Jay Bell Books

Hell and Summer win Rainbow Awards!

I love rainbows, and I love getting awards, so it’s no wonder that I love the Rainbow Awards! This year even more so than usual, because two of my books won! But first, some background information, since you may be wondering what the Rainbow Awards are all about. Some years back, Elisa Rolle decided to create a new literary award contest with the aim of being as inclusive as possible. Straight people writing gay fiction? No problem. Self published? That’s cool! Only have an eBook and not one in print? Come on by! The books entered are read by volunteer judges, which anyone can become, and the best cover art is voted for by the public. This gives the Rainbow Awards a strong sense of community, something very in the spirit of Elisa’s blog. Her site functions year round as a platform supporting gay fiction, authors of all creeds, and artists past and present.

Considering this, you can understand why I feel so proud to be recognized on that site. For once, Something Like Summer wasn’t the star performer. Hell’s Pawn won a Rainbow Award for Best Gay Fantasy and also won an Honorable Mention in the Best Gay Novel category. Of course the most popular kid in school didn’t go completely unnoticed. Something Like Summer scored an Honorable Mention in the Best 2011 LGBT Cover contest. My lovely husband has much to be proud of. His art was up against hundreds and hundreds (and hundreds!) of covers, with some really stunning work on display this year.

The biggest winner in the Rainbow Awards is the reader, since it’s not just the top sellers that are gaining recognition. A lot of overlooked books rise to the top through this contest, which means we can look over the list of winners and runners-up on Elisa’s site and discover great new books to read. But first, I’m off to buy some champagne!

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My Favorite Monsters

With Halloween creeping steadily closer, and the world becoming spookier by the day, I can’t help but think of all the monsters that used to terrify and fascinate me as a child. I was heavy into horror films as a kid, and my parents had no qualms about indulging this interest. There wasn’t a gory film I wasn’t allowed to rent, or an issue of Fangoria I couldn’t browse through to my twisted heart’s content. Now that I’m a feeble old man, I find my tastes aren’t so different than that of my younger self. While I find historical dramas more riveting that horror movies, I still have a soft spot in my heart for those same monsters. Here are just some of my favorites:

Werewolves –

Easily the best monster ever, werewolves have always played second fiddle to vampires. I’ll never understand why. What’s so great about sleeping in a coffin and exploding when the sun comes out? Werewolves have it so much better, living a normal life for all but three nights of the month. And there’s none of the delicate constitution of vampires. The only thing that can kill you is a silver bullet, which most hunters are way too cheap to keep in stock.

Werewolves are also sexy! Taylor Lautner aside, a man that is in touch with his primal animal instincts must be a tiger in the sack. Or a wolf, as the case may be. I suspect all that shapeshifting back and forth is great for muscle tone too. The only werewolf to appear in my books so far is Nikolai in The Cat in the Cradle. His rarely seen human form is as handsome as can be, and I even gave him his own short story, but I’d like to write an entire book about lycanthropes some day.

Skeleton Warriors –

If there were runway models in the world of monsters, skeletons would be the most sought after. That’s not a skinny joke either. Skeletons simply look great no matter what you put them in. Whether they are wearing a sombrero, a bride’s gown, a pharaoh’s cowl, or a classy suit and top hat, skeletons never fail to impress.

My most favorite skeletons accessorize with a simple shield and sword. In Jason and the Argonauts, an evil wizard tosses hydra teeth to the ground like he’s spreading grass seed. What grows is a terrifying army of skeleton warriors. Not only do they look great, but they make effective soldiers as well. What are you going to do, stab their flesh? Poke out their eyes? There’s not a lot of ways to damage a pile of bones, especially when it’s animated and trying to kill you. See for yourself:

Demons –

I’ve always found demons interesting. I don’t mean generic devils. The demons I like have strange names and roles in Hell’s hierarchy. Asmodeus, Beelzebub, Mammon, and of course Lucifer. Each has their own story, but better than that is the creepy art portraying them. Few things inspired the artists of old like the threat of burning in Hell. Hieronymus Bosch made this his life’s work, and even though his paintings are over five hundred years old, their nightmare visions remain terrifyingly original.

Of course demons also have their charming side, appearing in the night and seducing innocent women (and not-so-innocent gay guys) with sinful promises of passion and pleasure. The most famous of these are the incubi. Okay, so succubi are more popular, but we’re talking about hot demon lords here. My favorite of course is Rimmon, who has a starring role in Hell’s Pawn. I certainly enjoyed writing him, and had more than one feverish incubus dream while working on that book.

Multi-headed dragons –

I’ve never been much for dragons, the generic beast of fantasy novels. I have nothing against them, but they’ve never interested me much. But give me a dragon with more than one head, and suddenly I can’t get enough. I love hydras, and not just because their teeth can raise armies of skeleton supermodels. Hydras are cool because they’re so damn hard to kill. It’s hard to say how many heads a hydra starts with, but cut off one and two grow back in its place. The only way of preventing this is by burning the severed neck stump. Unless you’re really good at multitasking, the hydra’s other heads are going to kill you while you’re trying to deal with just one of them.

The best hydra of all is Tiamat. Forget Babylonian mythology, I’m referring to the modern Dungeons and Dragons creation. This Tiamat is a dragon with five heads, each a different color and possessing different kinds of breath. It’s like someone combined a pride flag and a hell spawned dragon for the ultimate expression of gay fury. The red head breathes fire, the blue head shoots electricity, and the green head spews delicious martinis that render foes drunk and vulnerable. Not only that, but while Tiamat is devouring you whole, the other four heads can function as a decent barbershop quartet!

Those are some of my favorite beasties. Even though I poked fun at them, they still capture my imagination to this day and always will. Come this Halloween season, I wish you many delightful nightmares filled with sword fighting skeletons and debonair demons. Oh, and be sure to leave a comment below and tell me about some of your favorite monsters!

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The Cat is back… with kittens!

Er, I’ll explain the kitten thing in a bit. The most important thing is that the revised version of The Cat in the Cradle is now out! What’s so new and exciting about this? Well, for you eBook lovers, all of Andreas’s art is now included. That means twenty-five gorgeous illustrations that complement each chapter. Some are of exotic locations, others of strange or terrifying creatures—and if that’s not enough—there are even a few cute boys in there as well. The print version is also looking sharper than ever. The previous font was much too small. I suppose my former publisher wanted to save paper, which is a noble cause, but now the book is much easier on the eyes. That’s not the only way the layout has improved. I’ll spare you the details, but you should find the entire reading experience much more pleasant.

As for the story, I did another rewrite and had the book edited again to bring it up to par with my other releases. There’s even some new content! A few scenes have been flushed out, the story matured ever-so-slightly to get away from the Young Adult taboo that causes so many adults to tremble and flee. But wait, there’s more new stuff! Andreas designed a glorious fantasy map that covers the northern portion of the Five Lands. The southern map will be included in the second book.

That’s right! Now we’re finally to the kittens reference. The Cat in the Cradle is now part of the Loka Legends series. I wrote the second book earlier this year, and rarely have I ever been so excited about a project. For those that haven’t read the first book yet, much of it has to do with Dylan and Tyjinn and the love they feel for each other. I wanted to continue Dylan’s story and see where the growth he experiences in the first book would take him. I don’t want to give anything away, but believe me—if you don’t read the first book you’ll be missing out on an amazing sequel.

As always, buying options are to the right. You’ll find them below Hell’s Pawn, which is still king right now. Or you can learn more and read free chapters on the book’s product page. I hope you guys will join me for my first series. Something tells me it won’t be my last.

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Goodbye Cat in the Cradle

Farewell Kio, Dylan and Tyjinn. It was nice knowing you, but your story will no longer be told. *wipes tear from eye* Actually, I’m being a little dramatic. You may have noticed that The Cat in the Cradle is no longer on sale at all the usual places. Don’t panic, because Kio and company are only going on vacation. The rights for this book recently reverted back from my publisher to me, and instead of just republishing it as is, I’ve decided to give it another rewrite. I’ve learned a few tricks since writing this book and wanted to polish the prose. I also want to get those chapter illustrations worked into the Kindle and Nook versions. I have even bigger plans than that, but for now, rest assured that The Cat in the Cradle will be back. With a vengeance.

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Flesh and Blood has been revamped!

Or should I say “rewolfed” since this story is about a werewolf. [*crickets chirping*] Uh, anyway, back in October of last year, I released this free prequel to The Cat in the Cradle, and never heard much back. I believe the most positive review came from my best friend, who described Flesh and Blood as being too short, disjointed and totally confusing. Yeah, well, somebody had to tell me. My friend was right, so it was back to the drawing board. Now Flesh and Blood is over three times its previous length, and explores Nikolai’s story in much greater detail. Not only do we discover his origins, but we learn how he became the prisoner of the Purple Oligarch, and what happens to him after the events of The Cat in the Cradle. Flesh and Blood always felt like the black sheep of the family, but now, thanks to some honest feedback, I’m can proudly pat it on the back and say, “Yup! That’s my boy!”

*Update* Flesh and Blood is currently unpublished but will be released again in another format sometime in the future.

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Free Spooky Short Story!

The short version: I wrote a horror story to go along with my fantasy novel, The Cat in the Cradle. How’s that for genre bending? You can download it from Smashwords in every conceivable format besides paper, but feel free to print it out if you like.

The long version: I enjoy dropping hints in my books about other places, other adventures. Ideas occur to me that have no place in the current narrative, and it gives me some release to at least leave a nod to them. The Cat in the Cradle makes mention of a handful of such tangents, Nikolai’s origin chief among them. What sort of experience would compel a person to shed the last vestiges of their humanity? Not a very pleasant one, I have to admit, but the most interesting stories are unpleasant. Besides, it’s almost Halloween, the perfect time to celebrate the grim and gruesome.

I asked Andreas for a rough sketch I could use for this story, but of course he went above and beyond and created a cover worthy of a full blown novel. He’s crazy, but that’s why I love him. If you want to see more of his art, stop by his website or his blog.

*Update* Flesh and Blood is currently unpublished but will be released again in another format sometime in the future.

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