When I first started Moon Crazy, the idea
was that I’d write an erotic romance that appealed to men. It would be graphic,
visual, and have a hero who lived on the edge. As I started writing it, I
thought, "this will be too gritty for women," but beta readers who were women
told me otherwise.
A reviewer had this
to say: “You know this man is terribly
confident—and a wee bit crazy—to even consider putting these two women on the
same deck, but that swagger makes him entirely irresistible.” ~ Heather Bennett
So, does Jace have swagger or is he moon
crazy?
Of course there were some bits that ended up
on the cutting room floor. After my second round of edits, I was going through
the manuscript and came across this lovely section. It stopped me cold. I was
like, “D L, what the heck were you thinking?” The comments attached to the cut,
are actual comments to my editor. I thought you might like a peek at an authors
editing process and the things that sometimes go through their heads during
this stage of the production:
***Unedited
section***
Quadraxians lived in
domes beside the ocean and in the shallows. Every night the tides came up and
anywhere from fifty to a hundred feet of water would cover the domes. During
the full phase of the moons, the domes remained covered for several days, but
since they were all self-sustaining, it
didn’t cause issues. Special processors extracted air from the oxygen rich sea
water. Fish-like creatures provided the bulk the proteins and since most Quadraxians had indoor gardens within
the biospheres, they had variation in an
otherwise carnivore diet. The dome-dwellers could go for years without coming
out of their dwellings if necessary.
Many of the
homes bored into bedrock several feet
below the ocean floor, giving them subterranean rooms. Tara’s had three levels.
Her bedroom she kept above ground—his below. The sides of her home were wrapped
with glass while the top consisted of a a concrete-like material, stronger and
lighter than the Terran version and air and water tight when she shut the
vents.
She had a room the
level below hers, where she could free dive if she chose. Open to the sea, she
need only jump in to go for a swim. Since Quads had gills, Tara improvised with
a breathing apparatus if she needed to go out at high tide. She was never
stranded or stuck, but rarely went out after dark. Nobody went ashore at night.
The domes served two
purposes. The first was protection from the violent storms that plagued the
planet. The round shapes resisted high winds. Hail bounced off them and water
washed around them and over them like stones in a river. They were also
anchored deep and created in a manner that they were air tight and submergable.
This was the other reason the communities were built on the oceans and beaches.
The second was to
avoid the other residents of the world, carnivores, who were strictly nocturnal
because of their translucent skin and inability to tolerate the light from the
radiant star. And they enjoyed humanoid flesh. Terran, Quad, they didn’t care. They
also couldn’t swim. Since light was coming in, he could leave now, but decided
to shower before going.
Author comment about section: “Wow,
little bit of exposition here. You want me to cut this? Nothing is really
pivotal to the plot going forward, and I just realized I dumped all over this
story here. It’s nice to have details in sci fi, but I don’t think it’s
necessary, and damn...just damn. Smack me upside the head when I do this shit,
will you? LOL”
I hope you’ll check
out Moon Crazy, my naughty little erotic science fiction story. But until then,
enjoy this snippet:
Jace cracked an eye. Warm morning starlight
streamed in through the glass behind him. The light illuminated Tara. She
looked so innocent while asleep, and, truth be told, he could watch her for
hours when she slept, but it wasn’t safe to let his guard down. Sometime during
the night, he’d made the mistake of falling asleep in her bed. Good thing she
hadn’t woke first.
She’d had a room built into her dome, for him,
when he came over on occasion. After they’d had their fill, she wanted him to
go to his room to sleep off the night until the ocean receded and he could
leave without something eating him.
Her eyes fluttered open, and she stared at him.
Beautiful aqua irises glowed in the light, their almond shape accentuated with
a thick fringe of lashes. She studied him, her lips parted and swollen from her
activities the night before. Her platinum hair glowed around her like a halo,
taking his breath away. How he missed waking up next to her. He didn’t want to
admit it, but he stilled loved her.
Unfortunate she didn’t feel the same way. It had
been a long while since he’d spent the night in her bed, and, this time, only
by mistake. A smiled tugged at the corner of her mouth.
Jace cocked a brow. Well, she looked friendly.
Perhaps she wasn’t upset about him staying in her bed. No reason not to be
social. “Good morning.”
The heel of her palm struck him in the
breastbone, sending him reeling off the hovering platform, all flailing arms
and legs, tangled in the sheet.
Jace hit the floor with a thud. “What the fuck.”
“What did we decide about you sleeping in my
bed?”
“Damned harsh for a man who launched your
rockets all night.”
“You have your own room.”
Have
a great Fourth of July, weekend!
D L Jackson
Kindle
|| Nook
|| All
Romance
Website:
www.AuthorDLJackson.com
