Wednesday, March 16, 2011

A Funny Thing Happened

I’ve been meaning to announce, only life keeps interfering, that I sold Sword and Blood, under the pen name Sarah Marques to Prime Books.

Why a pen name is tied up with “what is sword and blood.”

I suppose only a few of you know my very first sale was Thirst, a vampire short story, back in ninety four. If you look in the year’s best fantasy and horror for that year, it is under “honorable mentions.”

The truth is more complicated than that – truth always is – I actually sold it sometime in 93 of course, that part is normal. But I never got paid and didn’t even know it had been published until years later, while doing a routine search for my name on Amazon. Back then, it only showed three or four items, and that was one of them. You see, I sold it to an Australian magazine, the entire print run of which got seized and destroyed for violating indecency laws. I guess they’d got a magazine out to Year’s Best before that happened, but I never saw it.

Then I sold that short story again. Four times. It killed two more magazines and an editor. Finally, I sold another story (I was starting to think that would never happen) a science fiction one called Plaudit Cives to Absolute Magnitude. And I thought Dreams of Decadence was run by the same people and what the heck. So I sent Thirst to them, with its sorry history attached and ended the cover letter with “Do you feel lucky?”

Apparently they did, since they bought it and it was published... in 06? 07? Somewhere around that.

Since then I’ve done vampires intermittently always as short stories. On the one hand there is a lot to explore in the vampire mythos: the trade of death for life; the power that comes with virtually endless life; the nature of evil; the link of sex and blood which seems to be somewhere at the very back of my head. Vampires fulfill Terry Pratchett’s dictum that in the end all the important stories are about the death and the blood. (This is part of the reason I get so exasperated at what seems to me the defanging of vampires in Romance, because what’s the point of it if you don’t have the blood and the death. But then again, I never understood the appeal of the Disney versions of fairytales.) There was The Blood Like Wine and For Whose Dear Sake, and I get the persistent feeling I’m forgetting another.

Then three/four years ago, I was slammed under six books and home schooling a teenage genius. Something had to give and something did. Sleeping and vacations were no longer working as relaxation, so I took up art class because while working in pastel or pencil, my mind became empty of words.

Then one day I came out of class, and had parked far from the school (the school is across from a sports complex, and people parking for the game had taken everything up for half a mile.) By the time I got in the car and got my key in the ignition, I had three books in my mind in their entirety.
My first thought was “Oh, heck no. I can’t write that.” You see, they were the three musketeers set in a crepuscular world in which vampires rule most of the world and there’s a fight over France. Oh, yeah, and Athos has just been turned.

I came home and did what I do when I want to get rid of a novel that won’t shut up. I outlined it and wrote the first three pages. But it wouldn’t shut up. The series stayed at the back of my mind, nagging me, until I finished the first book, almost a year ago.

It has now been bought (and the still unwritten sequels, Royal Blood and Rising Blood) by Prime Books (not to be confused with Prime Crime.) It is not... exactly what my friend Kate calls undead porn, but it has sex. Oh, and death. And blood. Because of that, and fearing giving those of you who are fans of the other musketeer series or my space operas whiplash, I am bringing it out under Sarah Marques, which shall henceforth be my name for historical fantasy.

I’ve put up three chapters of Sword And Blood, the first book, in a temporary page. It’s not proofed and don’t sweat the look, this is just temporary. Before you head over, beware it contains references to sex. Discretion advised.

Hope you enjoy it, in many ways it’s the most intense thing I’ve ever written, though that might change when Darkship Renegades is done.

Do you mind horribly that I’m doing vampires? (I promise they don’t glow!)

23 comments:

Kate Paulk said...

Sarah, the vampires of Sword and Blood are even less sparkly than Impaler. Which should not be possible.

Seriously, folks, go read it. It's brilliant. And when the books are out, buy them.

MataPam said...

Oh yeah, _nasty_ vampires.

You know that emotional jolt Sarah can get into her short stories? Here it is, book length. Wow!

And not only do the vampires not sparkle, I don't think there was even any candlelight sparkling off the blood! And there was plenty of blood. Lots and lots of sword fighting.

So now you've heard from two First Readers. All you have to do is wait until it hits the shelves, and snap it up.

Sarah A. Hoyt said...

Kate,
I was about to say they were gritty vampires, but they really aren't. I mean, they wash and everything.

And as for the brilliant... BLUSH

Sarah A. Hoyt said...

Pam,

Well... Athos isn't nasty, but then he says he doesn't hate vampires any less for BEING one. I suppose the emotional jolt is what made me feel like I'd been dragged through hell backwards when I wrote it...

As I said, I didn't mean to commit vampire.

Jim McCoy said...

I like vampires so I guess I'm good with the fact that you're writing them.

I don't really do snippets, so I won't be heading over to read it now, but rest assured I will be buying when it comes out.

Sarah A. Hoyt said...

Jim,

Thank you!

C Kelsey said...

Sarah,

You can commit vampire as long as I can continue to forever damage were-creatures. ;-)

Sarah A. Hoyt said...

Chris,

Eh. Kate gave me a moto. "No Genre Is Safe From Me."

The OnyxHawke Agency said...

More of _your_ vampires Sarah?

Sarah A. Hoyt said...

Mike, sweetie, PERFECTLY straight vampires. (Rolls eyes.) They bite without the slightest lisp, I SWEAR.

Kate Paulk said...

Athos is certainly quite straight. One might even go so far as to say rigidly upright.

TMSG said...

I've never really understood the whole thing with women, vampires & sex. Their fine as an antagonist or a creature of pride/pity, but way too much skin crawling for romance other than the lost sort.

Chris McMahon said...

Congrats on the sale!

Sarah A. Hoyt said...

Kate!

Oh, you mean morally? Yeah.

Sarah A. Hoyt said...

TMSG

Um... how do I put this... In my book, the sex is tinged with horror, which is what vampires evoke in me. I don't get sparkly vamps, either.

Sarah A. Hoyt said...

Chris,

Thank you kindly, sir. :)

Chris Large said...

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

The Three Musketeers and Vampires

What next?

One of your vampires has sparkly eyes BTW.

If you want to read non-sexy vampires, I recommend Necroscope by Brian Lumley. Must be the most vicious, rip-your-head-off-as-soon-as-look-at-you vampire ever.

Sarah A. Hoyt said...

Chris L

Eh. His eyes shine, but it's not that bizarre, unnatural sparkly... er... never mind.

I can't read Lumley. I just CAN'T.

Amanda Green said...

Chris L, I'm going to assume your tongue was firmly planted in your cheek -- at least I hope it was. I've read PP&Z and while it was entertaining for a couple of chapters, it really didn't do what I'd expected. The hook didn't stay firmly planted throughout the book. Now, if you want a good UF take on P&P, A Touch of Night by Sarah and Sofie Skapski fits that bill nicely. The fantastical elements are woven throughout the book, not just scattered here and there.

As for Musketeers and vampires, well, believe me, having read Sword and Blood already, it is a wonderfully suspenseful and at times downright scary book. The only things that sparkle in this book are eyes sparkling in lamp or firelight. There are no sparkling vamps and certainly no emo werewolves or anything else.

And honestly, this has more real grab you by the throat scares, in my opinion, than Lumley. What makes it especially effective is because we all think we know these characters -- until Sarah has them do something that scares the crap out of us.

Rowena Cory Daniells said...

Sounds like a fun read, Sarah!

Sarah A. Hoyt said...

Thank you, Rowena.

Chris Large said...

Amanda,

I agree, Lumley isn't great for scary, but he definitely knows something about brutality.

And yes, I have a nasty habit of biting my tongue when trying to talk. Sarah's story looks great. I don't know Sarah well, but am I reading humour in there? I tend to read humour into most things. L saw True Grit on the plance from J'burg to Syndey yesterday and laughed all the way home.

I totally love Dumas and the original 3Ms as well. Also the Dumas Club by Arturo Perez-Reverte was pretty awsome. That was the book that got me into the 3Ms in the first place.

Sarah A. Hoyt said...

Chris L,

There's always humor in my stuff. This is more understated than in my mysteries, but yeah.