Danse Desirable

New site!

2010-10-24T10:40:00.000-07:00

Well, sort of new. Check it out:

www.christinedanse.com

Island of Icarus will be released on November 29th in ebook format and in audio format. Yes, I am very excited. :)

Bestill My Heart

2010-06-06T00:17:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I squirted some lotion onto my hand--but I didn't rub it in until I'd taken a picture. Here's why:

Pretty weird, huh? Yeah, I thought so.

By the way, that's lime-patchouli lotion--my favorite. Yummm.

I'm So Excited, I'm Tearing Down Curtain Rods

2010-06-02T21:14:00.000-07:00

Per usual, I woke today at around 1 p.m., rolled over in bed, and groped for my cell phone. Thumbing on the screen, I saw someone had left a voice message. I assumed it was a bill collector for the "Sarah" person who had apparently used this phone number before me. (I cannot tell you how many times I have painstakingly explained to various different agencies that I am not, indeed, this Sarah. It's forced me to screen all of my unknown calls.)

But, no. The message was very much for me. It was Carina Press, and they were calling about my male/male erotic romance novella, "The Island of Icarus." They were sorry they had missed me, and would be sending an e-mail.

I can't remember the last time I flew out of bed so fast! I yanked my towel off the shower rod so quickly that the whole thing clattered down, then ran out to the living room to check my computer.

I...have my first book deal offer. :)

I, uh, bounced around in circles in ways I never knew I could. I'm very, very excited--to say the least! WA-HOO!

Now that the words "contract negotiation" have been mentioned, I'm beginning to ponder the wisdom of going into this without an agent. Errr... o.0

I have had one heck of a long and tiring--but absolutely lovely!--day. Good night!

Love, fangs, and fur. :)=

May Update...In Fact, I Probably Will

2010-05-17T19:18:00.000-07:00

Sitting here at the table, starting to feel the edge of hunger and figuring I ought to say "Hi" to my blog.

Got my steampunk romance submission, The Island of Icarus, in to Samhain, and now I'm waiting until the end of the month for an answer. Crossing my fingers. Crossing them really hard.

Working on a steampunk short for a Cleis call. After that, a zombie romance short. Oh, yeah, and working on the final edits for my erotic werewolf novelette. Excited about that.

Hope to get a few book reviews up sometime this week. The Difference Engine, Whitechapel Gods, and Her Colorado Man. (Yeah, that last one was a doozy. I thought I'd give a cheesy Harlequin historical romance a go. Sorry I did.)

Gosh, I usually feel a little more interesting, but suddenly I'm pretty tired and can't write anything more than a truncated list of current life events.

All right, off to eat and walk the dog.

Er, that is to say, off to eat some food and then walk the dog. I usually don't make a practice of eating said dog. Ah, grammar.

Love, fangs, and...snore...

April Observations

2010-04-22T23:21:00.000-07:00

April. The return of warm South Florida nights. Open the door into the damp, comfortable embrace of subtropical evening.

I just finished The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling. The novel's ending words spiraled upward into a sudden exultation that swelled in my chest. (Literary orgasm? I wondered. I was sitting in the empty school hallway, loathe to leave until I'd finished those last couple of pages, and glad that I did.)

On the way home, the world was suddenly much more real and much more broad. Burning ember, tiny explosion of cigarette butt hitting the pavement, flung from the car in front of me. The smell of someone's house or car, pleasant and sweet, wafting in through my open window.

I love to finish books. I love that moment of completion. Suddenly, I am popped back out into my world, the real world, and for a few minutes, at least, it suddenly just...makes sense. For a moment, I have a context with which to see it all, broad and narrow all at once. I am alive to details.

Single pink hibiscus flower against the nondescript condominium wall, blossoming upward, stigma licking the air, all alone amongst the dark green leaves. Brave and beautiful.

Wonderful Free Fantasy E-zine

2010-02-20T12:47:00.000-08:00

Browsing through fantasy and science fiction markets, I found a professional free e-zine that makes me positively drool:

Beneath Ceaseless Skies

The cover art is amazing. The stories are amazing. They specialize in literary adventure fantasy, and to my delight, they also publish steampunk! Ha!

I just finished reading A Serpent in the Gears by Margaret Ronald. It features a dirigible, clockwork lifeforms, a quirky crew of scientists and spies, and flying serpents. I think I found love. :)

For readers: All of the content is free. Two stories are published per issue, and two issues are published every month. Select stories are also available in audio format as podcasts. Subscribe for free via email or RSS.

For writers: This is a pro-rate market. They pay $0.05 per word, and prefer stories under 10,000 words.

The magazine is supported by donations. I'm heading over to donate now. :)

Change of Gears

2010-02-02T00:12:00.001-08:00

I'm still waiting for that haircut. :P

In the meantime, I've assembled most of the rest of my steampunk outfit: shirt, pants, and boots from clockworkcouture.com, as well as the perfect brass-buttoned steampunk vest from -- get this -- Hot Topic. I hadn't stepped into a Hot Topic in over a year. What wonderful luck?

Changing gears with several fiction projects. The story I was writing for Phaze will now be finished for Samhain, and I'll be writing a different story for Phaze instead. I'm also pretty sure now that I do, indeed, want to finish the steam dragon story I was writing for the "Magic in Trafficking" anthology for Drollerie Press. I'd been playing with the idea of using it as the beginning of a web serial, instead -- but I really don't have the time or resources for that monumental undertaking right now. So, single short story it is. (Perhaps with web fiction sequels.)

Dizzy yet? I am.

Looking at a small stack of stories now that need to be edited. Among them: Nightblood, my first complete novelette about werewolves; the "Trafficking in Magic" story for Drollerie Press; and the beginning of the steam dragon story.

Whew! In any case, it was a nice drizzly day today. Bait tracked mud into the house after I walked him. When I tried to dry his feet, he thought I was playing. I think that dog is a mutant rabbit, and not a dog at all.

Love, Fangs, and Fur. :)=

Confession, Divine Intervention...and Goggles

2010-01-04T22:46:00.000-08:00

I'm ashamed to admit that I've fallen behind with my fiction projects, what with wrapping up at my current job, establishing my nonfiction, and getting ready for school to start. I have finished one short story for the Drollerie Press "Trafficking in Magic" anthology. I gave up on my "Magic in Trafficking" story (the steam dragon tale) when I decided it would be too long for the anthology and better suited as a webserial. I was also working on a third story for their "Greek" anthology under a pen name of mine; I had planned to finish it tonight at the last minute, but decided it wasn't worthy of the trouble.

So I thank the Gods for one simple little message on Drollerie's page: "Extended deadline." I have until the end of February to get everything out.

Now, I think I will finish the the steam dragon story and send it in, after all. And I think I'll give that other story a chance. It just needs a little lovin'.

Nick was a dear and read through the one story that I did finish, which was a huge help (thank you, babe).

Speaking of Nick... HE GOT ME GOGGLES FOR CHRISTMAS! Goggles, and a pair of round, mirrored shades, and a pair of magnifying lenses that clip onto my glasses. Throw some soot on my face and I already look like my steampunk character Desiree Spectacle. All I need is the rest of the outfit, now.

Posting pictures once I get a haircut. :)

Love, fangs, fur -- and a Happy New Year!

Late Night Shenananas

2009-12-18T00:32:00.000-08:00

It's been a while, hasn't it?

Typing up the rough draft for story #2 for Drollerie Press's anthology calls. Steam-powered dragon. Dodgy mad inventors. Lots of fun.

Steamypunk got back to me. They're still acquiring! The site had seemed a little inactive, but they were having a technical issue that's been fixed. I can't wait to sink my claws into a story for them. Once I have these two pretties I'm writing now wrapped up and sent off to Drollerie, I'm gonna start thinking about it -- in between pounding out a novelette about a couple of gay steampunks and a novella about Victorian Era Atlanteans and another about a vampire who is hella sexy...sometimes. >:)=

Love, fangs, and fur.

Prodding the Muse

2009-11-10T23:32:00.000-08:00

Recently, I've found myself procrastinating on fiction writing with nonfiction projects. Seems oddly backwards to me.

Still working on the first of four short stories I need to finish by the beginning of January. Unfortunately, I can't force creativity the way I can force academic research and article writing. A lot of people use the term "writer's block," but I don't buy into that nonsense. It's not a block. It's an unexplored forest you need to navigate through. Right now, I'm still wavering in the middle of the forest, holding my lantern aloft, standing at a crossroads and wondering which trail to take...

I've been reading a book called "The Imagineering Workout" by the Disney Imagineers. It's full of incredible exercises for the imagination. Creativity isn't a stream to tap or a divinely bestowed gift (although, sometimes it can feel like both of those). It's an ability that can be honed and toned, just like any other.

Not to say that I don't have a muse. I do, and she's been good to me. Even better, now that I prod her along. There is a saying... "God helps those who help themselves." Well, I believe that muses inspire those who inspire themselves! Now that I'm standing at the dark crossroads, I'm doing all sorts of stuff to jump start my story: sketching maps, writing lists, watching movie clips, automatic writing. It's much more fun, much more productive, and much healthier than pulling out my hair!

Love, fangs, and fur. :)=

Scott Westerfeld, steampunk, and erotica

2009-10-26T10:51:00.000-07:00

The first erotic story I ever read was Scott Westerfeld's "Polymorph," which sort of sealed my fascination with gender-shifting. It must have also been the first cyberpunk I read (though I've always attributed my introduction of cyberpunk to Tad Williams and his "Otherland" series). Very well written, very "sleek and sexy" as someone put it on Amazon.

Just the other day, I thought I'd see what he was up to recently. Still writing? I wondered.

Yes. He is. Young adult novels, funny enough. And the latest one is a steampunk.

This world is way too small. o.0

Love, fangs, and fur.

Answering the calls

2009-10-25T00:28:00.000-07:00

The hour grows late. I should retire, but find myself searching through the AEthernet -- er, Internet -- for paranormal, fantasy, erotica, and steampunk (and erotic steampunk) calls for submissions. Surprisingly, there are a lot -- and all of them interest me. Most have due dates of early next year. My mind reels. Where do I begin?

Drollerie Press. Looking for short stories for four fantasy anthologies. All four intrigue me.
Phaze Books. Looking for short romantica steampunk tales featuring M/M or M/M/F pairings.
Samhain Publishing. Looking for romantic erotic novellas for a steampunk anthology.

I need to push up my sleeves, settle my goggles over my eyes, crack my knuckles, and get organized. Need to push Nightblood out the door, so to speak, and clear the table for possibly 1...2...3...4...5...6 new stories...all before the middle of next year. The steampunk vampire tale may get delayed (hopefully, not regrettably). I'll have to do some brainstorming, pick my favorite calls, and focus on those first. Deep breath.

Love, fangs, fur...and steam. :)

!

2009-10-24T23:39:00.000-07:00

Steampunk month! And steampunk goths!

2009-10-23T23:50:00.000-07:00

No wonder I've been so preoccupied by steampunk this month! October 2009 is Steampunk Month at TOR.com. I must have sensed the mystical, mechanical energies.

And I found this image via another blog. I had been scheming up a "steamgoth" style, but I suppose the goth scene beat me to it. :)

Drooling over a pair of boots at Clockwork Couture. Actually, I'm drooling over all of their women's footwear. I would wear heels for some of these shoes. If you knew me, you'd understand what a big deal that is.

In non-steampunk-related news, I'm almost done getting Nightblood onto the screen...

Brass, steam, and love. :)

Steampunk binge

2009-10-20T13:02:00.000-07:00

Work on Nightblood continues...a little slowly. In the meantime, I'm indulging in a steampunk binge today. Pulled out all of my steampunk books and history references, and doing a mad search on-line. I didn't realize how big steampunk has gotten. It's spawned its own punk subculture, as well as a DIY costume and accessory aesthete (check out the Steampunk Workshop link to the left). There is also a steampunk magazine and steamy-punk erotica e-zine, and I have ordered printed copies from each. Steampunk and steamy-punk short stories are beginning to percolate in my head. Quite by accident, I think I may find myself focusing primarily on the steampunk genre. Paranormal romance and dead things in outer space may have to take a back seat...

Right now, I'm looking at my steampunk vampire romance (outline complete, working on chapter-by-chapter plotting), a steampunk dinosaur e-serial (brainstorming phase), and two other steampunk novels in various stages of planning. Of course, I also need to finish Nightblood. Poor modern werewolf story, now all by itself in my head, crowded in amongst steam-blasting pipes, grinding gears, and corsets. :(

Man, I am gonna be one busy girl. Where do I start?

Maybe by finishing Nightblood first. Focus, D, focus!

Oh, no... Bait just dropped his slobbery tennis ball at my feet... And it's so nice outside... How can I resist...?

Love, fangs, and fur.......

"Nightblood" Rough Draft Complete

2009-10-06T22:00:00.000-07:00

Finished it yesterday. A little nervous about writing the second draft, because there are a lot of tension, pacing, and plot issues that I need to work on.

Tension issue = too much at the beginning, not enough build up. Starts with a bang, ends with...well, an equally big bang, which by then feels like a whimper.
Pacing issue = well, it's a short, so I guess there isn't much of an issue. It has one pace: fast. Maybe I won't worry so much about this.
Plot issue = not much of a plot, kinda want to beef it up. Need to tie up a couple of loose ends, but that shouldn't be too hard...

Still have my out-by-October deadline (that is, sent out to a publisher), but I realize I might have to compromise and push it back for the sake of quality. At least if I have an October deadline in mind, I can get it out by November. Then I'll be free to work on my steampunk story, which I am really drooling after. Was reading through my plot notes today and had myself on the edge of my seat. I'm just sayin'. ;)

Love, fangs, and fur. :)

Trying to Get the Alchemy Right

2009-10-03T23:37:00.000-07:00

I am working on the final scenes of the werewolf coming-of-age story, "Nightblood," now. I'm a little disappointed with (what I feel) is a lack of sexual tension, but that is what second drafts are for. I feel like the pacing is a little off -- like there's too much tension at the beginning, which leaves little room for build up. This causes a lack of tension where it really matters later in the story.

I've started (and put down) too many category romances for this very reason. The authors bombard the reader with excessive romantic and erotic feelings at the very beginning of the book. At this point, I don't know the characters (even if the author does plot dump their life story), so all of this emotion means nothing to me. No connection = I don't feel what the character is feeling. In a romance, that's everything.

A reader's relationship with a story, like any relationship, is about chemistry. And I'm an apprentice chemist! Or alchemist, as it were.

Here's to hoping I don't blow up the lab.

Love, fangs, and fur. :)

New Relationships

2009-09-22T13:11:00.000-07:00

As if a half-succubus and a steampunk vampire weren't enough...a short-tempered werewolf suddenly began shuddering with the first change and began clawing her way onto my notebook on Saturday. Four days and almost 6,000 words later...and I'm scratching my head, wondering if her short tryst is going to be a little longer than I intended. Her mysterious rescuer/kidnapper has just revealed the truth of what she is, and that there is one, ah, requirement for the first change. Which probably explains the uncontrollable heat between her legs. There's another problem: whomever she chooses to "initiate" her will be her chosen mate. Wolves bond for life.

Taking a short break, because I'm writing this one with paper and pen (with some stories, it just works better) and my hand was beginning to cramp. Bait was whining at the door and we went for a short walk. I feel a little guilty. Whenever I get caught up in a story, I tend to ignore him. Ear scritching satisfies him, but I can only write one-handed for a little while. I was relieved when Rhianna brought him a pig's ear a few days ago, because that kept him occupied for a while!

Now he's whining for food. Off to write, to yoga, and to return that book that arrived from Amazon in god-awful shape...

Love, fangs, and fur. :)

Definitions

2009-09-22T12:46:00.000-07:00

"Dance of Death, also variously called Danse Macabre (French), Danza Macabra (Italian and Spanish), Dança da Morte (Portuguese), or Totentanz (German), is a late-medieval allegory on the universality of death: no matter one's station in life, the dance of death unites all."

--from Wikipedia

Danse Desirable: Dance of Desire. "No matter one's station in life...the dance of desire unites all."

Christine Danse: A 24-year-old author of paranormal romance with an erotic edge.