Amy Lane's Blog: Writer's Lane, page 124
May 13, 2015
Random moments...
* I thought I lost the superman/batman knitting bag! Oh noes! Found it! My life is complete!
* There's a bird who lives in the Hyatt Regency Dallas bar. He watches us eat and thinks evil thoughts. ~~~insert evil laughter here~~~
* Met Cherry Adair last night! SQUEEEE!!!
* Tomorrow is LGBTQ Cards Against Humanity with Riptide at 1:30. WOOT!
* Also, a cocktail party.
* Also, a dinner with Riptide.
* Whew!
* People have heard of me here! Had a lovely talk with some fans this morning. Amy is happy!
* Had a talk with a husband coming to support his wife. Nice, nice man. His wife won the Golden Heart contest sponsored by RWA THREE TIMES and no one would give her a contract. She decided to self-pub and I hope she kicks ASS. And her husband was a sweetheart-- we were talking about helping the homeless, and how hard it was to know what was the right thing to do. (There was a man who had spoken to both of us, and his story was so consistent, and he was so NON needy, that we both wanted to confirm with each other that this guy was the real deal, and just needed some help.)
* Saw a man wearing pastel pink slacks, a green polo shirt, had silver wings at his temples, white loafers, and chains around his neck. No, not gay-- I'm pretty sure he's Texas Russian. Anyway-- he's SO getting a bit part in my next book.
* Got enough sleep last night. Had forgotten what that's like. Enjoy it. Would, perchance, do it some more.
* Would really like to make it to at least ONE workshop. Need to get shits together--all in one bag please!
* Friday is Dreamspinner Apples to Apples and Wheel of Romance-- WHEEE!
* Saturday is Giant Book Fair and Fantastic Day Party-- WHEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
* Mate has to cook Russian food for Zoomboy's open house. Aw… gonna miss that. Everyone wish Mate well!
* Geoffie sleeps with Zoomboy when I'm gone. Who knew?
* Johnnie sleeps with Mate. THAT'S loyalty.
* This kids reach this pitch on the third day of my absence… I thought it was just the phone, but apparently, it melts Mate's ear-balls too.
* And I'm signing off. I need to take pictures-- i just do!
* There's a bird who lives in the Hyatt Regency Dallas bar. He watches us eat and thinks evil thoughts. ~~~insert evil laughter here~~~
* Met Cherry Adair last night! SQUEEEE!!!
* Tomorrow is LGBTQ Cards Against Humanity with Riptide at 1:30. WOOT!
* Also, a cocktail party.
* Also, a dinner with Riptide.
* Whew!
* People have heard of me here! Had a lovely talk with some fans this morning. Amy is happy!
* Had a talk with a husband coming to support his wife. Nice, nice man. His wife won the Golden Heart contest sponsored by RWA THREE TIMES and no one would give her a contract. She decided to self-pub and I hope she kicks ASS. And her husband was a sweetheart-- we were talking about helping the homeless, and how hard it was to know what was the right thing to do. (There was a man who had spoken to both of us, and his story was so consistent, and he was so NON needy, that we both wanted to confirm with each other that this guy was the real deal, and just needed some help.)
* Saw a man wearing pastel pink slacks, a green polo shirt, had silver wings at his temples, white loafers, and chains around his neck. No, not gay-- I'm pretty sure he's Texas Russian. Anyway-- he's SO getting a bit part in my next book.
* Got enough sleep last night. Had forgotten what that's like. Enjoy it. Would, perchance, do it some more.
* Would really like to make it to at least ONE workshop. Need to get shits together--all in one bag please!
* Friday is Dreamspinner Apples to Apples and Wheel of Romance-- WHEEE!
* Saturday is Giant Book Fair and Fantastic Day Party-- WHEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
* Mate has to cook Russian food for Zoomboy's open house. Aw… gonna miss that. Everyone wish Mate well!
* Geoffie sleeps with Zoomboy when I'm gone. Who knew?
* Johnnie sleeps with Mate. THAT'S loyalty.
* This kids reach this pitch on the third day of my absence… I thought it was just the phone, but apparently, it melts Mate's ear-balls too.
* And I'm signing off. I need to take pictures-- i just do!
May 11, 2015
Easy travel?
Should be the name of a book, right? Because seriously-- got to the airport at a nice hour, got to hug everybody goodbye, got to the hotel in a timely manner, check in was a breeze, and I was downstairs at seven, playing with authors at RT Bootcamp and make your own blurb!
WHEE!
Afterwards, we had a strategy meeting, followed by an expanding group of people at a cocktail party that felt like old friend I'd never met. *waves at Carrie Anne Ryan & Charity the swag-hag! (I need your info, so I can link you!)* *waves at Christina Lauren* *waves at Damon Suede, Tere Michaels, Christopher Rice* *waves at Jennifer Armentrout* *waves at Trent Hart and everybody I forgot*
Okay, so it got a little bigger than I'd planned.
So, that was fun! Later than I'd planned, but fun!
And I got back, and I saw that amazon had put Clear Water on Sale for $1, you know, in case you haven't read it yet.
And Chicken sent me THIS, which is the reason adverting should exist. Seriously. It's worth the price of admission for the frog humping a pole, which is not symbolic at ALL.
So anyway-- now there's some writing, and some sleeping and some… ooh… listening to music.
And maybe some knitting!
Oh!
Funny story…
Difference between writer's brain and reality.
Sitting next to a man, dark hair, dark eyes, slick dresser, great hair, in his fifties, thick, gorgeous accent. Goes to pay for his red wine (!) with a big wad of cash. I think, "Oh my God, I'm sitting next to a Soprano!" plot plot plot…
Turns out, he's head waiter in a really nice Italian restaurant.
And we had GREAT conversation. (But the mob boss would have been fun to write about. Sayin'…)
Night all.. oh! If you tweet, check out Cinema Craptastique tomorrow-- we're watching the Kellan Lutz version of Hercules at 5:30 or thereabouts!
Caiou!
WHEE!
Afterwards, we had a strategy meeting, followed by an expanding group of people at a cocktail party that felt like old friend I'd never met. *waves at Carrie Anne Ryan & Charity the swag-hag! (I need your info, so I can link you!)* *waves at Christina Lauren* *waves at Damon Suede, Tere Michaels, Christopher Rice* *waves at Jennifer Armentrout* *waves at Trent Hart and everybody I forgot*
Okay, so it got a little bigger than I'd planned.
So, that was fun! Later than I'd planned, but fun!
And I got back, and I saw that amazon had put Clear Water on Sale for $1, you know, in case you haven't read it yet.
And Chicken sent me THIS, which is the reason adverting should exist. Seriously. It's worth the price of admission for the frog humping a pole, which is not symbolic at ALL.
So anyway-- now there's some writing, and some sleeping and some… ooh… listening to music.
And maybe some knitting!
Oh!
Funny story…
Difference between writer's brain and reality.
Sitting next to a man, dark hair, dark eyes, slick dresser, great hair, in his fifties, thick, gorgeous accent. Goes to pay for his red wine (!) with a big wad of cash. I think, "Oh my God, I'm sitting next to a Soprano!" plot plot plot…
Turns out, he's head waiter in a really nice Italian restaurant.
And we had GREAT conversation. (But the mob boss would have been fun to write about. Sayin'…)
Night all.. oh! If you tweet, check out Cinema Craptastique tomorrow-- we're watching the Kellan Lutz version of Hercules at 5:30 or thereabouts!
Caiou!
May 10, 2015
Happy Mother's Day!
I'm sort of running around today, as well spending some time hanging with family. So, yanno, short blog post.
But since it's a short blog post decorated by one of Chicken's celebrated mother's day cards, that's okay. I'm going to leave you all with this-- these are my children. I adore them. So very much.
Happy mother's day to all the moms out there. You may not all get movies in your honor, but you all sure deserve one!
Amy
P.S.-- Gonna leave for Dallas tomorrow. May the tornadoes all go the fuck away. Just saying! See LOTS of you in RT!
But since it's a short blog post decorated by one of Chicken's celebrated mother's day cards, that's okay. I'm going to leave you all with this-- these are my children. I adore them. So very much.
Happy mother's day to all the moms out there. You may not all get movies in your honor, but you all sure deserve one!
Amy
P.S.-- Gonna leave for Dallas tomorrow. May the tornadoes all go the fuck away. Just saying! See LOTS of you in RT!
May 8, 2015
Can't Brain Words
So sorry… no words to brain.Was up at 5:00 a.m. hosting a release day blog party for DSP.
Post 1
Post 2
Post 3
Post 4
Post 5
Took a nap before aqua. Skipped aqua entirely, but won at napping!
Immortal was released in style-- and I'll update the website tomorrow.Right now, it's available at
DSP (And 35% off for anniversary reasons.)
Amazon
ARe
So, you could call it a mani-pedi…Or you could call it a BRAND-icure.
Imma call it cute, until it gets all chippy and gross-- probably tomorrow, which will suck, because I don't have those colors in my closet and I was hoping it would last through RT.
And I got home from picking the kids after the "brandi-cure" and saw this:
I texted Mate, "Hey, some nice man sent me flowers!"
To which Mate responded, "I'll kill him!"
I love my Mate so much-- these were really awesome.
And I usually take one of the weekend days off-- but I'll try to blog again before I leave on Monday.
Because consistency.
Because airplanes.
Because Mother's day.
Because brain all done now, bye!
May 7, 2015
Small Things
These are the buttons I had made with my new logo on them. I liked them so much, I had to buy 250 more.This is moar swag. It's pretty. I want to give it all away. As I was sending out swag today, I fell into the classic blunder. I swung by the post office to pick up flat rate boxes, so I could pack my swag and get it to the PO after I got the kids from school. I dropped the kids up, picked up my boxes and got to the PO at 4:45, breathing a sigh of relief.
Only to be told that I'd put everything in the wrong boxes and had to repack, or I'd be spending a fucktonna cash on postage. (Which was already pretty high.) First of all, holding your hands over your head and shouting GOAL!!! upon repacking your shit is a surefire way to get people to look at you strangely. Second of all, as I was clearing my last unpacked wrong box off the counter, I said "Oh, hey! My keys!"
The two gentleman at behind the counter said, "Oh, that's good. You could have packed them, and then we would have been in trouble."
"Holy Goddess. That doesn't happen, does it?"
"Oh yeah. All the time."
o.o So now we know why they're so patient with me. I am apparently not the only idiot-kitten in the kitten gumball machine.
*whew* Okay… moving on.
This is the wrap I'm making, for me. I love it so much, I may give it to Mary after this next week. She loves my knitting too, and I always love it more when she wears my stuff than when I do. (I'm seeing a trend here-- this might be a good time to ask me for yarn.) But in the meantime, I've got a very bold and bright wrap for wearing nice dresses.
This is my husband falling asleep about three hours before I'm ready to go to bed. I have finished Quickening, done edits on Deep of the Sound and Bitter Taffy, and started my Christmas novella. He beats me to bed a lot these days. When I get back from RT I plan to go to bed earlier for a while.
This is our sad little muffin, Geoffie, who got not one, not two, but THREE foxtails in her teeny little paw, and thus must wear the cone of shame. I have threatened to put said cone on Big T, who neglected to mow the lawn and clear it of foxtails, but he feels bad enough.And now...
This is Immortal, which comes out tomorrow.This is the first review on Immortal, which came out yesterday. Tune into that same spot tomorrow, and you'll see me talk about fairy tales and the roots of that very dark place that spawned this one.
This is the second review on Immortal, as well as an interview with me featuring my own dark places, and a contest to win a copy. That's plenty-- I don't need to add anything there.
This is where you can order Immortal at DSP.
This is where you can order Immortal at ARe.
This is me, done with stressing about Immortal, and freaking out about swag and about deadlines and ready to cook dinner for my family. Uhm, no-- no picture here, just an exhausted woman who needs to dye in her grays. *waves* I hope you all like the book. Let me know on amazon and goodreads if you do!
Amy
May 6, 2015
Promotions and stuff
So, first of all, Lisa Horan at The Novel Approach reviewed Immortal and made me cry. No lies-- the review is that good. I'm totally hoping the book lives up to it! You'll all have to let me know! Also, I'll be on Lisa's blog on Friday, talking about fairy tales-- and why you need to read them as a grown up! I'll announce the holy crap out of that on social media, because I'm proud of that essay!
And speaking of essays… I was over at Love Bytes on Sunday, talking about
Immortal and the Dragon.
And I'll be over at Sinfully Sexy on Friday, as well with an interview, and a release day review! Sweet!!!!
And if you haven't bought your advance copy yet, you may want to consider buying it from Dreamspinner Press! They're having their anniversary sale, and as a 3rd year author (as in, I started writing for them in 2009, which was their third year of operation!) all of my stuff goes on sale on the 8th! (Of course, a whole lot of awesome people are on sale RIGHT NOW, so by all means follow that link before the 8th too!)
And I'm currently packing up swag for RT (and destashing swag to the lovely people who commented on my blog a while back… so, swag is EVERYwhere!) This heavy duty plastic tumbler is one of my favorite things ever. Imma keep one for myself.
May 5, 2015
Roll Call...
This is Vulnerable. It's the first in the Little Goddess series. It was originally released over ten years ago, but DSP Publications has prettied her up and re-released her. It is about a girl-- Corinne Carol-Anne Kirpatrick who realizes that she has power over her own life--and the right to as many lovers as she can handle.
She's beautiful. She's available at amazon.com and DSP Publications
(This was her original cover-- Mate took that picture, and I still maintain it wasn't bad for the two of us, screwing around, thinking nobody would want to read that book ever.)
This is Wounded, Part 1 and Part 2. Originally,
Wounded
was only out in one volume, but, as we re-did the editing for re-release, it became apparent that Wounded was a long fucking book. We decided to split it up, because the press was geared for books less than 100K words, and that would help make it cost effective. The sidhe (elf) on the front cover is Bracken. He's one of the first characters who ever charged into a book and said, "You! Author! Give me more lines! And a sex scene or three! And a really large cock!" And then just brooded at me until I'd accomplished all of the above. The original cover for Wounded was a picture of the I-80 corridor-- romantic, I know-- to show that the story was set in San Francisco, and that our girl-- born and raised in the California foothills-- was too far from home. Wounded will be re-released in June and August.
This is Bound, and it too will be split into two parts. I don't have links for it yet-- it won't be re-released until December/January, but I wanted you to see it. On the front is Green, one of my first "male nurturers" and one of the ones I'm the most proud of. I didn't know where he came from then--I do now. He came from my father (to a small extent) but mostly from my Mate. He is by turns caring, strong, and, yes, exceptionally human. Green makes mistakes, for all his 1800 years. He frequently lets his heart rule his head. And he's spent a very long time looking for someone to love.
His heart can only take so many disappointments.
And now he's bound to Cory-- and to her other lovers, including Bracken with the amazing Johnson. But more than that, he's bound to their people, and they must always and forever be his first choice--and that's what we love about Green. He doesn't want it to be, but somebody has to take care of them. That's what makes him Green.
The original cover for Bound was a photo Mate took of the bridge at Forresthill. For those of you who read Sidecar, this is the bridge that Casey had to cross--the one he thought about jumping off. It's a double lane bridge-- each lane goes one way. In it's own way, it's terrifying. I really love this picture--and I love the bridge and all it represents.
But I love my cover of Green too. If pressed to admit it, I love the new cover a little more, because Green is beautiful.
Thank you, Anne Cain, for your lovely work on my guys. I can't wait to see what you do with Rampant!And speaking of Anne Cain and her lovely artwork…
Immortal is now available for Pre-sale at
Amazon
ARe
And Dreamspinner Press.
For those of you who fell in love with my fantasy first? Immortal is the story you've been waiting for. For those of you who jumped on with my contemporary and haven't tasted my fantasy yet? I get dark in my fantasy, and raw and gritty and painful. For those people who think that fantasy is all unicorns farting rainbows and bunnies burping daisies? In my universe, the unicorns are skewering people with their horns and the bunnies are ripping heads off.
But the cover is very, very pretty… Thank you, Anne Cain, for all you've done to make my people beautiful! I can't express my adoration enough :-)
Amy
May 4, 2015
*Kermit Flail* Monday-- May style!
Hey all, and I'm going to welcome you to *Kermit Flail* Monday!
Now first I'm going to have to apologize-- my computer (and my family for that matter) were having fits and glitches today, and fighting with my keyboard to produce my usual *flail* worthy results was like… like… pulling suction cups off a cephalopod-- sticky, slippery, painful, and I occasionally wondered what was the point.
Now, the computer is working again (but my internet is now thinking about up and quitting-- and that's not a local problem, I think Comcast has just been spreading the joy) but I'm not going to tempt fate. Usually I do lots of buildup and lots of flail between books--but I would rather have the post go OUT than have it all flailed, so we'll have to make do.
Suffice it to say that we've got some AWESOME flail today-- Shae Connor, Jaycee Edwards, John Inman, Andrew Grey AND his alter-ego Dirk Greyson-- ALL of them have participated in my flail, and I'm SO HAPPY to have them aboard! May is a STUNNING month for books people, have no doubts about it! (I'm SO excited about Knight and Day, y'all-- maybe it's because I heard Dirk talk about it, or maybe because Chicken drew Dirk's avatar which you should go on FB and see-- either way, the buildup has been SWEET and now I wanna read the book!) And Jaycee Edwards is on my FB feed all the time with her good humor and her dirty mind and a wee fandom obsession that I'm so proud to have egged on. Shae Connor FINALLY answered the call of the *flail* on time, and for that I'm grateful, cause, you know, Shae is EMINENTLY flail-worthy, and John Inman, who's name is GOLD, also accepted the call of the *flail* and it's such an honor to have HIM! (Oh, yeah-- and Immortal is out this week, so that's sort of at the bottom-- enjoy that one too!)
So thanks for your patience with the slight change of format-- you can see why I wanted to get the flail out on time, right?
So ladies and gentlemen, please welcome my AWESOME, AMAZING, FLAILWORTHY visitors today, and let's all give a big *Kermit flail* for May's new releases!
YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!
Wayward Son (Sons: Book Two) By Shae Connor
After his move to Atlanta and away from the influence of his conservative parents, Mikey O’Malley finally feels free to be himself: art student, aspiring animator, and out gay man. He has friends, a new job, and not one, but two men interested in him. Cory Lassiter and Jimmy Black have been a happy couple for years, occasionally bringing a twink into their bed, but only for a brief roll in the hay. When Mikey meets the pair, the attraction is immediate, and it runs three ways. Mikey just can’t believe they’d have room in their lives for a permanent addition.
When Mikey’s newfound life is shattered by a lawsuit that accuses him of molesting a child years earlier, he’s determined to face his troubles on his own, but Cory and Jimmy are just as determined that he not have to go it alone. To reconcile his need for independence and his desire for love, Mikey has to learn that being a man isn’t just about standing on your own two feet. It’s about letting yourself lean on the ones who love you.
BUY LINK
Dragons By Jaycee Edward
A chance encounter in a hospital waiting room between twenty-two year old Will Messina and sixteen year old Josiah Pinkerton ends with a gift of a stuffed dragon off the hospital gift cart and a memory neither of them can shake.
Five years later, when a lonely, buttoned-up Will ventures into a gay club, he spots a pale, leather-clad specter with violet eyes tracking his every move. Will realizes he’s being watched by the grown version of the boy who’s haunted his thoughts for years.
Joey recognizes Will, but he’s no longer the sweet, brown-eyed boy worthy of Will’s attention. He’s damaged and defective and lives in a different world than Will now. When his childhood crush makes his way across the bar, Joey doesn’t have time to decide whether to be enchanted or dismayed because, unless he turns and runs, those worlds are abou BUY HERE
Little Wolf by R. Cooper
On the run from his old-blood werewolf family, Tim Dirus finds himself in Wolf's Paw, one of the last surviving refuges from the days when werewolves were hunted by humans and one of the last places Tim wants to be. Kept away from other wolves by his uncle, Tim knows almost nothing about his own kind except that alpha werewolves only want to control and dominate a scrawny wolf like him.
Tim isn’t in Wolf’s Paw an hour before he draws the attention of Sheriff Nathaniel Neri, the alphaest alpha in a town full of alphas. Powerful, intimidating, and the most beautiful wolf Tim has ever seen, Nathaniel makes Tim feel safe for reasons Tim doesn’t understand. For five years he’s lived on the run, in fear of his family and other wolves. Everything about Wolf’s Paw is contrary to what he thought he knew, and he is terrified. Fearing his mate will run, Sheriff Nathaniel must calm his little wolf and show him he’s more than a match for this big, bad alpha.
Buy HERE
The Boys on the MountainBy John Inman
Jim Brandon has a new house, and boy is it a pip. Built high on the side of the San Diego mountains by a legendary B movie actor of the 1930s, Nigel Letters, the house is not only gorgeous, but supposedly haunted. As a writer of horror novels, Jim couldn't be happier.
But after a string of ghostly events sets Jim’s teeth on edge and scares the bejesus out of his dog, Jim begins to dig into the house’s history. What he finds is enough to creep out anybody. Even Jim. It seems long dead Nigel Letters had a few nasty habits back in his day. And unhappily for Jim, the old bastard still has some tricks up his sleeve.
As Jim welcomes his ex, Michael, and a bevy of old friends for a two-week visit to help christen the new house, he soon realizes his old friends aren’t the only visitors who have come to call.
Buy at Amazon
DAY AND KNIGHT BY Dirk Greyson
As former NSA, Dayton (Day) Ingram has national security chops and now works as a technical analyst for Scorpion. He longs for fieldwork, and scuttling an attack gives him his chance. He’s smart, multilingual, and a technological wizard. But his opportunity comes with a hitch—a partner, Knighton (Knight), who is a real mystery. Despite countless hours of research, Day can find nothing on the agent, including his first name!
Former Marine Knight crawled into a bottle after losing his family. After drying out, he’s offered one last chance: along with Day, stop a terrorist threat from the Yucatan. To get there without drawing suspicion, Day and Knight board a gay cruise, where the deeply closeted Day and equally closeted Knight must pose as a couple. Tensions run high as Knight communicates very little and Day bristles at Knight’s heavy-handed need for control.
But after drinking too much, Day and Knight wake up in bed. Together. As they near their destination, they must learn to trust and rely on each other to infiltrate the terrorist camp and neutralize the plot aimed at the US’s technological infrastructure, if they hope to have a life after the mission. One that might include each other.
BUY HERE
FIRE AND ICE by Andrew Grey Carlisle Cops: Book Two
Carter Schunk is a dedicated police officer with a difficult past and a big heart. When he’s called to a domestic disturbance, he finds a fatally injured woman, and a child, Alex, who is in desperate need of care. Child Services is called, and the last man on earth Carter wants to see walks through the door. Carter had a fling with Donald a year ago and found him as cold as ice since it ended.
Donald (Ice) Ickle has had a hard life he shares with no one, and he’s closed his heart to all. It’s partly to keep himself from getting hurt and partly the way he deals with a job he’s good at, because he does what needs to be done without getting emotionally involved. When he meets Carter again, he maintains his usual distance, but Carter gets under his skin, and against his better judgment, Donald lets Carter guilt him into taking Alex when there isn’t other foster care available. Carter even offers to help care for the boy.
Donald has a past he doesn’t want to discuss with anyone, least of all Carter, who has his own past he’d just as soon keep to himself. But it’s Alex’s secrets that could either pull them together or rip them apart—secrets the boy isn’t able to tell them and yet could be the key to happiness for all of them.
BUY HERE
IMMORTAL by Amy Lane
When Teyth was but a child, a cruel prince took over his village, building a great granite tower to rule over the folk. Greedy and capricious, the man will be the bane of Teyth’s existence as an adult, but as a boy, Teyth is too busy escaping his stepfather to worry about his ruler.
Sold into apprenticeship to the local blacksmith, Teyth finds that what was meant as a punishment is actually his salvation. Cairsten, the smith, and Diarmuid, his adopted son, are kind, and the smithy is the prosperous heart of a thriving village. As Teyth grows in the craft of metalwork, he also grows in love for Diarmuid, the gentle, clever young man who introduces him to smithing.
Their prince wants Diarmuid too. As the tyrant inflicts loss upon loss on Teyth and Diarmuid, Teyth's passion for his craft twists into obsession. By the time Teyth resurfaces from his quest to create immortality, he’s nearly lost the love that makes being human worth the pain. Teyth was born to sculpt his emotion into metal, and Diarmuid was born to lead. Together, can they keep their village safe and sustain the love that will make them immortal?
BUY HERE
Now first I'm going to have to apologize-- my computer (and my family for that matter) were having fits and glitches today, and fighting with my keyboard to produce my usual *flail* worthy results was like… like… pulling suction cups off a cephalopod-- sticky, slippery, painful, and I occasionally wondered what was the point.
Now, the computer is working again (but my internet is now thinking about up and quitting-- and that's not a local problem, I think Comcast has just been spreading the joy) but I'm not going to tempt fate. Usually I do lots of buildup and lots of flail between books--but I would rather have the post go OUT than have it all flailed, so we'll have to make do.
Suffice it to say that we've got some AWESOME flail today-- Shae Connor, Jaycee Edwards, John Inman, Andrew Grey AND his alter-ego Dirk Greyson-- ALL of them have participated in my flail, and I'm SO HAPPY to have them aboard! May is a STUNNING month for books people, have no doubts about it! (I'm SO excited about Knight and Day, y'all-- maybe it's because I heard Dirk talk about it, or maybe because Chicken drew Dirk's avatar which you should go on FB and see-- either way, the buildup has been SWEET and now I wanna read the book!) And Jaycee Edwards is on my FB feed all the time with her good humor and her dirty mind and a wee fandom obsession that I'm so proud to have egged on. Shae Connor FINALLY answered the call of the *flail* on time, and for that I'm grateful, cause, you know, Shae is EMINENTLY flail-worthy, and John Inman, who's name is GOLD, also accepted the call of the *flail* and it's such an honor to have HIM! (Oh, yeah-- and Immortal is out this week, so that's sort of at the bottom-- enjoy that one too!)
So thanks for your patience with the slight change of format-- you can see why I wanted to get the flail out on time, right?
So ladies and gentlemen, please welcome my AWESOME, AMAZING, FLAILWORTHY visitors today, and let's all give a big *Kermit flail* for May's new releases!
YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!
Wayward Son (Sons: Book Two) By Shae Connor
After his move to Atlanta and away from the influence of his conservative parents, Mikey O’Malley finally feels free to be himself: art student, aspiring animator, and out gay man. He has friends, a new job, and not one, but two men interested in him. Cory Lassiter and Jimmy Black have been a happy couple for years, occasionally bringing a twink into their bed, but only for a brief roll in the hay. When Mikey meets the pair, the attraction is immediate, and it runs three ways. Mikey just can’t believe they’d have room in their lives for a permanent addition.
When Mikey’s newfound life is shattered by a lawsuit that accuses him of molesting a child years earlier, he’s determined to face his troubles on his own, but Cory and Jimmy are just as determined that he not have to go it alone. To reconcile his need for independence and his desire for love, Mikey has to learn that being a man isn’t just about standing on your own two feet. It’s about letting yourself lean on the ones who love you.
BUY LINK
Dragons By Jaycee Edward
A chance encounter in a hospital waiting room between twenty-two year old Will Messina and sixteen year old Josiah Pinkerton ends with a gift of a stuffed dragon off the hospital gift cart and a memory neither of them can shake.
Five years later, when a lonely, buttoned-up Will ventures into a gay club, he spots a pale, leather-clad specter with violet eyes tracking his every move. Will realizes he’s being watched by the grown version of the boy who’s haunted his thoughts for years.
Joey recognizes Will, but he’s no longer the sweet, brown-eyed boy worthy of Will’s attention. He’s damaged and defective and lives in a different world than Will now. When his childhood crush makes his way across the bar, Joey doesn’t have time to decide whether to be enchanted or dismayed because, unless he turns and runs, those worlds are abou BUY HERE
Little Wolf by R. Cooper
On the run from his old-blood werewolf family, Tim Dirus finds himself in Wolf's Paw, one of the last surviving refuges from the days when werewolves were hunted by humans and one of the last places Tim wants to be. Kept away from other wolves by his uncle, Tim knows almost nothing about his own kind except that alpha werewolves only want to control and dominate a scrawny wolf like him.Tim isn’t in Wolf’s Paw an hour before he draws the attention of Sheriff Nathaniel Neri, the alphaest alpha in a town full of alphas. Powerful, intimidating, and the most beautiful wolf Tim has ever seen, Nathaniel makes Tim feel safe for reasons Tim doesn’t understand. For five years he’s lived on the run, in fear of his family and other wolves. Everything about Wolf’s Paw is contrary to what he thought he knew, and he is terrified. Fearing his mate will run, Sheriff Nathaniel must calm his little wolf and show him he’s more than a match for this big, bad alpha.
Buy HERE
The Boys on the MountainBy John Inman
Jim Brandon has a new house, and boy is it a pip. Built high on the side of the San Diego mountains by a legendary B movie actor of the 1930s, Nigel Letters, the house is not only gorgeous, but supposedly haunted. As a writer of horror novels, Jim couldn't be happier.But after a string of ghostly events sets Jim’s teeth on edge and scares the bejesus out of his dog, Jim begins to dig into the house’s history. What he finds is enough to creep out anybody. Even Jim. It seems long dead Nigel Letters had a few nasty habits back in his day. And unhappily for Jim, the old bastard still has some tricks up his sleeve.
As Jim welcomes his ex, Michael, and a bevy of old friends for a two-week visit to help christen the new house, he soon realizes his old friends aren’t the only visitors who have come to call.
Buy at Amazon
DAY AND KNIGHT BY Dirk Greyson
As former NSA, Dayton (Day) Ingram has national security chops and now works as a technical analyst for Scorpion. He longs for fieldwork, and scuttling an attack gives him his chance. He’s smart, multilingual, and a technological wizard. But his opportunity comes with a hitch—a partner, Knighton (Knight), who is a real mystery. Despite countless hours of research, Day can find nothing on the agent, including his first name! Former Marine Knight crawled into a bottle after losing his family. After drying out, he’s offered one last chance: along with Day, stop a terrorist threat from the Yucatan. To get there without drawing suspicion, Day and Knight board a gay cruise, where the deeply closeted Day and equally closeted Knight must pose as a couple. Tensions run high as Knight communicates very little and Day bristles at Knight’s heavy-handed need for control.
But after drinking too much, Day and Knight wake up in bed. Together. As they near their destination, they must learn to trust and rely on each other to infiltrate the terrorist camp and neutralize the plot aimed at the US’s technological infrastructure, if they hope to have a life after the mission. One that might include each other.
BUY HERE
FIRE AND ICE by Andrew Grey Carlisle Cops: Book Two
Carter Schunk is a dedicated police officer with a difficult past and a big heart. When he’s called to a domestic disturbance, he finds a fatally injured woman, and a child, Alex, who is in desperate need of care. Child Services is called, and the last man on earth Carter wants to see walks through the door. Carter had a fling with Donald a year ago and found him as cold as ice since it ended.Donald (Ice) Ickle has had a hard life he shares with no one, and he’s closed his heart to all. It’s partly to keep himself from getting hurt and partly the way he deals with a job he’s good at, because he does what needs to be done without getting emotionally involved. When he meets Carter again, he maintains his usual distance, but Carter gets under his skin, and against his better judgment, Donald lets Carter guilt him into taking Alex when there isn’t other foster care available. Carter even offers to help care for the boy.
Donald has a past he doesn’t want to discuss with anyone, least of all Carter, who has his own past he’d just as soon keep to himself. But it’s Alex’s secrets that could either pull them together or rip them apart—secrets the boy isn’t able to tell them and yet could be the key to happiness for all of them.
BUY HERE
IMMORTAL by Amy Lane
When Teyth was but a child, a cruel prince took over his village, building a great granite tower to rule over the folk. Greedy and capricious, the man will be the bane of Teyth’s existence as an adult, but as a boy, Teyth is too busy escaping his stepfather to worry about his ruler.Sold into apprenticeship to the local blacksmith, Teyth finds that what was meant as a punishment is actually his salvation. Cairsten, the smith, and Diarmuid, his adopted son, are kind, and the smithy is the prosperous heart of a thriving village. As Teyth grows in the craft of metalwork, he also grows in love for Diarmuid, the gentle, clever young man who introduces him to smithing.
Their prince wants Diarmuid too. As the tyrant inflicts loss upon loss on Teyth and Diarmuid, Teyth's passion for his craft twists into obsession. By the time Teyth resurfaces from his quest to create immortality, he’s nearly lost the love that makes being human worth the pain. Teyth was born to sculpt his emotion into metal, and Diarmuid was born to lead. Together, can they keep their village safe and sustain the love that will make them immortal?
BUY HERE
May 3, 2015
Before the *flail*
Went to my friend Berry Jello's house last night-- she made us lettuce wraps (NOM) and we drank wine and had cake…
And watched horror movies.
Now, I'm not usually a fan of horror movies--but I have some exceptions. The Sixth Sense, Signs, Cabin in the Woods, The Ring, Paranormal Activity-- I admit, I've seen them all, and the first three are some of my favorite movies ever.
But Berry Jello is hardcore. Her kids watch Child's Play (Chuckie) as a comfort movie, and they've been on movie sets and mixed fake blood and done horror makeup. Zombies are their teddy bears, and Jello's obsession is, like many obsessions…
Totally easy to buy into.
Horror movies are something she adores, and if she wanted to watch Dead Silence and drink wine with friends on her birthday, well then, I was all in.
It was so much fun. For one thing, I forgot how adorable Ryan Kwanten is. I mean… just… *flails*
For another-- you forget the pure schlocky joy of the scary thing that jumps out at you. That double knowledge-- on the one hand, you're acknowledging that it's all hokum and papier mache`, and on the other hand, you're back to being a little kid when the monsters were REAL and the entire world was a big terrifying black hole of shit that could jump out and get you.
Scary movies--yup. They've got their place.
And so does drinking wine with friends and eating cake and letting our kids run around like heathens and play.
And Immortal is out next week! eee! More on *Kermit Flail* But it's also available on Dreamspinner!
And watched horror movies.
Now, I'm not usually a fan of horror movies--but I have some exceptions. The Sixth Sense, Signs, Cabin in the Woods, The Ring, Paranormal Activity-- I admit, I've seen them all, and the first three are some of my favorite movies ever.
But Berry Jello is hardcore. Her kids watch Child's Play (Chuckie) as a comfort movie, and they've been on movie sets and mixed fake blood and done horror makeup. Zombies are their teddy bears, and Jello's obsession is, like many obsessions…
Totally easy to buy into.
Horror movies are something she adores, and if she wanted to watch Dead Silence and drink wine with friends on her birthday, well then, I was all in.
It was so much fun. For one thing, I forgot how adorable Ryan Kwanten is. I mean… just… *flails*
For another-- you forget the pure schlocky joy of the scary thing that jumps out at you. That double knowledge-- on the one hand, you're acknowledging that it's all hokum and papier mache`, and on the other hand, you're back to being a little kid when the monsters were REAL and the entire world was a big terrifying black hole of shit that could jump out and get you.
Scary movies--yup. They've got their place.
And so does drinking wine with friends and eating cake and letting our kids run around like heathens and play.
And Immortal is out next week! eee! More on *Kermit Flail* But it's also available on Dreamspinner!
May 1, 2015
A good cause
So, I did this last year, with Truth in the Dark, and I was really proud of being able to give to a good cause. Mental Health Awareness is something so important, and yet our government continues to marginalize the mentally ill. In June, Deep of the Sound is coming out, and I deal with what it's like to be a caretaker for people who, while dear to you, are irreparably damaged inside.It's hard.
It's so difficult to deal with--I know this from experience, and I've blogged about it in the past. (Not today--I'm sort of barely holding on to myself today, so not a great day to go jogging down memory lane.) Suffice it to say, when you're presented with conservatorship papers for a parent when you turn eighteen, even if you give up that right (hey! EIGHTEEN!) you become incredibly aware of how vulnerable adults can really be.
To that end, I'm donating a portion of the proceeds for every sale of Chase in Shadow during the month of May. The really sucky thing about the timing of this fundraiser is that I don't get my royalty check until August-- I won't be able to tell you how much I donate until then. But last year, I donated over $100 for Truth in the Dark, so I have high hopes for this one.
It's a good cause--and if you haven't read Chase in Shadow yet, it's the first book in the Johnnies series, so hey! Could be the start of a whole new addiction.
Thanks for your support on this one, folks! And as for everybody who donated and commented on THIS POST (you have one more day to do that, btw-- just get back to me on that thread before tomorrow!) I shall be doing a post office run on Tuesday, so shall probably be in contact with you over the weekend to see what you want from the Amy stash/paperback archives! (Oh-- and for everyone who donated to Project Trevor? When I donate for my Rainbow Award entries, THAT'S my charity of choice. Good for you guys!)
So there you go. Amy's fundraising again. *yawn* But enjoy Chase in Shadow if you get to it. A lot of people really love that one!
