Guest Post: Music as Inspiration by Azalea Moone

Music has always played a huge part for me as inspiration when writing stories. I make tons of playlists for all of my stories, consisting of several kinds of genres. And in Angel’s Redemption, recently published by Storm Moon Press, music plays a very large part of inspiration into character Blaine’s life as well.

Despite his years of bad luck, he continues to strive with one goal in mind: for his band to have some recognition. It doesn’t have to be big at first. Matter of fact, they start small: garnering the chance to play Friday nights at a local club.

For Blaine, music in general is his motivation. So what kind of music does he listen to? Well, his band, ‘Til Dark, has its own unique melodic sound with lead vocals by Katlinne. Definitely not the usual gothic sound from female fronted bands. They play melodic death metal, a subgenre of metal music that got its start in Sweden in the early to mid 1990s.

This, by far, is probably Blaine’s favorite genre of metal music. Actually, in the first chapter, he listens to an old CD by In Flames. There’s no mention of the song title, but I think he’d be listening to “Jester Script Transfigured” during that first scene. Other bands I believe Blaine would listen to are: Insomnium, Amorphis, and Nevermore. Never heard of them? Well, check them out!

Those are some of the bands Blaine would listen to for inspiration, but what about the other characters in the story? How about Katlinne? I can hear her singing voice in my head sounding somewhere between Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil and a heavier style like Angela Gossow from Arch Enemy. So I think she’d listen to a lot of Lacuna Coil, especially the older stuff, as well as heavier stuff like The Antagonist and Arch Enemy.

Vince would be into the good ‘ol 80s stuff: Megadeth, Metallica, and Pantera. He’s older than his other band mates by about five years anyway. Strangely enough, he’s always suggesting changes to the band. Things like spraying their hair down with hairspray like Bon Jovi, or trying the rap/metal scheme of nu-metal.

Now that I’ve covered the main rockers in Angel’s Redemption, what about the angels? What would the angels in Angel’s Redemption listen to for inspiration?

Lynsael... well, we don’t really know what he would listen to. He’d likely love anything that Blaine and his band plays, but of course, he believes that anything Blaine does is perfect. If he’d have a chance to listen to more music, he might enjoy some relaxing New Age, or something with mellow harmonies. Something that would soothe his pain and fear, both from losing his angelic nature and the fear of being in the human world.

Raziel, my Hell’s angel in the book, claims he listens to a lot of older stuff, too, like Vince’s selection above. I could imagine it, actually. Heck, maybe someone ought to play some death and black metal for him. Teach him some cords, let him jam out.

I think that covers the majority of the characters, especially the band, ‘Til Dark’s musical inspiration. But what about the author’s inspiration?

Music for me is a huge inspiration, especially with this story. I’d created a large playlist via Youtube and played it consistently. If I heard songs on the radio that reminded me of a character, a situation, or what have you, I’d add it into the list.

Strangely enough, besides the In Flames song mentioned above, none of the other songs that inspired me while writing this story were in the metal genre. The most-played song from the playlist has to be One Republic “All the Right Moves.” Why? I haven’t a clue, other than I had it on repeat while I wrote Blaine and Lynsael’s first love scene. The lyrics aren’t even dirty, but somewhere in my head, I made them to sound like it. Okay, so I guess they could be erotic, if you think of them like that.

Another song that made the frequently played list is Aerosmith's “Angel.” Hehe, that’s a given, though. The song talks about an angel.

So, what about you? What are the songs that inspire you? Let me know in the comments, and be sure to check out my new release, Angel's Redemption, which is available now through Storm Moon Press for just $3.99. Thanks for having me on Pants Off today!

Twenty-four-year-old Blaine Schneider is seasoned to hardship. Since the age of eight, he's experienced nothing but a swarm of bad luck: from the funny electrical fire in shop class to failing grades and relationships gone sour. He believes he'll never get past it; only his band, 'Til Dark, and their dream, keeps him going through it all.

Shortly after he mysteriously inherits a beautifully carved angel statue, Blaine also finds an apartment big enough to display the lifelike sculpture, and he thinks his luck has finally taken a turn for the better. But when he discovers the spell inscribed on the statue's base, he frees Lynsael from his stone prison, a handsome fallen angel who claims to be Blaine's former guardian angel, and then his luck really improves.

But while Blaine is falling hard for the angel's blue eyes and lively personality, in the shadows, dark forces are working to keep Blaine and Lynsael apart. It will take more than luck for the pair to come through unscathed—it'll take a miracle.

Guest Post: Hellhounds on Devil's Night by Azalea Moone

There are a lot of spooky creatures that take the spotlight on Halloween. Werewolves and vampires have always been in the limelight, even before a certain popular story. Ghosts and spirits come in next, followed by demons. Even zombies have gotten a big boost. What about the others? It seems that a lot of mythological beings are just begging for more attention.

So, when I read the call on Storm Moon Press' site for their Devil's Night anthology, I was interested but wasn't sure what I was going to write about. I've been dinking around with vampire fic for ever, and I'm getting bored of it. Werewolves don't really do anything for me. Neither do zombies. I wanted something hot, something different, that would bring me back to my thriller writing days as a teen.

It's awesome when inspiration comes from out of the blue and smacks you head on. Just as I was picking my brain, my partner was watching Lost Tapes on Animal Planet. Have you seen that show? They cover a lot of myths, uncover truths, have top 10 scary moments, and it's all perfect for a good scare. Strangely, my partner had left his computer with a page about hellhounds up. Bingo!

With dirty, rough black hair, glowing red eyes, and a trail of brimstone and fire in their wake, it'd be quite hard to mistake them for your typical "man's best friend". Hellhounds, aka devil dogs, have their own myths and legends that have been told for centuries. A common legend is that if you come across one and look into its eyes, or if you see the same one three times, you will die. Also, they guard the gates to Hell—which I thought would most likely be in a graveyard—or hunt lost souls and assist in their return to the underworld.

This is a great time to introduce our main character in "When Hounds Come Out to Play": Ryu. He's super hot! But not in that "oh lala" sexy guy sort of hot, since he's a devil dog. After centuries of watching humans come and go from his graveyard and, in more modern times, party and get a little wild, he's got a thing for wanting to be a human at least for one night. Every year on Halloween night, good hounds are sent to the human world to search for lost souls. Thus, Ryu gets the chance he'd been dreaming of, but he's paired with another hound, Keir.

Now that he's got his chance, Ryu has to find a way to sneak off from his duties to go have fun. Even though Keir is against it, Ryu ends up running off into the city and shifts into human form. Problem is, now he's a tall, naked, dark-skinned human. He's gotta find some clothes to fit in, right?

After finding something that works to cover those private places, he runs into Grant. Dressed as a vampire, Ryu's excited to see that there's another creature on the prowl. And a sexy one at that? Ryu's in for a wild and crazy night, full of fun, sexy times, and suspense that he was definitely not prepared for.

Excerpt:

Less than a block away, Ryu spotted people dressed in varieties of costumes, moving in and out of a building. Music got louder the closer he approached, rattling the windows of the stores next door. "Hey." Tires screeched next to him. "Where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Huh?" Ryu stopped to see a man with a fabric cape around his neck and long fangs stretching below his bottom lip hop out of the car. He'd never seen the guy before; of course, everyone was new to him. But with the fangs, he looked like he was from the underworld. Finally, another demon on the prowl.

The man threw his arm around Ryu's neck, pulling him closer. "Baby, whatcha doing out here in that?"

Ryu reveled in the musky cologne of the human's scent. There was no way he could be a human with fangs like that, though. "Uh..."

The man took the fangs out of his mouth. Of course, another Halloween dress up. "Is that your costume? You said it would be shocking," the man laughed.

"I'm lost..." the sound of his own human voice, low and scratchy, shocked Ryu.

"Well, yeah, I suppose you would be. You were supposed to wait for me to pick you up." He pulled Ryu towards the parked car. "Anyway, I have the perfect skirt for that top."

"Wait. Wh-who are you?" Ryu asked.

"What's your deal? I'm Grant." The man set his hands on his hips; the cape stretched apart to show his tanned skin, sculpted abs, and a tuft of brown hair that traveled from his waistband to his chest. Ryu had to stop himself from leaning in and tracing the line with his fingers.

Azalea Moone first published with Storm Moon Press as part of their bro-cest anthology, Fraternal Devotion. Her short story, "When the Hounds Come Out to Play" is now available in the Devil's Night anthology! She can be found on her blog or on Twitter @AzMoone.

Guest Post: Azalea Moone and "Fraternal Devotion"

I am so excited to Azalea Moone stopping by today and talking about brotherly love of the dirty kind ^_~. I loved the Fraternal Devotion anthology ==>-----------THIS MUCH--------------<== and that's a whole lot. So help me welcome Alazea as apart of the Fraternal Devotion blog tour.

Hiya, fellow Pants Off readers. Azalea Moone here to talk about my short story “On Clouds of Obsession” in the new anthology released by Storm Moon Press, Fraternal Devotion. The anthology focuses on brotherly love, a highly regarded taboo that dates back centuries.

 Let me say that when I first saw the anthology call for this, I was squirming in my seat. “Gotta write it.” Why? Even though incest, in all forms, is one of those hot button topic, I wanted to take a shot. I understand people will raise their brows. They'll hate it or love it. But as a very open minded individual, it's my belief that there's no shame in sharing love.

I already knew that throughout history there have been many famous incestuous couples, mainly heterosexual between brother and sister, father and daughter, or first cousins. Many of them were way illegal beyond the incest, though. We won't get into that.

But I'm a very curious kitty and was interested in learning more about gay incest. So, I researched after writing the story. Browsing online forums, websites, wiki, and other sites, I've found that having brother fantasies, or actual experiences, are somewhat common among men whether they are gay or straight. From the mutual jack off session to oral sex **gasps**, brothers may experiment on each other especially if they're close in age or have a close relationship.

Another interesting fact to note is that gay incest aka twincest has become a very popular kink in the gay porn industry. Several brother couples are well known and many of them have no qualms on what they will do with each other. Not sure if you've ever seen these, but damn they are hawt! Talk about close. **rawr**

So, let's get to my contemporary short story. We are introduced to Jeremy, who's had a major crush on his older brother, Matt, since high school. Although they were never really close growing up, seeing Matt in the school's locker room while getting undressed was the ultimate realization for Jeremy. From that moment on, he attempted to grab other peeks of his brother, but was always interrupted or even caught. Jeremy knows he has to keep his crush a secret; they're family, after all.

Fast forward. Now they are both in their 20s, and Matt is set to get married in a few days to someone he met in Las Vegas. Jeremy tries to persuade Matt out of it, telling him it's not a great idea to just marry someone he just met. But he fails. On top of that, Jeremy's also stuck in the realization that his brother isn't going to be 'available' anymore. But, Matt was never truly available for him, anyway. Jeremy decides that he can keep daydreaming. No one will ever figure it out, right?

Until the night of Matt's bachelor's party. After everyone has left, Jeremy just can't keep his hands to himself and is taken off guard when Matt wakes up in the middle of it.

Throughout the story, the two brothers go through a tide of emotions, from angsty disbelief of the situation to moments of complete surrender. Not only does Jeremy reveal his secret, but he learns one of Matt's biggest secrets as well.

In the end, though, learning to love each other in a lovers sort of way, different than familial love, is difficult to deal with. There's no family blessing, no understanding or coming to terms. I can imagine this is true for real couples, too. For Jeremy and Matt, their only option to be together was to move far away from the family.

In real cases, I wonder if happily ever after between brothers would be hard to come by. I believe most men would keep their fantasies a secret far into their adult lives. As this is fiction, I can't do that. I gotta make sure Jeremy and Matt have at least a happy-for-now.

The following excerpt is NSFW, but considering the nature of this blog, I don't think anyone will mind a little pants losing!

So, my brother was an ass. I knew tons of kids whose brothers beat the shit out of them, but why was I so damned infatuated with mine?

I was a sophomore in high school when I realized that I was attracted to my brother. Matt was a junior and hardly ever home; he was always out at the football field practicing with the rest of the team. I was in detention, the reason escapes me now, but I wandered into the locker room that day after his meet was over. That was the first time it hit me: my brother was fucking hot.

I had stared at him through the crack between the lockers. He threw his gear into the locker and slipped his shirt from over his head. I caught an eyeful of his muscular chest that made me as hard as a fucking rock.

Fast forward to today. He's twenty-three now, and that was still the only time I'd ever seen my brother naked. That's not to say I didn't try. Every time, however, I fell short. I had asked him to go swimming, only to have him dress in a shower stall. I also spied on him through the small keyhole in his bedroom door, only to have Dad catch me. Oh, that was a sheer disaster.

I took a sip from the bottle and let the booze sit on my tongue before swallowing.

Yes, it was all a disaster. God, I just wanted to see the way he looked after a shower again. Beads of steaming water running down his strong, tawny back. The line of fine downy hair that stretched from his sternum down to his naval. It widened there, cloaking his beautiful cock in black hair.

With my eyes closed, my free hand wandered past my belt and into my jeans to my hardened cock. Fuck, I was hard for him just like the day I watched him step out of the school shower. I wrapped my fingers tight around my length and began to stroke.

Fraternal Devotion -- Now Available from Storm Moon Press for just $6.99 (ebook)





If you are a fan of brothers loving each other up, be sure to go get yourself a copy of this book. I really enjoyed this anthology (no surprise) and look for my review on Friday.