SERIES TOUR: The Valence Chronicles by D’Arcy Arden (Excerpt & Q&A with author)
SERIES TOUR – THE VALENCE CHRONICLES
BOOK 1
Book Title: The Fourth State of Matter
Author: D’Arcy Arden
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Cover Artist: Jennifer Greeff
Length: 87 000 words / 349 pages
Release Date: May 31, 2021
Genres: Sci-fi, M/M Romance, Menage, Space Opera, Aliens
Tropes: Class divide, Fast burn, Scifi spaceship adventure
Themes: Rebellion, Freedom, Personal discovery
It is not a standalone story, but does not end on a cliffhanger.
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Space is cold, the sex it hot, and the rebellion is right on target.
Blurb
Earth is dead. Humanity survives by selling the only resource available—themselves. 2689 has signed away his rights as a living being and become décor, living artwork that rich aliens use to decorate their homes. It’s a stable existence but a boring one. Until one day his owner plays host to three unexpected guests. Large, loud, and more potent than anything 2689 has ever experienced, this trio of ship-dwellers from the wrong side of the universe awakens a desire he can’t ignore.
However, blissful days of sex and companionship with Brog, Desmodian, and Xavis come to an end when 2689 discovers a plot that could land the trio in jail…or worse. 2689 will have to make a choice—stay silent and allow three innocent lives to be ruined or give up his stable life to protect the ones he loves.
Excerpt
Pet fumbled his drink, creating a clink of glass against glass and spilling pink droplets onto the table’s surface. He had encountered Décor Preservation Services once before, at his first auction, when they evaluated his quality and determined what price to charge his buyers.
“And what does DPS want with us?”
Desmodian sounded too calm, considering the tremor Pet felt running through the hand on his head.
Vige scoffed. “Really? A trio of dirty ship-dwellers running around with one of their precious décor, and you don’t think they’re going to intervene?”
“We’ve done nothing wrong.” Xavis ruffled his feathers again, filling what little space remained in their alcove. “Pet was transferred to us legally. Anyone can check the license.”
In a different situation, Pet would have stroked the feathers back down, but he was too scared to do more than stare dumbly from person to person.
BOOK 2
Book Title: The Use of Heavy Water
Author: D’Arcy Arden
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Cover Artist: Jennifer Greeff
Length: 89 000 words / 360 pages
Release Date: October 12, 2022
Genres: Sci-fi, M/M Romance, Menage, Space Opera, Aliens
Tropes: Beach vacation, the past returning, capture, rescue / escape
Themes: Relationships, betrayal, deception, personal strength, communication
It is not a standalone story, but does not end on a cliffhanger.
The books are best read in order.
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Blurb
Décor don’t usually go on vacation, but after their adventure in the Iota Cloud, Pet is looking forward to a week of relaxation on the planet Syzygy, an ideal vacation spot for aliens from all corners of the galaxy.
The fancy resort they’ve chosen isn’t welcoming to ship-dwellers, but defying societal expectations has always been a favorite pastime for Desmodian, Brog, and Xavis.
However, a divide is sparked in the trio when shadows from Brog’s past make an unexpected appearance. Distracted by their conflict, the three are left vulnerable to an enemy who knows their weaknesses.
The trio can’t save Pet this time. It’s up to him to rescue the ones he loves and return them all to their true home among the stars. If he fails, their freedom and maybe even their lives will be forfeit.
Excerpt
Desmodian turned sharply back to Brog. His hand, which had been holding the card, opened and closed as if confused about its sudden emptiness. “What? You’re keeping it?”
One of Brog’s hands held the card, and another gripped Desmodian. That still left two arms free to cross over his chest in a challenging posture. “Maybe. No reason not to.”
Desmodian gaped. “No reason…after what that man did to you. There’s every reason to avoid him.”
The pair stared each other down, Brog with one set of eyes and Desmodian with his whole body.
Pet’s foot slipped over wet rock, and he nearly tumbled off the island. He had seen these emotions on his trio before, but rarely directed at each other. On the rare occasion they fought, it usually ended as quickly as it started. He hoped this time would be the same.
Xavis approached the argument with both wings outstretched. “Hey, guys, calm down. This isn’t worth fighting over.”
Brog let go of Desmodian, practically throwing his hand away. “If he thinks he can make decisions for me, then we got somethin’ to fight over.”
Desmodian’s hammer planted in the sand again, hard enough to sink several inches. “It shouldn’t even be a decision. It should be common sense. Yaivin Vels is the reason you ended up arrested and in Unit 22 in the first place. You shouldn’t want anything to do with him.”
Q&A with D’Arcy Arden
Introduce yourself and your writing
I’ve been writing for a long time, and my first published book came out last year. Most of my writing has fallen into the fantasy and scifi genre, and I’ve been a reader of erotica for years. So, I decided to combine the two things I love, and write an erotic scifi. My goal was to merge the two as seamlessly as possible. Plot and erotic content should work together to create a compelling story, and I think I’ve succeeded in that goal.
What/who inspired you to start writing?
I’m not sure what first inspired me. Writing is something that I’ve always been drawn to. As a child, my parents read stories to me every night before bed, fostering my love of literature. I remember, when I was first learning to write and had just started composing full sentences, I asked my parents for a notebook. There was something very satisfying about filling the lines on an empty page with words. That first notebook ended up being a place I dumped all kinds of rambling thoughts and little daydreams.
Since then, the habit has persisted. I’m rarely without a notebook just in case I’m struck with the urge to write something, even if it’s just a sentence or two. It’ll bounce around in my head, bothering me until I put it on paper.
I guess creating stories out of those rambling thoughts was just the natural progression of things.
Tell us about your new release. What inspired you to write it?
How did you decide on the title?
To explain the title, I first have to explain the characters. Pet and the alien trio are all partially based on one of the first four states of matter (solid, liquid, gas, and plasma.)
The first book in the series, The Fourth State of Matter, literally refers to the plasma cloud that the characters end up traveling to, where the climactic final takes place. However, it also symbolically represents Pet. This is primarily a story about Pet beginning his discovery of himself as a person, and becoming the fourth member of this poly relationship.
The second book in the series, The Use of Heavy Water, literally refers to the heavy water that gets used for a crucial event in the story. However, on a symbolic level, it also represents Brog (one of the alien trio) who is the focus of this story.
What are you working on at present? Would you like to share a snippet?
The third book of The Valence Chronicles is in the works. However, I have also set my sights on self-publishing other stories. The new series I am working on is going to be an urban fantasy (also M/M erotica, of course). I don’t have a finished draft yet, so I don’t want to say too much about it, but here’s a snippet of a scene that is definitely going to be in the story.
Staring at Cael’s face upside down, Asmodeus was hypnotized. Maybe the human had cast a spell on him. The fingers running through his hair certainly felt like magic as they resumed their work.
“You aren’t afraid of me.”
Human lips twisted into a shy smirk. “I can pretend, if you want.”
Asmodeus would have violently shaken his head in disagreement, but that would dislodge Cael’s hands from his hair. “No. It’s…nice. Refreshing. I just don’t understand why. Everyone’s afraid of me.” He raised an arm out of the water to gesture around the room. “Afraid of all this. I don’t even mean to do it, but that probably scares them even more. It’s a reminder of how easily I could break their world, and it would be easier with you than anyone. So why are you this calm when anyone else would be panicking right now?”
Cael paused just long enough to take another look around the room. “It is strange, but everything in this city is strange to me. Half the people I interact with on a daily basis are man-eaters. They would happily tear me limb from limb and devour me alive if they could. The only thing stopping them is this.” He held up his wrist, bringing the ouroboros tattoo into sight. “Once you get over that idea, well, what’s left to be frightened of?”
The smirk turned back into a warm smile as Cael pushed a stray strand of hair out of Asmodeus’s face.
Asmodeus wanted that warmth for himself. What would it be like, to reach out and claim the human? Lock the delicate creature away, safe and available whenever he wanted.
He banished the thought as soon as it appeared. If this human could be owned so easily, he wouldn’t have survived long in Gravesend. No, demands wouldn’t work, not even from the lord of the city. Cael was like a bird, beautiful and able to take flight at any moment.
Asmodeus could only hold out his hand, and hope the human came to him.
What is the hardest part of writing any book?
Getting to the end of the first draft. Plotting out the book is a lot of fun, especially coming up with new ideas. My favourite part of writing a book is the second/third/etc… draft where I get to hone the story down to the final product. Getting to the end of that first draft, however, is very hard. Often the writing is rough, and ideas don’t always work the way I wanted. It’s easy to get discouraged, and the only way to get to the end is to just keep pushing through even when I’m not happy with what I’m making. I have to remind myself to trust the process. That even if something isn’t perfect on the first draft, I can make it better later.
Why M/M?
This is a surprisingly complicated question to answer. I’ve always been more drawn to M/M than any other form of romance/erotica. This became especially complicated when I realized I was asexual. These two things seemed like contradictions that couldn’t exist at the same time.
To put it in simplest terms, I prefer stories that include sex scenes because it feels disingenuous when a story goes out of its way to avoid talking about/describing sex, as if it’s not a natural part of life. Yet, at the same time, being asexual meant I felt uncomfortable if I related too much with the character. So, M/M became a safe space for me.
What novels do you adore/re-read?
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley is one of my favorites. I’ve read it several times, and I’ll probably read it several more. I took a lot of inspiration from this book in the way it presents its subject. Thanial is the perspective character, but a lot of the story is about his observations of the character Mori. In the same way, Pet is the main perspective character of my story, but there is a heavy focus on his observations of the trio.
I also love the Nightrunner series by Lynn Flewelling. The first three books of the series are my favorite, and I’ve read those more than the others, but I’ve read the whole series several times. I adore the two main characters and how they play off each other. They have a good balance of being very opposite in personality, but their core values match when it comes to the things that really matter. Also, it’s refreshing to read a story where the relationship drama doesn’t get in the way of the story. Even when the two characters disagree about something, they still have each other’s backs. They can set their personal problems aside to deal with bigger issues, and then come back to those personal problems later when it’s appropriate to do so.
Do characters and stories just pop into your head, or do you take your time thinking about and planning them?
Not a whole story, but often a particular scene will pop into my head and refuse to leave. For example, before I’d figured anything else out about The Fourth State of Matter, I had this image in my mind of a spaceship that seemed to be crashing while two characters were busy having sex in the control chair, seemingly unconcerned by the chaos happening around them. I had to ask myself a lot of questions to come up with a feasible backstory for this scene, which helped me get the overall story off the ground. This ended up being the opening scene of the book, though the chronological middle of the story.
Do you get emails asking why characters didn’t get together and whether you’re going to write more about them?
Surprisingly I haven’t gotten many messages about the character’s relationships. Maybe because the relationships are fairly straightforward and upfront.
However, people have sent me messages asking for more information about the different alien species in my stories. A message I got recently included a long list of questions about the evolutionary timeline of one particular species from my second book, wondering how they developed different technologies and how their society came to be.
These are always fun questions to answer, since I get to talk about the backstory and worldbuilding that doesn’t fit into the actual books. Even if I don’t have an answer, then these kinds of questions help me develop the world a little more and think about my aliens in a different way.
Are you obsessed with stationery? And if so, what and why?
I have an extensive collection of fancy notebooks. Part of my writing process is that I like to handwrite whenever I can. When I fill up a notebook I add it to a special shelf on my bookcase. It’s like a display of all the hard work I’ve put into writing over the years, bound up in pretty covers.
If you could choose any superpower or magical ability, what would it be and why? What would you do with it?
Some days, when my writing isn’t going well, I wish I had the magic ability to take what is in my mind and just instantly transfer it to the page. But, on a more whimsical note, if I could have any superpower, I think I would like the power to travel anywhere in the universe. Whether it be through technology, or magic, I just want to see what’s out there.
About the Author
D’Arcy Arden grew up in Akron, Ohio, where she attended creative art schools and was surrounded by beautiful country landscape. This combination cultivated an interest in literature, art, and the natural world around her. In college, she earned a Masters Degree in Fiction Writing, which primarily taught her that there is no one way to tell a good story. So, she turned around and went back for a degree in Animation as well. This love for both visual and written stories has given her a preference for stories that are memorable, easy to picture, and, most importantly, fun.
That was her main goal when she started writing The Fourth State of Matter—to provide readers with a fun story featuring the three S’s. Science, sex, and spaceships. It is her first published novel, but only the beginning of a great adventure.
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2 Comments
D'Arcy Arden
Thanks for hosting me!
neverhollowed
You’re welcome!