Me Me Me Monday

It's 'Me, Me, Me, Monday' for QueerSciFi.  This poor little blog can't join in, because it's still being blocked by Facebook. However, it can participate by showcasing a snippet of my surreal, Baroque/steampunk m/m story, 'On the Other Side of the Mask'. A couple of church wards, controlled by the powers of the city of Paradise, exercise the other privilege they possess, choosing their names. They choose the names of Byron and Shelley, in an attempt to capture the spirit of freedom, which these two poets from another world embodied. They act upon this spirit, defying the church with their affection for each other, only to have one of the pale lords of Paradise step in. He decides to take Byron and Shelley into his home, in an attempt to tame them. In trying to tame them, he gets more than he bargained for. :)

I first wrote 'On the Other Side of the Mask' as my April Camp NaNoWriMo project. It was an under 6000 word submission for Lethe Press's 'Gents' anthology. I had to cut a lot of intended scenes with Byron and Shelley, during their luxurious, surreal imprisonment with Lord Ruthvyn. The first version of 'On the Other Side of the Mask' was rejected. I sent a second version, which I'm still waiting to hear back about. I talked to the anthologist of 'Gents' about writing an extended version of 'On the Other Side of the Mask' for Lethe Press's general submissions. I offered to work on it during July's Camp NaNoWriMo, so here I am, rushing to finish it, before the end of the month. :) It keeps expanding, because I keep adding scenes to the beginning! Mae wasn't even in the original draft, but here she is. Yes, she's my little nod to Mary Shelley. :) I've always loved the idea of Lord Byron and Shelley together, which is one of the reasons I've created these two original characters, who've claimed their names. However, I also adore Mary and the story of her romance with Shelley, which often brings tears to my eyes, when I read about it. The Mae in this story, who knows the Paradise wards' attic of books, is my homage to her. :)

He smiled a little to himself, when he saw her shaggy head, poking around a shelf. Mae had been the first to discover the magic hidden this dingy little library of tattered manuscripts and torn books. Once you tasted its treasures, you couldn’t keep away. Just a few shreds of poetry brought Shelley back for more. 

All anticipation curled and withered, when Mae turned around. There were bluish marks on her neck, chin, and face.