Hi, thanks for hosting me! I’m Aleksandr Voinov and I’m here to talk about my newest release, Lying with Scorpions, which is he sequel to Scorpion and part of the Memory of Scorpions gay military fantasy trilogy. I’ll be checking in to answer any chestions you might have, so feel free to ask questions in the comments. At the end of the post, you’ll find more information and details for a backlist giveaway. Good luck!

Lying with Scorpions: Gender in the Memory of Scorpions series

For many reasons, some of them very personal, I’m deeply curious about how gender and gender roles are constructed and lived out by society. From those thoughts sprang, fully formed, characters outside the normal gender binary. I didn’t want to “cram them in”, they just happened and they felt appropriate. And cool.

Amrash was actually the first character I knew about in the sequel—apart from Graukar. Amrash represents the sacred hermaphrodite, and thus the perfect human being. S/he sometimes translates gender into a form that the host can understand, by adjusting dress. I know that the Jaishani have that level of flexibility to accept non-binary people based on clues such as dress and make-up. The uncomfortable “Which pronoun would you prefer?” discussion doesn’t happen in their culture. A far cry from how we treat intersexed people. Hey, if any lawmaker or politician reads this, feel free to steal the idea (especially as it’s not really mine anyway. There are some very mature societies out there, despite the best attempts to destroy them by Christian missionaries and western imperialism/colonialism).

The institution of the tanesh is largely equivalent to the eunuch as seen in Byzantine history. Often, eunuchs are seen as effeminate or soft. Well, I’d like to introduce you to Narses, Byzantine general (check him out). Kiran would also beg to differ.

I’m also intrigued by women warriors, so the Lady Protector, daughter of a militarist and full-blooded warrior-tyrant, came from that. If you only have two children and make plans for a warrior dynasty, you’d teach both of them. So being warriors is absolutely a choice in this world for women, and the Flames are regarded as an elite unit rather than an oddity. I don’t think a militaristic society has much resources or understanding for oddities anyway. She’s been criticised as being “un-feminine”—well, we only see her as a warrior and politician. And almost all female politicians I’m aware of have their “femininity” questioned (just see the whole “Was Thatcher a Feminist” discussion).

Personally, I believe we get to define what femininity and masculinity means to us. And I wouldn’t discard the thought that the Lady Protector might at times arrange flowers in a vase or wear some lacy something to seduce her lover, or even cuddle a cute newborn foal when she feels like it. She’s just not doing any of that on camera or where Kendras can witness.

Runner, of course, plays the “woman in trousers” role, which has been done a lot. I guess she’s also a nod to the whole “weak woman gets raped and is out for revenge” trope, though I’m resolving that in a different manner. She’s also carrying the whole “women are weaker than men and have less aggression hence make bad warriors” argument usually put forward by men who’ve never fought a woman. (I encountered a lot of fighting women in the martial arts and fencing, as well as boxing. Tell them they aren’t proper warriors—or women. Enjoy.) Her response is—education, and technology. If you can load a crossbow, you’re any man’s equal. Besides, technique counts for a lot.

Nhala represents a different kind of female power—there’s no doubt in my mind that she largely controls what’s going on in the palace. She’s one you wouldn’t want to mess with. Yes, she’s pregnant. So what, she’d say.

I hugely enjoyed stepping outside the usual male/female divide with the Memory of Scorpions—it felt like a bit of a risk at first, but when I let the character do their thing (regardless of their exact genitals), the whole thing just came alive in all its complexity. I hope you’ll enjoy it too.

Blurb:

If you lie with scorpions, you’d better have a taste for poison.

Now that Kendras’s lover Adrastes has claimed the throne of Dalman, Kendras is tangled deeper than ever in politics and intrigue. As the new leader of the Scorpions and Adrastes’s one true friend, he and his men stand between Adrastes and those who wish him dead.

And many do. Adrastes openly challenges the ocean priesthood for power while establishing himself at court and brokering with the realm’s various factions. He means for the Scorpions to become a fearsome legion again, but Kendras must first learn how to be a good officer and recruit to replace the fallen. His choices will determine the future of a group steeped in hundreds of years of history and tradition.

As both Kendras and Adrastes settle old scores, a new enemy arises in Commander Graukar, a war hero loyal to the old order. In his formidable mountain fortress, Graukar may hold the balance of power. But while Adrastes aims to either rule or destroy Graukar, Kendras finds himself doubting Adrastes for the first time, and sharing more with Graukar than he ever thought possible.

Buy link: http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/lying-scorpions

Biography:

Aleksandr has been published for twenty years, both in print and ebook. He has ten years’ experience as a writing coach, book doctor, and writing teacher, and he works as a financial editor in London.

After co-authoring the M/M military cult classic Special Forces, Aleksandr embarked on a quest to write edgy, dark, sometimes literary M/M and gay fiction (much of which is romance/erotica)—the only way he can use his American Literature degree these days.

He’s been published with Heyne/Random House, Carina Press, Samhain Publishing, and others.

Connect with Aleks:

Website: www.aleksandrvoinov.com

Blog: aleksandrvoinov.blogspot.com

Twitter:@aleksandrvoinov

Goodreads: goodreads.com/Vashtan

Contest: To win an ebook from my backlist (not Lying with Scorpions), email me at vashtan@gmail.com with the answer to the following questions (and your preferred file format):

–          Name the Scorpions that join Kendras’s unit in this book

–          What is Runner’s secret?

–          Who was the first officer of the Scorpions, and what happened to him?