Welcome to A Lyrical Bent, my not-quite-a-website/not-quite-a-blog.

• Bio - a little about me and what I write
  
• Bibliography/Archive - excerpts & links to published fiction as well as self-published stories unavailable elsewhere; read for free and/or shop from here
  
• Forthcoming - excerpts and links to forthcoming stories
  
• News & Updates - the latest on what I'm up to
  
• Interviews - of me and by me
  
• Reviews (look for the ♥ in the Bibliography listings)
  
• RSS feed | Atom feed
  
• Contact - mallory [dot] path [at] gmail [dot] com

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Mal.

Note: If you got here via mallorypath.com, please know that I do intend to do something with the domain; the redirect here is temporary.

These are the stories I've had published in print and online, with excerpts to whet your appetite and links to read for free at the original site of publication or to buy. The "free to read" section also includes website exclusives, unavailable elsewhere.

For blurbs and excerpts of forthcoming stories, please go here.


NEW RELEASE: Serendipity - now available in eBook formats from Silver Publishing!


( Index of Published Stories )

These are the stories I have coming out with commercial publishers and non-commercial literary journals.

For stories currently available in print and online, including free-to-read exclusives unavailable elsewhere, please click here.

( Coming Soon! )

It's been a while since I've posted anything. This has been a challenging year, a lot going on...but nothing terribly inspirational. Or perhaps it's been inspirational in spite of itself? The biggest thing was an accident back at the end of February, when I tore the muscles, ligaments and tendons in my foot. And my ankle. And developed tendonitis in my ankle. The medical "professional" (and yes, the quotation marks are necessary!) I saw initially told me I'd be walking around again in three days.

Cut to six months later, and I'm still using a cane for anything more than walking from the bedroom to the kitchen. I'm mostly mobile again, at least, after weeks and weeks and weeks of having to crawl around because I couldn't put any pressure at all on the foot. So I'm grateful for that. I just hope my dreams of volunteering at the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka aren't beyond my grasp now! As they say, "baby elephants need love, too." ♥


I haven't been writing as much as I'd like, though I do have an ebook called Serendipity out with Silver Publishing, a new publisher on the scene.

BLURB:
Jake Brown has always been content with his life on the family farm. When he learns his rock idol, the legendary Russ London, is making a tour stop nearby, Jake sneaks off to the city, planning a simple night of music and fun—but everything changes when a chance encounter in a coffee shop brings him face to face with Russ London himself.

( Excerpt: )

Looks like Amazon only has the Kindle edition, but it's available in multiple formats at the publisher's site.


And finally, in less self-involved/self-serving news ;) -- eXcessica is having a very cool scavenger hunt, starting today and running through the month of September. The grand prize is a Kindle 3, pre-loaded with over 75 eXcessica titles. Lots of other prizes, too. I don't have anything new to promote with them (both my titles there have been out for a while), but I thought it would be fun to participate. So yes, the graphic you're looking for is somewhere in this blog...and no, you don't have to look too terribly hard to find it. Good luck, if you decide to join the hunt!

As usual, I'm late with news!

First, Communion was released from eXcessica last Friday.



COMMUNION BLURB
Tig, Vincent, Patrick, Colin, and Justin are long-time friends, but even the best of friends have secrets. Revelations can bring people closer, or tear them apart. That's the chance Tig took when he confessed his desire for D/s intimacy to Vincent, Patrick and Colin. It has led to a very satisfying arrangement among them, although they've kept their relationship and BDSM activities from Justin.

Now the time has come for Tig to risk himself again: with the others' help and support, he's ready to bring his desires to Justin, along with a confession of love.

Since taking up with Patrick and Colin, Vincent has seen and done more than he imagined possible, and he thought he knew what they were all getting into—but after tonight, nothing will ever be the same between these five friends.


( and the excerpt )

________________________________________

My other piece of news is that a new story, "Serendipity," has been accepted by Silver Publishing and is due out in August. I only submitted it yesterday, so I'd have to say this is the fastest acceptance I've had yet! Anyhow, here's the blurb for that one:

SERENDIPITY BLURB:
Jake Brown has always been content with his life on the family farm. When he learns his rock idol, the legendary Russ London, is making a tour stop nearby, Jake sneaks off to the city, planning a simple night of music and fun—but everything changes when a chance encounter in a coffee shop brings him face to face with Russ London himself.

This is a very short story I wrote to accompany my Tarot Arcana story, The Night Sky Man: The Nine of Wands (synopsis and blurb available at that link). Since the main story is told from Tolly's POV, I thought it would be nice to have something from Nate. In this ficlet, Nate remembers the very first time he and Tolly got together, with a closing reflection on the events from the beginning of The Night Sky Man.

( Everything in Pieces )

It was my pleasure and privilege to interview kitzheng and jamie_booth about their story in Torquere's shapeshifter anthology Here Kitty, Kitty, "The Tale of Tom Katt & Martin Rue." I'll be reviewing the novella tomorrow so I won't say anything here other than that I really loved it (I'm saving all the whys and wherefores for the review itself). But if you're familiar with either Kit or Jamie, or if you're interested in hearing about collaborations, writing processes, genre-blending, and myth-building, I hope you'll check out the interview over at Authors By Authors.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that this is my half of an Authors by Authors pair-up with Kit Zheng, who posted a review of "The Prettiest Girl in the Room," my story in the anthology Queer Dimensions. (Thank you again, Kit!)

The speculative fiction anthology Queer Dimensions (edited by James E.M. Rasmussen and published by Queered Fiction), in which my story The Prettiest Girl in the Room appears, was released in eBook format a few days ago. \0/

The print version comes out on September 21st, but if you'd rather stick with the eBook, you might want to take advantage of this 35%-discount coupon at Smashwords:

Coupon Code: MN24S (code is not case sensitive)
Expires: September 21, 2009

ETA: Coupon code for the eBook has expired, alas. But the print version is out now (@ Amazon | @ B&N)!

This anthology is not geared toward m/m romance, but I hope that won't dissuade you from checking it out if you enjoy queer fiction in all its speculative flavors. Here's the pitch from the publisher's site:

"Visit the unexpected futures...where queer flowers bloom on strange new worlds even when that world is our own..."

QUEER DIMENSIONS presents queer futures in an exciting collection of 17 science fiction tales from both new and established authors.

Among those authors are erastes and Fiona Glass, both of whom I had the pleasure of appearing alongside in the charity anthology I Do. ♥


My story in Queer Dimensions is different from anything else I've written, I think, and it's definitely a direction I'd like to keep heading in. Here's the blurb:

Duster Mann fell in love with Lyre at first sight and has been searching for her ever since. When he finally catches up with her, even the intriguing genetic make-up of one of her companions is not enough to distract him from the pursuit of his ideal woman..

( Excerpt... )

( ...and book trailer! )

I really hope you'll enjoy this one if you check it out!

A couple of times in different places, including here, I've mentioned an experimental, stream-of-consciousness, second-person pov, pseudo-mythical and definitely incestuous story I had accepted by the online literary journal Reflection's Edge. I'm pleased to say that story, "Gemini," appears in the journal's current issue.

Gemini
Reflection's Edge, June 2009 - short fiction

BLURB:
Identical twins Cas and Pol have been amusing themselves by engaging in an affair with their unwitting neighbor, who doesn't realize he's been sleeping with both of them. When one of the brothers engages in non-identical behavior, their neighbor may remain oblivious--but the other twin does not.

EXCERPT:
I'm not sure you understand me, but I don't know how to explain because I have never had to explain anything to you, ever. The thing of it is this: it is not jealousy. It is not that I want him to pull me in the middle, too. It is that you did something different. You found something I haven't found, something I don't know. This something is between us now. Not between us, shared in the way that all the everything between us binds us together; this is something that separates us. Divides us, one from the other.

~ read it here

It's definitely not for everyone (well, what is?)--but if you read it, I very much hope you enjoy it!

kitzheng and I have posted the first part of our conversational interview at Authors by Authors, in which we talk about our experiences with the writing process and a little about what we're working on now. We also did anime-style author profiles, complete with the most adorable illustrations by Kit, whose artistic skills far outshine my own limited stick figures. ♥

Please hop over here to find out things like what our magic powers are, the similarities and differences in our writing processes, what we're working on now, and how I might make some novelists cry.

The second part of the interview is tomorrow here. On Friday we're doing reviews, which is great for me because there aren't many forums for short story review.

If you're a writer and you haven't signed up to do a week at Authors by Authors yet, I hope you'll consider it. Although Kit and I have talked about writing before, I found our discussion (silly and thoughtful by turns) illuminating.

Although I don't have any new releases, this is a big week for me: my interview is up at Paper Bag Press, and kitzheng and I are on the Authors by Authors blog this week, starting Wednesday.

When we were getting ready to do our interview/conversation yesterday, Kit asked what I was up to and I said something to the effect that I was so busy, I didn't know where to begin. Despite my best intentions to focus, I didn't start at all after the interview because kannnichtfranz sent me a link to a Hetalia video on Youtube...and the next thing I knew, the afternoon and half the evening were gone. Axis Powers Hetalia is a webcomic (and now a webcast anime) by Himaruya Hidekaz, set between WWI and WWII with anthropomorphic representations of countries as the characters. While the series itself takes a satiric and outright comic approach to the events of this era, the potential for serious, provocative, and/or angst-ridden works has me fascinated.

Must turn that fascination back to my own characters!

kitzheng linked to this, and I made the mistake of reading it at work. Several faked coughing fits later, I've composed myself enough to share it here.

From "WRITER'S QUEST":

You are in a writer’s room. Exits are north and east. The door leading north has “This Way to Fame, Fortune, and Free Beer!” painted over it.

>go n

You can’t go that way.

Today I'm incredibly pleased to be bringing you an interview with Heather Domin (teacake421), author of the online serialized novel, Valerian's Legion: The Soldier of Raetia. Crossing the genres of historical fiction, military fiction, and gay romance, Valerian's Legion is set in Rome and Raetia in 10BC. It is, in Heather's words, "a story of destiny, honor, and redemption set against the backdrop of an Empire on the cusp of its full power--a story of blood, brotherhood, and love, inspired as much by Bernard Cornwell and Conn Iggulden as Mary Renault and Diana Gabaldon."


For those who may not have discovered it yet, tell us a little about Valerian's Legion.

Valerian's Legion: The Soldier of Raetia is the story of Dardanus, a young man who joins a Roman legion, and Valerian, the general who reluctantly agrees to sponsor him. Since childhood Dardanus has wanted to be a soldier; now his career, his future, and his honor depend on the training he receives from the moody, reticent general. Stationed at the frontier, Dardanus comes of age through friendship, battle, and blood; but it's his relationship with Valerian that changes both men forever. The path that brought them together could be the path to a happiness neither expected--if they survive to find it.


( Click for the rest of the interview + an excerpt from an upcoming chapter. )

---

Valerian's Legion: The Soldier of Raetia updates weekly. For more, including an index of published chapters and links to historical background and other information, check the introductory post. Heather is also a reviewer for the Historical Novel Society; you can find her reviews here.

Do you all know about Authors by Authors? It's a new blog based on exchanges between writers. The idea as I understand it is that a pair of authors participates in each post, of which there are two kinds:

• posts focused on books, where the author pair reviews and discusses each other's book
  
• posts focused on authors, where the author pair interviews each other and discusses writing

I am utterly delighted to be pairing up with the fabulous kitzheng for this. We've requested to do one of each kind of post, but don't have our dates yet. I've admired Kit's writing for years, and I think the contrast between our similar sensibilities and our different ways of expressing them will make for a very interesting dialogue, indeed. ♥

There are some stories I hold more dear than others, and "Shirt and Shoes Required" is one of the beloved. So it's with a more than fair amount of satisfaction that I share this update:

Shirt and Shoes Required appears in the current issue of the online literary magazine The Battered Suitcase, out today!

This is my first appearance in a publication that is not focused on GLBTQ literature or romance/erotica, but I think it's a love story nonetheless.


Summary
Shifting and drifting through the seasons in the year after returning home, two war veterans learn that you can't always get what you want--but if you try, sometimes, you get what you need.


Excerpt
Lee wakes up when a gust of cold air hits him in the back as Jimmy lifts the edge of the comforter and climbs in.

Goddamn heat went out again.

They touch at the curve of their spines.

After a while, Jimmy turns and tucks up behind him, arm draping over him. For warmth, he says, shivering. Lee takes his hand to wrap him closer.


:: read the full story here ::