Amy Lane's Blog: Writer's Lane, page 129

Dogs

I live my life with two small dogs.

I used to think I was all about the cats, and while Steve the Cat is still my boon companion in the bathroom, and still very possessive of me when it comes time to be fed, the dogs have evolved into…

Giant furry pain in the ass relatives that I can't kick out and would miss horribly if they left.

Not a healthy relationship, no.

*  In the morning, I have taken to traveling with dog treats in the car so that I can call them back from being "at large" on the front sidewalk as I walk from the car to the house. Does this work? Are they greedy little bastards who prostitute their dignity and dance backwards for a single scrap of "pup-a-roni"? You bet your ass it works.

* In the afternoon, if I end up taking a  nap (and since Safari quit on me today, and refused to resurrect, it was like God telling me to "Go! Go! You'll get your work done eventually!") the dogs come with me. They're excited about nap time. The littlest one runs around and dust mops my face with her ruff and then passes out on top of the covers as though dead. The bigger one usually crawls under the covers with me and hangs. This afternoon, he decided he needed to go to the bathroom so he let him self out (and the back door was open, just to let the spring air in) and then came back. When he came back, he licked me, every so gently, on the lips. My eyes shot open and I peeled back the comforter, and then he dove in under the covers to his usual place.

As I fell asleep, I thought, "OMG-- I just let a dog into my bed for nothing but a kiss on the lips. Either I'm Sleeping Beauty or I'm easy as fuck!"  And then I fell asleep, because, hello, NAP!

*  They take turns bullying the cat, which saddens me on many levels. A. The cat is bigger than them, and I want her to triumph over their weenie asses.  B. The cat doesn't DO anything to them-- she is sweet, and a little stupid, but mostly sweet, and she likes sleeping and clawing my leg for attention-- THE END.  C. They are full of themselves, and I wish someone would take them down a peg.  None of these reasons seem to get in the way of the dog/cat order of being in my house, however, so the poor thing is beleaguered…

Everywhere except on our bed. The TOP of our bed is neutral territory. BELOW our bed, on the other hand, is someplace they can harry poor Steve until she just runs away on general principle.

On the other hand, Gordie, Chicken's cat, scares them.  Literally-- they look at that cat and wet themselves.  On the few times they've taken Gordie by surprise, the whole family tells Chicken during her next phone call and her anguished protest of "My pussy runs from no man!" can be heard across the airwaves.

Yes, it sounds filthy. Yes, I think that is the point.  Yes, her father blames me for that, why do you ask?

*  The little one is still not potty trained.  The other day, I caught her crapping in my bedroom and swept her up and charged through the house.  "Get out of the way! She's still pushing out turds like a Pez dispenser of poop!"  Needless to say, Zoomboy heard mom screaming about poop and lost it, laughing to hard to get out of my way, and the dog just kept turding, upside down and backwards, as I rushed her into the backyard.  That's okay-- I made Zoomboy trace our tracks in turds from the back door to the bedroom and throw away the evidence, because, well, I'm the mom and I say that's what he gets for laughing while I'm running through the house with a shitting dog.

*  They live comforted by the belief that everything outside the car is a bastard. This means that while I"m driving down the road, if we're standing at a stoplight and they see something walk by, it must be barked at and driven away.

Yes, little dogs, they are all bastards, bark at the bastards, get them! Get them! Bastards! Mailmen! They deserve your wrath!

Most people walking by to observe their wrath laugh their asses off, but that doesn't bother the dogs.

They have done their job.

And by the way, as you look at the pictures of the dogs, you may note A. that they have their own bedding exclusively for the car, and B. that the McDonalds bag (which I"ve thrown away, I swear!) says it all.

The dogs are, indeed, loving it.

An Excerpt from Quickening that Might Not Make It Into the Published Mss.

*  I'm working on Quickening right now-- in fact, more than halfway done, and we've met some old friends by this time.  I doubt this scene will be in the final cut-- in fact, you may see bits and pieces of it scattered throughout--but it was humming so hard in my head I had to write it down before I got on with the actual business of the book.

You may recognize Shepherd and Jefischa from Guarding the Vampire's Ghost-- and if you haven't, well, we'll be re-releasing that one too.

In fact, this little excerpts contains ***SPOILERS*** from Guarding the Vampire's Ghost, Rampant (which is in the re-release cycle) and Litha's Constant Whim.   

But nothing too dire-- I mean, Shep and Jefi? You knew they were going to end up together at the end, right?  Same with Whim and Charlie. And as for the reason Cory needed cookies? Well I'm pretty sure you could have guessed.


Cory
Cookies and Milk

The angels weren't usually in the hill this time of night--something about Jefischa's need to be outside at butt-crack a.m.-- but it had started to snow over the canyon around Thanksgiving, and Green's gnomes were busy shoring up their little tree house in the garden so it could stay heated.

As a result, when they were forced indoors they spent much of their night either curled up around each other on the floor, looking wistfully out the wraparound glass window at the silver light from the moon, or standing unmoving, their wings toward us like a shield, sentinels in the night.

Until Jefi started playing Nintendo, of course. Nintendo makes everything better.  Sometimes Bracken even played with him, which was sort of awesome-- especially when Brack taught him how to swear.

"Motherfucking--"

"Jef--"

"Cocksucking--"

"eeeeeee--"

"Whore pissing--"

"sha!!!"

"Toad blister!"  Jefisha crowed defiantly.  Then he turned that lopsided, can't-nobody-hurt-me grin on Shepherd's disapproval.

Which melted like mist, because you just can't stay mad at that, can you?

Tonight, I was feeling still hungry--because duh--and ungainly, because, well, duh. I was only four and a half months along, and my baby bump was… disheartening, to say the least.  I'd been trying-- hell, everybody had been trying, including Grace, Green, and Bracken. Grilled meats, steamed vegetables, tomato sauces-- I mean, I was starting to agree with Nicky and Brack. It wasn't fat-- it was all baby.

And they were big.

So. Goddamned. Big.

It was depressing.  And I had to go back to school tomorrow, which was even more depressing. And suddenly, I didn't want all the healthy and all the careful. Suddenly, I wanted the cookie.

The yummy yummy shortbread and fudge cookies that Grace had made me and I had only taken one of that evening.

Bracken was staying up late, having a strategy meeting downstairs, and Nicky was fast asleep, snoring fitfully.  I slid out of bed, put on my sleep shorts under my shirt, and made my way to the kitchen, where I got to watch Jefi both kick Shepherd's ass in Titanfall and master Bracken's swearing technique.  They probably noticed me, but they didn't pay attention to me, because they were, as was typical, wrapped up in each other.

"Did you see Whim and Charlie?" Jefisha asked as they set their controllers down and stretched out their hands.

"Yes-- they looked well."  Shepherd was such a nice man, uhm, angel, uhm, person. It was unfortunate that everything he said had the stentorian tones of a righteous member of the Puritan committee on witch burning.

"Yeah-- It was good to see them in the daylight."

I blinked over my dipped cookie, and it fell, kerplop, into my milk.

Shepherd also appeared to have a moment.

"You see them a lot at night?"

"I saw them at night. They used to wake up during my hour," Jefisha said solemnly.  He nodded his head and his wild blond hair mussed and reassembled as though blown dried by a squadron of pixies.

Shepherd nodded back as though this made sense.  "They were sad?" he asked, his voice dropping, becoming tender.  I felt a little ashamed of my earlier censure. Of course Shepherd sounded stern and righteous--he'd been watching out for Jefi.

"Oh yes," Jefi said, gray eyes luminous in the reflection of the television screen. "They spent a lot of time thinking of each other when they should have been sleeping."  I could see Jefi's fond smile.  "Now they're only awake at that time to make love."

Shepherd's eyes hooded, and he leaned sideways and nuzzled Jefischa's cheek.  Jefi's laughter was like the burbling of streams.

"Yes," he whispered, heedless of any observers. "The gnomes always leave by my hour of the morning anyway."

"Good," Shepherd said.  "But we're no longer sentinels, and you are no longer on watch."

Jefi grinned, eyes sleepy and sensual. "But it will still be my hour of the morning."

I shoved the last bit of cookie in my mouth and drank down the cookie soup that my milk had become. Then I set my glass on the counter and slipped quietly away.

I didn't know which hour Jefischa's hour was, but I knew that if the gnomes hadn't warmed up their treehouse, I didn't want to be in the living room when it arrived.

But it made me sort of happy to think that, whatever hour it had been, when I'd woken up during that time worried or excited or grieving, that Shep and Jefi had been watching over me as I'd gazed into the night.

Sunday in Pictures

This morning we went to see Mate run the Rockin' Shamrock race in Sacramento.

We waved to him as he ran by, and then watched the marathon comfortably from here.

All marathons should be watched from inside a coffee shop.


We went shopping after our coffee, and while we waited for Mate to finish.

The kids were only allowed small things, but the family agrees as a whole that these were things we WANTED to buy.

Chicken, in particular, put in a giant I WANT GIMME GIMME GIMMEE!
 Of course we stopped by Candy Heaven.

Darrin was there, and happy to see us. He posed for me so I could Tweet this, and then gave my children SPECTACULAR gifts.

I didn't need the gifts-- I got his blessing on the sequel, out in July, and a sort of plea to PLEASE find him a boyfriend too, if I was writing happy ever afters.

I might not write his whole book, but I told him I'd see what I could do :-)

Look at that smile-- wouldn't you write that smile a boyfriend? Spectacular, kind, and hunky.  It's the least I can do!

The kids paraded around with their gifts-- they have been tickled ever since they walked out of the store. (I was taken by surprise--I might have found the grace to decline.)

And when we reached the appropriate place, they
marched sentry.

Because what else would you do with giant candy suckers?

We rounded up Mate and took him to lunch. Since it was Mate's day, we got 5 Guys Burgers. Tasty. Not diet friendly, but tasty.

When we got home, well, we mostly did this.

And I finished THIS BOOK, which I really loved.  (Thanks, Christopher Rice, btw, for haunting me exquisitely.  I really enjoyed Density of Souls. )

And then, well… yeah.

I think Geoffie says it best.

Hope everyone else had a happy weekend as well!

Today's Favorite Thing: Archer

Archer

Okay-- so Mate was catching up on his Archer backlog, and I was subjected to another unwilling round of the world's crassest, most misogynistic, racist, ignorant dumbass ever to be animated lovingly by someone who got a huge boner from ripply muscles, dimples, and stunning blue eyes.

It was hilarious.

Archer is pure, unadulterated satire--it makes fun of every dumb jock who ever made your life hell by throwing frog guts at you in biology and every gorgeous overachiever who made you feel stupid by breathing.  And then it lets you forgive them, because damn, do they recognize their own asshole-itude and they don't apologize for it, and you know what? They have to live in the hell of their own making, and they fully get that, so good for them.

And not only that, but, unexpectedly, Archer has a character arc.

See, Archer is what happens if the world's greatest spy is, in fact, a braindead lout with no sensitivity or self-awareness.  And at first you hate him. You hate him, because he's the epitome of every high school football player who ever got a good grade on a presentation that he pulled out of his ass while wearing jeans with holes in the crotch. (Whereas I was the kid who got maybe ten points more than he did wearing my best dress and having stayed up for a week to try to get it done.)  And he knows it. And he still does his job and you want to kill him but he's fucking teflon.   But in the course of five season this animated wet dream actually has moments of conscience and epiphany and some stunning moments of vulnerability. You pity him-- when he, once every show, feels just as lost as the rest of us conscious, brain-functioning mortals, you're like, "See? Not so easy, is it!"  And when he has more of those moments you want to pat him on the head.

And maybe its the voice (done by the H. John Benjamin who does Bob's Burgers, which is a whole other post) but there is this absolute cluelessness and heart in Archer's voice. He knows he's an asshole, he knows he gets away with murder (multiple, animated, and unapologetically bloody) but even he draws the line. And if he had a chance to play with an ocelot all day as opposed to murder mildly morally ambiguous people that his mother tells him to, well, he'd do that instead.

Maybe it's the dialog.

Sample?

Bad guys about to get tied up: Do you know who we are?

Archer:  Do you know who we are?

Bad guys: Uh, no?

Archer: *belch*  So blow me.

I don't know what it is. Honestly. I'll listen to it while Mate is watching, and I can blow it off and ignore it and suddenly…

That line will come, the one that makes me double up with laughter at my desk when I hate myself for it, and the next thing I know, I'm watching the next two episodes in the queue.

So that's today's favorite thing-- but then I just saw Cinderella and Mate won tickets through work to see the Marvel Adventures live action show, so, tomorrow, I may have something else :-)

String Cheese and It's Not You, It's Me!

ZB made a STUNNING discovery.

His cheese has trivia on it.

Yeah, I know-- I'm not sure how the world turned without this feature beforehand, but now I'm getting my daily quiz on cows and dairyland and my life is complete.

Also?

I went searching for a website designer, because, well, my last website designer was an amalgam of me and Mate, and since neither of us are actually, uh, pro's at it, I thought that maybe, just maybe, I'd want someone who knew what they were doing, to make me look good. Vain, I know, but I'm sort of hoping good things will come of it.

Anyway-- I went through Thumbtack, because it seemed like a nice, impersonal way to interview people and check out their work, and since there's a general "decline" or "I picked someone else" button, I was thinking "Great! It's like speed dating! Except you don't have to look anyone in the eye!" Because, you know, the worst thing about dating is the, "Uhm, I had a great time at the build a burger place, and I understand that you thought $10 would cover the whole date, and no, your roommate didn't creep me out AT ALL, but I'd rather not see you again. Ever."

I mean, it sucks to reject people, right?

So I thought that maybe the Thumbtack thing would make it happen without the pitiful "I'm so sorry, it's not you, it's me.  I swear, ME!" of looking around for a web designer.

I underestimated the competitiveness of the market, because this morning I got an, "Amy, was it the budget consideration?" email, and I heard it, clear like a church bell in my head:

"Was it something I said?"

And now I'm dodging a Thumbtack e-mail because I rejected a web designer.

It's a good thing I met Mate early, then grabbed on and held on for life.

I'm really bad at this dating thing.

The Cookbook Tales are coming!

So, I've mentioned the Tales of the Curious Cookbook project that I'm working on with authors R.J. Scott, Mary Calmes, Marie Sexton, and Amber Kell, and I'm so excited to announce that R.J.'s novella and my own are up for pre-sale on the Dreamspinner page!

Here's the blurb for my own-- Food for Thought:

Description: A Tale of the Curious Cookbook

Emmett Gant was planning to tell his father something really important one Sunday morning—but his father passed away first. Now, nearly three years later, Emmett can't seem to clear up who he should be with—the girl with the apple cheeks and the awesome family, or his snarky neighbor, Keegan, who never sees his family but who makes Emmett really happy just by coming over to chat.

Emmett needs clarity.

Fortunately for Emmett, his best friend’s mom has a cookbook that promises to give Emmett insight and good food, and Emmett is intrigued. After the cookbook follows him home, Emmett and Keegan decide to make the recipe “For Clarity,” and what ensues is both very clear—and a little surprising, especially to Emmett's girlfriend. Emmett is going to have to think hard about his past and the really important thing he forgot to tell his father if he wants to get the recipe for love just right.
Come by and check out Food for Thought and For a Rainy Afternoon--and don't forget to look for the other tales as well!

Of course, it will be up in *Kermit Flail*, and there will be a paperback out with all of the stories after they've all been released, so, you know, fun stuff ahead!

Also, as a favor to a couple of friends, I wrote a very teeny tiny short called The Fenestra Penetration that will be going into Foolish Encounters, the new anthology from Wilde City.

It's a very small piece, but there are some lovely authors in the anthology itself, and that's always fun.

So there you go-- day two of my "short blog" experiment!  Let's see how it goes!

Upon re-entering the house...

*  The dogs were the vanguard of the attack. The littlest is still stinky, she still shits in the bedroom, and she's still endearingly cute.  The biggest one is still less than 13 lbs, and he still adores me.

All is well.

*  Mate was exhausted.  If you saw a car swerving a little over the road last night, it was Mate, trying to stay awake.  It was a good thing I was right next to him and wired for sound.  

"Do you want me to drive? I can drive. I'm wide awake, you look tired. Would you like me to drive? It's been a while, I'm not sure if I remember how. Isn't the moon pretty?  It's red. I like red moons. It's not purple because if it was purple you couldn't see it. Look, fog!  Do you want me to drive?"

"No, Amy--you're a little loopy right now."

"Okay. So. Did we tape my TV? I need my TV. Can we watch TV? I can't wait to…"

Yeah. You get the picture.

* The little kids missed me.  Zoomboy was clingy. To the point that he climbed into bed with me and snuggled.  It was okay, I was exhausted enough to let him.

Squish was articulate.

"My hair never got braided. I miss how soft it is when you braid it the day before."

We spent the morning trying to figure out the name of the Harry Potter stuffed animal I bought her… doesn't matter. Purple and fluffy-- it's the secret to life.

*  I am saving my most valuable lesson for Amy's Lane, which is, hello, a week late.  I'm working on it-- I needed a two hour nap first. Very very necessary!

*  I'm going to be trying something new with the blogging, and writing shorter blogposts every day. The goofy shorts I used to put on FB are going to start ending up on the blog.  If you don't follow my blog, you may want to hit the follow button, just so you don't miss something, yeah?

Signing off!

Amy

Some Things About the Florida Trip

*  The family left in the dark. I was still so late they had to hold the gate for me.  It was terrifying.

*  Mate took the kids to San Francisco while I was flying to Florida. They had an amazing time.

*  Julianne, Jaime, Jennifer and I went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  All good things happened there…

… I saw a dragon.

… Julianne met her totem animal, and its name was Lucille Ball

… I drank butterbeer.

… Jennifer makes an excellent guide to all things Harry Potter and all things theme park and all things Florida.

…Julianne and Jaime are awesome fun companions.  I'll ride the Hogwarts express with them any time.

… I hauled around a giant bag full of nuts and snacks and water and wet wipes and chapstick and knitting and my shoulders hurt.  At the end of the trip, I asked myself, "Why, oh WHY did I bring this giant bag with all this stuff I didn't need! Why the sweater? Why the scarf?  Why the knitting?  And why do I hurt so bad?"

The answers?

A.  Because I'm used to dragging around stuff for myself AND the kids.
B.  The sweaters and the scarves were for the kids.
C.  The knitting was for when I was waiting for the kids.
D.  I hurt so badly because I was used to passing the bag around to the kids to help me carry it because it was their stuff too.

I shall make note of this on my next trip with an adult only to a theme park.  Less is more.  True story.

*  The hotel is terrifying and awesome…

… It has a four acre atrium.

… And a habitat with small alligators and many many turtles.

… Don't feed the alligators. They're busy trying and failing to eat the turtles.

*  My life has gone into a whirlwind tailspin since I got here, as expected.  Is why I haven't blogged sooner.

*  My DSP peeps are amazing.

*  Playing on the Twitter-wall is fun.  I think we got #dreamer to trend!

*  If you get zero sleep for three to four days and then go to your room to get one little thing done before you go back downstairs, it is very likely you will fall into a nap-coma so deep, you will come close to seeing God, and possibly say hi to grandma while you're there.

*  After that, getting ready for a formal dinner is just a little bit surreal.

*  While you are gone, the fact that the restaurant your family goes to every Saturday has burned down, and you were not there to comfort your melodramatic ten year old can be both sad and hilarious.  (Mostly hilarious because ZB posed for the picture.)

*  Family phone conversations are harder when nobody saves up any stories to tell you, and you are too tired to tell your own.

*  The damned dogs suck at phone convos.

*  You find out more about weather in the rest of the country when people's adventure stories are about flying through snow storms to get to you.

* Jessie Potts and her husband, Brock, are almost cuter than my dogs.

*  Rhys ford is forever awesome. And she wants me to buy Chicken a bike helmet.

*  I love this shirt beyond all reason-- Go Jennifer, and her amazing sister, Doloriane, who had it made for her.

*Kermit Flail Monday* March Version!

Holy Cats!

Folks, we have THE BEST *kermit flail* this month!  

I mean, remember last month?  One person on the dance floor, shining?  Well, that was pretty awesome, but now?  We've got a whole damned party!

And who best to start a party than the lovely, pixilated, amazeballs Miss Tara Lain, who's new release Winter's Wolf looks like so much fun!

So, ladies and gentlemen, let's get this party started with Miss Ta-ra LAIN!

YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA!!!!!!!



Winter's Wolf
by Tara Lain


Winter Thane was raised on the two cardinal rules of werewolf existence: don’t reveal yourself to humans under penalty of death, and there’s no such thing as a gay werewolf. It’s no surprise when his father drags him from his wild life in remote Canada back to Connecticut to meet his old pack in hopes it will persuade Winter to abandon his love of sex with human males. Of course Dad’s hopes are dashed when they come face-to-face with the gay werewolves in the Harker pack.Winter takes one look at FBI agent, Matt Partridge, and decides bird is his favorite food. Partridge is embroiled in an investigation into drug dealing and the death of a fellow agent. He can’t let himself get distracted by the young, platinum-haired beast, but then Winter proves invaluable in the search for clues, a move that winds them both up in chains and facing imminent death. Winter quickly learns his father’s motives are questionable, the pack alphas are a bunch of pussies, humans aren’t quite what they seem, and nothing in the forests of Connecticut is pure except love.At AmazonAt DreamspinnerAt All Romance eBooks At B&N
Okay-- now this next book… folks, Angel Martinez is KILLING ME. Not only is her online presence funny and cool, but look at that cover… do we see the ears?  *diez*  So let's hear it for Angel Martinez and her lovely co-writer, Bellora Quinn, and their new urban fantasy Quinn's Gambit-- YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA!!!Quinn’s Gambit: AURA 1Angel Martinez, Bellora Quinn
After a terrible magical accident at Berkeley created unpredictable holes between realities, all manner of non-human creatures started popping into our world. These displacements, called Random Anomalous Reality Events or RARE, have taken magic out of fiction and relocated it firmly in reality, resulting in a great deal of chaos and confusion. Displaced elf Valerian works with AURA, the Agency of Unnatural Resettlement and Assimilation, to intercept these beings as they appear in the human world, helping the peaceful ones and subduing the violent, malevolent ones. It’s good, satisfying work, and Val would be happy if he wasn’t so lonely. 
Quinten is a young mage just trying to get by, but New York isn’t the easiest city to make a living in. If his methods are sometimes morally dubious, his heart is still in the right place. Of course, for Quinn, the right place means firmly locked away, protected at all costs. Living by his wits and sometimes magically induced luck, he works as a ‘freelance magic user’, or unregistered mage and small-time con, according to the authorities. The last thing Quinn wants is to draw the cops’ attention, but when an Event happens right on top of him, he’s forced to turn to AURA for help. Valerian isn’t at all what he’d expected in an AURA cop, and he certainly wasn’t expecting to join forces with the sexy elf, a snarky drow and a bitter incubus, when certain individuals in power try to stop the RARE by any means necessary. 
Things are not all what they seem at AURA headquarters, and a greater evil lurks at the top than anyone could have imagined.
At Totall-e Bound

Now, this next offering from Miss Annabeth Albert is from the Portland Heat series, and having been to Portland? I can't imagine a more awesome, offbeat, amazing and imaginative place to set a series.  (Besides-- Grimm is set there, and I'm saying!)  Anyway-- this one is set in a coffee shop, because, wonderful, and everybody give it up for Miss Annabeth Albert and her adorable book, Served Hot-- YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!! 

Served Hot

by Annabeth Albert

In Portland, Oregon, the only thing hotter than the coffee shops, restaurants, and bakeries are the hard-working men who serve it up—hot, fresh, and ready to go—with no reservations…

Robby is a self-employed barista with a busy coffee cart, a warm smile, and a major crush on one of his customers. David is a handsome finance director who works nearby, eats lunch by himself, and expects nothing but "the usual"—small vanilla latte—from the cute guy in the cart. But when David shows up for his first Portland Pride festival, Robby works up the nerve to take their slow-brewing relationship to the next level. David, however, is newly out and single, still grieving the loss of his longtime lover, and unsure if he’s ready to date again. Yet with every fresh latte, sweet exchange—and near hook-up—David and Robby go from simmering to steaming to piping hot. The question is: Will someone get burned?

Buy at Amazon
Buy at B&N

So, Jaycee Edwards and Helena Stone are not new to me as FB people. They're rollicking, adorable, positive, and they rock a mean fandom.  My FB group Amy Lane Anonymous would not be the same without them-- and I'm so excited to be able to give them a shout-out here!  Everybody please welcome Ms. Jaycee Edwards and Helena Stone to *Kermit Flail* and give a hearty welcome and a big time SQUEEEE!!! to their new release, Strangers in the Night!  YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!


Strangers in the Night

by Jaycee Edward 
and Helena Stone
When Army veteran, Slade, stumbles upon an isolated cottage on a cold, dark, night, the young man finds more than just the shelter he’Former club Dominant Callum is surprised to find a handsome stranger knocking at his door but invites him in despite his reservations. A nightmare reveals Slade’s deep-seated emotional issues, and Callum knows he needs to get creative if he’s going to help Slade leave the past behind.
Neither man is prepared for the feelings Slade’s introduction into the world of BDSM will unleash, and thirty-six hours will either be enough to bind them, or they will remain forever strangers in the night.   
Buy At DSP

And speaking of my FB group, can we say hello to Miss Nicole Forcine?  About two years ago, she said, "Hey, do you have a group?  I can start one for you!"  It has almost 1000 members now, and I'm so tickled-- and I have this woman to thank.  Now, I read her first book, but she has taken off at lightning speed since then.  I can tell you she's funny, irreverent, powerful, and very human in her writing, and this next book looks no different!  Everybody say hello and how are you and WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE! to Miss Nicole Forcine!!!  YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!  


Shaken Up

by Nicole Forcine



Tim Myers is the flamboyant and overly fastidious owner of the adult shop Little Earthquakes. In his spare time, he moonlights as a sub for his friend's BDSM classes, and while he'd love to find a Dom to cater to his domestic servitude kink, he's wary of exposing his body and his heart. When Jae Seong comes into Tim’s shop and asks him for help with a wax play demo, Tim is turned off by the idea. Jae is nothing if not persistent, though. He’s a skilled Dom and soon finds out why Tim is so protective of his body, his neck, and his heart. Over a series of play dates, the two grow close, and it dawns on Tim that he might be looking at a match made for collaring.
Buy Links:DSPAllRomance eBooksAmazon
So, Felice Stevens is another one of those people… you know, those people? You read her reviews eagerly, even if she doesn't like your book, because she is thoughtful, critical in the most constructive ways, and kind. And after being a member of the m/m community for a long time, she totally jumped in with both feet and has been publishing like a madwoman recently.  I adore her-- she's funny (I don't seem to know any non-funny people-- go figure!) involved, and brilliant, and people have been eating her books with an ice-cream scoop!  It's amazing-- I'm so happy for her, I want her to publish MORE AND MORE AND MORE! 

So here she is, with TWO offerings, and one of them is giving 10% to a very special cause that I'll talk about in a second.  So ladies and gents, let's give it up for Miss Felice Stevens!  YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAAY!!!

Memories of the Heart

by Felice Stevens

Ruthless, Controlling, A Loner. All words used to describe Dr. Micah Steinberg by the hospital staff for their next head of surgery. When a letter arrives from his grandmother’s friend at the assisted living facility, his orderly world tilts dangerously out of control.

Josh Rosen had everything until it was revealed much of his world was a lie. Forced to re-evaluate his life, Josh gives up his career and returns home to New York City to care for his beloved grandmother. What Josh didn’t figure on was an attraction to a man who on the surface, appears to be exactly like the life Josh chose to leave behind.

As Micah struggles with the reality of his grandmother’s illness, the bond these two share deepens, as Josh helps Micah heal, then open his heart. Micah discovers there is more to life than work, control and success. Josh is in deep but has yet to tell Micah who he really is.
When the fight for the hospital’s head of surgery turns ugly, Josh’s past and present collide. Micah must let go of the past and accept who he is, if his life is going to move forward.

Life is full of surprises, and as both Micah and Josh learn, love can happen whether you plan for it or not.
Buy at Amazon

*NOTE-- Felice is donating 10% of her proceeds from  Memories of the Heart to a project very near and dear to our community's heart. Christy Duke, who is… AMAZING-- just a person of such warmth and life and fantasticalness I have no words for her, has been an active, vital reader in this little corner of the net for a very long time.  Her husband has just been diagnosed with a very aggressive form of cancer, and while he's undergoing treatment, there are some things we can do to make their lives just a little easier.  Christy has set up a funding account that explains it better, but if you haven't met her, all I can tell you is that these are two people who make the world better. Anything you can do to help will be appreciated.

Her YouCare account is HERE and even if you can't donate? Just love and prayers and hopes for the future. Christy deserves the best.
Felice also has After the Fire coming out this month, and it's a second book in a highly acclaimed series.  so give it up for Felice and a big couple of months-- and give her next one, After the Fire, a hearty welcome too!!!


After the Fire

By Felice Stevens

A single bullet destroyed the dreams of Dr. Jordan Peterson. With his lover dead, Jordan descends into an endless spiral of self-destruction that nearly costs him his friends, his career and his life. When Jordan finds himself working closely with the aloof Lucas Conover, the investment banker’s mysterious past and unexpected kindness shocks him back into a life and emotions he’d thought lost forever.

The betrayal by the foster brother he’d worshiped, taught Lucas Conover never to trust or believe in anyone. Living a solitary life couldn’t free him of the nightmare of his former life; it reinforced his belief that he would never fall in love. When the death of one of his clients forces him to work closely with Dr. Jordan Peterson, he meets a person whose suffering exceeds his own. Though Jordan rejects his effort to help, something within Luke pushes him discover more about the first man to ever get under his skin.As Luke lets down his guard and Jordan lets go of his pain, desire takes control. Each man must come to terms with past struggles if they are to create a future together. And learning to trust in themselves and love again after tragedy and a lifetime of pain, may be the only thing that saves them in the end. Buy link is only from LooseId right now. the Amazon link should be up by the end of the week
Buy at Loose-Id


Okay-- I've got to fess up.  I sort of love this next book.  I don't get to read nearly as many books as I really want to, but this one? This one I got to beta read in parts as it was being written.  

Ashlyn Kane and her co-writer, Morgan James, write the funniest, hottest, cleverest, most angsty-gutwrenching, awesomest sex scenes in the world.  

'nuff said. Seriously.  This is a fun, painful, awesome book, and you will love it!  Everybody, give it up for Ms. Ashlyn Kane and Morgan James for a wonderful read, and let's welcome Winging It to *Kermit Flail* in style! YAYAYAYAYAYAAYAAAYAAYAY!!! 

Winging It

by Ashlyn Kane
& Morgan James


Gabe Martin has a simple life plan: get into the NHL and win the Stanley Cup. It doesn’t include being the first out hockey player or, worse, getting involved with one of his teammates. But things change.

Dante Baltierra is Gabe’s polar opposite—careless, reckless… shameless. But his dedication to the sport is impressive, and Gabe can overlook a lot of young-and-stupid in the name of great hockey. And Dante has a superlative ass in a sport filled with superlative asses.

Before Gabe can figure out how to deal, a tabloid throws him out of his comfortable closet into a brand-new world. Amid the emotional turmoil of invasive questions, nasty speculation, and on- and off-ice homophobia, his game suffers.

Surprisingly, it’s Dante who drags him out of it—and then drags him into something else. Nothing good can come of secretly sleeping with a teammate, especially one Gabe has feelings for. But with their captain out with an injury, a rookie in perpetual need of a hug, and the race to make the playoffs for the first time since 1995, Gabe has a lot on his plate.

He can’t be blamed for forgetting that nothing stays secret forever.
Buy at DSP

And everybody knows what's coming next.

My Little Goddess, in all her re-covered, re-edited glory, goes live on Tuesday-- and I'm so excited.

When I turned her loose on the world before, I watched amazon.com like a hawk.  I have to admit-- the first review (long since removed) was mine.  I knew what the other books-- the non-self-published books-- had on their pages.  I knew there were reviews skillfully written, that would tip a reader toward a book or away, depending on their tastes, and I just didn't know how to get one of those reviews on the page.

But it's been ten years-- and she's been reviewed plenty, sometimes sweetly, sometimes savagely, but she's not a stranger to critical mass anymore.

So when my first blog review came out this time?  I was trepidatious-- oh please let my m/m crew love my Little Goddess too.  And they did.  And I can't even… *flails*  Yeah. I'm so happy. She's back, she's gorgeous, and she's badass.

I think she'll do okay :-)

So folks, don't forget to check her out at DSP Productions and on Amazon.  And her first blog tour stop (and a chance for a free copy) has started already here at Books Make Me Happy (and bless Jennifer, whose blog it is!)  and by all means check out all the dates listed:

Sun, Mar 1 – Books Make Me HappyMon, Mar 2 – The Novel ApproachTues, Mar 3 – Literary EscapismWed, Mar 4 – Literal Addiction Paranormal Book ClubThu, Mar 5 – The Book TartFri, Mar 6 – MM Good Book ReviewsSat, Mar 7 – Joyfully Jay
And don't forget to check out her first review of the new tour, at The Novel Approach.

Cause baby, she's back.  Holy Goddess, Merciful God, let her not suck!

Canyagimehallelujia?  Iknewyacouldamen!

Little Goddess-- On Tour!

 <<<<<<<  Look!

Isn't that sweet?  I've got my own .gif!

Jennifer Morris of Write Time Promotions has set me up a WHOPPING awesome press pack and blog tour schedule and all sorts of wonderful things!  I am so TOTALLY excited because my Little Goddess is going SO legit, and because I'm 90K into Quickening, and I think my girl is gonna get some serious love by the time it's ready to be released-- because, well, she's already gotten some serious love, and this?  All the hoopla?  It's just like a big party for her, an anniversary/birthday party!

I'm so excited.  (And I also have a very little brain. .gifs make me happy.)

And seriously-- would you look at the quote on the .gif? It's from Mary Calmes and Damon Suede, who have both read this story and wrote the forward.  Just looking at it makes me want to jump up and down and squee like no teenaged girl has ever squeed before!

So, in addition to the .gif-- (which should be enough, in my opinion) I also have a fancy blog tour.  Now, I'm going to put this on my website too, because it needs to be updated, that's why, and you can enter the contest and go check out the fun stuff (there will be an interview and some top ten lists, which were fun to produce!) and generally, go check out my girl on her birthday tour.

I. Am So. Happy :-)

Oh!  And don't forget-- my next blogpost is going to be *Kermit Flail* and this month I've got a LOT of stuff (as opposed to last month, which was sort of embarrassing. Nobody came to my party last month. This month, I've got a line and a bouncer.)  Anyway-- so check out the blog tour-- come see me at the people with the thing and the place!  (Oh!  And I asked, and you know what?  Joyfully Jay knew about the girl cooties and still agreed to feature me, because they're AWESOME!!!






BLOG TOUR SCHEDULESun, Mar 1 – Books Make Me HappyMon, Mar 2 – The Novel ApproachTues, Mar 3 – Literary EscapismWed, Mar 4 – Literal Addiction Paranormal Book ClubThu, Mar 5 – The Book TartFri, Mar 6 – MM Good Book ReviewsSat, Mar 7 – Joyfully Jay
TOUR LONG RAFFLECOPTER CONTEST Prize – One ebook copy of VULNERABLEStarts 3/1 – Ends 3/8
a Rafflecopter giveaway


VULNERABLE BLURB
Working graveyards in a gas station seems a small price for Cory to pay to get her degree and get the hell out of her tiny town. She’s terrified of disappearing into the aimless masses of the lost and the young who haunt her neck of the woods. Until the night she actually stops looking at her books and looks up. What awaits her is a world she has only read about—one filled with fantastical creatures that she’s sure she could never be.
And then Adrian walks in, bearing a wealth of pain, an agonizing secret, and a hundred and fifty years with a lover he’s afraid she won’t understand. In one breathless kiss, her entire understanding of her own worth and destiny is turned completely upside down. When her newfound world explodes into violence and Adrian’s lover—and prince—walks into the picture, she’s forced to explore feelings and abilities she’s never dreamed of. The first thing she discovers is that love doesn’t fit into nice neat little boxes. The second thing is that risking your life is nothing compared to facing who you really are—and who you’ll kill to protect.


BUY LINKS – Available March 3rd
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