Anniversary Shenanigans: Author Visit & Giveaway - Tali Spencer

All unicorns gather around! Daisy Rainbow Mane is here! The one who truly knocked uniporn out of the park! (Chuck Tingle notwithstanding - he's a different class) If you've never heard of Thick as Thieves, get thee to bookseller ASAP! This is BMBR approved (as is Tali)! 

Daisy Rainbow Mane aka Tali Spencer has come bearing so many gifts, we're really considering hiding our horns incognito-like but they don't make shades big enough. Maybe you can try out? 

Take a gander at her sci-fi flash fic, Hue, and stick around from her awesome visit and giveaway for one lucky winner!

Hue

by

Tali Spencer

I saw him standing at the bar, stripped to the waist and ripped like a prize fighter. Brilliant hues of blue, red, and green splotched the skin on his broad heavily-muscled back. Yellow and deep purple peeked out from his waistband and hints of other colors lay on his arms. His trousers undoubtedly hid more.

I ordered a swallow of Zing and looked around for any fully-clothed men I could stand near for a chance to blend in. No shot. Most of the crowd was showing lots of skin.

Tall, broad, and manly walked over. “Drinking alone? I’m Ran.”

“Les. And I’m having just one drink before bed.”

A smile lifted Ran’s lips to show white, even teeth. “Bedding alone?”

I could tell he was interested in changing that situation. I eyed his chest and blushed at all the different colors. “I’m new on this station.”

“You’re new…in lots of ways.” His blue eyes raked me. “Do you have any hues at all?”

Rather than answer, I asked, “What’s with you? You have more hues than anyone here.”

“Long story involving an orgiastic youth.”

“Oh.” I hadn’t asked his age. The bartender handed me the glass with its gobbet of Zing jiggling at the bottom and I downed the tiny mass in one gulp. 

The arrival of aliens on Earth had been mostly a good thing. Cure for cancer? Good. Zing? Definitely. Exponentially extended youth? Humans can be real assholes and now we get to be assholes for a really long time. Only time would tell if making humanity a space-faring race was such a great idea.

Nanoskin, though…that stuff branded a person for life. Humans got sprayed at birth. Now our skins gained a new hue with every sexual partner.  

I didn’t have any hues because my alien keepers had just released me into the wild. My pure state needed correcting and Ran looked like the man for the job.

“Let’s go,” I said. Ran gave me a big grin as I nodded to the door. “Bedtime.”

*****

This needs to be a novel yes? Let Tali know your thoughts on Hue and join our plea campaign!

About the author:

I am fascinated by swords, mythology, and everything ancient and magical. Sword and sandals? I'm in! But I also love bodice-rippers, Regency romances, magical realism, pulpy detective stories, cozy mysteries, and South American literature.

Though I grew up as a bit of a nomad, I currently live in Pennsylvania with my husband and travel whenever I can. Every destination yields a story or three.

When not writing, I read everything (really, everything), experiment with food, and take long walks with my loving, if slightly neurotic, poodle.

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Fun and Games—and a Giveaway!

When the Unicorns sent me a photo prompt of a man splotched with paint, I immediately grinned and pounced on it. My current WIP (Victory Portrait) features a young male slave who “helps” an artist in perverse ways. Also my husband and I are painting a series of miniatures for a board game called Defenders of the Realm. Let’s just say paints and brushes are on my mind.

I never played a lot of board games when young because my family wasn’t really into them. As a young adult, though, I got into Dungeons and Dragons. The game was brand spanking new then. The epicenter of D&D gaming was near where I lived in Wisconsin at the time, in the town of Lake Geneva. In my gaming group I was a barbarian. I’d play wearing my costume of leather, chain mail, and fur—some reclaimed from an old Dr. Zhivago-inspired coat. My outfit was epic and also good for attracting the attention of young males. Going to GenCon when it was in Milwaukee was fun.

I’d wear my gear and carry a dragon on my shoulder. Yeah, Vorgell from Thick as Thieves and I have LOTS in common (including a tendency to be dense at times, even though we’re actually not dumb at all).

I stopped D&D gaming when I married and had kids. For the record, nothing sucks time, energy, or life from a woman like having one or more toddlers hanging on her legs. While waiting for the kids to grow up I started writing science fiction and fantasy—it’s amazing what a gal can accomplish during naptimes—and having a great time with that. I could invent new worlds, campaigns, and characters and do whatever I wanted with them. Anyone who’s been trapped with children understands the attraction.

Characters can be even more fun than real people, which brings me to board games…

Anyone who’s gotten to know me also knows I disappear on weekends. Why? Well, chances are I’m visiting with the Big Italian-American Family—and some of that time is spent playing board games like Defenders of the Realm (I’m a wizard), Tiny Epic Defenders (dwarf), A Touch of Evil (drifter), Dark Gothic (monster hunter), Samurai Spirit (monkey shifter), and Pandemic (researcher). My favorite games involve me taking on a character and acting with a team of family members (also in character) to save the world. We’re getting better, so pretty soon the world will be in good hands.

So if readers ask whether I “get into” the skins of my characters when I write…yes. Yes, I do. Sometimes even literally. I have a closet just for costumes.

Want to check out my books? Here’s a list with buy links.

How about the giveaway? In honor of the Unicorns, I am giving away this pretty Unicorn Horn tee-shirt! The shirt is purple (eggplant, for the fashion-conscious) and I have women’s sizes M, L, or XL. In addition to the shirt, the winner can also choose one of my ebooks. I write both M/M and M/F, so keep that in mind when looking at the list. Also, I will ship the tee shirt anywhere in the world. If a delivery service can find you, I can send it.

To be entered to win a unicorn tee AND one ebook of the winner's choice from Tali Spencer's backlist, please leave a comment with a means of contacting you (e.g. email, Twitter handle, link to Goodreads account, etc.).

The giveaway is open until 10 p.m. PST November 19th, 2015. Shortly thereafter, we will contact a winner whom we will select using a highly scientific "names in a hat" method (or, you know, an internet randomizer). Please respond to the winning notification within 48 hours or we will choose another winner.