Thank you to the Indieverse Awards for nominating FIORENZO!
• Most Memorable First Kiss
• Most Cinematic Writing
• Most Interesting Fictional World
Check out the Indieverse Awards site to see how you can participate as a reader!
Scene 32 of Solar Fantasy – Aubrey & Lindsey Retold is up on Patre♡n! Wherein a mysterious fate befalls Aubrey.
~
Carlisle’s smile faded. “Is something the matter?”
“Yes. Aubrey’s missing.”
“Missing?” The word didn’t galvanize Carlisle quite the way Lindsey had assumed it would. Indeed, he appeared almost indifferent. “How do you know?”
“He never arrived Saturday night.”
“Were you expecting him?”
“I expect him every Saturday night.” The gossip columns knew as much as that; Lindsey marveled at how Carlisle could not.
“Well, then.” Carlisle shrugged. “Doubtless he will explain himself soon enough. It’s only Monday, after all.”
This Monday, of all Mondays, could not be cast aside as “only” Monday. Lindsey endeavoured to maintain his patience. “Halloway has not seen him at his lodging house, either.”
“Halloway?”
“Graves’s friend, you remember. He’s Aubrey’s downstairs neighbour.”
“Is he, now?” This detail, at last, had piqued Carlisle’s interest. “At last we have an explanation for your coincidental meeting at Graves’s party.”
Lindsey ignored that remark in favour of steering the conversation back into relevant territory. “Halloway lives on the ground floor; Aubrey lives in the garrett. Aubrey cannot depart or enter the lodging house without passing by Halloway’s rooms. And Halloway has seen him neither come nor go since Friday.”
“Then he should ask the landlady to knock him up,” said Carlisle. “But really, even if he hasn’t returned home, what of it? He’s a grown man. He may come or go—or not—as he pleases.”
“He may,” Lindsey admitted—Carlisle might absorb his point more easily if he made at least a minor concession to his argument, however irrelevant. “But it is very much unlike him to miss an appointment. He’s…” Reliable. Dependable. Trustworthy. A sculpture carved of granite or cast in bronze, true to his core, his unbreakable soul. “…extremely punctual.”
~
Did you want more Aubrey and Lindsey – but in a whole new world?
Joining me on Patre♡n will give you access to “drawer fic” – aka the 500k+ words worth of manuscripts that have been shelved until I figure out how to fix or finish them.
A new scene will go up every week. Missing (unwritten) scenes will be indicated by brackets describing what would probably happen if the scene were written. Example: [in this scene Aubrey and Lindsey ride a carousel]
Currently posting…
♡ the Aubrey & Lindsey solar fantasy project (mm) (90k)
Scene 31 of Solar Fantasy – Aubrey & Lindsey Retold is up on Patre♡n! Wherein Lindsey confronts his family over his relationship with Aubrey.
~
“Sit down, Lindsey,” his mother said cordially.
Lindsey remained standing. His mother, father, and sister never occupied the same sitting room at the same time. They had too many responsibilities, too many obligations, too many diverse interests to allow for such a thing. They came together for dinner occasionally, for certain entertainments, and for state functions of course, but never within anything so domestic as a withdrawing room, and never without some other occupation. To have his entire immediate family in the parlor with nary an open book nor magazine nor newspaper in sight sent an unaccountable chill down his spine.
~
Did you want more Aubrey and Lindsey – but in a whole new world?
Joining me on Patre♡n will give you access to “drawer fic” – aka the 500k+ words worth of manuscripts that have been shelved until I figure out how to fix or finish them.
A new scene will go up every week. Missing (unwritten) scenes will be indicated by brackets describing what would probably happen if the scene were written. Example: [in this scene Aubrey and Lindsey ride a carousel]
Currently posting…
♡ the Aubrey & Lindsey solar fantasy project (mm) (90k)
Mr Warren’s Profession, pictured here with some of the books that helped me write it!
It took me four years to write my first book. Partly because, y’know, first book. And partly because I had to start from scratch with my knowledge of the Victorian era. So I threw myself into research and the story grew along with it.
Books shown here include…
• How to be a Victorian by Ruth Goodman
• Food and Cooking in Victorian England by Andrea Broomfield
• Daily Life in Victorian England by Sally Mitchell
• Inside the Victorian Home by Judith Flanders
• The Victorian City by Judith Flanders
• Consuming Passions by Judith Flanders
Scene 30 of Solar Fantasy – Aubrey & Lindsey Retold is up on Patre♡n! Wherein we have 4.3k words of Aubrey meeting his birth family.
~
“Mum—”
The voice at the door cut off just before Aubrey whipped ‘round to see who’d spoken.
A young woman stood on the threshold, one hand on the door-frame, suggesting she’d braced herself against it to halt when she realized a stranger sat in the house. She had a heart-shaped face, with high cheekbones and a sharp nose. Her black hair, tucked haphazard under a kerchief, had a wild curl to it not unlike his mother’s. Her bow lips parted in shock, thick black brows raised in astonishment, and enormous brown eyes with heavy lids flew wide with surprise.
No doubt she felt as bewildered to see her older brother as he did to see his younger sister.
~
Did you want more Aubrey and Lindsey – but in a whole new world?
Joining me on Patre♡n will give you access to “drawer fic” – aka the 500k+ words worth of manuscripts that have been shelved until I figure out how to fix or finish them.
A new scene will go up every week. Missing (unwritten) scenes will be indicated by brackets describing what would probably happen if the scene were written. Example: [in this scene Aubrey and Lindsey ride a carousel]
Currently posting…
♡ the Aubrey & Lindsey solar fantasy project (mm) (90k)
Scene 29 of Solar Fantasy – Aubrey & Lindsey Retold is up on Patre♡n! Wherein Aubrey and Lindsey attend a masquerade.
~
“You cannot honestly believe it is mere coincidence that on the very night it becomes legal for you to embrace another man, one just so happens to approach you for that very purpose?” asked Carlisle.
Lindsey balked. “Legal?”
“Really, Lindsey, you must take at least a passing interest in politics, if only for your own sake.”
~
Did you want more Aubrey and Lindsey – but in a whole new world?
Joining me on Patre♡n will give you access to “drawer fic” – aka the 500k+ words worth of manuscripts that have been shelved until I figure out how to fix or finish them.
A new scene will go up every week. Missing (unwritten) scenes will be indicated by brackets describing what would probably happen if the scene were written. Example: [in this scene Aubrey and Lindsey ride a carousel]
Currently posting…
♡ the Aubrey & Lindsey solar fantasy project (mm) (90k)
Scene 28 of Solar Fantasy – Aubrey & Lindsey Retold is up on Patre♡n! Wherein Rowena and Lindsey bicker over a ball.
~
“I realize you may find it awkward to rescind the invitation now,” said Rowena, “but I’m afraid you must. And while you must feel something, of course, I would urge you not to feel too badly about it. It’s not your fault. Really, it is he who has imposed upon you by asking to be invited.”
“He never asked me,” said Lindsey. “I asked him.”
“Lindsey, you do know it is possible for a person to hint in such a way as to ask for something without coming out and asking for it in so many words, don’t you?”
“Of course. You do it all the time.”
~
Did you want more Aubrey and Lindsey – but in a whole new world?
Joining me on Patre♡n will give you access to “drawer fic” – aka the 500k+ words worth of manuscripts that have been shelved until I figure out how to fix or finish them.
A new scene will go up every week. Missing (unwritten) scenes will be indicated by brackets describing what would probably happen if the scene were written. Example: [in this scene Aubrey and Lindsey ride a carousel]
Currently posting…
♡ the Aubrey & Lindsey solar fantasy project (mm) (90k)
Scene 27 of Solar Fantasy – Aubrey & Lindsey Retold is up on Patre♡n! Wherein Carlisle has a proposal for Aubrey.
~
“As Lindsey has likely told you,” Lord Carlisle went on—Aubrey thought he put rather too much emphasis on Lindsey’s name minus its title, “I have a number of industrial concerns. Mining. Manufacturing. Boilers. Engines. Trains. Even muslin and, yes,” he added with another chuckle, “now pen-nibs. What, in your opinion as an engineer, do you believe to be the most interesting area of scientific development?”
The question stank of a test. Its purpose seemed self-evident; a determination of his worthiness. But how such determination would be derived from the question asked or the answer given, Aubrey couldn’t fathom. He decided to give Lord Carlisle the honest response he professed to desire. “Hydro-electric power.”
“Ah, yes, Lindsey did mention something about your work in that area upon his hunting lodge. Very interesting indeed. I wonder if, perhaps, you might wish to work upon the problem as a professional, rather than an amateur?”
Aubrey told his second lie of the interview. “I’m afraid I don’t follow.”
~
Did you want more Aubrey and Lindsey – but in a whole new world?
Joining me on Patre♡n will give you access to “drawer fic” – aka the 500k+ words worth of manuscripts that have been shelved until I figure out how to fix or finish them.
A new scene will go up every week. Missing (unwritten) scenes will be indicated by brackets describing what would probably happen if the scene were written. Example: [in this scene Aubrey and Lindsey ride a carousel]
Currently posting…
♡ the Aubrey & Lindsey solar fantasy project (mm) (90k)
Please enjoy this sneak peek inside the Oak King Holly King audiobook!
Gary Furlong has graciously given permission to share his audition audio. This excerpt in particular allows you to hear his skillful approach to a voice that – those of you who’ve read the book will know – is more important than it may at first appear.
And if you’d like to hear Gary narrate the rest of the book, you’ve got just four days left to back the Kickstarter!
Oak King Holly King is a queer Victorian fantasy romance between a fae warrior and a mortal clerk.
Perfect for readers who enjoy…
Our audiobook narrator is Gary Furlong. If you’re a queer romance audiobook enthusiast you may recognize him from…
To claim your copy of the audiobook (alongside rewards like stickers, deep-discounted ebooks, and signed and annotated paperbacks), back the Kickstarter campaign today!
Save the date! Gary Furlong and I are going live tomorrow in the Rainbow Dragon Readers facebook group to bring you a live reading from Oak King Holly King followed by a live Q&A.
WHAT: Oak King Holly King live read and Q&A
WHEN: Tuesday 6th February 18:00 ET (tomorrow!)
WHERE: the Rainbow Dragon Readers facebook group
Can’t wait to see you there!
Sebastian Nothwell 