BooksChatter: ☀✉ The Scorpion's Empress

Thank you for joining us on the Virtual Book Tour for The Scorpion's Empress, an Erotic Romance by Yoshiyuki Ly (1 June 2016, Solstice Publishing, 156 pages).

Don't miss our Guest Post by author Yoshiyuki Ly where she tells us about her writing process.

PREVIEW: Check out the book's synopsis and excerpt below. Read the first two chapters with Amazon Look Inside.

The Scorpion's Empress is FREE on Kindle Unlimited and Kindle Owner's Lending Library.

Author Yoshiyuki Ly will be awarding a $50 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour. Please do take part: comment on our post and follow the tour where you will be able to read other excerpts (☀), interviews (ℚ), reviews (✍) and guest blog posts (✉).

Synopsis | Teaser | Guest Post | About the Author | Giveaway & Tour Stops

Synopsis

After years of serving a corrupt government, Ser Videl, an idealistic paladin, learns that her younger sister is tangled in a dark scheme against Raj Mangala, the compassionate yet troubled Empress of the city's oppressed lowtown; the two women meet and are deeply drawn to one another, finding a shared sanctuary in their violently-divided city. The Scorpion's Empress is intimately written through the eyes of both twenty-seven year old women.

Videl's loving devotion is just what Raj craves, but Raj is wary of letting her guard down while protecting her throne. Determined to prove her worth, Videl chases after Raj and works to unravel the mystery of the plots against the Empress. Raj wants Videl to serve her emotional and sexual needs, and the two explore a meaningful relationship of dominance and submission that delves fully into their deepest wants. When the conspiracy against Raj comes to a head, Videl's loyalties are tested when she is forced to choose between her past and her Empress.

Teasers

Excerpt | Guest Post: My personal writing process |

Excerpt

from Chapter 1

     [...] People worked for me— gathering information or whatever else I needed them to do do— and all of Elysium who were loyal to me ate well and survived the hot summers. The heat in the city came from the vast desert next door to us. I was originally from Limerick, a small, run-down town right in the middle of the desert. I spent my early childhood working out in the sun and my olive skin and my jet black hair with sun-stained scarlet highlights were what I had to show for it. I liked wearing bangles and earrings, and flowing, dark silks like less traditional saris with sandals to show off just enough of my body. No one else in Tynan, Eden or Elysium, wore what I wore or had my loose accent. My Empress of Elysium title sounded exotic to fit with my appearance, so I went along with it.
      On this Sunday, I had people coming in to collect their weekly share of meals for their families. It was ten o’clock— time to close up and head out. I only had two customers left. Work was scarce down here. Not all of my people were suited for the kind of work I needed done. Most of them could barely afford rent, let alone keep food on the table. The work my bandits did helped everyone who passed through these doors— so long as they deserved it and never screwed me over.
      “Got everything you need?” I asked the man and his wife, smiling.
      “Oh, yes, thank you, Empress, thank you!” he said to me. He and his wife bowed. My heart swelled from their gratitude. “This is plenty to feed our children. You are truly, truly kind! If we ever find any silks, I’ll be sure to send them your way. You can make a new sari with them if you’d like!”
      Even though my work made me happy, it broke my heart that we had to live this way. I didn’t let the couple see my regrets before my nightingale saw them out. I sat down at my desk, staring down at the Intel my bandits had collected that day. The Holy Knights Thirteen in charge of Tynan didn’t oppress us. We had plenty of rights that we used— and abused— as needed to survive. It was the nobles who had their pockets lined with gold, bribing paladins and temple knights left and right; the noblewomen who slept with priests and blackmailed them into doing what they wanted; the people of mine who went rogue and trafficked young boys and girls from Eden down here… the list went on, told as a story across my desk.
      I did everything I could to fight against anyone who tried to shut Vassago down. But I knew, one day, I’d be in over my head. I had a lot of power. I wasn’t stupid enough to think that would always be enough. I already couldn’t sleep at night from the whispers of my enemies who wanted to tear me down.
      There used to be someone who took my mind off of all that. Well, I’d wanted her to, back when we were wide-eyed twenty-year-olds. I reached in one of my drawers, pulling out my only picture of her. Her short, slicked-back silver hair had caught my eye first. Then the deep, burning crimson of her stare that had bored into me. Her quiet femininity; the leanness of her muscles and the sharp, sexy way her leather outfit marked her curves… More than all of that, her attitude had hooked me. Silent and obedient, but quick to speak her mind without caring about hurting someone’s feelings— that was her. There’d been a spark between us. We’d gone out plenty and had amazing sex. I’d dug my feet in the ground whenever she’d asked me for more. I’d known that I couldn’t have her and Elysium. I’d had to give her up if I wanted this spot on my throne. She was married to my rival now— my rival who’d had this place, but hadn’t done enough with it. She’d stepped down in exchange for the woman I’d wanted.
      That was six years ago. I’d given up my one chance at love for my ambition. I was too high-up now— anyone who thought they wanted me only loved my fame, not me. Loveless sex was my only alternative.

[...]

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Guest Post: My personal writing process

Hey, it’s Yoshiyuki Ly.

For this guest post, I’d like to go over how I function as a writer. Everyone has a different style, a different way of working with feedback as an author. For me, it’s always a tight-rope act. Readers will offer praise or things they think I should change. They encourage me to keep going—and I do. I endeavor to improve every second of every day, whether I’m actively writing or not. I don’t let things get to my head. The second I do that, there’s nothing to strive for anymore. If I ever achieved the pinnacle of perfection as an author, I’d have nothing left to work for. That is why I accept comments without using them as tools for self-esteem. I measure my worth in how many good stories I’ve written.

The words have to add up. The story count has to climb. There are always ideas I have in the background, simmering until the right time to write them. And once those are finished, I’ll have experienced more in life that will only add to that backlog of ideas. It’s an emotional roller coaster for me. I know how to not fall off. I know how to not let it consume me. It happened once—I never want to go back to that. I used to be unhinged and fearless with my work, but that was too reckless of me. If I ever write from that place again, it will be like copying a photograph from the past. I can look at the picture and remember where I was; I can also put the picture down and remember how important it is that I’ve grown out of how I used to be.

Yoshiyuki Ly

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The Scorpion's Empress
Available NOW!

About the Author

Yoshiyuki Ly was born in San Diego, CA. She lived there until moving away to college.

In high school, she began writing fanfiction as a serious hobby. Her pen name is representative of her multiracial heritage and a unique, diverse outlook that is reflective in her work.

While pursuing an undergraduate degree in philosophy, she spent her free time reading the works of Virginia Woolf, Soren Kierkegaard and Simone de Beauvoir. She then spent the next years honing her craft to become a published author.

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