So, Rowan. What have you been doing with your spare time?

If you caught my recent interviews at Rain on Roof and Reviews by jessewave, you know I mentioned that I was taking a break from writing to recharge. Here are some of the things I've been doing:

• Pulled the trusty Casio keyboard out of the closet. Hadn't touched it for years. This turned out to be a problem because apparently I'd left the batteries in there and they did the leak/rust/mold themselves into the inside thing. It took three hours, but I was able to get it clean enough to take new batteries.




• Got a Wii Fit. Am now addicted to Rhythm Kung-fu. I probably take it waaaaay too seriously.




• Experimented with creating a bit of stop-motion animation.




• Watched all twelve episodes of Black Blood Brothers.




• Read volume 1 of Xxxholic, Tsubasa Chronicles, and Legal Drug.




• Created a hand-drawn animation for my mother: Dancing Figurine.




• Had a relatively minor surgery, which put a stop to Rhythm Kung-fu for at least three weeks. lol.




• Currently recovering from said surgery. :)

So that's everything I can recall. I haven't been writing a lot, but easing back into real life has opened up some interesting conversations with my muse, so I feel like good things are coming. Plus, I might have a fun blog event coming with some friends of mine, so cross your fingers for that. :D

Pitch

My friend, Alex Woolfson, up and made a fab short film featuring angels, demons, and humor, so you know I like it. Embedding below, and you can visit his site at: http://www.yaoi911.com/.

Pitch from Alex Woolfson on Vimeo.

Feed the Fetish – Muscle Theft

Okay, the original blog I’d intended to post today unexpectedly turned into a full blown rant. Being that I’m not one to post a rant unless I feel like I have a damned good reason, I’m going to let that post cool off for a bit while I consider it and start over with this one. :)

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Muscle theft is a subgenre of muscle growth. It involves one party taking mass from another and hence making themselves bigger. For obvious reasons these are usually horror stories, often falling into the category of “erotic horror.” Sometimes you might root for the thief (ex: abused geek gets back at bullying jock) and other times the main character is unlikable but you can’t help reading anyway (sociopath finds out he can steal size and just runs with it).

I’ve written two muscle theft stories. One is “Want Me,” which features a classic jock/geek/roommate/magic spell scenario, and the other is “Just Wait” which I’d like to continue but has been a bit of a problem to place because it involves twins. I mention the two I’ve written because both stories were called “unique” in various reviews, and while I like to think that they are—indeed—quite brilliant (notice how here I automatically substitute “brilliant” for “unique.” It’s a writer coping mechanism, lol), I must admit that their base premises aren’t that unique within the muscle theft genre. No more so than a werewolf story featuring the wolf finding his mate under the full moon or a yaoi story with clear seme/uke dynamics.

I am in no way an expert on this genre and, come to think of it, the two stories I did write were both gifts for the same person, a guy who happens to kick ass in this genre. But I love reading the stories for the same reason I like watching scary movies—It gives me a darker kind of rush, and that’s okay in fiction.

So with that, for this month’s Feed the Fetish I’m posting links to a couple of muscle theft stories I’ve enjoyed over the last few years. For the sake of simplicity, all the links lead to stories on The Evolution Forum, which requires registration to read. But I’ve been a member for over three years now, and the only automated mail I’ve ever received are happy birthday notes. And even that’s customizable. I just happen to like birthday notes. The more I get, the more loved I feel.

/string of too much information.

Here are the links!

Alpha Dog by blackbird
A short story about why you really shouldn't pick on people you think are weaker than you.

* Part 1

* Part 2

Shift by Xyggurat
This writer's stories marked the first that made me really LIKE muscle theft. Plus, bits of Shift were written during my madcap attempt to write and post a book in a week, so there's a bit of a nod to Want Me in one of the chapters. :)

* Part I

* Part II

* Part III

* Part IV

* Part V

* Part VI

* Part VII

* Part VIII

* Part IX

* Part X

* Part XI

Taking the Good by Clarence591
I haven't read this one, but I'm way excited because it was recommended just now by a friend of mine who's heavily into the genre and now I have something to read over the weekend. W00t!

* Part I

* Part II

* Part III

* Part IV

* Part V

If you read any of the above, let me know what you think! Even better, comment on the forum itself, since comments=love.

I'm also toying with the idea of making a more extensive list of muscle theft stories. If you have a favorite work, I'd be very interested in hearing your recommendations. :)

Have a great weekened!