Sedonia Guillone

Five cups from Coffeetime Romance:
Sedonia Guillone once again showcases her amazing talent with Barely Covered. Damian is a wonderfully developed character that Sedonia makes all too human to the reader and clearly shows that being a stripper is more than the sum of their job. The investigation into the would be rapist and ultimate victim is conducted wonderfully and it is so very hot that Kaz puts his career on the line for the stripper he only spent one night with. Frank is a hero truly worthy of praise. Barely Covered should be savored; it is as delicious as the finest wine.

Flying Fish is the first book by Sedonia Guillone that I’ve read and I’m glad that I took a chance on an author that is new to me. Successfully packing a lot of emotion and story in a small space, FF is a gentle romance that is unusual in its setting; I’ve not read any stories set in Japan, much less feudal Japan of several centuries ago. I am certainly no expert in Japanese culture, so I cannot speak to the authenticity or accuracy of the book, but it worked for me, and the little bit I looked into further as I read seems correct. I found the story to be well-written and -paced with three-dimensional characters.

This is a contest hosted by Ellora’s Cave, a publisher of yours truly (see my book pages for titles, ). Watch this video and enter to win a Sony or Asus Netbook Computer or free e-books. Wow!

In the midst of finishing up the last chapter of Fallon’s Jewel, my poor cat Squeaky Jeter developed a thrombose in her femoral artery and lost the use of her back legs. We’re hoping she recovers but in the meantime, it’s a matter of keeping her comfortable, making sure she gets her medicine and lots of petting and encouragement and some massages of her back legs. My fingers are crossed. She’s otherwise healthy and hasn’t lost her appetite, which is a good thing.

I got this cover a few days ago for Touching Forever (previously released at Loose Id). Isn’t it just incredible?

Here’s a blurb for the story:
Lily Tan is a Tigress, a practitioner of the erotic arts, an immortaless who gives men pleasure in return for their life force, but gives her heart to no man. When she wins a mysterious and handsome Tibetan wanderer in an underground poker game, Lily’s control over her heart and body begin to slip. Tenzin Gayatsu’s willingness to submit to Lily and his potent maleness prove a combination that may tame even the wildest Tigress.

Lily teaches Tenzin her erotic arts and begins to find pleasure with him she never knew could exist. Tenzin is a gentle lover and a willing student whose compassionate gaze and skilled hands ease away the wall she’s built around her heart. However, just as she’s beginning to trust him, a tragic event reveals that Tenzin is a vampire, a member of the race that once enslaved and tortured her. Lily wants to push him away but can’t. Another vampire is out to kill everyone Lily loves and Tenzin is the only one who can help her. Lily is forced to trust him with what is most precious to her, and can only pray that he is the compassionate, loving friend he claims to be…

I stumbled across this photo on one of my favorite sites. I’ve not even heard of John Enos. Who is he? But when I saw him, I thought, this is Fallon. I gave you my vision of Kenji in the previous post and now I have them both pegged. lol If you don’t know what on Earth I’m talking about, it’s my current m/m, Fallon’s Jewel which is in progress and is almost finished.

Speaking of M/M, I just finished watching the first episode, season 3 of Madmen. For those of you who watch, you know there was quite some passionate guy-kissing between Salvator and the porter. When that fire alaarm went off, my first response was darn! lol

In spite of my slower writing pace these days, I’m closing in on the finish of writing Fallon’s Jewel. Who knows? It might take another month, but sometimes, I notice, when it takes longer, there’s a bigger process at work. Sometimes, I need more time to get to know my characters better, and grow to love them. A book is always a much better read when the author is in love with his/her characters.
I need to fins a physical inspiration for Fallon. So far, though I have one for Kenji. (i.e. Daniel Henney). The other thing that can slow down the writing process is the fact that this story has strong mystery/suspense elements. This always adds complexity and I need to be much more careful in the writer so that everything is tight and holds together well.

Aside from that, I’m still doing my research on Tokugawa Japan. THAT is going to take a while because learning about this historical period really requires the equivalent of studying as if I were going for a college dregree. No joke. There is sooo much to learn. But I enjoy it.

This coming Saturday, August 16th, I’m honored to say I was invited by erotic romance author Janice Irving to blog at Shared Wisdom, a Livejournal blog where your favorite writers talk about various aspects of the writing craft. Janice asked me to speak about what she feels is a spiritual quality in my work, epsecially in the White Tigers series. It’s a privelege that she wanted me to speak on that blog and I will be ther eon Saturday to answer any questions readers have on what I will have written on the blog. I hope you’ll come by and visit!

Just finished reading an incredible book. If you haven’t picked up Laura Joh Rowland’s Ichiro Sano murder mystery series, you’re missing something wonderful. I just finished Shinju, the first of the series that introduces the samurai, Ichiro Sano. The setting is Tokugawa Japan and Sano is a samurai policeman who, new at his post, is expected by his superior to write off a double lovers’ suicide (shinju) as just that. However, Sano suspects murder and goes against his superior’s direct orders to conduct an investigation. Sano’s disobedience pits him not only against the rigid samurai code of obedience and filial piety expected of him, but also against his own conscience. As his investigation deepens, he risks everything, his status, his life, his family, his honor, in order to continue. Sano’s thirst for truth even when his investigation causes innocent lives to be lost and his quest his burdened by the need to honor these fallen innocent lives as well.

Well, I must say, I haven’t quite enjoyed a book this much in a long time. Rowland is a master at bringing this period completely to vivid life. Sano is a wonderful characters as are the others and one of the things I like most is that even the most dastardly murderers have understandable motives and are complex characters for whom the reader can almost feel sympathy. This kind of ability in an author is something I myself, aspire to. I couldn’t put the book down until I read the very last word and I’m eagerly waiting the next part in the series, Bundori to come in the mail. If you love murder mysteries, then don’t miss this one! Only one warning: there are some wickedly violent scenes in vivid description. Not recommended for the faint of heart.

And finally, in my own writing world, I’m just about finished writing Fallon’s Jewel. Just a few more scenes, a couple of them m/m yumminess.

Who’d ever have thought that The Bite Before Christmas would be in the library circulation of Harvard University!

Yep, I stumbled across that information while searching the database of World Cat, a site that catalogues all books in print and tells you what libraries they’re available in. Well, you can imagine my surprise that one of my m/m erotic romances would be on the shelves of America’s oldest and most presitigous universities! Kewl!

A very necessary mention. This film came out when I was fourteen. I’ve lost count how many times I’ve seen it once it came onto cable back then. Enough to have memorized most of the dialogues by heart. I still know them.

This one was my favorite but at the time, I was also partial to Sixteen Candles. Who isn’t happy for the wallflower girl who gets the guy of her dreams? Watching the film back then, it was a way of vicariously living through her.

I’ve been invited to judge entries in the Golden Rose contest of the Rose City Romance Writers (a Romance Writers of America chapter in the northeast.) It’s an honor to be asked to judge a contest. I haven’t received the entries yet, only gave them my preference of categories. Should be interesting!