Leather and Lace: Book One of the Southern Gothic Series
π Vampire/human romance
π M/non-binary relationship
π Friends to lovers
π Monster hunters who hang out at karaoke bars
π The big himbo cowboy likes the smarmy goth vampire
π Vampire/human romance
π M/non-binary relationship
π Friends to lovers
π Monster hunters who hang out at karaoke bars
π The big himbo cowboy likes the smarmy goth vampire
jotaro kujo my babygirl
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steveβs Tumblr. Β Find out more at my newsletter.)
A Bridge To The Quiet Planet was my return to fiction. It exists because someone said writing genre fiction is worth doing, and I said, βI should do that.β
Thatβs it.
The author in question was Magen Cubed, best known for her Southern Gothic Series. Her story is about a monster-hunting modern himbo cowboy and his neurotic vampire boyfriend. Their misadventures include wild romantic hookups, monster politics, and a chihuahua. Honestly, Netflix should option this even if they may need some βfade to blackβ when things get steamy.
She wrote her thing, and her Twitter statements on the way genre fiction is open made me think about my writing. I hadnβt done fiction in years, and I suddenly had the urge to return.
I have written about worldbuilding for ages - itβs been a specialty of mine since my teen days. Iβm fascinated by good setting construction, and it was a vital part of my previous fiction work. Even a decade-or-so break from writing fiction wasnβt a break from worldbuilding - I was the guy to bounce ideas off of, read beta editions, and so on.
But oh, her Tweets about why you should write fiction reminded me of how I missed bringing a world to write.
Then it began. Ideas began to come to me β¦
β¦ I loved anime and video games, and specifically the techno-fantasy worlds where science and sorcery existed β¦
β¦ but those worlds often never extrapolated on what this meant. Sir Terry Pratchett and Dave Barry came to mind, ideas to explore this world of gods and computers more closely β¦
β¦ a pair of heroines began to evolve, one a kind of Hermionie (Marigold), and Mei Hatsume of MHA (Scintilla) β¦
β¦ they lived in a world scarred by a massive war, as many fantasy novels have so many ruins they are post-apocalyptic β¦
β¦ and the world valued stability, and that meant I threw in the schemes renegade god to screw things up β¦
And there we had my return to fiction. A Bridge To The Quiet Planet was a road trip where a bunch of modern fantasy tropes traveled to a planet-side graveyard for gods. I wonβt spoil.
Thus I had a novel, my first in ages.
Overall Iβm pleased with it. Itβs a road trip story, mainly to have fun traveling through the setting and the implications of what one reader called βa typical fantasy world in the space age.β Though I would do parts of it differently, there are also elements Iβm very proud of.
Thereβs also a sequel in the works - A School of Many Futures. I play with several tropes there (The Big Book Of Plot Secrets, Magical School Adventures) and go for a more complex mystery ala βKnives Out.β Itβs harder to write than the first because Iβm pushing myself to make a more complex, richer story.
The novel awakened my fiction-writing urges, so I decided to write at least three books in any setting. The truth is, I know Iβll be writing fiction for awhile - maybe the rest of my life.8
All because of the right Tweet at the right time.
Steven Savage
π Vampire/human romance
π M/non-binary relationship
π Friends to lovers
π Monster hunters who hang out at karaoke bars
π The big himbo cowboy likes the smarmy goth vampire
Today we look at the freshly published Leather and Lace by Magen Cubed. Β We discuss the delights of tiny dogs, gay cowboys and vampire ear blushes. Leah also yells about super hell for some reason??? Content notes Mentions of Murder, suicide and kidnapping, yelling
Dorian And Cash From βTwisted Romanceβ Get Their Own Series: βLeather And LaceβΒ Reviewed
Ever fall in love with a story from an anthology, only to find out the author planned to bring those characters back for more stories β even a series of novels? Yeah, doesnβt happen too often. Itβs the beautiful and regrettable thing about anthologies. Theyβre usually self-contained, or at least the stories in them have to be able to standalone in case they donβt continue. Leather and Lace firstβ¦
π Vampire/human romance
π M/non-binary relationship
π Friends to lovers
π Monster hunters who hang out at karaoke bars
π The big himbo cowboy likes the smarmy goth vampire
π Cash is a monster hunter who was born in Bonnevie, Texas, on the Louisiana border. His mother is the daughter of an elite Mexican hunting family and his father is a Cajun Southern Baptist preacher.
π Cash has been singing since he was young, first in the boy's choir at his father's church and later as an amateur karaoke star. Doing karaoke is his most treasured (and secret) pastime.
π He is a lifelong Stevie Nicks fan. He owns her albums on vinyl. He sings her song at the bar. He celebrates her birthday every year. Nobody likes Stevie as much as Cash does, and he'll prove it.
π He's been driving the same beat-up old red truck since he was 18. It makes a terrible clunking sound and doesn't go very fast, but she is his baby and he treats her well.
π Cash likes to cook and is actually quite good at mending clothes. He isn't very handy but he can get blood stains out of anything *and* cook a mean steak.
π Dorian is a vampire who grew up in Devereux, Louisiana. He comes from Devil's Row, the vampire slums run by the Blood Triad.
π A proud goth, Dorian's love of all things dark has nothing to do with being a vampire. His bomb eyeliner game and perfect black nails are all skill.
π He has an emotional support Chihuahua named Dominique, who helps him deal with his lifelong anxiety. Dominique is quite fashionable and has many outfits.
π Growing up on the wrong side of town, Dorian has cultivated many skills. He can pick locks, get out of handcuffs, and talk his way out of most problems.
π Little old ladies love Dorian. They think he's precious and want to adopt him. It comes in handy more often than you might think.
The ongoing misadventures of a vampire, a monster hunter, and their unlikely paranormal romance.
Almost there πͺπ€
it was love at first bite!
I feel sorry for y'all next week π
It's true and we should say it
Sometimes a vampire falls in love with his human best friend. Sometimes they go to a karaoke bar and the vampire pines about it. It happens.
A vampire from the wrong side of town. A monster hunter with a golden voice. A man-eater on the loose.
An urban fantasy and queer paranormal romance available Valentineβs Day 2021.
An unlucky vampire from the wrong side of town. A monster hunter with a golden voice. A man-eater on the loose. A unique, refreshing, and unconventional urban fantasy and paranormal romance about what happens when supernatural opposites attract.