Back in December, you might recall a blogpost proclaiming my love for New Zealand smut. Well, Chef Ballantine appreciated my kind words so much concerning the podcast too hot for iTunes, Erotica ala Carte, that she invited me to cook in her kitchen. The ingredients this naughty Gordon Ramsey (with help from her listeners) threw at me were:
- Alternative History
- Government Bureau
- Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down
The end result is the short story (borderline novella) “Release Me” which dropped just before Balticon. As I mentioned, the story seemed to write itself and really took on some serious momentum, surprising (if not, disturbing) me. The end result, though, I am quite happy with:
In an alternative America a superhero learns a lesson in control.
Inspired by my favorite film of the year so far, Watchmen, I went with a government bureau of superheroes instead of something along the lines of The X-Files. (I think that is what folks were expecting.) There are also a few nods to the Twitter community and a homage to one of my Geek Chic heroines. This was a lot of fun, and a terrific exercise for me as a writer. So as it stands, J.C. Hutchins has challenged me with writing a thriller and Pip has tapped me for erotica. What’s next? Horror?
Scott Sigler? Phil Rossi? Any of you guys wanna throw the gauntlet?
Have a listen, and let me (and Pip) know what you think.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I have a challenge for ya.
Write a story that does not depend on genre tropes at all. No science fiction. No fantasy. No mystery, thriller, western, erotica, romance tags.
That’s right, Morris… I’m asking you to dig deep and depend on nothing more than the crumbly stuff down in the bottom of your soul to write… a literary short story.
Hmmm….maybe something will come about from this upcoming trip. But I think I could do that. Definitely a challenge….
The superhero element was a barrier to entry for me, but I enjoyed it nonetheless — very engaging, loved the way the character dynamics unfolded.
Smut!
Give me smut and nothing but!
A dirty novel I can’t shut,
If it’s uncut,
and unsubt- le. — Tom Lehrer
Pleased to see you’re walking on the dark side, sir. When I make my word count for the week, I’ll give a listen. Have a safe trip to NZ and give Pip a hug for me.
“I’m not impersonating Bale!” *LOL* Classic!
As for a challenge, do what I did; write a novel in a genre you actually don’t like at all. I did that, and the results, well, I gave you a copy of them at Panera.