House of the Rising Son #MFRWhooks

Cheyenne is a half-human incubus whose star is on the rise in the Unakite City rock scene. His father, the leader of the supernatural races, would prefer he keep a “low profile”, but screw that. Cheyenne has as much music in his veins as royal incubi blood.

Alexander's future is all set: finish law school, join the family firm, and marry someone who'd be good for business. Not that he has a say in any of it. He's barely met the woman his father expects him to marry. Keeping the peace is his priority. Until he meets Cheyenne.

If secrets are kept, they can never be together. If their secrets are exposed, chaos will reign in both families.

Either way, life will never be the same.

House of the Rising Son is the first book in the LGBTQIA+ urban fantasy series Living After Midnight.  Warning: This book features quirky supernatural creatures, a Thanksgiving dinner that makes the Inquisition look like a tea party, and an incubus that will rock your world.

Hook:

Were-tigers were not the inconspicuous type. If they were in the club, those assholes would be right in front.

From center stage, Cheyenne looked through the dark hair hanging over his eyes. He searched the rock crowd for the hostile faces of his father’s henchmen. So far, so good. No Were-tigers in sight. Instead, he saw tears trickling down the cheeks of women, and men holding cold bottles of beer against their foreheads.

His band jammed in the background, each member a talented musician, but the fans watched only him. They screamed and begged him for a sign of favor—a glance, a smile. He bit his lower lip, concealing a satisfied grin. He could ask them for all their worldly possessions, and they wouldn’t hesitate to oblige. But he wanted nothing except their lust, which fed him, and that was already his.

“I know what you want.” He moved his hands across his body, pushing up his black T-shirt to reveal a glimpse of stomach—and the promise of more. He teased, “I said I know what you want!” The crowd roared.

Cheyenne let his desire seep into his green eyes. “But you can’t have it.” The room exploded with cheers and applause.

He brought his palms together in front of his chest and bowed his head in mock humility as he savored the sweet, creamy taste of his fans’ longing. He rewarded them with a carnal, hungry gaze, then picked up his white Stratocaster. Fuck being an incubus, he thought. I’m a rock star.

Get House of the Rising Son here:

https://books.apple.com/us/book/house-of-the-rising-son/id6445258059

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/house-of-the-rising-son-trevann-rogers/1122604899

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/house-of-the-rising-son-3

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XPZX3G5

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/trevann-rogers

Combining Imagination with Mythology

Writing is hard.

But it’s a bit easier, in my opinion, when you write about what you like. I like music. I like fantasy creatures. Sure, there is a special place in my heart for sexy vampires, confident Weres, witches and wizards. As a teen, I fell in love with so many of them and immersed myself in their stories. But as I grew up, I wanted more.

Writing is a way of creating the world as I want it to be. All of my stories are connected to Unakite City. In this fictional urban setting, creatures live side by side with humans, “among them but unknown to them”, as one of my characters bellows (repeatedly). There are the usual urban fantasy cast of characters, but also less common creatures. The star, Cheyenne, is an incubus. His best friend is a huldra and his accountant is a dragon. And now there is Malik.

Malik is a character who is introduced in Waiting on the Son, the soon-to-be-released, long awaited sequel to House of the Rising Son. He is based on the caladrius that appears in Roman mythology. According to the legend, this small bird is often referred to as a harbinger of either hopelessness or hope. The caladrius can sense if you are going to live or die. He also has the power to heal you. For this reason, they often served royalty.

Malik was initially formed on one of my trips to the casino. (Don’t get it twisted. I mostly play the nickel slot machines and listen to the live music. But I digress.) I was sitting in the corridor between buildings eating a strawberry ice cream cone, when I noticed an interesting man. He was wearing a t-shirt and khaki green pants and moving from one person to another. Naturally, he came over to me and we immediately began a conversation about books. Every few minutes, he would politely excuse himself and scurry to another unsuspecting person. Then he’d come back to continue our conversation. I thought, What a cool guy.

My interaction with this fascinating man became the bones of the character. To build around these bones, I added the basics of the the legend and then using my creativity and knowledge of the story, Malik became his own bird. For example, he isn’t small. Most of the time he appears as human, but he can take the form of a bird at will. He can heal, but at a cost. He’s also a scout and can find just about anything you need.

Sometime soon I’ll talk about the huldra. This mythological creature turned into one of the most beloved characters, according to my readers. I won’t give away everything, of course. I want you to read the book and fall in love with Chey and the gang.

The First is Always Special #MFRWAuthor

I have been writing most of my life. Although every story has a permanent place in my heart, House of the Rising Son is my favorite work. The obvious reason could be that it was my first traditionally published novel. Firsts always have a special place in your heart. But that isn’t the only reason it’s my favorite. It’s special to me because of Cheyenne. The original story was born in 1993. Cheyenne, the hero of the story, has changed over the years, and his family has had many incarnations. Some variations worked better than others. For example, Chey has always been a rockstar— the talent is in his blood—but being human didn’t seem to suit him.

Another aspect that has remained constant has been that this unlikely and totally unprepared rock star became a parent. His children’s ages, names, and even the number of his offspring have varied as Cheyenne’s world evolved. Only his reactions and judgments have changed. Consequently, some of Chey’s stories were adventures, others were love stories, most were funny and all were outrageous. He was not a hero to anyone or savior of anything in any of his previous lives.

When I decided to submit his story for publication and introduce him to the world, Cheyenne changed more than he ever had before. In House of the Rising Son I expanded the number of people in his life and focused less on his primary role as parent, instead focusing more on his role in the world as an important member of the Incubi Nation. Of course, he remained a rock star.

The sequel to House of the Rising Son is scheduled for publication later this year, with more books and short stories planned. It’s time for the rest of his story to be told. Then who know? Maybe his children’s stories will make their way into published works. I imagine it will be fun watching their stories unfold, too.

#Scintillating Sunday at LAM!

Welcome to the "Scintillating Sunday" blog hop. Below is an excerpt from House of the Rising Son. Alexander has just settled in to watch the show. Cheyenne, the incubus rocker (and the guy Alexander might be falling for) is about to perform.

~~~~ The blue-gray glow of the synthesizer’s lights increased with the music’s crescendo and tugged him to the edge of his seat. The beginning of a show was one of his favorite parts. He was also partial to the middle and the end.

But Alexander didn’t applaud and stomp and scream in anticipation like the rest of the crowd. He was grateful to be able to keep his composure, but the truth was, it was all he could do to remember to breathe.

With a burst of light and a thunderous chord, Cheyenne appeared at center stage, arms out from his sides. An ethereal white light illuminated him. A rock and roll messiah.

~~~~~

Hope you enjoyed a scintillating snippet. Check out the rest of my blog for more information about Cheyenne or the book that tells his story. And enjoy the rest of the hop!

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Something About Sexy-- #MySexySaturday Blog Hop #MFRWAuthor

It's My Sexy Saturday, a blog hop in which participating authors post 7 paragraphs, 7 sentences, or 7 words in line with the current theme. This week the theme is something about sexy! Check out more sexy author blogs here!

We offer seven sentences from our urban fantasy with LGBT romantic elements, HOUSE OF THE RISING SON--a story of sex, rebellion, and rock and roll. Enjoy!

~~~Seven Lines~~~

Alexander raised his glass, but forgot to drink as he watched Cheyenne. The musician didn’t disappoint. He fronted the band with his usual prowess, dancing and flirting, shredding his guitar like confetti. When the tempo slowed, he climbed to the top of a large speaker and dropped to his knees. Slowly spreading his legs, he fingered the frayed seam on the inner thigh of his threadbare jeans before gliding his hand up his body, to the back of his neck, across his cheek and to his mouth. The movement underscored the feral look in his eyes.

Heat flashed through Alexander’s body as he realized Cheyenne was looking directly at him.

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House f the Rising Son, Living After Midnight Book 1

Cheyenne is a half-human incubus whose star is on the rise in the Unakite City rock scene. His father, the leader of the supernatural races, would prefer he keep a “low profile”, but screw that. Cheyenne has as much music in his veins as royal incubi blood.

Alexander's future is all set—finish law school, join the family firm, and marry someone who'd be good for business. Not that he has a say in any of it. He's barely met the woman his father expects him to marry.

As Cheyenne's musical career takes off, his carefully constructed life begins to unravel, exacerbated by an ex-lover who can't let go, a crotchety barkeeper with a dirty mind and a pure heart, a drag queen who moonlights as a nanny, and Alexander—who's not sure if he's falling for the incubus or the rocker.

Cheyenne denies who he is, while Alexander hides what he wants. Together, they learn that getting what they truly want means being who they truly are.

Warning: Contains hot were-tiger sex, a Thanksgiving celebration that makes the Inquisition look like a tea party, and an incubus who'll rock your world.

Sometimes Bad is Bad

Writing a villain is fun. Thinking up dastardly deeds, mapping out their ramifications...cue evil, witchy laugh. But it isn't very easy. If they are too dreadful with no redeeming qualities, they can become caricatures rather than characters in the story. The villains we love to hate have some characteristic or history or issue that compels us to connect with them on some level.

In my Urban Fantasy novel, House of the Rising Son, Samuel is an antagonist for Cheyenne , someone who stands in opposition to Cheyenne's goals. As the story unfolds, however, we learn that as despicable as Samuel can be, the problematic actions he takes are for the greater good of the incubi and all supernatural races. At least they are to him

On the other hand, sometimes bad is just bad. There may be no redeeming feature for a truly vile character. For example, there is nothing compassionate or noble about Logan. He is a villain's villain. He wants what he wants for his purposes only, and is not hesitant to manipulate the people in his life to achieve his selfish goals.  I'll be the first to say there isn't much about him that fosters empathy--he's a rotten guy. Yet he isn't cartoon-ish. His humanity is in his desires. He wants Cheyenne. He wants a better life than he has. He aspires for power and respect. While we may not approve of his choices, we understand them.

Join me over at Kate Hill's Compelling Beast blog to hear from the man himself and learn more about this complicated, contemptible incubus.

Dress up, Dress Down!

My Pinterest boards have been very popular and the selection of clothes for our characters seems to be popular.  So we've decided to start a new feature on the blog every third Friday, and explore fashion in books. In Cheyenne’s world, Friday night is a work night and he's barely making ends meet.  He doesn’t have money for fancy stage outfits.  Fans find him fronting the band in jeans and t-shirts.  Those range from plain colors to colorful images such as his red dragon.

Red Dragon T-Shirt

Whatever Cheyenne wears, he looks sexy and enticing. I'll explore more outfits in coming posts.  Do you have any ideas for Cheyenne’s costumes?   Please share in comments below.