Eden Winters's Blog, page 67
April 6, 2012
Review for Diversion
Lady McNeill at Mrs. Condit & Friends Read Books reviewed my latest offering, Diversion, awarding it four and a half blissful sweat peas. She had this to say:
"Ms. Winters took two not so perfect people and brought them together and gave them the ability to see and experience love."
Read entire review here:
"Ms. Winters took two not so perfect people and brought them together and gave them the ability to see and experience love."
Read entire review here:
April 3, 2012
Coffee and Porn! And a Giveaway!
Hey ya'll! I've got a guest post over at Heidi Cullinan and Marie Sexton's joint venture blog, Coffee and Porn in the Morning (wine and sex in the afternoon.) I'm talking about semi-naked sweaty men and promoting my new novel, Diversion. One lucky commenter on the post will win an ebook copy of the book. (Everyone who wanders over will get lots of eye candy!) Contest ends April 5 at midnight.
Get your daily dose of coffee and porn here:
Get your daily dose of coffee and porn here:
April 1, 2012
Fabulous Review and Recommended Read for Summer Boys
Summer Boys was my contribution to last fall's Torquere Press Charity Sip Blitz to raise money for the It Gets Better Project. Here's a little of what reviewer Speedy had to say (and can I say that the blog's summery theme is awesome?):
Read entire review here:
Buy Summer Boys here (all proceeds go to charity):
What I loved about this story is how complex and authentic the characters were portrayed. Ms. Winter's use of language, the subtle nuances of emotion, and the gradual release of burden so Ferris could find happiness was written with expert subtlety.
Read entire review here:
Buy Summer Boys here (all proceeds go to charity):
A Brand New Icon on the Site
If you look to the upper right you'll see a new icon (sorry, it only shows up at edenwinters.com), part of a campaign to offer support to LGBTQ indivuals. Simply click the icon to enter the Safe Reading Zone.
The Safe Reading Zone Campaign is a website designed for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender individuals. There are several resources on the site to help those who may be questioning their sexuality, afraid of coming out due to their current situation, or are feeling bullied due to their sexual orientation. Families of LGBTQ individuals may also find this website helpful and informative to foster a healthy environment where their loved one is understood and feels supported.
You Are Not Alone
Not Exclusively, a guest post by P.D. Singer
Please welcome P.D. Singer to the blog, while she discusses non-exclusive relationships and what constitutes cheating, and offers a snippet of her new novel, The Rare Event.
A romance is all about finding the wonderful forever love, so the happy ending is just built in. But what about the getting to the point of even noticing that there's another man with whom forever is a good idea?
That period before the commitment is known as "dating", and those of us who have done it know that exclusivity isn't always part of it. In fact, the "eyes meet, no one else exists" part happens more often in stories than in life. Isn't the deciding just as important as the final decision? And in the meantime, if the story supports it, why shouldn't the character still play the field?
A relationship evolves, and one of the stages involves concluding that forever is a good idea. Some people take a hell of a long time to make up their minds. Sometimes the other person can't wait any longer for a decision.
This isn't the same as cheating. There have been no promises made, no declarations of where the boundaries are. In fact, if one of the terms of the relationship is that they aren'texclusive, that they are both free to see other people, then they are just drawing out the dating phase. Sometimes to ridiculous proportions.
We've seen real cheating: that looks different. The couple has made promises and put restrictions on what is acceptable and what is not. Maybe "anything we both do with a third (or fourth) party is okay, because we're doing it together." Or "Bye, honey, have fun at the club, I'm going to watch Netflix tonight." There are a lot of ways to define the commitment. "No nothing with anyone else ever" is one way, and probably the one we like best, because it's familiar and the ideal we've been taught to strive for. Real gay men don't always draw the boundaries in the same places that traditional heterosexual couples do, and don't we read them because they aren't the same as het couples?
But for cheating to occur, there has to be a violation in the limits that the couple has agreed to. Any definition the reader has is not something that binds them.
And if the two men haven't moved past the dating stage and feel free to see others? I'm not about to call that cheating: they haven't decided for themselves what their relationship is going to be. That's what the romance is for—I'm going to read it and see how two hot men choose.
Jon and Ricky, from The Rare Event, are still working this out. Here's an excerpt:
***Almost against his will, Jon's arms slipped around his wandering lover. "I don't know that. What I know is that any man around you is either someone you've fucked, someone you're going to fuck, or someone too straight or too contemptible to fuck, though they might do in a pinch."
"Those aren't bad categories. Jon, yeah, I like variety. But I keep coming back to you. Out I go, back I come." Ricky stroked his fingers through Jon's wet hair. "I always come back to you."
"What if I did that?" Jon pulled away, but Ricky wasn't letting go easily. "What if I had sex with someone else now and then?"
"You'd be entitled, I guess." Ricky looked sideways into Jon's eyes, confused. "But you haven't. You wouldn't."
"Why? Why wouldn't I?" Anger gave Jon the strength to jerk back, and knowing the answer made him want to pull more clothing on, to cover himself.
"It's just… that's not who you are." Ricky shook his head minutely.
"Damned right that's not who I am." That wasn't how Jon would have explained it had Ricky asked. "But what I don't get is why who I am isn't enough for you."
He wouldn't press more; he couldn't say another thing without demanding something that Ricky couldn't or wouldn't give him, and if he stayed another second without demanding it, he'd either punch Ricky or cry. Or both. He shoved out the bedroom door, past Ricky, whose mouth was hanging open,and fled barefoot for the beach.
Ricky came outside about twenty minutes later, carrying a fried egg sandwich wrapped in a napkin. "You're bonking after your run. Here." Jon put down the stick he'd been using to randomly draw and dig in the sand and accepted the peace offering. "It's all worse when you're hungry."
Maybe the hollow pangs in his gut weren't just misery. Jon ripped off a corner of toast, hating that Ricky had a point.
Ricky sat down in the sand, assuming the same cross-legged position Jon had, and picked up the twig. Jon ate silently, feeling his blood sugar coming back up point by point. He licked his fingers, knowing that he'd lost control of his tongue earlier because of how much his exercise had taken out of him; he'd met other men wearing that knowing expression and kept silent. The encounter with the stranger in the beach house wasn't the first such, and hadn't Ricky come as close to declaring his affection as he ever had? Jon had given up the jealous scenes after the first he'd pitched, a year ago, when he hadn't touched Ricky for a week after and had only seen him in the office in passing.
"It is," Jon finally admitted. "But it's bad enough the rest of the time."
"You really hate that we're not exclusive, don't you?" It wasn't really a question. Ricky dug the twig deeply into the sand, finding the damp, dark layer under the surface.
"I try not to push, but yeah. I do." Jon crumpled the napkin in his hand just for something to destroy. He looked out at the water in the bay, not at Ricky, or he'd need the napkin to wipe his eyes.
"I don't know that I can ever be, Jon. Home base with you is as close as I've ever gotten." Ricky smoothed the dry sand over, hiding the damp below. "I won't make you a promise I can't keep."
"That's something." Jon sniffed in spite of himself. "I don't want broken promises. Or lies."
"I've never lied to you."
"No, you've been more open than I can stand sometimes." Ricky had never hidden his adventures, but he'd been more sparing with details after that week's hiatus. Jon didn't want to know more than "Did you use condoms?" There'd been a six-week gap and some blood tests before they'd been intimate again the one time Ricky had said no.
"Jon, what you want and what I want are… aren't the same. Would you be happier if… if we didn't see each other?" Ricky's voice was low, almost lost in the mumble of the surf.
"Yes." Ricky jerked around to stare at him. "No." Jon wrapped his arms around himself, shivering in spite of the warmth of the day, and leaned into Ricky. "I don't know."
The hell of it, Jon thought, with his face buried in Ricky's neck and their arms tight around each other, fallen backward onto the sand, was that he truly didn't know.
****
Hedge fund trader Ricky Santeramo has it all: money, looks,and fellow trader Jonathan Hogenboom. The two couldn't be further apart: Jon is from old money, and Ricky clawed his way out of blue-collar New Jersey. Jon hedges his positions; Ricky goes for broke. Jon likes opera and the Yankees, Ricky prefers clubbing. Jon drinks wine with dinner, Ricky throws back a beer. Jon wants monogamy; Ricky likes variety. Everything's changing, in the stock market and the relationship. Airlines are bankrupt, the housing market is crumbling, and Jon's old friend Davis comes to town, ready for baseball and forever.
Faced with losing it all, Ricky must make the savviest trades of his life and pray for a rare event. His stocks and Jon's heart are on the line.
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=2851
A romance is all about finding the wonderful forever love, so the happy ending is just built in. But what about the getting to the point of even noticing that there's another man with whom forever is a good idea?
That period before the commitment is known as "dating", and those of us who have done it know that exclusivity isn't always part of it. In fact, the "eyes meet, no one else exists" part happens more often in stories than in life. Isn't the deciding just as important as the final decision? And in the meantime, if the story supports it, why shouldn't the character still play the field?
A relationship evolves, and one of the stages involves concluding that forever is a good idea. Some people take a hell of a long time to make up their minds. Sometimes the other person can't wait any longer for a decision.
This isn't the same as cheating. There have been no promises made, no declarations of where the boundaries are. In fact, if one of the terms of the relationship is that they aren'texclusive, that they are both free to see other people, then they are just drawing out the dating phase. Sometimes to ridiculous proportions.
We've seen real cheating: that looks different. The couple has made promises and put restrictions on what is acceptable and what is not. Maybe "anything we both do with a third (or fourth) party is okay, because we're doing it together." Or "Bye, honey, have fun at the club, I'm going to watch Netflix tonight." There are a lot of ways to define the commitment. "No nothing with anyone else ever" is one way, and probably the one we like best, because it's familiar and the ideal we've been taught to strive for. Real gay men don't always draw the boundaries in the same places that traditional heterosexual couples do, and don't we read them because they aren't the same as het couples?
But for cheating to occur, there has to be a violation in the limits that the couple has agreed to. Any definition the reader has is not something that binds them.
And if the two men haven't moved past the dating stage and feel free to see others? I'm not about to call that cheating: they haven't decided for themselves what their relationship is going to be. That's what the romance is for—I'm going to read it and see how two hot men choose.
Jon and Ricky, from The Rare Event, are still working this out. Here's an excerpt:
***Almost against his will, Jon's arms slipped around his wandering lover. "I don't know that. What I know is that any man around you is either someone you've fucked, someone you're going to fuck, or someone too straight or too contemptible to fuck, though they might do in a pinch."
"Those aren't bad categories. Jon, yeah, I like variety. But I keep coming back to you. Out I go, back I come." Ricky stroked his fingers through Jon's wet hair. "I always come back to you."
"What if I did that?" Jon pulled away, but Ricky wasn't letting go easily. "What if I had sex with someone else now and then?"
"You'd be entitled, I guess." Ricky looked sideways into Jon's eyes, confused. "But you haven't. You wouldn't."
"Why? Why wouldn't I?" Anger gave Jon the strength to jerk back, and knowing the answer made him want to pull more clothing on, to cover himself.
"It's just… that's not who you are." Ricky shook his head minutely.
"Damned right that's not who I am." That wasn't how Jon would have explained it had Ricky asked. "But what I don't get is why who I am isn't enough for you."
He wouldn't press more; he couldn't say another thing without demanding something that Ricky couldn't or wouldn't give him, and if he stayed another second without demanding it, he'd either punch Ricky or cry. Or both. He shoved out the bedroom door, past Ricky, whose mouth was hanging open,and fled barefoot for the beach.
Ricky came outside about twenty minutes later, carrying a fried egg sandwich wrapped in a napkin. "You're bonking after your run. Here." Jon put down the stick he'd been using to randomly draw and dig in the sand and accepted the peace offering. "It's all worse when you're hungry."
Maybe the hollow pangs in his gut weren't just misery. Jon ripped off a corner of toast, hating that Ricky had a point.
Ricky sat down in the sand, assuming the same cross-legged position Jon had, and picked up the twig. Jon ate silently, feeling his blood sugar coming back up point by point. He licked his fingers, knowing that he'd lost control of his tongue earlier because of how much his exercise had taken out of him; he'd met other men wearing that knowing expression and kept silent. The encounter with the stranger in the beach house wasn't the first such, and hadn't Ricky come as close to declaring his affection as he ever had? Jon had given up the jealous scenes after the first he'd pitched, a year ago, when he hadn't touched Ricky for a week after and had only seen him in the office in passing.
"It is," Jon finally admitted. "But it's bad enough the rest of the time."
"You really hate that we're not exclusive, don't you?" It wasn't really a question. Ricky dug the twig deeply into the sand, finding the damp, dark layer under the surface.
"I try not to push, but yeah. I do." Jon crumpled the napkin in his hand just for something to destroy. He looked out at the water in the bay, not at Ricky, or he'd need the napkin to wipe his eyes.
"I don't know that I can ever be, Jon. Home base with you is as close as I've ever gotten." Ricky smoothed the dry sand over, hiding the damp below. "I won't make you a promise I can't keep."
"That's something." Jon sniffed in spite of himself. "I don't want broken promises. Or lies."
"I've never lied to you."
"No, you've been more open than I can stand sometimes." Ricky had never hidden his adventures, but he'd been more sparing with details after that week's hiatus. Jon didn't want to know more than "Did you use condoms?" There'd been a six-week gap and some blood tests before they'd been intimate again the one time Ricky had said no.
"Jon, what you want and what I want are… aren't the same. Would you be happier if… if we didn't see each other?" Ricky's voice was low, almost lost in the mumble of the surf.
"Yes." Ricky jerked around to stare at him. "No." Jon wrapped his arms around himself, shivering in spite of the warmth of the day, and leaned into Ricky. "I don't know."
The hell of it, Jon thought, with his face buried in Ricky's neck and their arms tight around each other, fallen backward onto the sand, was that he truly didn't know.
****
Hedge fund trader Ricky Santeramo has it all: money, looks,and fellow trader Jonathan Hogenboom. The two couldn't be further apart: Jon is from old money, and Ricky clawed his way out of blue-collar New Jersey. Jon hedges his positions; Ricky goes for broke. Jon likes opera and the Yankees, Ricky prefers clubbing. Jon drinks wine with dinner, Ricky throws back a beer. Jon wants monogamy; Ricky likes variety. Everything's changing, in the stock market and the relationship. Airlines are bankrupt, the housing market is crumbling, and Jon's old friend Davis comes to town, ready for baseball and forever.
Faced with losing it all, Ricky must make the savviest trades of his life and pray for a rare event. His stocks and Jon's heart are on the line.
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=2851
Same Time Next Year rides again...
My short story, Same Time Next Year, has been republished at JMS Books, and for one week only it's on sale for 20% off.
Jerome and Greg played on the dirt road halfway between their homes when they were kids, and found much better games to play there when they grew older. It's their special spot, the perfect place for Greg to propose, and the worst place possible for the accident that takes his life.
Devastated by the loss, Jerome visits that lonely road on the anniversary of Greg's death, only to discover not all endings are permanent.
Find it here at JMS Books:
Jerome and Greg played on the dirt road halfway between their homes when they were kids, and found much better games to play there when they grew older. It's their special spot, the perfect place for Greg to propose, and the worst place possible for the accident that takes his life.
Devastated by the loss, Jerome visits that lonely road on the anniversary of Greg's death, only to discover not all endings are permanent.
Find it here at JMS Books:
March 27, 2012
Timely Article - Diversion
The pill mills, prescription drug diversion, doctors being charged with murder for negligent prescriptions, and "gray markets" featured in my latest offering, Diversion, though written ficticiously, have real life counterparts. Though I had a bit of insight into the pharmaceutical supply chain before I began writing, my eyes were widely opened as I researched Lucky and Bo's tale.
The book was finished late last year, but in reading the Wall Street Journal recently, I discovered that the subject matter is still very much relevant. Here's a link to an article from March 22.
The book was finished late last year, but in reading the Wall Street Journal recently, I discovered that the subject matter is still very much relevant. Here's a link to an article from March 22.
The Novel Approach reviews Diversion
I can't believe it's been a full year since my last novel, and I'd nearly forgotten how bad those pre-release/release/post-release jitters could be for an author, waiting to see how readers would like a book. And then a review appeared that inspired a sigh of relief.
That review came from The Novel Approach. Reviewer Lisa had this to say about my latest effort, Diversion:
That review came from The Novel Approach. Reviewer Lisa had this to say about my latest effort, Diversion:
Diversion snuck up on me, which, given its title, (and its author) is something I probably should've anticipated a bit more. Like Lucky, Eden Winters isn't afraid to go for the emotional jugular, and she seems to nick mine pretty much every time. This became a story not about how much Lucky was willing to take but about how much he was willing to give. For a convicted criminal that's the ultimate redemption.Read full review here:
March 26, 2012
Giveaway for P.D. Singer's Upcoming Novel!
Hurry over to Stumbling Over Chaos to get your name in the hat for a copy of P.D. Singer's upcoming release, The Rare Event. I was fortunate enough to get an early read, and wow! What a book!
I've convinced her to come visit closer to release day for a guest post. Be looking for that this weekend, but in the meantime, the drawing closes on March 29, and Dreamspinner will release the book the next day.
I'm loving his cover!
I've convinced her to come visit closer to release day for a guest post. Be looking for that this weekend, but in the meantime, the drawing closes on March 29, and Dreamspinner will release the book the next day.
I'm loving his cover!
March 21, 2012
24th Annual Lambda Literary Awards Finalist - Settling the Score
We're not allowed to use cell phones where I work, so yesterday on lunch break I ducked out to my car to check email and see what was going on in the world. On my phone's tiny screen I saw an email with a subject line that said, "Congratulations Lammy Finalists!"
Excited to see who'd made finalist, I click open the message and read, "Dear Lambda Literary Awards Finalist." I swallowed hard and read it again, thinking surely there had to be a mistake. The next line said, "I'm pleased to congratulate you on your nomination..." Too stunned to do anything else, I reread that one line over and over and over. And then I cried, hoping no well-meaning co-worker would see me and come running over. Then I called Mom.
After bawling and blathering incoherently for five minutes, I hung up and read the press release. No mistake. There it appeared under the Gay Romance heading: Settling the Score, by Eden Winters, Torquere Press. Finally, I had to pull myself together and go back in to work, bottling all my elations/nervousness/disbelief/gratitude up inside of me. I'm still stunned, thus the time it took for me to post.
At first I didn't really think about the awards ceremony on June 4, but the more I consider it, the more I realize I really want to go, for this truly is an amazing, possibly once in a lifetime occurence. I'm not the most socially adept person in the world, and I have no clue what to wear, but I do know I want to go. As she is the one who first encouraged (poked, prodded) me to write a story, and who's been with me every step of my literary journey, I've asked my dear friend, crit partner, and, as Marie Sexton and Heidi Cullinan said recently in a blog post, my "bunker buddy," I've ask Pam, aka P.D. Singer to attend with me.
My heartfelt congratulations to all the finalists, and I look forward to seeing you in June. Thank you, Lambda Literary.
Read entire press release here:
Now, any thoughts on what I should wear?
Excited to see who'd made finalist, I click open the message and read, "Dear Lambda Literary Awards Finalist." I swallowed hard and read it again, thinking surely there had to be a mistake. The next line said, "I'm pleased to congratulate you on your nomination..." Too stunned to do anything else, I reread that one line over and over and over. And then I cried, hoping no well-meaning co-worker would see me and come running over. Then I called Mom.
After bawling and blathering incoherently for five minutes, I hung up and read the press release. No mistake. There it appeared under the Gay Romance heading: Settling the Score, by Eden Winters, Torquere Press. Finally, I had to pull myself together and go back in to work, bottling all my elations/nervousness/disbelief/gratitude up inside of me. I'm still stunned, thus the time it took for me to post.
At first I didn't really think about the awards ceremony on June 4, but the more I consider it, the more I realize I really want to go, for this truly is an amazing, possibly once in a lifetime occurence. I'm not the most socially adept person in the world, and I have no clue what to wear, but I do know I want to go. As she is the one who first encouraged (poked, prodded) me to write a story, and who's been with me every step of my literary journey, I've asked my dear friend, crit partner, and, as Marie Sexton and Heidi Cullinan said recently in a blog post, my "bunker buddy," I've ask Pam, aka P.D. Singer to attend with me.
My heartfelt congratulations to all the finalists, and I look forward to seeing you in June. Thank you, Lambda Literary.
Read entire press release here:
Now, any thoughts on what I should wear?
