Sui Writes

Tag: Suilan Lee

  • A Thousand Years of Hope Ch 16-2

    Tani cursed under his breath as he walked away from Dante, his heart speeding in his chest. Just now, when Dante cut the dead branch off the tree, he thought they were going to kiss. It hurt him when Dante turned away without giving in to the urge.

    It was always so difficult at the start of their relationship. This pull between them was too hard to manage. If Tani were asked, they would have spent most of their time here in bed, but…

    He could not be greedy. He needed to remember to take his time. Remember their connection was new for Dante. Their love was fresh…again.

    Tani closed his eyes in frustration and rubbed his forehead with his right hand. He would have let out a soft sigh, but then a strong hand gripped his left wrist, pulling him to a stop.

    Tani gasped when Dante dragged him into his arms and kissed him hard. A deep hungry, demanding kiss that had Tani closing his eyes and his free hand gripping Dante’s left arm to keep steady.

    Dante let go of his wrist. He cupped Tani’s face and kissed him again, like a man starved, finally giving Tani the passionate kiss he had been craving.

    Tani let out a soft moan, wrapping his arms around Dante’s waist, his fingers bunching Dante’s white linen shirt. Feeling the heat coming off Dante’s body. Tani closed his eyes, losing himself in their hungry kiss. He felt too hot, insanely needy, his skin turning sensitive, needing to feel Dante’s hands on him.

    Dante broke their kiss a moment and Tani opened his eyes to find Dante studying him. Dante caressed Tani’s bottom lip with his thumb.

    Dante’s gaze was sharp and filled with heat. His lips slightly parted, his breathing coming a little too fast, as he slid an arm around Tani’s waist and pulled him closer. Closer still until their chests touched. Tani’s breath came in shaky breaths as he brought his arms around Dante’s shoulders. Dante held him tighter, turning to pin Tani against the trunk of the closest apple tree. His big body pressed against Tani in full possessive ownership.

    Tani’s breath snagged as his cock filled with need, arousal engulfing him in a hot cloud. Dante took advantage of his parted lips and set his mouth to his again. His kiss was ravaging. Tani’s blood surged in response, his body molding to Dante. He tightened his arms around Dante, savoring his taste, hot, wild, and utterly uncivilized. Their shared heat was so familiar it brought the sting of tears to Tani’s eyes.

    Dante pressed him harder against the apple tree, his hands moving over Tani’s body, stroking down Tani’s back, cupping his bottom, and grinding his swollen cock against him. Long fingers slipped between them, feeling Tani’s hard length through his trousers. Tani let out an aroused moan, his fingers digging into Dante’s hair in response. He undid the rubber band Dante used to hold his hair and sunk his fingers into the soft tresses, holding on, making Dante moan.

    Dante pressed his palm on Tani’s hard length, his touch bold, sensual. Tani had seconds of warning; his hard cock pulsed so hard, he feared he might disgrace himself from the sensation. Then Dante stroked his palm over him and Tani forgot modesty. An intense orgasm built up inside him and fractured into a million pieces leaving him shaking. Tani let out a hoarse moan, arching into Dante’s caress at a loss.

    Dante took in his moans with a sweet kiss, and a soft sob escaped when Dante wrapped a secure arm around him to keep him steady. Holding him tight through his weakening ecstasy. Their kiss broke and Tani buried his face into Dante’s shoulder, closing his eyes as his breath came too fast trying to find his balance again. He clung to Dante’s shoulders afraid he was going to melt to the ground.

    Dante buried his nose into Tani’s right shoulder and breathed him in. He pressed his lips on the soft curve of Tani’s shoulder, sucking on sensitive skin, and then licked at the spot with hot intimacy.

    Tani trembled.

    “This is my answer,” Dante murmured into his ear after a while. His hot breath sent maddening electric tingles racing down Tani’s spine. “I want you. All of you. Every part of you. I don’t want to wait. Let’s make love, Tani.”

    Tani held on to Dante, elated. He opened his eyes and stared at the rows of apple trees closest to them. They were filled with blooming white flowers, even the ones that had none before were now heavy with them. He grinned and decided to hide this strange happenstance of his ecstasy from Dante, for the moment anyway.

    “Let’s go inside,” Tani murmured.

    “Mm,” Dante agreed.

    Tani held onto Dante and teleported them straight to the bathroom. His cheeks flushed with color when Dante cupped his face and tilted his head up.

    “You’re gorgeous,” Dante murmured, studying Tani’s face. His thumb stroked Tani’s right cheek, the pad of his thumb shifting to trace over Tani’s bottom lip.

    “I’ve wanted to see you this way for a while,” Dante said.

    “Messy because you drove me to the brink with a simple touch?” Tani asked, his cheeks flaming, somewhat mortified by his swift orgasm in the orchard. He had thought he had more control. Turns out Dante could drive him to the edge with a simple kiss.

    “Wanting me,” Dante corrected, taking Tani’s lips in a soft kiss. Then he murmured against Tani’s lips, “as much as I want you. There’s nothing messy about our passion. It’s how it should be.”

    Dante kissed him again and then helped Tani out of his clothes. His hands were gentle as he helped Tani pull off his t-shirt. Dante dropped it to the floor with a small smile. His gaze was appreciative as he took in Tani’s figure. His fingers were sure when they reached for Tani’s trousers. He unbuttoned them with a single flick of his fingers. Tani held Dante’s gaze as Dante pulled down the zipper and Tani’s trousers dropped to the floor. Tani stepped out of them and closed his eyes when Dante reached for his dark underwear. His fingers warm against Tani’s skin.

    Dante took Tani’s lips in a short sweet kiss, as he pushed his messy boxer briefs down.

    Then, Tani stood naked before Dante.

    Dante looked at him, his gaze heated as it traveled down from his shoulders, down his chest, to his stomach then to his aching cock. Tani fought the urge to step back as he faced his beloved for the first time in decades. With no clothes to shield him, and no lies between them, Tani decided to take off the glamour that hid his origins. His eyes took on the distinctive fox clan slits. Kinon’s cuffs on his wrists restored to their true form, heavy and punishing on his wrists.

    Tani met Dante’s gaze.

    “This is my true self,” Tani murmured, his voice shaking, vulnerable.

    Dante took a step closer. He placed his hands on Tani’s bare shoulders. His fingers started a slow gentle caress down Tani’s arms. He held Tani’s gaze as his fingers wrapped around Tani’s wrists, holding the gold cuffs that marked him a deviant. He lifted Tani’s right hand to his lips and pressed his lips to the cool gold metal.

    Dante then brought Tani’s hand to his left cheek and Tani straightened his fingers to cup Dante’s cheek.

    “What?” Tani asked.

    “I think you’re expecting that I’ll turn away from you. You show me your cuffs, your eyes, wanting me to cringe and run,” Dante said, shaking his head. He took Tani’s hands and brought them to his chest and the buttons of his white linen shirt. “I won’t, Tani. You’re stuck with me now, no matter what we face in the future.”

    Tani sucked in air at the mention of the future. He thought about Cale’s warning. The idea that someone took Dante’s life when they parted filled his head. Panic had him dropping his gaze to the buttons on Dante’s shirt. The longer he spent with Dante, the more he wished Cale were wrong. The more he wanted to know what a future with Dante looked like. The future he never once experienced in Dante’s company, he wanted to know it.

    Tani undid the first button of Dante’s shirt and looked up to find Dante studying him.

    Their future seemed far away and unsolvable, but the now was here. Tani decided he would lose himself in their shared bliss.

    <<Previous | Table of Contents | Next>>

  • Love (Ai) – Part 1

    Love ( Ai) Part 1

    Rock music filled the loft-style studio, intense, jagged, and thrilling, Kyo Tatsuya used it to fuel his creative juices.  Working a color-filled brush over the stretched canvas before him, he continued painting the last piece of his collection. It was the final scene in an illustration of twenty paintings, which he’d been working on for two months. Locked up in the loft without seeing anyone but his assistant. This collection would mark the start of his new life.  

    Kyo stepped away from the painting and dropped his brush onto the palette. Using the back of his wrist, he wiped his brow and grabbed a paint-filled cloth to wipe his hands, looking around the main living room. Kyo frowned when he didn’t find the person he was looking for.

    His stomach growled. Hunger had struck again. Shaking his head, Kyo made his way to the kitchen attached to the open space living room and workroom. The kitchen was the only clean and pristine place, he mused, taking in the gleaming steel counters and cooking range. Walking to the fridge, he rummaged through it trying to find something to eat. Finding a bottle of milk, he took a healthy sip.

    “You could use a glass,” Shuji Hisoka, his assistant, said appearing from nowhere.

    Shuji came up to the refrigerator and pulled the bottle of milk away. Reaching for a glass on the counter beside the fridge, he filled it with milk and handed it back to Kyo.

    “Sit at the table and I’ll heat you some food.”

    “Shuji,” Kyo said with a grin, drinking his milk thirstily. “Are you angry with me again?”

    “You need to get out into the world once in a while. It doesn’t stand still just because you’re in here working. Your boyfriend is driving me crazy,” Shuji said pulling out containers from somewhere in that fridge.

    Kyo had not seen that many containers when he looked in the fridge. Frowning at the mention of his boyfriend, Kyo shrugged.

    “I’m sorry, Shuji. Can you hold him off for a while longer? I’m almost done.”

    “Kyo-senpai,” Shuji said, placing a full plate into the microwave. He turned to look at Kyo, a frown dancing on his forehead. “Pushing Ryuu-san away is not right.”

    “Don’t start, Shuji,” Kyo said, sighing.

    Rubbing his eyes, Kyo shook his head. He didn’t want to think about the reason why he was hiding. The illustrations he’d done would play a significant role very soon and he wasn’t going to allow the effect he wanted to go so easily. No, Ryuu was going to see them at the exhibition, or not at all. Taking the food from Shuji, he took a bite and nodded for his assistant to take a seat.

    “Sit, Shuji, and I’ll tell you why I’m doing this.”

    “I won’t change my mind. I’m the one who has to turn Ryuu-san away and hear him plead. I’m starting to feel evil saying no to him,” Shuji said, taking a seat on the stool across from him. He took a napkin from a holder on the table and reached out to wipe Kyo’s face. “You have paint on your face, again.”

    “Shuji,” Kyo sighed. “Just listen, alright. You need to understand why, and since you’ve become a friend in the past two months, I owe you this.”

    Shuji paused, giving him a sharp look, and then because they really were friends, he nodded. “Fine, but if I don’t like your reasons, I’m going to call Ryuu-san.”

    Kyo winced.

    “Alright, Shuji, I just have to explain it really well so that you are convinced.”

    Taking another bite of the rice and vegetable stew on his plate, Kyo took in a deep breath and forced his thoughts back to the memories he’d been working through for two months now.

    “It all started a year ago.  I was presenting an exhibition at the Geidai art gallery, right before school ended for the year.  It was closing time at the gallery and I was helping pack a painting a client had bought when he walked in. That was the first time I met Ryuu Shin.”

    | Love (Ai) Table of Contents | Next>>

  • Characters – Relationship Map

    Characters – Relationship Map

    A Thousand Years of Hope

    The most exciting part of creating a story is building relationship maps. So much happens in a family setting, that you can make a relationship map simple or very complicated. This is a relationship map of the characters in the A Thousand Years of Hope story.  It is currently running on my page on GayAuthors/lilansui.  Let’s discover Tani and Dante’s existing relationships before they make one of their own.

    Tani Ryuzo's family relationship map

    Tani is my unique character as he connects two realms. The fictitious Ekho realm and the mortal realm. His strongest ally is Amu, his mother’s brother, and Cale, the god of calamities. Like Amu, Tani has chosen to take on a ward. So Tani is connected to Deniz and Hakan through Hera. Since I’m currently writing on Chapters 6 and 7, this character relationship map reveals a hidden character who has not shown up yet.

    Members of the Septum

    Seven powerful lords govern the fictitious Ekho Realm, keeping the balance and all who live in the realm at fairly peaceful times.

    1. Kinon – god of Fire
    2. Eren – goddess of Earth
    3. Mizian – god of Wind
    4. Rianon – goddess of Water
    5. Helia – goddess of Fertility
    6. Cale – god of Calamity
    7. Sunu – Immortal Lord

    The Sentinel guards entrance and exit of the Ekho Realm at the Palladium Gates.  Her name is Sahdrina of the Namib.

    Dante’s Family tree

    Dante has a very interesting family line which his great, great grandfather will have much more to explain later. Thanks to Kinon, Dante is quite powerful and will make a great match for Tani. Dante’s character is unique to create for me because he has children with Viola. He is not present in their lives. This is the first time I’ve approached such a character before, without having to focus so much on Viola’s perspective. He is a character some people might not love so much, because of this failure, I hope to redeem him in other ways.

    My collection of characters is complete. Do check out A Thousand Years of Love on GayAuthors.org. It takes me time to upload chapters, but I try to make them worth the wait.

    In other news, I’ve been reediting The Reluctant Consort and will upload a new extra soon. It’s always fun to get back to old characters.

    You can now get The Reluctant Consort and A Thousand Years of Hope as eBook.

    A Thousand Years of Hope by Suilan Lee Book Cover

    The Reluctant Consort eBook and Print.

    A Thousand Years of Hope eBook

  • A Thousand Years of Hope

    Chapter One

    The sunrise turned the vineyard landscape into a beautiful spectacle.  Dante Arturo drove along the main path between the fields in an open jeep.  He loved mornings at Artri, but today felt different.  He worried in the face of the beautiful sunrise.

    Driving faster, Dante brought the jeep to a stop near a sizeable olive grove on the edge of the property.  Getting out of the jeep, he grabbed the bag filled with sample containers and walked fast, hurrying down a wide path between olive trees.

    “Dante.”

    Dante turned left when he heard his name and raised his hand in greeting when he saw the vineyard manager, Hasim Kaan, waving at him.

    “Over here,” Hasim said.

    Dante hurried to where Hasim stood behind the thickest olive tree in the grove.  Dante slowed down when he saw his mother crouched by the roots of the olive tree, her hand digging in the soil.  When she heard Dante, she took a bunch and held it out to him on her palm.

    “What do you think is causing the soil to turn this black?” Nora Arturo asked.

    Dante crouched next to her and took her palm.  The soil on her palm was indeed as black as night.  Dante bent his head over her palm and took a deep whiff.  The soil smelled of decay and death.

    “The soil is corrupted,” Dante said with a sigh.

    “Corrupted soil does not come out of the blue,” Nora said, narrowing her gaze on the black soil.

    Dante got a glass container from his bag and placed the soil on his mother’s palm into the container.  He wiped his palm over his mother’s cleaning the dirt out of his mother’s skin, and smiled at her.

    “Don’t worry so much,” Dante said.  “We’ll find out the source of the problem.”

    “I hope we find it soon,” Nora said, getting up from her crouch to touch the oldest olive tree in their home.  “I don’t want to lose any olive tree, Dante.”

    “One of my colleagues gave me a contact working in the Elderwood Conservancy.  He says the conservancy is on the west side of our island, and it has researchers who can tell us what’s wrong with the soil.  I’ll take these samples to them today,” Dante said.  “They may help us.”

    “I’ll leave it to you,” Nora said, with a sigh, tracing the bark of the olive tree one last time.

    Dante got to work collecting soil samples around the olive tree.

    “I’ll have the workers help me keep watch over the grapevines,” Hasim said, helping Dante with digging deeper for soil samples.  “It wouldn’t do to have this black soil invade the vines.”

    “It will be hard work,” Dante said.  “Let me know if you need extra help.  I’ll also come during the weekends.”

    “We can manage, Dante,” Hasim assured him.  “You focus on discovering what is infecting our soil.  We have never had this kind of trouble before.”

    “Could it from the beach?” Nora asked, her gaze shifting to the bushes beyond the olive grove and leading to the beach beyond.  “An oil spill or something worse.”

    “Perhaps,” Hasim said.  “I have three men checking the beach.  We haven’t found anything yet that would sink into the soil enough to rot it.  We’ll keep looking though.”

    Once Dante and Hasim finished collecting the soil samples, Nora asked Hasim to walk the grove and report on the extent of the black corrupted soil.  Dante led Nora back to the jeep, and he drove back to the main house.

    “When are you returning to Istanbul?” Nora asked, when Dante pulled up at the back of the house.  She got out of the jeep and Dante reached for the bag with the soil samples, following suit.

    The jeep was used to work around the vineyard, so he left the keys in it.  Dante followed his mother to the kitchen entrance.

    “I have a lecture at Koc University this morning,” Dante said.  “After, I’ll fly to the U.S.—”

    “You’re responding to that woman’s summons,” Nora said, her expression one of disapproval when she looked at him.

    Nora did not like his ex-girlfriend.  She thought Viola was not good enough for him.  After all these years, Viola’s relationship with Nora remained strained.  However, Viola was the mother of his two children.  A result of his past stupid decisions.  He could not change what he did to, and with Viola.  So, he tried to take responsibility, even though Nora did not like it.

    “Mom, Zach, and April are my children,” Dante said, as they entered the kitchen.  His mother went to the sink to wash her hands and Dante reached for his own car keys in a holder on the kitchen counter.  “At some point, we might need to take them both in, or one of them.  You know what happens when our gifts come in.”

    “They are free of the bloodline,” Nora said, making Dante stop to stare at her in surprise.  “I checked them, Dante when I visited you in New York.  Zach was two, April a baby.  It was my duty as their grandmother, as it was your grandfather’s to support you.  I found no energy on your children with Viola.  They are normal, unremarkable.”

    Dante gave an internal scoff at the way she said the word normal, as though it were a crime.  Dante sighed at the familiar tirade.  His mother found his relationship with Viola the greatest failure of his life.

    “Viola was never the right match for you,” Nora continued.  “Dante, you know our family marries for love.  You like men more than women.  We have both known it since Grandmaster Landi started training you.  If you wanted someone to make children with, I would have found a suitable girl.  I have no idea how you fell in with Viola.  Your time in New York with the Grandmaster failed you. You and Viola, it was the worst union I ever saw.  I will never approve of her.”

    “Zach and April remain your blood,” Dante said, his right brow rising in question.

    “Of course,” Nora said. “I will always be their grandmother.  They are welcome to visit our home.  However, they do not have the power to own this house.  When their descendants gain the gifts of our bloodline, this house will take them in.”

    “What about Viola?” Dante asked.

    “She is not welcome.  She would not understand our way of life,” Nora stated.  “I don’t need to educate you on why.”

    Dante stared at her for a full minute and then nodded in understanding.

    “When will you get the samples to the conservancy?” Nora asked, moving to the double tea maker to pour herself a glass of tea.

    “I’ll stop by before leaving the island,” Dante said.  “Mom.”

    Nora looked up from checking the tea.

    “Don’t always blame Viola,” Dante said, giving her a small smile.  “I was also at fault with her.  I failed her.”

    “You failed each other,” Nora corrected.  “It was not easy to watch from my end.  The saddest story here belongs to Zach and April.  They will miss getting to know the real you.  Perhaps, your story is sad too.”

    “Why for me?” Dante asked with a frown.

    Nora let out a soft sigh.

    “Because, you never learned how to fall in love,” Nora said.  “Viola will love again, and so will Zach, and April.  You on the other hand…”

    Nora shook her head and returned her attention to the tea maker.

    Dante watched her pour herself a glass of tea and wished he could refute her conclusions.

    Dante turned to enter the corridor to head to the front hall.  He took a step, and the house started shaking.  Walls vibrating, windows opening and closing.  The house came alive, vibrating, shaking items on shelves, chairs, and tables.

    Dante stepped back into the kitchen to make sure his mother was safe.  He found all the ingredient containers from the cabinets, cups, spoons, plates, and even his mother’s favorite tea maker suspended in the air.  His mother stood in the middle of it all having a cup of tea.  Gold sparks decorating the tips of her fingers on her left hand.  She smiled at Dante.

    “Looks like your ancestors have something to say,” Nora said.  “The grimoire must have opened downstairs.”

    Dante nodded and with a wave of his hand, his magic restored his mother’s kitchen to rights.  He hurried into the corridor, opened the door that would lead him to the basement halls, running to see what would make their family’s grimoire come alive.

    Read more at : Gayauthors.org

  • Three Princes Find Love

    I’ve wanted to complete a series on princes for a few years now. When I first wrote Crown Prince Yoshi, I didn’t think I would make it. I’m excited to say I have finally completed all three books in a series of princes falling in love. What a major accomplishment, of which I celebrate with a blog post.

    These books are: –

    1. Crown Prince Yoshi
    2. The Prince & His Royal Guard
    3. The Reluctant Consort

    Crown Prince Yoshi

    An attempt on his life, sends Yoshi Taimeng into a wild adventure across the Amana Empire as he fights to restore peace among his people and gather an army strong enough to save his mother, the Empress, from his treasonous uncle. He meets Midori Sanori, an heir to the Fier Clan. Midori teaches him the importance of love and how to use it to win a war.

    Get the eBook or the Print Book here

    The Prince & His Royal Guard

    The Prince and His Royal Guard Book Cover

    Leon
    He’s a Royal Prince wanting an incognito vacation. To get it, he fakes an itinerary for his parents, and ends up on the road free to explore the world with his friends. He does not count on falling in love with the man sent to be his Royal Guard on the trip. Or the unexpected tragedy that sets him on a path he never expected.

    Logan
    He is a Royal Navy Officer hoping to rise up in the ranks and end up with a prestigious military career. To get it though, he has to get through six months guarding a Royal Prince. He does not count on falling in love with the prince. Or, having to protect the prince from a dangerous plot designed to take Leon’s life.

    Their adventure is unexpected, most importantly their love throws them into a tangled web they don’t know how to escape.

    This Book is now available as an eBook or Print Book

    The Reluctant Consort

    Duke Silver takes on Jihan who is determined to protect his sister from an arranged marriage. 

    Jihan Kamran is the Master of Kamran Estate. After a gruesome war with West Nation, Jihan’s powerful network gains the Emperor’s attention.  The Emperor orders a member of the Kamran Family must wed into his Imperial Family. 

    Kastan Miran (Duke Silver) is the second prince in the Akasha Imperial Family. The Empress is afraid of his growing power. When she tries to murder him, The Emperor asks Kastan to marry a member of the Kamran Family. Kastan is to keep Kamran in check and in turn their vast wealth protects Kastan from the Empress’s jealousy.

    These books are now available as eBooks and Print.

    And that’s that for the princes.

    I’m currently working on A Thousand Years of Hope.

  • Writing Again – A Thousand Years of Hope

    A new Year is here. 2022 is going to be the year of the tiger (lunar calendar). It is my greatest hope that my writing is more productive this year. I have been lost in a world of a previous project, and wallowing in letting go pains. I didn’t think it was an issue until I needed to start new project. Writing is a journey.

    I’m excited to introduce my new story. In a different setting with different characters, I feel juiced up to get it done. The new story is called A Thousand Years of Hope. Based on the idea of an immortal soul who has loved a mortal for nine hundred years with no reward in turn. Is it possible to keep the hope of love? Do expectations come short and at what point does love become obsession? Or harmful? Or important?

    Hm, so many questions to give. I’m at the start and there is already so much.

    Tani and Dante are my characters’ names.

    A Thousand Years of Hope by Suilan Lee Book Cover

    Dante and Tani are pulled into the center of a conspiracy that ties ekho gods, bloodline magic, and mortal choice into something brutal and sinister. If they fail to unravel it, Dante will die young again, and Tani’s sentence will lock him away from the only world that ever felt like home. If they succeed, they won’t just save Dante’s life; they’ll shatter a millennium-long cycle and claim the one thing fate has always held just out of reach: a life they choose together.

    This time, love isn’t destiny. It’s the most dangerous spell either of them can cast.

    Get the eBook today!

  • Song of the Week

    Song of the Week

    April is ending. Time is moving so fast. That makes it a month indoors. It’s fascinating how many adventures we have gotten into living inside our compound. From planting lavender, rosemary and green onions, to plotting Part II of The Relunctant Consort and today’s family fun activity of making kimchi from scratch. (Thank you Maangchi, she’s like my second mother and I’ve never met her). It’s been interesting. I’m grateful that so far everyone within my home is safe from Covid 19. It takes all of us to keep going on, day by day.

    Hello Earworm
    What song is stuck in your head (or on permanent rotation
    in your playlist) these days? Why does it speak to
    you?

    prompting Sui

    My writing playlist has been quite eclectic. I’m currently writing The Reluctant Consort, which is taking loads of instrumental music. I’ll end up listening to one song over and over. Then after a few chapters, it will change. In between that, this song came on the house playlist and we had a little dance to it. It got stuck in my head and now I’m listening to Sleeping at Last’s Heart over and over.

    The lyrics make my heart ache in the best of ways.

    We are maybe making cheese tomorrow. Hubby ordered fresh milk from a nearby farm and we want to try out if we can make Mozarella cheese. I hope our delivery goes okay. These are the things we get up to at home. Stay safe.

    From my desk to yours, love Sui.

  • Surprise! – A gratitude note for you.

    A girl I’ve loved all my life as a sister, a best-friend, sometimes a mother, turned into the prettiest bride I have ever seen. She never thought it would happen for her, and for the longest time she struggled with the idea that there would be no one for her. No one to share the personal challenges and struggles that are infinitely private to all of us. To see her smile so wide, while holding on to our favorite plus one, I find myself, for the first time in my life, believing in the magic.

    For this epic feat, Sui-Noona, I hope for you all the happiness in the world. This is my note to you, on your blog, here in this place where you write all your creative thoughts that have brought me so many stories to read without end. I’m inspired by you two, and you gave me hope where there was none.

    Why this post here? Sui started out writing to create worlds that didn’t seem to exist for me. This little brother of hers has found infinite inspiration, and comfort in her books, her work. Most of all, I’m happy to be part of her life, her creative process, and someone she looks at as family.

    Noona, I hope you find my gratitude post when you’re back, and laugh hard when you read it. I love you, always!

    From your Little Brother, Moon.

  • The Reluctant Consort

    The Reluctant Consort

    Prologue

    A sharp sword rested on his shoulder, the sharp blade pressed against his neck.  His clothes soaked from the rush of rain that had slowed down to a drizzle.  Strange, but the worst moments in his life always seemed to coordinate with the rain.

    How did the heavens know to match with his tears?

    His knees hurt from kneeling on the stones in the courtyard at Kamran Estate.  He shifted to ease the ache and the sword at his neck nicked his skin.  He hissed at the sharp sting.  The sword’s blade was sharp.

    Jihan imagined it could ten pigs with one sweep in the hands of its skilled master.  The blade shifted away from his neck and he closed his eyes at the small relief.  The man holding the sword to his neck had no softness in him.  It wouldn’t matter how much Jihan pleaded, he would follow orders and kill Jihan if it came to it.

    A scream cut through the night and Jihan forgot his discomfort.  Heart in his throat, he watched two more men drag his older sister and her husband into the courtyard.

    How had they found them?

    A strangled cry escaped his lips when the man holding his sister pushed her to the ground next to him.

    Jihan reached for her to steady her.

    “Can’t you be kinder?” Jihan asked, his eyes filling with tears.

    Andiya kept her hands over her stomach to protect her unborn child.  She leaned into Jihan, her tears clear on her cheeks, her gaze on her husband, Ishan.

    Ishan knelt on the ground, maneuvering so that he was protecting Andiya with his body, when one of the men reached for her again.

    “Leave her alone,” Jihan said, angry with their captors and their brutish ways.  “She is pregnant.  Tell me, how will you take responsibility if anything happens to the baby?”

    The men stopped reaching for Andiya, and Ishan moved closer to his wife, holding her with care.  Ishan glared at their captors too, his arm around Andiya, giving her the warmth he could.

    “Why are you doing this?” Jihan asked, when his sister gripped his left arm, her fingers trembling with fear.  “How dare you invade Kamran Estate?”

    “Don’t blame us,” a gruff voice said above Jihan.  “You brought this on yourself.”

    Jihan wished he could refute the accusation, but in the end, all he could lament was that his plan had not worked.  If it had, his sister and her husband would have already left and found refuge in Iron Land with his friend, Swallow.  He had been willing to face the consequences of his actions alone.

    How had things gone so wrong?

    “You dared—,”

    The gruff man above him growled out, not finishing his sentence.

    The anger rolling off him made Jihan hope that their deaths would be swift, and not slow torture.  He couldn’t bear the thought of Andiya and her child suffering.

    Jihan felt Andiya’s grip on his arm tighten, and he looked up, his heart dropping when he saw the tall, forbidding man entering the courtyard.  His silver armor shone in the moonlight, a heavy blood red cape flowing behind him.  The stories Jihan had heard were true.  In his armor, Duke Silver was enough to stop a weak man’s heart with fright.

    Jihan found he couldn’t take his gaze away from the long sword Duke Silver held.  That blood thirsty blade that had cut down thousands of lives during the West Nation Rebellion.

    Jihan gulped, thinking his life sure had fallen to the depths now.  He could never have imagined facing death at the tip of Duke Silver’s blade.  Still…, maybe this was their fate after all.

    Duke Silver came to a stop before him, dripping with murderous intent, his face dark with anger.

    “Duke Silver, we caught the woman and her husband on the road heading into Iron Land.  Master Jihan was waiting here.  We haven’t found his shadow guard,” the gruff one next to Jihan said.

    “He sent him away,” Duke Silver said, his hard gaze speculative as he studied Jihan.

    Andiya moved closer to him, her eyes filled with fear.  Seeing it, helped Jihan with his decision.

    Jihan pushed his sister into Ishan’s arms, and crawled forward, making sure they were both behind him.  Still on his knees, he straightened his back and faced Duke Silver.

    He would be no cowering fool.  He was the master of Kamran Estate after all: he had made all decisions in this place since he turned ten.  Protected his sister, grown the family business, played just as hard, and even dared to love, twice, he had missed out on nothing.

    So now, he would take responsibility for his decisions.

    The rain started again, and Jihan was glad for it, as it would hide the tears he couldn’t hold back anymore.

    “Punish me alone,” Jihan said, his fingers clenched to keep from shaking with the fear sinking in his heart.

    Duke Silver’s dark gaze left him with no doubt that the Duke was angry enough to kill him and everyone in the Kamran Estate.  They had dared to ignore a royal edict and fooled a prince.

    “No matter how I look at it, Kamran Estate has indeed done you wrong,” Jihan said, keeping his tone light.  “Please know that my sister and her husband did not know about the royal edict.”

    Jihan ignored his sister’s cry of protest, and was grateful when Ishan held her tighter, muffling her words.

    “I hid the truth from them.  I planned their wedding even knowing that she was promised to marry into the royal family.  I paid for their trip to the Iron Lands.  All these decisions were made by me,” Jihan continued.  “They are not at fault.  Please spare their lives and let it end with me.  I’ll take responsibility for daring to disregard a royal edict.”

    Duke Silver pointed his sword at Jihan’s face, the tip an inch away from his left eye.  Jihan clenched his fists, fear racing through him, he felt close to falling from it, but he needed to do this, for the sake of his sister, her unborn child and her husband.

    He couldn’t bear the thought of the alternative, which would be watching his sister forced into an unwanted marriage, her child murdered…he shuddered.  Worse yet, they might decide to send both Andiya and her husband Ishan to their deaths.  Jihan couldn’t imagine bearing the burden of burying his sister and her child.  It would be too much to ask of him.

    No, this was better.  He was alone after all, unmarried with no ties to anything.  His life mattered less here.

    Kamran Estate would go on without him, taken care of by his sister.  Andiya might even get a son in the future and name that boy after him.  She would smile looking at that child and think of him.  It was enough.  The thought gave him some strength.

    Jihan locked his muscles in place, and stared at the tip of Duke Silver’s blade.  He couldn’t help admiring how it shone in the moonlight.  The stories were true.  How fierce he looked, so handsome and fierce.

    “Agreed, we’ll do it the way you want.  You take responsibility,” Duke Silver gritted out, after a short period of silence, keeping his sword steady as he spoke.  “Jihan, how dare you look down on the royal family?  You shall indeed pay the price for their lives with yours.”

    Jihan closed his eyes, unwilling to watch Duke Silver swing a sword at him.  Things between them had already reached this point.  His heart was already shattered.  Why make it worse?  He took in a deep breath, steadying himself, ready for death…

    The Reluctant Consort is period fiction set in a fantasy land known as the Akasha Empire. There is a royal family, as expected of the books in the Prince Series, that is, Crown Prince Yoshi and The Prince & His Royal Guard. The Reluctant Consort makes it the third and last. There are wars, men with swords and horses and wearing period costumes. I couldn’t help giving Duke Silver a red cloak for his armor. Jihan is a merchant, with a worldly view, nothing can tie him down and Duke Silver somehow finds a perfect method to do so. The fun is how these two stubborn people will end up loving each other.

    I had written a snippet of this story in an earlier post, and promised to change the title. Which I did. Development has been involved, but I’m finally happy with the direction it’s going and this is truly the start of The Reluctant Consort. Duke Silver and Jihan are on the way. I hope you’ll enjoy reading about them as much as I’m having a blast writing for them.

    If you don’t already know, I post most of my stories on GA first. Then, I slowly turn them into e-books for download. I’m currently working on turning the three last finished books into e-books. In between that, there will be Duke Silver & Jihan to entertain you. I’ll work out a posting schedule in the next few weeks.

  • Writing The Prince and His Royal Guard

    Writing The Prince and His Royal Guard

    Whoa! It’s July 2019. One blink and I’m sixty thousand words in to TP&HRG and looking for that crazy climax and a sweet ending, which could take me to ninety thousand words. I’m in deep.

    The writing process this week looks like this:

    It’s not pretty!

    Notes, and scenes coming to life, and getting axed in a search for the end. After dozens of rereads, and adjustments, I’m very close to the payload. This July I’m hoping to get into a different project so I’m eager to finish The Prince’s story. When the next chapter comes, I promise it will be worth it! I’ve enjoyed creating Leon and Logan. Current soundtrack is Naked by James Arthur. Hard at work.

    Meanwhile, yes, I write with pen and then pencil, when that doesn’t work, I type, and read out chapters I’ve posted. I’m a nutter is what I am. He says he gets that, so it’s only going to get worse. Hahaha. ^_^