I'm thrilled to host a very special Tuesday Teaser today. My last guest for this year is talented author and wonderful person Lisabet Sarai who, once upon a time not so long ago, was the first to host yours truly on her blog
Beyond Romance. She's since released a couple of intriguing stories. One of those stories is my personal favourite
Quarantine, which has just received an honourable mention in the Rainbow Awards. Needless to say, I'm extra-thrilled that she's talking about the story behind the story here. Oh, and did I mention that she's brought a present, too? Uh-huh, she's giving away a $10 Amazon gift certificate to one lucky person who comments on this post. But enough from me.
Ladies and Gentlemen, here's the fabulous Lisabet Sarai:
The
Power of Persistence
By
Lisabet Sarai
When I was seven or eight, my mother
enrolled me in swimming classes at the YMCA. I've never been particularly
athletic. I muddled through, until the end of the term, when the Y organized a
day of competitions, in which for some reason I decided to participate. The
race in which I swam involved five laps of the pool. By the time everyone else
had reached the finish line, I was still on lap three. Nevertheless, I
continued swimming (slowly!), determined to complete the final two laps. I
might come in last, but I wasn't going to give up.
When I dragged myself out of the pool, the
spectators applauded. That felt better than any prize.
That experience came to mind a few days
ago, when I learned that my M/M science fiction novel Quarantine had received an honorable mention in Elisa Rolle's
prestigious Rainbow Awards. I was thrilled, for many reasons. Quarantine is only my second full length
M/M romance, for one thing. And for another, I almost didn't finish it.
The first part of the book went pretty
smoothly, but about halfway through, I totally lost confidence in my vision. It
wasn't the erotic romance aspect that had me stymied – it was the science
fiction. I worried that my dystopic future wasn't sufficiently different from
current mundane reality. I thought my world showed too little imagination to be
interesting. I looked around at the fabulous alternative cultures created by
other authors and felt that mine was flat and insubstantial by comparison.
I didn't add a word to the novel for six
months. I worked on other projects, telling myself they were more urgent, but
in truth I was avoiding the discomfort I felt whenever I opened the file. I was
frustrated and disgusted with my own lack of spine. Why couldn't I just finish
the damned story and get it over with?
Seeking some way to rekindle my
inspiration, I asked a writer friend to read and crit what I had so far. His
comments, and even more his questions, showed great insight. He managed to cut
to the core of my problem, by repeatedly asking why? He got me thinking more deeply about the characters and the
forces that animated my plot. A sci fi author with an awesome imagination of
his own, he threw out a dozen wild suggestions in every email. Most I discarded
as too far from the story I was trying to tell. But our conversations (our
“muddles” as he liked to call them) helped me refine and elaborate on my ideas,
and even more important, to regain some of my normal self-confidence.
I also realized that good or bad, I had to
finish the book, or it would haunt me forever. It wasn't easy picking it up
after such a long hiatus, but I made myself do it – just the way I made myself
cover those last two laps.
I've always been pretty persistent (my
husband calls it “stubborn”). I think there's a fundamental value in following
through on what you start. It's a lot more comfortable giving up when things
get rough, but success depends on perseverance. Sticking it out doesn't
guarantee you'll succeed. But giving up pretty much guarantees that you'll
fail.
Blurb
When love is forbidden, the whole
world's a prison.
Dylan Moore will do anything for freedom.
Seven years ago, a gay plague spread to heterosexuals, killing millions and
sparking brutal anti-gay riots. The Guardians rounded up men who tested
positive for the homogene and imprisoned them in remote quarantine centres like
desolate Camp Malheur. Since then, Dylan has hacked the camp's security systems
and hoarded spare bits of electronics, seeking some way to escape. He has
concluded the human guards are the only weakness in the facility's defences.
Camp guard Rafe Cowell is H-negative. He
figures the lust he feels watching prisoner 3218 masturbate on the surveillance
cameras must be due to his loneliness and isolation. When he finally meets the
young queer, he discovers that Dylan is brilliant, brave, sexy as hell – and
claims to be in love with Rafe. Despite his qualms, Rafe finds he can't resist
the other man's charm. By the time Dylan asks for his help in escaping, Rafe
cares too much for Dylan to refuse.
Dylan's plan goes awry and Rafe comes to
his rescue. Soon they're both fugitives, fleeing from militant survivalists,
murderous androids, homophobic ideologues and a powerful man who wants Dylan as
his sexual toy. Hiding in the Plague-ravaged city of Sanfran, Dylan and Rafe
learn there's far more than their own safety at stake. Can they help prevent
the deaths of millions more people? And can Rafe trust the love of a man who
deliberately seduced him in order to escape from quarantine?
Excerpt (Rated R)
“You built something as sophisticated as a
robot controller out of trash? But how…?”
“I’m patient. I’ve been here long enough to
learn that at least. It doesn’t happen often, but every so often a 3DV set will
die, or one of the antennas. Can openers. Cookers. Laser emergency lights. I
even found a broken CCD camera once.” Dylan flashed him a grin full of white
teeth. Rafe’s cock twitched as he recalled spying on the other man. But there
was no way Dylan could know about that, was there?
“Yeah, you watch us 24/7, or so you think,”
the prisoner continued as though he could hear Rafe’s thoughts. “Spy eyes in
our dorms.” Rafe hardened further. “Cameras in the kitchens, the greenhouses,
the workshops, the recreation halls. But you’d be surprised how many places
there are in Malheur Camp where the cameras don’t reach. Nobody ever bothered
to train a spy eye on the dump.”
“But then why do something as obvious as
your…um…variety show?” Rafe didn’t get it. Clearly this guy was brilliant. The
ability to control the robots, even one at a time—well, that gave him a lot of
power, enough to make Rafe feel queasy with fear. If the Guardians found out…
“I wanted to entertain my mates,” Dylan
replied, his grin becoming broader. “Got to do something to fight the boredom.”
“Damn it, don’t fuck with me!” Rafe lurched
forward and grabbed a fistful of pink shirt. Dylan’s eyes widened as Rafe
dragged him roughly to his feet. The barest hint of fear flickered in those
green depths.
The inmate was finally afraid. The sight
inflamed Rafe. His erection surged inside his trousers. He wanted this cocky
little queer, he realised. And he wanted to teach him a lesson.
Rafe shook the bound man like a rag doll.
“The truth!” he shouted, delighting in the way the other man cringed. “Why did
you risk everything on your stupid little stunt?”
For the first time, Dylan lowered his eyes.
His voice was so soft that Rafe had to strain to hear. “Because,” he said, “I
wanted to meet you. In the flesh.”
Astonished, Rafe let go of the man’s shirt.
Instead of returning to his chair, however, Dylan sank to his knees, inches
from Rafe’s swollen groin. “What are you talking about?” Rafe croaked.
“I know you watch me,” Dylan answered, all
the brashness gone from his manner. “Well, I watch you, too.”
“How…?” Rafe slid his fingers into Dylan’s
reddish thatch and raised the inmate’s eyes to his own.
“Easy. I programmed a guard to change the
video routing. To feed the stream from here to the screen of my controller.”
So there were spy eyes in the control room
after all. “No…”
“Yes. You know that hard-on of mine that
you enjoy watching so much? That’s for you, man. When I jack off at night, I’m
thinking of you.”
Rafe’s mind reeled. He snatched his hand
from Dylan’s hair as though he’d been scalded.
“Unlock the cuffs, man. Let me touch you.
Let me show you how much I want you.”
“Shut up, faggot!” The key burned a hole in
his palm. His rigid dick strained against his zipper. He was tottering on the
edge of a precipice, tempted to jump. Tempted to give in, to release the rash
young man who’d delivered himself into Rafe’s hands.
But that would be suicide. The penalties
for breaking quarantine were more severe than for murder.
****
I want to thank Sage for having me as her
guest, and thank you all for reading. To help celebrate my Rainbow Award
recognition, I'm giving away a $10 Amazon gift certificate to one lucky person
who comments on this post. I'll draw the winner this Saturday, the 15th of December. Don't forget to include your
email address in your comment!
You can check
out the sensational Quarantine
trailer here! And if you're interested in
getting your own copy of Quarantine, just go to Total-E-Bound!
Bio:
More than a decade ago LISABET SARAI experienced a serendipitous fusion
of her love of writing and her fascination with sex. Since then she has
published five single author short story collections and seven erotic novels,
including the BDSM classic Raw Silk.
Dozens of her shorter works have been released as ebooks and in print
anthologies. She has also edited several acclaimed anthologies and is currently
responsible for the altruistic erotica series COMING TOGETHER PRESENTS.
Lisabet holds
more degrees than anyone needs from prestigious universities who would no doubt
be embarrassed by her chosen genre. She loves to travel and currently lives in
Southeast Asia with her highly tolerant husband and two cosmopolitan felines.
For more information on Lisabet and her writing visit Lisabet Sarai's Fantasy
Factory (http://www.lisabetsarai.com)
or her blog Beyond Romance (http://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com).
