New gay Christmas romance!

I'm super excited to share Charlie and Gavin's holiday romance with you all. I wanted to write a holiday story that has angst and emotion and isn't solely fluff. My goal was also to make it sexy and hot, but to include those warm and cuddly holiday feels as well. I hope I've succeeded. :)

To be home for Christmas, they must bridge the distance between them.

Charlie Yates is desperate. It’s almost Christmas and his flight home from college has been delayed. For days. Charlie promised his little sister Ava he’d be home for her first holiday season since going into remission from leukemia. Now he’s stuck on the opposite coast and someone else grabbed the last rental car. Someone he hasn’t even spoken to in four years. Someone who broke his heart.

Gavin Bloomberg’s childhood friendship with Charlie ended overnight after a day of stolen kisses. With years of resentment between them, they don’t want to be in the same room together, let alone a car. But for Ava’s sake, Gavin agrees to share the rental and drive across the country together.

As they face unexpected bumps along the road, can Charlie and Gavin pave the way to a future together?

Buy now:

All Romance | Amazon.com | Amazon global
Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Kobo | Smashwords

Rival skaters keep their relationship secret and end up on thin ice

When I first told people I was writing Cold War about two gay figure skaters, many of them pictured something like Blades of Glory. Er, not quite!  

Meet Dev and Misha 

After an explosive locker room confrontation with his Russian rival ends in the most surprising and intense sex of his life, American pairs skater Dev Avira needs to refocus. He’s worked for years to win Olympic gold, and he can’t let himself—or his partner—down. Distraction in the form of steely and smoldering Mikhail Reznikov is the last thing he needs as he prepares for the biggest competition of his life.

But with the Games only days away, they can’t keep their hands off each other. Dev soon learns that beneath Mikhail’s arrogant and aloof exterior is Misha, a passionate man who warms Dev’s heart and scorches his bed. They're both determined to win, but for Misha his freedom could be on the line. Can Dev put his deepening feelings on ice as he goes for gold?

Buy now: Loose Id | All Romance eBooks | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iTunes | Kobo

Can Misha and Dev keep their romance under wraps this holiday?

Writing this sequel from Misha's POV was really fun. I learned a lot about Russian holiday traditions (huge thanks to Tatiana, my Russian translator and answer-er of my many, many questions), which was fascinating. They go all out for New Year's and have Orthodox Christmas in January. I love learning about other cultures, and I hope you'll enjoy reading as Misha and Dev spend their first holiday together. Here's a bit more about Holding the Edge:

Misha Reznikov has an Olympic gold—and a secret lover who just happens to be the silver medalist. Now that their competitive days are over, Misha and former rival Dev Avira are setting up house in LA and giving their relationship a shot in the real world. They agree that keeping their romance strictly under wraps is best for their pro careers and Misha's family back in Russia. So what if Dev hasn't told his parents, and they never eat out for fear of being spotted? It's not perfect, but they're together.

But as they prepare for a special holiday skating show on Christmas Eve in Dev's hometown, tension builds. How long can Misha and Dev keep their love secret—and what happens if one of them wants to stop hiding?

Buy now: Loose Id | All Romance eBooks | Amazon | iTunes

Christmas Bestseller

It's been a whirlwind since Where the Lovelight Gleams was released a week ago. I'm thrilled that it's become a bestseller on All Romance Ebooks! This morning it moved up to number 11.

This book has exceeded all my expectations and I'm so delighted and grateful for my awesome readers. Can two actors take their romance offscreen this Christmas, or will it be only in their dreams? Find out at:

Loose Id -- save 10% this week!
Amazon
ARe

Make the yuletide gay!

A reminder to check out all the awesome LGBT holiday romance giveaways at my website! All contests are open until December 22, and there are dozens of books up for grabs from bestselling authors including RJ Scott, Neil Plakcy, EM Lynley and more! Enter to win some sexy holiday cheer:

Sexy Hollywood Hunks Want to Take their Fling Offscreen

Meet Ryan and Cary, the Hollywood stars of my upcoming Christmas romance Where the Lovelight Gleams. 

This Christmas, actor Ryan Drake is pining. He may get to kiss gorgeous Cary Holloway on the set of their hit TV show, Space Academy, but he knows it’ll never happen in real life. Charming Cary–the son of Hollywood royalty–is straight, as evidenced by his starlet girlfriend. But Christmas is a time for unexpected gifts, and Cary accepts Ryan’s invitation to leave the palm trees behind and spend the holiday with his family at their cabin in the Great White North.

Amid the snow and mistletoe, Ryan struggles to keep his longing under wraps. Little does he know, Cary wrestles with his own unspoken desires, and his very identity. Surrounded by family and holiday joy, their warm friendship deepens. Will these two co-stars have the courage to brave Hollywood pressures and take their romance offscreen–or will it be only in their dreams?

Find out December 3!

p.s. Check out the Make the Yuletide Gay holiday book giveaway extravaganza starting tomorrow at my site! Comment to win fantastic holiday stories all month long!

Here Come the Holidays

I love the holiday season. Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanza -- you name it, I love it. It's a time of year filled with family, friends and food, which are three of my very favourite things. I love the lights and the pretty wrappings and trees. It's also a time of tradition, and I eat certain treats and watch certain movies that are reserved strictly for December.

Here's another tradition I'm excited about!

Well, I'd like to make it a tradition. :D  I hosted this event a couple of years ago, and I'm bringing it back with a ton of holiday book giveaways! Come by and enter to win awesome LGBT holiday books from bestselling authors.

November 27 to December 22

www.keiraandrews.com

Hope to see you there!

You Show Me Yours....

People who get their Christmas shopping done early really piss me off. Not because they then can lord it over stupid idiots like me who are still remembering who they forgot to buy for on December 26, but because it means that every year that dreaded question starts earlier and earlier.

“So,” someone pins me with a look sometime before freaking Halloween, “Christmas list time. What do you want?”

It’s not that I don’t like presents because I totally do, and the idea that I can make a list of stuff I want and have some expectation of receiving has been pretty damned cool ever since I first picked up crayon and put it to paper to clue Santa in on my deepest desires.

Errr, sometimes being an erotica author has unintended consequences requiring brain bleach.

Okay, where was I? Yeah, so around this time of year, people start asking other people all that same question. I decided to have a little fun with the deepest desires part of making lists, and wrote a novella called Wish List which is coming out from Carina Press on December 3 as part of the Red Hot Holiday anthology. In it, my hero Jonah finds a really unexpected gift that send him scrambling to find out what he really wants from his boyfriend Evan. It’s me, so I don’t think I’ll be ruining the surprise to say that much kinky sex ensues as a result of Jonah’s list.

But that’s not the only thing I wanted to tell you about. I am nothing if not a shameless briber—um generous giver of gifts. There’s a 12 Days of Christmas Blog going on at the USA Today Happy Ever After Blog where you can win some awesome prizes from me or one of eleven other authors with holiday romances hitting or heating up your ereaders, like Jill Shalvis and Molly O’Keefe and Leah Braemel and Anne Calhoun. My blog and prize will be going up this Friday, November 9. Then after that, you can enter to win my corresponding gift (five golden rings equals $50 in gift cards at an e retailer) at my website. The contest runs through November 25 so keep stopping by to check out the other writers who are participating.

So...what’s on your Wish List? 

Make the Yuletide Gay!

If you’re like me, you’re eager to read holiday-themed romances this time of year. Whether it’s Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanza, I love them all. So I thought I’d bring the holiday stories to me! Make the Yuletide Gay is a holiday extravaganza featuring giveaways, holiday recipes and plenty of hot man-on-man action.

For the next few weeks, a variety of authors will be guest blogging at my website, so visit often for festive reading suggestions, contests and more. I'm starting things off with a giveaway of my Hanukkah book, Eight Nights.

When Stories Grow

I just finished writing a holiday story for MLR Press called Deepest Night. It takes place in my new celtic rock band world (Bran's Visions) and, again, discovered that the more stories I write, the harder a time I have writing short.

I keep swearing to myself that *this time* I'll keep the story under control. This time I'll make sure it stays at 2K, 5K, 8K, whatever the requested or originally estimated word count is.

But I failed - again. I told my editor I thought Deepest Night would come in at 7-8K. The first draft went in at 9.2K. After my editor read it, I added a chapter so it came in at a little over 12K.

The problem?

I've had to embrace the truth - I'm very much a ROMANCE writer. I want my characters to meet, fall in love, then get it on. I read great stories where the characters manage to (believably) fall into bed asap but somehow I don't seem to be able to write them. I'm not sure if it's just against my nature or what but it always seems to trip me up.

In the case of Deepest Night, the characters have no existing history with each other. One of them has gone through a lot in the last four years and is slow to trust. The other is determined to respect boundaries and hangs back. It would not be believable for them to just have a personality transplant and fall into bed. It was hell just getting them to the point they would kiss!

Sigh. I'm very greatful that my editor tolerates me!

(Oh, and yes, I DO know there are a ton of 'band' series out there. Oh well, this band appeared in my brain and I can't let it go. The next story is a novel called Music of the Heart and I'm working on it now. You'll have to guess whose story it is!)

Monkey Brain

That what I've heard several yoga instructors call it. Not just mine, but the general state of a mind that is leaping from branch to branch of ideas, just to check out a different view. The instructors also mentioned techniques for occupying that monkey brain for improving focus and meditation, but my brain was too busy monkeying around to remember what they said. See, as soon as you say monkey brain to me, I leap from a punchline in the movie Clue (Mrs. Peacock made one fatal error) to the serving of monkey brains in Temple of Doom, to images of them all scampering around in my head, to an infinite bunch of them hammering away at their version of Hamlet. By the time I've sorted through all that, meditation time is over.

All of this is a long way of saying my problems with the wife book and the mistress books is still ongoing, though I'm really getting emotionally attached to Dylan, so much so that I kind of want to slug Aaron for being mean to him. But even as I set the (is it the elephant brain that's focused?) mind on them, there go those monkeys frolicking with plot bunnies in one giant metaphoric orgy of distractions.

In spite of all that, I'm going to grab some focus here and let you know what's coming up. Starting November 15, check my website for a contest I'm running with the three other authors in the Carina Press M/M Holiday Anthology Men Under the Mistletoe, Josh Lanyon, Harper Fox and Ava March. We've got a big prize for our scavenger hunt and will be visiting each other's blogs to do guest posts. The anthology (and the stories separately) release the first week of December. My story "The Christmas Proposition" is very smutty is full of fun for the season. (And yeah, smutty. Exactly how wrong is it that I got the idea for the book while at my grandmother's funeral?)

Then on December 7, you can finally get your hands on Bad Boyfriend, which is about Eli, who was introduced in Bad Company. Eli was an awesome character to write and I think I hooked him up with the right hero. They really steamed my glasses, anyway.

Finally, if anyone missed this awesome post about saying to hell with the monkey brain and all those other excuses for not finishing a book, you have to go read it.

Don't forget the contest beginning November 15.

Holiday Romance

As the holidays wind down, revisit Hanukkah with Eight Nights:

Lucas McKenzie figures spending the holidays with his annoying roommate's family is better than being alone on campus. The last thing he expects is to lust over Sam's brother -- or for Nate to actually want him back.

They hide their attraction during Hanukkah celebrations, but behind closed doors, Lucas and Nate can't keep their hands (or mouths) off each other. Nate's only looking for a bit of holiday fun, and amazing sex with a hot virgin definitely fits the bill.

Yet as the candles burn, Nate and Lucas begin to realize eight nights will never be enough.

Hope everyone has enjoyed the holiday season! Wishing you all a very happy 2011.

Christmas in July!

The lovely EM Lynley is hosting a Christmas in July extravaganza over at her blog. Come and join in the festivities and get a little dose of holiday spirit! You can win prizes and discover some holiday fiction you might have missed in years past. I know that I'm always looking for holiday romances come December, so it's great to get a jump start.

To complement my Hanukkah novels, I'm sharing a recipe for pesto latkes. Come over and tell us about your favourite holiday treat and you can win a copy of Eight Nights.

To Spooge or Not to Spooge

Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer through euphemisms
Or to be flung out of the story by unsexy word choices

I most humbly beg the Bard’s apologies. Now, there was a man who was a master at word choices. And he didn’t hesitate to play with the language, making nouns work as verbs and vice-versa.

But there it is. There are those words, like the aforementioned, that for me are so unsexy they fling me right out of the steamiest scene when I’m reading or writing. Yes, sometimes awkward, less-than-burning-a-hole-in-the-mattress sex is okay or may even be necessary to move the story forward and laughing in bed is great, but for me, the author’s word choices can really make or break a reading experience.

I know as m/m authors we do have it easy in some respects (if not in the pronoun department). I feel sorry for the writers of het or f/f erotica because call it a cunt or a pussy and you’re going to piss off lots of readers either way. At least we get to have cocks, pricks, dicks and balls making up a lot of our noun usage. Usually I figure if I stay away from mentioning rosebuds or starfish, I’m pretty safe in my descriptions of the receptive part of anal sex.

When it comes to mouths, especially when kissing, man, does it get tough. Is a wet cave a really sexy thought? Yet how many times can the words tongue, lips and mouth be used in a paragraph before a reader’s eyes glaze over?

I’m not claiming to be Saki (who supposedly agonized over each and every word in his writing—which is probably why he’s famous for his short stories), but in the course of putting the people in my head onto a page, I do give careful consideration to the connotations as well as the denotations of words, aiming for the best connection with as many readers as possible.

As if that weren’t enough fun to do in contemporary prose, I’ve been bitten by the urge to write historical m/m for a Christmas novella. Finding sexy, non-euphemistic (hey, they’re still guys), varied and historically accurate turns of phrase on a subject that doesn’t make it into most of the research books available on the nineteenth century is keeping my brain and my dictionary (the one with usage dates) very well-oiled. (Go ahead. Smirk at the double meaning. I’ll wait here.)

Even if I occasionally fail and provide readers with an unintentionally humorous and unsexy phrase, I do scrutinize my word choices in all different kinds of scenes, and remind myself that I can’t please everyone. One man’s spooge is another man’s spilled seed, after all. And in case you were curious, spunk (in that context) has been around since the early nineteenth century, though I don’t know if either of my heroes would be inclined to use it (the word I mean).

If you’re interested in my checking out my historical word choices, an unedited first chapter is available on my live journal.

Two goodies being released

I'm going to use today's post as promotional use. :) I don't have one, but two releases this week. Both holiday themed. So, if you aren't already in the holiday spirit, let's see if I can help get you into it.

First, today's release is from Phaze.

http://www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=No+Ordinary+Holiday/exact_match=exact

This is the third and last installment to my Unexpected Holiday series. It began with fulfilling a fantasy on Valentine’s Day in At The Edge. Then a bit of kinky Christmas bondage in enWrappture. No Ordinary Holiday brings about an unforgettable Christmas present.

Note: While At The Edge and enWrappture are M/M based stories, No Ordinary Holiday deals with a menage a trios (a female thrown in the mix of two best friends who've denied the attraction to each other way too long)

Genre: Contemporary, slight fantasy, menage a trios (M/M/F)
Blurb:
As a descendent of Kris Kringle, a.k.a. Santa Clause, Devyn Rhodes has been bestowed with special abilities her family has coined as the gift. Only her late husband and those of blood relation has ever given her reprieve from the flashes and noise that surrounds her. That is until Cam and Jacob come knocking on her door. The silence aside, her unusual attraction to both men is almost overwhelming as the gift can be.

What’s a woman to do when she’s snowed in with two arousing men and lust comes calling?

^*^*^*^*^*^

Tomorrow's release is from Loose-Id, titled A Gift Worth Sharing.

Genre: Contemporary, Gay, BDSM play, Menage a trois (M/M/M)

Blurb:
Spend a weekend with Nate and Kyle from A Master's Love.

The holidays have arrived and Kyle can't wait to get away with his lover. What he doesn't know is that Nate has a special surprise waiting at their destination. As old memories of a failed attempt at a threesome surface, Kyle's determined to face them. But will it strengthen their relationship or break what they've been building for the last two years?

Excerpt:

“Shall I undress you, sir?” Nate asked as he placed the objects in his hand down on the nearby dresser.

Kyle realized that when Nate said that he’d have total control over the weekend, he meant that Kyle would literally be the one in charge. The Dominant. A role he hadn’t stepped into lately. However, at that moment, gazing at his lover and his own siren, Kyle felt that familiar itch to take what he wanted. Not violently, as he’d never take anyone in such a manner. But he wanted to feel the thrill of being in control like the night he gave Nate head in the bathroom of a local bar shortly after they met.

“You first. I want to watch, but do it where Dakota can see you too.”

The gold in Nate’s eyes flared with sexual hunger. He said nothing as he took several steps backward. He positioned himself next to the bed, further toward the headboard. He looked to Dakota who gave a slight nod. It was obvious they knew each other and were comfortable with this.

Kyle’s gaze was riveted to Nate’s fingers as they worked the buttons of his shirt and exposed a little more skin with each release. Nate’s pace was slow and intentional. Every movement he made was filled with sleek seduction.

The shirt shed, Nate toed off his shoes. His hands went to the waist of his jeans. They were one of Kyle’s favorite. Faded, soft, and worn. Not to mention tight in the crotch. The belt was taken care of in quick order and the button opened with a flick of the wrist. Nate paused as he gripped the zipper. The wait was excruciating torture for Kyle.

The sound of the zipper lowering reached his ears before Kyle’s brain registered that the action was happening. Everything occurred in slow motion, as if this were his first time seeing Nate strip.

Kyle blinked and Nate’s pants were at his ankles. Another blink and he’d removed the pants and socks, kicking them aside as if they were worthless. A gasp sounded from Dakota’s direction.

Yes, Nate was truly a sight to see. Though Dakota was enchanting with his romance book cover appeal, Nate was ravishingly magnificent to look upon. Pure male, through and through. Never would have guessed that this body hated its workouts and preferred to be sitting at a desk either writing or managing Angel’s Heart.

Heat pooled in Kyle’s lower stomach and his hands trembled slightly. His dick pressed tightly against his jeans as if whining my turn, my turn, and aching for freedom like Nate and Dakota.

“Divine.”

“My pleasure to please you.” Nate approached. “May I now help you get more comfortable?”

Kyle’s throat clogged, so he nodded his consent.

Pawprints: Giving & Taking

Eee--the holidays are here!!! It didn't really hit me how fast this year has gone by until I was sitting down in front of that big Turkey dinner spread yesterday. (BTW, happy post-Thanksgiving everyone!) And in a couple of days, the next Pawprints story goes on sale at LooseId. W00t!

Pawprints: Giving & Taking
Anne Cain
On sale: December 2, 2008

Adrian and his sexy, dual-Natured boyfriend, Lal, are headed to San Juan for a Christmas cruise in the Caribbean with their close friends Marty and James. While fun-in-the-sun and piña coladas are on the agenda, the one desire burning inside of Adrian is to spend as much time as possible between the sheets with his boyfriend. Adrian adores this “cat” more than he can say with words, so he plans to show his devotion with a special present: for the first time, he’s going to bottom for his lover. But the gift might be too much for Lal to take, especially when his former life as a sex slave taught Lal that’s the one unbreakable rule.

For Marty, his relationship with his lover is put to the test when James’ family balks at the idea of them as a couple. He can’t imagine what his life would be like without his kind, attractive boyfriend, but is his love worth the sacrifice to James? The only way to find out is to put it all on the line and make a promise, sealing it with a ring.

This holiday, these four friends will learn that love is all about giving and taking.

The holidays are coming...

Those automatic reminders are great! :) I've been so busy the past couple of weeks with a variety of projects, that I'd forgotten today was my day to blog. *sigh* So, I thought I'd do a little promoing for my upcoming holiday books.

See my pretty, drool-worthy new cover! :P Perfect for my new M/M and more holiday story from Loose-Id, A Gift Worth Sharing. It's set for release Dec. 9th.

Nate and Kyle, from A Master's Love are back.

The holidays have arrived and Kyle can't wait to get away with his lover. What he doesn't know is that Nate has a special surprise waiting at their destination. As old memories of a failed attempt at a threesome surface, Kyle's determined to face them. But will it strengthen their relationship or break what they've been building for the last two years?

No Ordinary Holdiay is a M/M/F holiday story that's due to be released Dec. 8th at Phaze. It focuses on Devyn, whom we met in last years holiday story enWrappture (Christopher and Mason's story). However, it has some yummy manlove in it also, so it's still appropriate. ;)

As a descendent of Kris Kringle, a.k.a. Santa Clause, Devyn Rhodes has been bestowed with special abilities her family has coined as the gift. Only her late husband and those of blood relation has ever given her reprieve from the flashes and noise that surrounds her. That is until Cam and Jacob come knocking on her door. The silence aside, her unusual attraction to both men is almost overwhelming as the gift can be.

What’s a woman to do when she’s snowed in with two arousing men and lust comes caling?

Note: This is related to two previous Phaze Heatsheet releases, but is a stand alone story.

I'll get together some excerpts together by my next turn to post.

Now that you've seen what I have coming out come December, what are your favorite holiday stories? Do you have one you read every year?