It's really hard for me to maintain a Christmas Spirit for a whole month. Go read her blog post while I have a mimosa.
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So, A Marked Man is out...
In 1982, I wrote my very first short story as part of a class project... it's horrible and terrible and no, I'm not going to show it to you. But it was the first step in a very long journey...
In 1984, I wrote the following sentence, It might look familiar if you buy A Marked Man.
"The thief known as Mace crouched beneath the table."
The rest of the short story - five ridiculous, painstakingly typed pages - goes on to describe the theft of jellies and jams from a bakery as a gift for the thief's mother's birthday...
That was the first time Mace the Assassin made an appearance in my life. It wouldn't be the last. In 86, while I was at horse camp in New Hampshire for twelve weeks, I handwrote out several short stories about Mace and his girlfriend, Maddie. Those stories are lost. My camp roommate might have deserved
He went into hiatus for quite a long while after that...
And then he made a big time resurgence when I saw the movie The Three Musketeers
Michael Wincott, with the voice and the sneer and the delicious darkness, became the face of Mace the assassin...
I became obsessed with Wincott, watched as many of his movies as I could get my hands on...
I mean, just listen to that... chilling.... seductive. Perfect.
But then I had to put him away again. I wasn't really writing much during that time from about 1992 - 2001, give or take. I'd gotten some pretty brutal criticism and didn't have the emotional maturity or bandwidth to handle it. My life was every kinds of messed up. I did maybe... 8 short stories in those years (I wrote a very bad portal novel in 1990, which I can't even find a rough draft of, and that's probably a good thing... ) and I have several abortive attempts at other novels... the rough of which became the backbone of W.O.L. and a currently backburnered novel called Rains in Eden.
And then it happened. I dragged Mace out of the closet where he'd been lurking and used him as a role playing character...
Once I gave him a voice, a face, a real name behind the assassin's street-name he was called...
I haven't been able to get him out of my head since...
It's a little unnerving from time to time having a professional assassin hanging out in your head, commenting on your life. Just saying. In case that's ever happened to you...
But finally, I got his voice down on paper and into your hands. Despite that, he's still sitting in my mental living room, his boots up on my coffee table, making the casual observation about my life...
The thief known as Mace crouched under the kitchen table. He balanced precariously between a set of embroidered slippers and a pair of immaculate leather boots, praying to whatever gods might look out for thieves that neither of the people sharing breakfast were particularly clumsy.
If either Sorcerer Aleck Merril or Knight-Commander Jan Lyze dropped a fork and bent to peer under the tablecloth, Mace would be discovered, destroying what could become a legendary heist. Bad enough that he was trapped under the table, an undignified position at best. He hadn't eaten in at least a day; betrayal by grumbling from his empty stomach would just be humiliating. The smell of bacon and toast and jam above his head tormented him.
His back ached from the weight of his backpack, stuffed with jewelry, coins, and a assorted magical devices swiped from the sorcerer's desk. The main prize, an enchanted gemstone, was tucked inside his shirt pocket. It swung gently with each breath he took, chafing the collar of his shirt against his sweat-damp neck. The thief shifted his balance to ease muscles threatening to cramp.I hope you enjoy his adventures as much as I did...
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And Torquere's still doing their 2 free books per day...
Herc's Mercs: The Bigger they Come by Ari McKay
Cade “Hercules” Thornton is an ex-Marine and soldier of fortune; now he’s the owner of Hercules Security, which provides the best bodyguards in the business. After his leg was crushed and reconstructed, Cade doesn’t do field work anymore - until a challenge is issued to him by wealthy Kate Morgan, who wants her “bookish” grandson protected from a stalker. She insists on having the very best bodyguard available, and that is Cade himself.But there is nothing laid back or bookish about Dr. Jude Morgan. Having lived under the thumb of his grandmother his entire life, Jude is insistent that he doesn’t need a babysitter. Sparks fly when Cade tries to insinuate himself into Jude’s life, and Cade knocks Jude on his ass - literally.
Yet the danger to Jude is real, and Cade is the only thing standing between him and an increasingly more terrifying stalker. Cade’s protective feelings for his client become something more, while Jude begins to realize that his brawny, neo-Viking protector is a man unlike anyone he’s ever known. Yet as Cade and Jude grow closer, so does the danger.
Cade will stop at nothing to protect Jude, but Jude’s stalker is determined to get his man - even if he has to kill Cade Thornton to do it.
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Zirkua Fantastic by Voss Foster
Zirkua Fantastic has been running steadily since 1753, amazing its patrons with acts of otherworldly skill and prowess. But that talent comes at a steep price: each artist must give a year of his or her life to the circus. None of them know why, only that the circus' owners will go to whatever lengths are necessary to ensure it. Toby, the hoop dancer at Zirkua Fantastic and son of one of the owners, is content with his life: he enjoys performing and Zirkua's wandering life, and even has a boyfriend among the circus' hawkers. But when a new artist arrives, bringing with him a strange flask and a number of odd occurrences, Toby falls face-first into the truth behind the circus: Its contracts bind King Jester, the immortal embodiment of chaos.Zirkua's performances and contracts have held King Jester prisoner for centuries, but now something's amiss. King Jester's sister, Dragon, has escaped her own bonds and is working to free her brother, and his power is growing. If he is loosed on the world, it will mean the worst war in human history and the end of civilization... unless Zirkua Fantastic can find a way to stop him.
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