the journal of r. cooper

Free Short for the Being(s) in Love universe.

(Yes, I know. When I imported all the free reads from my old LJ to here for temporary safekeeping, the tags got messed up. I will fix it when I can.)


Chronologically, this would take place sometime after a Boy and His Dragon, but closer to the events of His Mossy Boy and Treasure for Treasure. As you will see when a certain graphic novel series is mentioned.

All the Futures That Could Be

( because writers are seers, darling )

Where have I been?

Writing a story that WOULD NOT END. I love the characters and all, but for whatever reason, the story took me forever to write. (It was probably my emotions in the way. I'm not one of those people who are super in touch with their emotions. Then these issues and feelings just sort of appear in my stories, and I'm like... how did that get there? aaaah.) Anyway, I would adore talking about this book with everyone, but since it contains stuff about my newest book, I suppose I will wait until you all have at least read that. (Yes, this is a tease.)

Newest book? you say. Oh right. TREASURE FOR TREASURE FINALLY HAS A RELEASE DATE! December 12, you can get it and softly murmur mine mine mine as you stow it in your pocket.

In the nineteenth century, the dragon Dìzhèn put the small coastal town of Everlasting under her protection. Her family was supposed to carry on the tradition, but all of Dìzhèn the Great’s heirs eventually left rather than live in the shadow of such a powerful dragon.

Only the youngest dragon of the current generation remains: Zarrin, the softhearted disgrace of his family. He might be weak, small, and afraid, but he is determined to show the humans they have not been forgotten… one human in particular. The problem is, Zarrin can barely get that human to talk to him.

It should be a dream come true to have a dragon trying to get his attention. But Joe refuses to bow to Zarrin like everyone else. Yes, Zarrin is sexy, oddly gentle for a dragon, and stares at Joe with a gaze so hot it makes him shiver. But hurt, mistrustful Joe can’t believe Zarrin’s promises that he’s here to stay. Joe doesn’t realize he is the treasure Zarrin has been looking for his whole life, a treasure he once let slip through his fingers out of fear. Now, to win Joe’s trust, Zarrin has to be brave and become as strong as Dìzhèn herself.

Look at that!!!!

Also, for those who like audiobooks, The Firebird and Other Stories and A Beginner's Guide to Wooing Your Mate are now available on Audible.


And now, pimping done, I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone who participated in my little fundraiser, and gave money to worthy causes in exchange for sinppets of their choosing. You guys were awesome, and the snippets were fun to do. The charities thank you. <3<3<3<3

I've noticed some people reading Beings books lately, along with some comments that lead me to think some people are confused. Or maybe just not the sort of people to dig around in my old posts to find information. Which is fair. I mean, I probably should build a website, but then I'm like, I'm not the sort of big name author who needs one. (Also, I'd rather be writing then doing building things or promoting things. It's true.) I do have my livejournal/goodreads reposts, and my tumblr, where things are (mostly) tagged. But yeah, I do need to set something up for that. SIGH. In the meantime...

THE BEINGS  'VERSE  EXPLANATION POST!!


Q: What is the Beings 'Verse?

A: Imagine a world just like ours, but where the magical creatures of legend (like fairies and elves and werewolves) are real, and they live openly (for the most part) with humans. But, they haven't always done so. The creatures, referred to by humans as beings, only came out of hiding when they were forced to. This happened in Europe during World War I, and panicked humans were not very accepting, so most beings live on the fringes of mainstream human society. They are idolized for their beauty and power, but also feared and mocked. Humans also do not distinguish much between the legends around these creatures and the reality of them. Over time, even the beings aren't sure about themselves.

All cultures have these creatures, and different histories with them. Some clearly worshiped their beings as gods or something godlike. Others revered them. Others told stories about encounters with them, where the beings could be benevolent or cruel or loving or petty--you know, just like humans. This is where fairy tales come from.

But then, as humans grew in strength and numbers, they stopped taking such care with these beings. They destroyed the forests where they lived, or drove the werewolves from their lands. Many of these humans, especially in Europe, when Christianity/the Church became a dominant political force, and then through colonization and imperialism, became a dominant force in most other countries, outright rejected the beings. Because the beings are different. They love indiscriminately. Some of them are naked. Their morality has its own rules. They view things like gender, and sexuality, in ways that these humans did not want to understand. So the humans called them evil, or banned the stories of them, and they did the same to humans who were similar to the beings.

But, when those cruel, powerful humans brought war to the entire globe, the beings had no place left to hide. Of course, some had never hidden in the first place, or had continued on as they were under the noses of European occupiers, but that is a story for another time.*cough*

Some of the beings remember their history, and others do not. Because they aren't represented accurately (or sometimes at all) in human media, many of them now believe the horrible things said about them. Others are fighting to prove what they really are. Alongside these beings, you have the humans who are like, or who love them.

Q: Are you some kind of nerd?

A: Yes. Obviously.


The Books:

Q: How many books are there?

A: 6 as of now. 7 is on its way. I am working on 8. (I started it this week! Aaaah!)

Q: Do the books need to be read in order?

A: No. They are written as standalones. HOWEVER, I do think people will understand certain references better if at least some of the books are read in the order they were published. AND, there are moments with recurring characters and themes that will make more sense if you've read everything. But no, it's not necessary to have read, say, Some of Kind of Magic before you read A Boy and His Dragon or Little Wolf. (In fact, I don't think most people do.)

Book 1:  Some Kind of Magic

A novella set in Los Cerros, a town with a significant being population, and which is considered a liberal town for that reason. A werewolf protects the things he loves, even from himself, if necessary. Features Ray Branigan, who is only the second being to ever make detective in Los Cerros. It also features lots of prejudice against beings, especially werewolves and fairies. Prejudices so strong even the beings have started to believe them. (Bad, Ray! Very bad! That is no way to treat your mate!)

Book 2:  A Boy and His Dragon

Set in Madera, about an hour away from Los Cerros. About a human boy with a noble heart, and the nerdy dragon history lecturer who adores him. Humans have lost the language to communcate with beings, so it takes our human boy, the lovely Arthur, some time to realize what a dragon might mean by calling him treasure.

Book 3:  A Beginner's Guide to Wooing Your Mate

Wolf's Paw, a town several hours from Los Cerros, is a town run by, and for, werewolves. If you're a human wizard, you might not feel very comfortable there. If you're a shy werewolf, you might feel like a bit of a failure for not getting your mate to love you. This story really starts to explain the idea of mating as werewolves view it. (Ray isn't really the explaining things type.) This is important because of

Book 4: Little Wolf

In which the toxic ideals about how werewolves ought to act have traumatized a young were to the point where he cannot recognize the mate in front of him. I cannot with this story. The real concept of mating (and treasure, and shine, and true love) finally starts to become more clear. It helps when you have a werewolf who acts more human than wolf.

(Book 4.5: A Mate of One's Own. A short story about Zoe, Little Wolf's friend, and her discovery of her mate.)

(Little Prince--a silly short version of Little Wolf I did, in which they are not werewolves. Very silly.)

Book 5: The Firebird and Other Stories

HOLY SHIT. Okay. This book... this book is readable without the other ones, but I personally would advise reading it after you have at least read one or two of the others. (I know some people didn't do that and still enjoyed it. But I'm just saying, it was written as I was writing the other stories and there are some tie ins.)

Basically, this book of short stories is about the beings shortly after they emerged from hiding, to the present day. Has lots of cameos, and except for two of the stories, is set in Los Cerros. LOTS of ideas about love and mating and hope in this story, which is good because there are a lot of horrible things humans have done to each other (and to the beings) throughout history. That hope is so, so necessary.

(Book 5.5: Frangipani and the Very Shiny Boy. A short story about a fairy desperately trying to get a boy's affection.)

Book 6:  A Dandelion for Tulip

Back in Madera, with a human who is finally attempting to discover the real history between humans and beings, and the fairy who loves him. Further explores the idea of shine. Features a lot of callbacks to the ideas from the previous stories. And some cameos. Were you curious about fairies? Well this is the book for you, then. :)

Book 7:  Treasure for Treasure

In which there is a small town that belongs to dragons--even though the dragons seems to have forgotten about it. One small, very determined dragon is going to have to prove to everyone that he will properly care for this treasure.

Book 8: (Well, wouldn't you like to know?)




And that is it for now. I do actually have a Beings 'Verse timeline in my notes, but it's incomplete, so in the future, I might repost all this and add it. I was also going to talk about Hottie Scotty and Mr Porter, but they are not beings, so I won't for now. Maybe this weekend.)

As always, people are free to ask me questions.<3

So.... I got a little obsessed with something I was working on and disappeared again. It's a thing I do, and it's how the stories Come to Be, but if you ever want to bug me or just pop in and lurk to see what I am doing, you can always go check out my Tumblr. Sweetfirebird

Lots of randomness happens over there in the strange lands of tumblring. Mostly I reblog geeky things, or fannish things, or ranty liberal things, and in between I make comments about what I am currently working on. Also people sometimes Message me or send me Asks about book stuff, which you are all always free to do. (You could also do this on Goodreads, or here, or Facebook, but that seems to be pretty rare. And I don't think LJ even notifies me about messages. Sigh.) Anyway. The Tumblr. You can even ask stuff anonymously if you want.

All right. Now. back to deets, which is very important they tell me.

The next book in the Being(s) in Love series is coming out at the end of June. A Dandelion for Tulip is released on June 24th. What's it about? Well, there is a doctoral student named David, who is so very much in love with a fairy named Tulip. But, Tulip doesn't date humans.

Of course, there's a reason for that. But poor David doesn't know it. And he isn't going to ask, because of some past heartbreak of his own. It's, um, a little awful, to be the kind of noble, pure soul who attracts Beings and who shines in every fairy's eyes. (I mean, ask Arthur. He'll tell you. It means more than you being nice or kind, it means you are brave enough to continue trying to be a good person, and that... is one of the most painful things you can do. The shiny ones are in such need of a fairy's care. It's a shame that some fairies are incapable of staying for long, but can make you feel like they might.)

So, um, yes, much pining. Light yearning and bittersweet feelings and longing and *Valentine's Day* and uuggghhhh.

Also, a bit more on North American (American) fairy culture. Because I'm sure everyone has been wondering what the hell fairies do amongst themselves, right?

A Dandelion for Tulip

(Also, I should point out for those own/want to own the paperbacks, the paperback preorders are on sale right now.)


Aaaaanyway. I submitted my sugarbaby dragon to DS and I'm waiting to hear back. So that would be the next Being(s) novel if they like it. Dragons!

In other Beings news. The Little Wolf audiobook is available on Audible. Apparently, it is 19 hours long (hotchi motchie!) and from what I've been told, the narrator had complete fun with it. I, of course, turn into a weird anxious baby when it comes to things like that and can't actually listen to the audiobook.

(If audiobooks *are* your thing, however, Dancing Lessons is now also available in audiobook form, also at Audible. And no, I haven't listened to it either. Someone tell me if it has a soft Chico.)

And, uh, I just finished something that was going to be a short something, but of course went a little longer because it's me. I hope to put it up on Amazon soon. Basically... me rereading my beloved LMM short stories, and thinking, oh wouldn't one of those be great, but set now, and queer, and maybe a bit kinky? Hmm. Not sure I succeeded there, but I did try. That should count for something.


And now for something completely different:

On a personal note, as someone who does NOT like discussing private matters (and who considers almost everything private), and who is also intensely anxiety ridden in social situations, I have a very small group of real llife and in person (not internet) friends, and one of them, knowing me, and just being supportive and lovely in an unspoken way, sent me a link to the Pride Converse. And while I have issues with commercialism in general and in this area, (and pieces of canvas costing $60-70) I also love Converse, and am one of those demi/bi what-have-yous--which is obvious if you know me, but not something I really talk about for the above reasons (and you know, to be left alone at work and not have my hours reduced etc). Anyway, the link was intended as a 'I know. I love you. And these shoes are cool, you could maybe get some?') and I am just so pleased and have been quietly atwitter about it all day today. So. Sharing.

NOW LET'S NEVER TALK ABOUT IT AGAIN. FEELINGS? WHAT ARE THEY? I DO NOT KNOW.

I am going to put more cherries in my ginger ale and read silly hockey boys in love.

More updates when I know more. :)

I confess, while the commercial nature of St Valentine's Day bugs the crap out of me, and I hate the feeling of obligation it creates, I loooove the cheesier aspects of it. For real, my old job involved decorating for Valentine's Day and helping people plan and decorate for it, and making everything look like a streamers-and-hearts pink-and-red middle school dance is so much fun. Also, I adore boxes of chocolates. The good kind though. (See's is my favorite). The kind that, sadly, rarely comes in cheesy heart-shaped boxes. I even like flowers and roses--although no so much the red roses unless the smell is good.

But, since no one expects me with my serious little face to enjoy those things, people don't think I enjoy the day. Consequently, I will be doing nothing this Valentine's Day but eating chocolates I bought myself, drinking champagne, and talking about silly romance stuff over on Tumblr. If anyone wants to watch that, or chat with me, they are welcome to. <3

(Okay, I will also be trying to do some of my actual writing that day. Until the champagne kicks in anyway.)

If that's not your cup of tea, but you still want to watch me talk nonsense about romance stuff, I will be making a blog post on the Dreamspinner Press blog on February 23. I'm thinking I will talk about fairy tales or something similiar and you all can talk or ask stuff or whatever. :) This, of course, will be to promote The Winter Prince.

(Guys, I am nervous about that one. It's one of those stories that I know won't be popular, but I do adore those characters and I get nervous for them like they're real. Sigh. They are my fav kind of stupid dorks with all the pining, but at least they get the excuse of being young when they made their dumbass decisions, and then we get all that glorious yearning and boys being stupidly noble.)

In other news, been looking for a narrator for Zeki and Theo for A Beginner's Guide to Wooing Your Mate audiobook, and Dreamspinner, which has been doing ebook bundle specials by theme or author, wants to do a Being(s) in Love set in October. Some Kind of Magic through The Firebird. !!!! Yaaaay! Hopefully if I finish my current project soon, it would be released around then. Meanwhile, Tulip's story will be out in June or July. :)

Um. Did I actually mention The Winter Prince's release date? Aah, I am terrible at this. It comes out on the 24th of February.




Feel free to come visit with me at either event. Or both. (Does tipsy blogging on Valentine's Day count as an event? Hmm)

You guys. Honestly. You guys. You wonderful goobs who ran out and read The Firebird and Other Stories right away, and then asked me all the nerdy awesome questions about it! :):):) <3 I hope the love outweighs any trauma. And as always, if you really want to know something, or just want to ALL CAPS TALK ABOUT SIMON'S FASHION CHOICES OR RENNET MY DARLING OR YELL AT ME FOR DESTROYING SOULS, or whatever, feel free to message me. I'm available basically everywhere but Twitter.

In other news, The Winter Prince was accepted. Yaaaay! This is basically a fairy tale, about a prince who gave away his heart to a magical creature, and now has to get it back, or he will freeze to death without its warmth. (It helps that he has the court wizard along, who might be, you know, the kind of person who would make him feel things if he still had a heart.) So that should be out next year. I don't have specific dates yet, but Dancing Lessons should come out in January (ish) and then The Winter Prince in February or March.

No, neither of those stories involve beings. But in a way, they both involve fairy tales, so there is that. (Dancing Lessons is contemporary. About emotionally fragile Chico (Sheeco) with his big brown eyes, and clever, shameless Rafael, the dance teacher who would really, really like to love him.)

I, um, also wrote a short thing to release on Amazon for autumn/Halloween. It's pretty simple. I wanted a fluffy story about pumpkins and crunchy leaves, but what I got is a powerful, lonely witch and this dork who may or may not love him. There might also be a ghost and a talking raven.

There is definitely a ghost and a talking raven.

Yeah. So that will be around in the beginning of October. Probably just on Amazon at first, because they make covers for you, and I can't afford to pay an artist what they are worth.

Anyway. This is mostly for the seven of you who like me. (I feel like Sally Field right now, if that's not too old of a reference to make.) Thank you! You guys are awesome! Your reactions to the Firebird are truly fantastic. <3

I'm at that awkward place where there is what I should be doing... and my brain is saying nuh uh. I finished Tulip, but the beta and I think it might need another scene, and then the way it was constructed means it needs a second half from a different POV. But then I think all the other story ideas I have floating around and I want to do them all and also none of them. Those writer feels. Winter Prince? This vague sex chat/Cinderella ish story? The rake and the lamb?--which involves neither a true rake or a true lamb and miiiight take place in the same universe as the dancer story I was compelled to do a month ago.

Did I tell people about that? I randomly had this MIGHTY NEED to write about a somewhat broken, not as fragile as he seems Chico (that's a Portuguese Chico, not a Spanish one) and a flirty dance teacher. So that happened. And Dreamspinner decided they liked it. So it's working title was Dancing Lessons and it's novella length, and should be coming out next year. January, I think?

Yay! Even if I don't really know where that story came from. (I'll find out later. I always do. The stories are in better touch with my emotions than I am)

In the meantime, The Firebird and Other Stories, the book of Beings shorts is out in September, I believe. Maybe late August, but I don't think so. The editing is done. Waiting on the cover (dying) and the final inspection. I've been debating doing a playlist or something for it, but many of the music/playlist services, um, suck, so I don't know. I just wanna talk about itttt and I can't yet. It's agony I tell you.

And then um, someone asked about Zoe, from Little Wolf. Over on tumblr I get questions sometimes about Charlie and Will, or Wicklow and Rhoades, or Amelia and Pilar (or Louis and Amelia, or Louis and Amelia and Pilar), but not Zoe. And it was funny, because my beta and I were just talking about Zoe meeting her mate. And the resulting discussion on tumblr about the lack of lady werewolves, plus a general agreement that Zoe is adorable, gave me thoughts.

So, since LJ doesn't allow long story posts anymore, I had to go the AO3 route, for now anyway...I wrote a story about Zoe meeting her mate. (It probably needs a thorough edit, but for now I am tired and pleased with myself for finishing it.)

A Mate of One's Own

Behold! There be f/f ahead!

I really do need to make a timeline or something for all the Beings. Because it takes so long for them get published after I write them that I always assume people have all the background on things when you don't. Like, um, there is some debate within the werewolf world that perhaps their commonly held beliefs about matings are incorrect. But I suppose you have to meet Diego for that.

That's a theme in the Beings stories anyway, I suppose. Poor confused babies. I just want all the little stories of them. All the arrogant, unthinking fairies and grumpity dragons and amnesiac werewolves and reluctant seers and trolls so fucking in love with you, Flor, how do you not see how in love with you he is aaahhhhh.

But getting me to focus on any of that right now? Poo.

p;
 
 

      Enter to Win

(It's open May 10th to May 12th. Which isn't a lot of time, because I really didn't think it through and I'm an idiot about these things. Sorry.)


Also, Dreamspinner is celebtrating its anniversary, so for this month they are offering discounts on certain writers and making certain collections available for a discount. May 8-14th all my titles will be 35% off. So enjoy that if you were planning on buying anything by moi.

Hey, everyone who hasn't yet seen my nerdy posts on Tumblr or Facebook, guess what? I've got a release date for Little Wolf. It's due out May 8.

Then at the end of this month I started editing Kazimir. Well, the collection of shorts, tentatively titled, The Firebird and Other Stories. (Also, hopefully, starting Tulip shortly before then. Oh Tulip. He has *presence*. Other fairies look out!)

Little Wolf (Nathaniel moons. Tim looks like a pissy, half-starved little thing, which is exactly what he is, really.)

Anyway, just a quick update. (And oh yes. I moved. Now it's the recovery. Sigh.) If you follow me on Tumblr, you got a cute, sort of porny, not really porny, kind of snippet with Will and Charlie the other day. Which is another reason to follow me there, if you needed one. I get why people don't. I mean, Tumblr is... Tumblr. But just putting it out there. Also if anyone ever wants to ask me anything, there are ways. Goodreads has a section (though my notifications only go through sometimes). There's my LJ. My Tumblr askbox. My Facebook. The link on the Dreamspinner author arcade. If you ever feel like contacting me, feel free, just keep in mind I am regular person with no secretary, so responses might take me a while, if I even see them. :):):)

More later. I am tired at the moment. Have an excerpt:

( read more )

Got an official release date for A Beginner's Guide to Wooing Your Mate! (Actually, I had it a few days ago, but I am distracted by RL stuff and in a weird between moods sort of place, so posting anything meaningful has been beyond me.)

March 13, people can get their hands on a baking werewolf and a very determined wizard with hair issues. A Beginner's Guide to Wooing Your Mate. It's a Being(s) in Love story, and it involves a town filled with werewolves who all insist that Mates find each other a certain way. BUT, f you've been reading the Beings stories, you should know by now that the theme is more how no one really knows anything when it comes it love, not even Beings. Not even fairies, and fairies see the truth. Tsk.

There are wet firemen and tasty sugar cookies and high school crushes gone awry and magic pie. Plus werewolves. And Violet. I can't forget Violet, a pixy drug store clerk, and those goddamn Greenleafs, being all pretty and hot like they are. And orgasmic brownies and sexual frustration cupcakes. And, uh, the Golden Girls. Did I mention wet firemen and werewolves?

Meanwhile, Little Wolf editing continues apace, and Dreamspinner is considering, maybe, the other thing, the weird thing I did, with the Beings shorts.

Anyway. So the thing comes out in March, which is when I will busiest and things will be the most chaotic, so... I was considering doing some sort of chat or something, but... that may or may not be possible. I'll let you know. (Goodreads doesn't seem to do chats anymore? Or something? So maybe not anyway.)

And now, I sleep, or try to. ...wait was I supposed to tell you all something else? I cannot even remember now. Oh when I get a chance (ha) I will put those snippets I did on Tumblr up on the free reads page of my LJ.