So are L'Wren, Hawk and the Doves...
L’Wren, Hawk And The Doves….
L'Wren? Hawk? Doves?
Who/what/why?
L’Wren came to me
first just as a name which seems to be a genuinely acceptable version of
Lauren, the feminine of Lawrence, both of which derive from the Latin word for
a bay tree.
Bay leaves are green, of course, so L’Wren had to be green
too didn’t she?
There it was then, a blank page with the name of a green
girl on it…
Hawk just swooped
in - well, he would swoop wouldn’t he? He was plainly in some sort of
juxtaposition to L’Wren based on his name alone - a wren being a tiny songbird,
small, and brown whereas a hawk is a big fearsome, noble thing.
Opposites attract though, so I went with a bit of gender
stereotyping. L’Wren stayed female while Hawk became very male.
And the most male thing a boy can do is… be a starship
captain! Then he gained the first name Saker, which is an Arabic word meaning
falcon.
You could argue that his name translates as Hawk Hawk? But
I'd get upset if you did.
The Doves flew
into the title as already having two very different birds flapping about in my
head I realised that there were some more. The conflict aspect that sprang to
mind of having a hawk and a wren seemed to be calling out for a peaceful
resolution... hence doves were required. However, I shifted the conflict to a
different planet and decided that my doves would also be from another world.
Their role then grew until they were interplanetary peace-keepers, flying in to
resolve a conflict that had proved all but impossible to deal with.
So.... what's it all
bout?
Well, it's really just a standard boy meets girl who both
meet boy and girl who might be girl and boy while boys and girls fight it out
over boys being boys and girls being girls thing.... in space.
Simple.
Well, maybe – I wanted to challenge preconceptions about a
number of things.
It's a daft idea that gender and sexuality are a social
constant across the universe so my two worlds in L'Wren, Hawk and the Doves
have totally different views on the subject.
I'll let you read the book to find out what the twist on the
Dove's home planet of Turacoena is (no spoilers here) but the war, on the
planet Ourania, that the doves are seeking to bring an end to is all about
gender.
Ourania is divided by gender, with rigid social and
geographical structures in place. Gender is everything yet sexuality, because
of this, is flexible. Within their respective social and geographical confines
homosexuality is the norm and outside heterosexuality is expected.
It makes total sense on Ourania, trust me.
Into the mix comes the relationship between L'Wren and Hawk.
They each have a past, and a future, and the Doves, with their innate empathy,
bring challenges that neither of them expects.
And the Doves themselves – well, they have their own past
and a secret they need to keep.
If your emotions could be felt by another, if the desires you kept
hidden were revealed and reflected back on you would you deny and control those
needs?
And if sexuality and gender aren't what they seem does it change who
you are?
A snippet – L'Wren
ponders her feelings for Hawk and the emotions arising from meeting the Dove,
Anchises:
It
had been hard sitting next to Hawk in the briefing room with the Turacoenan
opposite. She’d wanted to just get her hands and mouth on Hawk and take up
where they’d left off before they’d docked at Halo Five. Mission protocol was
always a challenge, but this time it was even harder.
Maybe
the presence of Anchises hadn’t helped. He was undoubtedly a beautiful specimen
of a man. He was totally masculine, yet there was a subtle androgyny about him.
She found him really quite intriguing, particularly the femininity aspect. His
mouth, the softness of his lips. Their shape took her a long way back, to her
first-ever kiss—and that had been with a girl. Would kissing Anchises be like
kissing her schoolgirl crush? She’d never kissed another girl since, but the
thought had crept into her fantasies now and then. Once it had even found its
way into her imagination as she’d been in the throes of passion with Hawk. The
fleeting image of Hawk being replaced by a girl as he’d so diligently applied
his lips and tongue had not been unwelcome. Perhaps a girl might be more gentle
yet insistent. She might know when to move from…there to…there then…oh, there.
Not
that she’d told him, of course. Maybe one day she might share that with him.
One day.
Anchises
wasn’t quite as tall as Hawk, but both men were plainly fit and firm—and hot.
She was physically attracted to him, as well as emotionally, and that had
surprised her. Her thoughts had wandered to kissing Anchises’ feminine mouth
while Hawk took her and sated the desire that still made itself known in the
warmth of her pussy.
This
wasn’t going to be easy. She needed a kiss and to come, at the very least.
L'Wren, Hawk and the Doves is on general release 31st May from Pride Publishing
Catch up with Faberge on –
