeningly fast spin did not end in the hall. It continued onward, like a ride he couldn’t escape from no matter how many times he insisted the contraption to stop, stop, stop. It was as if he were on some carnival attraction meant to destroy his inner ears and send him puking in the grass afterward. Only, while the world, yes, was a blur of bright light and greyish carpet, his stomach, which technically was lying upon his kitchen floor back in his apartment, seemed to be able to handle the dreadful sensation with ease.

With that revelation, he slowly opened his eyes as he spun, noticing with amusement that both his feet had disappeared within the wall next to the door to 4D. He twisted in the opposite direction of his spin, attempting to roll back the way he’d come. Not to happen, it seemed. Nothing about this would be easy.

He sighed and settled his hands behind his head in acceptance of the inevitable as he glided down the hall at an upward angle that sent him straight into 4B. Jasmine Leit’s apartment. He mused over calling out to her, but decided against it. She didn’t normally complain about the noise from his place, but he’d caught glances from her randomly that spoke louder than any words. And since he could still hear his music playing on, rising and falling with unintelligible words, words he could have sung from heart by now, he didn’t want to push her into a possible confrontation.

She, unlike others in the building, might have the patience of a saint, but Ari didn’t want to see what might happen if that patience snapped. Continue reading →

Mrs. Jameson and her African Violets (4C)

06 Tuesday Jun 2017

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Ari’s Tour
(previous installments)
4A—Ari Nix and How It All Began

4C—Mrs. Jameson and Her African Violets

Now this had happened once before when he’d been a child. He remembered the day, or at least those few moments, quite vividly. But at that time his sister had been in the room and she’d almost instantly jumped on him, sending him swooping back into his body. He hadn’t had enough time to truly panic then.

Not so now.

The dark kitchen he sailed through was one he’d seen before, though not for quite a long time. Mrs. Jameson kept her pots and pans in an organized line hanging from the wall and a triplicate of feeding bowls ran parallel upon the floor underneath. And at the furthest feeding bowl was a black and white cat, a skinny thing that jerked as Ari floated above its head.

“Hello, hello,” he said with a wave that sent the cat crouching, her eyes glowing in the frail light sneaking in from behind the blinds in the next room. “Don’t mind me. Is your cat lady up? That wonderful woman who feeds you?”

The cat, predictably, did not answer. Continue reading →

Ari Nix and How It All Began (4A)

01 Thursday Jun 2017

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4A—Ari Nix and How It All Began

Tequila had never been Ari’s spirit of choice. In fact, he didn’t have a spirit of choice at all given bad things happen when alcohol was involved and bad things on top of bad luck just didn’t mix. Not like a well-shaken drink.

But on this auspicious evening, at, oh, eight o’clock, after having nicked a bottle from Chase down in 1C, Ari opened up a brand new app and attempted not one, not two, but three separate recipes all involving a cheap, gold liquid that tasted surprising like melancholy and self-pity. Not a bad combination if he was any judge. And then the app crashed. And he broke his tumbler. Leading to a not-very-smart-decision to switch to a shot glass.

With breath tasting of orange juice and a sticky residue clinging to his pale blue shirt, Ari threw himself into the chair by his full-length keyboard and began to stumble through the beginnings of sad melodies he’d memorized in his youth during his angstiest stage. And then, for some dreadful reason, he switched to love songs. The sort of love songs that would leave a lonely man sobbing if he didn’t have a lick of sense not to delve too deeply into emotions best left alone.

And Ari was a little short on sense this evening. Even he could admit that. Continue reading →

May, Briefly

31 Wednesday May 2017

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One of my personal problems is that I tend to forget anything and everything I’ve accomplished in a given time period, thus leading to the thought I haven’t actually accomplished anything at all. Which, I’ve been informed, is completely wrong.

I’m hoping that listing everything I’ve done each month will help remove this thought-process while giving everyone updates on where I am in differing projects.

May accomplishments:

1) Prepared Pre-order for Bridle the Unicorn

This includes Edits, Blurb, Formatting, ISBN info and Promotional Schedule.

2) Wrote 6 short stories.

I did a question challenge in May where I would ‘answer’ a question given to me in story format in a character’s POV. Wrote:

  •  The Illusion That is Failure (I really liked this one so it got bumped ahead of the story I’d originally finished for June)
  • The Baywater and the Hurricane (Set in the same city as The Cascade and the Firebrand)
  • Just a Typical Day in a Nurse’s Life (Sort of a conglomeration of first and second person that is supposed to be humorous)
  • The Choice in the Inevitable (Ideological World-building for a country that never falls to the Merandin Empire)
  • Tall, Dark & Handsome (Coffee shop romance and only non-fantasy I wrote)
  • First Date Taboo (A confession on a dinner date)

I also have a few more small stories started but not finished, but they have dropped to least priority now that May is over.

3) Prepped Bridle the Unicorn Promo

  • Roan’s Interview
  • Ari’s Interview
  • Ari’s Tour
  • Quotes

4) Prepped Blog Posts

I lost count of how many I prepped this month. All the short stories and poems I finished were edited and prepped as well as anything else I finished having to do with Bridle the Unicorn. This was in anticipation of having a bunch of things ready to go in the coming months so I can concentrate on completing longer projects.

5) Requested Cover Date

For a new houndmaster novella set mostly in Crafton. Tentative release next winter/early spring.

Roan’s Interview (Bridle the Unicorn)

25 Thursday May 2017

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Roan’s Interview

Copyright © Emmi Lawrence

He had a curious, but careful, gaze as he sat on the bench I indicated. His hair, brown with just a hint of a reddish tinge, flowed almost to his shoulders and his eyes were the color of charcoal in the shadows cast by my single lamp. He had a easy smile, but a slight one, that came fast and disappeared just as quickly.

“Thank you for stopping by,” I said. “I only have a couple of questions if you don’t mind sparing a few moments for our readers.”

“Not at all.” That smile again, a flash of light before it faded once more. “It’s my pleasure.”

“Just for the record, your name?”

“Roan Baylor.” Continue reading →

Bridle the Unicorn: Ari’s Tour

23 Tuesday May 2017

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The Plan

Hey everyone! Bridle the Unicorn’s publication date is set for July 28th, but before my novels come out I always like to publish some free promotional pieces to whet your appetite. In this case, I wanted to come up with something that even those of you who have read the story might still enjoy!

Anyone who followed along last year knows there were a number of times I really—really—wanted to write some of the story from Ari’s point of view, but was unable to because of spoiler city in his mind. So! As a way to let me finally play around in his point of view I came up with an idea that intermixes writing in Ari’s mind with an introduction to the apartment building inside which most of the story takes place.

I call it: Ari’s Tour. Continue reading →

Lost Isle Teasers (WIPjoy Twitter Collection)

14 Sunday May 2017

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In April I participated in a twitter challenge to celebrate a current WIP. The book I used was Lost Isle: The Ocean’s Aviary I, which will be published in December 2017. Gay fantasy romance, as per the norm. I thought I’d gather the answers to all the questions here as teasers for the novel :)

Just as a quick additional announcement, I’m adding 2-3 more monthly posts on my blog. The second Sunday will have a post similar to this one serving as a collection/teaser. The third Sunday will be a publication of a short poem. And there’s the possibility of me adding a fourth post at the end of each month that will serve as an update to let everyone know what I’ve accomplished for that month and where I am in different projects.

None of these are time-intensive so they will not interrupt my writing schedule, but will hopefully give more information to you on a regular basis to remove spotty updates.

Day 1: Introduce your WIP!

Day 2: Describe your main character.

Day 3: Share a visual that goes with Lost Isle.

Day 4: Share a song that inspires you for Lost Isle.

Day 5: Share a line of description.

Continue reading →

Bridle the Unicorn Cover Reveal

28 Friday Apr 2017

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BRIDLE THE UNICORN
Coming July 28th

Behind every door lies another memory.

Early one morning, Roan Baylor is disturbed by the ghost of his neighbor. A ghost who loudly proclaims himself to be not a ghost at all. In a moment of curiosity-laced intrigue, Roan agrees to help the not-ghost find his way back into his body.

This first meeting with Ari Nix, an expressive and intense young man, begins a whirlwind affair between them both, one that has Roan doubting his own mind. For Ari knows things, secrets, both strange and wonderful, that he shares with Roan. But the biggest secret of all is the one Ari refuses to share, a memory he says will make Roan hate him.

Roan doesn’t want to return to a life without Ari, yet he can’t help but think they aren’t meant to be together. For Roan always knows a lie when he hears one. And Ari isn’t lying.

Bridle the Unicorn will be on pre-order for $0.99 starting in May.

Cover credit goes to the awesome team at Deranged Doctor Design!

Note: For everyone who followed along during the last year during Roan and Ari’s story–thank you! This novel has no significant changes other than numerous editing passes to clean things up, nor will there be any bonus material since I didn’t feel that it would be fair to those of you who were supporting me here. <3