Can you believe it? September is here already, with all this month brings this year. So far, we have two weddings and a birthday in the family, along with all the other appointments and events taking place.
Whic his part of the reason I’ve been absent for a couple weeks.
Not to worry! I have done some writing on Unwilling Soulmates and I’ve been doing a read through of Lady Calloway so I can get started on the down and dirty process of editing the story. I’ll do my best to cut out the dross before handing it off to my editor, who will then do a slash and burn on it before we release it to the public.
Lady Calloway has been a long while in the writing. It has been one of those stories which was quite easy to start, but then I couldn’t quite figure out how to end the thing. There were too many possibilities to choose from. And I liked them all. But I finally got it sorted.
Now for the first read through of the entire book. We’ll see how it flows now that it is all written. Yes, there will be changes along the way. First drafts are notorious for being crap. Some worse than others. But that’s why there is editing, probably my least favorite part of writing.
Let me tell you a little about Lady Calloway.
First, I’m still trying to find the proper title for it. As the plot has turned and twisted, the working title has become inadequate.
In a world which isn’t quite the one we know, in a country which might have been England, Kerrick and Liora live in a town which just misses being Victorian London. In their version of the world, the church and state are two sides if the same coin. The secular laws are based entirely on the scriptures and the church has the final authority if there is a disagreement over interpretation of the law.
Kerrick and Liora have been married for three months, mostly unhappily. But it has taken three months for Kerrick–who is employed by the church–to find out the reason for their problem is based in a heretical belief Liora holds. As a church employee, it is his duty to report her to the church, but he loves her too much to subject her to the confessors. Instead, he plans a trip to a private seaside family home to reason with her and persuade her to accept the current teachings.
Who could have foreseen the events which unfold once they arrive?
This book will be a little while in the finishing, but stay in touch and you’ll be the first to know when it is released! This is a stand alone and will be under the pen name Sultonna Nadine.
Want to read more from Sultonna?
Go to Amazon and check out Master of the Fleet, a tale set in an alternate world of Northwestern America, where the United States is divided into kingdoms and magic is just a part of everyday life.
Want a snippet from Lady Calloway?
In a country that’s not quite England, and a town which just misses being Victorian Londre, Kerrick Calloway trudged wearily up the walkway to his home.
“Paradise preserve me,” Kerrick muttered, shaking his head and running his fingers through his sandy brown hair. Hadn’t today been aggravating enough already?
His wife greeted him with a kiss which barely grazed his cheek, irritating him even more.
“What’s wrong?” Liora, his wife asked, her gray eyes stormy and troubled. “Why are you angry?”
Shrugging her shoulders under her thick auburn hair, she began to turn away, as she waited for his answer. His arm shot toward her, his hand grasping her jaw firmly as he turned her to face him.
“Why? I just want to know why I can’t have a proper kiss from my wife. After working all day, it would be nice to feel my wife cares for me, instead of thinking she simply tolerates me.”
Releasing her with disgust, he started toward his study.
“I don’t know what you mean,” Liora replied. “Of course, I care for you. Every day I meet you at the door with a kiss.”
“You call that a kiss?” he shouted, turning back towards his wife. “That’s the sort of kiss you’d give to a brother or father, not the kiss a husband expects from his wife.”
“What’s the difference? I greet you each and every day to show you I love you. Does the kiss matter so much?”
“Yes, it does” he shouted in anger. “A man expects a few niceties when he gets home, and a proper kiss from his wife is one of them.”
“Why are you going on so much about a kiss? You know I love you.”
“Do I?” Kerrick asked, exasperated. “How am I supposed to know that? Your kisses are sisterly at best, unless I press the issue. And in our bed, half the time I feel I’m committing rape. You agree to sleep with me, but show no passion. Can you even feel passion?”
Suddenly wanting to know if she could show anything at all, he pulled her to him roughly, one arm firmly around her waist, the other twined in her hair turning her face to his. He kissed her savagely at first, his mouth hard on hers, demanding, before his kiss became more sensual. At first she tried to struggle free, and then, for a brief moment, he felt the beginnings of awakening arousal, before she stiffened into her usual stance—endurance.
“Don’t, Kerrick,” she pleaded with him as he released her. “Please, never do that again. I can’t bear it.”
“Can’t bear what? The thought you might feel something for me? You didn’t have to accept my proposal of marriage.”
But this is only the beginning of their troubles.
Watch for Lady Calloway from Sultonna Nadine in the future. In the meantime, check out Master of the Fleet and the books in my two series: Gambler’s Folly and Esperance.
Have a wonderful month of September and watch for sales over at Smashwords this month!
And as always…
Don’t Forget…
…to Share the Romance…
Hope your holiday was wonderful!
Dmitri Ivanovich Volkov.
This is the question people always have. What was the inspiration?
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