Announcement: Staged, by Kim Fielding

QSFer Kim Fielding has a new MM sci fi romance book out:

Once the second-prize winner on My Slave’s Got Talent, Sky Blue has spent the past few years singing at a failing New York nightclub. While Sky has never had control over his fate, his life seems to take a turn for the worse when he’s torn from the familiar comfort of performing and sold to a rich and enigmatic man.

Morgan Wallace takes his newly purchased slave to San Francisco, his intentions unclear. On the one hand, he treats Sky with more kindness than Sky has ever known—treats him like a real person. On the other hand, he shares Sky at parties hosted by his sadistic new friends.

A confused slave is an endangered slave, and Sky isn’t even sure of his master’s real name. Is he Morgan Wallace, wealthy and cruel, or Mackenzie Webster, caring and compassionate? Caught between hope, fear, and an undeniably growing attachment, Sky struggles to untangle which parts are real and which are merely a performance. His future, his heart, and even his life may depend on it.

Belonging ‘verse Book Three

Giveaway

Kim is giving away an audiobook version of Treasure, narrated by Joel Leslie – just comment below with your email address for a chance to win!

Buy Links

Excerpt

When Master returned to the apartment entrance, he looked more resigned than furious. But he scowled at Sky. “Why are you just standing there? At least you could have shut the damned door.” He kicked it closed with a bang.

“Sorry, Master.”

“You say that a lot. Come on. We have shit to do.”

Sky was right about the bedroom. The platform upstairs housed an enormous bed and an equally enormous TV, along with a dresser, a small sitting area, and a closet and bathroom separated from the rest with opaque glass sliding doors. While Master seemed to be inventorying the expensive-looking clothes in the dresser and closet, Sky unpacked the few items in Master’s suitcase, including his own meager collection of grooming supplies. Then, back on the main floor, he stood in the kitchen and wrote on hotel notepaper while Master poked around and dictated a grocery list.

“I hate shopping,” Master complained when he was through. He leaned on the kitchen island for a moment, his face buried in his hands. Then he groaned and looked up at Sky. “That’s what I really need a slave for—to do all those crappy jobs I hate like shopping and paying bills and going to the dentist.”

“I . . . I don’t think I can . . .”

“I know,” Master said with a sigh. He looked exhausted and somehow weighed down. But when he gazed at Sky, his eyes were surprisingly warm.

Maybe that was what gave Sky the courage to ask a question. “Master? Please. What do you want me for?”

At first Master didn’t respond, but then he seemed to reach a decision. He started walking and gestured for Sky to follow. They crossed to the corner of the apartment, pausing just inside the opening between the partial walls.

When Sky saw what was hidden behind them, his mouth went dry and, conversely, his bowels felt watery.

He supposed that if the space hadn’t been in a second-floor apartment, it would have been called a dungeon. It contained several wooden and metal devices with padding, straps, and shackles, each clearly meant to confine a person in various positions. Hooks jutted from the walls, hung with chains, ropes, and floggers, while wooden shelves held gags, dildos, paddles, and things Sky couldn’t identify—and didn’t want to.

He couldn’t face this. He couldn’t— No. He had a choice: to fall apart or to wear a cloak of bravery. He took a deep breath, unzipped his hoodie, and pulled it off. As he started to take off his T-shirt, though, Master caught his arm. “No,” Master said. “Not now.”

It was stupid to feel relief over only a temporary reprieve, but Sky gave a shaky nod and let his arms drop to his sides, his hoodie clutched in one fist. Master faced him, standing so close their chests nearly touched. He cradled Sky’s chin gently in his palm, drawing his head up so Sky looked him in the eyes. They were pretty eyes, coffee brown near the pupils and fading to golden near the rims.

“This isn’t how I want it,” Master said softly. “I’m not supposed to be the bad guy. But sometimes we have to do things . . . Ends justify the means, right?” He laughed without humor.

The terrible thing was that Sky found himself wanting to lean forward just a little more, to feel Master’s warmth seep into his body. He craved scraps of tenderness and affection so badly that he’d beg them from the man who planned to torture him.

Master released Sky’s chin and stepped backward a bit, perhaps regretting what he’d just said and done. He hadn’t yet been cruel to Sky—had even been kind at times—but compassion toward a slave was a step too far. He kept staring, though. That was his right; Sky was his property to do with as he wished. But his gaze was so heavy that Sky suddenly broke.

“What do you want from me?” he shouted. And since he was damned already, he continued to yell. “You say you’re going to use these things on me, but you say you don’t want to. You give me good food and fancy clothing, but don’t give me any work to do. You have me sleep in your bed, but you don’t touch me. I want to be a good slave, but I’m just a singer and I don’t understand!”

Sky didn’t know which of them was more shocked by his outburst.

Author Bio

Kim Fielding picked up a pencil when she was three years old and never put it down. She always dreamed of becoming an author, but took a roundabout way of getting there, first spending an inordinate amount of time as a student and ending up with a law degree and a PhD in psychology. She wrote plenty of academic articles and even a few books, but fiction continued to call to her. One day, she finally put that pencil to its intended use again and began to write novels.

Today, Kim is the best-selling, award-winning author of numerous gay romance and fantasy novels, novellas, and short stories. Like Kim herself, her work is eclectic, spanning multiple -genres. Her stories are set in alternate worlds, in fifteenth-century Bosnia, in modern-day Oregon. Her heroes are hipster architect werewolves, slaves, maimed giants, and conflicted graduate students. They’re usually flawed, they often encounter terrible obstacles, but they always find love.

Kim writes authentic voices and unexpected heroes.

After having migrated back and forth across the western two-thirds of the United States, Kim calls the boring part of California home. She lives there among the cows and almond trees with her husband, her two daughters, and her day job as a university professor, but escapes as often as possible via car, train, plane, or boat. This may explain why her characters often seem to be in transit as well. She dreams of traveling and writing full-time.

Website: http://www.kfieldingwrites.com

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