by Dixon, Ruby
Not every instance of depression is brought on by a situation. And that is okay, too. Depression comes in many varieties, and I’m not here to tell everyone they can magically say a list of five positive things and feel better. I’m saying that this is fiction, and it’s not my intent to hand wave it away and act like curing depression is as easy as snapping your fingers. Callie’s case is extremely mild and ‘helped’ along by her cootie and the healer. Every case is different. I’ve known people that struggled for years until they got on the right medication. I know some that came out of things on their own by starting a regimen of diet and exercise and journaling. I know some that still struggle daily and will always struggle.
All of that is totally valid.
Basically I’m writing all this to say that to people out there that might be wrestling with this very situation - you are real, your feelings matter, and it’s perfectly okay to not be okay, even if others around you are okay. You’re allowed to feel how you feel and to take as long as you fucking need.
(And in the wise words of the podcast My Favorite Murder, “If you can’t make your own serotonin, store-bought is fine.” There is zero shame in the medication game, and you do what you need to do to get through things.)
Just know that I love you and you deserve a Happy Ever After, too.
* * *
Okay! All that being said let’s talk about the dynamic of Callie and M’tok. They are very much my Lizzie and Mr. Darcy, where they start off on the wrong foot and things just get worse from there. I wanted to play with that dynamic. It’s a classic one, right? Plus, I absolutely love when a meet-cute goes wrong. I’ve been asked a million times why Callie and M’tok hate each other so much, so I sat down for the longest time and thought about it. I tried to see how M’tok would view Callie in his eyes. To him, a people who pride themselves on their height (horns and otherwise), she isn’t what he expects. And Callie - who is struggling with her own shit - misinterprets everything he says. All she knows is that this dude is calling her things that are offensive, and then thinks he can make it better by showing her his dick.
M’tok was fun to write because I didn’t want to push him into the ‘angry, boorish hunter’ corner without giving him a reason WHY. Why is M’tok such a jerk when his brother S’bren is such a sweetheart? And of course it comes down to control. M’tok likes to be in control of a situation. He likes order. He likes for things to follow the rules. Callie flummoxes him because she sees the rules and deliberately ignores them. He doesn’t know what to do about that…and so of course he takes control of the situation in the only way he knows how - by stealing his woman.
(Plus, as the author, I love a good woman-stealing story.)
Callie’s love of Harry Potter was partially inspired by a conversation I had with Hannah, who runs the IPB Wiki and is a super-fan. She mentioned which house she thought each person would be sorted into, and I had to take it one step further. It was fun to play with, and I figured if I can have a Star Wars nerd heroine, I can also have a Potterhead, right?
Also…I have a cliffhanger. Sorta.
I’M SORRY NOT SORRY?
I mean, the couple is happy and you don’t have to read those last few lines. It absolutely will not change your enjoyment of the book. Callie and M’tok have their happy ever after, and they have a future of cute embroidered tunics and lots of babies to look forward to. But now you want to know what’s going on with Penny and S’bren, right….?
And you’ll find out next month. :)
Thank you so much for being fans. I really do have the most wonderful readers in the world, and thank you to everyone that sends me messages on Facebook or writes reviews on Amazon. You are all wonderful, and your enthusiasm allows me to keep playing in this world that I love. I’m not sure what I’m going to do when I run out of heroines. Therapy? LOL. More likely spinoffs. ;) Or both. Definitely both.
Much love,
Ruby <3
The People of Icehome
The ‘Castaways’ (Icehome Tribe)
Lauren/Lo – Adult female at the beach camp. Once had glasses. Likes to be a problem solver. Resonates to K’thar, newly pregnant. Friend to Marisol.
Marisol – Terrified adult female at beach camp who is fond of hiding. Gets stranded with Lo on the island. Resonates to T’chai. Due to his sickness, their resonance is ‘turned off’ by the healer.
Hannah – Resonates to J’shel when the island tribes arrive. Newly pregnant. Resident busybody. Now assistant to Veronica.
Angie – Adult female at the beach camp. Pregnant with mystery baby when awoken. Gives birth to Glory (a clone female). Resonates to Vordis. Now pregnant again.
Glory - A qura’aki clone baby, implanted in Angie. Newborn and cute as hell.
Willa – Adult female with a southern twang. Lo’s friend. Gren’s most ardent defender. Resonates to Gren. Pregnant.
Gren (rhymes with HEN) – Beastly, feral ex-gladiator male. Attacks on sight. Resonates to Willa. Soft and fuzzy, according to Aayla.
Veronica – Newest healer on the planet. Resonated to Ashtar upon arrival. Bit of a klutz. Needs to work on her bedside manner. Has enlisted Hannah to be her assistant.
Ashtar (Ash-TARR) – Flirty golden ex-gladiator and former slave. Drakoni male who can shapeshift to a “battle form” as a dragon and has the ability to communicate telepathically. Resonates immediately to Veronica. Stud.
Vordis (Vohr-DISS rhymes with Floor-Miss) – One of the red “twins,” ex-gladiators of a race called a’ani. Longtime friends/brothers with Thrand, another clone. The really devoted one. Hot sauce. Resonates to Angie.
Thrand (rhymes with ‘Bland’ - no one tell him this) – One of the red “twins,” ex-gladiators of a race called a’ani. Longtime friends/brothers with Vordis. The hotheaded, competitive one. Ketchup. Resonates to Nadine.
Tia – Teenager at the beach camp. Flirting with Sessah…and probably everyone else. Treats all the unmated men like they’re her personal harem.
Nadine – One of the adult females at the beach camp. Huntress and go-getter. Resonates to Thrand.
Callie – One of the adult females at the beach camp. Harry Potter fan. Resonated to M’tok. Also hates M’tok for a long, long time. She gets over it.
Bridget – One of the adult females at the beach camp. Friend to Veronica. Hooked up with A’tam. Broke up with A’tam. It’s complicated.
Steph – One of the adult females at the beach camp.
Raven – One of the adult females at the beach camp. Blonde, despite her name. Hippie parents. Likes to sing.
Penny – One of the adult females at the beach camp. Learning to hunt. Human sunshine. Stolen by S’bren.
Devi – Chatty adult female at beach camp. Scientist nerd. Hair flipper. Loves dinosaurs. Resonates to N’dek and is newly pregnant.
Flordeliza – Adult female at beach camp. Once a nurse. Kind of a clown.
Samantha – One of the adult females at the beach camp. Really fucking loves being on the ice planet, which no one else can figure out.
From the Old Tribe (Croatoan)
Raahosh (Ruh-HOSH) – Hunter of the Croatoan tribe. Messed up horns. Mated to Liz and has 3 daughters, Raashel, Aayla, and now Ahsoka. Generally unpleasant to be around (except to his mate).
Liz – Snarky human mate to Raahosh. Mother to Raashel, Aayla, and newborn Ahsoka. Star Wars nerd. Salty.
Raashel (Ruh-SHELL) - Liz and Raahosh’s oldest daughter. A bit of a tattletale.
Aayla (Ay-LAH) - Liz and Raahosh’s middle child. Fascinated by Gren.
Ahsoka (Uh-soh-kuh) - Liz and Raahosh’s newborn daughter.
Sessah (SESS-uh) – Unmated, lanky, teen sa-khui from Croatoan. Currently dazzled by all the single ladies in Icehome.
Rukh (ROOKH) – Hunter of the Croatoan tribe and ex-outcast. His mate is Harlow. Brother to Raahosh, father to Rukhar and now Daya.
Harlow – Mate to Rukh, mother to Rukhar and newborn Daya. She assists Mardok with technology stolen/looted from
the broken ships.
Rukhar (ROOKH-arr) – Harlow and Rukh’s young son.
Daya (DIE—uh) Harlow and Rukh’s newborn daughter.
Farli (FAR-lee) – One of the few sa-khui females. Mated to Mardok and has a pet dvisti named Chompy. Pregnant.
Mardok (Mar-DOCK) – Ex-soldier who has chosen to remain on the ice planet. Technology guru. Mated to Farli.
Taushen (Tow (rhymes with cow)-SHEN) – Hunter and mate to Brooke. Recently arrived at Icehome camp.
Brooke – recently mated to Taushen. Hairdresser back on Earth, recently arrived at Icehome camp. Will braid anyone that sits still for more than five minutes. Pregnant.
The Island Clans
Clan of the Strong Arm
K’thar (Kuh-THARR) – Hunter, de-facto leader of Strong Arm, resonates to Lauren/Lo. Owner of Kki/Fat One.
J’shel (Juh-SHELL) – Young hunter of Strong Arm, resonates to Hannah. Very cheerful. Long braid. Dirty talker.
N’dek (Nuh-DECK) – Hunter of Strong Arm, recently lost a leg in a kaari attack. No longer depressed and sitting around the fire a lot. Resonated to Devi and has prosthetic leg.
I’chai (Eye-shy) – deceased female, mother of Z’hren
Z’hren (ZRENN) – Orphaned child of Strong Arm, now child of Gail and Vaza
Fat One/Kki (KUH-kee) – nightflyer pet of the clan
Gail – adopted parent of Z’hren, older human female, once of Croatoan. Loves to mother everyone in the tribe that will let her.
Vaza – adopted parent of Z’hren, older sa-khui male, once of Croatoan. Loves to give advice, most of it bad.
Clan of the Tall Horn
R’jaal (Arr-JAHL) – Clan leader of Tall Horn. Kinda lonely.
T’chai (Tuh-SHY) – Hunter of Tall Horn, resonates to Marisol. He is attacked by skyclaw on the island and nearly killed. His wounds get infected and he nearly dies, so the healer stops his resonance.
M’tok (Muh-TOCK) – Hunter of Tall Horn, resonates to Callie. Likes things neat and orderly. Bit of a sneak.
S’bren (Suh-BRENN) – Hunter, brother to M’tok. He’s the brawn (the Pinky?) to M’tok’s brains. Goober around women. Steals Penny for himself.
Clan of the Shadowed Cat
I’rec (I WRECK) – Clan leader. Kind of a shit-stirrer.
O’jek (Oh-JECK) – Hunter. Quiet.
A’tam (Uh-TAMM) – Hunter, said to be the handsomest on the island. Currently messed up over Bridget.
U’dron (Ooh-DRONN) – Hunter. Fisher. All around sporty type. Plays a mean drum.
Need more to read? A few backlist suggestions!
All of my books are Kindle Unlimited, so why not take a stroll through my backlist and see what hits your fancy? Here are just a few suggestions depending on what you’re in the mood for. Read away!
Want to start Icehome from the beginning?
Lauren’s Barbarian
Veronica’s Dragon
Willa’s Beast
…or start from the VERY VERY beginning?
Ice Planet Barbarians
Want your big blue spurs aliens in space?
The Corsair’s Captive
Prison Planet Barbarian
Or maybe you’re in the mood for a shifter?
Fire In His Blood
SHIFT: Five Complete Novellas