SPIRALS is set in near-future Los Angeles, California.  Kaori, our beautiful, witty protagonist, is the survivor of not only an epidemic that was hit more than miss on the majority of the world’s population, but is also a scavenger in an earthquake ravaged L.A.  Kaori has managed to live six years in this devastated city where she grew up and while she doesn’t know how to fight, she sure knows how to run, hide and stockpile in a way that puts Will Smith in I Am Legend to shame.

Kaori’s life that she’s made for herself turns upside down when she discovers two men spying on her. Tobias and Orion are soldiers from what’s left of the American Army.  And Kaori’s reaction to these two men, while subtly different, lands her in the middle of the steamiest ménage love knot imaginable.  These emotions, both sensual and sweet, are tempered by fear as Tobias and Orion tell Kaori the reason they’re in Los Angeles.  There’s going to be another earthquake, this one even bigger, and it’s going to finish what the last one started.  Fearful of staying and dying, yet terrified of leaving the life she’s built for herself, Kaori struggles to take all of this information in.  The worst part is she only has four days to decide what she’ll do.  Is her crazy love for these two men enough to sustain her in the world outside Los Angeles?  And things only get crazier after that.

I love, adore and am totally gleeful over the subject of this story.  Some sci-fi and dystopian elements are peppered into this story and that makes the Geek Girl(TM) in me totally happy.  The emotions, the suspense, the danger–all make it a beautiful romance on top. And of course, there’s the sex. And WOW is it hot.

I’m not one to openly discuss what I enjoy reading in the romance department unless it’s to discuss themes or settings or writing style.  All the romance and the sex is something of a personal subject, so I usually don’t bring it up.  However, since this book is an Erotic Romance, I will touch on a few key things so you readers know what you’re getting into.  These aren’t spoilers, per se, but if you’re a bit sensitive when it comes to intimate things, don’t read further. And you also might want to skim over the naughty parts in the book.  (But you should still read it, because this story is SO good, even with out the steamy bits.)

The first sex scene is actually one of Kaori masturbating and using a mannequin with a red dildo attached to it.  Girlfriend has never had a lover; everything blew up in her face when she was still a teenager, so she’s exploring her sexuality. And that is what I love about this scene.  While it’s a bit frustrating for Kaori to not have a real lover, it’s still a sexy little interlude.  Especially when we find out later a certain pair of hunks was watching her.

The other scenes with the two men alternate between spicy hot and sweetly loving.  You can tell, despite all the naughty things these three get up to, there’s more than just sex between them.  And Beth’s take on this polyamorous love is one of the best I’ve read.

And there you have it!  Now run on over to Beth’s site, click on the picture for SPIRALS and do yourself a favor, buy and read this book.  You won’t regret it!

The story itself is full of intrigue, mental acrobatics (literal and figurative) and quit a bit of steamy byplay. Oh my.  These ladies certainly know how to write.  And they pull no punches when they do.  There’s swearing and crude behavior, but as I’ve told them more than once in comments on their posts, those things make it real without going overboard.

Last week I left a comment on Chapter 8:  The Devil You Know – Part 5. I was just being my normal, abnormal self and making a lame joke.  Surprisingly, Nancy didn’t find it so lame. In fact, she loved it.  The comment was this:

I think Triptych needs a new company motto. “Looking to the future of innovation — in bed.”

Ever play the fortune cookie game? Just put in bed at the end of all your fortunes.

Nancy Twittered it shortly after that–the motto, that is, not the fortune cookie bit.  And much to my surprise came back a bit later and asked if she could use the motto on a T-shirt coupled with the logo for Triptych, the mega-corp from the story.  I happily agreed after I got over my surprise.

Once Nancy had the shirts up on Zazzle, she offered to buy me one as a thank you.  This is the part that truly got me thinking.  At first I balked.  How could I accept a gift for simply spouting nonsense in a comment?  They were just words weren’t they?  As soon as I had that thought, however, I knew that wasn’t true.  Words are powerful.  Any writer worth their salt knows that just the right words are hard to come by.  If I took that stance, I would be diminishing her gratitude and my own worth as a writer. As well as Nancy’sworth as a writer and reader.

And it’d be just plain rude. (See Mom, I totally learned stuff from you!)

So I made a compromise.  I accepted Nancy’s gift and bought the other shirt on display as well.

Strange Little Band is going on hiatus until November 9th, 2009, so now is a great time to start reading the story from the beginning to catch up to where they are right now.

Once Nancy and Vanessa are back from hiatus I’m sure we’ll see the same quality, enjoyable writing as we did before.

Thank you, ladies, for putting out such wonderful work and sharing with us all.

My first impression was one of surprise when I pulled the issue from the manila envelope it was sent in. The magazine resembled a trade paperback book. I was delighted to see it resembled my favorite form of printed material. I must admit my dislike for reading actual stories done in the normal magazine format.

I delightedly dove into the magazine and was, once again, surprised by the magazine.  The stories were not what I was expecting. Obviously my exposure to sci-fi and fantasy has been limited some what by living in a small town when I was growing up and by the amount of money I had to spend as I grew older and got a “real” job.

I was not disappointed by the issue, despite my surprise in regards to its content. Each story and article was well written and intriguing in its own right.

My one complaint was with only one novelet and that was more in regards to the accent the author used when writing dialogue. The novelet THE PRIVATE EYE by Albert E. Cowdrey was set in Louisiana and while he tried to convey a Cajun accent, he merely succeeded in making it into yet another southern drawl. I say this only because I’ve been living in Louisiana for the past seven years and most cajuns do not sound like they’re from South Carollina. Though perhaps it’s just me and how I interpreted the speech patterns.

Despite that minor complaint, I still enjoyed the story. I enjoyed all of them from YOU ARE SUCH A ONE by Nancy Springer, which was written in second person about a middle aged woman who becomes a ghost in her dreams, to A TOKEN OF A BETTER AGE by Melinda M. Snodgrass, which was about a Patrician sent to the gladiatorial ring because he defended his Christian mother. Oh and he killed a dragon who is actually a creature from another world pretending to be a god.

I’d be hard pressed to pick a favorite story, but two of the novelets truly stood out to me as unique and enjoyable.

The first story is THE GODDAMNED TOOTH FAIRY by Tina Kuzminski, which just happens to be a reprint from a previous issue. It’s a curious trip through a night at the dog races with a man and his date that ends with the protagonist discovering his date once tried to commit suicide and the goddamned tooth fairy telling him that if he gives up on his date because of that, he’ll miss his best chance at being happy. The mixture of surrealness, humor and solemnity makes it an amazing read and one I’m sure to visit again.

The second story is THE BONES OF GIANTS by Yoon Ha Lee, a dark fantasy that struck me from the very first page. It’s about a man who is about to commit suicide because he’s run out of jade ammo to kill ghouls. He’s saved by a necromancer who requires his help to destroy the sorcerer who is ruining the valley they are in. The tale is haunting, yet fascinating as the necromancer teaches the man to control the giant bones she’s raised as their mounts. The ending is a lovely surprise twist that I enjoyed as much as the entire story.

All in all, this issue was enjoyable from cover to cover and I’d recommend it to any of my friends or family whom I know would enjoy these kinds of stories.

The best part of this magazine issue was the surprises, both big and small. They renewed my faith in the fantasy and science fiction genres. And they renewed my faith in myself as a writer.

I suggest anyone who enjoys amazing writing to take a look at Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine. They’ve been around for 60 years now. I have a feeling they’ll be around for 60 more. At least I hope they are because I’m about to purchase a subscription.