short story release day! with the giant snails!

[luninosity]

“The Snails of Dun Nas” is out now! Available at Amazon here and at JMS Books here !

“Snails” is very much a homage to classic pulp sword-and-sorcery - it’s (I hope) very Robert Howard, Fritz Leiber, early Barbara Hambly inspired - only, you know, much more LGBTQ and romance! Along with the swords and sorcery!

It’s got:

~a swordsman for hire, who is really just a Large Nice Boy with many muscles and a kind heart

~his genderfluid half-fairy magical partner, with a Mysterious Past

~giant snails

~ “we’re sleeping together but we’ve never really talked about that and I’m kind of scared to bring it up because I DEFINITELY HAVE FEELINGS”

~fun with medieval literature jokes/references/names

~did I mention giant snails?

I hope you enjoy!
 

Comments

Snails

[chelokay]

Have this! Read it in one sitting! Love this! This is so polished; like a piece of jewelry, possibly enchanted jewelry. Wonderful characters as always..

Re: Snails

[luninosity]

Yay! I'm so glad you like this one - it's definitely something different, in terms of playing with sword-and-sorcery specifically, and the original draft was written a few years ago - though I did a lot of rewriting for this version!

Ideally there'll be more - I'd originally wanted it to be something in the pulp serial style, so they'd have ongoing adventures. The two I'd had in mind were one involving Aric's brother, who needs their help, and then of course Em's father, who wants them back...and maybe someday we'd get the flashback story of that first meeting and rescue, too. (Which would probably be from Aric's POV, because I think they all are, but would also be interesting from Em's POV. Very wry about humanity, but ultimately affectionate, at least more so than not.)

(There're also things Aric doesn't know, or knows in very broad strokes: he knows Em's mother found sanctuary with the nuns, where Em was raised (and raised mostly as a girl, though that's not entirely accurate); he knows that when that magical heritage became an issue, the nuns first tried to "correct" the blasphemy and then went, "demon!" and there was some imminent stake-burning, at which point a) Em did a fairly explosive amount of magic, semi-instinctively, and b) Aric himself showed up, having been passing by, and c) he decided to rescue the person so obviously in trouble. He doesn't know all the details, though. Sometimes he wonders why Em bothers to care about humans, being, y'know, nearly burned as a demon. He hasn't quite asked. The answer's complicated. Em's mother's human, and was kind and sad and haunted; the nuns were kind up until they weren't - sanctuary, comfort, a decent education, and then, well, everything else; and then Aric showed up and was a genuine Nice Person, someone who wants to help people and who didn't bat an eye at magic and gender-shifting and disguises, just gently tried to offer more soup or bandages or a refuge. Em would do anything for him, would take any job or give up any secret or step in front of an arrow, for that.) (They're also kind of terrible at actually Talking About Feelings. Aric worries a lot - "I have all the feelings! but Em's beautiful and magical and their own person! and maybe they're just here out of gratitude! and it's not like a hired-swordsman life on the road is great!" - and meanwhile Em's just like, "you idiot, how is it not obvious that I would die for you, seriously.")

*hugs* How've you been? Good, I hope? <3

Re: Snails

[chelokay]

Again, I have fallen in love with the complexity and humanity of your characters; and of course Em is perfectly wonderfully human in all the important ways, I think. The ideals of compassion and courage and love, and honesty embodied and beautified in the magical; and Aric of course does the same for the grounded in the earth and blood and bone of humanity. Like Jason (especially) he embodies the ideal of "man"; including above all that humility! So wonderful to be reminded of in these contentious times. Thank you for the hugs; sending them back with interest. I am well, thank you! Some drama to wade through, but approaching the shore :-) <3

Re: Snails

[luninosity]

...and now I sort of want Jason to play Aric in some film adaptation of this story! (Is that weird? Fan casting my other characters...as my characters... *laughs*)

Aric is the sort of Nice Person who...well, he *knows* the world and people can be awful sometimes (he's been a mercenary, a hired bodyguard, etc, and he's not naive), but he's still sort of personally baffled by that: why can't everyone just...be nice? Why are some people so scared and suspicious about anything different, for example Em's magic? Why wouldn't you share food with a hungry half-fairy person who's probably just as nervous as you are? Why does Em's gender matter, really, as far as Aric being in love with them? (Em: *sighs* You KNOW it all matters, to some people. Aric: I KNOW. I have a very pointy sword for anyone who tries to insult you. But it SHOULDN'T matter. Em: *sighs again* ...idealist. Aric: I HAVE FOUGHT LAKE-SERPENTS AND SORCERERS AND EVIL NUNS, I AM NOT AN IDEALIST. Em, with affection: Yes you are.)

Hopefully the shores are in sight, and everything's going well! <3

Re: Snails

[chelokay]

Thank you, yes, things are going better. And of COURSE Jason should play Aric! (That would be a wonderful extra, actually; and Colby to direct, with Jill producing? and possibly advising... can picture him guiding the actor playing Em with tact and sensitivity in a break through role for a trans actor.) Sorry, not meaning to try and dictate projects to you! Hoping the run up to Christmas is going well for you, with much joy and minimized stress....

Re: Snails

[luninosity]

Mmm, thinking about Colby as a director...probably a few years in the future, but he'd be good at it, though he'd be anxious about it...he'd be nervous about having to Direct People, I think. But the thing is, he's got producer and writer experience already (and a lot of money), he knows and loves good stories, he's friends with Jill, and he's good with people, better than he thinks he is - he's not great with crowds or assertiveness, so that might be an issue, but he's fantastic at empathy and problem-solving, and if anyone's feeling inadequate, cast or crew, he'll just sit down and have a chat with them and they'll come away convinced that they not only CAN absolutely do this, but that they WANT to, for themselves and for the production and for Colby. (In Star Trek terms, Colby's very much a Robert April sort of captain, all fuzzy sweaters and empathy and the determined belief that most people want to be good people, deep down, and the best thing you can do is listen and then offer to help: a stubborn compassion that can move mountains. Jason's...somewhere between James Kirk, the actual show version not the stereotype, the history nerd with a giant heart who'd die to protect his crew, and Ben Sisko, with the knowledge of loss and pain and when to be calm and how to read people. *wanders back from geek tangent*)

It's been a fun few days, with the unexpected Rainbow Awards win and all! Hectic, though - short story release, finals week coming up, ten-year wedding anniversary with Awesome Husband this weekend...good things! But busy. :-)