For All My Unicorns Out There

Just noticed every novel/novella I’ve had published as KV Taylor has a bisexual protag so yyyyyeah. Relevant!

See you there, and back with more rambles next week ♥

(Evidence that this is a necessary thing: the IDAHO website was just attacked, hence it temporarily redirecting to their facebook page. On the day. Spread the word, spread the love, please!)

Click on through for the info, check out the book’s page here for excerpts, or just head straight to the checkout:

Buy it now! Only $1.99.

DRM-free ePub: click here or DRM-free .mobi (perfect for Kindle): click here

Also available on Amazon: click here

Yes. Yes, I am very excited. It’s true.

… I say that like it’s a good thing.

Anyhow! When I was writing Inedible Sins, I was no less obsessive than usual. Since the book is coming on the 28th, I figured I might as well set it up here, in case people are interested. So. Soundtrack!

Here is my TL;DR commentary:

1. “Smash the System”. I don’t belong here in your garden/I should be up there on your throne. Yeah, basically 50% of Jonesy’s personality, right there.
2. “Town Called Malice”. Though decidedly written about a small working-class town in England, it’s safe to say this can apply to DC, especially at this point in time, in many, many ways.
3. “Yourself”. All the self-loathing. All of it.
4. “Sweet and Tender Hooligan”. If we hadn’t been able to decide on Inedible Sins as a title, I really might’ve suggested this…
5. “Gintlemen’s Club”. Again, wrong city, but the posh poser vibe stands.
6. “Get Myself Arrested”. In so very many ways, really.
7. “Broken Boy Soldier”. Did I mention there’s Civil War stuff? There’s Civil War stuff!
8. “The World Was A Mess But His Hair Was Perfect”. If Ashley Evans existed today, this would be his theme song. It would just spontaneously start playing whenever he walked into a room.
9. “My Mistakes Were Made For You”. From Jonesy, to Jude and Emily.
10. “Bad Taste In My Mouth”. Now I’ve got all the things that I wanted/There’s still a bad taste in my mouth. Worse than ever, in fact.
11. “Pace is the Trick”. Jonesy’s issues with the world and himself (and Brother Alfie) in one convenient (and lovely–great song!) package.
12. “Blood Money”. Oh. But blood is so much better than money, by the end.
13. “Evil and a Heathen”. Jonesy and Ashley, for sure.
14. “Handlebars”. The quintessential crash-and-burn delusions-of-grandeur song.
15. “The Butcher”. By the last two chapters, this is basically on repeat in Jonesy’s head. Much to Brother Alfie’s dismay.
16. “Salvation”. For all the irony.
17. “Rebellion (Lies)”. Not just the lyrics, but the music. That keychange punches me in the throat every time, which is precisely the feeling here, yes.
18. “505″. Acedia. As in the final chapter. Over and over.

Coming Sunday!

You may have heard a rumor that this novella contains a robot. True! A clockwork robot with a very specific function and/or functions.

The ‘history‘ rumor is also accurate, as this cover would imply. You think Washington, DC is a hot mess now, you shoulda seen it right before the Civil War.

Romance, too, if you’ve heard that, and in the most unexpected places. Blurring class lines can be dangerous–but that is the least of their worries.

Though our hero Jonesy covers all of the Seven Deadly Sins quite capably, Lust is one of his favorites. And oh, the trouble sex can cause a boy…

Ah, but let’s not forget the violence, the last of the promised themes. Figuratively and literally, too much sin tends to lead in that direction. Wrath, you see, is Jonesy’s favorite Cardinal Sin.

For a series of informative, short excerpts from Inedible Sins, click on through to its page here on the site. I’ll be back with more later in the week, and the book itself on Sunday. Wee!

In the process, I noticed that some of my older stories are no longer available online where they used to be, and since my rights are all reverted to me, I put them up here on the site. I also noticed my old introductory “try me” post was woefully outdated, so here’s a new version:

Try me, I’m free!

Hi! My name’s Katey, and I write dark things. I have a few novels out right now. One is a freaky modern Appalachian fairy story called Scripped, and another is part one in a vampire series called The Family, Liam. Coming soon, I’ll also have a dark historical novella about a clockwork confessor called Inedible Sins.

There are a lot of authors out there, and I feel lucky that you took a second to check me out. Before you buy any of those things I just listed up there, maybe you want to make sure my style suits you. I would, too! All of the short fiction listed as “online” here is free, but here are some quick links to make things simpler, since I have a bunch of different styles, depending on what you’re into.

• If you like epic fantasy in odd places, try “The Silver Quarter” from Niteblade‘s March 2012 issue.
• If you’re interested in more modern supernatural, for something quick and sharp try “Cigarettes in Hell”.
• If you want to go historical supernatural, check out “The Horologist” (1851) or maybe “The Peacock and the Raven” a(1826) in Reflection’s Edge.
• If you prefer your dark with an erotic edge, you can get a free PDF of my Cthulhurotica story, ”Transfigured Night”, from the Dagan Books site.

Just a couple of freebies to mitigate some of the risk factor.

Thanks for stopping by, and hopefully I’ll see you again soon.

Need.

And look, it’s so pretty!

The main players in my upcoming novella, Inedible Sins, are predictably attached to their papers. Ashley Evans regales his sister Iris and our hero Jonesy nightly with the political gossip from the Evening Star, one of Washington City’s premier Democratic papers back in 1856. But it’s not all Congress and Democratic National Conventions and aborted duels–there’s also the odd column inch full of old-timey cleverness.

By which I of course mean misogyny. Oh my.

Transcription, since reading a photograph of a microfilm desk from the Library of Congress sucks hard:

-> Young Man, a private word. When you go courting, find out as soon as possible whether your affections are being planted more in a bundle of dry-goods and things generally, than a pulsating heart, hemmed in by warm ribs and all that. Many a fellow has laid himself out for a full made woman, and only found a very extensive assortment of cotton, whalebone and similar delusive institutions. Just look over the goods before going to the parson.

-> One thousand pounds of wafers are used by the United States House of Representatives in a single session.

-> “Charity covereth a multitude of sins”. So does calico.

Okay that last one is kinda funny, but not if you read it in a slut-shamey way. Still, the ridiculous things I found doing research for this book. Some of the most fun I ever had in a library. Which is saying quite a lot.

*The most famous being Fanny Trollope in her hilarious Domestic Manners of the Americans. Check the paragraph that begins with, “In truth, there are many reasons which render a very general diffusion of literature impossible in America. I can scarcely class the universal reading of newspapers as an exception to this remark ; if I could, my Statement  would be exactly the reverse, and I should say that America beat the world in letters.”

This is my idea of a good time! Yes, I know how to party, it’s true.

A year and some change later, I am pleased to be able to say that Jonesy’s story has new life. It will be called Inedible Sins, and will pop up with Dagan Books sometime in the very near future. In celebration, I’m going to start sharing some of the more ridiculous newspaper clippings I collected to inform my view of Jonesy’s world of Georgetown and  Washington City for the next few weeks.

But first, the beginning of the novella, just so you can see what sort of fellow Jonesy really is…

I. Invidia

In which I am dismissed from the seminary and find my new position hateful.

The moment my fist impacted with David Mullen’s face, I knew I was not intended for the priesthood. An explosion of pain in my right knuckles, the crunch of his lip into his teeth, and ruby droplets flew through the air like spilled communion wine. Mullen hit the ground wailing.

Hand still clenched, I said, “Next time you insult a man’s mother, you’ll know what to expect.” And then I turned and strode back down the hall for the Rector’s office, ignoring what fat-lipped abuse he flung after me.

A sense of clarity comes with a fight, a heightening of senses beyond anything else I know. This time, it enabled me to recognize an unexpected sense of relief welling in my breast. Of course, I would be removed from the seminary when the incident became known. I had run up against more than one of the other boys already, and it was clear I was on thin ice. Seminarians did not go around getting into arguments with other seminarians, even if they deserved far more than a few sharp words and a punch in the mouth.

But yes, I was relieved. All that remained was for me to tell the Rector that I would be on my way, no need for a fuss. I knocked on his door, pushed it open, and stared, aghast.

For there, among the crucifixes and paintings of saints and holy books, was our beloved Rector. He faced the desk, back to the door. A pair of stockinged legs wrapped around his midsection, between which he was thrusting zealously.

Small wonder that my presence went unnoticed until I said, “Good God!”

The lady, who seemed to have been reclining on two hands, sat up and looked around the Rector’s wide back. She was a pretty creature, with a high forehead and aristocratic nose, very well made up. But it was her mouth that was most familiar to me, long and wide, very much like the one I had burst only moments previous. The shock of recognition was the worst yet: she was David Mullen’s mother.

God has an appalling sense of humor sometimes, doesn’t he? What a way to shatter a boy’s illusions about his faith, his chosen profession, and the men to whom he’s confessed the darkest secrets of his heart since childhood.

At least it explained how that idiot Mullen was admitted to seminary.

Ah yes, Jonesy’s life just gets stranger from there. From the whirling society scandals of Lafayette Square to clockwork confessors in his Georgetown workshop. Because, oh yeah. Did I mention there’s a clockwork confessor involved? Sometimes, he’ll even eat your sins for you.

Tonight is 2009′s Daybreakers. Thanks to Brian Fatah Steele for the rec! This one went over really well, believe it or not… [Some spoilers for character death follow!]

LIAM: Okay, so we can both agree that this one is a winner, right?
GIANNI: Not perfect, and a little heavy-handed with the metaphor, but yes, I enjoyed it. For science fiction.
LIAM: Shut up. At least it’s more with the metaphor for humanity’s mismanagement of resources in general than being just a metaphor for rape?
GIANNI: It gets there eventually, but that’s one of its many flaws. However, the good does outweigh the bad.
Really, the first ten minutes of this movie are visual exposition. “Look, the world is run by vampires! Humans are in hiding because they’ve been hunted to the brink of extinction!” It shouldn’t be at all interesting, but it is.
LIAM: It’s fucking pretty, is why. Plus, the thing where the vampire Army uses Uncle Sam as their mascot is awesome. Adds a little dark humor to the post-vampire-virus-apocalyptic feeling.

Factory blood: it’s like the Matrix, but better.

GIANNI: Just promise me you’ll kill us before we’re stuck with factory-farmed blood.
LIAM: Or whatever the fuck is going on there. That’s gross. I am oddly intrigued by the idea of blood in the coffee like creamer though.
GIANNI: It’d never work, but it’s aesthetically interesting. More metaphor. And also, a little bit gross.
LIAM: Not nearly as gross as that early scene where Vampire Dr. Ethan Hawke has to test his faux-blood formula on a guy before it’s ready. Where the dude pukes all over the vampire doctors and then explodes.
GIANNI: Yes. That was gross.
LIAM: Full marks for well-done horror effects.
GIANNI: And immediately letting us know this is a movie that intends to batter us senseless with the Evil Corporation trope.

So not what happens when you drink from another vampire, by the way…

LIAM: Okay, okay, but speaking of horror effects: how about that emaciated vampire thing?
GIANNI: That actually… might be what it looks like when someone is blood-starved for long enough. Truly disturbing.
LIAM: And then when they get desperate enough to eat from other vampires they turn into those nasty shriveled psychotic creatures–
GIANNI: Oh god. No.
LIAM: Definitely not a thing that happens.
GIANNI: Though what does happen is more disturbing in its way… no. Absolutely not.
LIAM: Interesting and terrifying, though.
GIANNI: And therefore approved?
LIAM: One-hundred-and-ten percent, yes. Though the crowning horror movie achievement in this one is that feeding cycle near the very end. Vampire Military Little Bro Frankie dies from the–well, that’s even more of a spoiler, so I won’t give away what he eats to make him all fucked up, then the army dudes eat him, then they die, then more army dudes eat them, then they die, then–
GIANNI: It’s wasteful and gratuitous. Why am I not surprised that you enjoyed it? Also, I think Little Brother Frankie counts as our coked up 80s vamped friend for this one, yes?
LIAM: Yes. Definitely. All the family drama happening here.
GIANNI: Sounds familiar.

A cure–a blood substitute! All things are impossible with this pharma co.

LIAM: Best line, though, “It’s never been about a cure. It’s just repeat business.” I love that the undead pharma companies are as fucked up as the living ones.
GIANNI: We’re not human, but vampires do share certain qualities with our less evolved cousins. Greed being one. I suppose I can let it pass.
LIAM: The vampire pharma angle is something Giuseppe could appreciate. We should convince him to watch it.
GIANNI: Yes, his skewed moral code is rigid, too.
LIAM: Speaking of, this is the first ‘vampire who refuses to feed on humans’ story I’ve been willing to buy. They set that shit up really nicely.
GIANNI: As nicely as possible, maybe. Also, how amusing is it that Ethan Hawke spends the whole movie smoking? The cigarette lobby loves this movie.
LIAM: Total ‘Thank You For Smoking’ moment. Oh, Hollywood.
GIANNI: I love that Oldsmobile made a vampire-safe car for this.
LIAM: It’s an old man car, so you would.
GIANNI: Brat.

CAPTURE HUMANS. It’s what Uncle Sam wants.

LIAM: Shame Willem deFoe was a human freedom fighter instead of a vampire. He’s such a perfect vampire candidate.
GIANNI: Also, the humans had excellent laboratory facilities for post-apocalyptic weak-blooded human refugees.
LIAM: Okay, that was a little flaw, yeah. But I was cheering for the humans–though this movie was surprisingly even-handed about who’s really good and who’s really bad. It’s kinda deep.
GIANNI: No. No, we will not over-analyze science fiction tonight. I forbid it.
LIAM: My life is over-analyzed science fiction. Thanks to someone.
GIANNI: You love it.

Images gleaned from here.