So the lovely ladies here at The Blogger Girls asked me to talk about what’s coming up in my crazy little world, and as always, the answer is… a lot.

I’ve been a busy bee on my own (some military romances in the works, plus some steampunk), and of course with my co-writers – Aleksandr Voinov (more Market Garden!), Cat Grant (more rock stars!), and Marie Sexton (dirty cowboys!). Even my alter ego Lauren Gallagher is finally going to get off her duff and get some books written, too – expect to see some hetero, lesbian, and bisexual books starting in the latter part of 2014.

So yeah. Lots and lots in the works.

But Jen gave me puppy dog eyes and wanted me to dish a little about one particular work-in-progress. Specifically… Dark Soul.

No, I have not run out of titles and resorted to copying them from Aleks. I mean I’m working on that Dark Soul.

Here’s what happened. In late 2012, Aleks and I met for the first time at GRL in Albuquerque. As a lot of people know, we’ve pretty much been joined at the brainstem ever since, co-writing over a dozen books and traveling around Europe together. Aleks claims he has a USB port installed in my skull, and I’m inclined to believe him.

Anyway, at that fateful GRL, Aleks gave me a copy of Dark Soul: The Complete Collection. I’d heard a lot of buzz about the book, but had never gotten around to reading it. So, on my flight home, I started reading it.

If you’ve read Dark Soul, you probably remember that first scene when Stefano is standing outside and the motorcycle pulls up. “The postmodern centaur,” as it’s described. (God, Aleks, your prose…*prostrates self*)

That scene is Stefano’s first exposure to Silvio Spadaro, and he immediately knows he’s in deep trouble. Oddly enough, I kind of had the feeling I was in deep trouble too. Silvio instantly intrigued me. When I was finished reading the book two days later, I couldn’t stop thinking about the story, especially Silvio. He pretty much set up shop somewhere in my skull and has never left.

Aleks and I started co-writing our first book not long after that, and at some point, I snarked about Silvio keeping me awake at night. “At this rate, I’m not just going to write with you, I’m going to write some Dark Soul fan fiction just to get Silvio out of my head.”

And thus, the fateful words were spoken. Or, well, typed.

“Go ahead. And if you do, you’re more than welcome to publish it.”

Well.

If you insist.

Thus began Dark Soul 6, which picks up a few months after the end of the series. It’s been kind of a side project for the past year because I’ve had so many other things on my plate, but it’s definitely one of my top priorities right now. In fact, I fully expect it to be finished by mid-April, and y’all should be able to get your hot little hands on it toward the end of the year/early 2015.

The entire book has been written with Aleks’s oversight and guidance, making sure the details stay true to the original. Many characters from the original are back. Some new ones are joining the cast. With Aleks’s blessing, people get hurt, killed, messed up, and ooooh, you’d better believe they get laid. Of course they do. Silvio’s involved.

And as anything does when Silvio is involved, it’s gotten a little out of control. I had intended to write a short novel, or maybe even a collection of short, connected stories/novellas like the original, but Silvio’s having none of it. (Seriously, that little punk is driving this train…) It’s almost 50,000 words right now, and I suspect it’ll take another 20,000 to finish it.

So much for writing a little bit of fanfic to get him out of my head.

Of course, I would be an absolutely insufferable tease if I didn’t share a few nibbles, wouldn’t I?  Bear in mind, this thing has not been edited yet. It’s entirely possible the tidbits I’m sharing will be seriously altered or even removed entirely by the time the book is released. But they’ll give you a little taste of what’s to come!

Fair warning – If you haven’t yet read the original Dark Soul (OMG YOU MUST IT IS SO AMAZING SRSLY READ IT RIGHT NOW), some of these may be a bit spoilery.

With that out of the way…

Snippet 1:

Stefano flinched and squeezed Silvio’s shoulders. “I’d just as soon you stuck around, you know?”

“Why?”

“Do I have to spell it out?”

Silvio locked eyes with him. “Why do you want me here?”

“Why did you come here?”

Silvio’s lips thinned. “I asked you first.”

“After this long, it’s not obvious?” As soon as the words were out, Stefano remembered who he was talking to. Maybe it wasn’t that obvious. Maybe he did need to spell it out again. He moved his hand from Silvio’s shoulder to the back of his neck, and drew him closer. “I don’t want to lose you, Silvio. I know none of this is easy—it isn’t for any of us—but if the alternative is not having you here and safe with me, then I’ll take it.”

Silvio said nothing. Stefano’s heart beat faster—this was one of those moments when Silvio could be infuriatingly emotionless, or he could get angry and leave for a few hours, or . . .

This.

He relaxed inside Stefano’s embrace and let himself be drawn into a kiss. Stefano held him tighter, getting lost in Silvio’s kiss the way he always did. They could do this every night for a million years, and he’d never get his head around how Silvio could shift so quickly between cold indifference to soft and pliant. These moments weren’t enough to keep a restless killer domesticated, but God, they sure felt like it sometimes.

Snippet 2:

Footsteps approached. Bernardo leveled his weapon at the motel room door, ready to squeeze off a shot at a second’s notice.

Someone banged on the other side. “Lemme in, Bernardo. We gotta get Matteo to the hospital.”

“Shit. Fucking idiot.” Bernardo hurried to the door and opened it. “What the hell happ—”

A gunshot startled the fuck out of him, and then Giovanni grunted. He dropped to his knee, one arm clutching his side while the other hand clung to the door frame.

Bernardo grabbed his arm. “Come on, get inside.”

But Giovanni didn’t respond. He crumpled and, when Bernardo let him go, sprawled across the doorstep.

“Good idea,” a cold, coarse voice said. “Get inside.”

Bernardo stepped back. Then crossed himself.

Because he was staring into the face of the Devil.

The black-haired man slipped off a pair of sunglasses, revealing eyes that were as dark as the lenses that had covered them. He hooked the sunglasses in the front of his shirt and casually stepped over Giovanni’s body. “Where is the American?”

Snippet #3:

(You didn’t really think I’d skip out on a dirty one, did you?)

The low moan drew Donata to Silvio’s door, which was slightly ajar. The whole house had been silent in the short period since Stefano had gone upstairs, but as she came to the top of the staircase, the sound vibrated across her nerve endings. Holding her breath, she peered through the narrow crevice.

Stefano was backed up against the wall, and Silvio knelt at his feet, one slender hand on Stefano’s hip, the other out of her sight but undoubtedly on Stefano’s cock just like Silvio’s mouth certainly was.

She wanted to be angry that they were doing this rather than discussing anything, that Stefano had his dick between Silvio’s lips when he should’ve been talking to him, but she couldn’t feel anything except a tingle of arousal at the sight of them.

This wasn’t the first time she’d watched them through a crack in the door or even a window from the garden. Sometimes she wondered if they left the door open on purpose. And if it was Stefano’s doing or Silvio’s. Or something they conspired to do just to . . . what? Tease her?

It didn’t matter. Much as Silvio drove her insane, she couldn’t fault Stefano for being unable to resist him. When Silvio was in that subdued state, when he was so turned on he all but melted, he turned her on so much it still surprised her sometimes.

Stefano’s head fell back. Both his hands were in Silvio’s hair, pale fingers in jet black hair, kneading his scalp and probably pulling hard enough to turn Silvio on.

Donata stayed in the shadows, but slipped a little closer. Stefano probably wouldn’t have noticed her if she’d come barging into the room. Oblivious to her, he stared down at Silvio, lips apart as he gasped for breath. His hips moved faster. Even from here, the cords in his neck and the tension in his jaw were visible, and she could only imagine how deep and hard he was thrusting into Silvio’s throat.

Stefano groaned, the sound so low Donata barely heard it but definitely felt it, and she envied Silvio right then because he must’ve heard Stefano loud and clear, and he was the reason Stefano was so turned on.

***

So there you have it! The 411 on Dark Soul 6, and a few little nibbles to whet your appetite. Keep an eye on my website, blog, and Twitter for release updates!

About Lori

I write full-time now, but in other times and places, I have worked in everything from customer service to lower management, from jewelry to car rentals to compressed gas equipment to adult film production. I was also a professional photographer at one point, but decided I enjoyed it more as a hobby than a career. My husband and I still enjoy photography and happen to live in a place that lends itself very well to a couple of shutterbugs. Pictures and tales of our adventures here can be found, in between rantings and commentary on writing, on my personal blog.