Please welcome Nica Berry, a writer of queer science fiction, fantasy and erotica. She's a graduate of the Clarion Writer's Workshop for Science Fiction and Fantasy in 2005, the Taos Toolbox workshop for SF/F novelists in 2007, and received her M.A. in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University in January 2008. She lives in San Diego with her two cats and enjoys going to the zoo to take pictures of the animals, especially the deer and lizards.
Many thanks to my good friend Jess for letting me stop by!
In the past week, I've been lucky enough to have not one, but two e-books released. One, STOLEN MOMENTS, came out last week from Loose Id, and today is my first release from Torquere, HART AND SOUL.
Though both stories are quite different in setting (space station and ship vs. a pseudo-early Native American culture with magical elements,) they do have one thing in common--I wrote the original versions at the Clarion Writer's Workshop for Science Fiction and Fantasy (a six week “boot camp” for writers) three years ago.
STOLEN MOMENTS was originally called "Kind of Blue" and written for week 5. The current title, as well as the previous one, are the names of famous jazz tunes. (I was a saxophone major for my undergrad and loved playing jazz.) Instructor Walter Jon Williams liked the fuzzy green couch (which I kept.) Nobody liked the ending, which sort of had a gun battle leading to one of the heroes meeting an ambiguous end. That, I changed. The basic premise is the same, although I expanded the idea of a third party out to destroy the twins and their abilities.
This novella is also a little different than the rest of my works in that there are no gay relationships. It’s polyamorous M/F/M, and the protagonist is female, another element I don’t often have. But it’s what the story needed, and it worked.
HART AND SOUL was, exactly three years ago, called "The White Hide." That was the story I wrote for week one, and while it was treated gently by my classmates and the instructor for that week, it properly had a great many holes poked in it. Some elements are still the same; the Native American feel, the gay relationship, the names of the main characters, Jennar's talent for carving. As for differences, I added a villain and deepened the problems for both main characters. I did take a few trips to the library to get more information on totem animals and shamanism to add to the world. This isn’t based on any one Native American culture, and any elements I use are meant with the utmost respect. I took a draft to my writer's program at Seton Hill University for my classmates (and Jessica) to critique, and, since they were encouraging, it gave me the impetus to keep going. A trip to Taos, NM last summer gave me more elements to put in, and soon this story until it emerged the way it needed to.
Neither story originally had anything explicit; that was added later after I got over being squeamish about writing sex scenes. My first e-book release, VENOM'S BOND, is a rather infamous tale about a human and sentient giant lizard pairing. That was the last story I wrote at Clarion, and it was infamous back then, too, because it was, and still is, a bit graphic. Admittedly, I was surprised that VENOM'S BOND actually worked out the way it did, so then I thought, "Hey, this erotica stuff is kinda fun. I can put more sex in this story and this story and . . ." It just got the gears turning. But of course the trick is to make the sex necessary to the story, which I was able to do. Overall, I enjoy writing e-books because they’re fun and a nice diversion from my other projects.
A lot of people ask if those long, intense and expensive workshops are worth it. For me it was. Three of my Clarion stories are now available and will potentially recoup the expenses of the workshop, and a fourth appeared in a college literary magazine. The critiques I got there helped me write far better stories, and helped me get my MA in Writing Popular Fiction at Seton Hill University. I have several very good friends, lots of connections, and feel very much a part of the writing community.
I named my website after another jazz tune—“Nica’s Dream,” because I’m starting to live my dream of being a writer and I’m happy to be able to share my stories with you.
Contact Nica: nica (at) Orossy (dot) com
For blurbs of Nica's new releases, click below:
STOLEN MOMENTS http://www.loose-id.com
Price: $5.99
Genre: Polyamorous Science Fiction
Length: Novel (35,000 words)
For years, Tereza's only lovers were the engines on her starship. But now, after she nearly died when they exploded, she's a lost soul, an engineer without engines, roaming the decks of a worn-out space station and hounded by the enamored Colonel Marr to tell the truth about events she can't remember.
Twins Lukha and Liam know what happened; they just can't tell her. When Lukha is sent to protect her, he can't help the fierce physical attraction toward her, a biological change initiated by Liam during his own passionate affair with the unknowing Tereza.
When Tereza finds out the truth behind her physical attraction to the twins, Tereza's goal becomes to reclaim her body and mind to choose her lovers freely. But when her choices are Liam's determination and knack for suppressing memories, Lukha's conscience and ability to restore memories, and Marr's determination to have her body as well as her expertise, she might be better off choosing none at all even if it means dooming an entire race to genocide.
HART AND SOUL http://www.torquerepress.com
Price: $5.99
Genre: M/M historical fantasy (though TQ lists it under Drama)
Length: Novel (56,000 words)
Orphaned Niann has one wish, to go up the mountain to seek a spirit guide like the rest of his peers. Instead, he's forced to wait until frustration drives him to go without permission on his eighteenth birthday. There, he meets his guide--the kala deer, the tribe's patron animal and one that grants its disciples the ability to heighten the power of others's animal spirits. Unbeknownst to him, the tribe's shaman, Heyka, plans to use Niann to harvest enough spiritual energy to transcend into the spirit world.
Jennar, a talented carver and hunter who's cared for Niann since Niann's infancy, has a secret of his own; he went up the mountain to seek his spirit guide, but none came, and he's been lying about his spirit animal ever since.
Jennar leaves to find the reason for his lack of a spirit guide, but returns to find Niann under the sway of Heyka and living as a woman, as those with the deer totem usually do. Jennar's focus turns from saving himself into saving the man he loves, but all his love and determination may not be enough to stop the relentless ambition of Heyka and his snake patron.
Great blog, Anne -- and a wonderful reflection Nica B! It's encouraging to hear how much these workshops and our grad program have all helped you... your work is quite inventive and gutsy, and I applaud your success. Keep it coming! -- Mike Arnzen
Posted by: Mike Arnzen | June 20, 2008 at 11:10 AM