Racheline Maltese's Blog, page 44
June 23, 2014
Romance @ Random – True Blood Season 7 Episode 1 Recap
Death! Kidnapping! Sex on top of cars! Oh True Blood you are back, and you’re crackier than ever.
Lots of fine, fine eye candy this episode, at least one shocker, and a whole bunch of spoilers from me over at Romance @ Random. (Also, please note, there’s a key scene in this episode where someone recounts an experience of anti-gay violence that’s pretty shocking. It’s the most emotionally effective scene in the episode, but just know what you’re getting into when you read the recap because I do quote from it).
All that said, however, as someone on Twitter rightfully noted yesterday: Needs more Pam.
Do the Thing! – Trust, Part 2
Trust people who are nice to you.
That sounds ridiculous to say aloud, but it’s really hard for a lot of people. It’s hard for me.
There are a few reasons for that. One is that I’m from New York City, home of the “friendly fuck you” which is when a taxi almost hits you, and you curse the guy out, and he curses you out, but no one really sounds mean or scared, and you then sort of smile at each other, because you’ve engaged in one of the prime direct communication rituals of living in this city. The way people in and from other places communicate often freaks me out. How do I know it’s sincere?
Also, my childhood, like everyone else’s, was filled with bullies. I had a lot of conversations that went
“Nice sweater.”
“Thank you.”
“Where’d you get it, KMart?”
“No. No, I… my parents bought it for me.”
“You’re an idiot, why would you think we thought anything you would wear is nice?”
So between these two things, when people are nice to me, I tend to be very What is really going on here?
And it’s not just me. I hear from lots of other people who also have a hard time believing compliments, who are sure they’ve just fooled people into thinking they are competent and/or that every kindness they receive is part of some nefarious plan.
And, you know what? Let’s be fair. It could be. The girls who asked me where I got my sweater didn’t all grow up to become people who would never, ever do that. You may also know some people who praise your stuff even when it’s half-baked, not just to you, but to everyone else. I know those people too.
But really who cares?
Energy spent trying to detect people with nefarious plans and bad taste is energy — and time — spent not doing the thing.
It’s also a bit rude. How would people who are kind to you would feel good to know you think they are up to something or super gullible? Generally speaking, they probably wouldn’t be that into it.
And this is where trust comes in. When people are nice to you, trust them. And trust yourself to be able to navigate those occasional weird moments when you’re actually dealing with sweater-insulters and sycophants.
But don’t go looking for them. They probably don’t exist. And if they do, they aren’t worth your time, not because they’re terrible people (they’re not, they’re just struggling with their shit, just like you are struggling with yours), but because you’ve got to keep your head down and do your Thing, whether that’s for 15 minutes a day or 15 hours a day.
Trust yourself to go looking for people who want to support you and who you want to support. Trust yourself to go looking for people who understand that support doesn’t require unadulterated praise, and that constructive criticism provided in appropriate contexts isn’t betrayal. And trust yourself to think about yourself as a person who deserves a life filled with awesome people who inspire you to get crap done.
Also trust yourself not to be a criminal mastermind who is fooling everyone. Because seriously, that outlook is just weird.
Got trust issues? Want to confess your status as a secret criminal mastermind so that we can all tell you you’re not an imposter and you can go back to doing the awesome stuff you’ve already been doing?
We’re here for you. And if we mention it, we are really, truly, sincerely into your sweater. No matter where you bought it.
June 22, 2014
Sneak Peek Sunday: Midsummer
Sneak Peek Sunday, once again! Follow the link back to see what other authors are working on this week (please note that participating authors write in all genres and at all heat levels).
The Love in Los Angeles universe is expanding. With the way Racheline and I write this is hardly surprising: to brainstorm, we tell each other stories, and stories beget stories.
One such begotten story is Midsummer, which is set around a summerstock production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. (Backstage stories, they are our Thing.) And while later on the characters in this story will intersect a little more with the people from Starling and its sequels, for now we’ve got them more or less trapped for three months deep in the back woods of Virginia.
Eventually Love in Los Angeles ventures outside of the urban, but Starling is set in cities — L.A., New York, and Washington, DC — and is about people in the TV industry. The book clips along like a TV script does; spare prose and light on the description. Midsummer, though, is about a Shakespeare production, and it goes out in the deep green woods of summer and lingers there through long, humid evenings. In the woods, away from civilization, our paragraphs get longer and our prose gets lusher.
It also gets a little more magical. A Midsummer Night’s Dream (the Shakespeare play) is about dreams and magic, and it questions what is real. In Midsummer, if you’re paying attention, you’ll notice that things are not entirely mundane either.
It’s not fantasy (although we love a good fantasy and adore playing with the paranormal), but it is magical realism. And you should pay attention, because as Love in Los Angeles advances, things are going to get a lot more magically real.
It’s a good audience, and a good first performance for everyone, but Michael absolutely steals the show. John is ridiculously proud, even as Michael disrupts the planned bows by climbing all over him and Rose, Puck to the immense laughter of the audience until he leaves the stage. If they’re lucky, Keith will have the good sense not to throw a fit.
There’s a party afterwards, because opening night, and there’s way more booze around the campfire than usual. John expects Michael to want to savor his triumph with their friends and burn off some of the performance high he’s still buzzing with, but after three minutes perched on John’s knees Michael jumps up again, takes John’s hand, and pulls him out of the circle without a word.
The noise of celebration, and the light of the campfire, fades away behind them as Michael leads them under the trees and then off the path into the woods. When they don’t stop immediately, and John is no longer sure they are even still on the theater’s property, he considers expressing concern — what if they get lost or shot by some crazy neighbor? — but Michael is so clearly certain of whatever it is he’s doing, it seems unnecessary. It’s not just John who will obey him.
Finally, Michael stops in a place that, to John at least, seems like every other patch of woods they’ve passed through. His eyes have adjusted to the dark by now, and the moon rising up over the tops of the trees makes Michael’s face, with smears of silver and green still around his eyes, shimmer.
John drops to his knees in front of him. It’s not just that he wants, desperately, to suck Michael off. He wants to worship him.
Michael makes a high, eerie sound in the back of his throat when John gets his shorts off and sinks his mouth down over him. He is otherwise unusually silent, panting amidst the rustle of leaves and the dark sounds of the forrest.
June 21, 2014
Some days we talk about salt
Racheline and I do our bulk of brainstorming in endless email threads. If it’s not in email, it’s yelling at each other excitedly and really loudly in our Philly office (sorry, other office people) but since that only happens a couple of times a month, usually, it’s in email.
But sometimes, our emails aren’t about character or plot or the multitude of stories we tell each other that will eventually end up on the page. Sometimes they are about the most ridiculous shit.
So we’re starting a new series about the really absurd parts of writing. On Saturdays we’ll round up the most ridiculous shit we’ve talked about all week. Because writing is magic, and cowriting is spooky, but sometimes it’s just funny, and about random food obsessions or intensive research that never even makes it into the final project.
So this week: Sometimes we talk about salt.
We’re in Philadelphia today working on our edits for Starling, and Thursday afternoon we were emailing back and forth about logistics of the trip, literally along the lines of “who’s bringing the snacks?” (Snacks are very important to our working process.) And I got an email from Racheline that read simply: “I will bring the good salt.”
So, the salt. One of our snack staples is nimbu pani, which Racheline introduced to me because her partner introduced it to her during a trip to India. It’s apparently ubiquitous there and the thing you drink so you don’t pass out and die of dehydration when it’s a zillion degrees. It’s also a favorite among the accidental Secret House triad that crashes into each other while they’re filming a movie in India. We make an incredibly suspect version of it with Trader Joe’s margarita mix and lime-flavored seltzer water.
And salt.
“We have to get good salt!” Racheline declared when we first went to Trader Joe’s to get the ingredients.
“What the hell is good salt?” I asked.
“Smoked salt.”
“…What the hell is smoked salt?”
“Good salt. Trust me.”
“…Okay.”
I am not a foodie. Salt is like, salt, right?
And TJ’s didn’t have smoked salt, but it did have pink Himalayan salt, which Racheline deemed sufficient, so we got that and margarita mix and seltzer and also lots of cheese, and headed back to the office.
It was delicious; we worked another 14 hour day; concluded we needed to get more seltzer next time; and decided to leave the salt in the office kitchen cupboard for the next time we were there; and then we went home.
And the next Saturday we were there, the salt was gone.
Someone had stolen our salt.
Like, use our salt, sure! Finish off the margarita mix we left in the refrigerator all week: Awesome, that’s why we left it there! But who the hell walks off with our good pink Himalayan salt? I mean, it wasn’t even that good. It was from Trader Joe’s! So we were confused and irritated and made a lot of jokes about demons, and the time someone stole our cookies.
That was also the day I discovered that nimbu pani made with non-good salt is, simply, not as good.
But last week we finally got more good salt, and Racheline took it home with her to keep it safe from the salt thieves, which is why, on Thursday, in the midst of running around with our new “Lake Effect” release and trying to find a damn b-plot for another story, we spent a good ten minutes emailing about salt.
June 20, 2014
Romance @ Random – True Blood Season 6 Recap
The big True Blood season premiere is this Sunday night. If you can’t remember what happened last season beyond Eric Northman’s spectacular nudity, you can catch up on season 6 with my brief recap over at Romance @ Random.
In addition to waiting to see which faerie-vampire-warlock werewolf will steal Sookie’s heart this season, my wish list includes Jessica and Tara hooking up, Pam and Eric solving their crap (please don’t be dead, Eric!), and all the Lafayette on my screen ever.
I wouldn’t say no to Russell Edgington rising from his permanent death either (him and Reverend Newlin slow-dancing to “Teenage Dream” after the frat house massacre is one of the greatest,weirdest things I’ve ever seen on TV, and if you watch Glee you know why).
What are hoping for out of the seventh and final season?
June 19, 2014
Summer Lovin’ Blog Hop: Rec Your Romances, Win Some Stuff
Today is the start of the Hops with Heart Summer Lovin’ Blog Hop (say it three times fast). That would make a lot of sense, since today is the first full day of summer.
And after a miserable winter I am here to say — wow, summer sort of sucks too. But then I live in New York, where buildings hold the heat so that it never cools off at night, and Erin lives in the District, which is built on an actual swamp. In short, summer is gross.
Which is why we’re sort of into this whole celebration of summer love. Something has to take our mind off the heat, the humidity, and the power outages in the subway.
And this is where we need your help. Rec your favorite summertime romance — film, book, TV, gay, straight, bi, trans — in the comments by 11:59pm EST June 23, and we’ll 
randomly choose one winner to receive a $5 gift certificate for Torquere Books. With their current sale (20% off with code PRIDE through the end of the month), that enough to pick out an anthology, including the recently released They Do anthology which comes in both M/M and F/F versions (and the M/M version contains my and Erin’s story “Lake Effect” which you can also buy as a standalone). As usual, you don’t have to give us your real name, but you do have to give us some way to reach you.
There are also more opportunities to win, both from the hop organizer and from other participants, so be sure to follow the links back and/or check out
the rafflecopter-based giveaway (seriously, gift cards that will keep you in books and coffee up for grabs below!).
P.S. — Yes, Erin & I mostly write LGBTQ romance, but that definitely includes the B. We’re also big believers in being part of the broader romance community and encouraging readers to explore all genres and possibility. So opposite couples enjoying each other? Sometimes you’re going to see that on our blog, and in our books! In fact, as we ramp up towards the release of Starling, we’re going to do a whole series of posts about the awesome women that are absolutely a part of the world of the M/M romances that form the core of the story. As friends, colleagues, current- and ex- lovers, we adore our women as much as we adore our men, and we hope you will too.
October 7, 2014 – The Event That Must Be Named!
On October 7, 2014, please join Damon Suede, Kate McMurray, Racheline Maltese and four authors (Killian B. Brewer, A.J. DeWall, Melissa Graves, and Erin Finnegan) from the newly launched Interlude Press, at a reading of LGBTQ romance and erotic fiction upstairs at the historic Stonewall Inn in New York City.
Authors will be reading from their latest releases and will have signed books available for sale. You’ll also have a chance to win free books and other goodies!
Admission is free, although the space does have a two drink minimum (non-alcoholic beverages are available, but the space is 21+).
Right now, however, we need your help. We have no idea what to call this event! So we’re holding a contest to name it. One lucky winner will get some great LGBTQ reading material, two free drinks at the event (if you can’t attend, we’ll find some other goodies for you), and massive bragging rights.
Want to enter? Fill out the form below. We don’t need your real name, but we do need a way to reach you. The contest will close to new entries at 11:59pm EST June 27, and we’ll announce the winning name in July!
[contact-form]
June 18, 2014
Release Day: They Do anthologies and “Lake Effect”
The They Do anthologies and stories are now out from Torquere Press!
$2.49
by Racheline Maltese & Erin McRae
When Kyle and Daniel return to their hometown to get married, they find themselves facing an obstacle course of family drama and small-town misadventure in their quest to make it down the aisle.
Misbehaving relatives and a reformed high school bully, along with an ill-advised hookup in the wedding party and a weird late-night meal with a cabbie and his ex-wife, leave the happy couple doubting whether they want to get married at all. But a hot quickie before their walk down the aisle helps remind them that the most important part of getting married is being married.
ffect
$4.99
edited by Elizabeth L. Brooks with stories by M. Durango, Lynn Townsend, Genna Donaghy, Lazuli Jones, Racheline Maltese & Erin McRae, Sean Michael, Berengaria Brown
There’s nothing like a wedding to make things interesting, for the grooms, the wedding party, the family, the friends, and even the caterer!
Sean Michael’s Hammer Club favorites Billy and Montana are back in “Put a Ring On It”, a tale that begins with the celebration of their best friends’ first anniversary. In “Building Us,” by Lynn Townsend, Eric and Temple discover that, for want of a nail, a ring is lost. In “Hold Your Peace” by Lazuli Jones, Terrence’s best friend (and best man) Michael makes a confession hours before Terrence’s wedding. In “Tony’s Tiara” by Berengaria Brown, Tony’s sister’s wedding is a neverending saga of disasters, but Josh is there to support Tony through them all.
In “Having His Cake” by Genna Donaghy, Matty Strauss is about to cater the biggest wedding in his career, but the last thing he expects is for the groom to be his former one night stand. In “Always a Groomsman” by M. Durango, best men Doug and Garth have to keep a wedding-day disaster at bay. In “Lake Effect” by Erin McRae and Racheline Maltese, Kyle and Daniel return to their hometown to get married only to find themselves facing an obstacle course of family drama and small-town misadventure in their quest to make it down the aisle.
$3.99
edited by Elizabeth L. Brooks with stories by Vrai Kaiser, Alexandra Vaughn, Jessica Chase
They say a marriage tak
es work, but for these brides, getting to the altar may be the hardest part.
In “Frayed” by Alexandra Vaughn, Esther Goodwin’s first encounter with another girl ends almost as soon as it begins and it is several years before she allows herself to believe in love again. In “12,000 Hour Day” by Vrai Kaiser, Devon couldn’t be happier about the thought of being married to Sarah — it’s the planning she’s not sure she’ll survive! In “Her Dream Day”, by J. Chase, it’s the day before Alex and Sophia’s wedding, when the venue cancels, ruining their plans.
No matter which option you choose, remember to use the discount code PRIDE at checkout for 20% off everything in your cart (that code will be good through the end of June).
The anthologies will be available at major ebook retailers (they are already up on Amazon) as everyone’s databases get updated, but that discount code won’t work there.
If you read any of these stories, please leave a review at your favorite website (e.g., Goodreads, Amazon, etc.) as reviews help authors convince more people to try their work.
June 17, 2014
Romance @ Random: Penny Dreadful Episode 6 Recap
Dorian Gray does the walk of absolutely no shame whatsoever. Vanessa has awesome lingerie. Ethan declares his love for Brona. Sir Malcolm continues to be a creep. Caliban is totally Grumpy Cat.
Spider level: 0.
Possession level: Full-body spinning while levitating.
Reminder that next week I will be switching to Romance @ Random’s True Blood beat. I probably won’t write recaps for the last two Penny Dreadful episodes of the season, but I will be writing a big review/analysis piece when it’s all over on LettersFromTitan.com.
June 16, 2014
Do the thing! – Trust, part 1
As Erin and I face down the editorial notes on Starling, which arrived about fifteen minutes ago, today seems like a good day to talk about trust. Because trust is really critical to doing the thing.
You need to trust that the people whose job it is to provide you criticism are on your team. If you are a writer, your editor is on your team. If you are an actor, your director is on your team. If you are an athlete, your coach is on your team. They are not there to make you feel bad; they are there to make you step up.
Even when you read some of the notes and go, “Not on your life.”
Because let me tell you, every time I get editorial notes, that’s my first response to 80% of them. And then on the second read, I’m like “No, no you are totally right,” about most of those. Read three? “Well, I don’t even care about that issue, so I’m going to trust you on this,” which then leaves me with a few things I’m going to push back on. Often that act of pushing back, even if I don’t take the original note, strengthens the piece.
So to Do the Thing trust the people whose job it is to criticize you. Also trust yourself to both know when to put your foot down and fight for your vision, and trust yourself to realize you won’t break from getting notes. They’re just notes. If your story and your characters and your ego can’t stand up to them, you’ve got bigger problems.
Next week we’ll talk about dealing with the critics who aren’t on your team, finding what’s useful there and letting the rest of it stop you.
But for now, tell us your woes regarding constructive criticism. While we’re staring into our own morass of track changes, we are totally here for you.
