The Dreaming State...

Why is it on the nights you really feel like sleeping your mind never wants to shut off?

When I'm the most tired, my characters feel like they have free reign over my mind. As of last night in all the chaos and as much as  I love Michael Marsden  he's been demanding that I hurry up and write book 3 in The Lines of Marsden: You Make Me Die In Pieces as he wants Doyle's memories back. He wants his life to get back to normal so he can kick some paranormal arse.

Again if that isn't enough I have other characters both old and knew wanting to be heard over the din inside my head. Vlad has told me I'm on my own and he'll come back when I have some semblance of order restored... I don't see it happening any time soon.

I'm still getting a ton of ideas for new story lines, but to be honest, The Lines of Marsden is kinda taking control. Every spare minute I have I'm working out bits and pieces in upcoming books for that series. I'm going to have to work out a writing schedule and stick to it... Just to make sure I find the time for my other commitments as well... especially for my other publishing houses.

I have also been working on spread sheets for all my series/stories - with pages for character profiles, nationality, species, lineages etc. It's time consuming but I think in the end it will be very beneficial for me to have everything at my finger tips... I'm working on adding blurbs and synopsis to the spread sheets... Wish me luck.

Vicktor Alexander ~ The Beginning (Sons of Adam)

World Building for the Sons of Adam series

First of all I want to thank NJ for having me on her blog. I am so honored to be here. It's so nice and comfortable, I may never leave.

It's Day Two of my "In The Beginning" Blog Tour for my book "The Beginning (Sons of Adam: 1)" which releases February 17^th from Rooster & Pig Publishing and I'm so looking forward to hearing the feedback from the readers about this book as well as the grand finale of this tour when I get to give away the prizes, I LURVE giving away stuff. So read to the very end for your chance to win.

One of the things I love the most about starting a new series is the world building. I spend a few days creating what I call "The Bible" for a series that I follow, especially if it's paranormal, so I can make sure that I don't say that men can't get pregnant in one line and have someone wind up pregnant in the next chapter.

In the case of the Sons of Adam series I actually needed a Bible because there was going to be parts of it that would come up throughout the series and I wanted to have something to refer to. But with the world building what should I include?

I included some of everything: The History of Creation, Paranormal Laws, Setting, Religion, Governmental Body, Familial Structure, Sexuality, Births, Deaths, Statistics, Myths, Financial Outlook, Education, Careers, Transportation, Entertainment, Military, Allies, Rivalries, News, Society, Culture, Anatomy, and Paranormal Complexities.

I'm not going to go into detail about all of them but I am going to mention the laws.

You see, things with them are a little different than with us:

• The true nature of any paranormal, magick, or supernatural being is to remain a secret so as to not incite riots, wars, or oppression from humans.

• Homosexuality is a human failing and will not be tolerated among paranormals. Anyone caught in a homosexual relationship will be killed. No questions asked. This is not true of magicks or  supernaturals who need these relationships to procreate. But paranormals can impregnate their women and is not a race of men only, and so, for this reason, homosexuality is not to be tolerated.

• Once a year, all paranormals, magicks and supernaturals shall gather in the wilds of Africa to discuss the state of affairs. Everyone must attend, even children.

• No one shall interfere with a true mating, however, a mating can be called into question if its validity is questioned.

• There shall be a governing body for every paranormal, magick, and supernatural pack, coven, pride, sect, clutch, etc. out there. These governing bodies shall meet monthly to discuss issues and to keep the other governing bodies abreast of things taking place in our world.

• The elders, alphas, leaders, and kings shall be chosen by the people they are to lead.

• Anyone can challenge for a position of leadership. This is not a fight to the death, for we do not want to dwindle our numbers when the humans are thriving around us, but whoever loses, shall pack up their family and move away from that community.

• All orphaned children shall be the responsibility of the leader of that community. They shall be adopted and treated as members of that leader’s family. No exceptions.

• The leaders will be paid a monthly salary by the community. This shall be 10% of the earnings of the community that they lead.

• Under no circumstances is any paranormal, magick, or supernatural to mate a human. None. 

So imagine the uproar that happens when Cole Tronk, a lion shifter, meets his mate, Ronny Parker, a human male outside of a Starbucks and ignoring the laws decides to give him the mating bite anyway. And when that leads to Ronny's cousin and his gangster buddies discovering, and subsequently filming, the evidence of shifters, what is going to happen to the world as we know it?

The Beginning (Sons of Adam: 1)  releases from Rooster & Pig Publishing on February 17^th, 2014. Here is the blurb and an excerpt from the book to keep you interested until then. And in the comments, tell me which one of the laws would you have the most trouble following if you were a shifter?

Blurb:

Ronny Parker has always been aware that there was more to life outside of his Harlem apartment. When he goes to work one morning at Starbucks, he finds himself coming face to face with a reality that he was not prepared for. He finds himself the eyewitness to a fight between two shifters, a wolf and a lion, one of which bites Ronny and calls him “mate.” When Ronny wakes up the next morning, he finds himself thrust into a world neither his family, nor his teachers, ever taught him about and he does the only thing he can do. He starts to investigate.

Cole Tronk has been taught from an early age that he is never to mate a human, never reveal his true nature to a human, and that he cannot be gay. But when he gets into a fight with his oldest friend outside of a Starbucks and finds himself smelling the most intoxicating scent ever, he throws all of those rules out of the window. Before long, Cole and his mate, Ronny, are on the run from the governing body of the paranormals, humans who have now discovered that paranormals, magicks, and supernaturals exist, and someone from Ronny’s past who is determined to kill them both.

Along the way, Cole and Ronny meet up with a group of paranormals, magicks, and supernaturals who are also gay, and who are researching the true history of the world and creation. What they find will not only change their lives, but the entire world and the future. Will Ronny and Cole’s mating survive all of these obstacles? When a millennia-old lie comes back to bite them in the ass, will Ronny and Cole be able to deal with the consequences?

Excerpt:

He told himself that he was going to push Cole away, but his hands seemed to not be listening to him and instead they rose to wrap around Cole’s neck as the other man groaned and drank Ronny’s blood. After a moment, when Ronny was starting to feel just slightly weak, Cole let go of his neck and licked the wounds. He kissed the skin there and began to purr. At first, it freaked Ronny out, but, after a moment, he found himself more turned on by the purring than he’d been by the bite to his neck.

The bite to his—hold the hell on!

Ronny shoved Cole away from him. Jabbing a finger into Cole’s chest, he glared and let out his own growl. “You fucking bit me, you psycho!”

Cole smirked. “You loved it,” he pointed out, crossing his massive arms across his broad chest.

Ronny’s gaze caressed the other man’s torso before he reminded himself that he was supposed to be mad. “That doesn’t fucking matter! The point is that. You. Bit. Me,” Ronny stated, emphasizing the last three words with a jab to Cole’s chest.

Cole merely nodded and grabbed Ronny’s finger before jerking him closer. Ronny collided with Cole’s chest and let out an oomph. And so what if he buried his face in the other man’s chest and sniffed him? He was fucking human, he was supposed to be curious.

“Yes, I did bite you. I marked you as mine,” Cole stated, pride evident in his voice. “Now everyone, every paranormal, magick, supernatural creature, even every human will know that you belong to me and will stay away.”

Ronny’s eyes widened and he struggled to get Cole to let him go. He looked up into the lion man’s eyes and scowled. “Whoa, possessive much?”

Cole was prevented from speaking by another voice, one that Ronny had forgotten was there.

“Look, this is all really interesting and shit, but, Cole, you just broke the fucking law, man. Not only did you--okay, we--reveal the truth about the paranormal world to a human, but you just mated one. You realize that your leaders are going to come after you right?” Benjamin spoke up.

Ronny felt Cole stiffen against him and it was only that moment of distraction that allowed Ronny to pull away and back up against the wall again. “Wait, what? What are you talking about, Ben?”

Benjamin sighed. He was almost as tall and big as Cole. His skin was the color of caramel, his black hair was cut short, and, right now, his usually expressive and kind light brown eyes were dark and filled with anger. Ronny felt like backing up even further into the wall, but unfortunately he couldn’t.

“Humans aren’t supposed to know about us. And we aren’t supposed to mate them. Doing either of those things can have you imprisoned, beaten, or even killed by the leader of your pack, pride, coven, sect, or clutch,” Benjamin explained.

Ronny’s eyes widened. “Will I be killed too?” Ronny asked. Benjamin winced and Ronny turned his narrowed gaze onto Cole. “You fucker! What the hell did you bite me for?”

Cole growled in Benjamin’s direction and then pulled Ronny into his arms tightly. Ronny shivered as Cole’s lips pressed a kiss onto the top of his head. “Listen to me, and listen closely,” Cole said, his voice low, dark, and menacing. “Finding a mate is one of the most amazing things in the world. So many of us die without every finding the other part of our souls. I don’t care if you’re human. I don’t care if you’re black. I don’t care if you listen to Miley Cyrus when no one’s around. You’re my mate and I will not give you up,” Cole said firmly. He shook his head and his muscles tensed. “I also will not let anything happen to you, understand? You are mine to protect, to love, to treasure. You belong to me and are and will forever be the most important thing in my life. So no harm will come to you. Not as long as I have breath in my body.”

“Exactly,” Benjamin said, shaking his head, his eyes now looking sad as he looked over at Cole and Ronny. “The leaders know how it is between mates. They will kill you first to get to him. And I was a witness to all of this, so they’re going to kill me, too. You have fucked all of us, Cole.”

The Beginning can be pre-ordered from Rooster & Pig Publishing at a discounted price until its release day at which time it will go to its normal price.

Find Vic Here

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here's A Review

MM Good Book Reviews

I Got 5 Hearts

Updates!!!

 Well, as we all know I haven't been feeling up to par lately... but I'm slowly starting to come around. 

Good news: I've woken up headache free... Bad news: It feels like I just rubbed chilli powder or pepper in my right eye and it stinging like a bitch... even after flushing the damn thing out...it's an omen to never clean the kitchen again - LOL.

Okay, at the moment I'm working up some submissions for Rooster & Pig Publishing... this guy on the right is inspiration for Joel Roxby - Fey Prince of sorts. he is one of the lead characters in book one: Claiming Roxby's Heart. From my series SPAM Inc.

The weird part for me is writing a synopsis for a story I haven't as yet written - as I'm not a plotter/planner - I just write whatever falls out of my head when I sit in front of the computer each day.

Harlin Edwards - human, is the other main character in this particular story line... 

Today I need to change the formatting to fit R&P submissions guidelines. To be totally honest it would be a hell of a lot easier if all publishers used the same formatting for submissions.

Other than that, they have also asked to see something on the following:

The Diamond Rose (series).
Taking Chances (series).
In the shadow of the Dragon (single story).

Sentinels Of Varnuse: When The Walls Come Tumbling Down #6.

#6.

Mylo Kornel stood in fear hiding in the shadows and watching as the king comforted his consort. Truthfully he didn’t understand what was so wrong with the two men loving each other—at least they were loving somebody. He was sorry for his part in what was happening.  He should never have agreed to put the damn plant in the bedchamber of the king and his consort.

He wasn’t quite sure what the significance was of the plant. At the time he’d wondered why the giver wanted to remain anonymous. The plant itself was beautiful. Why would something of such beauty put such fear in King Quinlan? Scratching the side of his face he wondered how he was going to explain his part in this whole mess. Even though he didn’t know who the original sender was, he could tell them who paid him to place the plant where he had. Mylo jumped when Cleric Saskia suddenly appeared beside him.

“You look troubled,” Saskia’s voice washed over Mylo in a way which soothed him. Being a cleric Saskia’s gift must be the ability to soothe the soul. It was deep and rich and felt like a blanket of warmth wrapped around him.

Mylo studied the cleric. The man’s dark blue eyes drew him in. their intenseness made him want to confide everything inside of him. Mylo’s gaze dropped to the cleric’s soft looking lips, and then he began to speak. “It was me. I put the plant in the king’s room.”

“Now why would you do that?” Saskia asked softly, one eyebrow rose in apparent curiosity.

Mylo shrugged, “I was paid to. I don’t see what the big fuss is. So what if someone wanted to give the king’s consort a pretty gift?”

Cleric Saskia’s face held a sad quality or so Mylo thought. “You don’t know the meaning of such a gift, do you?”

“No,” Mylo shook his head.

“Such a gift is an ill omen. They say to be given this particular gift means you’ve been warned a bounty has been placed upon your head.”

“Oh shyte,” Mylo groaned, “I didn’t know. I mean, if I had known I would never have done it.” It wasn’t until the king spoke that Mylo realised that cleric Saskia had led him to stand in front of the king. And probably his being thrown into the palace dungeons for his stupidity.

**~*~**

“I would like you to tell me who gave you the plant for my husband?” Quinlan could barely contain his rage. He wanted to lash out at somebody, and this man looked like a pretty good target.

“It was Ormand, Lord Dalziel’s son. He told me the plant was a gift from one of Consort Brayden’s friends from his past. I didn’t know what it meant until the cleric Saskia explained.”

“Did it not seem strange that Ormand didn’t want to deliver the gift himself?” Quin demanded. He rubbed soothing circles on Brayden’s back as his husband shuddered in his lap.

“I thought so at first, but then he told me you were a little upset with his father. He said Consort Brayden was holding him to blame for his father’s stupidity.” Mylo paled significantly. “Why am I always such an idiot?”

When Cleric Saskia placed his hand on the young man’s shoulder the man jumped in fright. “What is your name?”

“Mylo, my name is Mylo Kornel.” Mylo answered softly.

“Where do you come from, Mylo Kornel?” Brayden asked. “Just by looking at you even I can tell you’re not from Panthea.”

“No, Consort Brayden, I’m from the lower end of Darvish. My family are mainly sailors. My mother sent me here after she dreamed I would be needed here. My father on the other hand didn’t want me to come. Apparently he thinks my mother should stop interfering whenever she sees something.”

Surprise crossed cleric Saskia’s face, “Would your mother be Bryn Kornel; Mistress of the Keep?”

A true smile crossed Mylo’s face. “Yes, she’s my mother.”

“What is going on?” Brayden asked as he leaned back into Quinlan’s chest.

Cleric Saskia was the one to answer. “Bryn Kornel is a seer of great power. I met her years ago when I was but a child. She told me then that she would send my mate to me when I’d need them the most.”

Quin saw how Cleric Saskia let his gaze wander over Mylo. The gleam in his eyes was also a telling sign that young man was definitely Saskia’s type. Quin appraised Mylo; granted the man was muscular with large arms.  The strong face let the world know Mylo was not a man to be messed with. Yes definitely Saskia’s type. Quin wondered if Mylo had the markings to prove he was Saskia’s intended mate. They had spent many an hour discussing the fated mate mark—as Quinlan had never heard of such a thing before. By the look in his friend’s eyes he knew Saskia was thinking along the same lines.

“Could you take off your shirt?” Cleric Saskia asked.

“What?” Mylo took a step away. His hands clenched in the front of his own shirt. “Why do you want me to take off my shirt?”

“Your mother told me there would be something on your upper body to would let me know you were the one fated to be my mate.”

“Oh,” Mylo nervously pulled his shirt over his head; wadding it into a ball in front of him as cleric Saskia stared at his naked torso.

“Well?” Quinlan asked

Cleric Saskia could only nod as his fingertips reached out and traced the pattern that ran down Mylo’s left arm from the base of his neck spiralling around to his inner wrist. It’s exactly as the seer predicted. Cleric Saskia cleared his throat, “He’s my mate.”

On The Upside...

I've been away a lot lately... I've been having a bout of very bad & horrible migraines... I know, I know--suck it up, Princess, no one likes a whiner.

On the upside in between bouts of my head feeling like it has wanted to explode and where I can actually think for a while... I've been discussing with myself (yes I talk/argue to myself a lot), but also been telling my editor Christie N at MLR about what I have planned for future books in The Lines Of Marsden. Talking to someone about it has helped me through the sorting out process. there were parts I wasn't too sure on that might delve too far into taboo subjects. Now I have a better path ahead of me that doesn't change the story line but takes away the parts I was iffy on.

I'm still not feeling 100% but I am getting back to my cheery, sarcastic self, and hope to actually be back to writing at some stage later this week.

Happy Birthday To Me...

Just because I can...