Mackenzie Twins series gets a new look and buy link!

Hi all! My Mackenzie Twins stories have been updated with brand new covers and are finally available for purchase at a new retailer - Payhip. I'm also in the process of lowering the prices to $2.50 and updating these stories at Smashwords and Barnes and Noble, which are the only two retailers who've been willing to list my kinky little twin stories until now.

Here are the new covers:

 

And here are the new buy links:

Tempestuous Relations https://payhip.com/b/ZI0w

Tempestuous Revelation https://payhip.com/b/WE5o

New cover art + excerpt

I've finalized the new cover for my re-release of Compass Hearts. Whaddaya think?

I'm super pleased with it!

My friend and critique partner is playing FLE for me on this manuscript. Making sure the small changes I made work and that I haven't missed any typos. (Serious fingers crossed there. I was not happy about the number of typos that were in there even after I, my editor, and the original FLE went over it. We're only human, but geez!)

Look for the re-release in the next week or so! In the meantime, here's an excerpt:

He barely recognized his own voice as he went on. "The human body is... fascinating." There was a question, an invitation, underlying his statement. He hoped Ash would hear it and understand. Despite this sudden swell of bravery, he knew he couldn't say that out loud.

A slow smile spread across Ash's face. Matthew grinned back, guessing his message had gotten through. His guess was confirmed when Ash asked, "Have you ever had a live model?"

"No." Matthew's cock strained at his breeches. He yearned to draw Ash, see him stripped and posed. He couldn't remember ever wanting anything so much or so urgently in his life.

Then reality crashed down on him. His face fell. "My materials are at my apartment." In the time it took to get there and back, the moment would be beyond lost. And there was no way he was taking Ash back to his flat. He didn't want Ash to see it. It was so unbearably grim, lacking in any charm or comfort, especially when compared to Ash's quirky and inviting room upstairs.

"What do you need?" Ash asked.

"Charcoal pencils, largish paper."

"I have that."

"You do?" Matthew perked up at this spark of hope. It was almost too good to believe. "How? Why?"

"Botany class. We do a lot of plant sketching. I not only have charcoal pencils, I have pressed pigment pencils."

Matthew's eyes lit up and Ash grinned and grabbed his hand. "Come on." Ash pulled him to his feet and toward the stairs.

Matthew's practical side asserted itself and, still clinging to sense, he asked, "What about our books?"

"No one will bother them. Come on!" He practically dragged Matthew from the parlor. By the time their feet hit the stairs, though, Matthew was plenty willing to follow him up.

Inside the cozy comfort of the little attic room, Ash went immediately to the window seat. He opened it and fished around inside, coming up a moment later with a large tablet and a tin box. "Here." He handed the box to Matthew who opened it and looked in wonder at the myriad colored pencils within.

"Where did you get these?" he asked, awed and envious.

"Some of them I bought in town. Some of them my dad gave me before I came here." Ash flipped through the tablet of his botany drawings, Matthew looking over his shoulder. The plants were barely recognizable, and then only because he'd labeled them. "They're awful, I know," said Ash. He pulled a disgusted face. "It's all right to say so."

"I just have one question," said Matthew.

"Yes?" Ash turned and looked up at him. "What?"

"Are you actually passing botany?"

Ash burst out laughing. "All right, Master Critical." He flipped to a blank sheet and shoved the tablet at Matthew. "Let's see you do better."

"That much I can guarantee."

"I've never been an artist's model." Ash's eyes shone deep blue in the lantern light and his voice was husky. "Tell me what to do."

Matthew swallowed hard once. The heat and tightness in his groin were intense, and he was glad for the tablet he held in front of him. What was he thinking? He'd never get through this! Panic began to rise in him, quelling his arousal. No. I want to do this, damn it! Steeling himself and taking control of his fear, he said with as much authority as he could muster, "Strip."

New Story!

I'm very excited to announce a new short story sequel to The Chimera Affair being released May 7. Kyle and Sebastian are back and facing new challenges now that Sebastian has finished his spy training. (I should come up with some course names. International Espionage 101?)

More info to follow. In the meantime, here's the gorgeous cover by Fiona Jayde:

What do you think? :)

Rerelease cover art!

I'm working hard to get my novel, Client Privileges, back on the ebookshelves. Towards that end, I've been working on new cover art with a friend of mine. Here's what we have so far.

 

I'm no graphic artist, but I think it's pretty. What do you think?

Okay. Back to the grind. I'm re-reading the manuscript since it's been a while and I want it to be perfect for everyone. Such a rough life. ;-)

A Book and Its Judged Cover

Make You Sweat received two great reviews last week. Whipped Cream Reviews gave it four cherries, and TRR gave it five stars, labeling it a Top Pick. Yay, and thank you!

Both reviewers commented on the cover, and it got me thinking. (Yes, that was the funny smell…)

When I filled out my cover art paperwork for Make You Sweat I mentioned that I loved PL Nunn’s covers, and then held my breath for several weeks. When I found out she’d been assigned to my book, it made my day. No, my week.

But I wasn’t always a fangirl.

Both of the reviewers for Make You Sweat mentioned the “cartoon” cover and said they might’ve passed it up because they didn’t like that style. Honestly, while I’m a fan of Nunn, I understand their reactions. I really do. The first time I saw one of Nunn’s covers, I thought the same thing. I didn’t know what Yaoi was at the time, and I’d only purchased books at the bookstores… you know, with photos, not drawings, as their covers. It was only after I read reviews and received several recommendations for the Heaven Sent series by Jet Mykles that I moved past my doubt and bought a book with Nunn’s art. She captured the Heaven Sent boys and their lovers perfectly, and from there, also capture me as a fan of her artwork.

Once I moved away from the initial doubt, I developed a habit of buying books with her covers without always reading the blurb. She has that effect on me. I broke out of my comfort zone and tried BDSM when I fell in love with Blue from fellow Slash & Burner Katrina Strauss’s Blue Ruin series. It turned out to be a good temptation, and the cover made me do it.

So what have I learned from this? Don’t judge a book by its cover? Heck, I hope we all know that already, but as I said, I still buy books with Nunn’s covers as if by rote. I enjoy most of them, but I have found myself tempted to purchase a book by an author I don’t enjoy when I see her art advertising it. On the flip side, as I draft this blog post, I think of a few books I’ve turned up my nose at because the cover was awful. I haven’t purchased a single ebook with a Poser designed cover, for example. The Poser men look creepy and unprofessional to me. (Yes, I’ve been told that sometimes they can look very real at the hands of someone who excels with the program, but alas, I don’t have an example for that.)

Will I read one now? It’s a habit I must break. After all, the reviewers at Whipped Cream and TRR took a chance on Make You Sweat, and loved it, so certainly I can pay that forward. I do like to challenge myself, stepping out of my personal comfort zone in so many ways. Yet this one simple challenge... 

Okay, dear Readers, leave me links for your favorite books with awful art. Help me to stop judging a book by its cover.

Ciao,
Pia Veleno

PS Speaking of judging covers, don't forget to vote in the Rainbow Awards poll for cover art. If you vote for Fallen, even better, but I promise to forgive you if you don't. ;-)

Cover Art: Make You Sweat

Is it poetic that I broke my foot while running just a couple of short weeks before the release of Make You Sweat? I’ve been mentally climbing up the walls with the effort of keeping my foot propped up and immobile for the past few days. While it’d be nice if I could use this downtime to work on writing projects, running and writing truly go hand in hand. Luckily, the men of Make You Sweat don’t have the same troubles; there is plenty of running, but no broken bones.

I wrote a follow up to that May post about the balance of writing and running, but instead of bemoaning my injuries, I’m thrilled to be able to share the new cover art for Make You Sweat. I’m honored to have the talented PL Nunn recreating a favorite scene for this cover.

 Unofficial blurb:

Ready for change, Tyler Pierce has the whole summer ahead of him when he flies to Sand Piper Beach to turn over a new leaf. Sun, swimming, exercise, he’d return home a new man, sexy and buff. Best of all, several states away from home and college, no one but his dad knows him, so he can muddle through the challenges of getting fit without friends laughing at him.

During his first visit to the gym, Tyler meets the perfectly muscled and fit Cody Dawson, fitness instructor and sexy gay man. Not only does Cody help Tyler learn how to use the strength training equipment, but he crashes Tyler’s sexual fantasies as well.

Just a passing fling, Tyler decides. Cody, after all, could get any number of better looking men without even trying. Besides, the summer doesn’t last forever and, too soon, Tyler will return to campus.

A summer fling can grow into something more, but it’s up to Tyler to recognize if it’s true love or just heated summer lust.

Barring unpredictable and traumatic delays, Make You Sweat will be available from Loose Id on August 16^th: http://www.loose-id.com/Make-You-Sweat.aspx. 

I Haz Art!

Cover art, that is! Check out the pretty while I try to infuse enough caffeine into my blood to get me past this stupid Daylight Savings time change. *yawn*


That's nice to wake up to, though. Isn't it? Counting down until my 2 April release date!

New, New, New!

I got a new cover. Didja see? Didja, didja?? :D I officially *heart* it! My editor sent it just yesterday. Such an awesome "welcome back from vacation" surprise! Release date is late July. (Am I the only author who can't remember her release dates when she gets them? I probably am. I mean, it's only, like, HUGELY IMPORTANT INFORMATION. But I digress.) So anyway, the book is with the line editor, so we're in the final stages now. I'm so excited about this one. It's sci-fi (obviously), which is a totally fun change from fantasy--despite the fact that every bookstore I've ever seen lumps the two together. Of course, that's probably why I've read so much of both all my life.

Also new is that I finally sent another manuscript in. It's been a while since I submitted anything novel length, and this one's been kicking around since its inception at NaNoWriMo 2007. Yes, I said 2007. Oy. It's m/m + m/m/f, fantasy again, but with magic and mystery, too. Fingers crossed the editor likes it.

But wait, there's more! I've had beta edits on my second GLBT paranormal novel for nearly a month now but, seeing as I was on vacation very far away from reality, I never actually got around to looking at them, never mind going through them all. I started that process yesterday and can I just say that my betas rock? Only one of them has read this one so far but, dude, her comments are so useful! I'm dying to finish my first pass and then start on the serious work of revising. Whee!

A couple of things this week

I have a brand new cover to share. The fabulous Valerie Tibbs sent me the new cover for the print edition of my Daywalker series. Isn't it great?

---

Contest Reminder


It's not too late to enter my December contest. If you haven't done so already, now's your chance to enter to win one of five prizes, including a grand prize worth over $200 dollars.

The best thing is, all you have to do to enter is leave a comment. Simple as that.

For more information, please visit my blog.

http://www.amandayoung.org/2009/12/01/giving-thanks-contest/

Client Privileges Cover Art!

I just got it yesterday and I can't slap it up all over the intarwebs yet, but I can, and did, post it on my website. It's purty! I really want to plaster the net with it, but I shall be patient. Less than a month until it releases - September 9, in fact, from Torquere Press. We can wait a little longer, right? In the meantime, pop over there to take a peek, then come on back and tell me what you think!

Oh! And here's an excerpt from Client Privileges for you when you get back from ogling the pretties. ;-D

***

Micah sat on the bed. "What do you think?" He gestured expansively around the small room.

"It's n-n-nice." Jonas silently cursed his stammer. It always came out in stressful situations, and while he'd sought this one out, that didn't make it any less nerve-wracking. If his parents should find out… He forced away the unpleasant notion. How would they ever know unless he told them? And there was no way that would happen.

He took a cleansing breath and let it out slowly. For the first time, he looked directly into the eyes of the whore he'd just hired. They were moss green, smiling, rimmed by thick lashes, with tiny smile lines at the corners. His hair is the color of beaten copper. It was unlike anything he'd seen before, and it set off Micah's eyes so perfectly that Jonas wondered if it was natural or contrived.

"So, Jonas, how would you like to spend the time we have together?" Micah smiled, and it was such a warm, giving expression that Jonas balked.

"I-I'm s-sorry. I have to go." He took a step backward toward the door, only to be stopped by Micah's gentle voice like a tug at his heart.

"Stay. Please." Micah held out a hand.

Jonas hesitated. He wanted to stay. Physically, he longed to stay and take advantage of this professional's willingness to please him. Despite his emotional diffidence, his body was eager. His cock was hard and had become so at his first sight of Micah leaning against the brothel's bar. Jonas was glad for the thigh-length coat he wore; it was far too heavy for the hot weather, but it kept his aroused state hidden.

Unaware of making the decision to do so, he sat on the foot of the bed at right angles to Micah. His heart raced. He wondered if Micah could hear it, then chided himself for such foolishness. I can do this. Jonas shot a nervous glance at the other man, looked away swiftly. If I just don't have to make eye contact again. It was absurd. What was he thinking?

"There's no need to rush," Micah continued.

"B-but there is," Jonas said quickly. "I-I'm expected… s-somewhere."

"That's all right. I'm ready for whatever you'd like."

Micah shifted on the bed and Jonas' gaze was drawn to him. The whore leaned back against the pillows at the headboard, one long leg stretched out, and the other bent at the knee. Jonas could see that he was erect, his cock tenting out the loose fabric of his pants. His arms were folded behind his head as if he knew he needed no help drawing attention to his engorged condition.

Jonas stared openly at the protruding fabric, eager for what it hid and uncaring whether his hunger was obvious on his face.

"I take it you like what you see."

Jonas could hear the smile in his voice, the teasing but tender tone. Jonas' gaze was inexorably pulled upward, over Micah's flat and muscular belly, across his smooth chest, up to his handsome face. Square, clean jaw; smiling lips; wide cheekbones; and soft green eyes. Micah's expression was open and without judgment. He was so beautiful that Jonas' breath caught.

"I--" He inhaled, said in a rush, "I've been alone a long time. Years, and he was… Anyway. I want to… take you. Fuck you. May I? Please?"

Micah laughed, a rich, warm sound that Jonas couldn't help but join in on ever so slightly. "When you ask so politely, how could I say no?"

Digital Art & Design workshop

Happy Friday, everyone! Things are kind of slow for me as an m/m author right now (not much time for writing, I'm afraid), BUT, I've got some exciting news for anyone interested in digital art. Next week, I'll be hosting an online workshop with three of the most talented cover designers and artists in e-publishing: Croco Designs, April Martinez, and Cris Griffin! We've got lots of cool things in store for attendees, including an exclusive interview with TOR/Forge's art director, and we'll be discussing include making photomontages, creating banner ads, digital painting, using masks in Photoshop, etc. Sunday will feature a big Q&A session, so come prepared with questions and WIPs for feedback.

AND the workshop is being sponsored by Wacom, the premiere manufacturer of digital tablets, so all attendees are automatically entered to win a most-awesome BAMBOO tamblet! How cool is that? :D Tablets are one of the most important tools a digital artist can and should have.

I hope to see you there at the workshop! Register now

World Domination via Cover Awards, and other filler

If you're in the Norfolk, Virginia area this afternoon, I hope you'll fight your way through the MacArthur Mall to the Barnes and Noble. I'll be signing books and handing out free chocolate. Mistletoe is extra. I'm group signing with a number of Phaze authors, and hopefully finding a good lap afterward for revealing my wishlist.

It's my personal goal to see that Phaze Books wins every GLBT Ariana award from here on out. We won last year for L.E. Bryce's Dead to the World, and this year it was for L.E.'s The Water Lovers of Sirilon, which I think is even better, and I'm speaking as the one who designed the first cover. To think, too, the Arianas are judged just on the front graphic. You should see the full wrap of the print version of Sirilon:

I don't know how we're going to top that next year, but I think we have a good start. These covers haven't made the publisher site yet, but there are number of great M/M titles to look forward to in 2009:

Two very different stories, each with a fitting, lovely cover. 2050 is a futuristic suspense with some paranormal elements added - very tense but powerful. Conflict is a Civil War era drama, the sequel to Woods' Cane. Looking forward to both of these.

New paperback cover

Due out in March from Amber Allure:

Furtive Ache will include the novellas, Furtive Liaison and Precious Ache.

Want To Meet My Sidekick?

YAY! It’s my new cover! That’s Joey in the front and Aaron in the back.

I’m very excited about Collision Course, my December 9 release from Samhain. My heroes did an amazing job telling me the story, my editor did an amazing job making sure there were no plot holes, and then Anne made this amazing cover. And me? I got to hear sexy bedtime stories from two hot guys for a couple of months.

When I needed a friend for Noah to talk to in Diving In Deep, I never planned on giving Joey a book. Back in February, Joey started whining (loudly and incessantly) in my head about wanting his own hero. I pointed out that I’d already given him a new boyfriend after he and Noah broke up, but he complained that Mark was too much of a marshmallow. So I thought up the most difficult hero I could for him. Joey and Aaron took it from there.

To get to the point of my blog (beyond shameless self-promotion) Noah and Cameron, the heroes in Diving In Deep, make a couple of appearances in Collision Course and I learned some interesting things. Sidekicks and secondary characters can say all kinds of things that heroes can’t get away with. I knew Cameron had a dry sense of humor, but I didn’t know he could be that sardonic. I knew Noah and Joey had some unresolved issues from their previous relationship, but I didn’t realize how much of an edge could pop up in their conversations.

When I write a secondary character, I know that he considers himself the star, but without point of view, a secondary character usually stays where I put him. I’ve never set out planning to turn a book into a series, as much as I’ve always enjoyed reading them. Turning a sidekick into a hero is fun, even if it sometimes requires creative gymnastics to fix things that a sidekick can do that a hero can’t. But what I was most unprepared for was the way my other brain children would look in a newly anointed hero’s point of view.

As a reader, I enjoy the visit from old friends when an author writes a series. As a writer, the experience was full of surprises. I think I’m going to try that again. (Yes, Tony, I’m getting to you, just gimme a month or two, okay?)

And by the way, for those of you who were fortunate enough not to grow up with my friends, the correct answer to the title question is “No.” Otherwise, the questioner kicks you from the side. Violence in puns. Go figure.

New Cover Art: Precious Ache

This is the new cover for Precious Ache, due out September 1st at Amber Allure. Isn't it pretty? :)








Blurb:

Dave thought falling in love with an unattainable man was his biggest mistake. Not being able to resist his best friend’s tempting lips was much worse.

Abandoned as a child, Dave Blanchard learned to be self-reliant at an early age. Puberty brought a distressing attraction to other boys, and an abnormal growth spurt that drove Dave further into his shell. Adulthood granted him the freedom to stand on his own two feet, but cloistered him in a plastic bubble of his own making. At seven and a half feet tall, Dave has no problem finding men for anonymous sex through sleazy backroom romps, but the experiences leave him feeling cold and unsatisfied. Although he dreams of love and commitment, finding someone interested in a relationship seems like a pipe dream.

Desperate for companionship, Dave signs up for an online matchmaking service. To his utter embarrassment, his first date never shows, but his luck improves when he runs into a former foster brother, Micah Black. Dave and Micah quickly rebuild their friendship, but with it comes the resurrection of the forbidden crush Dave harbored for Micah when they were teens. Micah is off limits to Dave, but that doesn’t stop Dave’s imagination from spinning torrid scenarios involving his straight friend.

When Micah’s life is threatened, Dave’s inhibitions melt away. Unfortunately, the price of one chaste kiss could mean the end of the friendship Dave wanted so badly.

Brand New Cover: Secrets & Lies

I'm excited to share my new cover art and the very rough blurb of my June release, Secrets and Lies, with you all. Croco Designs did a fabulous job with the cover. :)

Blurb

After the near genocide of his race, Teague Johnson now spends his life hiding in plain sight. In a city of populated by humans and nightfeeders alike, he and his brother are forced to cloak themselves in forged histories in order to blend in among the hierarchy of society.

When he’s not working at Oasis, the sex club he and his brother own, Teague keeps to himself. He relies on strangers to feed his sexual desires, but anything more intimate is off limits. A nosy boyfriend snooping around in his business is the last thing he needs.

Kyle Drake’s arrival at the club makes Teague rethink his favorable stance on one night stands. From the very first touch, Teague can’t get enough of Kyle. Their weekly trysts give Teague a reason to anticipate the future — until Kyle unexpectedly disappears.

A visit from an old friend thrusts Teague’s life under a microscope and endangers everything he holds dear. Allegiances are tested, and the lines of friendship blur in a race to stop an inhuman killer. Kyle’s fate hinges on Teague’s ability to untangle the intricate web of secrets and lies before it’s too late.