The Voice I Write In

While third person omniscient is a common voice to write in, I try to remember the lesson of Faulkner. In "As I Lay Dying," each chapter is narrated by a different character. Each voice is distinct. Each chapter reflects the nature of the character's unique perspective on events as they unfold.

Now, I'm no Faulkner. I do, however, try to inform my third person omniscient narrative with a little first person point of view. The voice I use from story to story is a mix of my voice as the narrator and the voice of the character.

All of which is to say that the main character of my next story is not a very nice person and it would serve him right if someone washed his mouth out with soap.

OK, yes, still procrastinating.

Circling the Goal

I recently bemoaned over at Twitter that I didn't have an ending yet for a story I'm working on. I've been working on it this week while I'm vacation. Now the problem I have is that I have two possible endings. One is dramatic/hopeful. The other is tragic/literary/a real downer. The artist in me wants to have the main character learn nothing and become a victim of his own misogynist prejudice. In the happier ending, I still leave him at the bottom of a hole created by his misogyny, but he has a ladder to get out of it.

Decisions, decisions.

I'm also still torn on what image to use for the cover. I try to use something that's evocative of a scene in the story. For "Head Games," I used a picture of a head / face that I hope looks at least a little like it could be one of the women in the story, decapitated and plugged into an alien computer system. "The High Price of Inflation" and "Airhead" are both meant to show the main character in his female form as depicted in one of the story's more erotic moments, as a way to better reflect the nature of the content. The somewhat generic cover for "The Party Favor" is more innocent with its balloons and bare legs, precisely because the content is less erotic. Whatever the story, I try to pick something sexy, or at least fun and feminine to look at.

I suppose I have found a cover image or two that could work. Now I just have to make a decision. (Decisions, decisions.) All of which is to say this post is me procrastinating.

Time to dive in and do some work.

New Story: "Airhead"

I know, I know ... nothing published for so long, then so many all at once. This is what comes of procrastination. Having hoarded these stories so long, I have a lot to share. Enjoy it while it lasts. By the end of summer, I'm going to be out of things to publish.

"Airhead" is the sequel to "The High Price of Inflation." Two down, two to go!

Story Description:

Trapped in her new existence as an inflatable love doll, this former man's future seems grim at best. When change comes for her at long last, she's grateful to escape the prison her life has become. Given the smallest taste of freedom, her past as a man may not be enough to prevent her from embracing a future as not just a woman, but as the willing slave to the man that stole her life.

(Transgender Erotic Fiction, Approximately 6,100 words)

"Airhead" includes some pretty graphic sex, some minor BDSM and the literal objectification of a woman. Can't get too sassy with your man when he can pull your plug and turn you into a limp piece of inert plastic at any moment! The story comes in at 11 pages in my preferred format. Amazon's estimate is 16 pages. For $2.99, the price is right. It reads best if you've read the first part of the story, but there's enough of a recap at the beginning to get the new reader up to speed. Why not check it out today?

New Story: "The Party Favor"

My latest story is up at Amazon. "The Party Favor" is a story that's been complete for a long time, sitting on my hard drive gathering dust. Or electrons. Or whatever it is files gather when they sit around too long without being accessed.

It was started in 2006, left half-finished for six years, then finished in February of 2012. I blogged about it HERE. I had to remove some content from the original version of the story to avoid referencing a well-known licensed character and two celebrities. The astute reader might catch the remnants of those edits. I also left a couple in, but I think they both fall pretty squarely under fair use. I hope. (Please don't sue me.)

If you're looking for a sex romp, this isn't it. It's more social than sexual, exploring the best and worst in male social behavior, which the main character has to endure while transformed. If you want something with more sex, why not check out "The High Price of Inflation?" Its follow-up, the second of four stories, is going to be coming out at the end of the month. I want it available to everyone before the July 4th weekend.

Story Description:

As a favor to a girl that he likes, a man agrees to what he thinks will be a temporary transformation. Surrounded by his friends, he begins realize that the transformation has altered not just how others see him, but also how he sees himself. Who he is and who he will be is something that the night's events will lead him to discover.

(Transgender Erotic Fiction, Approximately 44,300 words)

This story came in at 91 pages in my typical format. I didn't want to price it at $9.10, or even $8.95, so I used the reduced page count when formatted for Amazon, which was a lean 67 pages. Those blank lines between paragraphs add up quick. Because of that, the price is $6.50.

This means I'm now out of longer stories to make available. I'm very close to finishing one longer one (tentative title of BaM) which I plan on putting out in mid-July. More news on that to come.

Writer's Funk

Feeling a little sad today. I was expecting some form of feedback on the TG Comics forum for my new story. I don't know if the readers there are just tired of self-promotion posts, or if no one cares about my story, but the lack of feedback - positive, negative or indifferent - is more than a little daunting.

I guess I had this idea in the back of my head that I could make some real money on a monthly basis, pay off some debts and within a few years (3 - 5) quit my day job to be a full time writer of TG fiction. After how eager the editors at Reluctant Press were about my writing, then how far out of his way Femur at TG Comics was willing to go to illustrate and post my stories ... well, I just expected my debut on Amazon to go a little better than it has. It's my own fault for letting my hopes get so high, but it still hurts.

For those who have bought my stories there, THANK YOU! Even if you went, looked, and decided not to buy, I thank you for taking the time to visit.

As for me, I'm going to follow-up on my plans to publish more things this summer. After that, I may sulk off for a while to write and consider my options. Quitting my day job to write full time clearly isn't going to happen in the near term like I thought it was going to. To wax melodramatic ...

My dreams have curdled
into stillborn lies
broken and malformed
while my rent heart cries.

So now what? I can't keep doing customer service. It's killing my soul by inches, a death of a thousand paper cuts. School again? Retraining of some sort? Another job with my limited job skills and experience? I just don't know what's going to happen next or why I would want to look forward to it.

New Story: "The High Price of Inflation"

I have a new story up at Amazon, "The High Price of Inflation." This story is considerably shorter than most of my published stories. At only twelve pages in my standard format, it gets right to the point ... which is all about the sex. I think it's far more explicit than anything I've put out before, with an ending that is dark. I wouldn't quite call it horror, but I found it unsettling to write. As the story description makes clear, this story is about a man transformed into a love doll. Speaking of which ...

Story Description:

A young man turns 25. For his birthday, his friends give him a blow up love doll as a gag gift. In the privacy of his apartment, the man finds out that it works really well … but not in the way he was expecting. It isn't long before he finds himself transformed from a "he" into a "she," trapped as a living sex toy, with an owner that's eager to teach her exactly what that means. 

(Transgender Erotic Fiction, Approximately 5,600 words)

Due to the shorter length, this story is very affordable. It is also the first in a four part series. There will be follow-up stories coming out once a month over the summer. (Or at least that's the planned schedule.) Check it out now! (Please.)

Neeeeeeeew STORY!

I have a new short story that should be going up on Amazon at some point today. I posted it last night with the expectation that it would be up this morning so I could announce it formally.

It's not up yet.

The issue now becomes that I have a social engagement that involves some travel time, a reception afterwards, some more travel time coming back to my home, followed by even more travel time to take someone home that's here for the weekend. All in all, I'm going to be doing a lot of "hurry up and wait" today with a lot of time behind the wheel of my car. It might not be until this evening that I can update you all with the formal launch announcement.

So, if you just can't wait, try searching on Amazon for "Sara James, Turned Into an Object, M2F, TG" and see what comes up. Or you can try going to my author page on Amazon. It might (might) update with the new offering when it's available.