Tag: magic

Curse You: M/M magical fiction

Curse You: M/M magical fiction

by fnmanning ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

When the Ancient Greeks and Romans turned to magic to solve their problems, they used curse tablets. These stone sheets were hidden in places like crypts with pleas to the underworld asking for love, success, or revenge. I posted about using these tablets for romance and passion here, and now I’m sharing a scene I wrote inspired by this magic.

Curse You:

Does counting sheep work? Who knows. Only seven sheep jump over a little fence in my mind before I’m tempted to give up. Sleep still feels so far away. I scold myself for nearly giving up on the imaginary livestock.

Three sheep later and they grow wings, floating around while Tyler Riley’s smile appears in my mind.

No. Sheep. Think of flying sheep.

Four more sheep. They start spewing fire for some reason. One more sheep and the fence burns down. Six more and there’s enough for them to form small armies and launch into battle, flying over a destroyed farmland and spewing fire and—dragons. My sheep are basically dragons.

Screw the sheep. Screw the dragons hiding in sheep’s clothing. I turn on my side and throw a pillow over my face.

I’m going to sleep dammit.

There’s no point checking all Tyler’s social accounts for the millionth time tonight. Seeing if he posted anything new. Observing all the photos of him with other guys like an anthropologist, noting how close they stand and trying to extrapolate the relationship. Looking through all his messages for any queer subtext as if it will definitively prove he likes guys too.

I’m sure he likes guys. Pretty sure. I just don’t know if he likes me.

Eventually, I fall into a fitful sleep.

Then I get up.

“Fuck you, Tyler Riley,” I swear, cursing him for plaguing my sleep.

I want to stay in bed but my legs rise on their own. All it takes is trying to recall the half-remembered dream of us tangled in the sheets together and it’s like a frenzy overtakes me, the urge to take the visions in my head and turn them real.

In the dead of night, exhausted and frustrated, the line between real and not blurs, making me think I can set fantasy into motion through sheer force of will.

A passenger in my own body, I watch myself grab the supplies from the closet, given to me by a witchy friend.

She had fixed me with a steely-eyed gaze and commanded me to only use magic responsibly. Extend a gentle invite and ask for his affection, if he feels it too. Nothing about this feels responsible or gentle.

No. I scroll the internet and find a recipe for what I really need. For the desire to consume him like it consumes me.

The magic comes together. Dried rose petals. Honey for sweetened thoughts. A lock of my hair. A piece of paper with Tyler’s name on one side and mine on the other. Fold the paper, stick a pin in it, binding us together. My hands work on their own when assembling the spell, but the need crawling up my spine and choking my throat? I feel every second of want.

Once I assemble everything and stick it all in a velvet pouch that smells of mothballs, I stare at the result and have no idea what I’m looking at or who made it. Can’t be me. It can’t be real.

But Tyler is real. The divot in his chin and his smile are real.

I attach a little gift tag on the front, one with a label for ‘to’ and ‘from.’ Is that part of the spell or did I add that? What a bizarre present. It doesn’t feel like a gift.

Still in pajamas when I pile into the car and make the drive, it’s a miracle I arrive safely since I barely saw the road. All I see is him. I need him.

The fog of magic and sleep parts somewhat at the edge of the cemetery. This is the really weird, even creepy part. Giving my magical not-present to the dead will allow my plea to travel to places beyond this world.

Wandering around in the dark, am I really going through with this? I think not, until my feet come to a stop at an old headstone. I like the angel statue near the stone, with a space between its clasped hands to place a real flower. Overgrown grass covers the weathered marble of the grave marker, yet a single rose rests in the angel’s hands. Fresh. The crimson color draws me in.

I sink to my knees by the statue, apologizing to whoever’s rest I disturb while digging into the ground to find a spot—oh god, what is that? The casket? No, this is just below the surface. I pull the object out and find a spell bag, wiping away the dirt to read the message there.

This grave already holds a plea. From him. It bears my name.

~

When I read about curse tablets and saw they were usually desperate pleas where love is like an affliction, my first thought was ‘oh, a man leaves a curse tablet for another guy only to find there’s already one there with his name on it, from the guy he’s obsessed with.’ I liked the idea enough to write it out, but I definitely need to come up with ideas that contain dialog next time. I’m a dialog gal and this has none.

I kept the part about using the dead to ferry the pleas, because damn, that takes commitment and is a memorable detail. But I didn’t use actual tablets because that feels awkward. Who makes steel tablets unless you’re some sort of metalworker?

Magic all around

Magic all around

by fnmanning ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

The quote I’m sharing today is from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, though I feel less impressive because I didn’t select it after reading the book. I saw it on a calendar.

Everything is made out of magic, leaves and trees, flowers and birds, badgers and foxes and squirrels and people. So it must be all around us. In this garden – in all the places.

It looks nicer on this quote card from Etsy:

Love Magic and the Dark Art of Ancient Curse Tablets

Love Magic and the Dark Art of Ancient Curse Tablets

by fnmanning ♥ 1 Comment

Love sick and struggling to get over an old flame? What if you turned to magic?

This sounds like the start of a dark fantasy romance novel, which is a much safer place to put the the curse tablets that ancient Greeks and Romans used. Probably best not to take after them.

Ancient practitioners hammered lead into delicate sheets, then carved their deepest desires and darkest intentions into the malleable surface with bronze styluses. Archaeologists have uncovered approximately 1,600 of these tablets, known as defixiones in Latin or katadesmoi in Greek.

Photo: Arnaud 25

The words they etched weren’t meant for mortal eyes. Messages targeted the gods of the underworld, deities who controlled fate and could bend reality to match human will. Hecate, Persephone, Charon. Lead connected the curse to Pluto’s realm since the metal belonged to the underworld, making it the perfect messenger between worlds.

Folding the tablet trapped the target’s fate within its creases.

Nails bound the magic tight, ensuring the gods couldn’t ignore the petition.

This love magic had a bite, seeking to bind the target’s will, create obsessive thoughts, or cause physical discomfort until the victim surrenders to the petitioner’s desires.

Personal items often accompany the tablets to strengthen the magical connection. Strands of hair, bits of clothing, or even bodily fluids from the intended target create a sympathetic link. These items contain the target’s essence (ousia), establishing a magical bridge between the tablet and victim. This connection ensures the curse finds its mark, regardless of physical distance.

Practitioners deposit tablets in locations where the boundary between the living and dead grew thin. Graves, wells, temple foundations, and underground springs became repositories for longing and desperation. Wells and springs provide access to underground water systems that connect to the realm of the dead. Temple foundations rest on sacred ground where divine power concentrates. Crossroads were good too, spaces where multiple worlds intersect. Using graves let petitioners recruit the restless dead as supernatural messengers, carrying their requests to underworld deities.

Here is one example of a tablet for love magic from Papyrus Stories, this one written by a man about another man. I like the poetry of it and how it’s like part magical spell, part stream of conscious desperation.

If he stands you will not let him stand, if he sits you will not let him sit, if he sleeps you will not let him sleep! He will seek after me from village to village, from city to city, from field to field, from land to land, until he comes to me and he subjects himself beneath my feet – me, Apapolo, the son of Nooe – his hands filled with all good things, until I fulfil with him the desire of my heart and the request of my soul in a good desire and an unbreakable affection, now, now, quickly, quickly, do my work!”

Curse You

Photo: -JVL-

If you have ever experienced gender norms about men and women, it won’t surprise you that men were more likely to try inducing passion while women asked for affection. However, the sample size isn’t very big. And not all of the discovered artifacts were created for romance since, you know, they were curse tablets.

Court cases inspired many curses. Litigants bound their opponents’ tongues and minds to ensure victory. Victims of theft created tablets naming stolen items and cursing unknown thieves. Athletes and performers cursed rivals before competitions.

Many tablets contain specialized vocabulary or voces mysticae. Magical words and phrases believed to carry supernatural power. These mysterious utterances appear to be nonsensical combinations of Greek, Egyptian, and Hebrew sounds that possibly represented a special language only demons could understand or words more appropriate for conversing with gods than human language. Not sure why but I love the idea of writing gibberish and then calling it a super special magical language.

Sources

The World of Roman Women

Bartered History

Antiquity Reconsidered

Curse Tablet Wikipedia

Witchcraft in Ancient Greece and Rome Wikipedia

What’s in a name?

What’s in a name?

by fnmanning ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Want to know my dirty little secret as an author?

Well, first I should mention a ton of my books are on sale this week and next week, that’s no secret.

The secret is that I suck at character names. It’s really inconvenient considering I love having names that relate to a character’s personality or story in some way, but names are one of the hardest things to come up with. 

In Bold as Brass, I finally got the chance to name a character Liam. I’ve wanted to use the name for a while because it shares the first two letters with one of the placeholders I use for names, LI. LI is short for love interest just like Liam is short for William. And the name Liam and the character share Irish ancestry so it worked out.

(True story, looking up Liam’s name just to see what it meant is when I learned Liam is short for William. Which makes all the sense in the world, I just somehow missed this memo.)

This time, I lucked out on naming my main character. His specialty is metal magic and then I came across Tolliver, a surname that literally means metalworker. Being literal for the win.

(P.S. Tolliver is Oliver Brass’s actual first name because he has fussy waspy parents that would totally name him Tolliver, and he just goes by Oliver. But that’s one of those backstory details that did not actually make it into book.)

I had no idea I was going to write a novel about a metal wizard losing control of his powers and ending up in the arms of a dominant older man who is literally the sweetest and dirtiest guy at the same time. But this was a very fun ride to go on and I ended up enjoying these characters and their story a lot, so I hope you do too.

Bold as Brass is indeed on sale for 99 cents. It’ll go back to regular price next Wednesday, so get it on sale while you can!

Control is everything… until you find someone worth surrendering to.
After studying metal magic in posh British universities, Oliver Brass proudly becomes a wizard. Unfortunately, he barely has time to celebrate when a family scandal sends his world into chaos and his powers spiral out of control. A stiff upper lip isn’t helping, so the metal mage turns to a provocative professor to tame his magic—and his body.

A charming educator by day and a dirty dom by night, Liam Monroe has the unique ability to magically master a willing partner. Liam demands obedience, and even though Oliver may never stop blushing, he and his powers are eager to comply.

Both men are thoroughly satisfied until dragons drop in, determined to make the wizard pay for the sins of his family. Oliver must reign in his malfunctioning abilities if he has any hope of stopping the vengeful beasts… or keeping Liam. Can Oliver be bold enough to fight for his man, or will the dragons burn it all down?

Moon Water and Full Moon Rituals

Moon Water and Full Moon Rituals

by fnmanning ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Let’s talk about the moon. 

Why? Well, partly because of my M/M paranormal romance novel Bold as Brass, I’m finding topics that relate to some of the main flavors in the novel. Like the moon.

In the book, Liam Monroe gets his powers from the moon. He can see where the moon shines and manipulate shadows at night. He also engages in some unique and kinky moon rituals. But we’ll get into that more later.

He’s also strongest whenever the moon is strongest, so a full moon gives him the most power. The same powers as a fictional wizard in a book may not be possible, but there are plenty of people who do try tapping into the moon’s power, especially on the full moon.

One way to tap into the moon’s energy is with moon water. Do not confuse this with moonshine. They are both drinkable, but with very different results. 

Moon Water

Moon water is basically what it sounds like. Water that the moon has shined down upon, which charges the water with some of the moon’s energy.

This practice has apparently existed for a very long time and is certainly legit because it even became a TikTok craze. Okay maybe not, but given that the moon does control the tides, it isn’t totally crazy to draw a connection between the moon and water. 

All you need to do is set out some water under a full moon or place a jar of water in a windowsill where the moonlight can reach it. Those who practice witchcraft have some strong opinions on whether the water has to be outside or whether there can be a lid on the jar, but if you’re just doing this for fun, I say you do whatever works for you. 

Moon water can be used for anything regular water can, though some common uses are for cleansing and revitalization like taking a bath, watering plants, cleaning, or making tea. 

Inside Bold as Brass
Lots of people do full moon rituals to recharge and welcome a new phase in life, though Liam Monroe does things a little differently in Bold as Brass. His rituals still work around moon phases, but they involve power exchange and are decidedly dirtier than simply celebrating the moon’s journey across the sky. 

When Oliver Brass doesn’t feel deserving of his powers and they become out of control, he turns to Liam for help. He’s never done anything so bold as putting someone else in charge of his body and his magic before, but nothing else is working and he’s drawn to the sinful things the professor/dominant is offering.

In this scene, Liam and Oliver are starting a ritual under the moon. They’re making candles for the ritual and setting up how their arrangement will work. Basically, Oliver is giving up control and Liam is taking it. 

Oliver

Maybe I feel it in the air or in the soft moonlight beginning to trickle in from the skylight. There’s a power here and we only need to shape and draw it out.

I go for the obvious, taking the coil of brass from my table and starting to wrap a thin strip around my candle. “I pledge to give you control of my metal magic.” The words feel like a vow. “I promise to use my magic how you direct me and to refrain when not given permission.”

“I accept the authority for use of your metal magic.” Liam wraps a length of dark twine around his own candle. “From the start of this waxing moon cycle until the next cycle of the waxing moon, I must give you permission in order to use the magic.”

It’s not magic I feel now, only the weight of the words and his eyes on me. I shiver in expectation of the promises there. This is why I came to him.

“I pledge to give you control of my body. I will let you dictate our, our, um, sexual activity.”

“I accept.” Liam responds swiftly. He seems excited. “I will make decisions for both of us sexually. I’ll give you orders.”

“And I will obey,” I whisper.

“Honestly, my imagination has been running wild. Any reasonable magic usage may be asked of you, like we agreed, but right now? It’s looking like there will be a lot of sexual commands. There are so many perverted uses for your magic, and I’d like to explore as many of them as we can.”

I focus on wrapping red thread around my candle as I respond, “N-not, that’s not a problem.”

“Good,” says Liam. He doesn’t continue.

I remind him, “That’s not all we talked about.”

“I know, but why don’t you tell me anyway?” Liam enjoys this too much. “You need to say it, Oliver.”

“You will also control when I come,” I whisper, face bright red. “Control whether I come at all.”

My heart is pounding in my chest and my cock stirs in anticipation as I offer up this gift to Liam. His eyes grow even darker and he accepts without hesitation. 

“That’s right. Your every orgasm is mine to give or withhold. For the most part, expect that you aren’t getting off or using your metal magic unless I’m there. When I say, you can use your power and come.”

“Well, one or the other.” 

Liam starts to nod and agree, then he stops. “You know what? Let’s make the two exclusive.”

“What?”

“You aren’t going to come at all unless I give you permission. And anytime you do, you’re going to be using metal magic before, during, or after.” Even in the dark, I see his eyes light up. “Oh, I like this idea. I like this a lot.” But he shakes his head and clears his throat a second later. “Question is, what about you? If you don’t think you can handle that, tell me. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s best to tell me now.”

“Um, what if I can’t?” 

“Then you can’t.” He gives me a soft smile, no judgment or pressure. “This is what I want. I think it’s within your power to give me, but I could be wrong. And if I am wrong, that’s not your fault. I just need to know. I only want what you’re willing to give.” 

He seemed dark and dirty a second ago and now he’s softly looking into my eyes and making me feel safe, how does he do that?

 I already know he’s the kind of man who honors what he says. That means he won’t begrudge any limits I need to set. If I say no right now, the person most disappointed… will be me.

“No, I…I want to try,” I tell him. “I know I need to use my powers and get them to cooperate but that’s still the part I’m least looking forward to. This way gives me something to look forward to when using the magic. I’d like to try. Is that enough?”

Liam smiles. “Darling, it is more than enough.”

My head spins as we cover the rest smoothly and finish the candle. By the time we’re finished, I’m hard and aching in my pants. I feel the moon grow stronger, its power pulsing around us but not touching us yet. I’m so eager to feel it, to offer myself up to its power and Liam’s.

The empty space between us fills with moonlight, shining brightly, right down through the spotlight as we make our final pledges.

“Let my intentions become manifest under the light of the moon and its magic.”

We both speak the incantation and step into the skylight with our candles. Both candles light, fire glowing from the wicks like the moonlight is a flame that ignited them. 

When we touch the candles together, both candles go out and smoke swirls around us. Liam’s eyes glow and I feel his power, feel the intention behind our words gaining the conviction and weight of magic. 

It’s done. Until the next waxing moon cycle, I’m his.

Bold as Brass

Oliver Brass is proud to follow family tradition and become a metal wizard. For about two seconds. Then his family’s good name is tarnished by crime and scandal, leaving Oliver confused and betrayed. When his powers start rebelling against him, a friendly professor could help. But the teacher’s illicit extracurricular activities are what truly captive the metal mage.

A charming professor by day and a wicked dom by night, Liam Monroe has the unique ability to control a person’s body and magic. Surrendering to the sexy older man could be exactly what Oliver needs, as long as he keeps his feelings at bay and remembers their arrangement is supposed to be temporary.

Everything seems to be going well, until dragons with a score to settle attack and threaten both men. Oliver must rely on his magic if he has any hope of stopping the vengeful dragons… or keeping Liam.

Can Oliver be bold enough to fight for the man he loves, or will it all go up in flames? 

Wolverine Claws and the Magic of Metal

Wolverine Claws and the Magic of Metal

by fnmanning ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

In M/M paranormal romance novel Bold as Brass, the main character Oliver Brass has metal magic. We do not have metal magic in real life as far as I know, though there are people doing wild things with metal that nearly bring the magical and futuristic things we see in movies to life.

Apparently, I’m super late to this party but people have been making actual steel Wolverine claws for a while now. Some are decorative, but others are actually capable of destroying shit. There are multiple videos about this on Youtube, and some of the versions are retractable, and a few are made of paper, which are less destructive but more easily reproduced.  

One of the best versions is created by Hacksmith, a company whose entire job is to create real versions of cool fictional stuff. Like Thor’s hammer and a working bat signal, for example. They started making Wolverine claws over a decade ago and even graduated to claws that heal themselves, which is incredibly awesome.

Granted Wolverine’s body and not his claws are what heal in the movies and comic books, though my guess is that whatever metals they were using for the claws before are not as indestructible as adamantium, which means these claws need to heal.

The claws use a smart alloy that transforms back to their original shape when using a flame.

The healing claws are a few years old, now they’ve moved onto making their version of real life adamantium. But my favorite, hands down, is mini lightsabers. Lightsabers! We’re living in the future now.

Kink, Control, and Steam

When I first started this series and wrote The Frost or The Bite, I mentioned that the antagonist in that book had a younger brother. I had it in the back of my head that he could potentially show up and I could do something with him later.

The unnamed brother referenced in the first book eventually became Oliver Brass, and this is his book. I knew he’d be different from his brother and a much better person, but I never imagined back when I wrote the first book that this is where his story would lead. Right into the gutter. When his family’s reputation is ruined and Oliver struggles to get his powers under control, he ends up in the arms of a dominant wizard and learns that giving up control might be the best option. 

This novel was new for me as I’d never written anything this kinky before but I ended up loving these characters and hopefully you will too.

Will giving up control set him free?

Oliver Brass is an honest man, but his family isn’t. When the wizard discovers that the people who taught him to love metal magic aren’t as respectable as anyone thought, his powers stop listening to him. Trying to regain control leads him to Professor Liam Monroe, but the teacher’s extracurricular activities are what truly interest him.

A friendly professor by day and a wicked dom by night, Liam Monroe has the unique ability to control a person’s body and magic. Surrendering to the sexy older man could be exactly what Oliver needs to get his magic under control, as long as he keeps his feelings at bay and remembers their arrangement is supposed to be temporary. 

Will Oliver be bold enough to follow his heart?  Find out in Bold as Brass.

Sexual Tension and Other Professional Dilemmas 

Sexual Tension and Other Professional Dilemmas 

by fnmanning ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

In my magical M/M romance Strikes Twice, Marty is a new air wizard looking for a purpose and he’s convinced he can help a troubled man with a debilitating electrical curse. Az, cursed and cranky, has some doubts. They don’t get off on the right foot.

Here’s an excerpt from the novel. In this scene, Marty and Az are outside on the Primrose University campus and they’ve gotten off on the wrong foot. Well, technically they get off an incredibly sexy foot which then goes wrong, then really wrong—and now they’re at odds. Marty’s having some trouble acting professional while trying to convince Az he can handle himself around unpredictable magic energy. Then Az tests Marty’s resolve.

Marty

I can’t help but notice how hot Az looks in the sunlight. Who wears a leather jacket in the summer? He’s dressed in layers and black from head to toe. I tell myself he looks stupid, but… 

At least six feet tall and packed with solid muscle, Az Serrano practically towers over me. His bronze skin must be a genetic gift because despite the summer season and sunny day, he’s extremely covered up. How is he not sweating and panting in the heat? Maybe his bad attitude fends off the heat. Isn’t he hot?

Yes, very hot, my brain supplies instantly. Not what I meant. Az should look hot temperature-wise, but instead, he looks sexy hot.

I force myself to focus and start clearing the air.

“You’re going to hear me out. This is professional.”

“Really?” That evil smirk and glint in his eyes only makes him less hot, I tell myself firmly. “Tell that to your eyes, they keep undressing me.” 

“No, my eyes are doing no such thing. If anything, they’re putting more layers on you, Az. You must be delusional. Az the delusional ass. Has a nice ring, doesn’t it? Or maybe just Az the ass. Hey, Az…” Eager to get off this topic, I let the unusual name distract me. “What kind of name is Az, anyway?”

“Short for Azure,” he grits out because even pulling basic information out of him is apparently too much. 

“Is that so, Azur—”

“Nope. Don’t even try. Only my tias and abuelas call me Azure. Are you my tia or my abuela, Marty?”

“Okay fine, just curious.” I raise my hands and remind him why I’m really here. “Let’s talk about the study you canceled.”

“You wouldn’t last a day on this study, so there’s no point in pretending otherwise.”

“I have what it takes to contribute,” I grit through clenched teeth. 

“No, you’re an overconfident newbie who’s going to run away scared at the first unexpected zap.”

“Bring it on.”

“Oh yeah?” To test my resolve, the lunatic reaches out and touches my wrist, sending an electric shock coursing through my body. I grit my teeth. The jolt isn’t strong, but it’s a struggle to not react. Especially since the smartest thing for an air caster to do is to not get shocked.

But he needs to know he can’t scare me away that easily. I’m not running away. I’m not afraid of a challenge and I can do this job.

“See? I didn’t run away at the first unexpected shock.” I stand my ground, but he still doesn’t look impressed.

“Handling an unpredictable curse is vastly different from a single zap of electricity,” he says.

“Bring. It. On.” I repeat, not about to come this far and back down now.

“Fine, you think you can handle yourself around wild electricity? Prove it.”

—

And that’s all for now. Does Marty pass Az’s test? Do they play an absurdly serious game of tag on the campus lawn? Can Marty unravel the curse? Find out in Strikes Twice. This was a really fun one to write as Marty and Az are both so feisty and they wind each other up so easily.

Terrible Superpowers

Terrible Superpowers

by fnmanning ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

 

magic

That’s what we’re trying to figure out.

Why? In honor of my novel The Frost or The Bite where the main character must choose between ice and earth magic. We’re deciding which element is better for ourselves. 

 In case you forgot, here’s the score after round one:

Ice: 0 Earth: 1

When comparing the elements, a natural step is to wonder which one is stronger. 

I did briefly approach this as if it were a real topic of research and try to answer this question intellectually. I found an encyclopedia to look up powers and everything.  (I should never approach things intellectually. Never goes well.)

My research went off course pretty fast. I found myself just clicking on the fun sounding ones instead. Which brings us to the next category in this contest.

Not which is stronger but which has the better most useless power. I tried to find two of the most nonsense powers, one in earth, one in ice, and let’s look at which has the most ridiculous one. (I had fun with this and I hope you do too, but if not, we’re looking at who has the hottest characters next time.)

Ice’s Most Useless Power: Ice Cream Mimicry

icecream

Ice cream mimicry is defined as ‘transforming into or having a physical body made of ice cream.’ The power is mostly used by characters who look like or are ice cream cones, like a character on the Amazing World of Gumball  or certain Pokemon like Vanillish.

(There are over a dozen characters with this power, but those are the two examples I was even remotely familiar with.)

 My favorite way to think of this power is by someone pretending to be ice cream. Why? No clue! Maybe they want to know what it’s like to be a bowl of rocky road. Or maybe when trying to hide from a lactose intolerant person and so being ice cream makes you safe from them.

There’s just something so sweet and innocent about pretending to be ice cream. No pun intended. It’s useless in a fight but undeniably awesome, in a useless way. 

And this is less sweet, but I found it hilarious that under limitations in the encyclopedia it says ‘user may simply be eaten.’ 

 

Earth’s Most Useless Power: Earth Swimming

guyOkay, I picked powers that sound ridiculous, but earth swimming is actually pretty useful.  It gives the user the ability to swim through the ground and earth like it was water. Since the real world isn’t Minecraft, going deep into the ground just by doing the backstroke must be pretty useful.   

So earth swimming has uses, except in the way I’m imagining it. Earth swimming makes me think of somebody swimming in a big pile of dirt, which someone with this ability could also do. 

I’m picturing a person being like, “I’m not going to the pool today. I’m just gonna do laps around the sandbox in the backyard.” And the power to swim in a sandbox is undeniably lame. 

The only known user I was vaguely familiar with from the list is a white defender like this from Hollow Knight.

The Winner

dessert

Calling it earth swimming makes it sound lame and silly as hell. More useful, yes, but come on, ice cream mimicry! Gotta give the win to ice cream mimicry. 

This brings the total for our ice vs. earth competition to… a tie!

Ice: 1 Earth: 1

Next time, we’ll get into the real stuff. Like who has the hotter men. No, sexier. Because ice characters aren’t hot because they’re cold. 

Since this is an M/M romance blog, all characters will be of the M variety. 

The Frost or The Bite

The Frost or The Bite

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Jack has a major magical decision on his hands in the Frost or The Bite. Ewan’s pack is in trouble. Naturally, meeting each other will complicate things in about a million ways, but will it also lead to love?

Maybe! (Okay, probably. I do write paranormal romance.)

Today I’m sharing an excerpt from the novel.

To set the scene, Jack is an indecisive wizard, torn between earth and ice magic. He’s trying to relax in his garden and preparing to do some earth magic when a werewolf stumbles in and soon transforms into a sexy naked man, Ewan.

Jack

One moment, the warm, vibrant energy of the earth surrounds me. The next, I know I’m not alone and I open my eyes to find a massive wolf looming over me. 

My heart starts beating double time as I try to think through panic. I can’t outrun this creature. My grasp of defensive earth magic for a fight is woefully lacking. 

The wolf huffs and backs up to give me room. A bushy tail ticks and tucks in behind him almost bashfully. Did he realize he startled me?

“H-hello there.” I manage to find my voice. “Where did you come from?”

Naturally, the wolf says nothing. He does seem to understand me. A shapeshifter?

“Thanks for dropping by.” I wince because I don’t know what else to say and I’ve switched to default politeness. “Um, can I help you with something?” 

Light blond fur covers his large form, and he isn’t quite as terrifying as he seemed a moment ago. I keep staring like I have no manners whatsoever and was never forced to attend etiquette classes. I can’t help myself. He’s mesmerizing. I’ve never been up close to a shapeshifter in their animal form before.

And then it gets better. His form ripples and starts changing. 

The best casters allow magic to flow from them seamlessly, shaping an idea into reality like it’s the simplest thing in the world. Shapeshifting seems more complicated. It may be natural for shifters, but it still involves altering one’s anatomy and physical form, altering even your skeleton to twist into a new shape. The process always sounded painful to me, but this guy makes it look natural, a fluid transition between fur to skin. Even when the man is on his hands and knees for a moment, it doesn’t seem silly. 

He rises gracefully, standing to his full height.

A man stands before me. Proud, unashamed… and totally naked. My eyes see him, see all of him, since I haven’t been able to look away since the wolf appeared. I get a very good look. It’s like I’m in a trance.

“Hey,” he says, casual and friendly like one of us—him—isn’t naked. “Thanks for the warm welcome.” He huffs a laugh. “Could have been a lot worse.”

His rough yet pleasant voice jolts me out of my daze. My eyes snap up to his, and there are those same blue eyes the wolf wore. 

I blink furiously to get miles of smooth skin and the firm lines of his body out of my mind. It doesn’t quite work. An attractive naked man has just appeared in my yard. He seems steady, comfortable in his own skin, though maybe all wolves are? How is that possible right now? I wouldn’t be nearly as calm to find myself naked in an outdoor setting with a stranger. What the hell am I supposed to do?

Here’s one idea: stop staring at the nude man like a total idiot!

“What, what are you doing here?” I squawk. “This is private property; you can’t just wander in and—”

“Yeah,” he says dryly. “This is more like the reaction I expected.”

“This is what happens when you drop by unannounced and scare people half to death!” I nearly shout, fixing my gaze on the hedge to his left. 

Now he sounds concerned. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to freak you out.”

“A huge wolf appeared in my garden and turned into a” naked, naked, naked, “human trespasser who definitely knows that other people’s lawns are off-limits. My garden isn’t suited for carousing wolves! How am I supposed to react? Comment on the weather and invite you in for tea?”

“Oh no, I didn’t trample your plants, did I?” he comes closer to inspect the chamomile bush near him with concern.

Nakedness may be normal for shifters, but handsome naked people don’t stroll through my yard every day. 

“The plants are alright,” I promise hurriedly. “Stay right there!”

“The wolf side doesn’t always care about private property,” he explains. “Usually, I steer it in the right direction to avoid things like this, but…” this time he’s the one to look away, almost bashful. “We caught a really amazing scent.”

“That’s why you’re here, you sniffed out the neighbor’s azalea bushes?”

“No, it was a scent but also sort of a feeling?” Even when unable to stare directly at him anymore, I feel him totally focused on me. “I think it was you.”

– That’s all for now. You can get your copy and read the rest here.
Battle of Magics: Ice or Earth?

Battle of Magics: Ice or Earth?

by fnmanning ♥ 0 Leave a Comment
Which is better, Ice or Earth?
Let me fill you in on this particular (not-so-random) question. I began contemplating whether ice or earth was the better element when… (drumroll please) a character in my M/M romance novel The Frost or the Bite began wondering the very same thing. 

Yep, did not have to strain myself to come up with this question. 

The quick context is that my protagonist Jack needs an element’s protection to wield magic and he’s torn between earth magic and ice magic. Jack will come to his own conclusions in the novel, and those conclusions will also tie into a potential relationship with a sexy wolf shifter, but I figure we can conduct some ‘research’ of our own and answer this ‘age-old’ question once and for all. 

‘Objectively’ speaking, which is better? Ice or earth? Ice magic or earth magic? Okay, how I phrased it is technically more than one question. Oops.
(By objectively, I use that in the sense that this will be totally subjective) 

We can’t select a winner by testing out the magic for ourselves, because our world doesn’t have real magic. (If magic is real, then I seriously demand to be let in on this secret right now.) 

We do have seasons and those seasons correspond to the elements in question pretty well, so let’s look there to see whether earth or ice gets the first point. Earth represents fall, and ice represents winter.

Fall vs. Winter

Fall is the season of leaves changing colors, cozy sweaters, and people calling other people basic for liking pumpkin spiced everything. Fall is my jam and also happens to be when my birthday is.  Not only do I love sweater weather, the song Sweater Weather is also awesome, so bonus points. 

(And while hairless cats are kinda creepy, the cat in this picture is also wearing a sweater like his human buddy so bonus points there too)

What about winter? Winter has gift exchanging holidays and good food but it comes at a steep price. Frozen wastelands and snowy nightmares. I know some people do like the cold and snow. I’m really not those people. Any kind of icy surface makes my balance terrible. And since I moved to North Carolina, it’s less freezing in the winter than the Midwest where I’m from. So now I have even less tolerance for the cold.

The Winner

I’d definitely say fall is better than winter. I can’t say I’m very in tune with nature or am a very earthy kind of person, but I have always wanted to be more of a nature loving hippie. That makes fall the winner of this round. I wasn’t lying about how totally (not) objective this would be.

Of course, my preferences may be totally different than your own. So what’s your favorite season?  And if you were a witch, wizard, or non-gendered caster, would you rather have ice magic or earth magic? Let me know!

After the end of the first round, Earth gets one point. 

That brings the score to Earth: 1 Ice: 0

Next time, we will look at which element is stronger… sort of. (I did briefly try to research common types of earth and ice magic that show up in fiction, to determine which one is strongest. But then I decided to have more fun it and so our next test of which is better is… along those same lines of which is stronger, but in a much sillier way.) 

Jack’s Choice

When it comes to Jack Blanchard, he doesn’t need to look at the seasons to compare ice and earth. He has real magic. Magic that allows him to create a block of ice or let flowers bloom. 

But he’s having trouble choosing the element that’s right for him. Jack needs to decide between ice or earth or he risks not having magic at all. This is when a certain werewolf stumbles into his garden and helps him discover what and who he truly desires.

What does he choose? You can grab your copy of the novel here and find out. And yes, it’s available in Kindle Unlimited.