Howdy everyone! Kim invited me over to talk about old hidden gems you may have missed from the Lex Chase vault.
Well, allow me to present Checkmate, a superhero novella series that’s part drama, part comedy, all pop culture. In order the books are Pawn Takes Rook and Cashing the Reality Check, both released in 2013, and Conventional Love in 2014.
In a nutshell, Checkmate is the story of disgraced superhero Memphis Rook and his plucky sidekick/boyfriend Hogarth Dawson on a quest for redemption. We see this all unfold through Hogarth’s point of view which equates into the story of Batman as told by a hyperactive chipmunk.
The series had been an oddity among m/m readers because of the non-typical romance angle. There’s romance in it, but the series is more about explosions and saving the day. It’s what actually launched me onto the m/m scene as being the quirky writer with books filled with things going boom. I’m like Jamie Hyneman of Mythbusters: Lex want Big Boom.
The Checkmate series was also all about the pop culture. You had Rook, the subdued 80s geek, and Garth, the balls to the wall Millennial with his own brand of references. Everything from Back to the Future to Nyan Cat, nothing was sacred. Pawn Takes Rook had over 50 pop culture references, Cashing the Reality Check had over 80, and with Conventional Love I lost count once I hit 100. I never went back and did an official tally but it’s on the list. I even reference Gangnam Style. Because I don’t know this foreign concept of shame.
The series does have its emotional highs and lows (and it has some doozies if I say so.) but if you go in looking for pure angst and eroticism, this is not that series. Rook and Garth’s story is zany, humorous, tugs at the heartstrings, but also intentionally cheesy with terrible character names and alliterative business names. Captain Chivalry? Ted’s TV Tabernacle? My personal favorite character names hands down? Wyld Stallyn and Uniscorn.
It’s like eating Nutella. You know what tastes good with Nutella? More Nutella. In Checkmate, it’s not less is more, more is always more.
And more you shall have! The Checkmate series has been picked up by DSP Publications to be bound into a paperback edition called PTR: Checkmate Ever After. The paperback will not only have a fourth Checkmate novella called Miracle In Axis City, but also bonus content. You can pick it up December 2015!
Can’t wait that long? Pick up the eBooks from Dreamspinner, but if you like the smell of pulverized trees that have died for your amusement, the paperback is for you. Are you not entertained!
So kick back in your Snuggie, get your giant box of Thin Mints, and settle in with an indulgent fluffy series that doesn’t take itself seriously. Really, life is too damned short and too full of shit. Retreat into a world where nothing is impossible and you too can save the world.
Buy Link:
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=913
Author Bio:
Lex Chase once heard Stephen King say in a commercial, “We’re all going to die, I’m just trying to make it a little more interesting.” She knew then she wanted to make the world a little more interesting too. Weaving tales of cinematic, sweeping adventure and epic love—and depending on how she feels that day—Lex sprinkles in high-speed chases, shower scenes, and more explosions than a Hollywood blockbuster. She loves tales of men who kiss as much as they kick ass. She believes if you’re going to going to march into the depths of hell, it better be beside the one you love. Lex is a pop culture diva and her DVR is constantly backlogged. She wouldn’t last five minutes without technology in the event of the apocalypse and has nightmares about refusing to leave her cats behind. She is incredibly sentimental, to the point that she gets choked up at holiday commercials. But like the lovers driven to extreme measures to get home for the holidays, Lex believes everyone deserves a happy ending. Lex also has a knack for sarcasm, never takes herself seriously, and has been nicknamed “The Next Alan Moore” by her friends for all the pain and suffering she inflicts on her characters. She is a Damned Yankee hailing from the frozen backwoods of Maine now residing in the burbs of Northwest Florida, where it could be 80F and she’d still be a popsicle. You can find her at:
Blog: http://lexchase.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LXChase
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lex_Chase
Tumblr: http://lexiconofkittens.tumblr.com/
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/LXChase/