Warning: PODCAST now included! It’s true. See below. (I have no shame)

An original story from Liquid Silver Books author, Darragha Foster

Please read Chapters One, Two, Three, Four, and Five if you haven’t already.

Prince Hlini, or Lin, for short, is a man’s man. He enjoys riding, archery and killing animals in days-long hunts with his courtiers. He is also royal pain in the ass—literally. His voyeuristic and sodomite penchants have kept him much too busy to find a suitable wife in which to sprout his noble seed—because it’s safer to make love to page boys and stable-hands than it is to possibly produce a child who will someday poison you to usurp your throne. Prince Lin also suffers from a tad bit of paranoia. There is one woman whose tremendous beauty (and delicious potatoes) has caught his eye…Sigyn of the garden corner. But greeting her from horseback is about as close as he’s ever been.

Sigyn is the daughter of the village witch and the village undertaker. She is of the lowest caste in the kingdom, for she works on her knees in the dirt, mixing in compost created by her father from the burning of the kingdom’s dead. Still…she has the most successful vegetable stall in the realm. People come from far and wide to buy her fruit and veg. With strength, beauty and a height most women will never see, Sigyn could have many suitors—all lower class, uneducated dirt-farmers. She wants more from life. She wants to be king.

Eventide… a gratis lectori salutem (free to the readers) e-tale by Darragha Foster about that magic time between the end of day and the beginning of night. Beware the mist, the call of the geese and horny wood-wives.

Warning: If you’re familiar with Darragha’s work, you know this story will contain sex, violence, and all-around… quirkiness. If you’re not familiar with Darragha’s work…

And now the sixth chapter of Eventide…

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 Eventide - Chapter 6 [10:21m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Hello, children. Meljean has picked out the winners of her contest who, consequently, will receive copies of Demon Night. AWESOME. Those winners are: SweetNSourGirl AND Kaitlin. Girlfriends, email me your info and the beautiful Meljean will send you your goodies.

This is the reason why I love Meljean Brook more than I will ever love Brandon Routh AND Tom Welling. And possibly Clive Owen. But NOT Christian Bale. Or Cillian Murphy. Or the bite-sized blond guy from Supernatural.

The last time I was here, I made a little video called “Meljean’s Five Steps to Writing a Romance Novel.” With references to giant penises, doggy-style tree sex, The Princess Bride, and Batman, the video seemed to fit nicely into Bam’s blog. [Bam: It was the height of brilliant absurdity.]

My, how things have changed since then! Now there are great stories coming on a weekly basis, chapter by chapter. So when Bam invited me back, I had one thought in my head: Well, crap! How am I supposed to live up to that?

Then I got to thinking. Why are we — the readers of Bam’s blog —always made to beg for more? A part of me thinks Bam likes it that way. [Bam: Yes, I am an evol sadist. There, I admit it.]

Well, I’m here to stop that nonsense. Begging? Pshaw. That’s for the plebian losers who lived way back in medieval times, digging crusty bread out of the rushes or whatever the hell they put on their floors.

We’re in the twenty-first century, and we have carpet (or bamboo flooring that is environmentally friendly but with the durability and beauty of hardwood)! Doesn’t that account for something?

We demand instant gratification! We deserve instant gratification!

One chapter at a time? Ha! We deserve better!

So, my dear friends and fellow Bam-blog-readers, I give you this: a whole story. But not just any story — it must also be great, like the stories Darragha and Bettie have been posting. So, in honor of the recent Valentine’s Day holiday, and also because it is inarguably the highest form of writing, my story will be told…

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 The Rake and the Virgin Ninja [3:20m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Previously on Antiques Roadshow: Vampire Edition: Victoria goes to Italy to inspect some vampire happenings, Max is acting squirrelly, there’s some shit about some vampires trying to get a hold of A MAGICAL ITEM that will enable them to rule the world, Victoria and Sebastian argue and make out a lot, and Max does something really, really bad.

And now: Victoria acquires more responsibility and drama than she could ever handle, Max comes out of his funk still brooding and growly, Victoria’s mom and her cronies descend upon Italy to provide hilarity and shenanigans, Victoria and Sebastian argue and make out a lot, those damn vampires are still trying to get a hold of A MAGICAL ITEM that will enable them to rule the world, Victoria starts looking at Max in a totally different light (tramp!), we find out something about Sebastian that I already totally called from Book 1, AND Max has to make A VERY BIG DECISION that will change his life forevah. Oh, and Victoria is still crying and moaning about Philip even though she now has a stable of mens to worry about. Jesus, girl, shake the dwelling and get over it!

Do I gotta warn you people about spoilers?

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Bam,

Someone recently asked me if I was enjoying maternity leave. I’m supposed to enjoy sleepless nights and the inability to nap when the baby naps (that’s what they tell you to do so that you don’t completely lose your mind) since I have twins that need my attention during the day as well? Before you call Child Protection Services on me, note that I adore my little Handsome Pants. And the girls are…warming up to him. Thank goodness! But I didn’t write you just to lament that my time off isn’t being spent blissfully sleeping and catching up on television. Know what I do during the 3 a.m. feeding? Read! Yep, HP rests on my left forearm, which is the hand that holds the book, while the right holds the bottle. I need some more books. I also need time to write reviews of said books. With that in mind, I read Nalini Singh’s Mine to Possess.

For those of you who haven’t read Slave to Sensation (or any of the other books in the Psy/Changeling series), please note that while Nalini does a commendable job of briefly tying in previous plots and characters without completely retelling, this series builds on itself. The Psy/Changeling world is a complex place, with extremely well fleshed-out personalities and significant plot lines that tie in from the prior novels. If you haven’t read the previous books in the series, you are missing out on great writing, great romance, great fantasy and great world-building, which make each pass in the Psy/Changeling world more interesting and exciting. Nalini has an ability to write (at current count) four books that do not repeat each other in terms of plot, tension or characterization. For that alone, I think it’s worth reading each of these books.

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Teddy Pig, who does a great line in - well, great lines, described this book as ‘Regency Gayness in Space’. And I couldn’t put it better myself. And before I go any further - I can’t hold it back - I liked this book.

Ok …. rewind.

The Cover

I don’t generally like mantitty covers, but…. this is a mantitty cover with hair. And I’m already officially on record as liking moustaches [Bam: Grody!]. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I’m partial to a hairy chest. Yes, I likes me the hirsute fellows.

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