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A young man waits for his lover under the shade of an ancient sprawling tree as the sun rises over Brazil. It is the end of summer. The earth is baked. Heat rises from the burnt cane fields as dawn floods the land. Dimas Cabral and Alanyo Valermo are c Read more…
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| Languages, Real and Fictitious |
| 2009.02.02 04:34:25 | |
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I have an identical twin sister. Over twenty years ago, we did what many other identical twins do: we established our own language. We both spoke Ersa fluently for years, writing letters to one another using its foreign characters and developing our own clear sense of grammar and accent. It is always interesting to hear the difference between, for example, someone from
When writing sci-fi, one inevitably comes to the dilemma of developing and using foreign languages for their characters. A great language can make or break a story. The benefits to using a real language that is foreign to the rest of the world is simple: variation and consistency. In applying different rules to my variants, I can have my characters speaking a consistent language, not just uttering a bunch of randomly repeating sounds.
In Lust in Space, the N’yebi speak a variation of Ersa that I would be willing to bet my twin sister could understand. For the rest of you, I invite you to take the Ersa Challenge. The Ersa Challenge is a 2000-word essay translated completely to Ersa. I have been approached by self-proclaimed cryptographers, and no one has yet deciphered the essay back into English. Is it a code? Is it a language? Is there anyone out there who can solve the puzzle? Pes yuv lesof yotejti?
I am also curious to know what do other sci-fi writers, those without twin languages, do about the problem of creating and using alien/otherworldly languages…. Tags: Lust in Space | the Ersa challence | twin languages | Ersa | alien languages
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| Pandora Revealed |
| 2009.02.01 02:20:14 | |
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I never used to take chances. I always took the straight and narrow path, unwilling to risk any kind of loss. When a few life-changing events hit me all at once, one of which I feared I would never overcome, suddenly I realized that life was too short and too precious for me not to explore more – as a person, as a professional, and as a writer. My new release, Lust in Space, is all about taking chances. I decided that, if I was going to write a story taking place entirely onboard an intergalactic space ship, I was going to push the sci-fi themes of boundary and reality as far as I could. As this was also to be an erotic romance, I decided that I was going to push those boundaries out of this world, as well. I found myself with an immense challenge before me, however: find a way to write shape-shifters, space-flu-induced orgies, and tiny, vibrating men in a tasteful manner. . . . Lust in Space is among my most prized works. While I would blush to know which friends and family members end up reading this one, I also present this second full-length Ravenous Romance release with the utmost of pride. The story is kinky and experimental, but it is also provocative and thoughtful. I loved the character progression, and I hope to have the opportunity to write more stories about the Pandora’s Hope crew’s adventures in uncharted space. I hope it proves as fun to read as it did fun to write. This one goes out to all of the other closet sci-fi enthusiasts, out there. Together, may we boldly go where no kinky sci-fi geek has gone before. . . . Tags: Lust in Space | sci-fi | science fiction | space | intergalactic space travel | space flu | aliens
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| Writer's Block |
| 2009.01.29 13:58:44 | |
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Has anyone seen my muses? They had been goofing off for the past few days, and today they decided to take the day off, completely. Woe is the writer who has the story plotted, knows exactly what needs to come next . . . and then can’t put together two decent words.
Writer’s block affects us all, from time to time, but it’s always frustrating. Writers write. That’s what we do. There is no “day off,” unless the muses say so, and that doesn’t happen very often. They work us relentlessly, and yet we do their bidding with pleasure. We suffer discontent when we don’t have the opportunity to record two or three thousands words a day. Slower days, or days when there just isn’t the time to write, are hell.
It’s difficult to discern when are those days when it is necessary to sit at the computer and force out the words, a few hundred at a time, or if it is one of those terrible times, when the muses have decided they are due a sudden and unexpected vacation. During those times, I’ve found that it is best just to take a break for a day or two, no matter how badly I want to try to push through the block. Sometimes, shifting to a different project is just what I need to get back in gear, the change of pace enough to call back the missing muse(s). Sometimes, rarely, a day away from the computer is in order.
I will end my search for today. I’m tired, and I need to go to bed. Hopefully, the muses will be back in the morning. I plan on bribing them with an excess of coffee. Wish me luck.
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| Vampires in Romance and Erotica |
| 2009.01.22 05:42:15 | |
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Vampires are a common theme in romance and erotica. A number of well written vampire-based works have been released here at Ravenous Romance. What’s not to love? Vampires are dangerous, powerful . . . and nocturnal. What woman hasn’t enjoyed indulging in some kind of vampire fantasy? When comparing works, it’s fun to see the differences in mythos, characterization, and story, and yet intertwined amongst them the same basic elements and themes, those which make vampires so continuously popular. There is much so more than meets the hypnotic eye, when it comes to the reasons that vampires continue to seduce us helpless mortals, century after century; it all boils down to theme. In The Darkness and the Night series, the themes I chose came through motivations that I’m sure are common among other writers of this genre: with writing about vampires comes a freedom to express both our strongest hopes and our darkest fears about ourselves, and about humanity. With great strength and power, we find that there must also come a relative weakness. With vampires, the greatest weakness is generally sunlight, making darkness the ally and light the nemesis. Might we take the “darkness” and “light” themes a step further by taking them within, making the vampire the perfect model for the struggle between “dark and light” that exists within us all? In The Darkness and the Night: Blood and Coffee, Karen faces numerous struggles, the greatest of which being overcoming her recurring impulse to kill. Many of the situations she falls into, however, threaten various freedoms that previously, in her innocence, she had taken for granted. Control, chance, opportunity, and fate are strong themes throughout the book, and I think they mirror the struggle that all young women face, when finding their place in the world. The moral dilemmas Karen faces are obviously grossly expanded versions of those faced by the average woman, but they still pose the same questions: How would you respond if, overnight, you lost everything that had previously defined your life? What would you be willing to sacrifice for your freedom, if it were taken away from you? What would you do, if you got pregnant, and then realized the father was a “monster?” In the second book in the series (release date still TBA), the themes shift focus to freedom and control in the first half, and then shift again in the second half, to opportunity and fate. In this story, Karen is forced to face her darkest fears in order to reclaim all that should be rightfully hers, escaping a mental institution, and even the clutches of Hell, for a second chance at life, a second chance at love, and a second chance for her unborn twins. The trilogy, as a whole, takes a serious look at all that we hold most sacred as human beings, and then challenges and tests the beliefs we hold, the boundaries we set, and desires that exist within us all. From Brom Stoker, to Anne Rice, to the many talented authors here at Ravenous Romance, vampires have held their place as the objects of our passion and desire. As writers, writing about vampires is a surreal and sensual experience. The profundity of each individual story translates differently through every reader who decides to come along for the ride. Still, we each take from these guilty pleasures some kind of insight; as we explore the darkness, in turn we move ever closer to reaching and understanding the inner light we all also so desperately crave. Tags: vampires | The Darkness and the Night: Blood a | The Darkness and the Night | darkness | light | human nature | monsters
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| Welcome to My Blog! |
| 2009.01.15 05:59:46 | |
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First and foremost, I would like to thank Ravenous Romance’s staff for all of their hard work and amazing talent. I am proud to be a part of this fantastic venture, and I know that this is only the beginning.
I came to Ravenous Romance by accident. I was, and still am, an avid reader of Lori Perkins’s blog, and when I saw her open call for short stories for an anthology titled Sex and Shoes, I knew that it was an opportunity that I could not pass up. I had only written a small amount of romance and erotica, my genres of choice being science fiction, literature, and horror, but I realized upon writing “My Two Size 10’s” just how much I enjoyed writing about romance, sensuality, and sex. When Ms. Perkins put out another call, this time for the Men in Shorts anthology, I knew that I needed to contribute to that one, as well ... and then came the 12 Days of Christmas anthology, to which I ended up contributing yet another short story, "Two Turtle Doves." I was hooked.
I signed up to write an original sci-fi novel (Pandora’s Hope, release date still TBA), when I realized that I had a trilogy that would mesh perfectly with Ravenous Romance’s style. The Darkness and the Night had been a work in progress for several years, based on a novel I wrote with my twin sister nearly twenty years ago. The series had some romantic and erotic elements, but I knew the books were not yet hot and seductive enough to live up to the Ravenous Romance name. After some initial work, I sent in the first installment to Ms. Perkins. With her help and direction, I was able to take the work to the next level, adding a sense of depth and sensuality that had been lacking in previous drafts. Ms. Perkins also came up with the subtitle, Blood and Coffee, which I absolutely love.
I am currently redrafting the second installment of The Darkness and the Night, which I have tentatively titled, Blood and Shadow. I am confident that those of you who liked Blood and Coffee will love Blood and Shadow. I have numerous twists and surprises in store, and I am grateful to the muses for their dedication to the quality and depth of this particular work. I know already that this book is going to be even better than the first, and I cannot wait to share the finished product with you.
I am also currently at the tail-end of writing a 5000+ word short story that serves as a prequel to The Darkness and the Night trilogy, but also stands alone, for those who have not yet begun to read the series. I have received numerous requests for additional stories following various characters in Blood and Coffee, and after much consideration, I decided to write about stepmother and witch, Spring Collins. I am very happy with how the story is unfolding, and I hope to be able to share that with you, as well, in one of RR’s upcoming anthologies.
More soon … and happy reading! Tags: writing | The Darkness and the Night | Blood and Coffee | Blood and Shadow | Lori Perkins | first post
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