Taste of Cyn

Throwback Thursday – Knowing Zip

By Cynthia Sax on April 1, 2021

Today is April Fool’s Day. I’m not a big fan of tricks or pranks (I have a few trust issues – grins) but this day is still very special to me.

When I was a teenager, I babysat two little boys. I loved those boys. We would spend all summer and one day at the very least a week together, running through fields, talking about science and the world, their issues and joys.

The youngest was born on April 1^st. He would introduce himself as “I’m T and I’m a fool.” And then he’d laugh. LOL That never failed to make me smile.

I’m thinking of them today and yes, I’m smiling as I do that.

I think Zip, the hero of my free short story Knowing Zip, would really enjoy April Fool’s Day. He loved the idea of making his female’s fantasies come true by abducting her. I believe he’d add some more fun to their lifespans by ‘tricking’ her in other sexy ways. (grins)

Knowing Zip

Abducted by the warrior of her dreams.

Zip is the last of his friends to find his female, the one being meant for him. He isn’t certain she exists until he hears her voice over a transmission. A self-proclaimed systems deity, he researches his curvy little human and discovers she dreams of being abducted by a big, strong warrior. Zip plans to make his female’s fantasies come true.

Ryssa wants one gift for her birthing planet rotation—to be captured by a warrior, preferably a tall, muscular cyborg with black hair, gray skin, and brilliant blue eyes. When Zip arrives on her planet, claiming to be her male, Ryssa assumes one of her friends has ordered the experience for her, and throws herself into the encounter, losing herself in Zip’s hot kisses, sensual touch, dominant embrace.

When the fantasy fades, will their love survive?

Knowing Zip is a short companion story in the Cyborg Sizzle series and is meant to be read after Seeking Vector.
It is also a BBW Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes violent universe.

Read For FREE At:

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Knowing-Zip-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B077YX5R58/

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Knowing-Zip-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B077YX5R58/

Apple/iBooks/iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/knowing-zip/id1321052282?mt=11

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/knowing-zip-cynthia-sax/1127582104

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/knowing-zip

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/761413

Topics: Throwback Thursday | Comments Off on Throwback Thursday – Knowing Zip

Short Stories – How I Stay Focused On One Series

By Cynthia Sax on July 10, 2020

Stock Art Crafted By And Indirectly Purchased From: grandfailure

I started this wonderful career as a Romance Writer by writing short stories, stories that were approximately 11,000 words or 44 pages long.

There were a number of reasons why I started with shorter works.

I LOVE short stories. I think they are an underappreciated art form. My favorite Stephen King stories, for example, are his short stories. Some of my most treasured books when I was a pre-teen and teenager were compilations of short stories. I admire songwriters, folks who can tell a story in 3 or 4 minutes.

There’s something extremely satisfying about relaying a story with the minimal amount of words. It is a skill not everyone has.

My first professional (i.e. paid) writing also was as a newspaper reporter. I had a small column in a daily paper and articles in a weekly paper. My allowable word count for those articles was small. I had to make every word count and I learned how to write lean.

That habit was difficult to break. I still write lean today with my first drafts. It takes me two more drafts to fill the story out.

Another key factor was I had an extremely high-pressure full-time job (as a business babe) at the time and that required many hours of overtime. I didn’t have the mental bandwidth or the time to write 400 page novels but I DID have the time and the brain power to write a short story every month.

Short stories can be a burst of muse food. I can try different things, experiment with different styles and techniques, explore different subgenres of romance. I can work through an idea or premise fairly quickly.

Which is why I currently use short stories to keep myself focused while writing series.

One of the common things I hear from newer writers is they can’t be restrained to one niche, one style, one tone. Their muse has to be FREE.

That feeling doesn’t go away merely because a story/series does well and a writer finds a readership. My cyborg romance reading buddies look to me to write cyborg romances. I love cyborg romance and am happy to give these reading buddies what they want.

But, once in a while, I have the urge to write tentacle romance. Or an idea for an extremely bloody horror romance crowds into my brain. Or a gargoyle romance premise grabs me and won’t let me go. I MUST write it.

I have a set schedule for my cyborg romances. I can’t spend too much time on these other projects, projects only I want written. I CAN, however, spend a week on one of them and write a 60 page short story. As I’m writing this story for my eyes only, I don’t have to allocate 3 more weeks to polishing it, revising it, having it edited. I can write it and set it aside and focus on the cyborg romance.

My muse is happy. I’ve stretched myself writing-wise. I’m fulfilled as a writer, excited about this awesome career, and I can bring that joy to my longer projects.

***

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Other Chameles view him as the enemy.

She sees the warrior hero he never believed he could be.

* * *

Tolui is a Warlord in search of a planet to rule. He has been leading his fellow clones in a stealth battle, fighting for both control of the Chamele sector and the right to exist. The brave warriors he commands warrant respect, and they deserve the best.

That best isn’t the barren, dangerous terrain on Chamele 4. When Tolui crashes on that planet’s surface, he’s determined to leave it as soon as possible. The tiny human female rescuing him might be as beautiful and as wild as the land she inhabits, but her flowing words, trusting gaze, and enthralling submission won’t stop him from rejoining the war.

After many solar cycles of living alone, Lea is overjoyed when a tall, scarred, muscular warrior falls from the sky. Her savage stranger is strong and severe, and he makes her feel safe, an emotion she hasn’t experienced in a long, long time.

He also insists they must part. Before they do, she’ll show him the splendor of her home, and she’ll enjoy his big form, collecting passionate moments she can revisit when she’s solitary once more.

Every additional moment Lea and Tolui spend together increases the chance they’ll both die. Lea is being chased by female-hating fiends. Tolui is being hunted by the best bounty hunters in the universe. War will soon arrive on their threshold, and the blood spilled might be their own.

* * *

Warlord’s Mercy is based on a much shorter story sharing the same title.

It is a STANDALONE Alien Barbarian SciFi Romance featuring a villain turned hero and a brave, chatty heroine set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.

Warlord’s Mercy is the fifth of six core stories in the Chamele Barbarian Warlord series.

Book 1: Warlord Sky

Book 2: Warlord’s Bounty

Book 3: Warlord Unarmed

Book 4: Warlord Reunited

Book 5: Warlord’s Mercy

Book 6: Warlord’s Return

Buy Now:

Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0886K65F9

Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0886K65F9

Amazon AUS:
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0886K65F9

Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/warlords-mercy/id1511995733