Goblin Fires, Chapter Three

The Courtyard Terrace is a nice restaurant on a scenic street corner across from Central Park: the perfect place for fae folk like Ceri and the Springtime Court to meet, naturally. Alan, driving the sleek town car, which is our usual conveyance while visiting New York, dropped us in front of the restaurant while he drove on to find parking. He would join us again shortly. Puca also came with us, of course, enjoying the pleasure of accompanying Ceri on her errands, even if they were simple afternoon luncheons with other envoys of the faerie nations. He'd traded his feline shape for a black dog—smaller, though, than he usually wore it, with a figure closer to a friendly Labrador than the normal hunting hound, to mitigate any reactions he might get from mortal onlookers. He had no leash, though. No one ever appeared to find it necessary to scold Ceridwen into leashing her dog.

Goblin Fires, Chapter Two

Like many Unbridled spirits of the fae world, The Morrigan—my mother—struck a bargain with the Four Sidhe Courts, to ensure her freedom from them and the certainty of her independence. It is not such a strange thing... but it might have been the thing that nearly destroyed us, in the end.

Mortals called The Morrigan a goddess of war, and there were, of course, reasons for her title. Whether or not she might actually be a deity hardly mattered; she is a creature of power and means, the rival of any High Sidhe in magic or in wiles. When the Fae Courts began to assemble and formalize a code of magical law and order, the Unbridled beings like my mother were assessed and considered heavily, as factors which could disrupt the forces the Fae Lords would seek to protect. So The Morrigan struck an alliance to codify her rights as a free agent, and simultaneously make a show of good will and treaty toward the Sidhe Kings and Queens. She offered her offspring as Knights and Champions for the High Noble Houses.

Goblin Fires: Chapter One

I never break an oath. I can't break an oath, not one made to the Sidhe. A Knight cannot lie, cannot betray, and cannot go foul of a promise made.

Except one. One promise alone are we ever allowed to recant. One contract we can reject...but I never had cause to reject it.

Until we found ourselves—all of us, all the fae of the Four Courts—pulled into a war.

Until the last option I had left, to save the woman I loved, was to break the oath I made to protect her...

The warm aroma of blended spices—nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and a hint of black pepper—curled up in tendrils of steam from the simple blue mug on the table before me. I closed my palms around it, relishing the effusive heat like a nice hot bath, and inhaled the scent of Talaith's favorite chai tea with a soft sound of approval.

"Careful, sweetie," Tala whispered in my ear. She had a very eloquent, very refined accent, and she leaned over my shoulder to sprinkle a pinch of cocoa powder into my cup. "Don't want to burn your tongue now, do you? Not while I still have plans for it..."

Get Lucky This St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day, My Lovelies!

 

In the spirit of our delightful Celtic friends, the fae folk, we'll be participating in the Breathless Press "Lucky in Love Blog Hop!

And what better way to celebrate all things Celtic, fae, and--of course--erotic, than to take a look at some famous naughty faeries and elves!

1. Leanan Sidhe

 

One of my personal favorites! The Leanan Sidhe is known as a gorgeous fairy muse, with a passion for inspiring mortals to great heights of creativity. She makes lovers of her pet artists, both blessing and cursing them. For while she famously bestows great genius and enthusiasm to her beloved artists, the downside is that each of them eventually goes mad. Shortly thereafter, some terrible fate befalls the poor mortal, ending their short but passionate life. Love can sure be a bitch sometimes.

 

2. Gancanagh

The Irish fairy called the Gancanagh is not very well-known, which is a real shame, because get this: he is a male fairy known for seducing women!

Rumored to appear to lonesome shepherdesses and young maids, his name means "Love-Talker". He's supposedly a fan of the Irish 'dudeen' pipe, and it's apparently very bad luck to meet him.  

Well, damn.  

3. Selkies

Here's a familiar legend: a fae creature, half aquatic creature, known for seducing men out to sea.  The selkies, though, a very Celtic version of the myth, are said to be beautiful male and female spirits, famous for wearing the skins of seals.

  

Male selkies seem to be the more seductive characters in this legend: luring beautiful women from the seaside to be their lovers. A woman can summon a male selkie by shedding seven tears into the ocean. Female selkies appear to be slightly shyer creatures, a little more submissive: human men steal their sealskins to bind them and make them into wives. Sometimes the lady selkies remain with their human husbands for years, even having children with them, but if they ever find their sealskin, they will be compelled to return to the sea. They may never make contact with their husband again... but they'll return to their children and play with them in the waves.

While we're on the subject of the fae, I'm happy to tell all my lovelies that Goblin Fires is on its way!  I'll soon be sharing my own tale of the sexy, sultry fae with all of you.  Look for more info soon!

Check out all the other participants in the Breathless Press Lucky in Love Blog Hop!

Powered by Linky Tools
Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list...

Brantwijn's Best of Blogs: Darkest Cravings!

Today I want to share with you another one of my favorite reader's blogs, one I was happily introduced to during my Lotus Petals blog tour. Allow me to introduce you to Darkest Cravings!

A Thursday Taste: Deleted Scene from Satin and Steel

 Every Thursday a group of writers show short excerpts of their awesome work. All genres permitted and a comment on each others work will encourage everyone to keep going with WIP's Our blog is http://thursdaytasters.blogspot.com

 This week I offer my lovelies another special taste of Satin and Steel; a deleted scene between Rhiannon and Vivienne, a devilish shadow-walking shadiil!

 

Brantwijn's Best Of Blogs!

When I set out to write erotica, a big part of my goals was to write and represent different sexual lifestyles, identities, scenarios and journeys. To do this right, I needed to expand my horizons.

To do that, I needed good resources.

 

Sex in Words is a blog I discovered after the release of The Big Book of Orgasm (Cleiss Press) for which I was a contributor. @SexInWords helped us spread the word about the book. Upon checking out the blog, I discovered Jon Pressick (writer, editor and the blogger behind Sex in Words) shares posts not just about Cleiss Press releases, but many, many other subjects writers and readers should check out.