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
  ~ exclusive currently running: Whatever Gets You Through the Night, a microfic series about rentboys and the men who love them ~
  
• 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.
~ currently running: Whatever Gets You Through the Night, a microfic series about rentboys and the men who love them ~

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


NEW RELEASE: The Night Sky Man: The Nine of Wands - available in eBook format! Plus bonus free read, Everything in Pieces. ♥

NEW FREE READ: Hole in the Head - read it in the December 2009 issue of Wilde Oats!

NEW RELEASE: Allison in the anthology Four Seasons: Winter from eXcessica - available in eBook formats and in print!


( Index of Published & Self-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! )

Last Sunday, I hosted torquere_social in honor of the release of my latest, The Night Sky Man. The day concluded with a contest, and I'm here to announce the results.

And the winners are: everyone who entered! Yes, everyone who submitted an entry will be getting a copy of The Night Sky Man, so congratulations to all of you.

In addition, we have two grand prize winners: dianna_luv2read and marasmine--you'll both be receiving that second eBook of your choice.

I sincerely hope you all will enjoy the stories!

Thanks once again to everyone who entered and of course to everyone who stopped by to chat. ♥

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 )

Well, it's a week into the new year and so far my resolution to be better at keeping up this journal is...not a success. I hope 2010 is treating you all well so far, and that you're doing better with your resolutions than I am with mine!

In honor of the release of The Night Sky Man: The Nine of Wands, I'll be hosting torquere_social this Sunday, January 10th.

There will be picspam of models (the main characters are a model and his agent), discussion of tarot (the book is part of Torquere's Tarot Arcana series), excerpts, a related free read called "Everything in Pieces," probably a contest, and whatever else I can think of by Sunday. Please do stop by, if you can!


In the meantime, here's the blurb:

Ivan "Tolly" Tolliver is a former model turned modeling agent. Divorced with no children, he's given himself over to his work and there's little he won't do for the models he represents, including crossing oceans for photo shoots and fashion events despite a terrible fear of flying. One of his models is a rising star named Nate. Tolly and Nate have been having a clandestine affair in the form of a series of one night stands that occur only when Tolly is drunk. Tolly always pretends not to remember the next morning, and Nate never tries to remind him.

A Fashion Week party leads to one such drunken sexual escapade, which seems like all the times before it--until Tolly asks Nate to fuck him for the first time. When their eyes meet the next morning as Nate is slipping out, Tolly knows that Nate knows he remembers, but Tolly lets him leave without a word. Nate is willing to pretend nothing has changed and to go along as they have been, but that may not be possible. Tolly no longer can deny to himself the attraction or the depth of feelings he has for Nate, but a past he never talks about is holding him back. Tolly has always been a man of few words, and that's part of his charm. But if he can't find a way to reconcile the past, if he can't find the words to connect with Nate and the present, Tolly risks losing both Nate and a part of himself.


And ( an excerpt: )

Hope to see some of you on Sunday!

A couple of months ago, I mentioned an encouraging rejection I got. I'm very happy to say that the story in question, "Communion," is going to be released by eXcessica sometime in 2010 (exact date TBD). \0/ This means I get to try my hand once again at designing a cover. I have a notion of what I want and I have a photographer; let the search for the models begin!

I also turned in my story for Torquere's Tarot Arcana line, which is scheduled to come out in January. I'm biting my nails on that one a little, because it's longer than most of my stories and I think I really do best with the 3,000 to 6,000 word length. I have faith in the editor, though.

I haven't had much to say here for a while, because I haven't been writing much. I think part of the problem is that the only two ideas I have that I'm really excited about are novel-length...and as mentioned above, I'm a short story writer. So I'm feeling intimidated, which is not only preventing me from getting started but is blocking me from writing, period. If anyone has suggestions (other than, "sit down and write"), I'm all ears. I thought of trying NaNoWriMo, but I'm afraid it just comes to the "sit down and write," which never seems to work for me.

After spending half an hour or so looking for a graceful lead-in or comfortable segue to the last thing, I've decided to just blurt it out:

The mentions of The Prettiest Girl in the Room in this review of the anthology Queer Dimensions have left me elated. It's always wonderful when someone likes what you've written, of course, but I felt like Ephemera (Rainbow Reviews) got what I was going for. Since I've been concerned about how the ending would be received, I'm truly delighted by Ephemera's thoughts on that. (No spoilers to speak of in the review; none that aren't in promo materials, anyhow.)

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!

I got a rejection today for a story I submitted to a Dreamspinner anthology. However, the editor added this (formatting hers):

However, if you would like to have it considered as a stand-alone short story (nap-size dream, day dream, or novella), please consider resubmitting it as such - it was very good.

Not a guarantee of acceptance, of course, but a good sign, right? It's part of a universe that I play in off and on, so I wonder if I ought to get a second story in shape so that if this one gets accepted as a standalone, I could talk to them about a mini-series.

whymzycal...I'm looking at you.

Also, thanks to a friend, mallorypath.com seems to be redirecting here properly again. Huzzah!

I googled myself just now, as you do, and the first result that came up is my domain -- mallorypath.com -- except what actually came up is a page that says "This Account Has Been Suspended."

D'oh!

It's not me who has been suspended. It's a friend who generously offered to let me redirect through his site on the way to mallorypath.livejournal.com. I haven't been able to get in touch with him, so I think what I need to do is redirect through somewhere else. I don't want to buy webspace I'm not going to use. Does anyone know of a place that offers "redirect space" (or whatever it's really called, if it's really called something)? Or if you have ideas of another solution, I'm all ears.


In other news (and I wish I could have led with this--but at least I'm ending middling on a high note!), my fairytale short "The Murmur You Gave My Heart" has been accepted for standalone publication by Drollerie Press! I also have a story ("Nice Girls Do") in Torquere's Cherry anthology, which came out last month and which I only just realized I neglected to mention here.


On the personal side of things, my job at the porn company is continuing to go spectacularly. I feel like I should have more to say but since I just sat here looking at the blank space after that last sentence for a few minutes, I guess it's safe to assume that's it for me for now!

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!

One of my releases from last week, "Handle With Care," spent the weekend on the front page of Fictionwise! It's still there at this moment, though I don't know how long it will stay there. (It's screencapped for posterity, I confess.) Many thanks to rdsolange and my publisher for letting me know. ♥



Handle With Care
Publisher: eXcessica
Length: short story (standalone)
Genre: contemporary
Release Date: May 11, 2009

BLURB:
Pretty-boy Lucas has caught everyone’s eye at local hangout The Station, including that of rough-and-tumble grad student Mick. When it’s finally Mick’s turn to take Lucas home, he teaches Lucas that you can’t judge a book by its cover (or a body by its tattoos)--and that there’s much more to erotic intimacy than sex.

EXCERPT:
( Did you just moon me as a seduction technique? )

• buy the eBook (available in the following formats: .pdf, .html, .lit, .kml, .pdb, .mobi, .rb) @ pubisher's site | @ Fictionwise
  
• read the advance review by Kit Zheng on Authors by Authors

There's so much going on this week, I feel like my head might explode. Here are some of the things making me feel this way:

• Not one but two--count 'em, two--of my books are being released this week, Handle With Care (eXcessica) and Kink for Love (Dreamspinner). I really need to get on this, but as usual I'm flailing when it comes to promotion. As you can see, I don't have buy or pre-order links, or even a link to information at the publisher's site for the one of the books, even though it comes out on Thursday. Did I say flailing? Let's make that failing. I had this problem in February, too, when three books came out the same week. (As an aside, I still feel funny calling a short story a "book," but who am I to question industry terminology?)
  
  
• Allergies and seasonal asthma. Self-explanatory. I don't remember it being this bad this year. The roommate and I are in respiratory misery.
  
  
• Fandom flu. After years of feeling my love for specific fandoms and fandom in general on the wane, I'm suddenly and feverishly obsessed.

I'll try to do something about the first one later today. As for the others...*surrenders self to the caprices of the cosmos*

So how are you all doing?

Our sea star is sick. I spent most of the morning trying to figure out what's wrong with him, but in the end I failed. His fingers are falling off and his arms are curling up, and I know sea stars can regenerate--but I think that's in the case of injury, not illness. So I wound up in tears at one point (seeing animals in distress is hard on me) and feel pretty worn out now.

There was one bright spot in today's aquarium-watching: our sea slugs finally found each other, and took a ride up the side of the tank on the shell of one snail. ♥♥

I've started to twitter here (I'm malpath there). So far it's just a couple of twitterfics about the same two boys, who have been saddled with the "names" Z and A, thanks to character-length restrictions. Eventually I'll get the hang of the social side of Twitter! I've found a bunch of you, but if I'm not following you, don't be shy about dropping your name here. :)

Halp, please. As usual, I don't know what I'm doing. Twitter. I know what it is, I understand the basic concept, I have an account, I have an idea of what I want to do with it. Here's what I don't know: which comes first, twittering or telling people you'll be twittering? And by "you," I mean me.

*flails*

From CNN.com's Breaking News, the verdict is in on the Angie Zapata murder case:

A Colorado man was convicted of first-degree murder and a bias-motivated crime and sentenced to life in prison for killing a transgender teen he met on an online social networking site. It was the first time in the nation that a state hate crime statute resulted in a conviction in a transgender person's murder, [GLAAD] said.

Emphasis mine. I believe the sentence is not just life in prison, but life in prison without parole.

I know transgender rights and issues are near and dear to some of you (as they are to me), so I wanted to share this right away. Still trying to organize my feelings into articulate thoughts.

"Nice Girls Do" is not going to appear in Wilde Oats after all, but it is going to be in Torquere's anthology Cherries, which I think is due out in July. Huzzah! As may be evident from the title, it has a "first times" theme (not necessarily first-time sex), which is one of my favorite subgenres. I'm not sure if it's technically considered a subgenre, actually, but at any rate I do love a good first time. ♥

The power went out at work this afternoon so we were all sent home. Or to the nearest bar with margaritas on their happy hour menu, as the case may be. No matter how much I adore my job, I'm not one to say no to a paid afternoon off--but it's not all joyful because I'm worried about our aquarium. We just got a bunch of new critters last Friday, including a pair of these:

( This picture does not do them justice. )

Some good news today: "The Prettiest Girl in the Room" has been accepted for the anthology Queer Dimensions from Queered Fiction! I'm ridiculously pleased about this one. I feel like jumping the gun and sharing an excerpt already, but I should probably wait to go through editing first.

In more sobering news, I picked up a few nonfiction books yesterday. I'm starting with The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang. It looks like I'll have to find another account to read as well, since the scholarship of Chang's book was called into question. Recommendations welcome! Also picked up The War of the World: Twentieth-Century Conflict and the Descent of the West by Niall Ferguson, and a biography of Franz Josef that promises to give me insight into events and conditions in Europe leading up to WWII.

I figure I need some light reading on the side. The books in my fiction reading list are serious and dark in nature. Any recommendations for something comedic or hopeful or otherwise full of the lightness and brightness of the world? Can be a love story but definitely doesn't have to be.