Queer SF/F and Erotica

First review for Stolen Moments

2008-06-14T23:13:48Z

I got an 86 out of 100 from Mrs. Giggles, who admits to being slightly disappointed that I didn't do something as crazy, as, well, lizard sex.

She says the plot could be more in depth in some places, and felt a little rushed (which is fair) but overall:

"It dares to be different, for one, and the story doesn't rush into a contrived early sex clinch without the author providing a reasonable context for the scene to take place. It can get rough around the edges at times, but Stolen Moments delivers everything that is needed to give me plain old great time."

So, yaaay!

First Hart and Soul review is up!

2008-06-12T07:11:09Z

Courtesy of logophilos over at Uniquely Pleasurable.

She liked it. A lot. :>)

Guest blog!

2008-06-12T00:25:55Z

My friend, jessica_freely asked me to guest blog over at her place.

Enjoy!

Hart and Soul, now available!

2008-06-11T07:02:35Z

My second e-book for the month is out right over here at Torquere. Also, if you look at the side bar, there's a "feature author section" with a sort of interview with me.

The cover is done by Alessia Brio. I like it very much!

And there's a very nice review by sydmcginley ending with: "I heartily recommend this beautiful, passionate, and profound love story."

So, yaaay, I'm really fond of this book, and I sure hope it does well. This is probably my favorite e-book so far.

Hart and Soul
Starting at: $5.95
by Nica Berry

Orphaned Niann has one wish, to go up the mountain to seek a spirit guide like the rest of his peers. Instead, he's forced to wait until frustration drives him to go without permission on his eighteenth birthday. There, he meets his guide--the kala deer, the tribe's patron animal and one that grants its disciples the ability to heighten the power of others's animal spirits. Unbeknownst to him, the tribe's shaman, Heyka, plans to use Niann to harvest enough spiritual energy to transcend into the spirit world.

Jennar, a talented carver and hunter who's cared for Niann since Niann's infancy, has a secret of his own; he went up the mountain to seek his spirit guide, but none came, and he's been lying about his spirit animal ever since.

Jennar leaves to find the reason for his lack of a spirit guide, but returns to find Niann under the sway of Heyka and living as a woman, as those with the deer totem usually do. Jennar's focus turns from saving himself into saving the man he loves, but all his love and determination may not be enough to stop the relentless ambition of Heyka and his snake patron.

Complete blurb, review and excerpt over here.

Stolen Moments!

2008-06-09T16:52:46Z

I'm terribly late in posting this, but--LOOK WHAT'S OUT!!

Genre: Polyamorous Science Fiction
Length: Novel
Price: $5.99

For years, Tereza's only lovers were the engines on her starship. But now, after she nearly died when they exploded, she's a lost soul, an engineer without engines, roaming the decks of a worn-out space station and hounded by the enamored Colonel Marr to tell the truth about events she can't remember.

Twins Lukha and Liam know what happened; they just can't tell her. When Lukha is sent to protect her, he can't help the fierce physical attraction toward her, a biological change initiated by Liam during his own passionate affair with the unknowing Tereza.

When Tereza finds out the truth behind her physical attraction to the twins, Tereza's goal becomes to reclaim her body and mind to choose her lovers freely. But when her choices are Liam's determination and knack for suppressing memories, Lukha's conscience and ability to restore memories, and Marr's determination to have her body as well as her expertise, she might be better off choosing none at all even if it means dooming an entire race to genocide.

Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Dubious consent, ménage (m/f/m – twin brothers sharing the same woman) and voyeurism.

Read an excerpt here.

nica_berry @ 2008-04-12T07:03:00

2008-04-12T14:12:27Z

It's been--eeek. Seven months since I posted here. Sorry about that.

Anyway. I do have some good news; I have not one, but two e-books coming out in June. Hart and Soul, an M/M historical fantasy (pesudo-Native American) from Torquere on June 11th, and an untitled M/M/F SF novella from Loose Id, exact date unknown. I'm looking forward to having them both out.

nica_berry @ 2007-09-11T17:36:00

2007-09-12T00:42:07Z

Here's another review I did for Night Owl Romance.

Send me an Angel by Alysha Ellis.

New Review from Romance Junkies

2007-09-09T06:48:46Z

Here's a nice review for Venom's Bond by Romance Junkies. Four ribbons! Woohoo!

New e-short story up: Herbal Remedies!

2007-09-01T01:19:58Z

Now available from Chippewa Publishing: Herbal Remedies.

This is a 6,600 word M/M short story for only $2.00--and very, very tame compared to Venom's Bond.

Here's the cover. I picked out the guys, but Stella Price did the arranging.

Reviews

2007-08-30T04:50:40Z

Here's a couple of my more recent reviews for Night Owl Romance.

Calor del Amor by K.B. Forrest

And Masked Submission by Claire Thompson.

Just turned in another one for Price of Passage by Aubrey Ross.

Reviews

2007-08-12T21:10:41Z

Here's some links to reviews for Venom's Bond. Overall, rather mixed, which is sort of what I expected. And, yes, the content warnings are making people nervous.

Mrs. Giggles

It got a rating of 81, which is "pretty good." The best line? "You probably haven't lived until you've read a scene of our human hero performing fellatio on a lizard."

Here's one from T.A. Chase Actually, it's not a review, more like a request to hear what others thought about it in the comments. Mixed reviews in the comments, but interesting.

Venom's Bond is out!

2007-08-07T07:43:33Z

It's out, it's out!

Right over here, or, read an excerpt.

Here's the blurb:

"Sometimes cold-blooded can be downright hot...

"When eighteen-year-old Jared, a plague survivor, arrives in the men's compound aboard the Trafalgar, Marquez knows that the young man is trouble. Jared, like Marquez, loves men, the ultimate taboo on a ship full of women on their way to populate a new, safer planet. At first, Marquez's advances are only meant to comfort and enlighten Jared, but their encounters become their only means of dealing with the harsh treatment from the women.

"When they're found out and punished, Marquez steals an escape pod and takes a sickly Jared on a desperate bid for freedom. But Marquez has never set foot on a planet, he has no dirtside skills, and Jared is dying. Rescue comes in the form of a lizard -- man-sized, intelligent, telepathic . . . and gorgeous.

"Desire blossoms between the unlikely pair, and when Jared's condition deteriorates, Gharial becomes the only chance Marquez has of surviving. Marquez desperately wants to be a part of the lizard's telepathic society, but it comes with a cost Marquez doesn't know if he'll have the courage to face: the only way for a human to become a telepath is to mate with a male lizard . . . and to risk death from the poisonous bite.

"Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Sexual torture in a medical setting, violence, dubious consent, M/M rape, M/M interspecial, M/F interspecial, voyeurism."

Cover!!!

2007-07-21T04:54:28Z

Hey there!

Just packing to leave for a lovely ten hour drive tomorrow. Woohoo.

But look what I got while I was off at a fabulous writing workshop!

And look at the banner--isn't it awesome?

Release date is still August 7th from http://www.loose-id.com. Feel free to post the image and banner anywhere . . . advertising is always good, or drop me a note and I'll email them to you. I don't have a link for the book yet, not even on a "Coming Soon" page, but hopefully on Tuesday, which is when they seem to update.

Anyway. My first cover, and it's darn cool. I'm excited.

Sex scenes and reviews

2007-07-04T20:09:55Z

Ah ha! A good blog entry about writing sex scenes by Jenny Crusie over here. Pity we didn't get stuff like this during a certain class during a certain school trip.

Finally got some e-book reviews done. Dolphin Dreams by Jules Jones and The Cost of Eternity by Shayla Kersten.

No more reviews for a while, as I'm going out of town for a writing workshop for a couple weeks. Happy Fourth, everybody.

nica_berry @ 2007-06-28T21:59:00

2007-06-29T05:01:16Z

Sent off edits for the lizard story. Yaaaay! Finally got those nagging scenes done, and ahead of time too.

Now. Off to critique some stuff.

Reviewer page

2007-06-27T04:11:34Z

Almost forgot, I have my own reviewer page up on Night Owl Romance over here

Anybody from SHU ought to recognize that picture. -grin-

And I'll review the two e-books I have soon, I promise.

nica_berry @ 2007-06-26T11:16:00

2007-06-26T18:16:39Z

Home again, home again after a week in Greensburg, PA . . . and getting closer to being done with edits for the lizard story--er, Venom's Bond. I still have three sex scenes to write. It's not really the sex that's hard, but figuring out how to make it different from the other scenes I have that's hard. They're due the 30th. Must get them done soon. I did work on them this morning--got up rather early since I still seem to be on Eastern time. -sigh-

I also have another M/M e-story (which, up to now, I've been rather quiet about because it was accepted well over a year ago and I still don't have an exact release date) coming out in the near future. I feel like I can mention it now, since I have a cover, which I don't think I'll post quite yet, but I will when I can. I was a bit surprised at having to find my own graphics for the cover, but I did find a couple of nice-looking young men that would work, and forwarded them to the artist who very nicely arranged them. The title is "Herbal Remedies," and the cover does have many floral features. :>) And, hopefully, having a cover means it'll get out soon, right?

Anyway. Off to work. Boooo.

I have a release date!

2007-06-21T02:20:52Z

So--as soon as I finish edits--I have a release date for the lizard story. August 7th. Woohoo!

I also have a title. Venom's Bond. :>p Read it, and you'll understand why.

And apologies again for lateness in reviews. I'm off at a writing residency for school, which leaves little time for anything but school.

nica_berry @ 2007-06-17T11:15:00

2007-06-17T18:22:49Z

Apologies for the lack of recent postings; been working too much and trying to get writing done, getting ready to go out to Seton Hill again, and, oh yeah, there's been some slight troubles concerning my car. -sigh- Inevitably, the two stories I've been trying to review at the moment are unfortunately unfinished, but I'll get to them soon, I promise.

Good news is, I finally got edits back on the Lizard Story. Nothing major, just a few plot holes and sentences to rework so I get information across better. Oh, and I need to add another love scene at the end. Pity. :>p

And I still don't have a title. Arrrggh. Bonds of Love? Poison's Bond? Freedom's Bond? Bonds of Life and Death?

I hate thinking of titles, but I'm out of time to think of one. There's no release date yet, but hopefully I'll get one when I turn in the edits and come up with a title.

nica_berry @ 2007-05-30T19:59:00

2007-05-31T03:07:35Z

Had another review up a little while back for Lineage by Angela Fiddler

Will have another going up soon for GOLDEN BOY by Claire Thompson. I'm in the middle of DOLPHIN DREAMS by Jules Jones, and I have to say I'm enjoying that one immensely so far.

So far I've read three and a half from Loose Id and one and a half from Ellora's Cave, and so far I have to admit I'm favoring Loose Id over E.C. for higher quality writing and plot. Maybe it'll change when I read a few more books, but it's interesting to see the differences between the two publishers.

And there's a lovely full moon right smack in the middle of my window. Fun to write smut by. :>) Pity I don't do werewolves.

Thanks, Excerpts, and Reviews

2007-05-22T07:42:45Z

Just wanted to take a moment to say thanks to and point out the very nice site of The Erotic Woman. They were kind enough to find me, and offer to exchange links, so I promptly put them up on my website and they put up a sweet blurb about yours truly. They have some written pieces up there, and some gorgeous photography sure to make those of any preference drool.

And I did update my website a bit; I put up an excerpt to my M/M fantasy erotica work in progress, THE WHITE STAG, on the Stories page. Nothing overt in there, but it comes later, I promise. :>) I don't have a home for that story yet, but it's not done, so I haven't submitted it anywhere. Darn two jobs getting in the way of getting writing done. -sigh- I don't think I can really put up an excerpt for the lizard story until Loose Id gives me one. I don't know for sure, but I'd better wait.

And I got three more e-books to review today. GOLDEN BOY by Claire Thompson, DOLPHIN DREAMS by Jules Jones (shapeshifters, yaaay!) and THE COST OF ETERNITY by Shayla Kersten. My latest review for MASTER OF THE LINES: LINEAGE by Angela Fiddler is up over here.

Article on 60 Minutes site

2007-05-21T01:22:07Z

Nifty 60 minutes site about what makes people gay or straight

Not that I've been able to check it out yet, being at work, but I intend to when I get home. Hence me embedding the link for easy access. :>)

Newsweek: The Mystery of Gender

2007-05-20T03:24:02Z

Anyone else see this week's Newsweek? Front page: The Mystery of Gender. "Aside from the obvious, what makes us male or female? The new visibility of transgender america is shedding light on the ancient riddle of identity."

Good for them! There's more information on the Newsweek website over here.

My favorite bit is at the end, a comment from a parent of a girl born as a boy. "The most important thing is to realize this is who your child is." 'Nuff said.

nica_berry @ 2007-05-17T10:57:00

2007-05-17T18:00:42Z

Yay! MySpace actually has a new customizable editor so I can do something with the page! Anyhoo, it looks much better than it did. http://www.myspace.com/nicaberry

And I did update the blog over there with review info.

Now if only this allergy/cold/whatever the heck it is would go away, I'd be having a good day.

My reviews are up!

2007-05-17T17:19:31Z

Here's a couple reviews for you over at Night Owl Romance

A MASTER'S LOVE by Mary Rayne over here

and

BLOODLINES: CURRENTS by Mechele Armstrong. over here.

Next up: LINEAGE by Angela Fiddler.