Yep, it's almost that time, my minions. Fifteen days to the release of He Belongs to Me. I must admit as the time draws nearer, the more anxious and frightened I'm becoming. I'm anxious because, I never really thought I would see this day and I'm frightened because allowing my work to be read is like allowing you into my mind.
Trust me, at times, it's not a very nice place...muhahahaha.
For those of you, who know me personally, "DON'T JUDGE ME!!" (lmao) Seriously, don't look at me any differently, okay? Gah, what does that really say about me?
Moving on...
Over the past few weeks I've been working with my editor to finalize the changes and have--as of today--gotten the final copy. Yes, the copy that you all will be reading on the 11th of April. It looks real good, if I do say so myself. (lol) And guess what, here's your first look!!!
An Excerpt, my minions!! Devour and enjoy, and then wait for more!!
Things to know before you read the excerpt:
PAP: Partially Android Personomale
FAP: Functioning Android Personomale
Excerpt from somewhere in the beginning to the middle of the novel:
“It’s simply adorable,” Phia’s mother, Baroness Varonda Zen, gushed while walking around Donté as if taking in a new piece of deco furniture. She stepped close to him, looked him in the eyes and continued, “Did you have them give it eyes that color? They’re astounding if I do say so myself.”
The other patrons in the restaurant were turned in their seats now, taking in the scene, and Phia felt her face flush. “Mother, stop it. He’s not a piece of meat.”
“I certainly beg to differ,” Varonda said, continuing her perusal. “It’s nothing short of aged Angus beef. And you know how hard that is to find these days. Have you broken him in yet?”
To Phia’s abject horror, her mother stepped even closer to Donté, reached a hand out, and grabbed for his genitals. “Mother,” she warned, standing from her seat. To her surprise, Donté grabbed the woman’s hand, stopping her grope-fest a mere inch from his groin.
“It is wonderful to meet you, Baroness Zen. Perhaps you should have a seat.” Donté released her hand and stepped back and to the side, away from her.
To say Phia was pleased would have merely scratched the surface of how she truly felt as she watched her mother’s flabbergasted face go from red to stroke red.
“What is this? How is it, he speaks without being prompted?”
“Mother, sit down,” Phia ordered again, with chagrin. She was proud of Donté. He not only stopped her mother in her tracks, he also did it in a respectful manner. Unfortunately, this could also pose a problem. FAPs and PAPs were not unruly. They spoke when spoken to and never talked back. They were submissive by creation. If it got out that Donté was willful, she’d have a lot of explaining to do.
Her mother moved begrudgingly to sit down, her eyes trained on Donté, who had taken the seat between them. “Sotophia, is something wrong with its wiring? Perhaps you should trade it in now, before your warranty expires.”
“I have wiring and a warranty?”
Phia shushed Donté, her attention focused on her mother. “There’s nothing wrong with him, Mother.”
The waiter came to take their orders and Phia asked, “Donté, do you know what you want?”
“No.”
His tone was clipped, but Phia tried to pretend she didn’t notice. She couldn’t deal with him and her mother at the same time. If she placated him, her mother would ask questions. If she treated Donté as if he really were a machine she would have a lot of explaining to do later. “Well, do you want me to order for you?”
“Why are you asking it? Just order something. It’s not like he can digest it anyway. Jesus, Sotophia, we don’t have all night,” Varonda blustered, staring daggers at Donté.
“Mother, you wanted to meet him, so please stop behaving like a shrew.”
Her mother started to say something, but Donté interjected first, “I’ll have what you’re having, as long as it’s meat.”
Phia smiled, and leaned over to whisper in his ear. “No, you don’t have wiring or a warranty that matters.” She couldn’t explain why she needed to make sure he was fine. At the moment, it just seemed like the most important thing she’d ever had to do.
Phia ordered for herself and Donté, and then her mother ordered. She thought for a fraction of a second maybe the night could be salvaged. Unfortunately, the minute the waiter, a FAP—one could tell by the dead look in his eyes—left the table, her mother started up again.
“I gave you enough credits to purchase three of these things, but you had to go and purchase the most broken-down, decrepit one you could find. Haven’t I told you about bringing home stray dogs? Haven’t I warned you about that?” She pulled her c-pod from her purse.
“What are you doing? Who are you calling?”
“I should have known you wouldn’t handle a purchase of this magnitude properly. As usual, I’ll fix it for you.”
Varonda glared at Donté, and Phia deduced he must have seriously insulted her for her to be behaving in such a manner, not that it surprised her. Her mother had always been the uppity-prima donna-scowling-at-servants-banshee who got what she wanted when she wanted and had no problem throwing an outlandish fit when she didn’t get her way. So, no, her current rant didn’t surprise her at all.
Shaking off her thoughts as the waiter brought over two glasses of white wine and a glass of water, which Donté had ordered, she heard her mother say contemptuously, “Lorraine Lobush, I’m appalled you would sell such a broken down piece of…”
Phia sprang from her seat and snatched the c-pod from her mother. After disengaging the call, she turned to her mother. “I’ve had about enough of this. You wanted me to get one, so I did. I got Donté, and regardless of how you feel about him, he’s mine and I’m keeping him. I don’t need you interfering with anything involving him, Mother. Do you understand me?”
Varonda’s face flushed with incredulity as her thin lips slipped from a thin line to an ‘O’ shape and back again before she finally stated, “Sotophia, calm yourself. This thing is damaged.” She made a flippant dismissive motion in Donté direction. “You can’t see it because you’ve never owned one before, but I have and I know damaged when I see it.” She made a show of straightening out her lap-bib. “Had Elric behaved in this manner, I would’ve hauled his rump back to the nearest facility without a second thought.”
Phia clenched her fist, ground her molars, and willed herself to not blow a gasket.
Donté reached over, his large hand slipping over hers. He squeezed her hand in a show of camaraderie and smiled as he said, “Perhaps we should go home now.”
As Phia gazed back at him, she wanted to melt into a thick, creamy ooze at his feet. The anger she was feeling dissipated. She smiled at him, interlaced her fingers with his, lifted the palm of his hand to her mouth, and kissed it. “I’m fine, Donté. Thank you.” She kissed his palm again. “Thank you.”
“It’s quite alright,” he said. “However, I would prefer to eat at home. The company tonight is not desirable.”
“It tells you what to do?” her mother screeched. “This is blasphemy, and I won’t hear of it!”
Phia clenched his hand at her mother’s words and tried to maintain her calm. “Donté, could you please find the waiter and let him know I’ve changed my mind? I do want a salad before my entrée is brought out and another glass of wine as well.”
He looked at her for a long moment as if he knew she was trying to get rid of him, but he eventually stood, released her hand with reluctance, and started off in the direction they’d seen the waiter go in a few moments earlier. As he disappeared from sight, his broad, powerful back swaying beneath the tan smoking jacket she’d picked out for him, she allowed her eyes to roam over the female occupants who were sitting with FAPs and PAPs. All of them, every last one of them was watching him. She swelled with pride.
“Mother, Donté is perfect just the way he is. He’s mine. I’m his mistress, not you, and there isn’t a damn thing wrong with his wiring.” She glanced over her shoulder for Donté. “I don’t even know why I’m telling you this, but I had him programmed without all the extra blockage crap other Personomale models have. I wanted him to have a sense of free will. I wanted him to make his own decisions. I wanted him to be Donté, okay? Not some android who jumps when I say jump or sits when I say sit. You can call him every name in the book, I don’t care, but you will not talk about him in such a manner to his face or in front of me. I won’t allow it.”
Her mother scoffed. “Still the hopeless romantic, I see. How many times am I going to tell you romance is and always has been highly overrated?” A dry laugh escaped her. “I’m glad it died with the rest of the chauvinistic pigs.”
The way her mother spoke was so cold, so emotionless, it sent a shiver down Phia’s spine.
Varonda took a slow sip of wine and ran her bright red painted fingernail around the rim of the crystal wine glass. “Sotophia, an android, is an android. Beneath the clothes, the fabricated skin, and the gentle words, they are nothing more than programmed possessions to be owned, used, and disregarded at our whim. You can call it what you like, but it is what it is. No amount of pampering or petting is going to change what is.”
“My…name…is….Phia,” was all she could manage to retort.
~~
So, what did you think?
Mr. New Year
...and a Happy New Year to you too.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Jumping off of walls is fun!!
I'm back with excellent news!! Not only do I have my definite release date, but I also have your first glimpse of my book cover!!
(drum roll)
He Belongs to Me will be released April 11th, 2011 via Aspen Mountain Press!!! Buy early and buy many, my friends. You will only be able to purchase an e-copy at first, but as soon as it sells 300 copies, it will be available in print.
Gotta start somewhere, right?
I'm also working out some way to do preordering, so stay tuned for more information!!
(drum roll)
And here's the book cover!! I love it!!!
What do you all think!!??
(drum roll)
He Belongs to Me will be released April 11th, 2011 via Aspen Mountain Press!!! Buy early and buy many, my friends. You will only be able to purchase an e-copy at first, but as soon as it sells 300 copies, it will be available in print.
Gotta start somewhere, right?
I'm also working out some way to do preordering, so stay tuned for more information!!
(drum roll)
And here's the book cover!! I love it!!!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Fear...and stuff
Hi all!!!
I just had dinner with two of my best girlfriends at Carrabba's Italian Restaurant; the crusted chicken parmesan was awesome as were the two Coronas. Anyway, the topic of "Fear" came up and it made me wonder, what exactly is, FEAR?
How and why did this topic come up?
Well, I, like most human beings with an ounce of common sense, have numerous fears--some more debilitating than others. One of which is the fear of flying. I made a comment at dinner that I wanted to vacation in Paris and Italy this year. Anyway, one of my friends brought it to my attention that the flight is over nine hours (hasn’t been verified, but will). That little bit of knowledge brought me up short and I immediately began to rework my plans to vacation some place closer to home (preferably within driving distance). When I realized what I was subconsciously doing, there was no way to avoid admitting that because of "Fear," I'm missing out on a hell-of-a lot of life.
For instance, I've wanted to travel to Japan for more than half of my adult life, but even when I have the funds to support such an adventure, I'm too much of a fraidy-cat to get on the plane. (Because, you know it would be just my luck that the plane would crash.) I've also been talking about driving across country and back. I think about it at least once a day and yet, the thought of climbing into my car, starting my engine and pulling out my driveway with just my dog, a bag of clothing and my ATM card, scares me stiff.
Why?
Well because CSI, SVU, Criminal Minds, ID, True TV and a host of other shows, like the aforementioned, have me petrified that my bones will be found in a ditch, 5 years after I vanish off the face of the planet. (Stay close to home and you’ll live longer.)
So is this fear rational or irrational? Am I just paranoid?
These questions bring me back to my initial question, "What is fear?"
• Per the Oxford dictionary it's an unpleasant sensation caused by nearness of danger or pain.
• Per Webster’s' dictionary it's to have a reverential awe of, to be afraid of: expect with alarm , to be afraid or apprehensive.
• Per dictionary.com it's a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.
I don't know about you, but what I feel when I experience "fear" isn't really defined above. For me, fear is unaccomplished goals, dreams undiscovered, lost chances at love, and the hands that keep me stagnant.
So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to add another goal to my New Year's resolution: I'm not going to allow fear to keep me from living anymore. I’m going to go where I want to go (taking baby steps), do what I want to do and with whom I want to do it, and I’m going to enjoy myself, because you know what they say, “You only get one life”.
So my faithful 17, what are some of your fears and how has fear changed your life?
I just had dinner with two of my best girlfriends at Carrabba's Italian Restaurant; the crusted chicken parmesan was awesome as were the two Coronas. Anyway, the topic of "Fear" came up and it made me wonder, what exactly is, FEAR?
How and why did this topic come up?
Well, I, like most human beings with an ounce of common sense, have numerous fears--some more debilitating than others. One of which is the fear of flying. I made a comment at dinner that I wanted to vacation in Paris and Italy this year. Anyway, one of my friends brought it to my attention that the flight is over nine hours (hasn’t been verified, but will). That little bit of knowledge brought me up short and I immediately began to rework my plans to vacation some place closer to home (preferably within driving distance). When I realized what I was subconsciously doing, there was no way to avoid admitting that because of "Fear," I'm missing out on a hell-of-a lot of life.
For instance, I've wanted to travel to Japan for more than half of my adult life, but even when I have the funds to support such an adventure, I'm too much of a fraidy-cat to get on the plane. (Because, you know it would be just my luck that the plane would crash.) I've also been talking about driving across country and back. I think about it at least once a day and yet, the thought of climbing into my car, starting my engine and pulling out my driveway with just my dog, a bag of clothing and my ATM card, scares me stiff.
Why?
Well because CSI, SVU, Criminal Minds, ID, True TV and a host of other shows, like the aforementioned, have me petrified that my bones will be found in a ditch, 5 years after I vanish off the face of the planet. (Stay close to home and you’ll live longer.)
So is this fear rational or irrational? Am I just paranoid?
These questions bring me back to my initial question, "What is fear?"
• Per the Oxford dictionary it's an unpleasant sensation caused by nearness of danger or pain.
• Per Webster’s' dictionary it's to have a reverential awe of
• Per dictionary.com it's a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.
I don't know about you, but what I feel when I experience "fear" isn't really defined above. For me, fear is unaccomplished goals, dreams undiscovered, lost chances at love, and the hands that keep me stagnant.
So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to add another goal to my New Year's resolution: I'm not going to allow fear to keep me from living anymore. I’m going to go where I want to go (taking baby steps), do what I want to do and with whom I want to do it, and I’m going to enjoy myself, because you know what they say, “You only get one life”.
So my faithful 17, what are some of your fears and how has fear changed your life?
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Merry Belated Christmas and Happy Belated New Year!!!
Okay, so it's been a little while since I've posted. I suck, I know, but you all will be happy to know I haven't been sitting idly. I finished Fury's Storm as promised and I'm now in the throes of subbing it out to agents in hopes of landing a much larger deal than my last novel. Maybe even my dream agent: Mrs. Brown of Brown Literary Agency out of Florida--if she will have me---.
So far I've sent out 22 queries and have gotten 3 partial requests. Yay me!! Don’t get excited…lol. I have a total of 95 agents and/or publishers to go through. Hopefully, it won’t take all or even half of them for me to find the one, but you know… This publishing business is more than a little subjective.
I haven't begun the editing on He Belongs to Me with the publisher yet, but based on what the EIC (editor-in-chief) says, it should be out during the summer--the beginning, middle, or end?--I haven't a clue. But I'll let you all know as soon as I do.
Moving on to more up to date things...
So, we've moved into a new year full of promise and potential. I generally don't make resolutions but I have set a few goals for myself:
• Land a great agent (you had to know that was going to be first.)
• Get back to my 2006 weight (130 lbs.)
• Write and finalize two additional books (one from each of my series)
• Go to three states I've never been to (LV, TN, CA)
• Get rid of dead weight (both in my personal life and professional life)
Well that's mines. What's yours and how do you plan on meeting each of your goals?
To all my fan-fiction buddies out there, I haven’t forgotten about you. I started working on the new chapter a few days ago and I’m please with where it’s going. I’ll try to have it updated no later than the 14th of Feb.
Stay blessed all!!
So far I've sent out 22 queries and have gotten 3 partial requests. Yay me!! Don’t get excited…lol. I have a total of 95 agents and/or publishers to go through. Hopefully, it won’t take all or even half of them for me to find the one, but you know… This publishing business is more than a little subjective.
I haven't begun the editing on He Belongs to Me with the publisher yet, but based on what the EIC (editor-in-chief) says, it should be out during the summer--the beginning, middle, or end?--I haven't a clue. But I'll let you all know as soon as I do.
Moving on to more up to date things...
So, we've moved into a new year full of promise and potential. I generally don't make resolutions but I have set a few goals for myself:
• Land a great agent (you had to know that was going to be first.)
• Get back to my 2006 weight (130 lbs.)
• Write and finalize two additional books (one from each of my series)
• Go to three states I've never been to (LV, TN, CA)
• Get rid of dead weight (both in my personal life and professional life)
Well that's mines. What's yours and how do you plan on meeting each of your goals?
To all my fan-fiction buddies out there, I haven’t forgotten about you. I started working on the new chapter a few days ago and I’m please with where it’s going. I’ll try to have it updated no later than the 14th of Feb.
Stay blessed all!!
Monday, August 9, 2010
Synopsis Anyone?
I swear, I'm worst than a woman who can't tell time when it comes to updating this blog.
I've been busy with a few things: finishing my next novel, Fury's Storm, and working on the outline for Terroar's Dilemma. I also had to choose the company I wanted to publish my novel. How many writers can say they had to choose? It feels good, my friends. It feels really good.
Anyway, for several different reasons I chose to go with Aspen Mountain Press. One reason is because the people in my writer's group sing their praises. Actully, that's the primary reason. I didn't go with the other company, who's name I will not mention, because he wanted to hold the rights to my book for the life of the author plus 70 years.
If that's not a crock of shit, I don't know what is.
I don't have a release date for the book yet, but as soon as I do, you all will be first one's to hear about it!
Now for the Synopsis.
Those of you out there that are writers or want to be writers should know how much it sucks to have to write one of these. And this one didn't come without it's labor pains. The end has been deleted, because who's going to buy a book if they already know how it ends?
Alright guys and gals, here it goes:
Synopsis: HE BELONGS TO ME
Genre: Futuristic Romance
Word Count: 86,000
In the year 2110, with the extinction of the male half of the human species on the horizon, relationships with androids are nothing new. However, PHIA ZEN, a hopeless romantic and Baroness in waiting, wants no part of it. But, when her overbearing mother gifts her with a certificate to purchase one, and then nags her about its validity, she reluctantly entertains the idea.
At the local manufacturing facility, Phia meets DR. LORRAINE LOBUSH, the head Personomale Manufacturer in the Southeast region. When Phia argues against an android companion, explaining her desire for true companionship, Dr. Lobush goes against protocol and shows her a human companion not available to the general public. This surprises Phia because outside of the Frehores (male prostitutes), human men are not supposed to exist. The moment Phia lays eyes on the strapping, broad shouldered, and disoriented DONTÉ, every dream she’s ever had comes to life—children, love, true intimacy.
However, Donté doesn’t remember anything before waking to find Phia and Dr. Lobush standing before him. The night he is delivered to Phia, he reads her journal and understands one thing: he needs to make her happy. Her forlorn thoughts make him want to be everything she’s ever wished for. He doesn’t understand why he’s so attracted to a person he knows nothing about, but he can’t deny the need to touch her and be near her.
Later at a dinner for the HIGHER HIGHNESS OF SERENITY, Donté has a mental break that leaves his mental state so fractured; Phia is forced to contact Dr. Lobush for help. When Dr. Lobush examines Donté, she knows the impossible has taken place. Despite the inhibitor she installed, somehow he has regained memories of his past. In hopes of buffering the mayhem the return of Donté’s memories will cause, Dr. Lobush is left with no alternative but to tell the couple the truth of Donté’s origination. She informs them that Donté is a full human with all of his faculties intact, and that he was created for the expressed purpose of being a companion to a member of the elite ruling class. She also reveals that, although she was unaware of this at the time she gave him to Phia, Donté was specially ordered by the Higher Highness of Serenity, who will likely come to collect him in the immediate future.
This news infuriates Donté. Everything he was taught to believe, everything he was promised—a utopian society filled with ravishing goddesses, streets layered in gold, and a life of luxury—was a lie. He’s been a prisoner since birth, waiting on a proverbial assembly line to be chosen as someone’s pet. This makes him bitter and vengeful. He wants to tear the fabric of their society apart. Knowing he’ll be returned to his prison should he fail, Donté devises a plan to not only gain his freedom, but also the freedom of his friends still living the lie.
Heartbroken and bewildered by Dr. Lobush’s revelation, Phia is shocked when Donté rejects her the following day, and demands she take him back to Dr. Lobush. She becomes resentful of Donté and second guesses her longing for a society where real men walk the streets freely. She tries to make herself believe Donté would be better off anywhere else, but with her.
At Dr. Lobush’s office, Phia discovers Donté’s desire to not only be free but to free his friends from their prisons. Though she’s unwilling to forgive him for the manner in which he treated her, she feels obligated to help. If only to prove to him that all woman aren’t as sadistic as he believes them to be. During this same exchange, she learns that men who reach the age of 35 without finding favor with an elite member of society undergo castration and are turned into machines. Disgusted that Dr. Lobush has allowed this to go on for so long, Phia lashes out and pulls rank to force the doctor into helping Donté. What Phia and Donté don’t know is that Dr. Lobush has been secretly working to bring down the elite ruling class for years.
While Phia, Donté, and Dr. Lobush finalize their plans to invade the Male Farm Donté originated from, GLORIA GALE, the Higher Highness of Serenity, discovers the companion she received is an imposter. It is a previously used and abused model she returned to Dr. Lobush, crafted to look like Donté. Incensed by this treachery, she activates the Retrievers (used to capture rouge companions) with orders to capture Donté and everyone in his immediate company.
During the first leg of their mission, Dr. Lobush confronts Phia about her treatment of Donté. She accuses her of wanting nothing more than a pet. This forces Phia to concede that she is just as selfish, if not more so, than the women who stole Donté’s freedom. If she wants a real chance at the life she dreamed of, Phia has to make things right between them. After their apologies, they share a night of sensual love making, during which, Phia proclaims her desire for Donté to stay with her once their mission is over. Donté is unable to promise such a thing without knowing when the Higher Highness will come for him or whether he’ll survive the invasion of the Male Farm. He does, however, make Phia promise that regardless of what happens to him, she will do everything she can to bring an end to the lies. Phia agrees, and in doing so, makes a conscious decision to turn her back on her society and everything she was taught to believe.
The next morning, Dr. Lobush discovers that the Higher Highness has set-up mandatory companion checks-points with the expressed purpose of locating them. She relays this information to Donté and Phia, but adds that if they’re caught, Donté’s will be converted, and she and Phia will be killed. Dr. Lobush also warns them the Higher Highness is rumored to torture her captives, though it’s never been proven.
To elude capture they disembark at the next stop with arrangements made for DARIUS, Dr. Lobush’s human companion, to pick them up and transport them to a safe house. The moment he arrives, the Higher Highness springs her trap by way of the Retrievers. Donté is caught off guard and shot with a fast acting tranquilizer. He pushes Phia into Darius’s arms just before he slips into unconsciousness, which allows them to escape capture.
Dr. Lobush and Darius come up with a plan to get Donté back, but Phia is so distraught she can’t see how it will work. Phia leaves them to their own endeavors and prays for the best. Her promise to Donté becomes her priority. So she calls in two favors: one from her best-friend, for access to a pin-top video camera, and the other to her mother, requesting that she arrange a face to face meeting with the Higher Highness of Serenity for her. Phia’s intention for the meeting with the Higher Highness is to hold her accountable for the lies and premeditated murder of tens of thousands of men. Instead, she ends up waking from a drug-induced sleep, naked with a whacked-out version of the Higher Highness staring down at her, threatening to cut her eyelids off.
Once the tranquilizer wears off, Donté overpowers his guards just as Darius kicks in the door to his temporary cell. They escape to the roof where Dr. Lobush is waiting with a heli-jet to carry him to the Higher Highness’ compound where Phia is supposed to be. On the ride over, Donté views the exchange between the Higher Highness and Phia. In witnessing Phia’s vehemence for his plight and her refusal to accept the drivel being spewed back at her, Donté sees her for the first time, not as the woman who bought him. He sees in Phia the utopian society he was promised. He proclaims that if it takes a million lifetimes, he would never be able to repay her for the gift she’s given him. But promises he will spend every moment of the rest of his life making sure she knows he loves and appreciates her. When video transmission of the telecast is lost, he knows Phia is in trouble. He, Dr. Lobush, and Darius, race to the Higher Highness’ compound.
Donté and Darius tear through the compound, weapons loaded and at the ready, waiting for any sign of trouble. Instead of being greeted by a hoard of Retrievers intent on ripping them to shreds, they are greeted by a group of women. Darius holds the women at bay while Donté gains entry to the basement level. By acting the part of the newly converted companion the Higher Highness is expecting, he gains further access into the room where she’s holding Phia. The moment he crosses the threshold, the stench of blood and the sight of Phia’s limp naked body sends him over the edge....
The End
I've been busy with a few things: finishing my next novel, Fury's Storm, and working on the outline for Terroar's Dilemma. I also had to choose the company I wanted to publish my novel. How many writers can say they had to choose? It feels good, my friends. It feels really good.
Anyway, for several different reasons I chose to go with Aspen Mountain Press. One reason is because the people in my writer's group sing their praises. Actully, that's the primary reason. I didn't go with the other company, who's name I will not mention, because he wanted to hold the rights to my book for the life of the author plus 70 years.
If that's not a crock of shit, I don't know what is.
I don't have a release date for the book yet, but as soon as I do, you all will be first one's to hear about it!
Now for the Synopsis.
Those of you out there that are writers or want to be writers should know how much it sucks to have to write one of these. And this one didn't come without it's labor pains. The end has been deleted, because who's going to buy a book if they already know how it ends?
Alright guys and gals, here it goes:
Synopsis: HE BELONGS TO ME
Genre: Futuristic Romance
Word Count: 86,000
In the year 2110, with the extinction of the male half of the human species on the horizon, relationships with androids are nothing new. However, PHIA ZEN, a hopeless romantic and Baroness in waiting, wants no part of it. But, when her overbearing mother gifts her with a certificate to purchase one, and then nags her about its validity, she reluctantly entertains the idea.
At the local manufacturing facility, Phia meets DR. LORRAINE LOBUSH, the head Personomale Manufacturer in the Southeast region. When Phia argues against an android companion, explaining her desire for true companionship, Dr. Lobush goes against protocol and shows her a human companion not available to the general public. This surprises Phia because outside of the Frehores (male prostitutes), human men are not supposed to exist. The moment Phia lays eyes on the strapping, broad shouldered, and disoriented DONTÉ, every dream she’s ever had comes to life—children, love, true intimacy.
However, Donté doesn’t remember anything before waking to find Phia and Dr. Lobush standing before him. The night he is delivered to Phia, he reads her journal and understands one thing: he needs to make her happy. Her forlorn thoughts make him want to be everything she’s ever wished for. He doesn’t understand why he’s so attracted to a person he knows nothing about, but he can’t deny the need to touch her and be near her.
Later at a dinner for the HIGHER HIGHNESS OF SERENITY, Donté has a mental break that leaves his mental state so fractured; Phia is forced to contact Dr. Lobush for help. When Dr. Lobush examines Donté, she knows the impossible has taken place. Despite the inhibitor she installed, somehow he has regained memories of his past. In hopes of buffering the mayhem the return of Donté’s memories will cause, Dr. Lobush is left with no alternative but to tell the couple the truth of Donté’s origination. She informs them that Donté is a full human with all of his faculties intact, and that he was created for the expressed purpose of being a companion to a member of the elite ruling class. She also reveals that, although she was unaware of this at the time she gave him to Phia, Donté was specially ordered by the Higher Highness of Serenity, who will likely come to collect him in the immediate future.
This news infuriates Donté. Everything he was taught to believe, everything he was promised—a utopian society filled with ravishing goddesses, streets layered in gold, and a life of luxury—was a lie. He’s been a prisoner since birth, waiting on a proverbial assembly line to be chosen as someone’s pet. This makes him bitter and vengeful. He wants to tear the fabric of their society apart. Knowing he’ll be returned to his prison should he fail, Donté devises a plan to not only gain his freedom, but also the freedom of his friends still living the lie.
Heartbroken and bewildered by Dr. Lobush’s revelation, Phia is shocked when Donté rejects her the following day, and demands she take him back to Dr. Lobush. She becomes resentful of Donté and second guesses her longing for a society where real men walk the streets freely. She tries to make herself believe Donté would be better off anywhere else, but with her.
At Dr. Lobush’s office, Phia discovers Donté’s desire to not only be free but to free his friends from their prisons. Though she’s unwilling to forgive him for the manner in which he treated her, she feels obligated to help. If only to prove to him that all woman aren’t as sadistic as he believes them to be. During this same exchange, she learns that men who reach the age of 35 without finding favor with an elite member of society undergo castration and are turned into machines. Disgusted that Dr. Lobush has allowed this to go on for so long, Phia lashes out and pulls rank to force the doctor into helping Donté. What Phia and Donté don’t know is that Dr. Lobush has been secretly working to bring down the elite ruling class for years.
While Phia, Donté, and Dr. Lobush finalize their plans to invade the Male Farm Donté originated from, GLORIA GALE, the Higher Highness of Serenity, discovers the companion she received is an imposter. It is a previously used and abused model she returned to Dr. Lobush, crafted to look like Donté. Incensed by this treachery, she activates the Retrievers (used to capture rouge companions) with orders to capture Donté and everyone in his immediate company.
During the first leg of their mission, Dr. Lobush confronts Phia about her treatment of Donté. She accuses her of wanting nothing more than a pet. This forces Phia to concede that she is just as selfish, if not more so, than the women who stole Donté’s freedom. If she wants a real chance at the life she dreamed of, Phia has to make things right between them. After their apologies, they share a night of sensual love making, during which, Phia proclaims her desire for Donté to stay with her once their mission is over. Donté is unable to promise such a thing without knowing when the Higher Highness will come for him or whether he’ll survive the invasion of the Male Farm. He does, however, make Phia promise that regardless of what happens to him, she will do everything she can to bring an end to the lies. Phia agrees, and in doing so, makes a conscious decision to turn her back on her society and everything she was taught to believe.
The next morning, Dr. Lobush discovers that the Higher Highness has set-up mandatory companion checks-points with the expressed purpose of locating them. She relays this information to Donté and Phia, but adds that if they’re caught, Donté’s will be converted, and she and Phia will be killed. Dr. Lobush also warns them the Higher Highness is rumored to torture her captives, though it’s never been proven.
To elude capture they disembark at the next stop with arrangements made for DARIUS, Dr. Lobush’s human companion, to pick them up and transport them to a safe house. The moment he arrives, the Higher Highness springs her trap by way of the Retrievers. Donté is caught off guard and shot with a fast acting tranquilizer. He pushes Phia into Darius’s arms just before he slips into unconsciousness, which allows them to escape capture.
Dr. Lobush and Darius come up with a plan to get Donté back, but Phia is so distraught she can’t see how it will work. Phia leaves them to their own endeavors and prays for the best. Her promise to Donté becomes her priority. So she calls in two favors: one from her best-friend, for access to a pin-top video camera, and the other to her mother, requesting that she arrange a face to face meeting with the Higher Highness of Serenity for her. Phia’s intention for the meeting with the Higher Highness is to hold her accountable for the lies and premeditated murder of tens of thousands of men. Instead, she ends up waking from a drug-induced sleep, naked with a whacked-out version of the Higher Highness staring down at her, threatening to cut her eyelids off.
Once the tranquilizer wears off, Donté overpowers his guards just as Darius kicks in the door to his temporary cell. They escape to the roof where Dr. Lobush is waiting with a heli-jet to carry him to the Higher Highness’ compound where Phia is supposed to be. On the ride over, Donté views the exchange between the Higher Highness and Phia. In witnessing Phia’s vehemence for his plight and her refusal to accept the drivel being spewed back at her, Donté sees her for the first time, not as the woman who bought him. He sees in Phia the utopian society he was promised. He proclaims that if it takes a million lifetimes, he would never be able to repay her for the gift she’s given him. But promises he will spend every moment of the rest of his life making sure she knows he loves and appreciates her. When video transmission of the telecast is lost, he knows Phia is in trouble. He, Dr. Lobush, and Darius, race to the Higher Highness’ compound.
Donté and Darius tear through the compound, weapons loaded and at the ready, waiting for any sign of trouble. Instead of being greeted by a hoard of Retrievers intent on ripping them to shreds, they are greeted by a group of women. Darius holds the women at bay while Donté gains entry to the basement level. By acting the part of the newly converted companion the Higher Highness is expecting, he gains further access into the room where she’s holding Phia. The moment he crosses the threshold, the stench of blood and the sight of Phia’s limp naked body sends him over the edge....
The End
Sunday, July 11, 2010
I guess some novelists do get some love...
Once again, I've been lax with updating this blog, but late is better than never, isn't it?
Anyway, I wanted to let you few, who actually view this blog from time to time know that I am currently in possession of two contract offers to publish my novel, He Belongs to Me. It was at one time called I Need a M.A.N.
Yes, you heard me correctly. I have two contract offers on the table and I'm waiting patiently for a third which should be coming any day now.
In one of my previous posts, I was complaining about query letters and synopsis' and how hard they were to write. I'm not saying it got any easier because it didn't, but the following is the one that has me here reviewing two contracts:
The last thing Phia Zen wants to do is date an android. She wants a real man with real emotions. Unfortunately, they’re nearly extinct.
Phia begrudgingly chooses a companion at her mother’s insistence and is surprised to find Donté is far from electronic. Just when she believes her prayers have been answered, she learns he belongs to the most powerful woman in the world. This revelation leads Phia to the discovery that her female-run society was built on the premeditated extinction of the male half of the human species and the forced slavery of thousands more. If she turns a blind eye, she’ll lose Donté. But if she speaks out against this deception, she’ll risk not only losing Donté, but her life as well.
When Donté’s consciousness fully awakens, Phia’s choice is clear. She must right the wrongs done against him or risk losing any chance she has at him ever loving her. Together, they embark on a mission to free the men being held in captivity, but quickly learn they are now the most wanted couple in the country. At the risk of losing her life and any chance she has at love, Phia must devise a way to bring decades of deception to light while coming face to face with the woman who wants her head on a silver stake.
That's the one!!! And for those of you who didn't know what the book was about, you can call this your first glance. Both contracts say I can't post any chapters, so you'll need to wait for the book to come out to read more. That aside, I will be posting the dreaded synopsis in my next post, which will give you all an even closer look into the heart of the book.
Okay, gotta go now. I have a little writing to do on my next novel, Fury's Storm.
Anyway, I wanted to let you few, who actually view this blog from time to time know that I am currently in possession of two contract offers to publish my novel, He Belongs to Me. It was at one time called I Need a M.A.N.
Yes, you heard me correctly. I have two contract offers on the table and I'm waiting patiently for a third which should be coming any day now.
In one of my previous posts, I was complaining about query letters and synopsis' and how hard they were to write. I'm not saying it got any easier because it didn't, but the following is the one that has me here reviewing two contracts:
The last thing Phia Zen wants to do is date an android. She wants a real man with real emotions. Unfortunately, they’re nearly extinct.
Phia begrudgingly chooses a companion at her mother’s insistence and is surprised to find Donté is far from electronic. Just when she believes her prayers have been answered, she learns he belongs to the most powerful woman in the world. This revelation leads Phia to the discovery that her female-run society was built on the premeditated extinction of the male half of the human species and the forced slavery of thousands more. If she turns a blind eye, she’ll lose Donté. But if she speaks out against this deception, she’ll risk not only losing Donté, but her life as well.
When Donté’s consciousness fully awakens, Phia’s choice is clear. She must right the wrongs done against him or risk losing any chance she has at him ever loving her. Together, they embark on a mission to free the men being held in captivity, but quickly learn they are now the most wanted couple in the country. At the risk of losing her life and any chance she has at love, Phia must devise a way to bring decades of deception to light while coming face to face with the woman who wants her head on a silver stake.
That's the one!!! And for those of you who didn't know what the book was about, you can call this your first glance. Both contracts say I can't post any chapters, so you'll need to wait for the book to come out to read more. That aside, I will be posting the dreaded synopsis in my next post, which will give you all an even closer look into the heart of the book.
Okay, gotta go now. I have a little writing to do on my next novel, Fury's Storm.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Time passes all too quickly
Wow, I can't believe it has actually been this long since I posted anything to my blog. I guess it would help if I actually remembered where the heck I created it.
I'm clueless, I know...I know...
Well, four months after my last post, 5 different query letters later, a pathetic synopsis, a hell of a lot of gutting of Heart's Landfill, too many rejections to count, and I'm still no closer to getting an agent or a publisher. So like any good writer or half decent determined and focused writer, rather than wallowing in my own juices or self-pity and doubt, I have pulled myself up by my Payless shoes and written a second novel, I Need A M.A.N.
Seriously, there are so many things that that title has in common with my life that I sometimes find it almost Freudian.
Anyway, I'm back on the grind again, sending out query letters, author bios, and sample chapters and getting no love, but I'm not going to gripe like I did last time.
Hell, it is what it is, isn't it. Besides, if I curse them too much, I will truly black ball myself and I seriously can't afford to that. At least, not right now.
Besides, I know this particular novel is going to get published; it's only a matter of time. I might also post the first few chapters here as well but I'm not sure yet. I've heard that's a big no-no, but whose no-no is it? Their's--the leviatians--or just the wannabees like me?
Anyway... No rejections today, but I did get two on Tuesday and one yesterday. So, yeah a break was definitely earned.
That all for today...
I'm clueless, I know...I know...
Well, four months after my last post, 5 different query letters later, a pathetic synopsis, a hell of a lot of gutting of Heart's Landfill, too many rejections to count, and I'm still no closer to getting an agent or a publisher. So like any good writer or half decent determined and focused writer, rather than wallowing in my own juices or self-pity and doubt, I have pulled myself up by my Payless shoes and written a second novel, I Need A M.A.N.
Seriously, there are so many things that that title has in common with my life that I sometimes find it almost Freudian.
Anyway, I'm back on the grind again, sending out query letters, author bios, and sample chapters and getting no love, but I'm not going to gripe like I did last time.
Hell, it is what it is, isn't it. Besides, if I curse them too much, I will truly black ball myself and I seriously can't afford to that. At least, not right now.
Besides, I know this particular novel is going to get published; it's only a matter of time. I might also post the first few chapters here as well but I'm not sure yet. I've heard that's a big no-no, but whose no-no is it? Their's--the leviatians--or just the wannabees like me?
Anyway... No rejections today, but I did get two on Tuesday and one yesterday. So, yeah a break was definitely earned.
That all for today...
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