I’m cooking pork for several things…BBQ pulled pork for a potluck tomorrow, achiote pork with tomatoes and olives for tamales on Weds and stole some of the base pork to make kalua pig.
Fast dinner. Because STOLEN PIGGIE!
Author: Rhys Ford
Rhys Ford is an award-winning author with several long-running LGBT+ mystery, thriller, paranormal, and urban fantasy series, including Murder and Mayhem, a 2016 LAMBDA finalist. She is published by Dreamspinner Press and DSP Publications.
Holidays. Et al.
Christmas.
I’ll be honest. I don’t celebrate it.
I don’t celebrate it for a variety of reasons. Some of them are valid excuses. Not a Christian. Don’t have kids. Owning kittens becoming cats preempts trees. Dogs thought tree was to pee on. You name it. It’s pretty much there.
Honestly, there are other deeper, more raw personal reasons I don’t celebrate Christmas. Just like I really don’t do anything for my birthday. I won’t share them. I’m not in a point in my life where I can and to be honest, I don’t know if I ever will be. Hell, eventually it might all be moot and that’s kind of what I keep hoping for. So I throw out the pat excuses as listed above.
But see the thing is, I still wish people a Joyous Christmas or Holidays because there is a joy in the season… in the family… between friends that should be celebrated and exulted.
And to each and every one of you—I say you are definitely a reason I celebrate the year and its joys.
I have friends whom I love so deeply I can’t imagine the world without them. There are readers who both quiet and loud who have sent me emails saying I’ve given them something by stringing together words a certain way. I have had people whom I’ve reached out to say to me; thank you for what you’ve given (an ear, time, space, and so on).
But most of all, I’ve had the pleasure and luxury of spending time with all of you.
For everyone who has picked up one of my books, thank you. For some, reading is a luxury, an expense they can ill-afford yet they scrape together enough to do so. I will never ever ever forget this. Regardless if the cost of a book means nothing to many — for some it’s a serious debate on lunch or a book.
I have been that person. I cannot say I will never be that person again. Life is strange. Life goes sideways at light speed and I am always cautious never to be so above myself I forget the taste of Spam or blue-box macaroni and cheese.
So when I can… I give. Because I have done without and have been given to.
See, my charities are simple. Meals for those who cannot put food on the table, books for those who need escape or entertainment and salvation for animals who need a home in a world that’s been cruel or neglectful. Those are things close to my heart. As are all of you.
This year for the Holidays, I ask for one thing from all of you… clean out your bookcases, your pantries, or even stop and grab some pet supplies at the store. Give to your library, to a nursing home, to a shelter—whether it be human or animal. But most of all, give to yourself.
Take care of who you are. Don’t forget to breathe. Don’t forget that simply the act of being here… you are here with me. And I am ever so grateful for that.
Thank you. From every single bit of my soul to yours. Thank you.
The Four… Series Name
I have decided to go with 
Ink and Shadows.
Rachael, you win a beta-read of The Four, Book One in the Ink and Shadows series AND to be a character in Sloe Ride, Book Four of the Sinners Series.
This theme came up a couple of times but she was the first one to lay it down.
mtsnow13 and Colette also submitted this. I do however want to acknowledge you were a part of that winning combination so if you’d like to beta-read The Four, I would love to include you.
Of course no sharing, folding or mutilation *grins*
Please email me at rhysford (at) vitaenoir (dot) com and we can work out the particulars.
It actually was a difficult decision that involved a lot of people as we discussed the choices. Close seconds were; Riders of the Storm, Harbingers, Revelations, and Veils and Ink. Veiled Threat was also in the running as were several others.
The winnowing process was huge. And took a lot longer than I thought it would be but really, THANK YOU ALL! *hugs* I cannot ever truly thank you all enough. You make my life!
NSFW Sunday Morning!!
I actually really like this one…and I’m not normally fond of the totally nude shots because they’re kind of out there in composition. This one is nice. Believable. And most of all, well light.
Don’t Forget… Series Name Contest…
There’s a 24 hour contest here. Remember… keep it short and memorable. Enter as many times as you like. Winner is chosen on how well it fits the series and how it sounds.
Keep in mind, it has to fit a series parameters…not a title. So it’s going to be pretty much…. The ___________ Series. Or Book # of the ____________ series.
There’s a few good ones there already. Read through the comments and see if yours is already there. Have fun with it. And I will put you in a book.. Sloe Ride to be exact.
Leave your comment / suggestions on the original post.
https://rhysford.wordpress.com/2014/12/20/find-me-a-series-name/
Four Excerpt
Maybe this will help…
Excerpt From the Four…
Death selected a ripe orange from the fruit bowl on the counter, hitching himself farther back onto the kitchen counter, the marble cold under him, even through the thickness of the low-slung cotton pants he’d tugged on after his workout.
The sudden screech of thumping music had broken the quiet of their penthouse, but Death didn’t mind. It was good to have Mal around, and Death was willing to make adjustments for their youngest. As their new Pestilence, Mal brought a youthfulness to their Four that was long missing, although the other two didn’t see it as much of a good thing as Death did. At least this time the volume hadn’t been loud enough to rattle the windows. They’d replaced a broken mirror recently, a victim of Mal’s music.
When the eldest Horseman bent over, his inky hair curved down over his strong jaw, the thick black curtain nearly hid the sharp angles of his cheekbones. Behind him the city glowed under the waning sunlight, holding back the San Diego night creeping in from the horizon.
Sliding his thumbnail against the dimpled orange skin, Death inhaled the sharp citrus oil of the pierced rind. Curving his nail carefully around the rim of the navel, he pushed down gently to barely break the surface. The fruit still lay under in its bright rind, seemingly immune to the immortal’s fingers. A door opened down to the left of the kitchen area. Then Ari strode into the common area, fresh from a shower.
Ari’s rib cage ran thick in one spot, a cicatrice blooming on a stretch of tanned skin. The sunburst peeking over the towel’s edge caught Death’s attention, pulling him away from his orange and the problem that had landed in his lap. War’s scar was as familiar to him as his own but much more intriguing, rays of thinner lines spiraling out from a single spray, and still it tugged at his imagination. He gave the thin scar running down his left eye ridge and over the bridge of his nose much less thought.
Death wondered if their scars were from their deaths, one of the few times he’d given himself permission to wonder about where the Horsemen all came from, but the answer, like so many others, was out of his reach. Pestilence, the most recent of their Four, had none on him. Death was amused at the irony of a Pestilence dead from a disease. Min’s flat belly was carved with a half-moon arc between her hip bones, nearly a pinkie width of tangled skin.
“Ah, we’re alone. Okay, maybe not totally alone, but unless Cooties comes out of his room, we’re alone enough. Want to neck and have some fun?” Ari’s white teeth nipped at the dark-haired man’s ear, barely skimming the soft flesh before Death pulled away and gave him a muted disapproving look Ari was quite used to. Eyes slanted slightly upward, he glanced a black warning at Ari’s familiarity with his body.
“Stop it.” His eyes dropped, voice soft in a whisper, a reluctant protestation made out of habit. Looking at the recalcitrant fruit, Death worried once more at the rind, crushing the pulp inside. “I’m thinking.”
“You think too much sometimes. And give me that. I’ll open it for you.” His rough voice broke Death’s study of the fruit. Disgusted at the mess made of the orange, he reached for it, tugging at the fruit until Death let go.
Death gave up the orange reluctantly, long fingers opening under the press of Ari’s callused hand. Ari met the other immortal’s contemplative dark eyes with a steady stare, refusing to give in to Death’s stubbornness. Looking down, Death avoided the other man’s frank gaze, staring instead at the towel knotted about Ari’s waist.
Find Me A Series Name!
Find Me A Series Name — CONTEST IS CLOSED! I am now debating the merits of the names! HWAITING!
Okay… I’ve been putting this off because my brain’s just been really lean. Like hella lean…
I have to come up with a name for a series. Usually it’s pretty easy. Something hits. This time… not so much. I don’t want to do something corny like The Four Horsemen. But it has to be a bit catchy.
Oh, and this is dark urban fantasy… from DSP Publications.
The focus in this book is Kismet, the human and his interactions with The Four. Primarily. Yes.
The winner will be determined by the name that tickles my fancy. I won’t make a decision until 9:30 tomorrow. I kinda have to make a decision because I’m being looked at askance by the powers that be.
What will you win? Besides my eternal gratitude, you can certainly beta The Four BUT you can also be a character in the next book in my queue, Sloe Ride.
Time starts now…. *grins* Leave your suggestion below in the comments and make sure I can get a hold of you. *grins*
Here is the blurb…. for THE FOUR
Kismet Andreas lives in fear of the shadows.
For the young tattoo artist, the shadows hold more than darkness. He is certain of his insanity because the dark holds creatures and crawling things only he can see—monsters who hunt out the weak to eat their minds and souls, leaving behind only empty husks and despair.
And if there’s one thing Kismet fears more than being hunted—it’s the madness left in its wake.
The shadowy Veil is Mal’s home. As Pestilence, he is the youngest—and most inexperienced—of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, immortal manifestations resurrected to serve—and cull—mankind. Invisible to all but the dead and insane, the Four exist between the Veil and the mortal world, bound to their nearly eternal fate. Feared by other immortals, the Horsemen live in near solitude but Mal longs to know more than Death, War and Famine.
Mal longs to be… more human. To interact with someone other than lunatics or the deceased.
When Kismet rescues Mal from a shadowy attack, Pestilence is suddenly thrust into a vicious war—where mankind is the prize, and the only one who has faith in Mal is the human the other Horsemen believe is destined to die.
Restless Spirits by Jordan L. Hawk
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I have never hidden my love for Jordan L. Hawk’s writing. To do so would be like trying to keep the sun concealed under an umbrella. Not only would it be a neat trick, the umbrella would go up in flames. Just as it would trying to hide the sheer magnificence of Hawk’s writing.
Restless Spirits launches Hawk’s new series, Spirits and damn, what a great launch it is. Vincent and Henry are at odds, both philosophically, Henry is a scientist where Vincent is a spiritualist, and socially as Vincent is a Native American man during a time when being darker than a flushed beige relegated a person to the “lesser” column. However, Henry isn’t one to let social constructs guide his behaviour, not where race is concerned.
Homosexuality, during the heyday of an alternative universe’s Industrial Revolution , is a different matter altogether.
The story is a tightly knit, nearly single-room adventure reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. Caught in a paranormal mystery complete with murderous ghosts and stolen bits of forbidden love, Hawk crafts a damned good tale of scientific theory, spiritualism and simmering sexuality. This is definitely an origin story of a couple of men who first are at odds and then only find their footing when working together.
I’m looking so forward to seeing where we’re taken in the rest of this series. Fantastic writing, great characters and burgeoning tension as only Jordan L. Hawk can deliver.
Order Restless Spirits on Amazon and other online book stores.
Black Dog Blues up for Pre-Order on DSPP
WOOOOOOT! Look what’s on Pre-order! Black Dog Blues!
http://www.dsppublications.com/books/black-dog-blues-by-rhys-ford-52-b
Ever since being part of the pot in a high-stakes poker game, elfin outcast Kai Gracen figures he used up his good karma when Dempsey, a human Stalker, won the hand and took him in. Following the violent merge of Earth and Underhill, the human and elfin races are left with a messy, monster-ridden world, and Stalkers are the only cavalry willing to ride to someone’s rescue when something shadowy appears.
It’s a hard life but one Kai likes—filled with bounty, a few friends, and most importantly, no other elfin around to remind him of his past. And killing monsters is easy. Especially since he’s one himself.
But when a sidhe lord named Ryder arrives in San Diego, Kai is conscripted to do a job for Ryder’s fledgling Dawn Court. It’s supposed to be a simple run up the coast during dragon-mating season to retrieve a pregnant human woman seeking sanctuary. Easy, quick, and best of all, profitable. But Kai ends up in the middle of a deadly bloodline feud he has no hope of escaping.
No one ever got rich being a Stalker. But then few of them got old either and it doesn’t look like Kai will be the exception.
Rhys Ford 