Confetti Toss

The election is over! We are a handful of steps closer to marriage equality (My friend and Minnesota resident, Edmond Manning, wrote a really gorgeous essay about this)! I am even more psyched about that than I am not to be pelted by political ads on my doorstep, radio, youtube channels, and pretty much every effing where any longer. I think there may have been one sky-written above my kid’s preschool. Perhaps I’m getting paranoid.

GayRomLit is over! (boo, hiss) I went, I did a reading and a Boxer Falls panel,  I signed things. I passed out swag and Gay Coffee. I hugged people who said they loved my books or that I looked pretty or just smiled at me because HELL I love to hug people and you never get tired of it, right?? Okay, I don’t. Everybody was so fantastic, it made my head spin. I hope to do it again next year. I roomed with the fabulous Amy Lane who is funny and clever, and a hell of a lot of fun. Not to mention, she has mad ninja skills for a woman with ten years on me. Twice she scared the everloving crap out of me, and I’m pretty sure both times I was naked. Do with that what you will.

Next year we are hoping to drag Mary Calmes along for the ride.

I am NaNo-ing. Life’s been crazy and I haven’t been able to finish a book in awhile, despite having three gay contemporary projects in mid-stream right now so I am buckling down to finish one (fucker) if I can possibly do it. Sanity intact, housecleaning, all optional.

Other miscellaneous news:

• Congrats to Mary on her release of But For You, the sixth book in her Matter of Time series, which a month after release is STILL on the Amazon LGBT romance best-seller’s list!
• The next book in Amy’s fabulous knitting series is up for pre-order at Dreamspinner Press! These read well as standalones, and are sexy and cute, so check it out A Knitter in His Natural Habitat.
• The third Husbands comic is out from Dark Horse! And Sharon Stogner from I Smell Sheep and Rarely Dusty books so nicely asked me to do a guest review for issues one and two, so keep an eye out for that soon. I haven’t gotten to read issue 3 yet, but it’s on my TBR list. Like the web series, the comics are hilarious and entertaining.
• Amber Kell’s birthday bash is going on now! I didn’t get the chance to participate in this one but Carol Lynne, Mary Calmes, and many others are. There will be prizes and whatnot so it is worth checking out.

Today’s quickie: Hot Gay Art, Yo

Acrobat by Mary Calmes – cover art by Anne Cain

It’s round three of the Rainbow Awards cover contest, which is where the lovely

Chase in Shadow by Amy Lane – Cover art by Reese Dante

Elisa Rolle asks for help culling through all the awesome entries and the gorgeous cover art to recognize some of the best LGBT books out there and their associated cover artists. Some of my favorites are still in the running, I especially love this cover art for Acrobat over to the left here. And Mary Calmes is such a wonderful author. Anne Caine did an amazing job with this cover. Whoever your faves are, I hope you’ll take the time to stop in and vote. You *do* have to log into LiveJournal to vote, but it will let you do it with a Facebook or Twitter account. Super easy.

The cover for Amy Lane’s Chase in Shadow is up as well, done by the fabulous Reese Dante. Reese super awesome, she is actually working on a new banner for this very blog, and I am truly blessed because she is so talented. And Chase in Shadow is a great book. Sexy and emotional. I cried the whole way through, but it was the good kind of crying. So, yanno, vote for whoever, but if you need some suggestions, these’d be good.  You can see all of the covers here, and the poll itself is here.

Kiss and Make Up, and Drag Queens, Oh My!

This morning I tackled drag queens, cops, pent-up sexual tension, and FURBYS, all in under a thousand words! Many thanks to Alix Bekins for including me in the band of awesomely talented M/M authors (Edmond Manning, Mary Calmes, Amy Lane, and many more) who warmed up her blog with a  progressive romance story this month. Join the party and check out the whole story, here (I’m entry 25)!

It’s Kiss and Make up Day over at Dreamspinner Press! 20% off of everything in their store. I happen to have a sweet little contemporary short story over at Dreamspinner called Feeling Neighborly, and it’s on sale also! So now’s a great time to check out a quick, hot read about a one night stand that turns into something much, much more. Also, if you go to DSP’s facebook page and share your favorite kiss and make up scene from any Dreamspinner book, you’ll be entered to win a month of free books for September!

And this week on Boxer Falls, Brita Addams takes the helm and Phil Boxer lingers in the hands of a madman. Get your soap on over at the Goodreads M/M Romance group. Next in the awesome lineup comes Geoff Knight, Jacob Z. Flores, Edmond Manning, Jeremy Pack, and many more. Don’t miss it!

And apropos of nothing, I’ve been thinking I really need to watch more Ab-fab. I keep forgetting how hilarious it is. Right?

I’m Not Irish, Kiss Me Anyway

Okay, actually, I think I’m a little Irish on my mom’s side. Whatev. I needed a blog title.

I want to take a moment to note the passing of fellow gay romance author William Neale. Sadly, I didn’t know him that well, but I had the pleasure of meeting him last year at GayRomLit in New Orleans. He turned to me in the middle of a crowded bar and told me that I had a beautiful smile, and I fell a little bit in love with him right away. I have gotten the impression these past few days in the wake of his passing that he kind of had that effect on people. We had a lovely chat that night (he also encouraged me to drink a little more even though I’d decided to cut myself off), and I was looking forward to having another one with him in Albuquerque. A lot of people were. Our hearts go out to his family for this tragic and sudden loss. He’ll be missed.

In lighter news, the Amber Heat Readers Loop is hosting a St. Patrick’s Day chat today–lots of prizes will be given away, so come win some stuff.

Geoffry Knight’s epsiode is up for Boxer Falls, our gay serial soap opera drama! It’s phenomenal. All of them have been so far, IMO, but Geoff’s writing style blows me away every time. High adrenaline, hot sex, and plot twists that will leave you on the edge of your seat. Check it out.

I rarely do book reviews these days. Hard to find the time, I’ve never considered myself to be a reviewer anyway, and frankly I refuse to review a book if I thought it was bad. I just do. Author karma, or whatever.

Now and again though, I feel like I have to share a book that knocks my socks off. I’ve always really liked Amy Lane’s stuff. She’s talented, funny, and her books are touching. We had the immense pleasure of working with her on an episode of Boxer Falls, and I was reminded of how much I dig her writing and decided to pick up her latest, Chase in Shadow. Oh, sweet, merciful Christmas. I cried so hard I wound up reading it twice just to get all the parts I missed while I was busy blowing my nose. And let’s be clear here, folks. I’m not a weeper. I’ll cop to it when a book makes me sob, but it doesn’t happen often. All the time people tell me “Read this book, it made me cry like a baby!” Nothing. Chase in Shadow is about a guy who’s closeted and deeply repressed, who finally chooses to set himself free in the world of gay for pay and nearly loses himself in the process. The juxtaposition of intense emotion and intense sex in the story makes for a wild roller coaster ride and I could barely keep hold of myself. You must read it.

Speaking of reading, Amy will be doing a reading from Chase in Shadow at the Rainbow Book Fair on March 24th. I will be there as well, doing a reading from Feeling Neighborly, which is a sweet/spicy short story about a guy who falls for the single dad who lives next door. Many, many fantastic LGBT authors and publishers will be in attendance that day and it promises to be a ton of fun, so if you’re in the Manhattan area I hope you’ll stop on by and visit. My reading’s at 2:30 and I’ll be around all day, manning either the Dreamspinner Press or the Rainbow Romance Writers table at the back of the room.

Also out now is Diversion by Eden Winters. I haven’t had the chance to read it yet but her work is phenomenal. I can’t wait to pick it up. Looking forward to seeing her and so many amazing folks again at GayRomLit in October, too.

I feel like I’m forgetting stuff, but it’s early yet and I need more coffee. More soon, y’all.

Get Yer Free Fiction!

Happy Sunday, folks! A copy of my boy-meets-vampire novella Immortal Valentine is being given away over at Reviews by Jessewave today! Stop by and leave a comment for your chance to win.

Episode 8 of Boxer Falls, a gaytime drama is up at the Goodreads M/M Romance group! We’ve got amazing, weekly, FREE m/m drama written by the likes of Damon Suede, Poppy Dennison, Amy Lane, Mary Calmes, Eden Winters, and many more guest authors yet to come.

This week’s episode was written written by me, and it’s a pretty steamy one–here’s an excerpt:

…Oz’s jaw unhinged and his eyes lost focus. Before he knew it Quinn’s cock was hitting the inside of his cheek. He readjusted to get his teeth away—he knew that much at least—and oh, hell, he wanted to swallow the thing whole. It was heavy, and solid, and perfect in his mouth.

Up above, Quinn shifted and a bar stool rocked like the guy was leaning his weight on it. “Shit, Oz—”

Sure. Yeah. Fucking. He responded with an “Mmm-hmm” and put some suction into it, working his hand to spread the excess saliva around and challenging himself to get the head as far toward his throat as he could. Quinn seemed to have the courtesy to stay still and Oz was gratified by appreciative moans and groans and fingers clutching and the back of his head.

–BAM!–

“Holy—” Oz looked to the window where the noise had come from. He pulled away with his blood rushing in his ears. Swiped a hand over his mouth. Shit. Shit! What if pictures of this get splashed around? This is the sort of stupid impulsive thinking-with-your-dick move your brother would make, Oz, for God’s sake.

Quinn cocked his head and took a step forward, gaze trained on the window. “S’okay, Oz.” There’s a tree close to the building. Branch hits the window sometimes if it’s real windy.” He laughed. “Probably gonna crash through the glass one of these days.”

Oz didn’t realize how much tension that bump on the window had injected into his muscles until the redhead’s easy smile and explanation made it all leak back out again. Tree. Wind. Right. Jeez. Quinn stepped forward and Oz rubbed that hipbone that fascinated him so, and next thing he knew Quinn’s dick was back to making friends with his tonsils. This time it wasn’t fear jacking up his pulse…

Woo! I just love those two. If you haven’t checked out Boxer Falls, I hope you’ll stop on by. Also, we’ve had a couple of folks mention that they had difficulty locating the message thread. When you enter the M/M romance group, there will always be a link at the very top of the discussion threads, where it says “Moderator Spotlight.” Mod Lori very awesomely updates this for us each week with the latest episode but if you click the link it actually takes you to a convenient list of ALL the episodes, so it’s an easy way to find everything. We also plan to have a newsletter up soon, and I’m going to update my site here with links to all the episodes for easier access. Hope to see you in the discussion thread!

End of the year m/m chat!

I *almost* forgot! The uber awesome Marie Sexton is hosting a chat tomorrow on Beth Wylde’s yahoo group. I’ll be there as well, along with Heidi Cullinan, Ethan Stone, ZA Maxfield, Clare London, Amy Lane, SA Meade, Kate McMurray, Andrew Grey, JP Barnaby, Rowan Speedwell, ML Rhodes and potentially some others. It’ll be going on ALLLL day 12/28 so please stop in and ask questions and stuff! I believe there will also be some cool giveaways and whatnot also. Hope to see ya!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bethwylde/