Category: Writing

Bitter Harvest, first chapter ~ for 2012 Summer Reading Trail

On By Kim KnoxIn Writing1 Comment

It’s 2050, and humans are an endangered species. Lieutenant Robert Sutton has survived the collapse of civilisation by luck, his wits, and a chance mutation that makes him immune to the nano-virus that has wiped out millions. Now, his compound of survivors is surrounded by the infected, who are driven by the need to spread the contagion through sex. It is only a matter of time before they attack. So when Sutton is assigned to interrogate a prisoner who claims to have overcome the infection, he immediately suspects a trap…

Nicholas Rider may have survived the virus, but he’s a changed man, ruled by his desires. But his need for Sutton is different. Rider craves an end to his overwhelming needs, and Sutton could be the man to do it.

Secure in his belief that he’s invulnerable, Sutton can’t understand or resist his intense attraction to his prisoner. Will Rider be his downfall–or his saviour?

Carina || Amazon US || Amazon UK || Amazon DE || Barnes and Noble

Excerpt

Chapter One

November, 2050, Tower Hamlets Compound

The White Tower

Sutton stood behind his prisoner in the narrow interrogation cell. He thinned his mouth. The disinfectant sprayed over the man’s body cut the air with the sharp odour of lemon. Sutton hated that stink. It brought with it the memories of too many deaths by his own hand.

The med-techs had stripped the man naked, secured him to the ceiling with thick chains and scanned him for active apian devices. They’d found nothing. So what was he doing with the twisting silver scar of a hive-mark running down his spine?

“Enjoying the view?” The prisoner’s voice was little more than a growl. He stretched his hands, and the chains clanked. “If you’re going to fuck me, get in line.”

“You’ve been marked by apian tech.”

Sutton followed the path of scar tissue as it cut into the man’s muscled back, ending in a fork above his tailbone. His fingertips tingled as he skirted the heat of the man’s skin, close but not touching. The hive-mark followed the patterning from the Karayan-Haig colony, formed in Greenwich in 2037. He gritted his teeth. That pair had combined to produce a fierce and highly infectious nano-virus. The country had lost too many to them. The grey smoke of the dead had burned the air for months.

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Six Sentence Sunday: Kissed Next Year

On By Kim KnoxIn Writing6 Comments

Yay, I remembered to post. I think the sun has leeched all sense from my brain right now…
Soo, a little short I’m working on, KISSED NEXT YEAR

“I believe”—the lift dinged, the doors opened onto an empty, metal-lined carriage and he drew her inside—“that some meetings are fated. You and I, we’re the perfect intersection of place and need.”

Laughter escaped her. “Smooth.”

His sexy grin caught her again. “I thought so.”

As always, there are more sixes here.

Six Sentence Sunday – DARK DEALINGS

On By Kim KnoxIn Writing8 Comments

Yep, Once a Thief has a new title, DARK DEALINGS.

I’m into the final push of the line edit on this. Yay 🙂

Heyerdar manhandled the servant through the doors and gave him a light push. The man stumbled, flailed and caught himself. “The answer to that is ‘Yes, he is, Captain Heyerdar.’”

“You enjoyed that,” Ava muttered.

Heyerdar grunted. “Civil servants annoy me.”

As always, you can find more sixes here.

Six Sentence Sunday – erotic dark fantasy romance…

On By Kim KnoxIn Six Sentence Sunday, Writing9 Comments

ONCE A THIEF is due for a change, hence the title of this blog. 🙂

And yes, I’ve been slack again about posting sixes. I will promise to do better!

His eyes darkened. Slow and deliberate, he sucked his finger into his mouth.

Embarrassed heat burned across her face. She had witnessed enough debauchery, and her thief craved it, but to see him lick her juices with obvious greed…made her feel her inexperience.

“That’s enough. You can bind the memory.”

As always you can find more sixes here

Reviews, reviews, reviews!

On By Kim KnoxIn Carina Press, Reviews, Writing1 Comment

Netgalley has been good to me and seriously swamped SYNTHETIC DREAMS with reviews. It’s been great 😀
So here are snips from some:

5 stars
“If you looked up the definition of Science-Fiction Romance, it should simply say “Kim Knox.”
http://tammys1.blogspot.com/2012/02/synthetic-dreams-by-kim-knox-carina.html

4.5 stars.
“okay, seriously awesome stuff here..It was just so so good!
Synthetic dreams took me completely be surprise, it’s so,so far beyond what I was expecting, I’m still reeling! it’s a well told engrossing read…with strong, interesting characters…”
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/284022540

4 stars
“This short sci-fi tale is sophisticated and well-written. The complexity of the setting only highlights the characterization of Vyn and Paul, and Vyn’s unraveling of her circumstances reads as a tense and exciting thriller.”
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/266267433

“If you enjoy sci-fi, action and romance that you’ll enjoy this story too! Although I’m not an expert on Science Fiction, if it’s anything like what Kim Knox writes, well then I’ve found a new favorite genre.”
http://www.literarysweet.com/2012/02/book-review-synthetic-dreams-by-kim.html

4 stars:
“The story has the perfect pacing. Smooth and flowing with a lot of action. It never felt rushed, it never felt too overly packed, and it also never dragged. I think the most compelling thing is that I literally can’t tell you anything about the story without giving something away. Hell, just telling you that it was a love story felt like too much.”
http://puretextuality.com/2012/02/24/review-by-ginnylurcock-synthetic-dreams-by-by-kim-knox-release-date-22712-kimknox/

B review
“…Ms Knox never takes the journey I am expecting with her work. She threw several twists into this one some of which made me glad I don’t live in a fully wired world. One of the things I enjoyed is how Paul and Vyn traded being the person who had to take charge to ensure that they were able to escape the grip of the Corporation. Overall the world-building, the twists, and how Vyn grew were what carried this book for me.”
http://thebookpushers.com/2012/02/28/review-synthetic-dreams-by-kim-knox/

Six Sentence Sunday: Synthetic Dreams

On By Kim KnoxIn Carina Press, Six Sentence Sunday, Writing4 Comments

I meant to do this earlier in the week…and didn’t. See me? So completely organised! But I made it in the nick of time 😀

This week’s six is a snippet of a book that’s coming out tomorrow, Synthetic Dreams. Enjoy!

His breath burned against her skin. “Liam was replaced. Seven years ago.”

“And you’re here now?”

His hands flexed around her arms, his body tense. “Don’t taunt the man who’s keeping you alive.”

As always you can find more sixes here

Vynessa Somerton was just a girl when she learned about true evil. An encounter with the tyrannical Corporation scarred her body and exiled her to the crime-ridden S-District. Now an adult, Vyn creates glamours, worn by those who visit a virtual playground to live synthetic dreams. She’s tried to stay unnoticed by the Corporation, but her latest invention has brought their agents to her door.

Paul Cross works for the Corporation, but he’s been plotting their downfall since they took his brother and replaced him with an imposter. Paul has a plan to get his brother back, but he’s going to need Vyn and her invention to carry it out.

Vyn agrees to help Paul, but their alliance shatters the barriers she’s put up to protect herself, tempting her to give in to desire. Just as Vyn starts to trust Paul and believe he wants her, scars and all, the Corporation prepares for its final move. Can Vyn trust Paul completely, or has he been using her all along?

Carina Press || Amazon US || Amazon UK || Amazon DE || ARe || B&N

Cover Love: Thrones of Desire

On By Kim KnoxIn Covers, Writing7 Comments

This is the cover of the anthology, edited by Mitzi Szereto, that my short story, AT THE SORCERER’S COMMAND appears in. A woman not to mess with, I think… 😀

Below is the table of contents:

Hot as a Dragon’s Blood – Eric Del Carlo
Of High Renown – Janine Ashbless
At the Sorcerer’s Command – Kim Knox
Silver – Anna Meadows
In the Kingdom of Roz – Madeline Moore
Key to the Queen’s Elixir – Jo Wu
Here There Be Dragons – Ashley Lister
Flesh and Stone – Sacchi Green
Saints and Heroes – M. H. Crane
Escape – Mitzi Szereto
Eyekeeper – Aurelia T. Evans
The Widow’s Man – Nyla Nox
Jericho – Megan Arkenberg
The Last Sacrifice – Zander Vyne

And it’s out in print 11 September 2012 from Cleis Press.

Sales to Cleis Press and Carina Press! *squee*

On By Kim KnoxIn Carina Press, Cleis Press, sale!, Writing3 Comments

Busy start to the year!

First, I can say that my short story, AT THE SORCERER’S COMMAND will appear in Cleis Press’s THRONES OF DESIRE: EROTIC TALES OF SWORD, MIST AND FIRE, edited by Mitzi Szereto. The pre-order link is up now 😀

Here’s my blurb:

Miar is her people’s only hope to defeat the sorcerer who has besieged her home.  She has an unusual talent. She’s a soul-catcher, able to twist any soul to her will. And Varun, the man who must guard her, is willing to use her and her gift anyway he can.

And the anthology blurb:

Thrones of Desire: Erotic Tales of Swords, Mist and Fire is a place where lust and legend abound, and adventure, passion and danger entwine. Think mystical lands and creatures, kings and queens, knights and renegades, heroes and villains, warlords, maidens and princesses. Think battles and danger, honour and dishonour, good and evil. Most of all, think hearts filled with passion and secret desire.

This is a place where romantic chivalry is alive and well, but so too is romantic wickedness. This is a place where the good do not always win, and the bad are often more captivating and desirable than their altruistic counterparts.

In these lush and timeless landscapes, the battle for flesh can be as important as the battle for power. Intrigue, sorcery, revenge, lawlessness, dark secrets and mysterious elixirs; entanglements with supernatural beings – everything is possible in these magical mythical landscapes.

I’ve also sold my dark fantasy , erotic romance novel, ONCE A THIEF to Carina Press. It’s set for release in the autumn. Here’s the unofficial blurb:

Ava Kalle is a thief. Her empty soul devours magic, but she’s sharp, quick and can live in shadow. She’s the perfect spy.

When the man she loves takes another woman, the darkness at Ava’s heart unravels. Her attempt to stop the relationship drives her to do the unthinkable.  She makes a deal with the elemental, Captain Nahum Heyerdar. It’s a pact that pushes them into tasting forbidden magic, spinning them both into a dark and dangerous sexual obsession.

When Devourers break through the protecting wards of the city and start to kill and eat the emperor’s subjects, Ava’s tangled life becomes more twisted.  Her past and the dark heart of what she is, pushes into the light.

There are monsters in the city. And one of them is her.

Campaigning begins…

On By Kim KnoxIn Writing

Dawn Montgomery told me about Writer’s Building Platform Campaign as a way to reach out to other writers, aspiring or published, who write what I write to chat and challenge with. So I signed up 😀

A little about me. I write erotic and highly sensual romance, in the genres of science fiction, fantasy and the paranormal. Dragons, space demons, vampires, soul-catchers…they’re all in my stories. My work is usually dark and described as intense. Writing it is a lot of fun!

I’ve also dipped my toe into contemporaries–but, sh-h, we won’t talk about that…

I’m published with Carina Press, Cleis Press, Ellora’s Cave, Samhain Publishing and others.

Six Sentence Sunday: Frost

On By Kim KnoxIn Six Sentence Sunday, Writing8 Comments

Last week I forgot about my six due to headache from hell *sigh*. I”m doing better this week.

It’s another snip from my Victorian m/m SF romance. 🙂

“What are you doing?”

Frost tapped his temple. “I’m Thyreos, your shield.” His expression changed and one of the man’s many masks slipped into place. The little hint of wickedness stopped Mason’s breath. “And it’s time to prepare you.”

As always, you can find more sixes here