One Step Beyond ~ Josh Lanyon

Well, gang, waving the flag a bit early for Josh Lanyon, but I just couldn't wait!


One Step Beyond
Hi there, I’m Josh Lanyon, and -- like the Cowardly Lion -- I do believe in spooks. I do, I do!

Okay, if you’re familiar with my work, you know that I write M/M romance -- usually within the framework of a mystery. Well, mysteries or suspense -- with the occasional action-adventure popcorn book thrown in. My work is known for its realistic elements, in particular realistic characters, which is my way of explaining why I don’t write a lot of paranormal or supernatural stories.

In fact, you’re about as likely to read a vampire or werewolf story from me as you are to read a M/F/M ménage, which is to say: not in this lifetime.

But I love ghost stories.

I love mummies.

I love ancient curses and psychic powers and faked séances that turn into the real thing…

Sexy demons with black fingernails.

Uh, little green men…not so much.

Yeah, I grew up watching shows like One Step Beyond and Night Gallery. (God, remember that thing with the Kachina dolls?) I love stories with supernatural elements -- provided they seem grounded in some recognizable reality. That’s not to say that vampire and werewolf romances can’t be realistic -- or at least follow their own believable internal logic -- just that those things don’t particularly grab my imagination. I’ve never wasted one drop of perspiration over the thought that a vampire might have his red eye on me, but I’ve been in many a dark, ramshackle house that I found myself wondering who had lived and died there. And I’ve caught myself glancing over my shoulder at the squeak of a floorboard or a banging shutter.

That delicious little frisson of fear…who doesn’t enjoy that? Provided it doesn’t end with slashing knifes and flying body parts. Because, yeah, I’m a little squeamish -- and I’m pretty much hung up on happy endings

My favorite ghost story or paranormal has that perfect blend of horror and cozy -- well, and lots of hot romance. And maybe a tiny mystery at its heart, like “Ghost of a Chance,” the ghost story I did for the Scared Stiff anthology.

And why am I thinking about these things? Because I think it’s important for writers to keep pushing, keep trying new things, and so next year -- yep -- I’m going to try a couple of paranormal projects. First up is a novella story called “The Dark Farewell” for The Mysterious, a three-author historical ghost anthology with Alex Beecroft and Laura Baumbach.

Meantime, I thought I would recommend a couple of my favorite spec or fantasy novels: Teot’s War and Blood Storm by Heather Gladney (not M/M exactly, but the series was moving in a promising direction), Chrome by George Nader, and Dragon’s Winter by Elizabeth A. Lynn.

So let me ask you, what do you look for in spec fiction? What elements spoil the fun, what captures your imagination -- and can you recommend your own favorite spec or fantasy novel?

Kayelle's Tales of the Chosen - Jawk

Some of you are wondering why the series was called Tales of the Chosen. Here's what Chosen means:

CHOSEN

Called to serve

Honored to protect

Obedient to the vow

Safeguards of the truth

Enablers of life

Neutralizers of threats

They protect immortals who must sometimes move suddenly, even during the middle of the night. Unknown to some of the immortal Sempervians, the Chosen keep Chronicles which are handed down, generation after generation, sometimes male to female, and vice versa. When needed, the info on their Sempervian is appended to the end of another Chosen's set of Chronicles. One Chosen usually serves one immortal -- but not always.

Laura Givens also did this cover - and there's a story behind it. For a high def picture, go the file section of my yahoo group, Romance Lives Forever. You can download it and see every detail.

For example, Jawk is in the foreground wearing a tux and has a white towel across his arm. This scene takes place on his second day at Batchelors, a hip gay nightclub in the Top Tier section of Tarth City. He's the first Kin they've ever hired. Feline, with claws hidden beneath human nails, he also has a Kin nose, a fairly cat-like mouth and cat's ears. His pupils are vertical slits and the various movements of his ears give away emotions. Straight back means trouble, forward is curiosity, and drooping sideways means shame or embarrassment. One forward, one back is like a human raising one eyebrow. Their ears move individually and Kin can also speak to each other (esp females) without humans hearing them. It's handy for warriors on hunts, but since 99% of all warriors are female, few males ever learn the trick.

In the background, Luc Saint-Cyr is seated at a booth and Wulf (in the purple) is leaning against him, trying to soothe Luc's jealousy over his time with others. They've been together 5 years, and he trusts Wulf, but Luc's jealousy is dividing them more and more. On the other hand, it's not uncommon for Luc to bring home a third male to pleasure Wulf while Luc watches. He then likes to punish him for enjoying it -- it's one of their kinky sex games. Jawk will be visiting with them after work tonight.

In the far background, there is a veiled man. Who is he? Remember the burka-like "veil" all Betters were required to wear in Alitus?
Just who he is will be the subject of quite a bit of research on the part of Empress Destoiya, who sets Alitus on the path of helping Luc find out where Wulf is spending his free time. As the newly appointed Minister of Imperial Intelligence, Alitus has access to idBot security cams all over the city, and his fond remembrances of meeting Wulf tempt him to take full advantage.

Who is watching who do what? Luc is watching Wulf, Alitus is watching Wulf, and Jawk is watching Luc. But for whom? Each man has his own agenda.
Do any of them coincide? Here's the blurb:

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Jawk, Tales of the Chosen
Pleasure. Trust. Possession. Is a betrayal of the heart forever?

Jawk Brighton works at Batchelors, a hip restaurant/club in the Top Tier district of Tarth City, where he meets the immortal Luc Saint-Cyr. When Luc offers Jawk a deal too good to pass up, one night showing him and his Chosen, Wulf Gabriel, a good time in exchange for eight times his usual pay, Jawk takes it. All three have secret agendas. The question is, will Jawk's keep him in Luc and Wulf’s shared bed, or tear apart the alliance of the immortal and his Chosen -- forever?

Content: M/M sex, M/M/M sex, voyeurism, multiple partners, alien sex, more M/M sex - and a heated and softly padded dungeon floor for those "tender" moments...

Kayelle's Tales of the Chosen - Alitus

Alitus, Tales of the Chosen
Passion. Addiction. Loyalty. Can true love bare its heart forever?

Alitus Vivaldi is a Better, an enhanced human. He moves from the Conqueror's favorite pleasure slave to her personal assistant by learning the key to her heart is passion, love, and loyalty. When political upheaval forces the Conqueror to strip her favorite of his freedom and rights, Alitus forsakes his identity and pride, surrendering himself to his darkest fears. But will what he becomes save the Tarthian Empire and its Conqueror, or rock them both to their crumbling core?

===

In some ways, this is my favorite Chosen book. Luc is featured in books 1 and 3, and only has a small part in this one, but Alitus touches on so many secrets that it's almost impossible to understand the rest of the series without this one. Although it is rated as GLBT, there is one very minor lesbian scene, and a few scenes of the two immortal women (Rheyn Destoiya, the Empress - pictured, and Erryq, another immortal who is a shapechanger) sharing the beautiful blond Alitus. He's more than up for the task, but before this point, he has only been Rheyn's lover.

Protecting him when his parents were killed in a security operation gone bad, she came across the older teen being held down by several of her hulking Praetorian guards, about to be raped. She bid Alitus come to her and helped him gather his ripped clothing around him, covering him with her own cape. She then went out to speak to the near-rioting crowd and vowed that none of her troops who mistreated residents of the world would go unpunished. She forced all 5 Praetorian to their knees and summarily shot them in rapid succession. It quelled the riots immediately.

Alitus, she sent off to be educated properly in another of her strongholds, and when he turned 18 had him brought to her. She seduced him and he has been her favorite ever since. However, because he is a Better, a generation of genetically enhanced humans, his pheromones affect her. Those outside her protective circle of loyal Praetorian and cabinet call him Destoiya's Dog. His loyalty is abosolute. So is his love for her. There is no artifice in Alitus. He doesn't serve in order to gain. His nobility and loyalty endear him to her.

However, changes in the empire are bringing out the fear of Betters - whose pheromones can kill without a touch. The empress succumbs to the wishes of her Parliament and orders all Betters to be veiled in a burka-like garment to prevent their pheromones from escaping. Pride set aside, Alitus obeys, but not without making it public that he hopes to see a day when true freedom will be granted to all citizens once again.

The Empress considers whether to make him her Chosen, something she has avoided for four hundred years (since her previous one died protecting her). To qualify, the leader of the Sempervian immortals decrees he must pass a test, facing his most intimate fear. He must have sex with a male.

The empress trusts Luc, her dearest friend and fellow immortal, and Luc's Chosen, Wulf, is presented with the task. Will Alitus balk, submit, or embrace the sexual act in a way none of the Sempervians ever foresaw?

For excerpts, buy links, and a better image (full size), go to my books section.

When I return from an appt later this afternoon, I'll post the last trilogy info, and give you a sneek peek of the manuscript I just submitted elsewhere (and was asked for a full just yesterday).

I'll aso have a free gift for everyone who posts a comment to any of these blogs! The only requirement is to post, and then email me.

Off to the appt - Thanks Jeanne. Hugs! See you all in a few hours.

Guest Blogger - Kayelle Allen

Jeanne has sweetly invited me to post on her blog -- I immediately accepted, since she's so faithful to come and hang on my Yahoo group, Romance Lives Forever. She suggested I tell you a bit about my Tales of Chosen series, which is GLBT Romance.

Someone asked me last night if I had to assign a rating for this series, what would it be. I said R for the sex, and X for the really good sex. In other words, Rx - just what the doctor ordered.

First up is Wulf - This is an interracial love story in more ways than one. The gorgeous deep brown color of Luc's skin appeals to Wulf on many levels - and because Luc is immortal, Wulf has known him since he was a child. Wulf's father was Luc's "Chosen" a human whom Luc trusted with as many of his secrets as he could. If an immortal (they call themselves Sempervians) had to flee because humans discovered what he was, his Chosen would let another Chosen in his new area know what to expect and what his particular needs might be. Wulf is the sixth generation of his family to serve as Luc's Chosen. Only rarely are the Chosen lovers -- most often they are companions and trusted friends. But Luc has fallen deeply in love with Wulf, and wants to win his heart and make him not only his Chosen, but also his lover.

However, the story doesn't start out with the two men already in a relationship. Two decades of bad blood separated them. Wulf's father was killed twenty years before, when Wulf was ten, and he has blamed Luc ever since. How they overcome that barrier - Luc's guilt at not being able to protect them, and Wulf's for knowing deep in his heart that it was not Luc's fault yet blaming him anyway in anger -- that is the true romance of the story.

The cover is by Laura Givens, who ended up being a character in the last book of the series. More on that later.

Here's more info on Wulf. Excerpts and buy links are available on my site. You'll also find much larger pictures of the cover so you can see more detail.

Wulf, Tales of the Chosen

Lust. Power. Forgiveness. Can a romance live forever?

To survive, superstar Wulf Gabriel must depend on the one man he swore he would never trust again - the most powerful and feared man in the empire - the Harbinger. Saving Wulf is simple; gaining his trust will take reaching into the Harbinger's own dark past and facing a truth he's avoided since the night Wulf's father died. Because of him...

This book was nominated for 2007 Gaylactic Spectrum Award