Leah and I have been friends and crit partners for a long time. We've laughed and screamed and cried together, and the more interesting of those stories may yet come out at some later date. ;)
But for today, I could not be more pleased to introduce her and her first release. It's been exciting for me because I've been alongside her so much of the way. I've known she was a talented writer from the beginning and I'm proud (very proud) to have helped her along with what support and emotional encouragement I could give.
*Raises frosted mug* So here's to Leah, her first sale and to many more.
When Sue asked me to write something up for her blog, I said, “Sure, I can whip something up for you.” Then I sat and stared at a blank page for a while. You see, Sue has been a huge influence on me. She’s the one who pushed and shoved me toward where I am today, not listening to me whinge and rant the way I’m prone.
Sue and I started off writing a round-robin story with several other aspiring writers. That was the first time I’d ever written from a male point of view and it was quite eye-opening. And surprising, especially the time when I posted my character (a warrior) talking to Sue’s character (a barmaid) saying that he wanted an ale but perhaps he needed shave, or perhaps he needed both. Sue misread my post and had her character thinking he’d asked her for a BATH. Okay, you had to be there to understand how hilarious that was. But you see, that was the beginning of our partnership. I went on to write quite a few more stories involving that character, and Sue very generously allowed me to use her character in some of those stories.
For the next year I concentrated on writing fantasies, where before I’d usually written science fiction or suspense. When not writing my next chapter, Sue would challenge me to write drabbles to make me write tighter. She’d push me to write outside of my comfort level. We’d exchange numerous emails about writing techniques and ‘the rules’ and when you could break them, or if you should. And with each critique, with each email, I learned more and more from her.
So when Sue challenged me to write an erotica back in the spring of 2007, I looked at it as another exercise. The first one I wrote was a sci-fi involving dragons and shapeshifters on an earth in the future, the next was a contemporary paranormal, again involving shapeshifters. But then for some reason I can’t explain, when I created the world around Private Property, there wasn’t a shapeshifter in sight. Set in contemporary Dallas, there was no fancy hardware involved (unless you count the BDSM equipment lining the shelves in Sam’s private bedroom.) No swords and chainmail, no elves, no evil wizard in sight. Yet these characters, Mark Rodriguez and Jodi Tyler, and especially Sam Watson, just leapt off the page in a way none had since I wrote that very first round-robin story. It’s about jealousy and betrayal, and the search for trust and boundaries and respect for both your friends and your lovers. All universal themes, no matter what the genre. Oh, and I mustn’t forget, there’s some really hot, wicked sex in it too.
If you want to read an excerpt you can go here, or here. (I will warn you, the first one is for those 18 years of age or over.) And you can buy Private Property here. But whether you buy it or not, I still owe Sue a huge “Thank You.” Because I really wouldn’t have gotten where I have without her guidance.
A very exciting day today, the delivery man drove into my yard, knocked on my door and handed me this! A print version of Leah Braemel's PERSONAL PROTECTION.
