Keta's Winner!

Just popping in to let you know that Marybelle was the randomly chosen winner of Keta's Steamy Half Dozen giveaway. Since you included your email, Marybelle, Keta will be contacting you directly.

Thanks to all who dropped in and left comments!

Review: Gay Friendly by Kim Dare

Gay Friendly

By Kim Dare

Total-E-Bound, 2010

Shy, gorgeous Ellis is eighteen, a recently-out-of-the-closet gay virgin. When his equally gay cousin Harry invites him to share the expenses of a room at a so-called “gay friendly” resort, Ellis figures that it will be an opportunity to make the acquaintance of some other young men who share his orientation. Instead he finds himself being grabbed and fondled by strangers attracted to his boyish good looks. The situation is sufficiently alarming that he starts to wonder whether he might not be as gay as he thought.

Dominant Mitchell Thompson rescues Ellis from the good-natured, drunken attentions of some of the guests and takes the young man under his protection. Although Ellis knows almost nothing about “leather and stuff”, as he puts it, he instinctively craves Mitchell's authority.

Ellis nibbled at his bottom lip until he realised Thompson was frowning his disapproval of the habit. He released his lip from between his teeth. “Sorry...I--” Ellis cut himself off.

“If you have a question, ask it. Half sentences make it sound like you're incapable of complete thoughts.”

“Should I call you sir, too?” Ellis rushed out.

“Would you like to?”

Ellis tilted his head on the side and studied the other man. He was some years older than him, probably in his thirties. With blond hair cut short, he was handsome in a serious sort of way. And, in a way Ellis couldn't define, he looked very much like the kind of man who should be called sir. The ideal held a curious appeal.

“You wouldn't think I was hitting on you if I did?” he checked.

“I believe I'm capable of resisting the inclination.” Thompson's lips twitched as if he was tempted to smile.

“Sir.” Ellis let the word linger in his mouth. It felt nice there. When he met the other man's eyes, Thompson looked amused.

Mitchell does not ask anything from Ellis-- the younger man wears his collar at the hotel only as a sign that no one else should bother him. However, the Dom recognizes the young man's natural submissiveness. Almost without encouragement, Ellis surrenders to his temporary master, allowing the more experienced man to guide him into the worlds of both D/s and gay sex. Although Mitchell originally took Ellis under his wing out of sympathy, by the time their vacation ends he feels a great deal more.

Gay Friendly offers Kim Dare's signature style of homoerotic D/s, focusing on the emotional interactions between the Dom and the sub. She rarely invokes the physical trappings associated with BDSM—spankings, beatings or bondage. There's no overt BDSM activity in this story. Instead, Ms. Dare is mostly interested in trust, obedience, devotion and responsibility. Her sex scenes are intense because of the connection between the characters, not because of the pain or extremity of their activities. Personally I find this take on power dynamics refreshing after reading way too many stories where the authors are obsessed with the physical. Kim Dare understands that D/s can be loving and even gentle while remaining arousing and challenging.

Ms. Dare knows how to get into her characters' heads—and their hearts. If I have any complaint about Gay Friendly, it's simply that the happily-ever-after was too easy. There are no obstacles to Ellis' and Mitchell's love. The fact that Ellis has zero experience with men doesn't seem to matter. This feels rather unrealistic. Of course this is a very short work (less than fifty pages), with little time for complexities or conflicts. Ms. Dare would rather focus, I think, on the developing relationship. But some obstacles might have made the story even more satisfying.

I should mention that Ms. Dare has pledged all royalties from Gay Friendly to the Ty Hafan Children's Hospice (http://www.tyhafan.org/), an organization dedicated to offering comfort, care and support for life-limited children and young people and their whole families. So if you'd like to read a sweet—but nevertheless hot and explicit—M/M BDSM romance and build up some positive karma at the same time, go buy yourself a copy today!

Keta's Steamy Half Dozen

Today I'm delighted to welcome my delightful and prolific colleague Keta Diablo. Keta's doing a blog tour to promote a half-dozen of her sizzling M/M erotic romance titles. Furthermore, she's giving one of these books away! All you need to do to be eligible is leave a comment on her post. And I have to say, if at least one of these blurbs or covers doesn't make you salivate, you must be an android!

Blood Oath – Vampire Gay Fiction, Amber Quill Press

Link to Purchase:

http://amberquillpress.com/AmberAllure/BloodOath.html

Also available at All Romance Ebooks:

http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-bloodoath-442546-143.html

Blurb:

When Kale MacDonald's beloved grandmother dies, she leaves him a letter urging him to travel to Savannah, GA to find his destiny. Kale is confronted by a strange, decadent man who appears to be stalking him. He's also confronted by a trio of rogue vampires intent on killing him. Mystery and danger collide in the City of Secrets, and no one is who they appear to be.

* Blood Oath made the top ten best-seller list at Amber Quill Press the first month of its release.

* * *

CROSSROADS: Shadowland - Contemporary Paranormal Gay Fiction Series

Phaze Publishing, http://www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=Crossroads+Shadowland/exact_match=exact

Also available at All Romance Ebooks:

http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-crossroadsshadowland-439347-144.html

Blurb:

Frank must travel to Louisiana to solve another missing persons' case. This time, Rand insists on accompanying Frank to get a hands-on introduction to the PI business. Evil forces are at work in the bayou. Frank is pitted against a centuries' old ghost and races against time to save two innocent young men from eternal damnation. Rand gets caught in vortex of prejudice when he encounters a sinister duo bent on violence against gays. Sinister machinations converge in a maelstrom of retribution and hate. Frank must pull out all the stops to save the young men and the man who holds his heart.

* Shadowland is the 4^th novella in the best-selling series CROSSROADS. The first three novellas were combined and are now available in print here:

http://www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=Keta+Diablo/exact_match=exact

* * *

Hot and Sticky - Contemporary Gay Fiction

Amber Quill Press, http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/HotSticky.html

Also Available at All Romance Ebooks: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-hotandsticky-434231-144.html

Blurb:

It’s been extremely difficult for Hugh Landon, an up-and-coming lawyer in Washington, D.C., to control his sexual fantasies about his paralegal, Milan Vassar.

When his career hangs in the balance over a missing file, Hugh must call Milan at the midnight hour and plead for assistance. Hugh’s determination not to mix business with pleasure disintegrates when Milan arrives at the office not only to help him, but to confess he’s held the same secret desires for his boss

Hot and Sticky made the top ten best-seller’s list at the publisher’s web site the first month of its release.

* * *

Lip Service - Contemporary Gay Fiction, Noble Romance

https://www.nobleromance.com/ItemDisplay.aspx?i=148

Blurb:

After their recent tiff, Bryan took off for Japan on business and left Navarre home to stew. Now Bryan is expected home after two long weeks, but fate has other plans--mechanical problems with his plane and no rental cars available. So what's a desperate man to do? Find his own means to get to the man he loves. When he finally arrives, Navarre has second thoughts about challenging fate. Bryan has company in his hotel room!

* Previously published in the Spank Me Twice anthology (voted BEST EROTIC BOOK of 2009 by Love Romances Cafe).

* * *

Magnolia Heat- Historical Gay Fiction, Noble Romance

https://www.nobleromance.com/ItemDisplay.aspx?i=138

Blurb:

North Carolina, 1876: Rumors abound about the dark, mysterious Dominic Beresford in Chapel Hill. Their curiosity piqued, their libidos functioning on overload, Craven and Anthony are intent on obtaining answers about the supposed licentious gatherings taking place every weekend.

When the duo are caught spying on Beresford Hall, their punishment will be swift and severe, and in Craven’s case, dispensed by none other than the stunning Lord of the Manor.

What begins as penance soon veers off to a session of feverish passion where the avenger becomes the pawn in his own game. A male/male historical that will leave you breathless.

Bondage. Forced seduction. Intense and graphic scenes of man love.

* * *

The Devil’s Heel- Pirate Gay Fiction, Noble Romance

https://www.nobleromance.com/ItemDisplay.aspx?i=122

Also available at ALL ROMANCE EBOOKS: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thedevilsheel-437926-145.html

Blurb

Five years ago Drew Hibbard dismissed Rogan Brockport from his life. Now, they meet again at the Governor’s Ball and Rogan will know the reason for the abrupt, unexplained cut. After Rogan saves Drew’s life during a pirate raid, he kidnaps him and the perfect opportunity to extract answers from Drew is finally at hand. Betrayal. Retribution. Undying Love. The Devil’s Heel.

* The Devil’s Heel has been on the best-seller’s list at All Romance Ebooks for two months!

If you’d like to learn more about Keta and her books please follow her blogs:

Keta’s Keep Erotic Blog, http://ketaskeep.blogspot.com

The Stuff of Myth and Men, http://thestuffofmythandmen.blogspot.com

And don’t forget to visit her author home, Keta’s Haunt, http://www.ketadiablo.com and sign up for her newsletter for a chance to win more books. Keta gives away three books every month, all year long.

Keta on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ketadiablo

On Being Professional

I read a lot of blog posts by authors on issues of craft: avoiding unnecessary back story, building tension, developing effective characters and the like. These topics are all important. It doesn't matter how wonderful your ideas are, if you can't express them clearly and dynamically. A solid grasp of the writing craft doesn't guarantee success, but without it success is unlikely.

In this post, I want to consider another aspect of being an author that I believe has a huge impact on success or failure, namely, acting professional.

Most of us write primarily for the love of it. We have a passion for story-telling. Our tales excite us, and we hope and pray they will have the same effect on our readers. We may not really like to consider the business aspects of our authorial careers. Positive reviews are at least as strong a reward as royalties (which is a good thing, because it's tough to make money as a writer!)

However, publishing is a business, and if we want to be successful, we need to treat it that way. In every interaction, we need to present ourselves as responsible adults who take the challenge of writing and publishing seriously – professional authors, not amateurs.

What does it mean to be professional? It has nothing to do with how many books you've published. It's a question of how you behave. Here are some of my thoughts.

1. A professional rigorously honors her commitments. (Pardon the female pronoun—I know there are many male authors of erotica and romance but using a disjunction every time gets really awkward.) When she accepts a deadline, she'll get her work in on time come hell or high water. (If she thinks that a proposed deadline is unrealistic, she'll say so rather than make a commitment she can't fulfill.) If some life emergency interferes, she does her damnedest to notify anyone who might be depending on her. Obviously there are times when this just isn't possible. Overall, though, a professional writer treats her commitments the same way she'd treat the responsibilities of any job.

2. A professional communicates with courtesy and an appropriate level of formality. Being polite is surprisingly important. Disagreements are inevitable--with publishers, with editors, with reviewers and other authors. Acting snarky may be satisfying in the short term, but in the long term it will hurt your career. The publishing world is very small. Offhand negative comments you make on-line can come back to haunt you. With regard to formality, it never hurts to address a publisher as Ms. or Mr. in your first contacts. The Internet breeds a sense of familiarity but (I believe) everyone appreciates being shown a bit of respect.

3. A professional is meticulous and follows instructions. I've edited a number of anthologies. Nothing makes my opinion of an author plummet like receiving a query letter or a submission full of typographical errors and misspellings. It also drives me crazy when an author ignores the submission guidelines regarding medium and format, submitting a Word document when I ask for RTF, or single spacing when I ask for double. My conversations with other editors and publishers confirm that their reactions are similar. If an author doesn't care enough to read and adhere to the guidelines, I assume that she doesn't care that much whether I select her work, either.

4. A professional recognizes that she is not the only writer on earth. Acting like a diva will only get you a bad reputation. Everyone in the writing business is insanely busy. You're entitled to a fair allocation of your publishers' and editors' time but so are their other authors.

5. A professional respects herself and her work. This is the flip side of number 4. Even if you're unpublished as yet, there's no reason to grovel, beg or apologize. Humility is a virtue up to a point, but if you don't have confidence in yourself, nobody else will either.

This sounds a bit like a lecture. I guess I'm wearing my editor hat, expressing my frustration with some of the less professional authors whom I've encountered. I hope readers will forgive my didactic tone and consider my comments in the spirit they're offered -- as collegial suggestions based on experience, from one author (who has been in the business for more than a decade) to another.

Paranormal Creatures: The Top Five

By Tricia Schneider (Guest Blogger)

Vampires

Vampires are living corpses who drink blood or draw energy from a living host. If a person is bitten by a vampire, they become vampires themselves after they die. Doesn’t sound romantic, does it? But, not much else needs to be said other than the name, Dracula. Bram Stoker helped to popularize this mythical creature with his story of the charismatic Dracula in 1897.

Werewolves

Werewolves are human beings who, usually through a curse or a spell, have the ability to change into a wolf. Traditionally, this is done beneath the light of a full moon. Legends of werewolves date into ancient history. Some speculate that the first recorded story of a possible werewolf-like creature is that of Gilgamesh and his beast-like friend, Enkidu, dating back some 4,000 years ago.

Ghosts

Also known as spirits, specters, and apparitions, ghosts are usually considered humans who have died and passed on to the other side to become disembodied souls. They may be found around the places they occupied during life or the moments before death. Ghosts can be found in many forms and scientific study has been ongoing to discover the truth of their existence. When most other paranormal creatures are written off as folklore or superstition, many believe ghosts to be very real.

Witches

Though witches are not considered creatures, but are actually quite human, I’ve added them to this list because…well, it’s my list! Witches are often imagined as mysterious figures able to practice magic and cast spells for either evil or good. Witches have been hunted and put to death for centuries. Often those innocent of practicing witchcraft were sent to their deaths for the mere speculation that they involved themselves with magic in some way. Often, many were suspected of being in league with the Devil

Demons

Demons are considered evil spirits or devils commonly found in Jewish and Christian beliefs, though they can also be found in other cultures and religions. They are malevolent creatures of the underworld who seek to sway mankind toward evil, thus gaining more souls for their master, Satan, who resides in Hell.

Thanks to Lisabet for having me as a guest today. Please check out my debut release from The Wild Rose Press. The Witch and the Wolf is a paranormal regency romance featuring (you guessed it!) a witch and a werewolf.

Blurb

Lord Jeremy North's curse is to become a werewolf during every full moon, turning into a bloodthirsty monster that kills with no remorse. When he finds a woman nearly frozen upon his doorstep, his sense of honor compels him to help her, even at the risk he might kill her himself.

Lillian Merriweather hadn't planned to get caught in a blizzard while traveling the English countryside. Nor had she planned on finding refuge in a house full of secrets. But Lillian has secrets of her own. And what she's running from is not far behind...

BIO: Tricia Schneider worked in a bookstore for 12 years as the resident ‘romance expert’. Now she’s a stay-at-home mom and writes during nap time. You can find her at her website. www.triciaschneider.com

Frustration

One of the best things about blogging is that you can turn even unpleasant experiences into content!

For the last two days I have been struggling to make a trailer for my upcoming release Fire in the Blood. For my last major release, I paid to have a trailer made. It wasn't all that expensive, but I was surprised to discover that I ended up doing most of the work. I wrote the script, located the images, found the music. I reviewed at least five drafts of the one and a half minute video, making detailed suggestions about everything from font to timing. The only thing I didn't do was actually use a movie-maker tool to construct the video itself.

So for this release, I decided I'd try to do it myself. How hard could it be? One of my fellow authors, Kris Norris, has raved about Apple iMovie as a platform for composing videos. Her own trailers are fantastic. (I call her the Trailer Queen!) As it happens, I have a Macbook that my company bought several years ago for a project that never materialized. Normally I use Linux and occasionally Windows, but I figured I'd give iMovie a try.

I'm pretty smart. I mean, I have two masters degrees and a PhD. And I make my living developing software. But I'm almost ready to admit defeat.

As is normal for computer people, I started up the program without looking at any kind of manual. I was confident that I could figure it out. I clicked and dragged and fussed and fumed and got absolutely nowhere with the simplest task (importing my images).

Okay. I gave in and decided to see if there was any documentation. I found a thirty page introduction and tutorial and sure enough, there was the information that I had to put my images into iPhoto first, before I could use them in iMovie. Huh? Well,that was a bit strange, but iPhoto was straightforward.

So. I got my images. I figured out (by frequent consultation of the tutorial) how to drag them onto the time line and set the duration. Great! Now I needed to add the titles.

Back to the manual. I found the right tab for creating titles. Gee, they looked great, flying around, in any color or font that I wanted...Now if I only I could get them to attach themselves to my images...

Then when I'd figured that out, the titles started spontaneously spreading themselves out over multiple images. I had a theory as to why, but I couldn't figure out how to undo the effect. I had to start a brand new project, repeating all my earlier steps...

Then the program crashed.

Didn't someone say that the Macintosh was easy?

I was pretty close to tears. I'm not used to being thwarted by computers. However, I'm planning to take a break and give it another try tomorrow. I've sent friend Kris some questions--perhaps she can explain some of the more arcane aspects of the software. Even she admits that iMovie "has a long learning curve".

I do hope the curve's not too steep. My release is in three weeks!

Thanks for letting me vent. That's another advantage of having one's own blog!

Starting Out Clueless...

By J.E. Taylor (Guest Blogger)

First I want to take a moment to thank Lisabet for having me on her blog Beyond Romance. It really is a pleasure to be here and for anyone who posts a comment, I’ll be dropping your name into a drawing for a signed copy of either SURVIVAL GAMES or DARK RECKONING based on the winner’s preference.

When I started writing again in 2007 I really had no clue of what I was in for. The journey has been wonderfully weird and I’ve come a long way from the newbie with no clue to gaining an understanding of the industry and all its quirky pitfalls.

One of my major mistakes along the way was not know what the hell I was doing with a query and because of that, I burned through my “most wanted agent” list quickly. So the most pertinent advice I can offer to the new writers on the block beyond writing a kick ass story is know what you’re doing with a query letter. If you’re not sure, join a writer’s forum like Backspace (www.bksp.org) and the folks there will steer you in the right direction - but you have to be prepared for some real stinging critiques - things that will thicken your skin for later in your career and help you grow as a writer.

After I wrote the Games Trilogy, I knew the first book- Survival Games- would require a small publisher, one that wasn’t afraid of controversial subjects and thankfully, I found eXcessica. They take on some real edgy erotic fiction - from the sweet to taboo - and are very liberal in their selection as long as the writing is strong enough to back the story.

I can tell you - that first acceptance is like a hazy dream, surreal and fantastic enough so you want to do a little jig and squee at the top of your lungs. Then the cover art, the editing, the approval of the proofs comes along followed by the wait. In my case, the wait was over half a year, which in the scheme of publishing isn’t so bad- but it was still excruciating. Then things start to happen closer to the release date - marketing campaigns, blog tours and then the reviews start rolling in.

Each review that pops up in my inbox scares the daylights out of me. I find myself holding my breath, praying and expecting the worst. I’ll tell you, I nearly fell out of my chair when that first review for Survival Games came in. Seriously, the subject matter is so controversial that I prepared myself for negative feedback across the board. But when a 4 star review came out from Manic Readers, I was stunned and then could hardly contain my excitement. I was at my day job, so I couldn’t jump up and down like I just won the lottery - but I have to admit- that’s the way it felt. The write-up blew me away.

It still does. So far the reviews on both my July releases have been 4 out of 5 ratings. Of course, the perfectionist in me would like to see five out of five, but I’ll take four out of five with comments like the book is a page turner and I couldn’t put it down until I found out who won the game.

Now if only I could get on Oprah. ;-)

Like that’s going to happen. Oh well - for the time being, I’m here on the virtual shelves offering up my wares to the general public and hoping like hell they like what they read enough to buy the next book and the next, and the next.

Both Dark Reckoning and Survival Games were released this month (JULY 2010).

DARK RECKONING: Available in both e-book and paperback at www.fidopublishing.com

A sadistic killer stalks the secluded college town of Brooksfield, New Hampshire. With bodies piling up and rumors of the murders being part of sacrificial hazing rituals, the FBI plants Special Agent Steve Williams in a fraternity at Brooksfield University. His investigation takes a ninety degree turn into the bizarre when he’s introduced to Jennifer, a clairvoyant co-ed who swears the killer isn’t human.

Steve considers the plausibility of the extraordinary, the unspeakable, even the inconceivable when his notebook starts bleeding cryptic messages. Messages that indicate Jennifer is at the heart of the darkness in Brooksfield.

When she describes her latest vision, a trail of violent deaths, including his, Steve asks the million-dollar question: Is Jennifer trying to help . . . or is she actually the one responsible?

SURVIVAL GAMES: Available in both e-book and paperback at www.excessica.com

Until he snatches sexy stock jock Jessica Connor, Ty Aris happily followed his step-brother’s orders, producing some of the most coveted black market porn and snuff films on the street. But the day he grabs her in the parking lot, his life becomes a living nightmare.

Jessica foils his plans, fires his passion, and frustrates the hell out of him. She never gives in to his demands, his pleas or his desires, and yet a psychic bond claims his soul and melts the iron walls around his heart. His obsession sparks a fierce rift when Frank wants to start filming. Ty stalls with any and every excuse in the book, fueling Frank’s fury, but he knows it’s only a matter of time before he loses this game.

With the clock ticking, he scrambles for escape options.

Options that won’t land him in jail . . . or worse . . . a captive in Frank’s sadistic prison.

About J.E. Taylor:

Allegory Assistant Editor J. E. Taylor writes paranormal suspense and supernatural thrillers along with erotic thrillers. Her short stories run the genre gambit, running from horror to suspense to erotic romance and have appeared in Niteblade and Allegory. She has credits in three upcoming 2011 and 2012 eXcessica anthologies.

Ms. Taylor lives in Connecticut with her husband and two children.

Visit her at www.JETaylor75.com.