Tagged OMEGA OBJECTION

Why Write Sexy? High Heat in Genre Fiction (Important for Authors)

Posted by Gail Carriger

 4 Comments

I’ve written books that fall all across the spectrum.

No, not that spectrum.

I’m talking about sex scenes here.

The 5th Gender, is sexy, Gentle Reader. It has a high heat level. Not all of my books do. They range with regards to how explicit they are. The Finishing School is at one end with a tiny bit of smooching, while the San Andreas books are at the other, in which everything is blue, including language and (occasionally) balls.

Most of my stuff falls somewhere in the middle. I enjoy writing a delicate sex scenes, ones where I challenge myself else not to name any parts but to simply allude to the the act euphemistically (many of the adult Parasolverse books) as much as a dirty one.

Here’s the thing.

I’m never asked why I don’t include sex in a book, but I sure am asked (or complained at) every time I do put it in.

How much? How sexy is this one? Is it appropriate for…. X?

Since I’ve made no bones (or should I say boners?) about the fact that I find the nookie parts challenging to scribble, the real question is…

Why write sexy books?

I write kissing books. I also write more-than-just kissing books. I write hot sexy explicit sexy AF books.

Want to know why?

Get ready, it’s flouncing time.

Imma gonna flounce all over this!

Gail Commences A Major Flounce!

  1. I write sexy because I believe fiction writers have a responsibility to culture. I consider it my duty to glorify different types of healthy adult sexual interaction.
  2. I write sexy because violence in fiction is lauded, revered, awarded, and magnified while sensuality, pleasure, joy, and humor are not and that’s wrong.
  3. I write sexy because conversation between characters about sex is hot and needs representation in fiction. Because we should all talk about desire with our lovers and learn what we want and how to articulate it.
  4. I write sexy because most of my readers are women, and women need models of female characters knowing, asking, and communicating their sexual needs.
  5. I write sexy because I want to show lovers in heterosexual relationships that the man should not be expected to read the woman’s mind about what she wants. That’s profoundly unfair.
  6. I write sexy because I want to show lovers in homosexual and queer relationships that they don’t have to model their dynamic of sex or love on heterosexual norms.
  7. I write sexy because someone has to write love scenes where who’s in charge and who’s in control and who’s the dominant partner defies cultural expectations.
  8. I write sexy because fiction has the power to show that passion can be the big guy on the bottom, or the femme on top, or the extrovert being emphatic, or a desire being voiced without mockery.
  9. I write sexy because to do any of this I have to write (at least some) explicit sex. Because it’s hot. Oh yeah, and because I want to. So there.

I dare you to try it.

No seriously. You know what’s easy to write? Fighting. Violence. Action. It’s easy and it’s lazy. Try writing a hot, unpredictable, emotion-packed, sex scene. Try writing a funny poignant one. Go on. I dare you. Every writer reading this right now. I. Dare. You.

(Flouncing done now.)

If you want me to talk more explicitly about writing sexy and how why I chose it for my own books, it do that in this video at TS 39.16 in.

The four books I reference in this Video:

images of YA versus not YA

Crudrat (YA no sex at all) vs 5th Gender (explicit gay-ish); Finishing School (YA bit of kissing) vs Poison or Protect (explicit het femme domme) 

A Breakdown of My Books By Heat Level

Is this a kissing book?

Crudrat (YA) ~ Nothing sexy at all, probably kissing in the (eventual) second book.

The Finishing School series (YA) ~ Some kissing in the later books, interracial het relationship, no marriage.

Wait, am I reading a romance novel?

The Parasol Protectorate series ~ Sex is discussed but not in detail, we follow characters into bedroom but no parts are named, het main relationship with some bisexual and homosexual flirtation.

Supernatural Society ~ Sex is discussed and alluded to exactly as in the Parasol Protectorate above, but the relationships are all queer.

The Custard Protocol ~ Sex is discussed somewhat in detail using Victorian terms, characters are flirty and followed into the bedroom both heterosexual and homosexual and in between.

Getting jiggy with it.

Claw & Courtship ~ Heat levels range, but mostly similar to Custard Protocol, slightly explicit with parts named. Relationships are heterosexual but emphasis is on female sexual agency and choice, slightly kinky twists on a vanilla dynamic.

Delightfully Deadly ~ Mostly heterosexual relationships, sex act is described, female character has agency and choice. Some have little to no explicit sex, or the door is “closed on the couple.” Intended to explore feminist approaches to traditional romance writing (from a true Domme, to a self aware woman who actually just wants to marry, to an older/plump woman finding love).

All the things! As G. L. CARRIGER

The 5th Gender ~ Explicit queer sex, gentle relationships, humor, a bit of hentai (just a bit), complex notions of gender and sexuality and self-definition.

San Andreas Shifters ~ Explicit queer sex and bad language involving complicated sometimes broken men. Mostly gay, includes models of healthy poly, BDSM, bisexual, and other queer sexualities. Explores flipped dynamics such as true switches, gay verse, big guy bottoms, alpha subs, power play, etc…

Which book does Gail think is sexiest?

Want someone analyzing my sex scenes?

Poison or Protect: or Doing Sex Scenes Correctly by Robert Mitchell Evans

As always, you don’t have to take my word for it…

Weekly Book Recs?

If you want weekly book recommendations from me (or to suggest books to me) I participate in #bookrecfriday on Twitter & Facebook.

Yes I often suggest sexy stuff. You can too. It’s OK.

If you want to know whenever I post a review, follow me on BookBub or Goodreads.

Yours in sexy-times,

Miss Gail

  • Did you want more book recs and behind the scenes info? This stuff goes to my Chirrup members, because I love them bestest. Sign up here.
  • Not into newsletters? Get only new releases by following Gail on Amazon or BookBub!

OUT NOW!

The 5th Gender (A Tinkered Stars Mystery as G. L. Carriger).

Amazon | Elsewhere | Direct from Gail
Audio is coming. 

Sci-fi queer romance meets cozy mystery in which a hot space station cop meets the most adorable purple alien ever (lavender, pulease!) from a race with 5 genders.

UPCOMING SCRIBBLES

  • Reticence, The 4th and final Custard Protocol book. Aug 6, 2019
  • Fan Service Omnibus (SOLD OUT), Oct 2019 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Soulless.
  • Need to know what Gail is writing right now? That’s in the Chirrup.

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

The Queen Date August, 1873

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

The Allusionist podcasts about Polari (the coded languages of the queer community)
Also covers some of the history of queer culture, including that in the Victorian era.

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

“Each morning my characters greet me with misty faces willing, though chilled, to muster for another day’s progress through the dazzling quicksand the marsh of blank paper.”

~ John Updike

Book News:

Quick note to say you can now get any of my books signed from Borderlands Books in San Francisco. I’ll be back again when Reticence launches, August 6, so if you want THAT book signed (and dedicated) now is the time to put in a preorder using the SIGNED button below the book.

Just email them to coordinate which one and shipping.

Now, lets talk

Quote of the Day:

Your Moment of Gail

 

“I suspect it may be like the difference between a drinker and an alcoholic; the one merely reads books, the other needs books to make it through the day.”

(Interview with The Booklovers blog, September 2010)” ~ Gail Carriger

Questions about Gail’s Parasolverse? Wiki that sheez!

Researching Gender Fluidity & Representing it in Fiction – The 5th Gender by Gail Carriger (Custard Protocol, San Andreas Shifters & Tinkered Stars Behind the Magic)

Posted by Gail Carriger

 3 Comments

Note: This resource is ongoing & updated, if a link doesn’t work or if you have other resources to offer (remember this is for fiction writers) please leave a comment. 

I’ll be honest, Gentle Reader, I wrote The 5th Gender, basically, in the space of one week without internet. So while I was writing it. I just let it come…

So to speak.

In it, I’m dealing heavily with a completely alien culture.

I wanted to represent Tris and his people as very different from humans in every way. That includes modern approaches to gender identity, but isn’t limited to them. I should add it’s not a utopia either. Like any culture the galoi have some positives and some negatives about their society.

Part of my reasons for doing this is the profound neglect early science fiction writers (particularly those of my youth) had for social structure.

SF is eager to embrace a future with advanced technology but frankly poor at conceiving how culture might change. When, in fact, social structure, languages, identities, syntax, and definitions shift almost as quickly (if not more so) than technology.

Before you jump down my throat:

Yes there are good examples of this kind of sci-fi, but statistically they’re the outliers not the norm.

You’ll have to read The 5th Gender to find out the complexities in biology, identity, personality, socialization, and restrictions that surround Tris and his people, the galoi. It’s part of the story. Tristol’s human lover, Drey, has a journey of discovery throughout the book that ties the murder mystery to the galoi social structure.

I don’t want to spoil anything so I’m not going into detail as to how I am playing with these concepts in the context of an alien culture.  But that doesn’t mean I didn’t do research into modern human society in order to be aware of the now when dabbling in the future.

I’ve dated, loved, and grown up with gender fluid lovelies. But I don’t identify as gender fluid myself, and I’m an academic so… research!

Gender Fluidity Research

Here is a sample (updated and ongoing)…

Lists & Books

Historical & Anthropological

A quick word on gender and sexual fluidity in the historical record:

Without question historically verified presence of homosexual and gender fluid individuals exists in the past (and this archaeologists will FIGHT YOU WITH SCIENCE on this matter), but pan, bi, ace, grey, and queer+ are really hard to trace in the distant past and archaeology-only record. No doubt they were there, but it’s difficult to see given the imposition of researcher bias, physical preservation, nationalist agendas, and so forth. (I’m looking at you, Egypt. “Tomb of Two Brothers” my arse.)

Modern Reports

Podcasts

Further Fiction Reading: Gender Fluidity & Varied Sexual Identities (The 5th Gender – Special Extras)

Follow these wonderful humans!

Fantastic own voices and fashion bloggers:

Timeless and a 1930s Egyptian Revival teacup from my collection.

In the Parasolverse

MADAME LEFOUX/GENEVIEVE/VIEVE

I’ve blogged about Madame Lefoux extensively elsewhere, which is why I’m not addressing her in depth here. If you want a modern definition for her, I would call her a gender fluid butch lesbian. Her preference is for women, and she identifies as a woman, with a performative aspect to her masculine attire, so perhaps she might also identify with drag king on occasion?

Genevieve & Imogene by Ace Artemis Fanartist

Here be spoilers for Custard Protocol, skip to next section if you aren’t caught up on Competence.

ANITRA

Anitra is first introduced as a child in Timeless.

  • Anitra’s drifter parents refer to her as female. She’s gender identified as female by Alexia, but remember that Victorian children during this time period are already dressed and thought of with a kind-of gender amorphia.
  • Later Anitra is identified by Rodrigo as aravani. This is a word he picked up on his travels, probably on a mission to kill someone, it sort-of correlates to third gender.
  • However, Anitra identifies herself as a woman. She was raised within Drifter culture – that culture is essentially binary but in an opt-in way. (Remember Ay from Imprudence who tried to marry Primrose had a male identity. And yes, Ay’s brief appearance was absolutely a foreshadow for Anitra’s reveal in Competence.)
  • Anitra eventually ends up marrying (and reforming) Rodrigo Tarabotti. As is often the case, questions pour in about Rodrigo and his sexual identity as a result.
  • Under modern terminology: Rodrigo would likely identify as pan.

PRETERNATURALS

A brief segue into sexual fluidity (I KNOW it’s not the same thing as gender fluidity, but I’m forestalling questions). It is cannon in the Parasolverse that preternaturals are all pan, or at least bisexual. Alexia, Alessandro, Rodrigo, and… others. Why? Because it’s my universe and I WANNA. So there.

Seriously though? It ties into my thoughts on the fluidity and adaptive state of being soulless. Preternaturals are simultaneously very stiff and ridged in their emotions – practical and pragmatic, but also fluid in their morality and ability to adapt and change, not just in what they think is wrong or right, but what they think is hot. They are… flexible. It is the nature of their bond with the universe. They’re born this way.

(And for those of you who are wondering, at this juncture, if my use of the term progressive to define the political parties who accept the supernatural element in British society as a reference to the acceptance of queers… OF COURSE that’s what I’m doing. Sheesh.)

In the San Andreas Shifter books

MANA

Mana, of course, required a bit of both the present and the past. (Mana = Manifest Destiny is a long lived kitsune drag queen in the San Andreas Shifter series.) She is trapped in an immortal body that repairs itself and cannot be changed. For someone born with male biological sex characteristics who identifies as female, that’s an intense burden. I believe, however, at this stage in her long life, Mana is comfortable in her own skin, even if it’s not the one she’d choose if she had the option.

You see Mana is very old and has lived in many places and times which has given her iron backbone and the ability resist perception while accepting what she cannot change.

Mana owns to the moniker drag queen because she feels an affinity to that identity in this time and place. I think her drag queen name, Manifest Destiny, is one one of irony and sublime confidence. She’s also sexually active and a dominant who is comfortable with her birth anatomy. Her lover, who identifies as a straight male, sees her as wholly female.

I’ve had a bit of a confusion from readers in how to reconcile this.

I’ll put it graphically.

Is a woman who happens to have a cock and use it (whether biological or strap on) any less a woman?

Is a straight man who likes to be pegged by his girlfriend any less straight?

Perception is a tricky beast.

Humans are complex, and complicated, and wonderful.

THE KITSUNE

Kitsune are tricksters and meddlers, wise but not entirely to be trusted. I’ve always written my immortals as capricious, possibly because I grew up with an over abundance of Greek mythology.

It is interesting to think about what immortality would ACTUALLY do to the psyche.

  • To watch everyone you love die?
  • To watch humans make the same mistakes over and over again?
  • To know humans as prey and to think of them as inferior?

This too effects identity, gender, sexuality, and beyond.

Mana is MANY things as well as gender fluid. She is power and unity and grace. She is the grey space and she embodies it. She embraces all parts of herself without care to what others may think. Especially not what piddly humans might think.

“She’d managed to shift from fox to human without anyone the wiser and was back to being fully clothed and entirely made up in a way that Isaac suspected had something to do with savage mage-craft because no one could just shift into false eyelashes like that. No one.”
~ The Omega Objection

The Omega Objection San Andreas Shifters

Also, here’s a fun little hint… pay werry werry close attention to Mana’s 3rd Form. For Kitsune, it’s all about the tails.

Final Thoughts

Before you ask, yes, I had Mana, Anitra & all of The 5th Gender read for sensitivity by self-identified gender fluid delicacy readers. Everyone, however, experiences gender differently whether now, in the past, or in the future. Time is, after all, also fluid.

My characters are written as individual examples unique to themselves, not as judgmental models of behavior.

I’m hoping they broaden readers minds, optimism, and willingness to accept all the glorious possibilities life has to offer us without constraint. I want to offer possibilities, not dictate certainties. Fluidity in all things… if you would.

Also, seriously, check this out…

Yours (trying to be better with pronouns),

Miss Gail

Other posts in this series

Queering-Up Genre One Akeldama at a Time ~ Why Gail Carriger Writes LGBT Characters (Important for Authors)

Queer Characters? Blame Mercedes Lackey, Behind The Supernatural Society (Special Extras)

 

  • Want more behind the scenes info? This stuff goes to my Chirrup members, because I love them bestest. Sign up here.
  • Not into newsletters? Get only new releases by following Gail on Amazon or BookBub!

OUT NOW!

The 5th Gender (A Tinkered Stars Mystery as G. L. Carriger).

Amazon | Elsewhere | Direct from Gail
Audio is coming. 

Sci-fi queer romance meets cozy mystery in which a hot space station cop meets the most adorable purple alien ever (lavender, pulease!) from a race with 5 genders.

UPCOMING SCRIBBLES

  • Reticence, The 4th and final Custard Protocol book. August 6, 2019
  • Fan Service Omnibus, October 2019 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Soulless.
  • Need to know what Gail is writing right now? That’s in the Chirrup.

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

Peterson’s Magazine Date July, 1871

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

How to Pickle a Peach

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

“It takes a heap of sense to write good nonsense”

~ Mark Twain

Book News:

“He tasted like starlight: cool and bright and impossible.”

~ Alexis Hall, Pansies

Quote of the Day:

My cat Rex had the following theory: “If it falls from above, eat it, you can always barf it up later.” He was very fat. And possibly a flerken.

~ Self on Twitter

Your Moment of Gail

 

“I suspect it may be like the difference between a drinker and an alcoholic; the one merely reads books, the other needs books to make it through the day.”

(Interview with The Booklovers blog, September 2010)” ~ Gail Carriger

Questions about Gail’s Parasolverse? Wiki that sheez!

“You didn’t want to come out to them?”
“I didn’t.”
“Nice to be bi.”
“Easy to be invisible. Not quite the same thing.”
~ The Omega Objection by G.L. Carriger

The Omega Objection Out In Audio At Last! San Andreas Shifters Announcement

Posted by Gail Carriger

 

The Omega Objection is available in audio at last!

*Insert wild cheering here.*

A werewolf walks into a bar, and falls in love with a man who has no smell.

Amazon | Audible | iTunes

Isaac Mercer has three problems – a werewolf crush, an angry stalker, and a secret past.

The narrator is Kirt Graves, same as The Sumage Solution.

This audiobook took much longer than expected.

  • First Kirt was sick.
  • Then Amazon’s audiobook department, ACX, kicked it back.
  • Audio, always a nightmare to produce.

But it’s out at last!

Here is a sample!

I do hope you enjoy it.

Did you know you can listen to samples of all my independently produced audiobooks?

Coming next in audio? The 5th Gender

Yours in near constant battle with vendors over something or another,

Miss Gail

  • Did you miss this release announcement, it went out on Saturday? This kind of thing goes to my Chirrup members, because I love them bestest. Sign up here.
  • Not into newsletters? Get only new releases by following Gail on Amazon or BookBub!

OUT NEXT!

The 5th Gender (A Tinkered Stars Mystery as G. L. Carriger).

Preorder on Amazon | Elsewhere | Direct from Gail
Audio is coming. 

Sci-fi queer romance meets cozy mystery in which a hot space station cop meets the most adorable purple alien ever (lavender, pulease!) from a race with 5 genders.

UPCOMING SCRIBBLES

  • Reticence, The 4th and final Custard Protocol book. Aug 6, 2019
  • Fan Service Omnibus (sold out), Oct 2019 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Soulless.
  • Need to know what Gail is writing right now? That’s in the Chirrup.

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

Ladies’ Friend June, 1870

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

Kid Food-British Style

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

The Amazon Conundrum (AKA Why Some of My Books Are in Kindle Unlimited and Most Are Not)

Book News:

The Books That Turned Us On To Romance 

Quote of the Day:

Most things can be solved with tea.
Except decapitation.
And even then I’d give it a go.

~ Self on Twitter

Your Moment of Gail

 

“I suspect it may be like the difference between a drinker and an alcoholic; the one merely reads books, the other needs books to make it through the day.”

(Interview with The Booklovers blog, September 2010)” ~ Gail Carriger

Questions about Gail’s Parasolverse? Wiki that sheez!

Visual Inspiration for Characters! Tank, Isaac, Gladiola (The Omega Objection Special Extras)

Posted by Gail Carriger

 

In honor of The Omega Objection I’ve release a few more Pinterest boards. If you are interested in what characters look like in my head, Gentle Reader, then check these out.

However, you can picture them in your head any which way you like!

I’m not precious about this, you know that.

Gladiola

Gladdy was in the last book and she’s in this one too, slightly bigger role. But I kind of adore her, so here’s her Pinterest board.

Isaac

Isaac is a main POV and cover character in The Omega Objection. He has a very complicated and interesting background, which comes to light during the course of the book. He looks like this in my head…

Tank

Oh Tank, how I adore you. Such a big sweet softie. Tank is the existing member of the San Andreas Pack who is the other POV character for this book. He’s a big old push over, or is he? Here’s what he looks like in my head…

“You didn’t want to come out to them?”
“I didn’t.”
“Nice to be bi.”
“Easy to be invisible. Not quite the same thing.”
~ The Omega Objection by G.L. Carriger

Yours etc,

Miss Gail

OUT NOW!

The Omega Objection San Andreas Shifters

Amazon | Kobo | B&N | iBooks
Direct from Gail

 “The omnivore shifters had learned early on that a werewolf gathering was not to be trusted on the subject of vegetables. Gladdy and her crew always came with vegans in tow. They lived in the East Bay, after all. But it meant lots of bowls of grains, and grasses, and garbanzos and such. Vegetables were messy. Tank didn’t mind, but most werewolves found vegans innately suspicious. It had taken the pack a while to accept that the kitsune came bearing tofu. Tofu was not to be trusted on principal.”
~ The Omega Objection  by G.L. Carriger

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

A Halloween Tea Party for Unmarried Victorian Ladies

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

What A Year Of Self-Publishing Taught Me

Book News:

Sigheag, spotted by a fan at Ikea.

Quote of the Day:

“Do you want the dragon or the gargoyle?”
“That sounds like my dating scene.”

~ Overheard in Borderlands Books, from their awesome occasional blog

Questions about Gail’s Parasolverse? Wiki that sheez!

Gail Reveals Secrets About Cover Art, Book Titles, & The Omega Objection (Video Q&A)

Posted by Gail Carriger

 2 Comments

In my most recent video, I talk about my latest book, The Omega Objection, plus cover art secrets, coming up with book titles, and more!

IN THIS VIDEO

  • I make tea in my office.
  • All about covers, traditional versus indie, stock art, finding models and photographers. Which one is my favorite?
  • All about titles, how do I come up with book titles, series titles, and more.
  • How are the narrators chosen for my audiobooks? Which one do I recommend to reluctant listeners?
  • Why do books cost so much in certain parts of the world?
  • What is my Meyers Briggs?
  • My biggest markets outside the USA.
  • Any short stories? Is this a trend? How do I feel about them?
  • My favorite of my characters.
  • What kind of British accent do I like best?
  • Hints about Reticence.
  • The 5th Gender by G. L. Carriger with be the next release in the spring.

Percy & Footnote Fanart by Desiree Schwartz

LINKS OF INTEREST

Models in Dark Garden & Even Butterfield Photographer used for cover art.

My cover art designer, Starla.

Want more on how I think about covers?

Why Designers Love The Ampersand

Order signed editions of any of my books using the signed button on that book’s page on my website.

Tips for getting over writer’s block.

Linked information and sneaks peeks in the Chirrup.

Dress in the video

GAIL’S OUTFIT

Eye makeup done using the amazing Vamp Stamp.

Retro Rack: Gail’s Makeup Routine

Turquoise dress from eShakti, necklace from Gail’s grandma.

Want more of me blogging about cover art? Here is this blog post where I get very snippy about it and it’s purpose in life.

Cover Art & Its Purpose in Life (Important for Writers)

Hope you enjoyed the video!

Yours,

Miss Gail

OUT NOW!

Amazon | Kobo | B&N | iBooks
Direct from Gail

Can a gentle giant with a trampled heart
show a man who’s been running all his life that
sometimes there are monsters worth running towards?

UPCOMING SCRIBBLES

  • The 5th Gender (a Tinkered Stars sci-fi under the G. L. Carriger pen name). No links as yet, wait for it…
  • Reticence, The 4th and final Custard Protocol book. Summer 2019
  • Secret Project Ommm, coming October 2019 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Soulless.
  • Need to know more about what Gail is writing right now? That’s in the Chirrup.

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

Mourning Ensemble 1880s The Mint Museum

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

A Parisian Dog Arrested for Theft

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

Paddington’s Marmalade

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

“At the end of all this being-determined-to-be-a-jack-of-all-trades, I think I’m better off just sitting down and putting a hundred thousand words in a cunning order.”

~ Douglas Adams

Book News:

23 Of The Best Fantasy Book Series for Adults (guess which made the list?)

Quote of the Day:

Questions about Gail’s Parasolverse? Wiki that sheez!

How to Make Isaac’s Open Faced Omelet (Omega Objection Special Extras)

Posted by Gail Carriger

 

How to make Isaac’s open faced omelet. (It’s kinda like a skinny frittata.)

NOM!

In the middle of The Omega Objection the main character, Isaac, pauses his frantic escape from Enemies Unknown, to make his dear friend Clara an open-faced omelet.

Because everything stops for food in my books.

I thought you all would like the recipe!

Isaac’s Open Faced Omelet

What You Need

  • Veggies of your choice
  • Cheese of your choice
  • Eggs (at least 3)
  • Optional milk or heavy cream
  • Herbs (yummy ones)
  • Oven safe skillet

How to Cook

  1. Quickly sauté the veggies in butter or oil and any dry spices until they are cooked the way you like them. You can also use pre-cooked meat. Avoid watery veggies (like tomatoes) and if you choose mushrooms, cook them all the way through extruding and reabsorbing their moisture.
  2. Remove and put aside.
  3. Beat the eggs together with milk/cream (if you like them that way) and small amounts of any wet ingredients (mustard, Worcestershire, hot sauce).
  4. Turn the boiler on. If not a separate part of your oven, put the oven shelf as close as you can up to the top flames/heating elements.
  5. Melt butter or oil in the pan on med-low heat. Pour in the egg mixture. Let cook until it begins to thicken on the bottom.
  6. Wrinkle the eggs in the middle of the pan by pushing through so the still runny egg on top, leaks down and gets a chance to cook. Keep doing this until there is only a thin layer of liquid egg left on the top.
  7. Sprinkle all the vegetables in an even layer into this last liquid bit.
  8. Add the cheese on top in an even layer.
  9. Place under the hot grill/broiler for a few minutes, checking regularly until cheese is browned and bubbly and eggs have puffed up.
  10. Removed, serve instantly and enjoy!

Some combos Gail likes…

The welsh rarebit: rosemary, smoked paprika, garlic, Worcestershire, and mustard for spices, paired with sharp aged cheddar. (I often do this one with squash and onion.)

Oh la French: tarragon, white pepper, onion powder for spices, gruyere for cheese. Great with leeks and small diced potatoes.

Gone stuffing: thyme, black pepper, celery seed, and bouillon sprinkle for spices, paired with mild cheese of choice. Good with a mirepoix, left over roast of any kind, including roasted root veg.

Mediterranean: basil & oregano & dried tomato for spices, feta for cheese. Olives & bell peppers & cooked (squeezed) spinach are nice with this one.

Mexican sensation: cumin & oregano & chili for spices, jack for cheese. Fajita filling with salsa and guac on top.

I use this recipe a lot for next day party recovery. It’s a great way to use up leftovers from the night before and a fast way to feed lots of people. I prefer it to regular omelets because… crispy cheese!

Your,

Miss Gail

OUT NOW!

The Omega Objection San Andreas Shifters

Amazon | Kobo | B&N | iBooks
Direct from Gail

He has no smell, he is popular with werewolves, and he is terrified.

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

The two sides of the Soulless mug on Zazzle. 

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

Hair Tutorial: A Basic Game of Thrones or Fantasy Hairstyle

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

Little Free Library creator Todd Bol dies

Book News:

Banter Banter Banter Dirigibles – Soulless gets a shout out

Quote of the Day:

“It’s amazing how the more you read, the less you know.”

~ Anna Breslaw

Questions about Gail’s Parasolverse? Wiki that sheez!

Drinks for Shifters (San Andreas Special Extras)

Posted by Gail Carriger

 2 Comments

Isaac, the main character in my new San Andreas Shifter book, The Omega Objection, is a bartender. Thus the meat cute and various other scenes in this book all occur inside a club named Saucebox, and the bar caters to shifters.

Oh did I have fun creating drinks for different shifter species.

Here’s an example of a few that ended up actually appearing in The Omega Objection.

Kitsune

Omnivore Special. Hot sake mixed with tuna water and wheat grass.

Mermaids

When they aren’t doing shots of high quality garum, they like Pearl of the Sea cocktails. Rum, anchovy syrup, clam juice, finished with a splash of Worcestershire sauce and a pickled onion wrapped in nori for garnish.

And now, I really am hoping you come up with other suggestions!

Yours as always,

Miss Gail

OUT NOW!

The Omega Objection San Andreas Shifters

Amazon | Kobo | B&N | iBooks
Direct from Gail

Isaac Mercer has three problems – a werewolf, a stalker, and a secret past.

UPCOMING SCRIBBLES

  • The 5th Gender (a tinkered stars sci-fi under the G. L. Carriger pen name). No links as yet, wait for it…
  • Secret Project Ommm, coming October 2019 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Soulless.
  • Need to know more about what Gail is writing right now? That’s in the Chirrup.

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

“Accidental Wes Anderson” Finds Immaculate Composition In Everyday Life

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

Why I Reread THE PERILOUS GARD

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

Marketing Advice Roundup: Best of the Last Year

Book News:

Gail Carriger’s Favorite Historically Set Fantasy Novels

Quote of the Day:

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before tweets…

“To All The Boys Tweets I Liked
To All the Gays I’ve Never Killed in My Books
You’re welcome”

~ Malinda Lo

“To All The Boys Who Have A Three Part Question, Well Really It’s More Of A Comment”

~ rachel syme

“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before But They Had No Idea Because My Idea of Flirting Is Debating Them About Politics and Giving Them Book Recommendations.”

~ (@NoelJnks)

“If I wrote a memoir about moving with my library, it would be called To Haul the Books I’ve Loved Before.”

~ @MissLiberty

“to all the boys i’ve loved before:
i date girls now.”

~ Chelsea Nachman

Gail’s contribution?

To all the boys who list Fight Cub as “favorite movie” and Vonnegut as “favorite author.” Sigh.

But seriously folks, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before is on Netflix and it’s adorable.

Questions about Gail’s Parasolverse? Wiki that sheez!

The Omega Objection Sample Scene (Special Extras – San Andreas Shifters)

Posted by Gail Carriger

 5 Comments

If you, Gentle Reader, are excited about the up coming The Omega Objection, then here is a sneak peek!

Omega Objection Sample

As always with these books, mind the sexi-times and blue language.

I trust in your own discretion to skip the bits that offend, or you know, not bother to read it at all. It’s OK, you don’t have to tell me about either decision. I trust you to take care of yourself in this matter. Honest.

The Omega Objection comes out next month!

Here is your sample…

Wait, what am I about to read?

NYT bestseller Gail Carriger, writing as G. L. Carriger, relays what happens when a werewolf walks into a bar and falls in love with a man who has no smell.

* Language warning yadda yadda. *

CHAPTER ONE

Saucebox

“What do you mean you didn’t sleep with him? You’ve been chasing his tail for six months. You got cold pussy at the last minute?” Isaac stared in awe at his friend.

“Isaac! Don’t be crass.”

“Babycakes, I’m always crass and you love me for it.”

Clara giggled and bumped against him. “I totally do.” Her eyes were big and worshipful on his face. It was only a little creepy.

Clara was human, so she didn’t understand why she liked Isaac so much. Isaac had learned not to mind. It wasn’t him, it was what he was and he couldn’t do anything about it, so he might as well enjoy the results.

“You going to tell me why you turned him down after weeks of flirting?” Isaac adored contrary women. He didn’t want his cock near them, of course, but he loved to talk about their sex lives. Mysterious alien creatures that they were.

Clara rolled her eyes and looked cagey. “Well…”

Isaac perked up. That meant there was something seriously wrong with the dude. All this time trying to get him into bed and what? “Ooo, lemme guess. He kisses like a dead fish? He’s kinky in a bad way? Smells wrong?”

Okay, maybe not that last one. Humans didn’t seem to care as much about smell as Isaac did.

Clara laughed. “Sugar, you have no idea. He’s got this—” She stopped in her tracks (and mid-explanation) and stood frozen on the busy sidewalk. Her big blue eyes were wide and staring at the club. They were across the street from Saucebox, the sacred space where Isaac and Clara practiced their nightly ritual of group counseling, liquid courage, and interpretive dance. Otherwise known as bartending.

Clara and Isaac were two of San Francisco’s best and most popular bartenders.

It’s not arrogance if it’s the truth.

Clara was clearly distracted by something very shiny. “Oh, my heavens, would you look at the new bouncer?”

Isaac laughed. “You going to put a hand to your head and faint?”

“Land’s sake!” Clara always stepped up to play her part if given the right cue. “Stop looking at me, honey-child. Look at him. Does he bat for my team or yours? Oh, please say he’s straight.”

Isaac squinted across the street. “Can’t tell at this distance.”

Clara gave him an incredulous look. “You’re joking. You could stand on the top of the Empire State Building and ID every gay man in New York City.”

Isaac grinned at her. “I’d sure try.”

“With your spit.”

“Can you think of a better gay litmus test?”

They wove their way through the mostly stopped traffic. Stopped not for the bouncer, but because it was San Francisco. Such ruthless jaywalking made Isaac feel like he belonged in the city.

“Holy shit.” Isaac finally got a good look at the bouncer of questionable sexual orientation. “We are in so much trouble.”

“I know, right?”

Isaac had been against the idea from the start. Having a mingle-with-shifters event at Saucebox might prove profitable, but it was asking for trouble. Especially for him. Adding a bouncer who looking like that into the mix? Insanity.

“That’s what our boss thought would work to tame shifters? Is he crazy?” Isaac shook his head. “He’ll put most of them into heat.”

Clara glanced at him wide-eyed. “Oh, you think that’s how it works? Do you, human-boy?”

“No, but the way some of them behave around specimens like that…” Isaac let himself trail off suggestively.

“Or specimens like you?”

“It’ll be ten times worse around that mountain demigod come down from Olympus to bean us with his laurels.” Isaac tried to collect his scattered thoughts. It was going to be one hell of a long shift.

Their usual guy, Oscar, was also on the door. Oscar was a big friendly black dude, darker than Isaac but still apt to engage in those weird bonding things that humans did around race and gender. Isaac had learned, if not to appreciate it, at least to participate. Oscar wasn’t gay, but apparently, within the confines of co-worker status, that wasn’t as big a deal as it might have been under other social situations. They were both dudes. They were both black. They were both in San Francisco working for the same club. Thus, bonding.

Humans were weird. That would be like shifters bonding over fur color.

However, Isaac was making an effort to understand the species in general. After all, he’d chosen to live amongst them and until recently his skin color seemed to work not in his favor. As such, he considered learning to interface with Oscar as helping him with his transition.

Now, if only the new bouncer would just glance up at him, and…

Oh, just look at those eyes. Big, brown, and wicked.

Isaac’s inner wolf, who hadn’t paid attention to anything in a long time, picked up his metaphorical head in interest.

Isaac mentally slapped him. Down, boy!

Clara nudged him. “Ain’t that the most delicious hunk of brisket?” She always rediscovered her Southern roots when there was a super hot guy around.

Isaac swallowed on a suddenly dry throat. Delicious didn’t even begin to cover it. His wolf licked his chops.

Isaac knew, given what he was, that he should probably not have a thing for really big dudes. But that’s the problem with life, you can never control the thing that puberty gives you. Isaac had friends at the club who’d come into their maturity in the ‘80s and almost all of them had a thing for spandex. (For which there is no excuse. Except, of course, coming of age in the ‘80s.) Isaac, for whatever reason, had a thing for massive guys. Perhaps it was because he was a pretty big guy himself. Perhaps it was a latent revenge fantasy of wanting to take advantage of the very type of man that once made his life miserable.

The new bouncer was really fucking big. He was six and a half feet at least – all of that muscle. He had brown hair to go with the brown eyes, but with smooth, milky skin, like he didn’t see the sun often. If at all.

Isaac stopped paying attention to where he was putting his feet, and in one of his more graceless maneuvers, tripped over the uneven pavement and pitched forward right at the two bouncers guarding the door.

Huge strong hands caught him, and his world was all about a pair of thick-lashed chocolate eyes.

“Alright there?” Deep, mild voice, calm, and not easily riled by anything.

Isaac stared at the big man now holding him up and wanted to wreck him in the best possible way.

Those pretty eyes crinkled at the corners. “I hate it when the sidewalk jumps right up at me like that.” East Coast accent?

Those amazing hands steadied him back to his traitorous feet.

Isaac found his voice. “Bipedal motion has always been a problem for me.”

Big rough fingers cupped his jaw. “Yeah?” A thumb pad traced the bone under his cheek. “Ever considered trying out a quadruped?”

Isaac loosely registered Clara’s disappointed sigh behind him. Part envy, part resignation, part romantic drivel.

Well, there it is. He definitely plays for my team.

At which juncture, Isaac finally remembered to breathe. On his inhalation he smelled the man, started coughing, and freaked the fuck out.

Saucebox’s new bouncer smelled amazing – like warm brandy and lemon and nutmeg and freshly killed rabbit laid out at his feet for a courting gift which meant…

Werewolf.

His wolf, the idiot, was doing some kind of happy tail-chasing thing, which made his pulse flutter and his human self feel slightly woozy.

Isaac jerked away, still coughing, while simultaneously trying not to gag.

Clara slapped his back. “Oh sugar, you’re such a spaz.”

Isaac’s eyes watered. He carefully did not look at the new demigod-mountain-werewolf-dream-creature. Instead he caught Oscar staring at him like he’d grown a third arm.

“Oscar,” he said, on a wheeze.

Oscar grinned. “Isaac.”

Clara pushed forward and stuck her hand out at the new guy.

“Hi there, sugar, I’m Clara. This klutz here is Isaac. We’re your bartenders for this evening.”

The chocolate eyes finally left Isaac’s face. “Hello Clara, I’m Tank.” He was almost pretty in profile, if pretty was welded of steel and could crack long bones with his teeth.

Oscar explained what they already knew. He was like that. “Tank’s on board tonight to help with the boss’s little shifter experiment.”

Which totally made sense – hire a werewolf to deal with shifters. They basically specialize in group activities and busting chops. Except, of course, that there weren’t supposed to be any werewolves in the Bay Area. That was one of the reasons Isaac had moved to the place.

Tank was either a loner, which was dangerous, or part of a pack, which was really dangerous.

Involuntarily, Isaac jerked away from the man. He had to hope it wasn’t pack. His wolf whined and Isaac clamped down on the muscles in his human throat to stop it from leaking out.

Clara shook her head at Isaac, mouthed What on Earth is wrong with you? and then grabbed his hand and dragged him inside.

Isaac wanted to keep right on walking out the back door, into the alley, home to his shitty apartment where he would gather up his stuff and move on to a new city. One that really didn’t have any werewolves.

Instead, he allowed her to lead him through to the far side of the club. He waited until they were well out of earshot. Which he knew with werewolves was further away than humans expected – all the way inside, behind the bar.

“So, what’s a werewolf doing in the Bay Area?”

Clara gave him a funny look.

Oh shit, that was out of the blue. She wouldn’t have known Tank’s species. She couldn’t smell the wolf in him. Plus, Isaac never really asked about the shifter community. He was nice to them, and they adored him, but he tried hard not to be curious.

Isaac shrugged. “I figured that’s what he most likely is.”

“Did you?” Clara was a good friend ­­so she let him dig his own grave.

“You know, all big and hot and growly. Plus, the quadruped quip. Aren’t werewolves supposed to be like the fuzzy best?”

“Well, he certainly fits then. But gay? I’ve never heard of a gay werewolf. Have you?”

Isaac blinked. Well, yes, intimately. Me.

He avoided the question. “There’s never been a werewolf in Saucebox before. Not since I was hired on.” I would know.

Clara shrugged. “Wouldn’t be surprised if that means there weren’t any around ’til now. Then again, seems every shifter and his cousin comes in here eventually, always asking for you.” She paused her organizing of the mixers, gave him a head tilt of query. “Why is that?”

Isaac shrugged. “I’m a likable dude?”

It was one of the reasons their boss had decided on a mingle-with-the-shifters special for this evening. Since Xavier hired Isaac a couple months ago, more and more of the local shifters had started frequenting his club. At first it was just a barghest or two. Dogs always managed to track Isaac right away – proverbial tails wagging. Then the kitsune found him, because foxes turn up like bad pennies. They brought along drama, excitement, and junk food. Turns out those plastic-packaged powdered doughnuts at gas stations that Isaac thought no one ever ate… kitsune love them. They thought everyone else loved them too. Xavier put in a vending machine. Once the kitsune found Isaac and the doughnuts, well then everyone else came in to talk to him.

They didn’t know why.

They never knew why.

They couldn’t smell what he was, because Isaac had no scent. The ultimate protection. Isaac smelled human, because he lived with humans. On purpose. Or he smelled like the bar. Or he smelled like the city. But he never smelled like wolf. And didn’t have his own signature scent like all other shifters.

For a shifter to figure out what he really was? Well, that would take frequent exposure to werewolves. Like the one guarding the door right now, massive and gorgeous and giving him the occasional puzzled glance across the wide empty expanse of the still-closed club.

Run. Run run runrunrunrun. That was Isaac the human freaking out, not the wolf. The wolf lolled a tongue at him.

Isaac didn’t run, he started the nightly ritual of setting up his bar and resolved to ask the next kitsune he saw why the hell there was a werewolf in his city. Well, another werewolf, besides him.

In the meantime, he went back to quizzing Clara about her failed sex life.

So there it is, the opening scene, blue language an all. I hope that’s tempted you.

The Omega Objection, San Andreas Shifters #2 out Nov. 04, 2018.

PREORDER NOW

OUT NOV 4, 2018!

The Omega Objection San Andreas Shifters

Amazon | Kobo | B&N | iBooks
Direct from Gail

Can a gentle giant with a trampled heart
show a man who’s been running all his life that
sometimes there are monsters worth running towards?

UPCOMING SCRIBBLES

  • The 5th Gender (a tinkered stars sci-fi under the G. L. Carriger brand). No links as yet, wait for it…
  • Secret Project Ommm, coming October 2019 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Soulless.
  • Need to know more about what Gail is writing right now? That’s in the Chirrup.

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

A brief history of singular ‘they’

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

Tamora Pierce: ‘Everybody thinks fantasy is so safe. Are you kidding?’

Book News:

This puppy is on offer, one only, random drawing, to Chirrup members this month. Must subscribe before newsletter drops (first weekend of November).

Quote of the Day:

Questions about Gail’s Parasolverse? Wiki that sheez!

A Gail By Any Other Name Should “L” As Sweet

Posted by Gail Carriger

 

In which I put my new pen name up to the vote.

After some dithering and hemming and hawing, Gentle Reader I chose the new pen name G.L. Carriger for my upcoming urban fantasy, The Sumage Solution.

What you got in your inbox if you follow me on Amazon. You can also follow me on BookBub.

G. L. Carriger

I talk about why I felt I needed a changed name in this blog post: Why G. L. Carriger? On Pen Names, Cover Art & Reader Betrayal

The question then became:

What does the L stand for?

Because they had already had some chatter on the matter, I asked the Parasol Protectorate Facebook Group to weigh in first. I read through their suggestions and then I picked those I like best, based on meaning, cadence, feel when said between Gail and Carriger, and also memory. (Some names, for me, have negative associations.)

I chose Lovelace because of the wonderful Ada Lovelace, Lilac because it was my Grandmother’s favorite flower, Ladybird because I’m amused by the idea, and Libellus because it means little book in Latin.

Then I had Twitter vote on the finalists.

Then I asked my Facebook Page if they agreed. And mostly they did.

So the winner is…

Lovelace

So now whenever anyone asks me what the “L” stands for, that is what I will say.

Of relevance to this post: The Evolution of Female Pen-Names from Currer Bell to J.K. Rowling

{Gail’s monthly read along for May is Radiance by Grace Draven.}

UP NEXT

The Sumage Solution: San Andreas Shifters #1 by G. L. Carriger
Contemporary m/m paranormal romance featuring a snarky mage and a gruff werewolf. Hella raunchy. Super dirty. Very very fun. Spin off of Marine Biology.

Can a gentle werewolf heal the heart of a smart-mouthed mage?

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

Paris, 1900 (Source- pinterest.com) via fawnvelveteen tumblr

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

“Picking five favorite books is like picking the five body parts you’d most like not to lose.”

~ Neil Gaiman

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

Singular ‘They’ Now Acceptable

Book News:

What’s She Reading? says of Manners & Mutiny

“This book probably had more action than the first three (or it at least felt like it) and that’s not a bad thing. I really liked getting into Sophronia’s head and seeing all of the skills that she’d been learning at school come into play. It’s kind of hard to explain without spoiling anything, but it was really enjoyable to watch Sophronia strategize.”

Quote of the Day:

“Libraries will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no libraries.”

~ Anne Herbert

Questions about Gail’s steampunk world? There’s a wiki for that!
Share & Enjoy!

This is Why a New York Times Bestselling Author Changed Her Pen Name to G. L. Carriger: On Pseudonyms, Cover Art & Reader Betrayal (Important for Writers)

In this blog post I’m going to discuss why a bestselling author might chose a new pen name. It’s not for the reasons you think.

Why a bestselling author would change or pick a new her pen name

You may or may not have noticed, Gentle Reader, that my San Andreas Shifter books are written under the name…

G. L. Carriger

The Sumage Solution, is a big departure for me in content, style, and setting. OK, perhaps not that big. It’s still me, full of silliness and fun.

  • It’s urban fantasy, but it’s set in contemporary times, in America.
  • It has more sex than my other writing has in the past.
  • It’s certainly got worse language.


Amazon | B&N | Apple | Kobo

I dithered for a while about what to do about this. You see, I worry about reader betrayal… a lot.

Reader Betrayal

Reader betrayal can take many forms. At its root, it is that sensation one gets if the book you’re reading does something totally unexpected in a bad way. Like if a book you picked up thinking it was romance suddenly doesn’t have a happy ending.

Why does reader betrayal happen?

Well, it can be a flaw in story: you’re reading one thing when the author suddenly takes a dive and turns it into something else. That is the author’s fault. (This is what I call the “scream and hurl” scenario.) Or it can be a flaw in expectation, you thought it was one kind of book, despite the cover and blurb trying to tell you otherwise, and you read it anyway.

This book is a hilarious COMEDY fantasy gay romance. Betchya didn’t know that from the cover.

Far more common these days is visual marker caused betrayal. This means that you picked up the book expecting one thing because of the cover and then got something completely different from the words within.

Controlling these expectations is a serious business. It’s done many ways: visually through cover art (image & text), but also via author name, and cover copy/blurb and description. (There are also things that can’t really be controlled like algorithms offering “similar books you might like.”)

For example, if I showed you this cover:

You’d probably expect a dark gritty urban fantasy. Possibly noir tropes in use. If that’s the kind of thing you like, you might then take a look at the book description and decide to buy it.

But if I gave you this one:

You’d expect something else: upbeat, cheerful, youthful, pulp-ish.

  • Both covers are based off photos.
  • Both are single person images.
  • Both have saturated color use.
  • Both use san serif fonts

But the kind of image chosen, from dress to facial expression, and the tweaks then made to it, from color choice to the overlay of type, all tell you, the reader, something about what is inside.

You may not know exactly what you’re being told, or how to control your own response, but trust me, you’re reacting. The thing that worries a savvy author the most is NOT “does this cover depict what’s inside my book” but “does this cover accurately portray the spirit of my book?”

If you picked up Fairy Debt and did not get a fun little light hearted read about a fairy in silly times, you would be angry with me as the author. You would feel betrayed.

Why talk about covers when I should be discussing pen names?

Because most of the time, covers come first. Covers are the single most important thing when selling a book or establishing a brand as an author.

Initially.

After that, of course, it’s up to the author to pull the reader in and make them want more.

Which brings us to author name recognition.

After a certain point, if lucky, an author starts to accrue loyal readers.

  • These are the readers who write to say they love you. Who regularly leave book reviews.
  • Who vow to buy “anything you write.”
  • These readers follow an author’s newsletter (if really lucky) and get excited when a new book comes along.

These readers are you, eyeballs reading this blog post right now. I LOVE YOU.

You, Gentle Reader, know what to expect from me as an author because I have tried to give you something quite consistent over the last few years. Yes, it jumped around from YA to adult to novella, from espionage to romance to adventure, but the spirit of the Parasolverse has been unchanged.

Cover art plays into this too, keeping a theme going is pretty darn important. Here is how my traditional publishers did it across three series:

Here’s how I played with my own themes for my self-published stuff.

Romancing the Inventor

I kept the san serif font and the slashes from the first series. I kept a central figure (or figures).

  • Do you see the similarities, and to which books?
  • Can you understand why I might want to make some of the changes I did between my novels and my novellas? (Perhaps that is a whole other discussion if you’re interested.)

One of the things I’d encourage you to notice is that I made my name bigger than the title for the first time when I produced my own stuff.

Why I Made My Name BIGGER

When self-pubbing I’m banking on name recognition. Also, it’s more common in romance to up the font size for well known authors (and my novellas touch on romance more heavily). And, I do it because I’ve noticed over the years that male genre authors get this kind of name glorification a lot, while the rest of us, erm, do not. That gets my goat because it smacks pretty darn strongly of sexism.

So, why go through all this trouble to establish name recognition, only to change my name… slightly?

G. L. Carriger

Because we are back to the first part of this post: reader betrayal.

My new non-parasolverse m/m urban fantasy is just different enough for me to worry. Even knowing that I could give you a very different cover (which I have done) I worried that my name was now strong enough to sucker readers into expecting things: gentleness, steampunk, sweet romance, Victorian food & clothing.

I worried that if it says “by Gail Carriger” readers would expect exactly the kind of thing they had gotten from me before. The Sumage Solution is just different enough for readers to get mad at me. Not because I don’t write urban fantasy or paranormal romance well (this book is oodles of fun, it makes me so happy) but because it’s not what readers expected from Gail Carriger going in. Which isn’t really my fault.

Except that it is. It is certainly my responsibility.

I have established Gail Carriger expectations with 17 or so books now. So it’s up to me to shift those expectations.

Thus I’m publishing The Sumage Solution under G. L. Carriger. Still me. Just tweaked. This way, going in, readers pick up the book and perhaps go:

“Huh, I wonder if this is still Gail? I wonder why Gail is doing this? Perhaps it’s not quite the same thing as before.”

It wasn’t an easy decision, I’ll tell you that much.

And, I hope you like her.

The Omega Objection Free PDF

Still and always yours,

Miss G

Want more?

GL Carriger The 5th Gender Free Download

{Gail’s monthly read along for May 2017 is Radiance by Grace Draven.}

Print edition proofs arrive in office.

The Sumage Solution: San Andreas Shifters #1 by G. L. Carriger
Contemporary m/m paranormal romance featuring a snarky mage and a gruff werewolf. Hella raunchy. Super dirty. Very very fun. Spin off of Marine Biology.

GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Moment of Parasol . . .

Longchamp, France. 1900 via Edwardian Time Machine tumblr

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

Gail Carriger Sketched by Howard Tayler

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

“The only thing you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.”

~ Albert Einstein

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

“Writing a book is like telling a joke and having to wait 2 years to know whether or not it was funny.”

~ Alain de Botton

Book News:

The Reading Chick says of Prudence:

“The style of the characters meld completely with the storyline, that it all seems completely believable, in a rather fantastic way.”

Quote of the Day:

“People say that life is the thing, but I prefer reading.”

~ Logan Pearsall Smith

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