Every writer
faces it at some point: the prospect of writing the sequel to a popular book.
I’ve been
writing for a few years now and have well over 30 titles, but An Uncommon Whore
struck a chord with readers. They loved the characters, the romance and the
story. When I finished the book and sent it to the editor I knew there would be
a sequel, but set it to the side. On occasion, I’d pick it up and try to write
the story, but generally something else came along or I simply couldn’t come up
with a story that felt right.
One of the
problems I struggled with was the fact that every person in the book suffered. The
people of Arash were invaded, conquered and exiled to a small desert planet. Helios
had been tortured, raped and sold into slavery. Griffin and his children
experienced horrors. While tragedy doesn’t make for light romance, I found
myself unable to turn away from the consequences of their hardships.
Tragedy and
suffering are staples in romance, particularly m/m romance. The question is,
how much is too much, and how lightly can you treat a serious subject without
trivializing it?
In the first book, Helios had a light voice.
He rarely took anything too seriously, including himself. If he told this
story, it’s highly unlikely that his character would be able or willing to show
the progress that his character makes over the span of the story arc. On the
other hand, Griffin knows him on levels that Helios is unaware of. He can see
the evolution of Helios’ character. What Griffin is blind to is his own pain;
his own need to progress as a man.
In order to
show the evolution of Helios, Griffin had to tell the story. In order to be realistic
with the consequences of the Landaun invasion, I had to send the characters
into dark places. As one reader says, Griffin is not a happy man. Does that
make him a bad man? No, he’s in the process of recovering his life. He’s
finally experiencing grief and grappling with all the bad stuff he’s shoved to
the side. Griffin’s journey isn’t pleasant, but for the purpose of the series,
he needs to take that walk in the dark.
Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder is a wicked, deceptive affliction. I believe strongly that
every character in the story suffers from it. However they all cope
differently. I’ve had a couple traumatic events in my life and one of my more
distressing symptoms is sensory flashbacks: I smell burnt rubber, hear the
phantom impact of colliding autos. As Helios continues to develop, he has a
very Taoist approach to his past. He knows he can’t change things, so he
processes and accepts. He’s water. Griffin doesn’t like feeling weak, so he shoves
everything away, letting his pain simmer. He has nightmares. He’s
short-tempered and suspicious. To make it worse, he has no idea that he’s
having a meltdown. In the end, Griffin reaches a level of self-awareness he’d
never had experienced without the pain he experiences.
At their
heart, the Coalition stories (Belle Starr, An Uncommon Whore, etc.) are space
opera. The heart of these books is in action and adventure. They are bawdy,
sometimes raunchy and a lot of fun. While I had to honor the trauma the Hawkes
and the Daysprings experienced, the story also had to take off and fly.
This story
was tough for me as an author, but I suspect its challenging for the reader as
well. I can only say I’m incredibly grateful to the readers who stick with me
as I continue to take the people of Neo Domus out into space. There are
certainly more tortured heroes to abuse, and some amazing and wonderful aliens
waiting in the wings. (Somian twins, anyone?) Of course, Helios and Griffin are
the backbone of the series and certainly have a bit more of their own journey
to complete.
To find out
more about Belinda and her books, please visit her webpage at:
BLURB:
As king, Helios Dayspring
is desperate to secure the future of his people and their new homeworld. His
memories are slowly returning, bringing with them danger and betrayal.
As the king’s consort,
Griffin Hawke wrestles with growing isolation from his lover. As Helios’
secrets begin to come to light, he finds that he barely recognizes his lover
anymore. Griffin is also haunted by his own secrets, as nightmares bring
torture and death to his sleep.
When Helios and Griffin
undertake a dangerous journey on behalf of their people, everything they fought
for could be lost. Surrounded by enemies and allies, seductive aliens and
dangerous operatives, Helios and Griffin find themselves tested to their
physical and moral limits. Not knowing who to trust, they can only turn to each
other.
Will you be there to catch me when I fall?
EXCERPT:
Still on my knees, I pulled out and turned away, angry and
afraid at my reaction. Helios did not move from where I left him. I rolled
wearily to the soft pillows, my back to him. As my straining heart began to
slow, the final rays of sunset slipped way, anchoring us in darkness.
“The dreams started about a month ago. One of the kilij
forms…it played over and over in my mind. In my dream, the form translated to
words. Poetry. Verses that I am forbidden to say out loud.” He stirred, and I
sensed that he was cleaning himself. “From the time I was a child, there was no
question of my ever inheriting. Nor would Deirdre…or Markus.”
I knew the traditions of inheritance within the royal
family. While the crown didn’t necessarily go to the oldest child, it stayed in
the immediate family. Alexander was Helios’s firstborn, but if he felt it was
necessary, he could name Deirdre his heir -- or even one of my daughters once
he formally adopted them. He and Markus had been distant spares in the game of
king making. Only catastrophe could have landed one of them on the throne.
“Though I would never become king, I was trained for royal
service. As a tiny child, I learned my first kilij form. That was my induction
into the temple.”
“So even when we were in the army together, you knew? You
knew they’d call you back to serve the temple?” I could hear the harsh pain in
my voice. That wasn’t the question that burned inside me. Helios knew what I
was really asking.
“It is the way of our culture for young soldiers to take
lovers from within the ranks. We fight bravely when we fight to impress our
lover.” He paused, and I could imagine the gentle smile on his face. “But we
both knew when we came to adulthood, we’d be expected to end our relationship
and marry. That was our duty. Both the king and the temple expected me to marry
strategically.”
“Your wife ran from you because it was discovered she was
spying on us. In reality…”
“My marriage to Cloris was politics. Not espionage. I did
not take advantage of her. You are correct; I was a handler. I had a string of
operatives who reported to me. Ironically I was chosen for that role because of
my memory. Handlers must remember everything and leave no evidence. The war
shattered those networks, and my enslavement left many men and women cut off
from our people. They are so anonymous that even with our coded records, we are
only beginning to resume contact with some of them.”
He rolled to his side and looked at me soberly. “What I am
learning frightens and humbles me, Griffin.”
I sat up and shook my head. “The temple schools… We always
laughed at them because the failure rate was so astronomical. Students left the
school, joking about the priests and novices. They went back to their lives…”
“And then some vanished. They went to Talis as traders. Some
went to space, taking jobs on other planets. They became merchants and
craftsmen. They never stayed.”
“Oh shit.” I dropped my head to my hands. “The dropouts…they
were your corps of operatives.” The memory of a significant number of temple
dropouts seared my mind.
“I am not at liberty to reveal their identities, Griffin,
but you are now a general, and as such, are part of the governing structure.
The information the temple harvests is shared with the army and the royal
advisors.”
“Not the council?”
He hesitated. “No. Not the council. That is no longer their
role.”
At some point in the past year, the council had lost their
king’s trust. He was actively keeping intelligence from them. What else was
Helios keeping from me?
Overwhelmed, I flopped back to the cushions. With my arms
crossed behind my head, I looked up into the sky and saw the first stars of the
evening flaring to life. Night birds began to sing, and the perfume of flowers
tickled my nose. It lacked the lush gardens and forests of Arash, but Neo Domus
had magic of its own. In the distance, I heard thunder roll across the sky. The
mountains would have rain tonight. In the winter, snow would frost those peaks,
perhaps even reach down to our city. The planet was rough, young, and
dangerous. I wondered if our skies would remain safe. I rested an arm over my
eyes, blocking not only the sky from my view, but my lover as well. My mind
raced, one thought skittering off another, until I dropped my arm and once
again looked up at the sky.
Helios rose and straddled my hips. His hair trailed down
either side of his body, and as he moved, it brushed my skin. He leaned forward
and framed my face with his hands.
“Oh, my beautiful man.” His voice was a heartbroken sigh in
the night air.
Normally I’d have laughed that off. Tonight, the mood was
too heavy. Helios studied my face while brushing his hands into my hair. They
were hard and calloused now, so different from the soft delicacy they’d had
just a year ago. He loved me; it was there in his expressive eyes, mingling
with the growing knowledge that all was not well between the two of us. I’d
always loved Helios, even when we butted heads and jockeyed for dominance. But
I’d fallen in love with the man who’d been Pasha, the slave and whore. Now it
seemed yet another version of Helios was emerging. It was a version of the man
I’d forced him to become when I brought him home.
Helios tilted his head and feathered his lips over mine. He
nuzzled gently, then explored the planes of my cheek, kissing along the seam of
the scar that snaked out from under my eye patch. His kisses were chaste, and
his love was healing. The tight hold of anger slipped away, and I reached up
and pulled him down to lie atop my body.
He slid down and rested his head over my heart. We lay under
Neo Domus’s golden moons, clothed only in warm breezes and the silk of his
hair.
Hello, Jadette!
Thanks for allowing me to share a little about my story, DIVINITY with Riptide
Publishing.
