News tidbits!

Jean Roberta reviewed Royal Treatment! You can read the full text of her review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/86122867
She does go into the plot in detail, so if you like BDSM & science fiction, but not knowing in advance what’s coming, I suggest instead of the review, you just read the sample chapter up on the Torquere website: https://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2421
I’ll be guest blogging next Friday at Sia McKye’s “Thoughts Over Coffee” blog, so drop by https://siamckye.blogspot.com/ on Friday, Feb 5th and we’ll chat! My topic is “juggling” and I don’t mean the physical kind with balls and clubs, but juggling multiple writing projects at once.
And guess what? Magic University, Book Two: The Tower and the Tears is having its roll out! It’s already live at Ravenous Romance’s site (where it’s only $1.79 at the moment, though I think the $1.79 on all books sale ends January 30th!) and on All Romance eBooks. Amazon and Fictionwise are next and I’ll post an official launch and sample chapter, etc. as soon as those go live, too!

Magic U review

Tamela Quijas, the author of paranormal romances Blood of the Beast and My Lord Raven, read Magic University Book One: The Siren and the Sword, and loved it! Her full review is up at her blog here: https://tamelaquijas.wordpress.com/2010/01/04/the-siren-and-the-sword-by-author-cecilia-tan/
but among the things she said that made me squee:
“I enjoyed every word Ms. Tan had penned to the page, the magical touches of her story dropping me into the midst of a delightful fantasy world filled with mystery and intrigue.”
And “The Siren and the Sword tale leaps from the page in erotic, steam filled drama that is guaranteed to singe your fingertips! A wonderful group of friends, magic that flies from page to page, the novel is a delightful sexual romp into a magical world that will not disappoint. Harry [Potter] could only wish he had classes this entertaining.”
Book Two: The Tower and the Tears will be out in a matter of weeks, so if you’ve been meaning to read Book One, now’s a good time. Especially since Ravenous is having a massive “all books only $1.79” sale right now. Sale will end real soon now!
Purchase page is here: https://www.ravenousromance.com/fantastica/magic-university-book-one-the-siren-and-the-sword.php?keyword=siren

Royal Treatment is out

I know I blogged about my writing process on Royal Treatment, but haven’t yet done the OMG THE BOOK IS OUT! post yet, have I? OMG, THE BOOK IS OUT.
What’s kind of neat is that Torquere Press always has one of their established authors review the book, so I have my first review already, technically. It’s here: https://www.torquerepress.com/fiction/royaltreatment.html#review. Thanks to C.C. Bridges for her review, who said, “In ‘Royal Treatment’ Cecilia Tan has created an intriguing universe where power plays and politics are settled in the playroom. There is much to fascinate here…”
There’s also a sample chapter up for your reading delight, if you just scroll down from the review.
If you’re ready to buy, just click here for the Torquere catalog page.
I’m prepping another excerpt to hand out on a flyer at Arisia and perhaps read from. Yum. My reading will be midnight on Friday night of the con, in the William Dawes room! That tomorrow night!

Goodbye Forest Cafe

It is with a heavy heart I report that the Forest Cafe, my neighborhood bar and watering hole, is closing its doors forever.
There’s an article online from our local newspaper about it: https://www.wickedlocal.com/cambridge/news/x985678695/Closing-down-the-only-option-for-Cambridges-Forest-Caf?popular=true
The gist of the article: the bad economy is forcing one of the last family-owned bars in Cambridge out of business.
corwin and I were in there tonight, the last night the kitchen would be open. In fact, corwin ordered the last meal ever served (tres marias, cheese). There were still some regulars hanging around when we left, and the bar will be open for drinks for a few more nights, but Brian Gaudet, who was our first, best bartender, called tonight the “last night.”
We didn’t used to go into bars because a) we didn’t drink, b) we didn’t smoke, and c) we didn’t like sports. Then we got into baseball, the smoking ban was enacted, and voila! We started going into bars. And this led to the drinking…
The Forest was where we went to find out all the local gossip and politics. Among the regulars who could be seen knocking back many beers and shots of tequila a night, a former JFK speech writer, an astronomer, a composer of classical music, many Red Sox fans, an editor at Nature magazine, us. You know the cliche about a bar like “Cheers”? That was the Forest. I could always count on hearing how the Sox were doing, or the Patriots, and many times went there to watch sporting events. One night corwin and I went in there to watch a World Series game (I think it was White Sox/Astros?) and the game ran in extra innings so late and so long that Brian eventually turned off all the lights and closed the bar, but the three of us still stayed watching the TV in the dark.
Some of the regulars have put up a website so that we can hang out virtually now that the watering hole is closed: https://forestrefugees.com
John and Stefanie say they’ve checked out two alternate neighborhood spots: the Newtowne Grille and Spirit, both on the other side of Porter Square. The crowd may migrate one of those places, having already rejected the West Side Lounge (too snooty, the bartenders don’t talk to you), Cambridge Common (too loud), Tavern on the Square (way too loud), and Christopher’s (they cut you off after three beers…?!)
But it’ll never be the same. So we raised our glasses one last time at the old watering hole, mine a shot of tequila, corwin a house margarita. We’re really going to miss that place.

Web serial novel: the experiment in progress

So here’s a little piece about publishing a novel online. This piece should not be taken as a “how to.” Why? Because although this piece is about what I’m doing, as will become rapidly clear, I am making it up as I go along.
Several people have asked my why “a writer of [my] stature” is self-publishing online. The short version is that publishing in print is shrinking fast and in awful financial shape. Fewer and fewer chances to publish anything edgy, or even much fiction at all, exist, and it’s going to get worse before it gets better. I have an adventurous spirit and have always been high tech. Rather than hide my head in a hole and hope that after Borders, Barnes & Noble, & the other mega-chains who killed off our thriving independent bookstore population die off like HMV & Tower Records did there is still a print publishing world out there at all, I’m embracing the new media. And why the hell not?
A brief background on this novel. I started writing it in graduate school in my very first semester, in a novel writing class. I had been writing about the main character for many years at that point, but had never buckled down and written his book. The “book” I ended up with was nothing like the other fiction I’ve written. It’s not in traditional chapters, but in short snippets. I envisioned it as a somewhat postmodern work, almost like a scrapbook, with photos and sheet music and fake newspaper clippings in it, although all I wrote was the prose story, the ancillary material all imagined. Several editors at major publishing houses read it. All seemed to really enjoy it, but none felt they could successfully publish it. Mostly because it was too long, and yet couldn’t be easily cut. I tried to cut it anyway, shortening the finished work from around 300,000 words to 220,000. Which for most commercial publishers still made it twice as long. So it sat in my hard drive until now.
I figured, why not put it on the web? My goals are pretty modest at this point. I figure rather than it sitting dormant it could:
1) at least be read and enjoyed by people
2) Could potentially earn some money rather than zero money
3) Maybe if it gets popular it will help bring readers to my other work, including actual books for sale
4) If it gets really popular, at the very least I could sell an ebook or POD version of it. (Maybe in multiple volumes, given the length.)
So, Goal #1. Get it read by people. I figured for that I need the following:
1) A website that looks nice and is easy to navigate
2) Incoming links
Continue reading →

Cocktails, sushi, and my iPhone camera…

So the one bad consequence of the fact that my iPhone went through the laundry a few months ago, other than voiding my warranty, is that the camera is blurry now. There’s probably nothing I can do to fix it, but I figured I’d post and see if anyone had suggestions out there. Everything else about the phone works perfectly, and I don’t use the camera that much, and the photos are not that bad most of the time. I’ve already tried cleaning the little “lens” with lens cleaner to no avail. It *looks* fine…
here’s a comparison though where you can really see the difference. This was taken with my iPhone camera:
(Photos of sushi and cocktails lurking under the “more” tag…)
Continue reading →

The story of writing backwards (Royal Treatment)

So, many of you know that probably my most “iconic” story — and certainly the one that has been read by the most people over the past 18 years — is “Telepaths Don’t Need Safewords .”
One of the unusual things about the story and the characters of Arshan (the dom) and Mriah (the sub), is that the entire thing, title, characters, and backstory all leapt into my head more or less simultaneously. The characters sprang forth as fully realized people. Sometimes it takes me a while to learn the quirks of my characters, but not that time. The story of “Telepaths” takes place after they’ve already been in a relationship for at least ten years.
Most writers who get taken by storm by a character (or two) go on to write sequels about them.
In my case, I’ve done it backwards. I keep writing prequels.
The story of “Telepaths” actually tells maddeningly little about the background of the main characters. There’s passing mention of the planet Continue reading →

Duck Day 2009 Menu, and other holiday stuff

First, if any of you are so inclined, please drop by this post on my baseball blog and leave your suggestions for baseball-related gifts this season:
https://www.whyilikebaseball.com/2009/12/baseball-gift-giving-your-suggestions/
And now, sorry for the delay, here is the Duck Day 2009 menu I’ve been meaning to post:
Amuse Bouche • Burrata with sea salt and a micro tomato basil salad
–sadly the burrata had gone bad! A very fine pecorino stood in for it nicely though.
Anti • Pasti
Anti:
Anchovies, salt cured and garnished with Parmesan & Lemon
Arancini of porcini mushroom
Artichoke hearts in wine and vinegar
Pasti:
Peppers, red, oven-roasted
Peppers, baby red and yellow, pickled in olive oil and spices
Prosciutto of Duck
Wine Pairing: Muri-Gries Alto Adige Lagrein Rosato 2008 (It’s a rosé)
Duck Italian Wedding Soup
duck meatballs with stellina pasta and mustard greens in duck broth
Frangelico Duck Italiano
seared duck breast, glazed with Frangelico liqueur
served on a pair of root vegetable schmears: paprika’d carrot & parsnip and celeriac root frangelico
Wine Pairing: Aglianico del Taburno Fidelis 2005
–this was the dish it took me 3 days to prep all the ingredients. It was worth it.
Duck Ravioli
handmade ravioli stuffed with braised duck, roasted garlic, and fennel and served with a marsala demi-glace
–I will post photos of corwin and Scliff making the ravioli.
Mixed Grill
Smoked duck breast, honey and orange glazed roast quail, sweet italian duck sausage with fennel, spicy italian duck sausage, and duck livers and other organs
Accompanied by white beans, and roasted kale
Wine Pairing: Vietti Langhe Nebbiolo Perbacco 2006
Intermezzo
Tangerine Ice with Prosecco
Wood Fired Ducks served with roasted root vegetables, and broccoli in a lemon bath
–yesterday I threw the leftover wood-fired root veg (beets, turnips, leeks) into a pot with a leftover half bottle of red wine and two lamb shanks and it made the BEST LAMB STEW EVER.
Crimini Mushroom & Celery Salad with White Truffle
–yes, corwin finally got to serve a white truffle!
Dessert Course • Trio of Delights
Handmade milano cookies • Miniature flat cannoli • Homemade strawberry ice cream with balsamic vinegar and candied basil
Wine Pairing: Malvasia Sicilia
–unusually, I was the one who made all the desserts & their parts except the candied basil
Followed by Tea, Coffee, & Grappa
We sat down pretty much on time at 8pm and desert was served at about 2am. We used pretty much every dish in the china closet, many of them multiple times.
Photos now up on Photobucket!

99 cent ebooks today only at Ravenous!

So today is Ravenous Romance‘s One Year Anniversary!
They are having a special blowout sale, all ebooks for 99 cents! So you can now get my books that list for $6.99 for just a buck. If you’ve been meaning to pick them up, today would be a great day to do it.
What I’ve got out from them so far:
MIND GAMES
Paranormal erotic thriller. Wren is a withdrawn, solitary young woman with latent telepathic abilities. When her flaky sister goes missing, Wren hires a private investigator to help find her, only to find herself more and more attracted to him as time goes on. Derek is attracted to her, as well, and they discover that together they can unlock Wren’s suppressed talents. But what’s up with the strangely erotic yet threatening dreams Wren is having? I’ve written this one with situations of sexual jeopardy and dubious consent, which those of you who are familiar with my fanfiction I know will enjoy just fine. Wink wink.
THE HOT STREAK
Baseball romance!! This might be the most vanilla thing I’ve ever written, but it is hot and fun and is definitely ROMANCE with a Capital R. Casey Branigan is bored with her job and bored with dating, which has come to seem like a job. Then she meets a major league ballplayer and gets sucked into the whirlwind life of glamour that is being a baseball girlfriend. But there are things her beau isn’t telling her… hijinks ensue.
THE SIREN & THE SWORD (Magic University, Book One)
My Harry-Potter-esque adventure set in the magical university hidden inside Harvard. Follow the adventures of poet and college freshman Kyle Wadsworth as he discovers he is magical — and that in particular, sex magic may be his strength. Mystery, romance, and lots of sex in a coming of age sort of tale.
Plus several erotica anthologies I collected for Ravenous:
Boys of the Bite — gay vampires
Women of the Bite — lesbian vampires
Bites of Passion — het vampires
Young Studs — tales of younger men and older women
Wicked Pleasures — BDSM erotic stories
Go grab them now while the 99 cent special lasts! 🙂