T. Strange's Blog, page 9
April 8, 2015
My Zombie Boyfriend One Week Countdown - Day One: Winston and Boo



With exactly one week to go until My Zombie Boyfriend's release, I thought I'd start introducing you to the characters!
First up are the cats, Winston and Boo.
It's funny, when I'm writing, how I won't realize the connections between things until much later. I didn't think of this until this morning, when I was planning this post. I was afraid of cats for most of my childhood, due to lack of exposure (my mom doesn't like animals) and a half-remembered incident involving a mother cat scratching me when I wanted to keep playing with her kittens. I now have two cats (well, a cat and an Eldritch Horrorpuss) and I love both of them very much. I hope that both my love and fear of cats comes across in My Zombie Boyfriend!




Winston is the blue British Shorthair kitten Edward gives to Kit for Christmas. Winston is the opposite of Boo in every way. He's sweet and friendly and meets Kit at the door when he gets home. Winston also has a Pinterest board. Lee, pictured above, was supposed to be a Winston-cat. Unfortunately, she turned out to be a Boo-cat. (But we love her anyway <3)
Published on April 08, 2015 15:55
Room 1024 - Guest Post
I'm thrilled to welcome Erin McRae and Racheline Maltese to my blog today to talk about their new M/M BDSM release, Room 1024. Not only are they fellow Torquere Press authors, but you know I can't resist M/M or BDSM. Put them both together and...I'm totally there. I preordered this book as soon as it became available, and I can't wait to start reading it!
* * *
Our working title for Room 1024 was, for a while, Conference, because it’s set at a men’s leather conference in San Francisco and we’re very clever with titles. My partner looked over my shoulder one day and said “Oh, you’re writing another story about academics?”
“Uh. No.”
“...What are you writing about?”
“BDSM.”
“Oh. Huh. Why? I mean like, is that something you want to try?”
No, it wasn’t, which I told him, and then we chatted for about half an hour about stuff I’d learned while doing research. Because, yes, I had to do research for this story. My cowriter, Racheline Maltese, has a long history and experience with the BDSM community. Saying that I’d jumped into the deep end of the pool would be an understatement. It was as if I’d decided to write a story about baseball but the only things I knew was that the game existed, people watched it sometimes, and it involved like pucks and rackets?
Which is to say, I basically zero familiarity with all the cultures, subcultures, history, or intra-community debates of the massive web of people and practices that fall under the category “BDSM.”
Racheline sent me links to articles, and videos -- which I watched on my phone at work, because while my dayjob is a pretty liberal place, streaming a video on flogging best-practices on the company computer seemed not really the way to go.
My favorite moment, though, came after Racheline and I put a post up on our blog talking about the story. The next day I got a very long, somewhat concerned email from my mother. She wanted to know what about BDSM appealed to me -- why I was writing it -- and was this like that time I was really into Elves?
(I was a HUGE Lord of the Rings nerd when I was a teenager.)
And like, as awkward as that email was to get -- because really -- it was also my mom just wanting to know what my interests were. She’s always been supportive, of my writing career especially, and to her this was just one more Thing Erin’s Writing About that she wanted to ask me my mind about.
I wrote her a really long email back, explaining basically the same things I’d told my partner. BDSM wasn’t just about sex and whips and chains and like, whatever else she thought. (Like sure, those things are there, and they seem like they could be fun, but I wasn’t going to say that to my mother). It is about relationship structures and communication and negotiating agreements in -- hopefully -- positive and constructive ways. So, like, no, it wasn’t like the time I was really into Elves. But it was pretty cool nonetheless.
Blurb:
When Cameron takes his submissive boyfriend Noah to a gay men's leather convention in San Francisco, Cam expects to spend the week exploring their relationship and experimenting with non-monogamy. What he doesn't expect is to run into his own former dom, Lou, in an embarrassingly public reunion.
While Noah is enthusiastic about the opportunity to play with the former international leather title-holder, Cam is more wary. He and Lou have unfinished business. A four-way encounter with Lou and his sub Stephen could be great fun—or it could show Noah that Cameron can never quite be the dom he wants and needs.
As Cameron and Noah work through the uncertainties in their relationship, Noah is offered everything he ever wanted, in a completely different way than he ever expected, leading all four men to discover that sometimes the only way forward is to revisit the past.
Bio:
Erin McRae and Racheline Maltese are authors of the gay romance series Love in Los Angeles, set in the film and television industry -- Starling (September 10, 2014), Doves (January 21, 2015), and Phoenix (June 10, 2015) -- from Torquere Press. Their gay romance novella series Love’s Labours, set in the theater world -- Midsummer (May 2015), and Twelfth Night (Fall 2015), is from Dreamspinner Press. They also have a story in Best Gay Romance 2015 from Cleis Press and edited by Felice Picano.
Racheline is a NYC-based performer and storyteller; Erin is a writer and blogger based in Washington, D.C. They write stories and scripts about the intersection of private lives, fame, and desire. You can find them on the web at http://www.Avian30.com.
Social Media Links:
Joint Blog: http://Avian30.comJoint Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Erin.and.RachelineErin’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/erincmcraeRacheline’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/racheline_mErin’s Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8323893.Erin_McRaeRacheline’s Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1015335.Racheline_MalteseErin’s Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Erin-McRae/e/B00M7A0SVCRacheline’s Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Racheline-Maltese/e/B001JRVS2C
Buy Link:
Torquere Press: http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=200&products_id=4373
* * *

Our working title for Room 1024 was, for a while, Conference, because it’s set at a men’s leather conference in San Francisco and we’re very clever with titles. My partner looked over my shoulder one day and said “Oh, you’re writing another story about academics?”
“Uh. No.”
“...What are you writing about?”
“BDSM.”
“Oh. Huh. Why? I mean like, is that something you want to try?”
No, it wasn’t, which I told him, and then we chatted for about half an hour about stuff I’d learned while doing research. Because, yes, I had to do research for this story. My cowriter, Racheline Maltese, has a long history and experience with the BDSM community. Saying that I’d jumped into the deep end of the pool would be an understatement. It was as if I’d decided to write a story about baseball but the only things I knew was that the game existed, people watched it sometimes, and it involved like pucks and rackets?
Which is to say, I basically zero familiarity with all the cultures, subcultures, history, or intra-community debates of the massive web of people and practices that fall under the category “BDSM.”
Racheline sent me links to articles, and videos -- which I watched on my phone at work, because while my dayjob is a pretty liberal place, streaming a video on flogging best-practices on the company computer seemed not really the way to go.
My favorite moment, though, came after Racheline and I put a post up on our blog talking about the story. The next day I got a very long, somewhat concerned email from my mother. She wanted to know what about BDSM appealed to me -- why I was writing it -- and was this like that time I was really into Elves?
(I was a HUGE Lord of the Rings nerd when I was a teenager.)
And like, as awkward as that email was to get -- because really -- it was also my mom just wanting to know what my interests were. She’s always been supportive, of my writing career especially, and to her this was just one more Thing Erin’s Writing About that she wanted to ask me my mind about.
I wrote her a really long email back, explaining basically the same things I’d told my partner. BDSM wasn’t just about sex and whips and chains and like, whatever else she thought. (Like sure, those things are there, and they seem like they could be fun, but I wasn’t going to say that to my mother). It is about relationship structures and communication and negotiating agreements in -- hopefully -- positive and constructive ways. So, like, no, it wasn’t like the time I was really into Elves. But it was pretty cool nonetheless.
Blurb:
When Cameron takes his submissive boyfriend Noah to a gay men's leather convention in San Francisco, Cam expects to spend the week exploring their relationship and experimenting with non-monogamy. What he doesn't expect is to run into his own former dom, Lou, in an embarrassingly public reunion.
While Noah is enthusiastic about the opportunity to play with the former international leather title-holder, Cam is more wary. He and Lou have unfinished business. A four-way encounter with Lou and his sub Stephen could be great fun—or it could show Noah that Cameron can never quite be the dom he wants and needs.
As Cameron and Noah work through the uncertainties in their relationship, Noah is offered everything he ever wanted, in a completely different way than he ever expected, leading all four men to discover that sometimes the only way forward is to revisit the past.
Bio:
Erin McRae and Racheline Maltese are authors of the gay romance series Love in Los Angeles, set in the film and television industry -- Starling (September 10, 2014), Doves (January 21, 2015), and Phoenix (June 10, 2015) -- from Torquere Press. Their gay romance novella series Love’s Labours, set in the theater world -- Midsummer (May 2015), and Twelfth Night (Fall 2015), is from Dreamspinner Press. They also have a story in Best Gay Romance 2015 from Cleis Press and edited by Felice Picano.
Racheline is a NYC-based performer and storyteller; Erin is a writer and blogger based in Washington, D.C. They write stories and scripts about the intersection of private lives, fame, and desire. You can find them on the web at http://www.Avian30.com.
Social Media Links:
Joint Blog: http://Avian30.comJoint Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Erin.and.RachelineErin’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/erincmcraeRacheline’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/racheline_mErin’s Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8323893.Erin_McRaeRacheline’s Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1015335.Racheline_MalteseErin’s Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Erin-McRae/e/B00M7A0SVCRacheline’s Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Racheline-Maltese/e/B001JRVS2C
Buy Link:
Torquere Press: http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=200&products_id=4373
Published on April 08, 2015 08:00
April 6, 2015
BDSMonday - Pedicures

It's BDSMonday!
One of the ways I like to serve my Sir is by giving pedicures--sometimes with nail polish, sometimes without.
For those of you who've never given a pedicure, here's how I do it:
- remove any old nail polish thoroughly
- soak feet in warm water for 10-15 minutes. Add Epsom salts or any other commercial foot soak (we like lavender Epsom salts)
- use exfoliating cream/callous grater
- rinse feet
- clip toenails straight across to help prevent ingrown toenails
- file toenails to smooth any rough edges
- push back cuticles. Use cuticle moisturizer if they don't push back easily after soaking
- use a loofah or pumice stone (we prefer a pumice stone) on roughened areas. Make sure skin is very moist before using the stone. You can put lotion directly on the stone before using
- slather on more lotion and place feet in plastic bags. Wrap warm towels around them or put on thick socks (we usually use socks) and let the lotion soak in for at least 15 minutes
- remove plastic bags and massage leftover lotion into feet
And voila! Happy, relaxed feet and happy, relaxed sub. It's a great way for both of us to unwind, and a way for me to offer practical service.
Stay tuned next week for an exclusive BDSMonday cover reveal for my upcoming M/M BDSM romance--Lock and Key! Some of you may remember Boots and Leather. Lock and Key is the sequel, and it will also re-release Boots and Leather for those of you who missed it the first time around.
Published on April 06, 2015 16:13
April 2, 2015
Swag Pack Giveaway!

Hey everyone! Less than two weeks until My Zombie Boyfriend's release, and I just couldn't wait to start doing giveaways.
To win the lovely swag pack below:
1. Preorder My Zombie Boyfriend from Torquere Press (you're eligible if you've already preordered)
2. Comment below - copy and paste your order confirmation information. Example:
"Thanks for shopping with us today!
The following are the details of your order.
Order Number: 141830
Date Ordered: Saturday 21 March, 2015
Click here for a Detailed Invoice
Products
1 x Room 1024 (Book)
Book Format eBook $2.99
---------
Sub-Total: $2.99
: $0.00
Total: $2.99"
I'll be picking a winner on release day - April 15th. I'll add other buy/preorder links as I get them, but I only have the Torquere link for now.

Swag pack includes:
- helpful literature about the undead- a personalized card signed by Kit and Winston- $15 Starbucks gift card- Jelly Babies- Zombie Zoo Boo keychain plush- rubber duck light switch plate- Zombie Strong bracelet - My Zombie Boyfriend magnet- my gratitude
Published on April 02, 2015 09:40
March 30, 2015
BDSMonday - Outdoor Play

It's BDSMonday!
Today is a gorgeous day in my neck of the woods (and I hope in yours, too!) It's actually spring-like and not even too wet/muddy. That never happens.
Anyway, it got me thinking about great scenes of the past (now I'm picturing a flogger or something made of clouds à la The Lion King), specifically outdoor scenes. If you live in the city, like I do, it can be a little difficult to find places to play outside, because non-consensually freaking out Vanilla people isn't cool. But playing outside is a special experience, at least to my Sir and me.
In my current house, our fence is quite low on one side and made of wire on the other, so not much backyard privacy. We do have a garage, but it's not the most soundproof building.
When we lived with my stepmom, we did some outdoor play in my old treehouse while she was gone for the summer, and that was really fun.
During our honeymoon, we rented a small retreat and had the place to ourselves. We did an awesome takedown scene that involved me hiding in the woods for my Sir to find, and getting tackled on the beach. We tried a couple of other things, but there were a lot of ants. And we're not really into ant-play. But it's okay if you are!

My Vanilla Corner friends! Have you read any awesome outdoor play scenes that you'd like to share? I'd love to hear about 'em!
Published on March 30, 2015 18:29
March 23, 2015
BDSMonday - Origins

It's BDSMonday!
I feel like it's been a while since I shared any original content or anything personal, so today I have a weird little anecdote for you.
My mom and I had a Christmas tradition of watching The Muppets' Christmas Carol. When I was five, I remember noticing that Gonzo had certain, ah, proclivities. I asked my mom why he kept being disappointed the Rizzo was being hurt instead of him, and she said that Gonzo liked being hurt. And I was like, oh, good, there are other people (well, sort of) like me!
It wasn't until I was thirteen or so that I learned the word masochist (from my step-mom. I don't remember the context, but considering she's a German professor I'm pretty sure she was telling me about von Sacher-Masoch...)
Published on March 23, 2015 15:17
March 17, 2015
Tarnished by Ethan Radcliff Release Day Blitz


✦✦Synopsis✦✦

Joe Murphy is a boxer. He’s twenty-eight years old and what most women would call hot. He’s a player, and his lifestyle is ruining his career.
Joe always hooks up with the wrong women, head jobs and debutantes looking to further their own careers. Joe’s had it, he’s crashing and he’s doing nothing to stop his decent into his own personal hell.
Darlene Russo is a single mom and a huge boxing fan. Except she can’t afford to attend any of the bouts, she watches from afar, she’s a cleaning lady for the biggest sports arena in Brooklyn, New York.
Darlene finds the drunken boxer, and helps him get home. The next morning she wakes up in his bed, scared and confused. Their night together comes in on her, the lovemaking and their use of no protection. Her worries were just beginning and Joe Murphy would face the test of his life.

✦Excerpt✦Joe knew when he opened the door to leave his dressing room there would be some hot pussy waiting for him. He needed more than one piece of ass tonight and he needed a little blow, just a little to keep him hard. That shit was better than Viagra. There it was again, his cock, doing all the thinking for him. Fuck it; he needed a diversion, at least for tonight. Pussy was definitely the medicine he needed to cure his depression.

✦✦Ethan Radcliff✦✦

I've been writing since I was a kid. I love creating and tried my hand at art, not bad but not good enough. A guy's gotta eat. Through high school I wrote erotic stories, kept them in a notebook, let a few of my girlfriends read them. Yeah, played football, baseball, but my brain never stopped thinking of sex. I guess we think about it all the time. Been on face book for a while never did anything interesting when I was on until I started to see all the writers and then some poets posting their erotic prose. Men who were writing erotic romance and stories, I knew it was my time to get out the old note book and throw on some poems. Some are old and some are new, the ones about BDSM are newer. In high school or college I wasn't on that train of thought. I see a picture it sets me off. A see an attractive women it sets me off. The jiggle of a full ass or heavy breasts, gets me going. Yeah, my mind always is on a beautiful face or body.
✦✦Social Media Links✦✦FaceBook ♦ Fan Group ♦ Blog ♦ Twitter ♦ Tumblr ♦ Amazon Author Page ♦ Goodreads
→Purchase Ethan's other books←









Published on March 17, 2015 07:00
March 16, 2015
My Zombie Boyfriend Cover Reveal

Title: My Zombie Boyfriend
Author: T. Strange
Publisher: Torquere Press
Length: 64, 000 words (Novel)
Genres: Romance, Paranormal, Contemporary, M/M
Release Date: April 15th, 2015

Blurb: Edward Grey is a medical student by day, necromancer by night. He lives alone with the first zombie he ever raised, his childhood cat, Boo. Edward’s life is simple: studying medicine, training his necromantic powers with his mentor, Mariel, and having weekly dinners with his parents. When he finds a very attractive corpse in a park and brings it home to reanimate, he creates a sassy, free-willed zombie who believes Edward is the one who murdered him.
With no memory of his former life, Edward names the zombie Kit and tries to win his trust. Kit slowly adjusts to his new un-life with Edward’s help, though he’s still suspicious of Edward’s role in his death and is convinced that Edward is hiding his former identity. Edward is very attracted to Kit, but understands why Kit doesn’t trust him. As they become closer to one another, Kit turns to Edward for comfort and love. The fragile trust they’ve built together will be tested when Kit unexpectedly regains his memory and seeks revenge on his murderers.

Excerpt: Shopping with Kit was a nightmare.
I expect my clothes to cover publicly unacceptable bits, keep me warm, and protect me from the environment. That’s about all I require of them.
No. Kit was into Fashion. With a capital F. He looked at racks of shirts that, color aside, all seemed identical to me. He kept staring at the labels.
I got more than a little impatient. It had been a long day. Not to mention my long night raising the temperamental dead. “Kit,” I groaned, “money is not an issue. Just pick whatever you want and I’ll buy it for you. I literally do not care how much it costs.”
Kit’s mouth fell open in a perfect, sexy ‘O’ of exaggerated horror. “You think I’m looking at the prices? Oh, Edward. That’s so cute.”
He thought I was cute? I knew he was teasing me, but I still liked hearing him say it.
My headache was back. This seemed to be a trend with Kit around. If he wasn’t looking at the prices, what was taking him so long? I took a deep, soothing breath. On the plus side, Kit had obviously relaxed since being out in public. I had heard of retail therapy but never before witnessed its effect. He was practically glowing as he chattered on about the relative merits of this and that brand, designer and logo. It was a soothing wash of words that meant absolutely nothing to me, so I nodded, smiled, and tried not to focus on how pretty his mouth was, the way his hands seemed to hang in the air when he spoke, how amazing his hair looked even in the terrible mall lighting.
It was a good thing he was so pretty, or I probably would have killed him and left. It would be so easy, too. One word and he would collapse, his reanimated essence disappearing while I walked out of the store and back into my nice, normal medical student/necromancer life.
“Hello? Earth to Edward. I’m ready.” He thrust a very large bundle of clothes into my arms and stood there, all but tapping his foot. He smiled and said, “Oh, yes. We still have to get shoes.”
About the Author: My Zombie Boyfriend is T. Strange’s first full-length novel, though she has published several shorter works with Torquere Press. When not writing, T. enjoys gardening, spending time with her horse, and, of course, reading. T. lives in Canada with her wife, surrounded by pets.
Author Links:
Blogger http://tqstrange.blogspot.ca/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/tq.strange
Twitter https://twitter.com/TqStrange
Tsu https://www.tsu.co/T_Strange
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3334999.T_Strange
Amazon http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00DX6YGW6
Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/tqstrange/
Torquere http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=464
Google+ https://plus.google.com/u/0/+TStrange/posts
Tumblr http://tqstrange.tumblr.com/

Published on March 16, 2015 16:53
BDSMonday - Photoset

It's BDSMonday! (Again, sorry about last week...work was ri-DIC-ulous!)
Today I have a photoset for you, showing examples of real-life kinksters doing their kinky thing. There's a lot more than leather and latex here!
(Link is NSFW)
Published on March 16, 2015 12:18
March 6, 2015
Tarnished by Ethan Radcliff Cover Reveal


✦✦Synopsis✦✦Joe Murphy is a boxer. He’s twenty-eight years old and what most women would call hot. He’s a player, and his lifestyle is ruining his career.
Joe always hooks up with the wrong women, head jobs and debutantes looking to further their own careers. Joe’s had it, he’s crashing and he’s doing nothing to stop his decent into his own personal hell.
Darlene Russo is a single mom and a huge boxing fan. Except she can’t afford to attend any of the bouts, she watches from afar, she’s a cleaning lady for the biggest sports arena in Brooklyn, New York.
Darlene finds the drunken boxer, and helps him get home. The next morning she wakes up in his bed, scared and confused. Their night together comes in on her, the lovemaking and their use of no protection. Her worries were just beginning and Joe Murphy would face the test of his life.
✦Excerpt✦"Look at me," Joe said as his fingers went under Darlene's chin. "You're very attractive." Darlene trembled his touch was warm, gentle and his voice soothing so confident. He ran a finger over her bottom lip.
"You're trembling, I like that. Tells me a woman's body is reacting and I love a wet soft pussy." Her heart leapt in her chest and her nipples hardened. She'd never had a man talk to her like that. There mere mention of her pussy made her body ache.
"I bet right about now, if I slipped a finger into you, you'd be sopping wet. Should I try and see?" Darlene swallowed, she couldn't move because he was right, he was so right.
✦✦Ethan Radcliff✦✦


✦✦Social Media Links✦✦FaceBook ♦ Blog ♦ Twitter ♦ Tumblr ♦ Amazon Author Page ♦ Goodreads
→Purchase Ethan's other books←









Published on March 06, 2015 10:58