DESIRED PYROTECHNICS - first peek

All right... I've tried to make this post a few times now, but like the contrary creature I am, I keep changing my mind. Quite possibly it's because this new book is such a radical departure from anything I've written before. There's parts I adore and there's parts that make me nervous. I'll shut up now and just fucking post a piece of the beast

DESIRED PYROTECHNICS

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"I wandered through an unknown countryside with rolling hills and jagged peaks in the distance which looked like broken teeth. Pockets of low lying, heavy fog encircled me, impeding my way forward. There was an abandoned farmhouse which looked like it had been rotting for years and the earth had reclaimed the land. I went to take a closer look when it occurred to me I may not want to. Nothing lived in this landscape. This is where time had stopped and I was somehow trapped there. Which might have meant that I wasn't alive any more. Was I dead? I couldn't remember. There'd been some kind of tragedy which had made time stop but I couldn't recall what it was even if it was on the tip of my tongue. If I could remember what had happened then I might have a chance of making my way out of there. The fog wove its way around me again until it physically pressed down on me and I thought I was suffocating...

I awoke with a start. My heart pounded and I was gasping for air. Night had fallen and the room was pitch black. For a moment I was so disoriented I couldn't remember where I was and thought I was still trapped within the dreamscape. I laid there peering into the darkness until I saw the outline of the marble fireplace from across the room. My heart rate slowed. The dream didn't return and I crawled out of bed and limped downstairs to see if Tabby was there. I needed confirmation someone else was alive.

All the lights were off as I bumped around the kitchen in search of a clock that I never found. With my good hand, I poured myself a glass of wine and went outside into the garden to look at the stars. Even as a small child staring at the stars had been a source of comfort to me. Sitting in a black corded lounge chair, I traced the Milky Way with my finger as it spanned the sky like a celestial spine. Sipping the wine, I listened for the frogs singing down by the river, but they were silent which meant it must have been the wee hours of the morning. It was all so peaceful, but the anxiety I felt with every beat of my heart wouldn't lessen. Emotionally, what I was facing was blacker than the night and no stars were going to save me. Nothing was going to save me... I prayed to the skies for a respite. Give me vast fields of sunflowers as far as the eye could see. Give me anything which resembled a distraction. Give me drugs or alcohol. Give me a lover's arms. Give me anything to take the pain away and make me forget for a while, I pleaded. Please don't let me crack up..."

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These last couple of weeks have been insanely creative. I'm extremely thankful to have the time and headspace but I'm stretched thin and only pushing harder. Did take a night off to go out dancing under the full moon and spent the next day at the beach crashing around in the waves and climbing over slippery rocks exploring formerly unknown sandy stretches of shore. 

And we managed to get another podcast done which I will post below. It's been so much fun getting the feedback from these crazy things. And no, they're never scripted.

Between the Sheets with Melissa and Scarlett is a podcast about weird news, entertainment, pop culture, writing, sex, and more.

Our sixth episode is all touchy feely: From arranging your junk and surprising boob facts to foot orgasms and bizarro dinosaur porn!

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Hope you all are enjoying these last dog days of summer. So much change is in the wind...

Much love from where the worlds touch,

S - xx

Nefarious, Beautiful & Vicious -- SAURIMONDE III is gonna be a blast!

What a fabulously strange year it has been so far...

In the beginning of August, both Melissa and I instantly knew it was time to start on the next SAURIMONDE book. Almost the day after we made this decision, a friend of ours offered us her gorgeous, serene house for a couple of weeks and we jumped on the opportunity. 

For the first time since we began the SAURIMONDE journey we actually sat down together and embarked upon a treatment while in the same room.

During the other two books, I was living halfway across the world in France while Melissa was in California, and we'd tossed ideas back and forth on Skype. 

To be honest we only had the vaguest idea for an outline of the first book. The same for the second, although the writing went much faster on that one. This time we were prepared and now we are gearing up for the most raucous story yet!  

It was amazing how easy it all came together. I'm used to treatments being a hair-pulling nightmare, but this one was a joy. We spent most of the afternoon lounging in the walled front garden tossing back and forth ideas until we got stuck. Then, we'd take a break or resume the next day.

There might have been some wine drinking involved and a lot of, "Are we really going to do something that horrible to the characters? Oh yes, we are...” (Insert girlish cackling here.)

We are astounded the way the SAURIMONDE world has grown and the ways in which the story is opening up. What started as a vague idea a few years ago in a casual conversation has taken on a life of its own and become its own mythology. 

Like throwing a stone in a pond, we had no idea the way it was going to ripple and take so many weird twists and turns, but it's been an amazing adventure and continues to be so. We cannot wait to get started writing and, if all goes according to plan, we'll have the next book out in the fall.

And in further news...

BETWEEN THE SHEETS Episode 5 is live! "All about Orgasms, A Windows 10 warning, and A Squirrel Stalker".

Between the Sheets with Melissa and Scarlett is a podcast about weird news, entertainment, pop culture, writing, sex, and more.

Our fifth episode explodes with an orgasm: We start off by celebrating National Orgasm Day then move onto a PSA for Windows 10 and end with the squirrels are not what they seem...

Much love from where the worlds touch,

S - xx

Through a Kaleidoscope Darkly and more...

Finally! Issue 6 of the highly regarded THE HERETIC MAGAZINE is out. For those of you interested in alternative history, lost civilizations and technologies, mysteries and conundrums, religion, the occult etc... this magazine is not to be missed! Plus -- there's an article co-written by yours truly on the fascinating life and mysterious death of the Belle Epoch alchemist, Irene Hillel Erlanger, author of VOYAGES EN KALEIDOSCOPE, who, rumor has it, gave away thermal secrets of the Great Work. 

To find out more and get your hands on a copy visit their website at: The Heretic Magazine

And now for something completely different 'cause that's how we roll around here... Episode 4 of BETWEEN THE SHEETS WITH MELISSA AND SCARLETT is now live!

Between the Sheets with Melissa and Scarlett is a podcast about weird news, entertainment, pop culture, writing, sex, and more.

Our fourth episode is all over the place: After debunking a story from the previous episode we dive right into the gutter with insane sex toys, porn secrets, and pot!

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Obviously, it's been a wild week around here. Summer is in full swing and there's been many late nights as the creativity and synchronicites continues to flow ever onwards.

Much love from where the worlds touch,

S- xx

Laissez les Bons Temps Rouler...

Between the Sheets Episode Three is Live! 

Between the Sheets with Melissa and Scarlett is a podcast about weird news, entertainment, pop culture, writing, sex, and more.

Our third episode starts out weird and gets weirder: We tried to change it up with aliens and bigfoot but ended up with "Darth Vibrator" and anal beads! We may need to start marketing 'mind bleach' at this rate...

& Sex.

More good news...! The first draft of my new book DESIRED PYROTECHNICS is finished! 80,000 words plus! There's a still a million miles to go, but at least there's a million more behind me now.

Here's the dedication: "To the beaten down, the misfits, the outcasts, the dreamers, the fabulous beasts, and the saintly sinners, to those who have been knocked to the ground, gotten back up, and raised a middle finger."

On the surface it's a brutal tale about sex, drugs and love gone totally mad, but underneath there's another thread about being forced to endure the long, dark night of the soul -- and the people who are there to help along the way. That wasn't the story I set out to write, but it's the story that wanted to be told.

And in more good news...! Melissa St. Hilaire and myself are starting on the third SAURIMONDE book asap. We started batting around new ideas by the pool yesterday and there's definitely going to be some evil cult action. We're going to resurrect Pan, and Bazak is already making his presence known, lurking around in the shadows. I don't know if I'm ready as a writer to take him on again as a character -- he steals every scene he's such a fictional bastard. Saurimonde is going to be a litte more bad ass this tale, having finally come into her personal power in the last one, and we're doing our best to conjure all kinds of new daemonic trickery for our beloved heroine.

What?! You haven't read the first two SAURIMONDE books yet? What are you waiting for?! You can find them here - Amazon

Hope your summer is going well... Mine has been more productive and more fun than I had ever imagined. The sunshine of LA, and the company of good friends, like minds and creative comrades has given me the time, space and inspiration I so sorely needed.

Will be painting on the multi-media art project SISTERS OF THE WASTELAND for the next few days. Cannot wait to share some of the images we've been collaborating on!

Much love from where the worlds touch,

S - xx

Between the Sheets Episode Two is Live! NSFW -- and probably NSFL...!

Between the Sheets with Melissa and Scarlett is a podcast about weird news, entertainment, pop culture, writing, sex, and more.

Our second episode quickly delves into the nether regions: It's the unofficial vagina con in the BTS studio. Weird vagina facts, yoni yogurt, to rabbit or not to rabbit and more!

And here's a glimpse behind the scenes of us hard at work:

Just so people know -- that's a fake Star Trek phaser I'm pointing at Melissa and myself. Sucks I even have to mention such a thing in this overly PC day and age, but there you go! And here I go to...

Much love from where the worlds touch,

S - xx

Between the Sheets - Episode One is Live!

So...

The new super secret project with Melissa St. Hilaire, my SAURIMONDE co-writer, can finally be revealed. We're doing a weekly podcast, 'BETWEEN THE SHEETS - WITH  MELISSA & SCARLETT - LIKE YOU, ONLY MORE PERVERSE'.

We'll be talking about weird news, entertainment, pop culture, writing, sex, and more sex!

Our first episode starts with a bang: It's the unofficial penis festival in the BTS studio. Glitter, pet names, voyeurism, etc etc! And before I forget to mention it, this podcast is NSFW -- not by any stretch of the imagination, so don't even go there.

Links:

Between the Sheets on itunes

Between the Sheets on Feedburner

Between the Sheets on Soundcloud

Between the Sheets official website

Little word of warning -- if women talking explicitly about sex frightens you, and you don't possess a sense of humour, then don't listen, okay?

Personally, my favorite part was the whole 'soak your dick for Jesus' fandago. The phrase is now on constant rotation around here. I also love the fact that Melissa sounds like a professional NPR person, only everything which comes out of her mouth is wrong. It so works.

So... at the end of each segment we're going to do an 'ask us anything' piece. We want to hear from you! Send us your questions to:
melissa@betweenthesheets69.com
scarlett@betweenthesheets69.com

Much love from where the worlds touch,

S -xx

p.s. I'm also featured this week on the fantastic site, Feminine Power Circle, talking about the bravest thing I've ever done which can be found here

p.p.s. Thanks to every one who has sent us their questions and ideas over the Facebook page -- keep them coming -- we're all ears!

Dreaming of Pan -- Redux

Be still my pagan heart...

I'm quite fascinated by this image a friend sent me today. Have been dreaming of Pan again. Maybe it's because I found a cache of old messages from the person whom I based the character of Pan on in SAURIMONDE I while tidying up my inbox last week and have been toying with resurrecting him for the next SAURIMONDE book.

One day when we have the headspace, Melissa and I will have to write the tell-all about who the various characters were based off of in SAURIMONDE I & II, and some of the real life events incorporated between the pages.

But for now, I'm reposting this entry from a couple of years ago.

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From the private journal of Scarlett Amaris - April 29th, 2013, Montsegur, France:

I took a long walk through the forests this morning trying to shake myself from the dream and yet, I found myself not wanting to let it go at the same time. Even though it's the end of April it's started to snow again. I hate the cold and my feet are still frozen as I type this, but there's something pure and magical when the world lies within an unbroken carpet of white--there's a stillness which filters down to nothing, save my frozen breath against the wind. I love when it's so quiet I can hear my own heartbeat as the ghosts of my life give rise within the playground of my mind.

The dream...

I dreamed of you again last night. I was on a bus heading across the border from lands unknown to Mexico. I fell asleep in the dream, and when I was jolted awake by the gears shifting in the old bus, I was in a dusty, tumbleweed strewn town straight out of a spaghetti western. The bus stopped at a light pink, stucco hotel faded from the relentless sun. An unseen mariachi band played a mournful tune in the distance. I walked through a large group of tourists milling about the courtyard to the cool inner recesses that led to my room. As I dug in my purse searching for the hotel key, you appeared dashing as ever. A part of me in the dream knew you were dead, and had been so for quite some time and yet, there you were, much younger than when you passed on. You asked me how I'd been and I couldn't stop staring at your handsome face. The sound of your gravelly voice sent shivers down my spine--reminding me of endless, sweaty nights wrapped in your embrace, and what it was like to feel safe again. Your heart may never have been on offer, but there was solace to be had from our encounters. Maybe because we both knew they would never last. Standing in the dimly lit hallway, I told you about the new book, about SAURIMONDE, and that it was hard and full of sex and you would probably love parts of it. You laughed and said you always loved hard sex. Then you grabbed from behind, wrapping your arms around me, growling you were proud of me before biting me on the back of the neck. My knees went weak, along with my will. You knew I'd written the character of Pan based on you. He has all of your sweetness, sexiness, and rock star swagger. I wanted to stay in your embrace. I wanted it to be real, but even within the dream, I knew it was a dream. I breathed you in, leaning back into your warmth as you whispered against my flesh I still owed you a naked ritual exorcism. Laughing, I protested there hadn't been time yet. And then you were gone. You vanished without so much as a whisper. As I searched for you, one of the locals told me in broken English you were somewhere hanging with the boys, and I hope wherever you are now this is true. I imagine you telling some ribald tall tale, a cigarette burning between your fingers, and a half drunk tequila resting on the table in front of you. You will forever be this man in my memories.

End of dream...

The character Pan was based upon a very charismatic friend of mine who died suddenly quite a few years ago. He was on tour for most of his life with various musical projects, and wherever he was in the world, he would send me exceptionally naughty fairy tales involving the two of us in uniquely perverse circumstances. He had quite an imagination, coupled with a charming British turn of phrase, and through the years we accrued an arsenal of personal jokes between us. I stole the line 'maybe the chance to worship at your temple door' directly from him. I miss our banter more than anything else, and I'd like to think with the curious timing of the dream, now the book is finished, and due out any day, that my friend was giving his stamp of approval. I always thought of him as Pan; lusty, earthy, sexy, and mischiveous. He was no woman's man and every woman's man--great fun while he was around, but you always knew he was only passing through.

All hail the Great God Pan! May he make another nocturnal visit sooner than later...

Much love from where the worlds touch,

S - xx

p.s. Stage one of the new secret project with Melissa St. Hilaire is finished and we'll be sharing it within the next few days. No, I haven't posted the new excerpt from DESIRED PYROTECHNICS--I'll get to it, I promise.