Happy Holidays!

To all you fabulous folks out there in the blogosphere--my friends, my colleagues, my editors, my co-authors, my business partners, and most of all my readers--I wish you all the joy in the world. Whatever you may or may not celebrate, whomever you may or may not celebrate it with, I hope you find the season restful and happy.

And if not, hey, hold out hope--at least the days are starting to get longer again ;-)

Release Day! Break and Enter :D

Afternoon, folks! It's been a busy winter round these parts--today is release day for my third new title in two months, Break and Enter. It's a fast-paced, funny, cyberpunk romp starring two rather manly men (an ex-Special Forces penetration tester and a paramedic) getting up to all sorts of mayhem and sexiness. It's also the first title I've co-written in this genre; I had the tremendous pleasure of creating this story with my dear friend, business partner, and Siamese brain twin, Aleks Voinov.

Our blurb and cover, let me show u it:

Ex-Green Beret Victor "Cyke" Kellermann is on the run for a crime he didn't--well, okay, did commit, but he didn’t realize it at the time. He’s a good guy, a “white hat” hacker for hire. He’s also more teched out than the Bionic Man, though his ailing ’ware creates as many problems as it solves.

His latest series of break-ins are proving…difficult. Sentinel Tech’s security is cutting-edge, and the cops are hounding his ass. He sees only one reason why his employer hasn’t called off the dogs: someone inside is stealing data for real and setting him up to take the fall.

Paramedic-cum-tech-phreak Bear keeps scooping an increasingly battered Cyke off the sidewalk, and each time, his fascination for the fugitive and his mysterious ’ware grows. So does the attraction that makes him reluctant to turn Cyke in. Every time they touch, barriers fall. Before long, they're both laid bare.

Cyke can handle losing blood, even losing consciousness. What he can’t afford is to lose his heart. Distractions like that get people killed—and if he succeeds in unlocking Sentinel Tech’s ugly secrets, he won’t be the only one in the line of fire.

Product Warnings

This book contains mechanical eyeballs, multimillion-dollar hand warmers, pushy mind probes, a man too stubborn to quit when he’s bleeding, an underpaid paramedic whose services are needed entirely too often, and circuit-scorching cybersex…without a computer.

It's a little bit of a departure for me--still gritty, but not dark at all, and the boys get their HEA. I hope you'll check it out. And since Samhain discounts all their new releases by 30% in their opening week, you can get this novella directly from them for just $2.45 this week! Click the link to read an excerpt and see if this one's for you :-)

/shameless plug :D

Happy holidays, my dears!

Guest Blog with JK Rose: How Romance Stole My Heart

We have a guest-blogger here today at Fantasy Unbound. Please give a warm welcome to JK Rose, who's here to talk about how romance stole her heart :-)

* * *

Thanks so much for having me on your blog today, Rachel. I thought I'd talk a little bit about how I came to read and write romance and why I love it.

I write and typically read traditional male/female romance, though I haven’t always read romance. I had been one of those believers that romance wasn’t really literature.

Funny how one’s perspective changes dramatically when she sits down to write and accidentally produces a romance novel. Hmm. How does that happen?

Well, first she reads all four Twilight books. (Yes, I know. They are romances.) Then she reads Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, followed by Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Charlaine Harris’ entire Sookie Stackhouse series. This all happens in an eight-week period. After that she thinks, “I can do this. I have a great idea for a vampire story.” And she starts writing.

It would take a year from the start of that first draft for me to realize I write romance. And more importantly, I really, really like romance.

I’ve chalked this delayed reaction up to the fact that we all learn something new everyday and some of us might be slightly denser than others! J

In any case, I’ve now read numerous romances, almost all of which are paranormals with vampire heroes.

I love the happy ending in every story. I even enjoy a happy-for-now-ending. I’m not someone who requires all the loose ends be tied up in one perfect package. I’m okay with a couple unanswered questions. It lets me continue to work the story out in my own way.

I don’t require a hard as nails heroine. That’s not to say I can tolerate one who won’t stop crying or who can’t manage to work her way out of a paper bag, but she doesn’t have to kick the shit out of everyone around her. I want the hero to save her.

I’m very traditional in my perspective on male/female roles. My husband takes care of the outside of the house. I keep the inside clean. He takes out the trash. I grocery shop. Works fine for me.

With that said, I love Super-Alpha heroes. I love Christine Feehan’s Dark Series. I haven’t read the entire series. I pull out one of the books when I’m in the mood for “Caveman Love.” Literally, those men walk up to the heroine, conk her on the head and drag her away. Then, they bend over backward for her and would willingly die to keep her safe. I just love that.

You should know that in real life, my husband doesn’t have it half as easy. There’s no conking and getting his way. In real life, my husband is a gentleman and wouldn’t try to act like a caveman. At least, he wouldn’t expect to get away with pulling Caveman on me. He’s a pretty smart guy.

But in fantasy, I love the over-the-top hero, the one who attempts to control every detail, the one who’s not only respected by other men, but even feared, the one who’s in charge of everything. That is until our heroine arrives on scene.

Powerful men are sexy. There’s no denying that. Women and men are drawn to power. You never read about the hero being some nerdy guy with greasy hair cowering under his desk.

Instead, heroes always know what’s about to happen, what might happen, what should happen, and how it will all be handled when it does happen. Until the heroine shows up. She pops into his life and upturns his world. It’s awesome.

His attempts to keep control are thwarted, sometimes intentionally and sometimes not. His suave, macho persona is reduced to chaos or confusion or just total frustration, and he’s forced to work around her until he learns to work with her.

We get to watch as his tough outer shell cracks, and she weasels her way into his heart. We get to see him become a better man by loving her. We learn about his weaknesses in a way that makes him seem stronger, and that just makes him all the sexier.

It’s the intimacy of romance that makes it so wonderful, and not just the sexual intimacy. Emotional intimacy makes reading romance fulfilling, exciting. We relate to it. We get lost in it. 

Dark Prince is by far one of my favorite romances. Mikhail is very powerful, very, very alpha. Yet Raven holds her own with him, completely intrigues him. He sees how fragile she is as she struggles with her abilities, needing to be independent and accepted, and he wants to protect her, to care for her, to love her. Raven’s power over Mikhail’s heart makes him a better man and ultimately a better leader.  His love makes her stronger.

For all the hokey, super-alpha, caveman love of Dark Prince at the core are a heroine and the hero, longing to be accepted and loved, each of whom makes the other better. And this is exactly why I love romance.

Tell me about your favorite heroes and heroines. What about them has won your heart?

* * *

After trying her hand at many, many things- from crafting and art classes to cooking and sewing classes to running her own handbag business, Jordan finally figured out how to channel her creativity. With an active imagination and a little encouragement from her husband she sat down and began to write, each night clicking away at the keys with her black Labrador, Dino curled up under the desk.

A few short years later she’s entered the publishing arena with no plans to ever turn back.

Jordan’s a member of Rhode Island Romance Writers, as well as RWA National, and the New England (NEC), Connecticut, and Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal (FFnP) Chapters.

Her first book, Perpetual Light, releases in Winter of 2012 from Crescent Moon Press.

Find Jordan on her website at www.jordankrose.com. 

Follow her tweets on https://twitter.com/#!/jordankrose 

Friend her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/jordankrose

* * *

Fate is cruel. Especially when the one you’ve sworn to love for all eternity, the very soul who changed your destiny is the last person you should trust.

After more than three hundred years of running, Lucia Dicomano must make a choice.

Forced to take her place as a Pharo of Redemption, the divine slayer needs to master her forgotten powers. Lucia turns to Vittorio, the one vampire she’s failed to deliver from eternal damnation. But overcoming smoldering remnants of love, lust and anger aren’t their only obstacles.

Samuel, who may know Lucia better than she knows herself, hunts her with a fervor stoked by a thousand years of vengeful hatred. His plan—capture and enslave the weakened Pharo then take control of her elusive power. 

Can Lucia trust Vittorio long enough to reclaim her powers? Or will she have no choice but to kill him and battle Samuel alone?

Back from Vacay with a New Book!

Greetings all! I'm home from a much-needed (but sadly working) vacation, and I even brought back with me a special souvenir head-cold. Knew I shouldn't have licked those poker chips . . .

On the plus side, the food was great, the weather was warm, the seas were . . . well, stormy, quite frankly, pretty much nonstop, but I do so love a very rocking boat when it isn't making me nauseous (which is about half the time), and the company was wonderful (I was traveling with my brand-spanking-new stepmother, who is as awesome as they come). And even though I had a big pile of edits to do for Riptide while I was away, doing them on a deck chair overlooking a tropical island is way better than my kitchen table.

So, I came home and I realized that I have a new book coming out in eight days--Break and Enter, co-written with Aleksandr Voinov and releasing from Samhain Publishing--and I haven't even begun to think about doing anything fun with it yet. I've been so busy with Riptide that I actually forgot. So, that underwear model on the cover? He's Major Victor "Cyke" Kellermann, and I have no idea what happened to his pants. I think Aleks and I will do a Find Cyke's Pants scavenger hunt and maybe give out a classic Nook I've had hanging around the house since the summer. Sound like fun?

Oh, and just a quick housekeeping note, as well: since Riptide Publishing has acquired Guiltless Pleasure Publishing, Counterpoint is now available for sale on the Riptide site, yay! Which means you can earn bonus bucks if you purchase it there (they'll be working soon, I promise :-p), and while none of the story's content has changed, it does have a shiny gorgeous new Riptide layout. Right now it's only available in PDF, but in about a week, it'll be available in Epub, Mobi, and HTML too, and all the copies on third-party sites like Amazon will switch over from the GPP layout to the RP layout.

And now, apropos of nothing, some eye candy of the kind you've all come to expect from me, beneath the jump. It involves cats and actor crushes and I think it's my new favorite thing ever.

Be Gentle, It's My First Time: Guest Blog by Alex Whitehall

We have a very special guest at Fantasy Unbound today: a lovely fan and friend of the M/M romance community, Alex Whitehall. (You may recognize Alex from his review blog, Between the Covers, and if you don't, go check it out!)

Last week, Alex went to the GeekyKink event, a kink convention for those who might also be inclined to quote Douglas Adams or Star Wars at you. I'm a bit jealous, as this con was in my backyard (about 40 minutes from where I live), but I ended up being in California and unable to attend. I asked Alex if he'd be so kind as to do a write-up when he got back, and he obliged. So I'll shut up now and turn the floor over to Alex:

From Nov 4-5 I spent my time in a little New Jersey town at The GeekyKink Event.

This was my first time wandering into the world of a kink event, so I have no idea if this was tame compared to others or just about on par. I've also never played before, was going alone, knew no one there, and am painfully shy. I'm not actually sure how I conned myself into going, but its a safe bet it's Rachel's fault. [Editor's note: Of course it was >:-D]

Of course, if I hadn't gone, then I would never have experienced the following, so maybe it was worth it!

There were tons of events, demonstrations, and classes scheduled, plus meet-ups for like-minded folk, an after-care room, and some specialty events that I was too bashful to even glance at. I mostly stuck to the classes (see descriptions after jump).

The classes were educational and the classrooms and hallways were very tame nudity-wise. One class (sensual knife play) had women without tops on and the caning had two women in bra and panties. All very tasteful. I'm sure there were other parts that were kinkier (and involved less clothing), but I didn't venture there and it was built as such that you'd kind of have to go looking for them.

So for the curious, it's definitely a safe place to attend, no one will molest you (um, unless you want them to, I guess!), and it's fun, no matter what your aim is for attending (to get your kink on or to get educated).

While the kink community came across as very tight knit and many people already knew each other, a lot of the staff made it a point to strike up conversation with me (and they actually remembered my name!).

Plus I went shopping ;) Of course there was all sorts of kinky things to be purchased, most of which were out of my price range, and if I had a partner, I may have been more tempted to buy something aside from this adorable amigurimi:



He needs a name, any suggestions?

Crescendo Release Day & Print Book Giveaway!

Howdy folks! Today's the big day--Crescendo's official release day! It's now available at Amazon, ARe, and other major retailers, as well as at Storm Moon Press, of course. And can I just say? Nervous and excited author is nervous and excited. A lot of people have been waiting for this book for almost fifteen months. I worked on this series for three years. I'm very anxious to see if readers find it the satisfying conclusion to the story that I did. One reviewer's posted so far, and it was a lovely review (thank you, M/M Good Book Reviews!), but I'll still be holding my breath for at least a couple weeks.

While I'm suffocating myself, I thought I'd also celebrate and say "Thank you" to all you amazing, wonderful, spectacular readers by giving away a print copy of Crescendo. They won't be out until December, but when they arrive, I'll sign one and put it in the mail to one lucky commenter on this post. I'll draw a winner next Friday.

Some other news as well. As you've probably noticed, it's been a bit quiet round these parts lately. Between Riptide and my own writing, I'm starting to have trouble keeping up with the blog. I still very much want this to be a place where people can come and enjoy themselves, and I'll update at least once a week, but the schedule's going to start getting a little less regular.

Also, did a ton of updates on my website today. Lots of new info for my two new releases (Crescendo and Master Class), and also some new bits on the upcoming works page, mostly about the Kinkapalooza novel I'm co-writing with Cat Grant. We only started putting words to paper less than two weeks ago, but Cat and I have already accidentally won NaNo :-p Almost 60,000 words in already, and no signs of the end yet. This book is gonna be a friggin' doorstop of kink. Very, very excited about it; it feels amazing to be writing again after taking so much time off to focus all my energy on Riptide.

Hmm, I think that's it for now. I'm at a couple different places today: you can read a nice excerpt from Crescendo and maybe win a copy of Counterpoint at Laura Kaye's blog, and I have a guest post at Naughty Boys in the Backseat on the only-half-immortal problem. (Trust me, it's a big problem :-p)

If you've already read Crescendo, do let me know what you think, even if you hated it. If you haven't, say hello anyway to get yourself entered in the giveaway. I'll ship anywhere in the world.

Hugs and love to you all--I'm feeling particularly bouncy today :D

New Book in the Works

Happy Friday, folks! I'm thrilled to say that after all the time-eating (but wonderful!) craziness of Crescendo edits and launching fifteen books at once for Riptide, I have actually begun to write again.

O. M. G. does that feel great.

Last week I escaped the power outages in Jersey by fleeing to Cat Grant's place in lovely Monterey, CA. (See: this:)

And Cat and I have been hashing out the plot of a Big Kinky Book for a while now--a sort of grudgingly willing total power exchange situation between a rich experienced Dom who no longer believes anyone will ever want him for anything but his money and a struggling construction worker whose submissive side is buried so deeply he may or may not actually be submissive . . . but for the right incentive, he's willing to find out.

Cat and I have banged out almost 25,000 words on this already--close to 100 pages!--and we're just getting getting started on act 2. Looks like this'll turn out to be a nice meaty novel, and I'm so excited by it, our boys won't even let me sleep at night. They just keep whispering in my ear, "Hey, how about trying this with us?" or "Wouldn't [insert deliciously pervy thing here] be naughty and fun?" And of course I can never say no to my boys.

I have to fly home in half a week, but here's hoping that by then, we'll have gotten out another 10K of pure pervy play. At the rate we're going, we might even have this thing finished by the end of the year. Very exciting all around, and oh holy crap does it feel amazing to finally be doing what I should be doing again: putting fingers to keyboard and abusing the fuck out of hot hot men ;-p

Guest Blog: Paradise 21 with Aubrie Dionne

Evening, folks! Today we've got a guest author, Aubrie Dionne, who's here to share an excerpt from her new sci-fi romance from Entangled Publishing, Paradise 21. As always, let's start with a blurb and cover art.

 Aries has lived her entire life aboard mankind’s last hope, the New Dawn, a spaceship traveling toward a planet where humanity can begin anew—a planet that won’t be reached in Aries’ lifetime. As one of the last genetically desirable women in the universe, she must marry her designated genetic match and produce the next generation for this centuries-long voyage.

But Aries has other plans.

When her desperate escape from the New Dawn strands her on a desert planet, Aries discovers the rumors about pirates—humans who escaped Earth before its demise—are true. Handsome, genetically imperfect Striker possesses the freedom Aries envies, and the two connect on a level she never thought possible. But pursued by her match from above and hunted by the planet’s native inhabitants, Aries quickly learns her freedom will come at a hefty price.

The life of the man she loves.

Sound interesting? Check out the excerpt and video trailer, beneath the jump.

Book Review: Counterpunch, by Aleks Voinov. 5 of 5 Stars

Apologies for the unexpected silence this week. I was in one of those "Snowtober" areas where the kids got an unexpected week off from school because three quarters of the state had no power. My solution to this was to pick up and fly to California to visit dear friend and fellow M/M author Cat Grant. I'll be hanging here for a couple weeks to catch up on sleep post-Riptide launch and get started on a big kinky book we're co-writing.

In the meanwhile, I wanted to post a mini-review on Aleksandr Voinov's new novel, Counterpunch, which released today. Full disclosure: I was a beta, and it's also set in my sandbox (this story is written in the same world as Anchored and Where He Belongs). That said, Aleks wrote such a beautiful novel I'm downright jealous of how well he handled my sandbox; he built a much prettier castle than I ever did!
Here's the blurb:

Fight like a man, or die like a slave.

Brooklyn Marshall used to be a policeman in London, with a wife and a promising future ahead of him. Then he accidentally killed a rioter whose father was a Member of Parliament and had him convicted of murder. To ease the burden on the overcrowded prison system, Brooklyn was sold into slavery rather than incarcerated. Now, he's the "Mean Machine", a boxer on the slave prizefighting circuit, pummelling other slaves for the entertainment of freemen and being rented out for the sexual service of his wealthier fans.

When Nathaniel Bishop purchases Brooklyn's services for a night, it seems like any other assignation. But the pair form an unexpected bond that grows into something more. Brooklyn hesitates to call it "love"—such things do not exist between freemen and slaves—but when Nathaniel reveals that he wants to help get Brooklyn's conviction overturned, he dares to hope. Then, an accident in the ring sends Brooklyn on the run, jeopardizing everything he has worked so hard to achieve and sending him into the most important fight of all—the fight for freedom.

This is classic Voinov at his finest: dark, gritty, morally ambiguous, dangerous, violent, and sexy as hell. All that plus a genuine romance! If you are a fan of any of these things, I cannot recommend this book strongly enough. When you're done with your first read, you'll want to read it again, and again, and again. Pure love.

Release Day AND Launch Day!

Well, technically release day for my new BDSM novella, Master Class, is this Sunday, but it is available for download now directly at Riptide Publishing, along with seven other of our brand new titles, and I am so excited I could spit. (Or pass out; I haven't really slept much this week.)

I wanted to take this time to offer a quick thanks and congratulations to my partners at Riptide: Aleksandr Voinov, Chris Hawkins, and Tal Valante. This is it, guys--we did it :D

And I most especially want to offer my thanks to all of you readers and fans and blog tour partners out there who've made Riptide's launch such a success. I hope we can entertain you for many years to come.

Now if I may . . . our now-available shiny, let me show u it:

Free BDSM Drabble

Master Class releases this Friday for those who've pre-ordered (it's not too late!), and this Sunday for those who haven't. At the same time, of course, comes Riptide Publishing's official opening (OMG!), and I'm nervous and excited and terrified and thrilled all at once about both these things. Anyway, I thought, what better way to celebrate the upcoming release of my BDSM novella and seven other fantastic titles at my publishing house than to give away a little free fic?

So, beneath the jump for (very brief) mention of naughty bits, please find a little drabble featuring Devon and Nicky, the protagonists from both Master Class and SUBlime: Collected Shorts.

The Joys of Remodeling

Over at casa Haimowitz, we're getting a new floor laid in the kitchen and downstairs hallway. The contractors started yesterday, and I've learned a few things since then.

Shiny-- er, splintery sub-floor.

1. Remodeling sucks.

2. The cat and dog also think remodeling sucks. Their whole world looks and smells different, and there are all these strange men in the house making a racket.

3. Remodeling sucks.

4. Did I mention the racket? I'm nocturnal--I tend to work til 5 or 6 in the morning and then sleep til 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Contractors? Don't. Here at 8am sharp, revving their power tools and banging things and making the dog bark. Expect some punch-drunk (and potentially cranky :-p) tweets from me over the next week or so.

5. Remodeling sucks.

6. Gods, what a mess! I have sawdust in places I can't discuss in polite company.

Let's play Identify the Animal Tracks! :-)

7. When's the last time you cleaned out your pantry or your hall closet? For me, I'm pretty sure that was when I moved in here eleven years ago. Ended up with three bags full of shoes and coats and gloves and scarves and such for Goodwill--things I hadn't worn in years. Also magically discovered some dried Indian food about five years past its expiration date. Hmm . . .

Contents of hall closet & pantry.

8. So in conclusion, remodeling sucks. But hey, there'll be a fresh coat of paint and a lovely new tile floor at the end of it all, and considering I'd actually worn holes in the laminate that used to be there by sitting in the same place every day to work for eleven years, I suppose it's worth the trouble in the end.

How about you? Any remodeling stories-slash-bitching you'd like to share? :-)

Fantasy and a Free Book with KC Burn!

Er, it's still Wednesday, right? :-) I'm shaking off some serious con crud from GayRomLit (I blame Kris 'n' Good Books for licking me in my sleep), so I've slept through most of the last two days, but I'm up in time to bring you some fun and a giveaway with the lovely KC Burn. She's here to talk about her new M/M paranormal release, Trompe L'oeil. Let's begin, as always, with a cover and blurb.

When Maxwell, a Depression-era artist, spurns the attentions of his sponsor, he ends up cursed to live out eternity in a painting. The man who cursed him delighted in playing the exhibitionist for Maxwell, and by the time the old man dies, Maxwell longs for his life and body back but he’s pretty sure he never wants to watch anyone have sex ever again. Until he discovers who his new owner is. 

Tyler isn’t sure what to do with a life-sized painting of a nude man, but it was a gift from his sister to ease the pain of a disastrous break up and subsequent coming out. The gorgeous subject of the painting disappeared without a trace decades ago, rumored to have been killed by the painting’s previous owner in a jealous rage. 

Becoming more and more fascinated by the man in his painting, Tyler uses his resources as a history professor to solve the mystery of Maxwell’s disappearance. He finds himself spending more time in his bedroom, talking to the painting, researching, and aching to know the man in person. Meanwhile, Maxwell falls under Tyler’s sweet spell, even though the thickness of canvas might be an insurmountable barrier to cross.

Sound interesting? Leave a comment to enter into a drawing for a free copy!

And now I'll turn the floor over to KC, beneath the jump.

GayRomLit Recap

Damon, me, Brita, Bryl, & Cat.

Happy Monday, all! I've just spent the last eleven hours dead asleep, recovering from the nonstop wackiness that was GayRomLit 2011. I've brought home lots of fabulous memories, a handful of silly photos, and, unfortunately, con crud (a cold), but I'm already looking forward to next year (it will be in Albuquerque, NM, by the way), and I hope you all are too.

Me fangirling on Rowan Speedwell (OMG!).

I'm a bit too wiped to go into too many details, but suffice it to say, the single most amazing part of this whole experience for me was finally putting faces to so many names. People I've been chatting with at Goodreads or Twitter for over a year. People I'm working with and even partnered with at Riptide who I met in person for the first time. Authors whose work I love and respect. Fans who wanted to talk about my work. Bloggers and book reviewers who work hard to improve the signal to noise ratio in our genre every day. It was a bit strange and overwhelming--and flattering like whoa--to have so many people want your autograph or your picture or a minute of your time. It was immensely gratifying to meet my peers and be surrounded by 250 people whose love of the thing I also love brought us all together.

The blogging crew.

The city itself was pretty special, though sadly I got to see very little of it. Hopefully when I go back for AAD in August of 2012, I can stay a few more days and get to see a little more of what's happening outside the hotel. But kudos to the GRL organizers, who did an amazing job; the whole con ran like clockwork, and everything from the author readings to the tours to the hurricane party around the pool were such a joy to be a part of.

I've shared a few photos in this post, but there are many more over at Riptide's facebook page in the GRL album. Other folks will be adding photos there as time permits, so check back on occasion for 7am grumpiness and 2am drunken shenanigans. If you have some of your own to share--photos, stories, experiences, etc.--please point us to them in the comments!

Not-Posting, GayRomLit Style

Happy Friday, folks! I'm down in New Orleans at GayRomLit, so this'll be a short post. But I promise you stories and pictures when I get home on Monday. (Or maybe Wednesday; who knows how long I'll need to recover from rooming with Cat Grant and E.M. Lynley ;D)

Finally got to meet a ton of folks in person, including Riptide First Wavers Bryl Tyne and Brita Addams and the Riptide art director L.C. Chase. Also finally met Rowan Speedwell (eeeeeee!), Marie Sexton, J.P. Barnaby, Rick Reed, and many more, including some absolutely fabulous readers. Much fun--wish you were all here.

Now off with me to the riverboat cruise/book signing. See you Monday!

Guest Blog: The Adult Bedtime Read with Leslie Sanders

Today I'm welcoming author Leslie Sanders to Fantasy Unbound to dish on bedtime stories and share an excerpt from her new release, Benefits of Sharing.

As always, let's begin with a blurb and cover.

Cara is unenthusiastic about her upcoming thirtieth birthday. Maybe her husband's eighteen-year-old coworker Isaac could add some excitement.

Cara Matthews is about to turn thirty, and for her, it’s the death of her youth and the beginning of the dull years. Her husband, James, is aware of her sudden grief and surprises her with something that should take her mind off of aging: young Isaac.

Maybe Isaac can help Cara create her very own wild and crazy experience to share—in more ways than one—and help her transition smoothly from her twenties to her thirties.

Cara is all too eager to finally experience the excitement she's been desperately craving, but she's also a little skeptical. Exactly who is Isaac, and why is he so eager to please?

And now I'll turn the floor over to Leslie for her guest blog and excerpt of Benefits of Sharing, beneath the jump.

Movie Reviews for Pervs: Shame

So this Friday, I went to see the new Steve McQueen / Michael Fassbender Movie, Shame, at the 2011 New York Film Festival. I was in excellent company: Cat Grant bought the tickets and treated myself, Liz Silver, and Damon Suede to the showing. And not that they're not awesome people, because they totally are, but did I mention Michael Fassbender and Steve McQueen were there? Because they were :D

I shall limit my fangirl squeeing, primarily because once Michael went through the photo call (which we were able to watch from about twenty feet away, but had to peek between the row of photographers), his handlers hustled him past the rope pretty quickly. He did try to sign autographs, but they told him he needed to introduce the movie. Ah well.

Speaking of introducing the movie, here's the blurb from IMDB:

In New York City, Brandon's carefully cultivated private life--which allows him to indulge his sexual addiction--is disrupted when his sister Cisssy arrives unannounced for an indefinite stay.

Basically, it's about an OCDish sex-addict who holds down a highly successful job in (I think?) an ad firm and suffers so deeply from his addiction that he jacks off in the bathroom at work, keeps porn on his work computer, brings prostitutes to his house, and randomly picks up women wherever he can find them. He's a miserable SOB, either in agony or numb pretty much all the time. The impression you get is that orgasm is the one moment in life when he is not in agony, and he chases it with the relentless desperation of someone who knows it's killing him but doesn't know how else to feel. His sister shows up and throws a serious wrench into his orderly life. Worse, she seems to make him think about all kinds of things he'd rather not think about every time he looks at her. She makes him face his present, too; when he starts having to hide around her, he seems to realize how fucked up he is, and starts trying to change.

So, on to the review. I want to (and will) treat this as a real review because the movie was pretty incredible in a lot of ways, but I'll be doing it within the framework of the Perv Score. For those new to Movie Reviews for Pervs, here's the four criteria by which films are judged:

1. Hotness of the star(s)
2. How often and how thoroughly the star(s) get nekkid
3. Severity of ass-kickings to which the star(s) are subjected
4. And, as something of an afterthought, whether or not the movie was actually any good

So, combined real and perv reviews, beneath the jump.

ISO: Gay Deadwood, Pls!

So, yeah, I just had this stunning realization of a sudden that I can actually seek out--and buy--exactly the kind of stories I want to read. I know this sort of seems like a given when you become Managing Editor of a publishing house, but Riptide only just posted open submission calls a few days ago, so it's still sort of sinking in.

I was sitting here cleaning out my inbox tonight (if I don't return, avenge my death!), and I came across an update from Goodreads that mentioned one of my GR friends was reading a nonfiction book on prostitutes of the old west. And then I got to thinking about Deadwood, and how much I loved loved loved that show, and then I got to thinking, Man, I'd really love to read a Gay Deadwood, and then I realized, OMG, I can totes just ask for one, and maybe if I'm really lucky, I'll find one worth signing!

I realize how strikingly obvious that seems in retrospect, but I gotta say, I'm excited.

So, if you or anyone you know has a well-researched, novel-length gay historical romance set in an American frontier town--no cowboys, please, unless they're not out on the range, as I really am looking for the complex interactions of an ensemble cast here--then please pitch me at rachel (at) riptidepublishing (dot) com! No invite required.

A Milestone Week!

Happy Monday, all! Two pretty awesome things happened to me since last we spoke:

1. I just wrapped up edits on Crescendo about ten minutes ago. (Click to embiggen the pretty.) It's all over now but for the copyedit pass. I feel, oh, about fifty pounds lighter than I did last night :D

2. OMGOMGOMGOMG RIPTIDE! :O :O :O Hang on, I'll try to stop squeeing long enough to de-cat-macro . . . *deep breath* Okay, yeah, so, on October 1, Riptide Publishing unveiled its new web store and opened for pre-orders. (Every book you pre-order gets you entered into a contest for free books for a year, yay!) We also began our official Grand Opening Celebration, also known as "the 300-stop, multi-author blog tour with thousands and thousands of dollars in prizes."

It's been quite the wild ride already. We're hearing lots of great feedback about our site, and particularly about our innovative warning and tagging system for every book. It'd take a while to explain, so let me just point you at my shiny Master Class book page and tell you to check out all those fancy tabs and toggles at the bottom, especially the "additional details" one. Go on, I'll wait.

Welcome back! (Did you buy stuff? ;-p) Seriously, how neat is that site feature? Isn't that awesome? I'd love to see that everywhere I shop.

So, couple quick tour links for you:

On Saturday, I was at Amara's Place with partners Aleks and Chris for the official ribbon cutting, and there's a loooooooooooooong interview there that I think will be interesting to anyone who's ever wondered what's involved in launching a business.

Also on Saturday, Brief Encounters did a lovely review of Master Class (4.5 stars, yay!), and on Sunday I did a guest blog about the psychological aspects of BDSM there. There are some interesting conversations going on in the comments; I hope you'll come join us!

In the not-all-about-me tour news, Storm Grant had an interview at Literary Nymphs on Saturday, where she was her usual hilarious self. And on Sunday, Peter Hansen was at Loves Books and More discussing the conceits of youth and how WWF chair-bashing fits into your standard writing workshop curriculum :D Today, Brita Addams kicks off an entire week at Amara's Place with a great interview; and Aleks Voinov is over at Erotica For All, dishing on his latest crush, among other things.

Tomorrow I'll be at Erotica For All, too, but I can't for the life of me remember what Lucy interviewed me about. Whatever it was? It was probably awesome. And hey, even if it wasn't, remember that every comment you leave on the tour enters you for a chance to win about a bazillion prizes, so even if I bore you to death, you should still stop on by and throw your hat in for that iPad ;-)

OMGOMGOMG!

So, yeah, tomorrow, Riptide Publishing's brand new web store opens and pre-sales for all fifteen of our 2011 titles begins. I am so excited I could puke. And nervous, too. And excited. And kind of a little nauseous. And excited. Did I mention excited?

Jessewave did a little post on us today, and we're wrapping up the pre-party at Amara's today too. (Go check it out--there's still time to comment and get entered in ten separate prize drawings tomorrow!) Which, as it happens, is where we're also kicking off the official Grand Opening Party tomorrow. I hope you'll join us all along the way--there'll be author and editor interviews, guest blogs, excerpts, reviews, and of course prizes prizes prizes! (Did I mention an iPad? Cos, yeah, we're giving one away and I haven't even fondled it first ;-p)

Oh, and you know what else comes out tomorrow? Open submission calls! Four of them, in fact, so be sure to visit our website tomorrow to check those out. No invitation needed :-)

Well, I'm twirling off now to take care of business, and I hope to see you all tomorrow at the ribbon-cutting at Amara's Place!

Guest Blog and Contest: A Bit of Advice, Just-Gotta-Say Style, with Laura Kaye

Greetings all!

Today's my birthday, and I'm celebrating by taking the day off from blogging. Fortunately, I've got a fun guest-blogger in to take my place, so let's all give a warm welcome to Laura Kaye!

Also, since it's my birthday, this definitely calls for presents. And by presents I mean the twelve free paperback books I got at Authors After Dark. Click the pic to embiggen and read all the titles.

Laura Kaye's sweetening the pot with a free ebook copy of her new story, Just Gotta Say. (Want to learn more? Check out this review.) Want to win? Just leave a comment. The ebook will go to one winner anywhere in the world, and the print books will go to another winner in the USA only (apologies, but shipping is hugely expensive outside the US). I'll draw for the paperbacks on Monday. Laura will draw for the ebook.

And now for Laura's guest post, beneath the jump.

Congratulations 2012 EPIC Finalists!

Every year, EPIC (the Electronic Publishing Industry Coalition) holds a major ebook award competition for the best of electronic publishing across a wide variety of genres. Their list of finalists just released, and I was absolutely delighted to see some familiar names on that shortlist.

So today, I'd like to offer a heartfelt congratulations to:

• My dear friend and Riptide First Wave author Cat Grant, who made the finals not once but twice in the Erotica category.
  
  
• Perennial laugh factory and Riptide First Wave author L.A. Witt, who also made the finals twice: once writing as L.A. Witt in the Contemporary Romance category, and once writing as Lauren Gallagher in the Erotica category.
  
  
• And the brilliantly talented artist Reese Dante (she of Riptide's Once a Marine cover) for eight (!!!) nominations for cover art across a number of categories.

Congratulations to all of you on your well-deserved recognition, and best of luck in the finals. We'll be rooting for you!

It Begins! (With Free Books!)

The Riptide pre-party at Amara's Place, I mean :-) The kickoff post is up, and it features yours truly discussing Andrea Speed's Pretty Monsters. Both Andrea and I will be popping in throughout the day, so come on over, say hi, and win a free backlist book from Andrea!

Be sure to stop in at the Place tomorrow, too, for a discussion of the brilliant up-and-comer Peter Hansen, and his book, First Watch. Then on Sunday, Aleksandr Voinov will be at the Place to discuss Master Class. There's a new prize every day, and two big prize packs at the end of the week, so don't miss out on all the fun and free stuff!

Tour Craziness Countdown!

In two days' time, I get to kick off the Riptide Publishing Grand Opening Celebration (well, technically this is a pre-celebration) at Amara's Place, where Aleks Voinov and I will be spending just over a week dishing out the skinny on our First Wave authors and why we bought their books. I hope you'll join us! There will of course be prizes--a Riptide author author sampler (read: heap of free ebooks) and a big box o' swag--and every post you comment on will earn you an entry into the end-of-year grand prize drawings for one of three awesome prizes: a Nook, a Kindle, and an iPad.

On October 1, the tour kicks off in earnest; our twelve First Wave authors will be making over 70 stops in October alone (and then just as many in November and December), and every single stop will feature unique content! Each stop will also feature a prize giveaway, and the same opportunity to enter into the grand prize drawings.

To that end, I updated my own personal schedule tonight. You can click that link to see everywhere I'll be, both for the Riptide blog tour (where I'll be talking about Riptide in general, my new BDSM novella Master Class, and writing at large) and the Crescendo blog tour. Lots of fun and prizes to be had, so I hope to see you all there!

Edited to add: Michael Fassbender kinda crying, after the jump, since people yelled at me for daring to make a post without him :-p

Monday Picspam & a Deal on Counterpoint

Yep, still crazy deadlines, which means more picspam for you :-) I'm doing a final sanity check on Aleks Voinov's absolutely FAN-FRIGGIN-TASTIC Belonging-verse novel Counterpunch tonight, and I'd forgotten between the spring and now just how much I loved it when he was writing it. Now that he's given it a good hard polish, it's even more amazing. (See for yourself--you can read an excerpt [and win a Kindle!] at the publisher's website.)

So, in celebration of that, I'm posting some hot hot boxers today a few non-copyrighted gifs and screencaps (other pictures likely belonged to someone and had no business being here in the first place, and have thus been deleted) beneath the jump.

Two quick notes before the picspam begins.

First, with the Crescendo release date looming close, my publishers have gotten together to offer both Counterpoint (the first book in the Song of the Fallen series) and Crescendo at 20% off when purchased directly through the publishers' websites. This is the cheapest it's ever been, so if you've been waiting to get it, now's a good time.

Second, OMG, the Riptide Publishing Grand Opening Celebration is just around the corner! See that shiny banner in my left sidebar? Click it! There's lots of exciting new stuff on the Riptide website and more to come, and our first stop on the party tour begins September 23 at Amara's Place with lots of fun and prizes and behind-the-scenes peeks at our first eight titles.

Okay, now picspam. And yep, I still managed to work in Fassavoy, and a bonus Til Schweiger! As always, click to embiggen.

The Writing Process (& Swag!) with Kari Gregg

Morning folks! Today I'm joined by the hilarious and brilliantly talented Kari Gregg, who's here to discuss her creative process with you all in typical Kari fashion. She's also got a brand new book out that's so damn hot it'll fog up your computer screen, so before I turn the floor over to her, let's have a peek, shall we?

After one mind-shattering night with a stranger at a local leather bar leaves him forever changed, Gabriel lives on the streets as a vagrant to elude the master who hunts him, but the were-shifter is a fierce, stubborn predator who reclaims him soon enough. Gabriel is carried away to the pack’s home territory where his instruction on what it means to be the pet of an alpha begins. Gabriel isn’t just any pet, though. He is the rarest among their kind: a human omega.  

Treasured? Or cursed?  

As Gabriel’s father, the Distinguished Gentleman from Pennsylvania and stalwart of the conservative party, pushes the considerable resources at his disposal to locate his missing son, Gabriel explores who and what he is under his master’s careful protection. Gabriel falls for the shifter who is lover and destroyer, owner and…friend?  

Publisher’s Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: BDSM theme and elements, and dubious consent.

Hot, right? Go buy it! Go on, I'll wait :-) And then come back and leave a comment for Kari, because she'll be sending one lucky commenter an I Omega notebook, note pad, and magnet, plus a little box of Godiva chocolate. I can't decide which is more drool-worthy--the chocolate, or a spiral notebook with that hot hot cover on it?

And now here's Kari, beneath the jump. 

Monday Picspam - Rope (NSFW)

Happy Monday, folks! (I know, I know, I shouldn't be this chipper on a Monday.) Everything's going along swimmingly; edits for Crescendo are on pace, and all the Riptide releases are making progress. Did you see all the new blurbs and cover art we've posted lately? There's some really lovely stuff there. Our web designer rolled out a test version of the web store this weekend too, which was mad exciting. Can't wait to share it with you all!

In the meanwhile, this busy bee has little time to blog, so I shall shower you with hoteness instead, nice and NSFW, beneath the jump. Today's theme is rope. (And somehow I've managed not to post a picture of Michael Fassbender; apologies in advance to fellow obsessives.) (Have removed some photos that probably belonged to folks. So you're left with, well, screencaps of Michael Fassbender. Surprise surprise ;-p) As always, click to embiggen.

Win a Kindle & More at the NOR Web Hunt

Hi guys! I'm participating this month in the Night Owl Reviews Full Moon Web Hunt, which runs until Halloween and is chock full of one of the biggest prize lists I've ever seen.

If you've never done a web hunt, basically what you do is go from sponsor site to sponsor site looking for a hunt graphic. You record the URL where you found the graphic, and when you've found enough of them, you submit your list of URLs to NOR, who enters you in the drawings for the many, many awesome prizes (including pretty much my whole backlist to five separate winners!).

It's a great way to find new authors and revisit old favorites, and five lucky winners will be taking home a heap of prizes so big it'll take them a year to get through it all. So check it out, have fun, and good luck!

And, just a quick plug for Riptide Publishing here :-) We'll be doing some scavenger hunts of our own in October, November, and December, and winners will pick up free Riptide books for a year, among other cool prizes. Be sure to check those out when our Grand Opening Celebration launches on October 1!

Film Festival Fun

This one's a quickie, folks. I'm still neck deep in Crescendo edits and the Riptide Publishing launch, but I found out today that thanks to the lovely Cat Grant, I'll actually be getting a teeny little mini-vacation in a little over a month: the two of us are taking a day trip into Manhattan to see Shame at the NY Film Festival!

I am dying of excitement about this, not so much for going to Manhattan (it's sort of right around the corner from me, and I lived there for a while so the sheen's worn off), but for getting to see the new Steve McQueen movie starring every last full-frontal inch of my favorite obsession. Despite the Oscar buzz already coming out of the Venice Film Festival for Shame, the contents of the movie (and the director's admirable unwillingness to sacrifice artistic vision for commercialism) make it unlikely it'll ever see US distribution outside the festival circuit.

Fortunately, we have tickets, so I get to spend one glorious day off from editing and writing and launching a business (which, admittedly, I am loving just about every second of) to stare at 90 minutes of this, a large portion of which I'm told involve no pants. (Click to embiggen. Trust me.)

Aw heck, one more because he's just so absurdly adorable. (And is it just me or does that totally look like a ligature mark on his wrist? Okay, yeah, it's probably just me, but a girl can dream, right?) The photo call at Venice, beneath the jump:

Crescendo Sneak Peek #6

It seems like all I've talked about the last week or so is the weather, so it's time for something fun, yeah? How about a little Crescendo excerpt? The entire first chapter is available on my website and at Storm Moon Press (where you can still pre-order at 20% off, yay!), so I thought I'd give you a peek of what comes immediately after.

First, a quick (*sigh*) weather-related update for those who've been asking: Floodwaters have mostly receded. Repairs are going well, though I think a new species of  hyper-intelligent mold in my basement has just discovered fire and the wheel. Irritatingly, utilities decided to shut off a bit over two days ago and have barely done much in the way of coming back on. Even the phone's been out. I'm sneaking on now in a rare moment of up-time and praying that everything stays on for good this time.

Now then, back to a nice fat 1500-word excerpt from Crescendo. Please note this may not match the version you see in the final text (in other words, this is still mid-edit, though it's certainly clean enough for public consumption.) All the, er, fun? Beneath the jump.

Crescendo Release Date Moved

Hi all. As I'd suspected on Monday, the Crescendo release date has been moved due to hurricane Irene. The next available slot in my publisher's schedule is November 18, so that's when Crescendo will be releasing. Folks who pre-order will still be able to download it two days early.

This mess? Is what it looked like yesterday just four miles from me.

Yeah, that's the National Guard not having any more luck than anyone else.

I don't usually get up on my soapbox, but if you live anywhere near any of the hard-hit areas and can donate blood to the Red Cross, it's desperately needed. If you're not (or are) in the area and want to help, you can donate funds to the Red Cross. Or text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10.

My home is far enough from any of the nearby rivers to have missed the serious flooding, but I did and do have a mess to clean up. The job is compounded by the fact that towns are completely isolated here--few to no roads open in and out, supermarkets closed, sketchy or no power (mine just went out for an hour while I was trying to make this blog post), bridges (and highways, oddly enough) washed away, etc. While I'm in the middle of all this, please don't worry if it takes me a few days to answer an email or if I drop off the radar completely. Like I said, power outages are still an issue, and I don't have a smartphone, so when it goes I lose my internet and can't get out to go find it somewhere else.

In the meanwhile, I hope you'll consider donating blood or money or both (er, but not blood money, kay?) to help the thousands of people who've lost everything this week and are still stuck in Red Cross shelters, waiting to go home. Also please consider shopping with Candlemark & Gleam, a lovely independent speculative fiction press who is donating 100% of the sale price of their ebooks to Vermont victims of Irene.

Irene Update, Crescendo News

Good morning, all! Those of you who frequent Fantasy Unbound know this to be a pretty relentlessly happy place, but I'm afraid I have some potentially bad news for fans of Crescendo today, and it's going to involve a little bit of explanation that veers toward the sort of thing I usually would rather not discuss, but since it affects anyone waiting for Crescendo, I think you deserve to know. (If you're short on time, scroll down to the bottom for the tl;dr version.)

Good news first about Irene, though. Actually, it's all pretty related, so . . .

Irene veered east at the last second, and the eye of the storm--and the most damaging winds--missed us. Miraculously, we kept power (excepting a long series of brownouts during landfall), despite hundreds of thousands of people all around us losing theirs. We have water damage, my whole house smells like a swamp,  the local river flooding is catastrophic and only getting worse (people in town have water up to the second floor of their homes, and the rivers won't even crest until tomorrow), and my dad still hasn't been allowed back to his house to inspect the damage (he lives about 100 feet from the beach), but we're all safe. (Give it a week; I suppose the mold might kill me? :-p) I hope everyone else was at least as fortunate.

Now, to explain what this has to do with Crescendo, I need to back up a few months.

Very late into the process of getting Crescendo ready, I learned my dear publisher, Guiltless Pleasure, was closing down due to a serious illness with the owner (she is well on the mend now, thank goodness). Storm Moon Press stepped in and offered to publish Crescendo on a ridiculously tight timeline, since the release date had been set a year back from Guiltless Pleasure and I very much wanted to stick to it if I could.

This meant that everything was crazy compressed, and there was much less time to focus on things like edits and production than anyone was entirely comfortable with. Neither myself nor my new publisher were willing to deliver anything less than the very best we were capable of, so we all started putting in long, intense hours to make it happen.

That meant every hour of every day was both precious and critical to hitting the release date. Fast-forward to Irene. I lost half a week preparing for the storm and the inevitable flooding, since this isn't the sort of thing we're generally ready for up in these parts. Stupid things like buying batteries for my flashlights could take hours and trips to several sold-out stores. All the furniture (and junk stored) in the basement needed to be moved. Good thing we did, as I was up all night helping my sump pump bail the basement out. The flooding's slowed but hasn't stopped, even though the rain has, because of the situation with the rivers. Now there's a big pile of cleanup to come, and more lost hours and days from my edits.

So, I'll be late turning these in to my publisher. Which in turn throws off my publisher's schedule, since mine is by no means the only book they're publishing this fall. This means they now have to scramble to work proofreading, layout, conversion, and galley proofing into an already packed schedule. This means there is a very good chance that Crescendo will miss its release date. I want to stress that this has nothing at all to do with Storm Moon Press, who has bent over backward at every point in the process to deliver the best book possible.

I'm trying to do the same, but it's looking like it's time to beg your understanding and patience in the event the book misses its scheduled release by a couple or few weeks. A lot hinges on how capable I am of making up for lost time in an already very full schedule, and of how much lost time I'll actually need to make up for--I won't really know the extent of the flood damage (or the consequent cleanup, which is already monstrous) until the waters crest and recede, and I may yet still lose power to said floodwaters at any point (and those who already have lost power have been told not to expect it back for over a week, nor can many evacuate to somewhere that does have power because the town has turned into an island). Just as much hinges on how how quickly the manuscript can be worked into my publisher's production schedule if/when I miss my due date. (I must stress again that this is entirely beyond their control.)

So, the tl;dr version? Weather sucks. Crescendo might be a few weeks late. Please don't kill me :-p

The Weirdness Continues

Happy Friday, all! Alas, it's looking like a bit of a mess round these parts, as the eye of Hurricane Irene is forecast to, well, glare really hard right over my head. (Is anyone else surprised that, between the very rare northeast hurricane and the even rarer northeast earthquake, that nobody's yet found a way to blame God's wrath on teh gays or portend End Times? Doesn't that usually happen right about now?)

Anyway, long story short, the disaster folks are telling us to expect power outages for days and possibly even weeks. Since I don't have time to front-load my blog, I'm afraid it will go without updates for as long as I'm stuck without power/internet. An even more unfortunate side effect may be the delay of the Crescendo release by a couple weeks, since I'm supposed to be wrapping up edits in the next couple weeks and can't do that if my battery's dead. If it looks like the power situation is truly ominous, I'll try to get out of town, but where I live literally becomes an island when there's flooding and odds are good the roads will be closed for a while.

Don't worry about me, though--I'll be perfectly safe in my (sadly flood-prone) basement, reading my Kindle by candlelight as the storm blows by. Until . . . well, whenever! :-)

Sex So Good the Earth Shoo-- Oh, Wait.

Yeah, so, that was a thing that happened, eh? My first earthquake ever. If you live in the affected area, was it your first as well? Did you know what it was when it happened? I . . . did not. I've had attacks of vertigo on rare occasion, so that was my first thought. My second, since I live about 10 minutes by air from Newark Airport, was that we were being buzzed by a plane. My third was that a plane had crashed. My fourth was a bomb. Friggin' earthquake in Central Jersey? Yeah, that was a distant fifth. And thank goodness it was nothing serious, because even after I figured it out, I was still just sitting at my computer, watching stuff on the walls rattle, totally baffled. Here, let me illustrate:

O_o

Then all my neighbors went outside to O_o at each other. After a few minutes, we decided that, yes, that did actually just happen.

And then . . . then pictures of the devastation started coming in from Washington:

via famousdc.com

So, er, yeah, everyone's fine round these parts, except perhaps for a little too much group excitement :-)

Conference Swag Giveaway

Morning, all. Let's start the week off with a giveaway, eh? 

I have a giant pile of AAD conference swag. My giant pile of AAD conference swag, let me show you it. (Click to make gianter.)

Comment if you want it, and I'll select one winner at random on Friday. Also, yeah, that's my conference badge in the back there, and yeah, it is indeed powered by tiger blood. I'll send that along too if the winner wants it.

A Good Editor . . .

. . . is worth her weight not just in gold, but also in coffee, chocolate, and kittens. While I'm neck deep in some very, very good (and difficult, sigh) edits on Crescendo that will make the book about a thousand times better than it was in draft form, I wanted to take this Friday to celebrate good editors all around the world, and mine in particular, Tal Valante.

(Actually, I'm pretty sure the cat's hers too.)

So thank you, Tal, for kicking my ass with such gleeful vigor and skill.

Have a lovely weekend, folks. I'll be huddled indoors, nursing my sore ass and the slowly emerging wheat from the chaff of my first draft :-)