Boys and puppies

I will freely admit that my mind was not on blogging today. Usually I spend the day before my blog day thinking of topics or finding pictures to post, but this week I have to give myself a pass. You see, we got a new puppy. And as anyone who's ever had a new puppy can tell you, they're a lot. of. work. Emphasis on "a lot". I've spent my week cleaning up messes and putting already-chewed books out of reach. She also seems to be some kind of magical escape artist and has managed to climb over the kitchen gate, a card table, a big piece of cardboard, and two chairs in her attempts. Our older dog just looks at us and I know she's thinking, "Wtf did you bring home?"

So as you can see, my mind has been on other things this week. Please accept this adorable picture of a man and his puppy in lieu of a real post, and I promise I'll be back in two weeks with something of substance. ;)

Butt Seriously...

I am seeking opinions from readers of M/M erotica and romance. In particular: does the cover of the book influence your decision to buy? Over the last few months I have tracked sales of my M/M stories and one things strikes me as curious.

Take a look at these covers.

Why, Why, Zed? and By the Chimney with Dare are both M/M erotic works, the former published about a year before the latter. The former is part of a special line with Phaze Books, the latter a holiday story. One cover has no people on it, the other does.

The Christmas short sold exceedingly well, the Toronto story not so much. Looking at sales of my other M/M where at least one male body graces cover, I see high numbers as well. Naturally, I'm curious to know if sales had been effected by the lack of a warm (okay, nekkid) body on YYZ.

I've always been one to welcome feedback from readers; I do occasionally get mail and am happy to respond. Now, though, I'm interested in general manlove reader feedback. Even if the description and categories clearly label the book as M/M, do you hold off on buying when you don't see a bod? If there are bodies, should they be clothed, au naturel, what? With recent cover art flaps making the rounds of blogs and social media, I'm curious to know what readers think.

Villains Redeemed?

Can a villain be redeemed?

It's a question that's been plaguing me for a while--since I finished Spirits of Abaddon: Bad Blood. I'm not talking about anti-heroes (like Triarius or Gabriel). I'm talking about villains... like Lazarus in Bad Blood.

When I wrote Bad Blood, I fully intended for Semoriel's destruction at Gabriel's hands. I never expected what DID happen...

Instead of doing away with a demon and maintaining an evil elemental, I ended up with a demon/elemental couple that I never thought I'd have. Lazarus wouldn't LET me kill off Semoriel. He isn't the love type--not by any stretch of the imagination--but he does feel passion, and Semoriel delivers that in spades.

So...can a villain be redeemed, in the eyes of readers?

Submission: Not Gender Exclusive

So bear with me folks, I'm gonna try and sound intelligent about this. Today, I was looking for pics to inspire a post. I admit it, I'm never truly prepared. My mind is usually stuffed with all kinds of other things and a lot of the time, I am a total space cadet. So as I was wondering Google Images, changing the search word as ideas came and went, I hit onto a comfortable topic.

BDSM is rapidly becoming a topic that, while I am not an expert and never will be, I am able to say I've formed opinions on. Slight background: I identify as a Dom (as an FYI, yes I am aware that it is Domme for female dominants. But it's my personal preference to say Dom) with some switch tendencies. So, it's something I feel I can talk about without sounding like a total dweeb.

Anyway somewhat long-winded beginning done, I discovered that there is an alarming lack of male submissive art. This isn't a new fact, no doubt. And hey, I might even be behind in talking about it. After all, there's already a website devote to it (in which I found my lovely pic): http://www.malesubmissionart.com/.

But the reason it caught my attention today was because of the absolutely ridiculous amount of female submission images. I tried to think of other images that relate directly to BDSM but you know what? If you Google anything on BDSM, it is likely that you will get an image result (or a thousand) of a bound and gagged woman. In fact, until I actually became actively interested in BDSM and met gay or male-identified practictioners, the first thing to pop in my head in relation to it was a bound woman. And the pre-requisite whips and chains and leather, yada.

Since then I've learned and written otherwise. Still, looking at those images, I'm not angry so much as I'm annoyed. There is a perceptinon about submissives that is already difficult to climb over, which is the idea that submissivs are weak or beholden to their Dom/me/Master/Mistress. But looking at the pictures on Google, I'm also baffled to see the idea that subs have to be feminine, if not female entirely.

Thinking on the stories I've read, the trend of subs tend to be slender, slim-hipped, short...or in any case, just weaker than the Dom in general. No, this doesn't mean that female subs are weaker in any way, shape or form. But let's also accept that the female gender is physically weaker than the male gender and therefore, the image of a feminine/girlish figure as a sub is a perfect visual stereotype for a submissive.

That doesn't mean it's right. A man, even the most masculine and butch male, can make a wonderful sub, visually and so on. This is another obstacle of m/m BDSM that needs to die as rapidly as the mind-reading, asshole Dom needs to. Subs come in every shape and size, male, female, genderqueer, and I think it's something those of us who write BDSM need to seriously work on bringing to the forefront.

I hope this made sense! So what do y'all think?

New book!

My YA novel is available to buy! It's under a pseudonym so the kiddies don't find my erotic stuff, so I won't mention the name here lest it show up in a Google search. (That Google is just too good sometimes!)

The book is about the trials and tribulations of Olympic figure skaters, so it's just in time for the upcoming Games. I really enjoyed writing it, and I hope you enjoy reading it!

Now available in print: Daywalker Legacy

Daywalker Legacy

ISBN - 978-1449976682

Includes the Stories...

Secrets and Lies
After the near genocide of his race, Teague Johnson now spends his lifehiding in plain sight. In a city populated by humans and Nightfeedersalike, he and his brother are forced to cloak themselves in forgedhistories in order to blend in among the hierarchy of society.

Teague’s weekly trysts with Kyle Drake give him a reason toanticipate the future — until Kyle unexpectedly disappears. Afterward,Teague’s life is thrust under a microscope, endangering everything heholds dear. Allegiances are tested, and the lines of friendship blur ina race to stop an inhuman killer. Kyle’s fate hinges on Teague’sability to untangle the intricate web of secrets and lies before it’stoo late.

The Hard Truth
Blackmailed into claiming a birthright he doesn’t want, Cadge Johnsonis thrust into a world of politics and intrigue. His only ally is oldfriend and former lover, Red Taylor — a Nightfeeder he has kept atarm’s length for decades. The sordid past they share is nothingcompared to the trials ahead. After nearly a century of love, loss,murder, and deception, only the cold, hard truth will finally set themfree.

Read a spicy excerpt

Or

Buy it now at Amazon

The Rumors of My Demise are Greatly Exaggerated

I've been AWOL for a while and I apologize. Apparently the combination of the stress of my toxic group at the evil day job and my Type-A personality's insistence on trying to do it all made a really bad combination for my health.

I've been diagnosed (so far) with obstructive sleep apnea and a heart arrythmia (probably congenital and not horribly severe) and, as of about two weeks ago, celiac disease. This has, as you might imagine, taken most of my time and attention for a few months and pretty much everything else has had to take a back seat.

Thankfully, I am feeling a LOT better as I am getting the various conditions treated. I'm back to writing now that I have more energy than just that needed for survival. So you should hear a lot more from me in the near future!

I Can Haz Internet

Sometimes the internet seems like a great thing.  Then….well, sometimes it can seem like everyone has it in for you.  And, no, this is in response to something amusing and not directed at me. 

I have always taken the attitude with the net that 90% of what gets written down is read in a way that the writer never intended.  Mob rule and anonymity go into the mix as well.  Pretty much the only thing you can do is laugh it all off. 

So, I give you The Butt Hurt Complaint Form: 

http://spubba.livejournal.com/517332.html

Just a Sec

Oh, the things I suffer for my art. Possible criminal charges, self-immolation. Oops, there's no link to that second one. For those of you who have already heard my dramatic rendition of the how-I-set-my-self-on-fire-making-tea story I will follow in the footsteps of Bertie Wooster, one of my favorite narrators, and tell you to just let your eyes glaze over and rejoin me in about three paragraphs when I get to the point.

The how-I-set-my-self-on-fire-making-tea story goes like this: I was pitching my work to an editor at a conference a few years ago and her eyes had definitely done the glazing over like icing on a cake and so I pulled something out of my err hat and pitched a story that I'd been planning. I thought I had about thirty pages of it written and figured she'd only request a partial (three chapters and a synopsis.) She perked right up, asked many questions (to which I winged the answers), told me she was excited, and wanted to see the full manuscript. I got home and realized I had eight pages written.

So I slaved away, day and night, a zombie chained to the keyboard. The chain stretched as far as the tea kettle on the stove. I put the lid on the kettle and looked down to realize my shirt had trailed over the still-red hot electric burner. Fwoomp! The flannel shirt was not "flame retarded" as the Halloween costumes around here often proclaim as a virtue. I looked down and called to my wife "I'm on fire." No, she did not think I was speaking figuratively about my writing progress.

I had what felt like a half an hour to consider my options. My waist–length hair was down, very close to the flames. Would it catch? It's a galley kitchen. Do I go to the front room to stop, drop and roll or do I run to the sink and shove myself under water? Should I take it off and stomp on it? Wait for help? It really was excellent slow-motion camera work. I yanked it off and stomped on it so hard I thought I'd set my foot on fire. I didn't. My hair was fine. My skin was fine.

Oh and I finished the book. But that's not the point. The point is those seconds. Or probably just that second. In that instant when your life can change forever, do you make the right decision? How can you ever know if you did?

Right now I'm writing about two characters who meet while trying to resume lives that have changed for the worse in separate examples of those very long instants. Those instants where there are a million possibilities. Or maybe there's only one. Maybe it was always going to work out that way or maybe they could have prevented what happened.

Our lives may be made up of more of these instants than we know. If you're just far enough behind, you don't see that car that ran the red light or the kid who safely chased a friend across the street in front of you. Those moments still happened.

I know what the characters from some of my other books would say. Joey would tell you it's all tape-delayed and it's already determined. Jae Sun Kim will tell you life's a crap shoot but it beats the alternative. Speaking of Kim, his gorgeous cover and an excerpt from No Souvenirs is up on the Samhain website. Watch my website and my live journal for outtakes and other fun stuff as the release date gets closer. And hang onto every second.

Now excuse me, I have two very angsty young men to sort out. I think they're kind of pissed about those life experiences I doled out in their back story. But man do they have some chemistry. Tell me more, guys.

Yikes!

Tuesday snuck up on me again and I've no idea what to post about. Let's see... I can tell you that the Torquere anthology, I Put a Spell On You, which my short story, Play Music, Play Magic, will be in, has been postponed to 24 February 2010. So if you were looking for it last Wednesday, that's why you couldn't find it.

I can also say that I had a terrible moment of RPS the other day. I tried to kill it, but it wouldn't die. See, I don't support Real Person Fic (RPF) or Real Person Slash (RPS). I know others do and that's fine, but to me it's an uncool invasion of privacy. So the fact that I had a moment of RPS while watching Ace of Cakes is just wrong, wrong, wrong. I'm laughing about it now, but at the time I was not amused with myself. No, not at all.

In less disturbing news, I got one of my novels back from one of my beta readers today. Woo-hoo! Can't wait to dig into it this afternoon. Any productive excuse to avoid actual writing is a little too welcome right now, if you know what I mean.

MLK day and musing around

For those of us in the US, I hope everyone had a good Martin Luther King day. :) It was nice to have a three day weekend, though it went by too fast. And didn't the kiddies just go back to school?

Well, my muse has made a comeback and I've made a lot of progress, which is why today I thought I'd post some eye-candy so I can get back to writing.

Wow. Halfway through January? Seems like just yesterday I was toasting to 2010. Happy Sunday, slashers. It's a long weekend here in the U.S. (thank you, Dr. King) and we're preparing for a LOT of rain on the west coast. Like, the type of rain that makes everyone say, "Are you ready for the rain?" And we don't really talk much about the weather in southern California, since it's pretty much the same year-round. But I guess the prospect of up to eight inches of the wet stuff between now and Friday is a topic of interest. If I float away, I've already willed my e-book collection to someone, so no fighting.

Speaking of e-books, January is always time for the Preditors and Editors Readers' Poll. I totally forgot about it this year until someone emailed me to say they had voted for me. Since not only did I totally forget the polls were open, but I also had no idea that someone had nominated my story Embers in the Short Story - Romance category, I was quite delighted. I was also delighted to find that I'd placed eighth in the category, and I'm one of only two M/M stories in the top ten! So YAY, readers! You guys rock!

Happy January, everyone.

GPS - Never Get Lost Again

I am pleased to announce that my M/M short for All Romance eBook's 28 Days of Heart, GPS, is now available for pre-order! Proceeds from sales of this title are donated to the American Heart Association, along with the 27 other titles under this banner. GPS was a fun little story to write - it's been a while since I sat down to write a magical romantic comedy. I don't know if this would classify as contemporary fantasy, because there are elements in the story that may make a reader scratch her/his head and wonder. Either way, I hope you enjoy!

While we're waiting on that, I have a sneak preview of my upcoming Enter Sandman, the first in my unofficially named Metallarotica (heh) trilogy for Phaze Books.

Struck by insomnia, Len Crocker is desparate to try anything to get to sleep, even obtain the services of a mysterious living god, and probable huckster, known simply as The Sandman. When the object of Len's desires, Andrew Gibbons, springs for the nighttime session, Len is amazed by The Sandman's effectiveness...and pleasantly surprised with what he finds in his bed the next morning.

Enter Sandman is a contemporary short with urban fantasy elements, and is also coming in February with GPS. Enjoy the preview!

“Hello?” called a deep, very male voice, and Len’s heart stopped. “Anybody here?”

“Come on back, Crane,” Gibb called from behind Len, startling him further. Len watched a shadow fall across the bedroom doorway and in stepped the personification of any gay boy’s dream. Tall and broad-shouldered, Crane wore a curly mess of short blond hair over two arched, inquisitive brows. A strong jaw twitched, as though the man deeply assessed his new surroundings and planned his next move. He wore white, loose-fitting pants and a skin-tight, light blue tank that nicely set off defined muscles and lean arms, one of which flexed as he lifted a black leather bag.

“Can I put this here?” Crane pointed one end of the doctor-style satchel to a small table that held spare change and a boring science fiction novel Len had tried as a sleep aid.

Len shrugged, then nodded, all the while swearing to himself that he had locked the door earlier. He stood to lean forward a bit, which would have given him a straight line of vision toward the front of the house, but Crane blocked his view.

“I’m Crane. Nice to meet you,” he said, extending a large hand that engulfed Len’s in a warm, constricting handshake. “Gibb tells me you’re having trouble sleeping.”

“Th-that’s right, yes.” If the man wasn’t a doctor, he seemed to do a good job with the masquerade. Len wondered if he should at least ask the man for some credentials, then worried Gibb might take the question as uncertainty toward his referral of the guy.

“Well, let’s see what we can do about that.” Down went the bag, and a loud zip filled the silence between chatter. “Do you have any specific allergies, Len?” Crane asked as he extracted a number of brown apothecary bottles from the open flaps.

“Not that I’m aware of.” Len turned to Gibb, as though seeking confirmation, and he noticed his friend appeared a bit anxious. He watched Gibb watch Crane, curious to know to what extent their relationship ran. Crane had helped cure Gibb’s insomnia—that much he knew—but the way Gibb licked his lips and shifted his stance told Len quite a bit more must have happened.

Or, perhaps Gibb wanted more from Crane. Len’s heart sank at the thought. Story of my life.

“Good enough,” Crane murmured. “How about nightmares, night sweats?”

Len shook his head. “You gotta be asleep for that kind of thing.”

“True. Well, I think, since we’re probably looking for a good weekend of rest, we’ll try my extra strength formula.” Crane showed Len a bottle bearing a handmade label. “Rosewood with oil of valerian to knock you out, and…do you have any snoring issues?”

“Not that I’m aware of.” Yeah, as if. Surely one of my myriad of bed partners would have complained by now.

Could he be any more pathetic?

Crane palmed a smaller vial topped with a dropper cap. “Okay. If you find that you do, and your snoring wakes you, I’ll leave this thyme oil. Rub a bit on your feet, and that should take care of it.”

“Sure.” What the hell? “Uh, so I guess you’re basically a masseuse?”

Crane flashed him a dark glare, and Len wanted to take back the question. A more foolish man might have asked a Bostonian if he favored the Yankees this season. To Len’s relief, however, Crane offered up a response in a pleasant voice.

“I prefer to call my line of work sleep aromatherapy,” he explained. “I am a licensed massage therapist, yes, and I’m trained in sports medicine and cranial sacral osteopathy. However, I find what I do here more rewarding. I’ve been in your shoes, too, and I can truly sympathize.”

Len nodded and relaxed a bit, yet suspicion continued to nag at him. Long soliloquies in the movies usually resulted in somebody receiving a frying pan to the head. He’d lost track of Gibb while watching Crane make himself at home. The man only needed a few seconds to dip into Len’s adjoining bathroom for a razor and a spare shoestring to use as a garrote.

He turned around and noticed Gibb emerged from there instead holding two folded bath towels. “These should be big enough, I think,” he said, setting them on the foot of the bed.

“For what?” Len asked.

“For you, Len,” Crane said, and pulled out a small MP3 player with a detachable speaker. “I need one towel for the bed so we don’t stain your sheets with the oil.”

Len nodded. That sounded reasonable. “And the other?”

Crane’s smile touched his ears. “Please undress, and you’ll find out.”

OMG-really?!?

Occasionally--okay, frequently--I vanish off the face of the Internets so I miss out on a few WTF moments, including this gem: Sherlock Holmes sequel threatened by implied gay-ness.

What the hell?!? I mean, really?!? Downey's Sherlock Holmes was awesome, and I looooved the subtle tension between the two leads. Tension so subtle in fact, that I may have been imagining most of it while watching the film. But I really enjoyed that ambiguity anyway, and I can't believe the Arthur Conan Doyle estate is getting their panties in a knot over some innuendo. (And kudos to Robert Downey Jr. for playing it up for the fans.)

Anyone else care to opine? I'm sure there's already fan art out there with Downey/Law being all cute and cuddly as Sherlock/Watson, but I'd so draw something to that effect if I wasn't so swamped with other projects already. If you guys have any links to cool gay-ed up Holmes stuff, please post them here. It's all in good fun, and the people who whine about it need to chill out. ;)

Where, Oh Where, Has My Little Muse Gone...

Where, oh where, can he be?

Eh, I'm taking a day off today. I was specifically TOLD to do so--and not think about anything work-related. Me? A workaholic? Nah...

So... I'm not thinking about work. I'm watching Food Network, playing WoW, and listening to music.

Now, at the risk of being reminded it's about work... I'm getting back into the chat thing again, starting Monday (18th) when I host Changeling's Bar & Grill every third Monday of the month.

And now I leave you with a little pic Tory Temple sent me. I send her firefighters. She sends me.........

Spongebob...?

Land of the Brave

Don't quote me on this but I believe that every writer has that sub-genre (or genre in full) that they want to write in. For one reason or another though, they don't. Maybe because its a risk.

Because that's the big deal and I think the attraction of it all: risk. You risk your name with each story you put out. Not to say that one bad story will destroy your credibility as a reliable storyteller. But going outside the lines is sometimes a little daunting. One of the pleasures of writing GLBTQ fiction is that there are so many wide open areas to wander through.

With respect, obviously.

But believe it or not, I'm not here to discuss the varied ways to write about the GLBTQ community (another post, another day). I'm actually going to talk about mysteries and why I really want to write one (and why I haven't yet).

My biggest thing with mysteries is figuring it out. I'm constantly impressed by folks like Josh Lanyon who put together these intricate plots, lush with clues and actual investigating. I enjoy JD Robb's In Death series as well and despite the fact that the villians have much of the same personality flaws behind their murder, it's still awesome watching Eve and Roarke figure out whodunnit.

Naked in Death, the first book, still awes me. The Adrien English series (which is over, omgosh, and I still need to get DOAPK and Dark Tide! Eee!) is a full melee of detective work. James Buchanan's Taking the Odds series is stuffed with cops doing their cop thing and doing it well.

Cops, I might never be able to do as anything but side characters and I can accept that. But I want a mystery, y'all. I've just got to figure out the whys and whats and hows behind it. The clues that lead to this, making you backtrack to that and jump to that waaaaayyy over there! But here's where the risk comes in.

I'm not a mystery writer. I'm excellent (and this isn't tooting my own horn, this is a fact I've learned) at contemporary romance. The simplicity yet complex mayhem of a relationship - be it same sex or not - makes a kind of lyrical sense to me. This is what I know how to put together, from the first meeting to the second to the sex to the fight to the HFN.

Mysteries baffle me. Yet, I want to do it. That's my super secret desire. I took the first tentative step (of sorts) with Lost. However, you knew from the beginning what that one was about and it was more about the relationship. As a romance author, I will always center more on the people than the external plot. Love's about the lovers not the circumstances. The circumstances affect them though and that's what makes the rest of the story.

I haven't written a full mystery yet because I'm not sure how. I've figured by now that it's a process that I'll just have to start. One bad story isn't going to mess me up but hovering and fretting about what if it sucks like hell? will definitely keep me from learning anything. If I love it, I should try it. And maybe it will suck. Horribly. Then I'm sure y'all will tell me.

In a way, the latest kick in the ass about this is K.A. Mitchell. On Twitter ( I think it was on Twitter, possibly LJ) she mentioned that mysteries aren't her usual style. The mystery story (Chasing Smoke - LOVE that book, btw) is a definite departure from say, Collision Course. But she wanted to do it, she did it and you know what? I envy that. I mean, she even did a historical (An Improper Holiday)!

It's all about risk. But then, taking chances is what creativity is all about. So I'm going to take a chance and go back to my WiP and...well, I can't give everything away, now can I?

A little recommended reading...

I've been doing entirely too much reading lately. Because of that, I thought I'd share some of my recent favorites.

The Rest of Our Lives by Dan Stone

Colm McKenna has led a guarded life. Gifted with a wintry soul and a photographer’s eye, he can stop time as easily as he freezes water, or call down cold north winds. He thinks he is alone and unique in the world. Then, seemingly by accident, he meets writer Aidan Gallagher, his opposite, a young man who quickens Colm’s heart as magically as heats the air.

In this lighthearted, gay romantic fantasy, can two male witches whose passion reincarnates century after century, find a way to express their love for each other again? Can this enchanting pair finally succeed after so many lifetimes?





Matter of Time Books 1-4 by Mary Calmes

Jory Keyes spends his time drinking and cruising gay bars picking up one night stands. Then suddenly he becomes the only witness to a brutal murder. Although the killer vows to silence him, Jory refuses to go into witness protection. This puts him into conflict with Sam Kage, a very straight and very hot police detective. When passion flares between the two men, Sam is astonished. Is he really gay? And if so, what will this mean to his career, and his life? As the danger threatening Jory increases, Sam senses that nothing is as it seems, and wonders who is really after his newfound and forbidden love?




The Manny by Sara Bell


Tate Fuller's life is a God-awful mess. He's flat broke, his dead lover's parents are suing him again and his asshat landlord A.J. Boyd is evicting him from his bike shop, the one constant in Tate's life. He's starting to think things will never look up when sees an ad in the paper for a night and weekend nanny. So what if the guy who's doing the hiring is none other than A.J. himself, or if A.J. makes Tate's blood heat with something other than anger?

After having his wife dump him because she claimed a bisexual man could never be faithful, A.J. Boyd has stopped being surprised when life throws him curve balls. Stopped being surprised, that is, until he finds out his ex-wife has died and left him with a six-week old daughter he didn't even know he had. Now he's sleep-deprived, scared stiff, and ready to do something really stupid, like hire the stubborn, infuriating, cocky Tate. And if the tension between them's hot enough to restart the Chicago fire, well, so be it.





Fun with Dick and Shane by Gillibran Brown

These pages detail the days of my life as houseboy, partner and submissive to my Daddies, Dick and Shane. They’re both older than I am and they treat me horribly, chain me, beat me, keep me short of food and water…NAH, I’m just kidding. We share an unusual relationship it’s true, and in that respect this book is suitable only for adults over the age of eighteen, as it often makes reference to sex and consensual discipline practices within a ménage relationship...step inside and enjoy!

My Vacation Reading

As some of you might remember, my family and I went to Myrtle Beach recently for my in-laws' 50th wedding anniversary. We were there for a whole week, and I took off an extra week from work after that, meaning I had a lovely two-week vacation. Heaven!

During this delightful vacation, I read an out-of-print book my husband found and bought for me from someone online: The Elementals by Michael McDowell. This is a horror novel, leaning rather toward the Gothic more than anything else. It has some pretty glowing reviews up on Amazon, so I was anxious to read it. I was not disappointed.

My first impression, during the prologue, was that all of my editors would have a collective heart attack. It's set in L.A. (Lower Alabama, of which the author was a native) and is written with a fair bit of local "color" in the dialogue. Example: "We're gone do this" instead of "We're going to do this". It even threw me off a few times, and I was born and raised in L.A. But dammit, I loved loved LOVED this book. I loved recognizing landmarks the author mentioned in Mobile, Gulf Shores and the miniscule towns in between. I loved the perfect descriptions of slow summer days at the beach with nothing to do but swim, walk on the beach and listen to the waves. I loved the incredible Gothic beach setting of Beldame. Most especially, I love the gradual build-up of a horror that you can't explain or escape. There are some stumbles. There's a villainous father who is TSTL and whose actions I didn't buy for a hot minute. What he did seemed to be stuck in there just as a convenient way to accomplish what the author needed accomplished. For the most part, though, The Elementals was a wonderfully atmospheric, well-spun tale of terror. I'll be reading it again.

So, that was my vacation reading. Starting on Stephen King's latest, Under The Dome, next. Although, I just received the marvelous gift of Jane Arden: Space Nurse from the wonderful TeddyPig (thank you Mr Pig! you are the bestest!), so I'll probably read that one first *g*
What about you guys? What good books have you read lately?

James gets Kinky

January 17, join James at Kink On Tap the smart sexuality netcast for the kinkily inclined. Come hear me talk about bondage, S/M and books.

Tired of the pulp eroticization of sexuality? Annoyed by the self-aggrandizement of sex bloggers? Want a more thoughtful, heartier, smarter approach to sexuality, society, culture, feminism, and queer activism? These are the droids you’re looking for.  Kink On Tap is more than just a netcast about sexuality; it’s also a community of people for whom intelligent conversations about sexuality and how sexuality relates to other aspects of their lives is a motivating force for Doing Good.

The show will air live on Sunday, January 17, 2010, 8pm Eastern-5pm Central http://live.kinkontap.com/  You can log in, listen and chat in real time during the show.  Love to see you there!

Don't Tell Your Boyfriend...

...Your New Year's Resolutions

Chasing Smoke
I will not bring up high school every time Trey and I get into an argument.
-------Daniel Gardner

Thank God, but I'd settle for not bringing it up one time out of four.
--------Trey

Diving In Deep
I promise not to do that in an airport bathroom again.
--------Noah Winthrop

Why the hell not?
--------Cameron

No Souvenirs
I will not take any vacations without very careful planning.
--------Jae Sun Kim

C'mon, it didn't totally suck.
--------Shane

Says the guy with scars from it.

Yeah, but that's not all I got.


Hot Ticket

I will remember that the volume knob has more than one setting.
--------Cade McKuen

Huh? I can't hear you? I think I'm deaf.
-------Elliott

And continue to worship my boyfriend's huge cock.
-------Cade

Cade!

I thought you were deaf.

I can still read.

Oh, right.

Regularly Scheduled Life

I will find a way to get that outdoor shower installed at the beach house without Sean finding out until it's done.
--------Kyle DiRusso

Nice try.
--------Sean

You'll thank me when the families descend on us.

Let's not tell them when we finish the house.

I like the way you think, papi chulo.

Unnamed WIP

I will figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life.
---------John

I will figure out if I want a rest of my life.
---------Mason

Jeez, guys. Dark much?
---------Alex

Collision Course
I will only manipulate people when it's really necessary.
-------Joey Miller

I will only not manipulate people when even if I think it's really necessary. Much better.
-----------Aaron

Stop editing my resolutions.

No.

Fine. Aaron Chase's resolution: I will stop calling people assholes even when they deserve it.

It's not a resolution if you write it for me, princess.

My point exactly.

But yours isn't a resolution. It's got a huge loophole.

But—

Resolutions are for pussies anyway. You aren't going to change so why bother.

But I—

Are you happy right now?

Yeah.

Then what the hell do you need a resolution for?

What if we make it interesting.?

How?

A bet.

I thought you were supposed to want to keep your resolutions.

I do.

So why bet when you know you love losing as much as winning.

Mine?
I will keep trying to make as many readers as possible fall in love with the characters in my head. Clearly, I'm already nuts about them. And no, I'm not working on a menage. ^ ^
---------K.A. Mitchell

Nicky and Ian from An Improper Holiday hope that everyone's Twelfth Night was as pleasurable as theirs was.

New Year's Resolutions

I don't make them. Or, if I do, they are unavoidably achievable. For instance, I have often on past January 1sts resolved not to purchase Norway. See? One cannot help but not purchase an entire Scandinavian country. I find New Year's resolutions just set one up for failure. I'm not particularly goal-oriented in the traditional sense. Deadline-oriented, yes, but that's not the same thing. I'm better than I used to be, but that's not saying much. I prefer, instead, to think of things I would really like to do and then, randomly throughout the year, try to do a few of them. Can you tell I'm not into high-pressure situations? Maybe that's because I get enough of those from exterior sources. Why would I want to do that to myself? So, in the vein of low-stress, low-pressure, here's a list of a few things I would really like to do this year.

I'd really like to get my two finished novels polished up and submitted.
I'd really like to finish the two unfinished novels currently residing on my hard drive.
And on a non-authorial note, I'd very much like to climb a 5.10a at the climbing gym, and to run a 5K.

That's as close to a set of New Year's resolutions as you'll get from me.

What do you think of New Year's resolutions? Do you make them? Do you keep them? Why or why not?

On another note, I've not heard from my contest winner. So, Mo, if you're out there, gimme a shout at maia (at) maiastrong (dot) com. Thanks!

Happy 2010!

Wow, it’s hard to believe that it’s already the fourth day of 2010 (and I remembered to do a post - Great start in my book). After the hustle and bustle of the recent holiday season, it feels good to calm down and get back into my regular routine - or at least as close as I can to one. It also has me thinking of goals and all I want to accomplish in this new year.

Resolutions. A sometimes dreaded word. Sometimes a word that brings confidence. It all depends on how one looks at it.

2009 wasn’t the best writing year for me. Looking back at my list of resolutions, I fell flat on my face. My muse took a year long vacation and it was a struggle to keep it around the short times it did make an appearance (and that’s when I really had to pull out the big guns to bribe it). 2010 is a different story. The muse and I have compromised and so far, all is going well. ^-^ (Though I am running low on chocolate. Donations always welcomed - lol)

So, my resolution is to keep my bottom in this chair and bring you all more stories.

What are your resolutions? Do you dread them and avoid them like the plague or relish in creating goals and trying hard to fulfill them?

Happy 2010!

Happy New Years, everyone! It's incredible how quickly 2009 went by, but I hope it was a fantastic year for you as well. So many exciting things happened in the last twelve months that it's been quite a whirlwind. I attended my first RWA conference, participated in a number of exciting art projects, and I made new wonderful friends in addition to the amazing folks I was already blessed enough to know and have in my life. And as always, I'm incredibly lucky to have the best readers and art fans any creative individual could ever hope for. A huge part of what I love about my work is knowing that something I've drawn or created has made someone else happy for a little while.

So thank you, thank you, thank you! And here's to a fabulous 2010!