Zita Christian, the host, is a member of my local Romance Writer’s of America group and put me at ease right away.

Yes, I’m in there. ACK. I can’t watch myself on TV but the whole panel was a lot of fun so hopefully you all are much easier on me than I am on myself.

We talked about numerous things, playing games with kids, how to geek them up, how to figure out what geeky stuff they enjoy but I believe it starts off with the question of what order to show your kids the Star Wars movies.

If this doesn’t work, you can try it over on the Twitch TV site.

SQUEEE!

If this isn’t squee-worthy, nothing is.

Akin to Womanthology but on a somewhat smaller scale, this is an all-female created issue of Greyhaven Comics The Gathering Anthology, coming in May.

And yes, I have a story in it. Hence, the excitement.

The best part of this? It features the untold tale of the backstory behind Phoenix Rising, namely young Beth’s rescue from captivity by Philip Drake, who’s also going to be the main character of Phoenix Legacy.

Is Mira in Spartacus like Dinah in Dinah of Seneca? Well, somewhat...

One of the reasons I love the Spartacus series on Starz is that it contains much of what I love in stories: strong characters, unexpected plot twists, great action scenes and a theme that resonates.

So it’s not surprising that my own book, Dinah of Seneca, has similarities. (My writing predates the show by several years, in case anyone was wondering.:)

1. They feature main characters trapped in situations not of their own making.

Spartacus is a slave who escaped. Dinah is a former slave who escaped her master by fleeing across the Atlantic Ocean.

2. The main characters get pulled reluctantly into a cause.

All Spartacus originally wants is to find his wife and escape with her. He has no cause but his own and is not shy about saying it. It’s not until late in the events of “Blood & Sand” that he burns for the cause of everyone.

Dinah is originally drawn into a war because it threatens her home. It’s not until she accepts her responsibility for her new people that she fights for a cause greater than her own.

3. Sex!

Okay, I can’t claim to have as much sex in my book as in Spartacus. Who could?

But there’s a fertility ritual at the heart of my story that has four participants. And if you want even more erotic content, Freya’s Gift, the prequel to Dinah, is all of that.

4. Action!

There’s a huge action sequence in the current “Vengeance” season set in Capua. My book has something similar, in that it ends with a big action sequence in which stuff is destroyed. (To say more would be providing spoilers.)

Spartacus has the gladiator fights and the Romans versus the escapes slaves. My book opens with one big battle, several smaller ones, and one desperate fight to escape when all seems lost.

5. The stories are LGBT friendly.

Spartacus features several gay couples and a lesbian relationship between Lucretia and her best friend in the “Gods of the Arena.”

My story features a Roman General Tabor, who is gay, along with several other gay supporting characters.

6. There are characters from many different cultures.

While the Roman society is at the forefront of Spartacus, the gladiators are from all over the Western World, from Syria to the African continent to Gaul and Celts from  Britain. It’s the mix of the cultures that causes tension and, ultimately, dedication to one cause in which they can all be free.

My story’s main character is from Roman society as well, albeit one from an alternate  world in which the Romans have colonized North America. Besides the Romans, there are Vikings, Native Americans, and a Roman Legion made up of people from all over the Empire. In the end, the Romans and Vikings must find common cause to survive.

7. The over-riding themes match up.

Spartacus is about people overcoming differences to fight a grave injustice and for freedom.

My book is all about Dinah fighting for freedom not only for herself but, ultimately, her people.

Of course, the big question is whether my book is as good as Spartacus.

I will completely duck that one as I’m a very biased source. I can only hope that people enjoy my story as much as I’m enjoying what the creators of Spartacus have done.

Jim & Nora, having a chat while younger Jim looks on in worry

Sitting on my downstairs desk. I like to imagine them chatting together.

Nora: Why do you have a gun?

Jim: To protect Gotham City. Why do you have such a big head?

Nora: To contain all the stories I need to tell.

I’m  usually so slammed with writing posts for GeekMom and GeekDad that I don’t get a chance to do guest posts on a blog tour. But I managed to get this one and there’s a giveaway of Eagle of Seneca involved, so check out Where Do My Mixed Up Genre Ideas Come From?

Been crazy lately.

In the last month:

1. The GeekMom Book was submitted to our editor, hitting the February 1st deadline. Hopefully, publication this winter.

2. I sold Phoenix Legacy, the direct sequel to Phoenix Rising, to Samhain. That will be out in November.  It’s stars Philip, from PR as the hero who’s having a little trouble coping with immortality and a little more trouble coping with the people trying to kill him and someone from his mysterious past.

3. I got the finished pages of my first comic book script. More to come on that in another post but for those who read PR, it’s a four-page story of how Philip rescued Beth from the bad guys when she was a little girl. It has AWESOME art. I will post a page soon.  :)

4. I finished the final edits on Luminous (see above) an urban crimefighter superhero novella that will be out in May. It’s set tangentially in the Phoenix Institute universe but has all-original characters, including a hero inspired  by the Batman: Year One version of Jim Gordon, my favorite cop.

5. Got the final edits for the *print* version of Phoenix Rising, coming out in October.

That’s just my book publishing life.

And now that I’m back from dropping the minion off at school, here’s the first page to a four-page comic story called “Promise.” It will be in released in May as part of an all-women issue of The Gathering from Greyhaven Comics. The art is by Cassandra James of Australia, who is absolutely awesome.

I’ve also got a small giveaway going on at Gail Simone’s forums on Brian Bendis’ Jinxworld. You just have to pop into the thread to enter.

Leonard Da Vinci's flying machine, the inspiration for Ceti's aquila

I’ve been remiss about publicity for Eagle of Seneca, absorbed in finishing the GeekMom book. So this is going to be my BSP week for what I’ve been calling my ancient steampunk story. And this scene, the first with Ceti in this book, illustrates why.

*******************
“Ceti, doesn’t what happened to this man worry you?” Gaius pointed to a headless figure resting against the outside wall of the engineer’s workshop. “A person would have been killed.”

“A person would have been able to land the aquila properly,” Ceti said, grinning. He felt like whistling. The last test flight had almost been perfect. He’d strapped the straw man, packed with heavy metal, into the aquila to test the effect of its weight on the flight. His creation had glided in the wind perfectly, even with the added burden of a person.

Well, the replica of a person.

“The wings handled the load just fine. And unlike the straw man, I’ll be able to control the aquila on the way down,” Ceti said.

“He lost his head,” Gaius answered.

“His head was sewn on. Mine better attached.”

**********************

Those who’ve read Dinah of Seneca will recognize Ceti, who’s a bit older and wiser now.