An excerpt from “Hot as Hades,” my story in Naughty Flings: Twelve Naughty Little Romps, is up today on our Naughty Literati blog.
When I was thinking about what to write for Naughty Flings, an anthology with the theme of springtime, the quintessential springtime myth came to mind, i.e., the story of Persephone. I decided to revisit this myth, but to put a new spin on it, which proved pretty easy.
Because I’d put a new spin on the story once before. Continue reading
This week, April 12-18, 2015, the American Libraries Association celebrates National Library Week:
First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. It is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation’s libraries and librarians and to promote library use and support. All types of libraries – school, public, academic and special – participate.
I am a librarian, although I no longer work as such. I received my Masters in Library and Information Science from the University of California at Berkeley way back in the day when it had a School of Library and Information Studies (the School was rebranded in 1994 and no longer graduates librarians). For over thirty years, I worked in a bunch of different libraries and archives – public, academic, and special (corporate and museum) – mainly as a freelance librarian. My specialty was cataloging.
So how does this inform my writing? Plenty. Continue reading
In Steampunk Inspiration (Part 1), I discussed my family ties to a unique object of inspiration for my very first Steampunk story. I also hinted at the source of inspiration for my second Steampunk story.
For “Delia’s Heartthrob”, my entry in Naughty Hearts the Valentine’s Day release from the Naughty Literati, there was a specific source of inspiration. But before I get into that there’s a bit of very personal backstory. Continue reading
Recently, I’ve been writing blog posts on what has inspired me to write what I write, you know, those little things that spark ideas that turn into stories. Today is January 18th, and I’ve actually written a story called “On the Eighteenth of January, ’78; or, A Night at Valley Forge”, published in Naughty List, the winter anthology from the Naughty Literati.
So what inspired a story that takes place on such a specific date? Continue reading
Steampunk? A historian writing Steampunk?
I’m used to writing about characters and situations and places that actually existed or could have possibly existed (I mean, c’mon, it is fiction). I’m definitely not used to writing stories that take place in some futuristic pseudo-past where women wear corsets — leather corsets! — on top of their clothes. Besides I know absolutely nothing about science or mechanics (except when I was young and owned a VW Bug).
What’s the old adage? “Write what you know”? When you get right down to it, what on Earth does a librarian-art historian really know about erotica, much less Steampunk erotica? Continue reading
We’re counting down to release day for the Hot Highlanders and Wild Warriors anthology. I’m guest posting on our blog today about my Roman-set story, “The Promise of Memory” and what inspired me to write it. You can either read the post below, or read it on the Hot Highlanders and Wild Warriors website. The post on the anthology website has an extensive excerpt! Continue reading