King Jester Novellas

Hello, all! I'm sorry I haven't been here as much as I would like. My laptop charger is currently... well... dead. The new one is on it's way and, for the time being, I'm using a friend's spare computer.

So, I'm sure by now that all my regular readers know about the King Jester books. While the last one won't be out until next year, I'm already feeling a little pang of pain to see my babies go. But as I was reading through, I got some ideas.

So I'm making the announcement here: the King Jester books are not done with just the trilogy. The 'Tales from Zirkua' novellas are already in the works on my end, and I'll be able to devote a lot more time to them once NaNoWriMo is done and over with.

'Tales from Zirkua' will give you the chance to see more of the characters we love. Or at least I love. Right now, there are six planned, each exploring the past of a separate character from the King Jester universe.

I hope you're all as excited as I am about this. I know I'll have a lot of fun with it, and I sincerely hope you'll have fun reading the books.

Ta-ta for now,
Voss

The Music of the Circus

Have I made it obvious enough yet that I wrote a book about a circus? If not, let me reiterate:

I wrote a book about a circus. No, I won't bore you with a buy link… but if you're interested, it's over in the right sidebar.

Music is a huge portion of the whole circus experience. Of course, the biggest, most famous piece of circus music is far and away 'Thunder and Blazes' by Julius Fucik. When we think of circus music, it's normally 'Thunder and Blazes.' There are a few other pieces ('Barnum and Bailey'sFavorite' and, mainly during trapeze acts, 'Sobre las Olas.'), but 'Thunder and Blazes' is the key piece.

There's also 'The Stars and Stripes Forever' by John Phillip Sousa… but it's more than a little infamous in circus history. 'The Stars and Stripes Forever' was played during emergencies. Once the performers heard those first few measures, they knew the act was done. Time to get the audience out and start tearing down the big top. Something is very very wrong.

Of course now, circus music has evolved even further. We have things today like Cirque Berzerk and, of course, Cirque du Soleil. They have composers dedicated to aiding the feeling of a show. From the darkness of Alegria to the sheer, unending intensity of Kooza. It's an evolution, and I love it. Rather than borrowing music, which aided the wonderful and very piecemeal feel of the classic circus, we now have a sleek feeling, a unity of concept as the circus arts are reinvented. I can't get enough of it. I tried to adopt a similar idea in Zirkua Fantastic. I leave it up to the readers to decide how well I did it, but I feel that, with a circus so long-lived as Zirkua, they would evolve to fit the modern times a little better. And that includes the music, exclusively provided by a single violinist.

What's your favorite circus or circus act (I personally love the Cyr wheel)? How does music work with the acts? Let me know, and subscribe, if you so desire.

Voss

New Release: King Jester Book One: Zirkua Fantastic

The circus. For years, before we had movies and TV and computers and video games, people went to see circuses for their entertainment. They'd crowd into hot, sweaty big tops to see women swinging from their hair or people up high, risking their lives on tightropes.

Even today, you can see the circus and its influence. From modern day troupes, like Cirque du Soleil and Cirque Berzerk, to not quite so plain reinventions, like the March Fourth Marching Band.

However you feel about the circus and the carnival (Let's face it, we're not talking about an industry well-known for ethics), the wonder, the mystery, the sheer thrill of it has never faltered.

But what happens when there's more there than tricks and training? What happens when the inexplicable really is inexplicable? That's what I wanted to explore. That's where Zirkua Fantastic came from. What if you really couldn't help but be sucked in by a ringmaster's spiel? What if that strongman really was as powerful as he looked? What if a tightrope walker could cheat death, because she couldn't fall?

What if all the magic was real? And what if that magic suddenly lashed back?

Excerpt:

As the caravan rambled down the interstate, Tobias rolled onto his side. The prop wagon wasn't the most comfortable. He'd have to opt out of practice to sleep once they got the tent up. No hope for that here.

He tossed aside the air silk he'd been using as a blanket and sat up, looking around, listening to the truck's tires thud across potholes and cracked pavement. He checked the straps holding the crates, tightened one that had loosened on the drive. "Crap." If one came loose, others could, too. He pushed himself off his stack of crates and toppled when they hit a particularly nasty bump. "When was the last time they fixed up this road?" He dragged himself up and stumbled toward the rear door of the truck, cranking straps tighter as he went. Once he got used to the movement, he sped up, tightening down all the cargo in fifteen or twenty minutes. Only the first strap had come loose.

Wood scraped against wood. His heart beat faster, breath catching. He scanned through the truck. Nothing had moved, to his eye. "Just another bump." Palm pressed to his chest, he tried to force his heartbeat back down to something normal. "Nothing to worry about."

He sat back on his crates and wrapped himself in the air silk. Sleeping or not, he needed a barrier against the cold and, though he would never admit it, it left him feeling safer, more protected against whatever probably wasn't in the truck with him. He scanned the boxes a final time, just in case he had missed something.

Still nothing out of place. Not that Tobias could see much in the dark. He tossed the silk over his head and lay down on the crates, desperate for some semblance of sleep. He sucked in a deep breath. The silk smelled like tobacco.

He heard some kind of rustling and flipped the silk back over his head. Cerulean eyes filled his gaze. The familiar, heady scent rushed into his nostrils. "Marley."

"You sound surprised."

"A little." Marley lifted the silk and climbed in next to Toby, snuggling up so close his scent filled the cocoon. Nice to have you here. "I mean, this is an artist's wagon. It's not really the sort of thing you do."

He chuckled, hot breath cascading over Toby's back. "That's not quite true." He kissed Toby's neck, sending a chill racing along the corded muscles. "I end up in the prop wagon most nights."

"Do you?" He did his best to sound unfazed. In reality, he fought back warm, nervous laughter. "I'd think I would have noticed."

"Well, you did this time."

"So I did." Toby scooted closer, relishing in Marley's warmth. "And I'm very happy about it." He leaned his head against Marley's chest. The slight movement of the fabric wafted more of the intoxicating perfume into the space. "How much longer 'til we get to the next town, you think?"

"I'd give it an hour. Maybe a little more. If I'm any good at guessing distance." Marley pulled Tobias even closer. "You need to get some sleep, babe."

"Not if it's only an hour." He turned over and nuzzled into Marley's shirt, staring up into bright blue eyes. "I'd still be completely useless with only an hour's sleep." He yawned, and then slapped Marley across the arm. "Stop being so damn warm." The end of the sentence got muddled by a second, gaping yawn. "It's like sleeping with a space heater."

"You can't blame me for being hot. In fact, I remember you thanking me profusely on more than one occasion for it."

"Well, it's not very helpful when I'm trying to stay awake."

Marley chuckled. "Then get off."

He nestled closer in response, muttering into Marley's chest. "It's not that unbearable."

Marley wriggled his hand under Toby's chin, lifted his face, kissed him. "I figured that much."

Buy Here!

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Don't let anyone know, but I managed to steal the list of upcoming performances. I'm posting it here so we can all get a few shows under our belts.

October 23: http://vossfoster.blogspot.com

October 24: http://iyanajenna.blogspot.com

October 25: http://jaletaclegg.blogspot.com

October 26: http://sevantownsend.blogspot.com

October 27: http://prizmbooks.blogspot.com

October 28: http://openonemore.com

October 29: http://francespauli.blogspot.com

Just don't let anyone know that I gave you this... I don't know that they'd be happy.

Voss

The Circus is Coming

There's no notification, no posters stuck on lamp posts, just the sudden bustle of workers and performers, and the tent, a spectacle of burgundy and silver silk rising into the air.

You're drawn in, drawn by the scents of circus foods, of hot pretzels and cotton candy and off-brand Coca-Cola, and by the shouting, and by the damned tent. Where did it come from? Only the night-owls know. When you went to bed, it was all an empty lot. But not now.

Before you know it, the circus seems to have leaked out. Performers run the streets, spitting fire, throwing knives, dancing and twirling and bending in ways the human body shouldn't bend. You can't help but watch it, so beautiful, so unlike your life.

It all comprises a silent message...

The circus is in town.