Island of Icarus, my steampunk romance, is told completely from the perspective of Jonathan Orms, a professor of biology from 19th century London. Although I wouldn’t have written Icarus in any other way, when I look back now I realize, “You know, writing romance in the first person…can be pretty challenging.” A lot of tension in love stories is built around experiencing both characters’ feelings—giggling as the characters dance around each other.

Her: He must find me hideous, because he is so much more beautiful than I am! Let me avoid eye contact.

Him: Oh, she wants nothing to do with me. She doesn’t even look at me.

Her: God, his hand is so warm on mine. Can he feel my pulse quicken?

Him: I can feel her body stiffen. Why does she hate my touch?

Interactions like these have me clutching the book and mentally screaming, “Come on, guys! Get with the program! You two are DROOLING over each other!” Unfortunately, this kind of interplay is lost in first person narratives. There was at least one scene in Icarus that I had to alter because the narrator would not have noticed a significant look that his new friend gave him…but I wanted the reader to!

Writing a first person romance in a Victorian voice was an even greater challenge. While I don’t mind 19th century writing, it’s easy for it to turn into a train wreck. I think my editor would roll up my manuscript and whack me on the head with it if I tried to write a paragraph-long sentence with six semicolons. Trying to maintain my narrator’s prim Victorian voice but not lose the integrity of my own writing style was a balancing act. It was also a lot of fun.

Despite the challenges, I was completely set on writing Island of Icarus in the first person. Maybe it’s because I’m crazy, or maybe it’s because I prefer the first person. Heck, maybe I prefer the first person because I’m crazy. Really, I love seeing the world through someone else’s eyes and speaking with his voice. I think it makes the narrative more convincing; I’m not an author telling a made-up story, I’m the character sharing my experiences!

There is also a story-specific reason I chose first person for Island of Icarus. Icarus was inspired in part by The Island of Dr. Moreau, a Victorian novel written in the first person. I wanted to preserve the same personal element of adventure and discovery in Icarus.

Of course, there are tricks to write romance in first person—like alternating the narrative. I think Maggie Stiefvater (author of Shiver) and the other two Merry Sisters of Fate do this best, as in this story. I tried this in my short romance, Fear of Darkness, to a lesser extent (but most of it is still told from one character’s point of view).

By telling Icarus solely from Jon’s point of view, I do regret one thing—not being able to explore my other hero, Marcus, in greater depth. Marcus is an interesting character—a talented surgeon and engineer who just can’t sit still. He always has to explore, to tinker, to build. He is sociable and charismatic, yet he lives alone on a deserted tropical island. I wanted to know what it was like to be inside his mind—especially when he first meets Jon!—so I decided to write a “deleted scene” just for him. It takes place near the beginning of Icarus, so you don’t need to worry about spoilers. I invite you to read it at my website!

Enjoy!

Love, fangs, and fur ^_^

–Christine, who is oh-so-enjoying a freak South Florida cool front

www.christinedanse.com

@dansedesirable at Twitter

The title says it all: I love free reads.

Okay, easy to say. Who doesn’t love something free? I know I do. Free pizza in the Student Union? I’m there! Free tote bags for Nurses’ Week? They look just like the ones they gave us last year, but all right! Free on-line short stories? AWESOME.

There’s definitely a thrill in receiving something for free. Certainly, my bank account is thrilled. But saving money isn’t the primary reason I love free reads. In fact, I often donate money to the authors or buy a hard copy, if it’s available.

Wait, what?

Yeah, I’m serious. I love free reads, even though I usually end up donating money or buying the story, anyway. It works kind of like this: I feel like I’m getting something for free (wa-hoo!) and if I donate I have the satisfaction of being a good person.

Sooo…um, why do I bother with “free” reads at all? In a word—freedom. By not engaging in a monetary transaction before I read a story, I feel as if I have the freedom to choose stories that I really love. As I get older, my free time (what free time?) shortens, and I’ve gotten very, very picky with my selection. I won’t spend time on a story that doesn’t hook me right away, and so I am hesitant to spend money on a story that’s just going to sit on my shelf. Also, I am simply more inclined to read a story if it’s free, which exposes me to authors I wouldn’t have discovered otherwise—and endears me to them. They’re giving stuff away for free? They must be awesome people!

All right, so now that my editors probably want to kill me for writing this blog entry (I’m trying to sell a book—what am I thinking?), I would like to introduce you, the reader, to four short pieces of fiction that I am offering completely free of charge online.

My motives are simple. First, as much as I love receiving things for free, I do also love to share. Second, I am hoping that you will enjoy these stories enough that you will consider purchasing Island of Icarus or future titles by me. Third, I hope you will spread the love and share these stories with your friends, your coworkers, your family, the neighbors—anyone and everyone who would enjoy them. As long as these stories are not altered, as long as they are attributed to me, and as long as you do not charge money for them, I encourage you to link them, email them, print them—anything you’d like!

1) Pushing the Bell #1: Regarding the Events of One Sherlock’s Scandalous St. Valentine’s Day. My first piece of steampunk erotica, written for Valentine’s Day 2010. Late one Valentine’s evening, Jeremy arrives home to find his lovely wife missing and must use his deductive reasoning skills to follow the clever trail she has left for him. Of course, finding Annette is only half of the problem! In order to rescue her from a train speeding to Paris, he must submit himself to her lewd and lascivious demands.

2) Pushing the Bell #2: That Dratted Affair with the Dream Engine. A loose sequel to One Sherlock’s Scandalous St. Valentine’s Day. Annette has a “surprise” for Jeremy—a surprise that involves a rather occult machine called a “dream engine.” Apparently, the machine can record and play back dreams, and there is a special dream that Annette would like to share with Jeremy. This is the first story to introduce my steampunk world’s supernatural elements.

3) Fear of Darkness. A demon is loose in 19th century San Francisco, and Alena Swift—expert in the occult and supernatural—has been called to dispatch it. Of course, there is one little problem. Alena is deathly afraid of the dark, and this demon feeds on fear. Alena’s mysterious hunting partner, a man she calls “Shadow”, joins her on her chase through the misty city. Although he hides himself in shadows and refuses to let her see him, Alena trusts this man with her life—and not just because his voice makes her shiver deliciously. But now Shadow has abandoned Alena in pitch darkness—and the demon is stalking her.

4) Marcus. A “deleted scene” from Island of Icarus which explores the point of view of my other hero, Marcus. A sweet prelude to Icarus, and a little look into Marcus’s head. No worries, there are no spoilers!

I hope you enjoy!

Love, fangs, and fur ^_^

–Christine

www.christinedanse.com

@dansedesirable at Twitter

In high school English, when I learned how to examine literature for images, themes, and symbols, I never thought that one day I’d be digging into my own stories for them. For the most part, I am not conscious of these things as I write. But when I look back, I find them.

For instance, Island of Icarus takes place on a deserted tropical island. When I wrote Icarus, I only knew I wanted it to take place away from society. Now, I understand that this is because Icarus is a story of inner discovery and change. The characters are isolated because their conflict takes place inside of them.

Of course, “away from society” could have been anywhere: the English countryside, the Appalachian Mountains, or even the heart of London itself. (After all, you can be surrounded by people but still remain isolated.) So why a rainforest island paradise? For one, it’s romantic and exotic! I love the idea of a mountainous island with cloudy peaks and lush foliage. What’s hotter than green trees, thick ferns, white beaches, and misty mountaintops? It’s a far cry from dark, stuffy, drizzly Victorian London, where most steampunk like Icarus takes place. (Well, the drizzly part is kind of the same–it rains a lot on the island!) It is also the perfect setting for my two loveable science geeks, Jon and Marcus, to have fun and explore. A rainforest is like a toy shop for us science types–so many things to seek and discover!

Oh, yeah. And Icarus is loosely inspired by H. G. Well’s The Island of Dr. Moreau, so that’s another reason it takes place on an island. Mind you, there are no mutilated talking creatures in my story, but the main character, Jon, is shipwrecked on an island with a mad scientist—well, a pleasantly eccentric scientist, anyway. I love reading old Victorian Era stories and playing off one of the themes or characters. My current work in progress, a steampunk menage a trois, was inspired by the traveling waxwork show in Charles Dickens’ The Old Curiosity Shop. Instead of a waxworks show, though, a married couple travels about with a “mechanical model” exhibit with something like Walt Disney’s animatronics inside—but they’re steampowered (of course!). I am sure that the old curiosity shop itself holds stories for me, too.

The “Icarus” part of Island of Icarus refers to the Greek myth of Icarus and Daedalus. As the story goes, the master artificer Daedalus and his son, Icarus, were imprisoned in a tall tower because of dangerous knowledge they possessed. Clever Daedalus crafted two pairs of wings from wax and feathers and taught himself and his son to fly. Before they took to the air, Daedalus cautioned Icarus not to fly too high, as the sun would melt the wax. After a time, the boy forgot his father’s warning and flew up, up, up until the wax melted and he plummeted to the ocean below.

All right, so it’s a bit of a depressing tragedy, but it’s one of my favorite myths. Like Daedalus, my character Marcus is an innovator and an artificer. He is fascinated with flight and is crafting his own clockwork wings from metal and wood. Actually, he’s a bit stuck on the project until Jon shows up and helps him with a few important details. And like Icarus, Marcus sometimes ignores better judgment, risking life and limb for the joy of discovery!

Has anyone else found an unexpected use for knowledge gleaned from their high school English Literature class?

Love, fangs, and fur ^_^

–Christine

www.christinedanse.com

@dansedesirable at Twitter