4 Star Review for At the Mercy #scifi #amreading

Kayelle Allen 08/31/2015 New Book

Reviews for Mercy

“At the Mercy of Her Pleasure is a story filled with vice and a political empire whose leader, the Conqueror, has no scruples about its application for her own benefit. Add to the mix slavery, kidnapping, blackmail, behaviour enhancing/suppressing drugs and NarrAy Jorlan, one very tempting, genetically engineered human female soldier, and the Antonello brothers, Senth and Khyff, have a lot to contend with to save each other from a life of slavery and submission. …the enigma of Luc Saint-Cyr (the Harbinger) was fascinating. I hope we’ll get to read more about him in this series.” Reviewer: Meredith Gurr, Merry’s Reviews https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1369914461

This review is for the current edition of At the Mercy of Her Pleasure. Here are a few reviews from previous editions.

Love Romances and More

Review 4.5 Hearts
Apr 2010
Ms. Allen is an author that always gives something for the reader to enjoy and read over again. Like a magician, she weaves a spell around her readers with her books and delivers a story that leaves you spellbound.
http://loveromancesandmore.blogspot.com/2010/04/at-mercy-of-her-pleasure-by-kayelle.html

Literary Nymphs

Review 4.5 Nymphs

Reviews for Mercy – Literary Nymphs

Apr 2010
Kayelle Allen delivers a well-plotted story, as always, with fascinating twists you don’t see coming. For those who enjoy Saint-Cyr as much as I do, there’s more than enough of the handsome plotting man to quench your thirst.
http://literarynymphsreviewsonly.blogspot.com/2010/04/at-mercy-of-her-pleasure.html

Romance Junkies

Review 4.5 Ribbons
Apr 2010
With a dazzling cast of characters and an action packed plot, Kayelle Allen introduces us to her extraordinary Empire of Tarth and the alluring Antonello Brothers, where everything is possible and the only boundaries are only those created by her illimitable imagination.
http://romancejunkiesreviews.com/artman/publish/paranormal/KAAt_the_Mercy_of_Her_Pleasure.shtml

Romantic Times Book Reviews

Review 3 Stars
May 2004
Passion is the name of the game in this story. … At the Mercy of Her Pleasure is an amazing, captivating science fiction story.
http://www.rtbookreviews.com/book-review/mercy-her-pleasure

Long and Short Reviews (formerly Whipped Cream Reviews)

Review 4 Cherries
This story definitely had the right amount of sugar and spice. Because this was a sci-fi story based on another world the author really had free rein to use her imagination.
http://whippedcream2.blogspot.com/2010/04/at-mercy-of-her-pleasure-by-kayelle.html

You Gotta Read Reviews

Review: You Need to Read
Aug 2010
Overall, I wish I could recommend reading this book, but I must instead recommend reading it twice. The ending is a serious twist that throws everything into a different light. I won’t ruin it by saying any more then that.
http://yougottareadreviews.blogspot.com/2010/08/review-at-mercy-of-her-pleasure-by.html

Tropes as Elements in Fantasy and #Scifi @MelissaSnark #IAN1

Kayelle Allen 07/01/2015 Colonies of Man

Tropes are literary themes that recur across a genre. Think of tropes as the ‘brilliant detective’ of murder mysteries or ‘the virginal heroine’ in Regency romances. Tropes are more than character descriptions, however. They can relate to plot as well.

Films are often identified by their tropes: chick flick, shoot ’em up, RomCon, or the well known Whodunnit.

Tropes are similar to archetypes and clichés, although not necessarily negative in aspect. Tropes can abbreviate writing — and reading.

In the 1990 Arnold Schwarzennegar film Total Recall, the futuristic world had so many futuristic elements that it was hard to recognize roles. In one scene, a woman sitting at a desk casually changes the color of her nails by applying it with a special wand, while she answers a phone. Instantly, her secretarial role became recognizable. The shorthand of her actions told us what we needed to know, without spending time doing it. If a character walks in the room and he’s wearing a white coat and has a stethoscope hanging around his neck, we expect him to be a doctor. The props themselves are part of the tropes for these kinds of characters. It can become a cliche, yes. Even become part of a character archetype. Evil laugh for the villain? Check. But tropes are not necessarily a bad thing. There are thousands of tropes.

Tropes in Trailing Kaiwulf

To see where these colored boxes come from and to understand their concept, click HERE to open the Periodic Table of Storytelling in a new window.

Ind – Adventurer Archaelogist (Dr. Viva Post)

An older woman, Dr. Viva Post was confined to a hoverchair after a cave in at a ruins injured her spine. She uses a silver “strength suit” to walk or climb limited distances.

Ag – Action Girl (Jee Tonopah)

Jee is the personification of an Action Girl. She can go toe-to-toe with her male counterparts without breaking a sweat. The day she has to be rescued will never dawn. Although she is tiny in comparison to her beefy partner, she is the undisputed brawn to his brain.

Gb – Genius Bruiser (Dane Raphyel)

The Genius Bruiser is a big guy who is also a geek. Dane is far from being Dumb Muscle. He understands the significance of the MacGuffin being sought, as well as some of the history of the Gates Technology (Applied Phlebotinum).

Cal – The Call (TRAIL mission)

The first step in a hero’s journey is the point where our heroes learn they must abandon their well-earned vacations, saved for over a period of years, and go on a dire quest to retrieve a MacGuffin. A Living MacGuffin in this case.

Ob – Obstructive Bureaucrat (Jeff Thompson / Lt. Cmdr. Morrison / unnamed executive)

There are multiple Obstructive Bureacrats for the price of one in this story. Their machinations generally meet dire ends, as befits the annoying natures of the characters.

Phl – Applied Phlebotinum (Gates Technology)

As the tropes site explains, this is science, magic, and strange things unknown to science or magic. In Trailing Kaiwulf, there are various advanced technologies that are unexplained because they seem commonplace to the characters using them (intersteller flight, strength suits, communication devices, etc.). However, the defining “phlebotinum” of this book is the Gates technology. The ruins of twin steel arches over 200 feet high have been found on several previously thought uninhabited worlds. Scientists have puzzled over their intended use. On the planet Ust, they find a dying race that still uses the technology — or would have, if the key to turning on the Gates hadn’t been stolen. Finding and retrieving the person who stole the key is the crux of the story.

Mcg – MacGuffin (Kaiwulf)

Kaiwulf is a “Living MacGuffin” whose presence in the story serves to drive the plot. He’s an invisible man who can enter another dimension, and the heroes of the story must find and return him to this dimension.

Here’s a link to the original post on Melissa’s site for last year’s event.

Learn More About Tropes

A popular site for fans is TV Tropes. It started out as a small wiki for TV watchers, and has grown into millions of fans in every media. During the month of July, Author Melissa Snark is featuring a number of authors on her Snarkology site who will discuss tropes in their stories. The series is based on the Periodic Table of Storytelling, which is linked to the TV Tropes site. For this event, Melissa’s site and the TV Tropes site will be linked. Be sure to visit both. You won’t want to miss.

Each author in the Tropes event will have the opportunity to show off the varied tropes within one tale. Here is a list of appearances. I’m up first, on July 7th with The Last Vhalgenn.

July 7             Kayelle Allen
July 8             Jax Daniels
July 9             Nicole Zoltack
July 10           Houston Havens
July 11           Melissa Snark
July 13           Caroline Warfield
July 14           Jude Knight
July 15           Emily Walker
July 16           Mari Christie
July 17           Jami Brumfield

If you sign up for my newsletter you’ll be the first to hear when the post comes out. Signing up is easy. Just click the link shown above, or enter your email in the link on the left. Why not also follow the blog by choosing one of the options listed? Or sign up for one email when a new book is released by clicking here: Author Alarms Thank you for your support!

Oh Mercy: Rewriting a #Scifi Favorite #IAN1

Kayelle Allen 06/16/2015 New Book

I’m editing a previously released scifi romance in preparation for re-release. It’s mainstream scifi (but was erotica). Taking out the graphic content means the story itself shines for a whole new audience.

The story deserves an all new cover as well. It’s had two previous ones. The first one was by Laura Givens, and the second by Anne Cain. The Author’s Secret did this one. Since I own the business, I have to brag. Our custom covers come with a month of ad space on The Romance Studio, and a month of DMCA Take Down service from Book About.

Oh Mercy

This is the first book I ever wrote, and it’s in need of some shaping. I’ve written other books since, and this is in the same universe as they are. I’ve fine tuned details since this came out. This is not the absolute final version, but it’s not likely to change much. I’ve even rewritten the blurb to better fit the story.

I’ll be sharing info on how and why I edited various scenes as I recreate the book. This is the first in a series and contains the new blurb, as well as the first two pages.

At the Mercy of Her Pleasure

Here are the blurb, and the first three paragraphs of At the Mercy of Her Pleasure. I hope you enjoy it.
—

If he touches her, he’ll be at the mercy of her pleasure.

Professional thief Senth Antonello is hired to retrieve a stolen prototype for which the imperial armada has already killed twice. When Senth’s brother is kidnapped to ensure the device is surrendered, Senth must rescue his brother, outsmart the armada, and keep the item out of imperial hands. All doable, except for one small problem. Senth must accomplish it in the company of a genetically altered woman whose pheromones could enhance the mission or crumble it into dust with a single siren kiss.

Excerpt

Once in the shadows, Senth Antonello shoved back the hood of his sensor-blocking cloak and fanned his face. The Thieves’ Guild tech let him hide from copbot scans, but it didn’t cool him. Using his fangs, he loosened first one glove, then the other, and peeled them off. He tucked them into one of dozens of hidden pockets in the cloak.

The faint sound of gang chant carried in the chilled night air. Gangs in the Crooktown District hunted mixed breeds like him. At first glance, Senth appeared human, but with his catlike eyes and fangs, no one could miss his Kin nature. In moonlight, his eyes glowed.

The chant grew louder, along with the sound of glass breaking. The deeper darkness that followed meant two things: another streetlight had met its end, and that gang was closer than Senth had thought.

You come down here I skin you. Senth flattened himself against the brick wall. I skin you, the Grand Master skins me. Let’s do each other a favor, huh, boys?

Worse, the Grand Master would inform Senth’s Sen’dai. His guild master. The crime lord all the other crime lords feared. The Man. The Harbinger. Luc Saint-Cyr.

The Guild didn’t accept non-humans, unless they were enslaved to a human member. No one could rise past level ten, unless related to a human member. Marriages and adoptions happened, regularly. So, to keep the Guild happy, Saint-Cyr was Senth’s lord and master and his adoptive father.

No way Senth wanted the Man angry with him. The last time he’d almost…

Don’t even go there. Senth shook off the thought, drew his hood forward again, and edged around the corner into a darker alley. “Ffffftt!” The Kin cuss word hissed past his fangs. Where are you? Come on, you have to be close. Senth’s HalfKin senses caught the scent of his quarry.

Pressed against the wall, Senth slipped around one last corner, and hunkered down. He melted into the concealing darkness behind a barrel, and narrowed night-sensitive eyes.

His human half brother leaned against the opposite wall of the trash-strewn alley. Khyffen Antonello’s blond hair shone in the muted light. A female pinned him, arms around his neck. She tore open Khyff’s shirt and ran her hands over his chest.

Senth folded himself into the tight space behind the barrel and settled in to wait. Protection of his brother went before any assignment, at least tonight. Family came first.

Senth’s mother had died after birthing him. Khyff, who’d been three, had been sold into slavery. Neither of them knew the other lived until a month ago. Neither had a clue about their biological fathers. Until Khyff had found him, Senth’s only “family” had consisted of the Man.

Pulling out Saint-Cyr’s note, Senth read it once more. Get your half brother and meet me at The Ghost. I have a job for you. Do it, and I’ll buy Khyffen and free him, but it’s going to cost you.

Of course it would. Senth slipped his gloves back on. The Man didn’t do anything for free. But if it got Khyff out of that hellhole, Senth would do it. Leaning out from behind the barrel, he spied Khyff.

His brother had clenched his fists, eyes squeezed shut, face lifted to the night sky, mouth open in a silent scream.

Senth’s master had raised him to believe that no one should have to sell himself to survive. Saint-Cyr owned one slave only, and that was Senth, and only so he could rise within the Guild. They might not agree on how but they did agree on what.

Khyff needed his freedom.
—
At the Mercy of Her Pleasure will be out by the end of July, along with its sequel, For Women Only (Khyff’s story). To get one email when one of my books is released, sign up on Author Alarms. You can also subscribe to the newletter and follow the blog. Both options are listed on the left.

A #gem of a #scifi book

Kayelle Allen 03/28/2015 New Book

A gem — and charming too

I got a sweet review: “This gem of a scifi book offers tips for scifi writers, and secrets for fans of Kayelle Allen’s Tarthian Empire series.”

This is more true than you’d think. I’ve partnered with EssenTiles on Etsy to create beautiful gem-like charms of the cover, and my friend Paige created handmade glass beads (also a gem) that match the planets on the cover. She put beads and charms together to create a unique dustplug you can use with your cellphone.

How do they work? (in the phone image, it’s shown at the bottom. Your phone will have this jack at the top.) Insert the plastic plug into your cellphone’s audio jack and it keeps the dust out. It also makes a pretty gem dangle of bright color. I’ll give away one of these to the first five (US address only, please) who ask. You don’t have to leave personal info here. You can email me your contact info at author@kayelleallen.com and I’ll get back with you.

Paige created the beads by melting the glass and adding “frit” — fused or partially fused materials used in making glass — to create the markings on the “planets”. This ensures each bead is unique. The charms are quality glass with the image embedded inside.

fused or partially fused materials used in making glassRead more: http://www.answers.com/

I loved creating this unique gem as a giveaway, and hope you’ll enjoy using it!

About the Tarthian Empire Companion

For the science fiction writer, this volume teaches you how to build believable worlds, track details of your story, organize your writing, and lay out your story bible. Novice or experienced, you will pick up tricks and tips here. This EPIC eBook Award winning writer shares organizational tips, links to marketing sites, groups supporting writers, science fiction groups, and more. Material from the author’s 90+ page website is included.
For the science fiction fan, the Companion reveals the worldbuilding magic that makes Kayelle Allen’s Tarthian Empire tick. She shares every character in every book, 10k years of future history, offers inside peeks at scenes and stories, lays out a quick tour of the Empire, and dishes up a surfeit of secrets, all in one illustrated volume. Original art by Jamin Allen and Kayelle Allen.

Purchase

Amazon http://bit.ly/companion-az

Remember #reading the first book in a #series? #IAN1

Kayelle Allen 03/20/2015 Science Fiction Books 1 Comment

Remember reading a series?

When you picked up the first book, it held such promise. There would be more to learn, more to see, more worlds for you to explore. When you finished it, you had a kind of “book hangover.” You were still so tied up in that book’s world that you weren’t sure you could handle another one. But the promise of seeing what happened to your new favorite characters was too strong. You succumbed and started reading the next book. And just like that — you were lost in the characters’ world again.

You can recapture the world you read about in Surrender Love, and Wulf. The Empire you explored in Alitus, Jawk, At the Mercy of Her Pleasure, and For Women Only is waiting to be found in the new Tarthian Empire Companion, an illustrated World-Building Bible and Guide to Writing a Science Fiction Series.

If you loved the universe in which those original stories were set, then you’ll be glad to know the Tarthian Empire is alive and well. This new book features all the characters, places, and things that made the other stories unique.

Before writing the first book in my Tarthian Empire science fiction romance series, I wrote 10,000 years of future history. The Tarthian Empire Companion features that history, plus Earth and its colonization of the galaxy. The companion focuses on the big picture. What events drove the wars? Who won them? What made the peace so short, and the centuries of fighting so dire? Did the immortal Sempervians evolve or were they created? What do they want from mankind? What characters, places, and incidents shape the Tarthian Empire today?

The Tarthian Empire Companion contains a full list of every character in every book, and peeks at books to come. This is the book I use to keep all the details straight. It’s written for readers as well as writers. If you write Scifi Romance and want to know how to keep a huge story world organized, this book is for you. I share all my details in this illustrated volume. If you love reading SF and loved my books, you’ll be able to look up details, go through the character lists, and learn inside secrets about the people and places. Always wondered what Peril, the game of the immortals, was all about? It’s in there.

The companion book is illustrated with original art and a few stock photos. My son, Jamin Allen, helped me create many of the images in this book. He’s a digital artist and began assisting me when he was in college at the Art Institute of Atlanta. In fact, he taught me how to use Photoshop. The work I’m able to do today is because of him.

Slang

I’m not a fan of changing basic terms for the sake of making them sound alien. For example, we “inch” along, not “millimeter” along, so I apply the same principle in my books. Diamonds are diamonds. Water is water.

Language, however, is malleable. Considering how far in the future my own stories are, there would be few (if any) words in English that we’d recognize. Being the practical sort, I kept many current terms.

What better way to describe rock music than to call it rock? Why call a flashlight a “mobile light source” or some other phrase for the sake of sounding different? It comes across silly and pretentious instead.

People shorthand words and phrases to things like OMG, LOL, BFF, deets, and probably one of the most famous shortcuts of all — the abbreviation for “more of the same” — “etc.” I prefer to use natural, understandable language whenever possible.

If you create a language, write down the words you use and keep a definition handy. This will keep you from later misspelling or contradicting yourself. You should also create a phonogram chart (list of sounds). This will help you create a richer language.

What terms do your characters use for slang? Define these and list them so you have a ready reference for future books. List how and why the words became slang. This not only helps you maintain consistency in creation, it also helps you with creating future slang you might need.

Here is a list of Kelthian Street Slang. It’s used in limited places, and there is far more listed here than I used in my actual books. However, I wanted a big list from which to choose a term.

Kelthian Street Slang

Cobber is Kelthian street cant (characteristic language) used on Kelthia by slaves and gangs. The slang was used by Senth and Khyff in the books At the Mercy of Her Pleasure, and For Women Only. The characters Trink and Yvan (who own Batchelors) sometimes use it too.

Boastin’; mess with, put on a front, tease, etc.
Clinkers; great, fine, no worries
Going all Kin; becoming feral, unruly, wild
Hawkin’; watching from the sidelines
Junk me; pay no attention to me
Leave me sly; forgive me, let me off
Lipped; said, explained, told
No new coins; same stuff different day, nothing new
Notta boasted you clean; shouldn’t have messed with you, or shouldn’t have put on a front with you, teased you, etc.
Ride my pocket; Follow me, stay on my tail
Right clinkers; perfectly fine, totally great
Royal; excellent, top notch
Scam-butt; cheater, scam artist
Scat these taggers; get out of these clothes, undress
Screech, the; sickness of any type
Seein’ you slip; noticing you’re not doing well
Smacked; happy, pleased
Smackers; general swear word with unspecified meaning. Dang, damn, hell, etc.
Sotted; drunk
Spacin’ me; In my space, close to me
Space me; give me some room, move away
Street freak or freaks; homeless person or people
Street; the street in general. Culture of the street.
Tawkin’; looking for action
What’s down; what’s up or what’s new
You skinnin’; you’re skin and bones
Shake out those taggers; what’s under those clothes
Taggers; clothes

All my books are being re-released in new formats. Surrender Love and its long-awaited sequel, Surrender Trust will come out at the same time. At the Mercy of Her Pleasure and For Women Only will be re-released with their sequel, Crystal Clear Truth, and will introduce a third Antonello brother, Darq. In the meantime, I’m sharing all the details of my world with fans.

If you not only read but also write science fiction romance, this book will guide you to build believable worlds, track details of your story, organize your writing, and lay out your story bible. My website has over 90 pages of material for my world.

Writer or reader, you’ll get a glimpse of the world building and complexity that is the Tarthian Empire.

Have questions about a character, or about writing? Leave me a comment and I’ll be glad to answer. Please sign up for my newsletter while you’re here.

Available now on Smashwords, and Amazon.

Amazon http://bit.ly/companion-az
Smashwords http://bit.ly/companion-sm
Coming soon to Barnes and Noble and CreateSpace

How a Critique at Starbucks Helped Publish a Book #scifi #reference

Kayelle Allen 03/16/2015 Cyberpunk 3 Comments

Tarthian Empire Companion - A World-Building Bible and Guide to Writing a Science Fiction Series #Writing #SciFi In late 2013, I joined a local writer’s group. I was looking for a critique group, but figured any writer’s group would lead me to one. At the time, it was a weekly meeting and the emphasis of the group was strictly to do writing prompts. Members met at Starbucks, had coffee, and shared a new word they’d learned. The moderator then gave a topic and we spent 20 minutes writing. Afterward, we shared what we’d written and others in the group commented. About four months later, someone asked if we could meet on an additional, different day to critique already-written work. Several of us jumped at the chance. Within another three months, the original moderator left the group, and we began doing a critique at all meetings. In addition, or instead of, members can write to prompts and bring those. In any case, we all share critiques. The atmosphere is positive, friendly, and open.

Critique Groups Get Results

The group meets regularly, Tuesday for lunch at a different restaurant, and Saturday for coffee, and we do critiques of work we’re readying to publish. It’s produced some wonderful books, including Lisa Haman’s brilliant humorous noir, Mallow Mayhem. Imagine a world where marshmallow peeps rule. When a pink bunny goes missing, it’s up to yellow chick Philippa Marlowmellow to investigate. Lisa wrote this book with a nod to all the various kinds of peeps, without ever mentioning the candy or using its trademarked names.

Last year, I published A Romance for Christmas, which the group critiqued, and also Human Perfect. This month, I released The Tarthian Empire Companion, a non-fiction book the group helped me polish.

For the writer of science fiction, and the writer who wants to create a science fiction series, this volume teaches you how to build believable worlds, track details of your story, organize your writing, and lay out your story bible. Novice or experienced, you will pick up tricks and tips here. The Companion reveals the worldbuilding magic that makes the Tarthian Empire tick. I share 10k years of future history, offer peeks at scene and character creation, lay out a quick tour of the Empire, and dish up a surfeit of secrets for fans, all in one illustrated volume. The companion provides organizational tips, links to marketing sites, groups supporting writers, science fiction groups, and more. Material from my 90+ page website is included. Original art by Jamin Allen (and some by me).

It’s a good idea to have any book looked at by others before publishing it. When people put a checkmark next to a line because they like it, or tell you they got lost on a line, it helps. Better to have friends who tell you the truth about a scene and guide you to make it better, than to have reviewers tell you how badly you write. Once that book is out there, it’s out there.

So You Want to Date a Gay Immortal #LGBT #MFRWauthor #Humor

Kayelle Allen 09/01/2014 Humorous Stories

If you want to date a gay immortal, what should you consider? Here are ten tips.

Go out with your gay immortal guy because you like him as a person, rather than to find The One. Face it, how many times are you going to get a date with an immortal? Even if it doesn’t work out, this will be a date to remember. Enjoy it just for the experience.
Practice safe dating. Your immortal may enjoy death-defying endeavors on dates, but unlike him, you won’t live forever. Wear a seat belt, a helmet, and unless he’s immune to everything, sterile, and can prove it, use a condom.
If he’s bi, accept it. If he’s lived centuries, he might have tried almost anything. It’s true that he may not have found Mr. Right yet and you may be The One. It’s also possible he’s simply in touch with his polyamorous inner lover and enjoys a wide variety of relationships. Bottom line, don’t get your heart broken — pay attention to the signs.
If your gay immortal is a shapeshifter, were-creature, or undead, these attributes can add an entirely new level to your relationship. But be sure you’re ready for sex with a guy who’s really (and I do mean really) a beast.
Don’t offer your guy flowers, candy, or other trinkets on the first date. Immortals are used to giving gifts, but some are uncomfortable with getting them. However, after a few dates, if you bring him flowers, he’ll be surprised, and likely touched that you took time to think of him. In a way, flowers on a first date are expected — but flowers on the fourth are not. Surprise him.
Speaking of gifts, if you want something that will stun your gay immortal, why not give him the stars? Literally. Go to http://adoptastar.whitedwarf.org/ and you can adopt a star for him, get a certificate, and present it to him. If he’s from the future, he might even share memories of having visited there. Plus the money goes to help scientists with research.
Get your sleep. Immortals tend to “stay up all night” if you get my drift, and you’ll want to be well rested to take advantage of that.
Be on time. He might not be, depending on what era he’s from (future, past, and present sometimes run together for an immortal), and that’s something to deal with if necessary, but don’t keep him waiting. He’s spent enough time alone as it is.
Dress comfortably, but well. The first date is definitely the time to break out sexy underwear. Whether you want to show it to him on the first date is another matter. But wearing it will give you a feeling of looking and feeling your best.
Use the law of attraction to win his heart. This can be true with any guy, but for an immortal, it’s vital. What is this law? “You get back what you give out.” Project a positive, energetic vibe by looking for ways to make him happy, and if he responds in kind, you may have a winner. However, If you give and give, and he only takes and takes… that has nothing to do with his being a gay immortal. He’s just a jerk. Move on.

So, what are your tips for dating a gay immortal? If you’ve got one, share it in the comments.

What’s a Story Molecule? Trailing Kaiwulf by Kayelle Allen #MFRWauthor #Scifi @MelissaSnark

Kayelle Allen 07/17/2014 Character Insights 2 Comments

Like me, my friend Melissa Snark likes the TV Tropes website. What are tropes? They’re devices and conventions that a writer can reasonably rely on as being present in the audience members’ minds and expectations. On the whole, tropes are not cliches. The word cliched means “stereotyped and trite.” In other words, dull and uninteresting. The TV Tropes site isn’t about that. It’s about the creative use of these mega-themes.

The Periodic Table of Storytelling is a site that makes good use of these themes. By putting together all the basic tropes and assigning them a range of colors and letters, it’s possible to create a “story molecule” using the themes of the story.

Melissa had an idea. Why not take the TV Tropes website and figure out how to apply its amazing concepts to her own story? She hit upon an even better idea. Why not invite other authors to do the same thing? Adding icing to the cake, she contacted the TV Tropes site and asked if they’d like to take a look. They did, she did, and a group of us got together to share the idea of creating a story molecule.

Mine is the last one in the series, so I’m doing my best to make it awesome. I hope you’ll check it out. The book I’m featuring is Trailing Kaiwulf. Why not head over there and take a look? It’s amazing what she put together. Click here: http://is.gd/kaiwulf_molecule

Find an invisible man in another dimension? All in a day’s work at TRAIL.

Travel to a godforsaken planet on the outskirts of space. Check. Hold intrusive military types at bay. Check. Find an invisible man in a different dimension. Check. Finish out the vacation TRAIL yanked you back from to do it? Easier said than done.

Yanked back from their first vacation in ages, Jee and Dane get handed a top priority mission. The pay is better than any they’ve earned before as agents for the Trace, Rescue, and Identification League. With this much money, they might not need jobs. They’re the best there is, and the item, person, or secret hasn’t been invented that these two can’t recover. Until now.

Locating this quarry might be a bit past even their considerable skills. After all, how do you find an invisible man in another dimension? And who, exactly, is footing a bill this steep? Certainly not the archaeologist in charge. The military wants to get involved, but they have no monetary stake either. So who — or what — is behind the request to trail Kaiwulf?

Excerpt https://books2read.com/com-trailing-kaiwulfAmazon https://books2read.com/com-trailing-kaiwulfThis is a Trace, Rescue, and Identification League story.
Download the official TRAIL Facebook cover and other goodies: https://books2read.com/com-trailing-kaiwulf—
Learn more about the Periodic Table of Storytelling
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How to Create an Immortal Hero: The Writing Process Tour #amwriting

Kayelle Allen 03/24/2014 Fallen Empires 1 Comment

pietas-beta-courtroom — Pietas Before the Tribunal (Beta)

This blog tour is different from most. A writer is tagged for the position, and she or he then tags three others to take part as well. Each shares some aspect of the writing process. . I don’t often write about writing on this blog. I reserve it for story-oriented posts. But this was a chance to show a “behind the scenes” look at what I do, and I couldn’t resist it. My post will be on creating an immortal hero.

My sponsor for this leg of the tour was Denys? Bridger. You can find her at this spot. http://fantasy-pages.blogspot.com

We’re supposed to answer these four questions about our writing processes.

1) What am I working on?

I’m creating a science fiction book about the king of my immortals, the Sempervians. The full title is Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas. The character is known as the “bad boy king” and he is an anti-hero. While he is the protagonist of this story, he is not a good guy at all. I wanted the book to give background into his character, because in an upcoming book, Surrender Trust, I want readers to understand his motives. He will definitely be the villain in that story, but he is not all bad. I have a soft spot for him, much as I hate to admit it. No one is all bad, including Pietas.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

It will be illustrated. This is not a comic book or manga, but a book with an image for each chapter. I’ve included a sample for you. The art is by my son, Jamin Allen. You can find his work at Nimajination Studios. What you see here is a beta version – a rough draft for me to approve placement of characters and design. It has a great deal more work to be done, but I am excited to share this much.

3) Why do I write what I do?

I’ve loved science fiction since I was a little girl. My parents always had these types of books and I would pick them up and read them. I remember the cover of one in particular. It showed people looking up at the sky, which had been peeled back to reveal the world was nothing more than a cage. The concept fascinated me. My books all have a hint that the world as we know it is not what we assume it to be. The Sempervians have molded human society to fit their needs. Because they never die, they manage to sway political power in the direction they want to go by using influence over long periods of time. They have made alliances with humans (the Chosen) who assist them, in return for protection, power, and wealth. In my Tales of the Chosen series, one Chosen — Wulf — discovers what it is that he is being protected from. The discovery shocks him — and he will have to decide in future books whether he wants to continue assisting the Sempervians, or whether he will take a stand against them. How do you stand against immortals who secretly run the government? That’s what Wulf will have to find out.

4) How does your writing process work?

I can get an idea for a scene or a book from anything. My imagination has never been lacking. I carry a notepad and pen with me everywhere. My computer has an ideas file that’s chock full of things. Once I have an idea, I work on jotting down notes and making it coherent. It must have a beginning, middle, and end. I don’t start writing until I have a synopsis. Otherwise, for me, it’s just writing, not producing. I prefer to write when I know where I’m going. I will jot down enough to understand what I wanted to say when I look at it later, but I learned long ago not to start writing as if it were a real book. Ideas are ideas. They are not books. It saved me a lot of time once I realized the difference. I keep extensive notes for my scifi series, so an idea for that goes in my system. Currently, I use a mixture of MS Word and Excel. However, I pin images to boards on Pinterest too.

Whatever I write, I try to keep my readers in mind. I want them to understand the aspects of the story, and to enjoy the characters.

For another take on this tour, check out Mona Karel.

Character Insights: Meet Pietas | the immortal bad guy you love to hate #scifi

Kayelle Allen 03/20/2014 Character Insights

For Women Only

For Women Only is Erotic Science Fiction Romance, and Multicultural. Khyff is a master of pleasure with a tortured soul. Mehfawni falls for Khyff, and wants to redeem the man her people destroyed. The problem is, his fragile trust could be a response of love and a healing heart — or a ruse for revenge.

The antagonist of the book is Empress Rheyn Destoiya, who manipulates Khyff to gain power. Destoiya’s brother, Pietas, plays a small but crucial part in the story. These two are immortal, and manipulating humans is part of a role playing game they created called Peril. Let’s take a look.

Warning: this book contains smokin’ hot sex, humor, and angst. This combination has been proven addictive. Author assumes no responsibility for the reader’s battery consumption in adult toys while reading this book.

Palace District, Conqueror’s Palace

When her brother bowed and insisted she go first, Empress Destoiya smiled. Good. Pietas should be worried. She entered the empty foyer and took the door leading to the elevator for her private rooms. Inside it, she leaned her back against the corner, feet out, arms folded, blocking him from coming anywhere near her.

Pietas draped the black velvet cape around his shoulders and raised the hood. “I suppose you’ll be glad to see me go.”

“You still have a flare for understatement, I see.”

He faced the doors. “You have no more than fifteen years left on your current role in Peril. Most of the players outside the empire are through their games already and want reassignment. If you like, I could summon them here. It would help you, and keep them out from under my feet.”

Pietas had used the role-playing game Peril to end the boredom of immortality. They’d played tor thousands of years, each game forty years in length, scattered all across the galaxy. Unlike a human role-playing game, the Sempervians lived their roles in real time, always in character except around each other. Luck had awarded her two turns as a Ruler, and she’d ended her forty-year reign as Destoiya the Great by faking her death, and then in a coup, reclaimed it as Destoiya the Conqueror, the unacknowledged daughter of the Great. No one had suspected the twenty year old upstart of being the eighty year old deceased monarch.

Destoiya touched his shoulder. “There haven’t been more than twenty of us together anywhere in a thousand years. Why now?”

He turned toward her, but the darkness of the hood hid his face. “Don’t tell me you couldn’t use the support.”

“Oh, I could.” She brushed at lint on her black uniform. “It would nearly guarantee a win.”

“Then you want them?”

The doors opened, and Destoiya brushed past him. “Follow me.” They went through several doors, all opening with the touch of her palm on a panel. The next door scanned her retina. A long hallway led to a red door.

They reached the chamber. Destoiya turned back to Pietas. “Will accepting extra players change any of my rules, goals, or assignments?”

He made a simple, negating gesture. “No.”

“Will penalities be added?”

“No.” He pushed back his hood.

“How will their powers be decided? Will they have to roll for them, or can they use their natural abilities?”

Pietas unhooked a bag of dice and jingled it before her. “Pick one and roll it.”

She ignored the bag and withdrew a coin from her pocket. “I prefer a yes or no answer.”

He rolled his eyes, and with a sigh, returned the bag to his belt. “Call it.”

“Heads they use natural. Tails they roll.” She flipped the coin into the air.

Pietas caught it. “I feel generous. Tell me what you want and you may have it.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“I told you, Sister. I feel generous.”

Destoiya folded her arms. “The last time you said that, we lost a war. What are you up to?”

“Do you want them to roll for abilities?”

“No. Natural.”

Pietas extended his hand, and she held out hers. He placed the coin on her palm. “They’re yours.”

—
For Women Only goes out of print in June 2014, so grab it now. It won’t be re-released until the fall, in a new format. Bringer of Chaos will be released later this year.

Author: Kayelle Allen