Cardeno C.'s Blog, page 128

Sick and...well...just sick.

I am Florence-freaking-Nightingale when anyone in my family gets sick, making chicken soup (some like it with matzo balls, others with orzo, others with rice, so what goes in the pot all depends on who's sick), running to the store for medicine, holding someone's hand at the doctor's, and so forth and so on.

I am also first to admit I'm a piss poor patient.

When I get sick, I get grumpy. I can't help it; it's the way I'm programmed. When I'm under the weather and can't do the things I normally do, I get irritable.

Especially when it comes to writing. The voices in my head have absolutely no sympathy for poor, sick little me, you see. They chatter on, ever insistent that I write their story, with absolutely no consideration for me and my head cold/bronchitis/stomach flu/whatever. This only adds to my irritability factor.

Take yesterday and today for example. I woke up yesterday with laryngitis. Seriously, when I spoke I sounded like what you'd get if  Janis Joplin and Barry White had a baby. My throat hurt, my glands are swollen, I'm running a temperature, and all I want to do is sleep.

Three a.m. rolls around. I'm in bed. I'm sleeping. There's drool on my chin. Suddenly, I'm sitting up, wide awake. Why? Because the voices in my head decided it would be a great time to give me a really good story idea.

And what happens when Kiernan gets a really good story idea?

She needs to write it down, or she'll forget it, that's what.

And once I'm awake enough to write something I might have the slightest chance of deciphering come morning, I'm up, period.

Damn voices.

So that's where I am. Writing, swallowing medication, and making my own damn matzo ball soup, because everyone else in the house is asleep except for me and my voices.

And they wonder why I'm grumpy when I'm sick.

How is it already Monday? by Cardeno C.

Happy Monday, y'all. I have no idea where the last week went. It flew by. Kind of like the kamikaze birds that keep hitting my windows. Anyway, it's Monday, which means it's my day to blog and, well, you know how that usually goes so ...

I'm giving away a copy of my upcoming release, Something in the Way He Needs, over at Stumbling Over Chaos. Check it out here.The check engine light is back on in my car and the mechanic is "trying one more thing" - I'll keep you updated on this exciting progress.I'm throwing in the towel on my cell phone carrier and switching carriers. So I need to find a new carrier and a new phone. This has taken up way more time than is reasonable with a bunch of different friends with different phones on different carriers coming to my house to check out my service level in every nook and cranny. (That sounds way dirtier and more fun than it was in real life.)That's it for now. Off to write. Have a wonderful week.
CCwww.cardenoc.com

Olde City, New Blood Con

Got back Sunday night from the Olde City, New Blood convention in St. Augustine, Florida. This past weekend was the inaugural launch of the con, and I was pleased and honored to be a featured author at the event.

What was cool about the con was that it brought writers of both straight and GLBT paranormal and urban fantasy romance together.There were many panels where writers of both genres sat together to discuss whatever subject the panel was assigned.

I sat on three panels. "GLBT in Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance," "Shifters, Where the Weres Are," and "Is Your Manuscript Ready?" plus two meet and greets.

There were many familiar faces there. I got to hang out with T.c. Blue, K.C. Burn, Mary Calmes, Amy Lane, Damon Suede, Poppy Dennison, and many other writers. I had an absolutely fantastic time. Lord knows, I laughed A LOT.

One panel I did not sit on but attended was the flash fiction panel. Amy Lane and Damon were on it along with a handful of het authors. Good grief. The het authors didn't know what hit them. I'm sure they weren't ready for the panel to go off into the nether regions of naughty humor the way it did, but we gay romance writers expected nothing less. When T.c. Blue gave the prompt "platypi invasion," all bets were off. It got dirty and hilarious quickly from that point on.

All in all, I think the con was a success, and I'm already looking forward to next year!

Just a Random Update by Cardeno C.

Happy Monday, y'all. Not much to say on my end. (I know you're shocked, but pick up those dropped jaws, it's really not becoming.) But I'm going to do my bloggy best and just share some news from the past few weeks.

I think that I should be in some sort of Android/iphone commercial or test facility. As you might recall, I spilled coffee on my iphone, thus making the ear piece unusable. My friend has since fixed it, but in the meantime, he got me an Android phone, which he swore I'd like better. It's a Samsung Google Nexus and it is a really great phone. As far as many features (Google compatibility, access to open aps), he was right and I like it better - point for Android. But (you knew there would be a but), I've had multiple struggles trying to sync it with Outlook (for my day job) and I never had that problem with iphone - point for iphone. Also, the battery lasts about four hours if I use it (to check FB and twitter and otherwise stay connected). This caused a problem the other day when I wanted to take pictures in the evening and my phone was dead. I had to borrow someone's iphone - that's a point for iphone for those of you keeping track at home. I might or might not send the phone to Samnsung to see if they can fix the battery issue. This is currently the big question before me. What can I say? Mine clearly is not a complex life.Kelly Shorten, web/graphic guru extraordinaire and Musa Publishing designer, spiced up my website. Among other things, she added a stunning banner that Shirley Frances made for me using the cover Reese Dante created for Something in the Way He Needs, my upcoming release. I can't stop looking at it, that's how much I love it. Check it out here. The check engine light (a.k.a. "that light that looks like a submarine" - cue smirks from mechanics and friends alike) in my car has been going on for the last couple of months. I've been to the mechanic four times and I think he wants to pull his hair out. Status update on this: no light lately, so maybe he fixed it and all is well. Either that, or he broke the bulb. Not sure I care either way.Top2Bottom Reviews is reviewing the Home series books and they posted a review of He Completes Me that made me all tingly inside. Check it out here: Review of He Completes Me. They also did a wonderful one of Home Again: Review of Home AgainI put out a twitter/FB question about how old is too old to text "u" instead of "you". Turns out it was the most controversial thing I've ever written. Who knew? This popped into my mind as I read the responses: Are you ready to rumble?.Some other recent randomness (as tweeted):My friend's description of kids on her son's football team: yankers. I died laughing. Feb 10, 2013  I just experienced an auto-spinning showerhead. It was disconcerting. Feb 07, 2013  I just stumbled onto heaven: Ghirardelli espresso shake. Feb 06, 2013  I just witnessed 5 grown adults getting into the backseat of a Chrysler sedan. That's all for now. Carry on. Feb 04, 2013  Crisis averted. Caffeine consumed. All systems go. Feb 04, 2013  Missed morning coffee. In line @ airport McDonald's. Guy in front of me asking about ingredients & delaying my caffeine is risking his life. Feb 04, 2013  Tragedy. The milk was sour. I didn't know until after I poured it into my coffee. Jan 31, 2013  My friend: "Tip: don't write anything down that you don't want your mother or the Supreme Court to read." I think I'm in trouble. Jan 27, 2013  My friend will never lend his sister his car again. Standing in mall looking at porn on Twitter while my computer is being fixed. Need caffeine. Jan 25, 2013  Ummm ... Jan 23, 2013 That's all for now. Hope you have a wonderful week.
CCwww.cardenoc.com

Irrelevant stuff for all! :)

Okay, so my sister's mother who was so ill in upstate NY passed away last week; thus my lack of posting then. Between that and a deadline for a story I finally finished writing, I've been insane.

Things have settled down somewhat in the last day or so, but it's been a traveling week on top of everything else, and that means I have nothing prepared for today (obviously).

Instead of BSing you guys, I thought I'd share the following instead. Please keep in mind that I do NOT photograph well. Poor Adam Bouska had his hands full with me. Again! Hahaha!

And now, without further ado, I give you... my NOH8 pictures, taken this past November in Gaithersburg, MD. I will be in the corner hiding. Peace! :D

And my first one, from early in 2012:
Yes, I have a hat fetish. :P

Okay, NOW I'm going to hide. Wake me up when these photos are forgotten! LOL

This Year's First ANTI-Recommendation; by BG Thomas

So before you even think about renting or streaming this movie...DON'T!
I found this on one of those lists of gay movies you should see. I looked at Amazon and there were nice reviews with comments like...
"Both the book and movie forms of "Dream Boy" are recommendable" and "When I read the book I considered it one of the best I had ever read and I can say the same for the film. Beautifully photographed, great acting and one of the most faithful adaptations of a story to the screen since Brokeback Mountain. Strongly recommended!"
Recommended? Recommended??
Maybe if you are a self-hating-homophobe! I am so damned tired of It's-Okay-To-Make-A-Gay-Movie-As-Long-As-Someone-Dies! What the hell is going on?
Yes, I think "Brokeback" was an important film. And it was beautiful. It got its message across that the two men could have been happy had not the hetero-centered world given the men a chance. It opened eyes.
But for God's sake! As long as our movies are about unhappy endings--death by AIDS, gay-bashings, break-ups because "gay men can't find love"--then we are broadcasting the message that that is what "gay" is all about!

Why can't there be more movies like "Shelter" or "East Side Story" or "Boy Culture" or "Long Term Relationship?" What is going on? 
Here is a blurb for "Dream Boy": Shy teenager Nathan (Stephan Bender) and his family have moved from one town to another trying to escape the domestic disintegration within their own home. Roy (Max Roeg) and his family live a quiet life on a farm. When Nathan moves in next door to charismatic Roy, the boys strike up a friendship as high school study partners. Their strong emotional bond soon takes a natural turn toward physical passion, a secret they must hide from those around them in the backwoods rural community ... A haunting and mythical tale of first love. Directed by James Bolton (EBAN AND CHARLEY, THE GRAFITTI ARTIST). Featuring Diana Scarwid and Rickie Lee Jones.
"Dream Boy" starts beautifully. I read that it is a terrific adaptation of the book. Young men falling in love and realizing they are gay. The young actors are lovely. The acting all around is amazing. As the couple fall in love I was breathless. The love scenes were handled beautifully, sweet without being under-age-pornographic. They go right to the wall though. Powerful stuff.   Then--SPOILER ALERT!--we find out bad/sad stuff about one boy's past, including sexual abuse. I could live with that and waited to see how the boys would overcome.
 But then the movie suddenly gets silly, ridiculous, trite, cliche, and more. Death follows. Something supernatural. Ghosts? Hooey is what. I was so mad I stomped around the room, which isn't easy on a cane after a full knee replacement surgery.
 Send out the word! Do NOT watch this movie! Write Hollywood! Tell them we are tired of this filth. Gay is good. Why can't we have happy gay movies?
 Thank God for M/M romance!
 XOXOXOXOBG Thomas
 

Whips, and Floggers, and Ball Gags, Oh My!

Well, it's certainly been a while since last I posted to the blog, but I've been a very busy little camper. I went on a week-long, and much-needed cruise with the hubs a couple of weeks ago, where I totally unplugged from the world - no cellphones, no Internet, no nada. It was...nerve-wracking. I thought it would be relaxing, but no...all I could do was think about everything I should be doing - edits, writing, gathering promo for an upcoming convention, and so forth.

We sailed Royal Caribbean on the Oasis of the Sea, one of their largest cruise ships. We visited Haiti, Jamaica (first time we were back there since our honeymoon 31 years ago!), and Cozumel, and had a great time when I wasn't worrying about work. We didn't spend much time on Haiti, since aside from the beach, a roller coaster, and a market, there really wasn't much to do. The island is still hurting severely from the earthquake, and tourists aren't allowed beyond a very tiny portion of the island. On Jamaica we visited a crocodile sanctuary where the famous crocodile-jumping scene in the James Bond flick,  Live or Let Die was filmed. On Cozumel, we visited Mayan ruins and spent a few hours on the beach, although the water was too chilly to swim.

I got to make up for that by taking advantage of the hot tubs aboard ship. Man, if I could've slipped one into my purse, I so would've smuggled it ashore and put it in my yard.

Anyway, once I got home, I dove right into the work I'd worried about while I was gone. It's only now that I have a breather and am able to post here. Even so, I've still got a ton of work on the horizon, including finishing up a couple of novels and shorts I've got in the works.

On that front, the anthology I edited (and wrote a story for), Fifty Gays of Shade, has a cover and a release date! Yay! It'll be released on February 13th, 2013 through Torquere Press. I'll post a buy link as soon as it goes live in a couple of weeks.

Here's the cover:

Hot, huh?

With 17 sizzling stories by some of the most talented writers in the genre, this is a collection I'm very proud of, and excited about! The unique thing about this anthology is that, while every story is a stand alone and features new and unique characters written in each author's distinctive voice, they all take place at a BDSM club called Shady Business, and feature at least a walk-on by my character, the owner of the club, Grey Shade.

Whether you like your BDSM playful or rough, and your stories light or angsty, there's something for everyone in this anthology.

Here's the foreward, written by moi, as an introduction to the club and the book.



You walk in the door.

Music is pounding, the bass thrumming deep in your bones, awakening primal urges you didn't even know you had. Even with the loud music, you imagine you can still hear the more delicate sounds of flesh slapping flesh, of leather striping skin. The lights are pulsing, flashes of color briefly painting the walls, floor, and people with rainbow colors. You take a deep breath to still your jangly nerves, and inhale a lungful of air. Your nose fills with the warm scent of leather mixed with the heady aromas of men and sex. The testosterone in the air is so thick you may need a machete to cut through it to reach the other side of the room.

Welcome to Shady Business, the hottest gay BDSM club in town. 

There's Grey Shade, the owner, standing over by the bar. He's the Dom wearing black leather, his handsome face creased with a smirk that drives a spike of lust deep into your balls. Well-built, in his prime, he's a man whose every move screams sex and dominance. Your ass burns just looking at him, your imagination filling in all the erotic details of your instant fantasy.

Come in, have a drink. Whatever your fancy, whatever you're seeking, whatever your needs may be, you'll find what you're looking for here. Dom or sub, top or bottom, the Yin to your Yang is waiting just beyond the Member's Only door. 

Don't worry. You won't leave unsatisfied. 

At Shady Business, no good deed ever goes unpunished.

Something in the Way He Needs by Cardeno C. is Available for Preorder

Happy Monday! My exciting news today is that my next book, Something in the Way He Needs, has a release date (February 25th) and is now available for preorder. Although this book has much of the same feel as my others, I think it's a bit more intense. At least that was my goal. I hope you'll let me know what you think after you read it.

Here is the ebook link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3599.

Here is the paperback link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3600. (Note that the first 20 copies are autographed.)

Here is the blurb:

Police captain Asher Penaz’s staunch professionalism bleeds into his home life, down to his neatly pressed attire and spartan apartment. He enjoys being the man in charge, and leather bars satisfy his need for dominance—so his sudden and powerful attraction to the lighthearted, free-spirited Daniel Tover throws him for a loop. In his entire life, Daniel has never gotten what he needs, so he moves to the next place, the next job, the next attempt to find something worth staying for, always landing at the top of his game, but never feeling like he belongs. 

The chemistry between Asher and Daniel sizzles, so Asher invites Daniel home. As both men struggle to learn themselves while getting to know each other, the lines of desire and control blur. With all that fire comes the risk of getting burned. But if Daniel and Asher can walk through the flames together, they might find what they desperately need.

CC
www.cardenoc.com

Sunday Flash Fiction with Ellis

Image credit: keeweeboy / 123RF Stock PhotoThis week's flash fic finds us at a dude ranch - hope you enjoy. Love, Ellis


Theo Stone was… perplexed. "A dude ranch, Shawn? Seriously?"

He looked out from the porch of his little guest cabin, at the idyllic but surreal place his ex owned. While a few small houses dotted the landscape, it was mostly green grass as far as the eye could see. Rolling hills, green freaking grass, and cows. Holee shit the cows. A little lake shimmered in the distance. Quiet. Pretty. Nothing like the view from his Georgetown condo.

He eyed Shawn, whose appearance was also a little hard to reconcile. When last Theo had seen him, he'd been the very model of your stereotypical physical trainer with his muscles and his spandex. Theo’d liked the spandex. They’d had a brief thing, but Shawn was way too sweet and way too young. They’d had little in common outside the gym and the bedroom.

Now, as he frowned and leaned against a wood post on the porch, Shawn was almost a different person. Jeans and a flannel shirt hugged his solid body, and the cowboy hat and tan made the guy look like something out of a movie. His boots were worn and muddy, like he actually worked in them and didn't just prance around with them on because they were stylish.

"I know, and Mama would be rolling in her grave if she only knew, but frankly I need the extra money." The Texas drawl in Shawn's voice wasn't heavy, but clear enough that Theo had to wonder how he'd never noticed it during their time together in DC. "Which is why I called you, Theo. We’re in trouble if word gets out about these deaths."

Theo grimaced and shook his head. "You know I can't investigate in any kind of official capacity."

"Yeah, yeah, you keep saying that." Well, that nasty eye-roll of his hadn't changed. "Look, I already told you the police are investigating. Just hang out and enjoy your stay here like the rest of the folks, and if you happen to notice anything, you know..."

Yeah, Theo got the picture.

"Yeah, well, I'm here." Theo looked down at himself. The jeans and checked shirt weren't too far out in left field, but the boots and massive belt buckle made him cringe. "And I look like a doofus. Anything else is just gravy."

A gentle kiss and soft stubble bruhed across his cheek as Shawn stepped off the porch. “You needed a vacation anyway. You don’t slow down, one of these days, you’re gonna have a heart-attack.” To complete the look of shame, he dropped a straw cowboy hat onto Theo’s head and patted it gently. “Now be sure to wear the hat. You burn easy, and you’re not used to the Texas sun.”

Crimeny. “First vacation in five years I’m in the middle of fixing someone else’s problems,” he muttered to himself. What was he even doing here? As Shawn walked away, strong shoulders and lean hips rolling easily, blond hair shining in the sun, Theo supposed he knew.

-
At the end of his first full day at the Judge’s Bend ranch, Theo couldn’t figure for the life of him why folks did this for fun. His ass hurt from trail riding, and his knees and calves were bruised from one too many failed attempts at roping a wily young goat named Peanut. Apparently goats were what children and dumbass city slickers learned on before moving up to learning how to rope a steer. Lucky for Theo, a couple of Korean ladies – and who the hell flew all the way from another continent to do this shit, anyway? – had managed to thoroughly document his public humiliation on film.

Even the part where Peanut’s flailing hooves had connected squarely with Theo’s balls. Two tours in Afghanistan, couldn’t compete with one lousy goat.

Theo had also taken a tour through the bunkhouse and the main house-turned B&B, but no major clues had jumped out at him regarding the two ranch hands who had turned up dead. The police, apparently, weren’t looking too hard beyond ruling the incidents as a tragic accident. Shawn was convinced that old man Tallart from the next piece of property over was behind it all. Apparently Tallart was looking to expand his commercial operations, and felt that the space occupied by Shawn’s cattle would be perfect.

“So I hooked up with this buckle bunny last night after the rodeo…”

“Ugh.” Theo rushed past the back porch of the main guest house toward his little cabin by the lake. He had met Bruce “A port in every storm” Carson this morning over huevos and cornbread and had nearly lost his will to live, let alone scarf down Shawn’s delicious fried plantains. And why had Shawn never cooked for him like that when they’d dated? Maybe you never asked. Maybe you never offered to cook for him.

“So, how was your first day?” Shawn sidled up quietly on the guest cabin porch. The familiar hand on Theo’s hip and hot breath on his neck was too perfect.

Theo shook his head. “No offense, Shawn, but if I wanted to feel this abused at the end of the day, I coulda done it without the six-hour flight. I think the only thing saving my sanity is I stopped smelling all the fresh air hours ago.”

Shawn bumped Theo’s hip with his own, giving Theo a buzz of arousal. “You poor baby. Maybe tomorrow you can hang out in the barn and help milking the cows.”

“Just keep me the hell away from Peanut. That asshole goat has my number.”

“Peanut’s a girl, Theo.”

“Whatever, we didn’t exactly exchange pleasantries while the little shit was trying to make me sing soprano.”

Shawn’s laugh was soft and husky. Almost enough to lull Theo to sleep right there on his feet, had they not been throbbing like they had their own pulse.

He gestured toward the main guest house. “What’s the deal with that guy, Bruce?”

Shawn rolled his eyes. “I hired him to help me out with getting our computer systems up to date. Mama’s records are a mess and I think that’s how she wound up on the verge of bankruptcy. Just plain wasn’t keeping track of what was spent. I know, he’s a little sleazy, but I think he means well.”

Theo decided to reserve judgment on that one, as he headed in to lay his aching ass down to sleep.

-

Despite his exhaustion, the deafening peace and quiet made it impossible for Theo to sleep. Ordinarily, the solution would have involved a tumbler of whisky and some Internet porn. He opted for a walk, instead.

As he passed through the grove of trees that lead up to the main house, Theo's ears perked up. Through the rustle of wind and crackle of leaves came the kinds of animal sounds that he usually needed his laptop to find.

"Oh, yeah, hotness, I'm gonna do you so good you're gonna see God..." Holy disgusting crap.

On the damp, shadowy ground, there was Bruce flashing his own full moon while one of the two Korean tourist ladies writhed beneath the man, murmuring what Theo could only assume were her own versions of “Oh yeah, right there, oh baby.”

Theo was so stunned that he nearly missed Tourist Number Two sneaking up behind old Bruce, wielding a rock the size of a shot put.

Nearly.

"No!" Theo tackled Tourist Number Two to the ground, knocking the rock from her hands as he did.

"What the fuck??" Bruce and Tourist Number One were scrabbling to pull clothing back into place while Theo held onto the smaller one. Theo had her pinned, but he was wailing like a banhee and seemed intent on finishing what Peanut had stared. Hell.

"What the hell is going on here? What's all this noise?" Shawn. Glory, hallelujah.

"Call the cops, Shawn." Theo grunted. "I think these ladies were trying to take down old Bruce, here. And I think we might find, that they know about what happened to those ranch hands, too."

When the red and blue lights finally faded and a shaky Bruce was bundled off to his quarters, Shawn and Theo were left alone and shaky under the dark cover of Shawn’s covered porch. “I can’t thank you enough,” Shawn said.

“I didn’t do anything,” Theo yawned. “Just luck. And insomnia.” He chuckled. “Which ain’t gonna get any better after what I saw tonight.”

Shawn laced his fingers through Theo’s. “Maybe there’s something I could do tonight. To help you sleep.”

The memory of Shawn’s body next to his… Theo couldn’t say no. Even though he should. They were a long way from the nation’s capital, and Theo wasn’t looking for a fling.

“I hear your gears turning,” Shawn said, tugging on Theo’s arm. “We can worry about the fallout tomorrow.”

Theo hesitated. “I’ve been thinking. Maybe DC is awfully busy. Time to slow down. You interested in renting out that guest cabin?”

“No. But I’ve got a really nice king-sized bed,” Shawn murmured.  “Come inside and I’ll show you.”

Theo tightened his fingers around Shawn’s and followed him through the door.

Crazy I am! (And not in the happy, fun way)

Hello, hello, and sincere apologies for posting so late! Also for zoning out (aka letting RL consume me) last week.

Last week was definitely insane, what with loads of driving long distances and family emergencies, both with my own family and my sister's (not a legal sibling an it's a long story, but I think everyone has people who are like family to them, and my sis is that in my world). Sis's mom is very, very, VERY not well and has been in the ICU in upstate NY for a few weeks now. I road-tripped to be there when things looked like "very NOT well" wasn't a strong enough descriptor. (She's still not better but seems to be holding on, so that's good.)

This week, my own mother hasn't been doing so well, and that's not something I'm going to get too deeply into... or at all. Suffice it to say that the New Year has been treating me like a redheaded stepchild and we'll leave it at that.

So the upshot is, I have nothing prepared for this post, so I'm going to offer up a couple recommendations as far as TV shows go. Cuz I'm not feeling tremendously creative right now. Heh.

First, I stumbled across a show on Netflix called "Lost Girl." It's about a succubus who never knew what she was who is thrust into the hidden world of Fae living amongst us. It can seem slightly cheesy at times, but in a way that's amusing rather than annoying (for me. YMMV). I like it and its' currently on SyFy in its third season. Seasons 1 & 2 are available for viewing on Netflix, as I said. *grins*

Second, during my time in Upstate, I came across a DVD set of the first and only season of a show called "Birds of Prey." This show aired in 2002-2003 and actually holds up very well today. There are only 13 episodes and I really wish there had been at least one more season, but it 's well worth taking the time to watch. Also, the premise -- what happens in Gotham when Batman is no longer a player and Batgirl (who is no longer Batgirl but Oracle, due to being confined to a wheelchair) teams up with Huntress (Batman and Catwoman's daughter) and a teenaged clairvoyant/psychometrist/etc. who has run away to the big city -- is both fun and intriguing. This show really should have lasted longer. In fact, I'm not sure why it didn't except the whole superhero thing wasn't that big yet. It likely would have done better if it had aired five or six years later, but what can you do?

Anyway, that's my half-assed post for today. Tune in next Thursday when I'll have something much more interesting to say!