Cardeno C.'s Blog, page 55

Dear Santa with BA, Julia, Kiernan and Sean

Dear Santa,

The girls at My Boys Touch have been very good this year.

We have a few requests.

Sean Michael would like more than one trip to New Mexico next year, Lots of Snow on Christmas, and a new iPad.

BA Tortuga would like a successful recount, lots of gloves and socks, and another foot warmer for the bedroom and the office

Julia would like a 6 figure book deal, a new couch, and a big bag of chocolate

Kiernan wants an official Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot range model air rifle! (personally, I think she wants time to sit and write. We should have a retreat, y'all.)

Next week we reveal our most hilarious white elephant gifts.

Also, here's a wee gift for you

XXOO

Julia

Sean’s website is http://www.seanmichaelwrites.com

Julia’s is http://www.juliatalbot.com BA’s is http://www.batortuga.com

Kiernan's is www.KiernanKelly.com

Facebook:

Sean -- https://www.facebook.com/SeanMichaelW...

Julia -- https://www.facebook.com/juliatalbota...

BA -- https://www.facebook.com/batortuga

Kiernan -- https://www.facebook.com/kiernan.kelly

What I Did On My Thanksgiving Vacation by Christa Tomlinson

I spent Thanksgiving alone. And it was totally fine! I didn’t want to do anything. What I wanted was a day to guilt-free binge watch some Once Upon a Time and Issa Rae’s Insecure, eat a giant bowl of Stove Top Stuffing, and enjoy a slice or two of sweet potato pie. So that’s exactly what I did. And it was nice. No travel, no kitchen messy from cooking (boiling water for Stove Top isn’t cooking), and no stress. 
I needed that. Not because I’m an introvert, although that did play a part, but because I needed that guilt-free relax day. These past few months have been super stressful. In August I quit an unsatisfactory job but had sadness over leaving co-workers I liked. In September I packed up and cleared out the house I’d lived in for ten years - while making peace with the fact I was leaving the home I'd shared with my deceased boyfriend, Tom. In October that house went on the market and sold in three days and I had to move a week later. And I spent November unpacking and furnishing my new apartment. So I was tired, emotionally and physically. I needed to unwind and just relax in my new home. Recharge my batteries and start a new week fresh and ready to go.

I think my TV binging and pie eating accomplished that. The Lambic might also have helped. And now that I’m all powered up, I’ve booked a flight home to St. Louis for Christmas, started planning out the list of crafts that I want to make for gifts, and outlining a writing and publishing schedule for 2017. I feel good! And it was all thanks to a bowl of stuffing.



Thanks for reading!
Christa
www.ChristaTomlinson.com
Like my Facebook Author Page Christa Tomlinson
Follow me on Twitter @ShockZ314

Being Thankful Even When You Don't Feel It By S.C. Wynne

Good morning, all!

This is a time of year when we're all busy getting ready for the holidays and rushing around. It's kind of funny because the holidays are supposed to be all about family, but we get so caught up in the business of scheduling the actual holiday festivities, we kind of shove our actual family off into a corner so we can DO STUFF!

I'm going to try to make a concerted effort this year to really be in the moment. To not let the stress of things around me ruin what is my favorite time of year. I'm focusing on time with family. I'm taking joy in the little moments like a fire in the fireplace and a bottle of champagne.

I hope you were all able to do that last Thursday for Thanksgiving. Because being in the moment with the ones you love is truly something to be Thankful for.

S.C.

www.sc-wynne.com

The Day After by Felice Stevens

Happy Day After Thanksgiving! 
Now that we've recovered, at least partially from our food comas, its time to hit those sales!

Or not.

I gave up braving the Black Friday sales years ago. I can do everything I want from the comfort of my living room. I may venture out to go to the bookstore or to Starbucks, but no malls for me!

To keep myself busy, I have edits on my next book, Reunited. In Reunited, you will catch up with Ryder, Jason and all the gang five years later. These guys are living their happily ever after, until real life comes and smacks them in the face, forcing them to see the cracks they'd ignored in their perfect marriage.
You can add it to your Goodreads shelf here:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

Unofficial Blurb:

Ryder Daniels and Jason Mallory seem to have it all but even the most loving marriage takes work. Ryder's past leads him to remain silent yet resentful in the face of conflict while Jason struggles to prove he can take care of his family without Ryder's wealth, even if it costs him precious time with his husband and daughter.

When a devastating illness leaves them shaken and helpless, Ryder is forced to face the one person he never thought to see again with a life or death request that even he isn't sure will be granted, but his decisions have far-reaching consequences. Believing he and Ryder have no secrets, Jason is distraught to discover otherwise, revealing yet another crack in their once-perfect relationship.

Adrift and uncertain, both struggle to hold onto a love previously thought unshakeable. A forbidden past is exposed, shocking Ryder to the core, but it means little without Jason by his side. True marriage is a partnership and both men must learn that only working through their pain and heartbreak together can they achieve a lifetime of love.

Happy Thanksgiving by Riley Hart

I am thankful for so many things--my husband and girls. Our crazy, hectic lives. I'm thankful for our health. Every day I wake up thankful that I'm able to do what I do--that I can write stories that I love because it gives me so much joy. Thank you for making that possible.


Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you have a beautiful day.

What are you thankful for?

Happy Thanksgiving from Andrew Grey

Instead of talking about books and writing, I wanted to take this chance to wish each and every one of you a Happy Thanksgiving.  If you're outside the US, then I want to wish you a glorious weekend and all the best this time of your has to offer!

Hugs and Much Love to All!

As a note:  Ask Andrew will return next week, so get those questions in!

Ask Andrew is your chance to ask questions of a gay romance author.  The questions can be about the writing process in general, writing sex scenes, gay men, sex, characters in romance, characters having sex... okay you probably get the picture.    I promise to answer your questions as frankly and with as much humor as I possibly can.

So if you have a question, please send it to andrewgreybooks@comcast.net.  This is different from my usual email so your questions don't get lost.  I will answer one question a week.

Please remember this is meant to be all in fun.  (I was going to say good, clean fun, but who wants that.)    So send me your questions and let's see what mischief we can get into.

Visit Andrew on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/andrewgreybooks  and you can join Andrew's fan group All The Way With Andrew Grey.

Follow him on Twitter:  @andrewgreybooks

Happy Thanksgiving! from Sean, Kiernan, BA and Julia

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us! Thank you for sticking with us and reading!

Sean’s website is http://www.seanmichaelwrites.com

Julia’s is http://www.juliatalbot.com BA’s is http://www.batortuga.com

Kiernan's is www.KiernanKelly.com

Facebook:

Sean -- https://www.facebook.com/SeanMichaelW...

Julia -- https://www.facebook.com/juliatalbota...

BA -- https://www.facebook.com/batortuga

Kiernan -- https://www.facebook.com/kiernan.kelly

Free Gay Fiction & 25% Off All CC Titles at ARe by Cardeno C.

Happy Monday! Today I'm sharing discounts and giveaways.

As a reader and a writer, I'm excited to be a part of Jeff & Will's Big Gay Fiction Giveaway November 20-27, 2016. 

You can download my title TJ & Finn: TJ and Finn have been friends forever and living in a happy, committed relationship for years. This volume contains three short stories that give a glimpse into their lives and their love.

If you already own TJ & Finn, you can browse all the other giveaway titles and find your next read. Enjoy full-length eBooks, novellas, short stories, and chapters by new and veteran MM fiction authors. Browse the offerings here.
All Romance eBooks is having a 24-hour sale for Black Friday. All my titles will be 25% off November 25, 2016 until midnight (U.S.) Central Standard Time. See the complete list here.


Have a wonderful week and happy reading.
CCwww.cardenoc.com

What's Your Type? by Christa Tomlinson

My apologies for being a day late! Sunday got away from me, and before I knew it, it was 11:30. My droopy eyelids laughed at me when I considered posting late at night so I saved it for this morning. 

I have a type. A type that my eye immediately goes to and my heart always gets involved with. But I’m not talking about real life people, I’m talking about characters. My favorite character type is the tortured, dark-haired pretty boy. I love those guys. They make me want to wrap them up in a warm blanket hug and feed them cookies until they smile. So who are some of my favorites?

Number one has to be Sergeant Bucky Barnes aka The Winter Soldier. The poor man doesn’t even have control of his own mind! And all he wants is to be with his boyfriend – I mean errr… pal, Captain America, Steve Rogers. He's so emotionally wounded. He gets all the heart eyes from me.




Another favorite is CM Punk. He just wanted to show the wrestling world what he could do, but he was held down by the evil corporate bosses of WWE. How unfair!

I just started watching Once Upon A Time and pretty soon after he appeared on screen, Captain Hook was added to my list. Gold/Rumpelstiltskin treated him horribly. He didn’t deserve that. I'm only in season four, so there's still time for him to get his happy ending. But I must shamefully admit I'm hoping he stays sad for a little bit longer. 



 With these tortured dark-haired types as my favorite characters to watch, it was only natural that I would write my own dark haired pretty boy to pull on my heart strings. Officer Clay Foster from The Sergeant was inspired by that archetype. I’d say of the characters I’ve written so far, he’s my favorite. He was so angsty in book one and now in book two, I’m torturing him even more. Bad me! But I can’t help it. And it’s okay, because of course he has Logan there to give him that blanket hug and cookies.

Of course I don't only write or pay attention to this type of character. But archetypes are important in fiction. They help readers to connect with a character, giving them someone to identify with. And of course readers don't always have the same favorites. It's what motivated the whole Team Jacob vs Team Edward era, everyone has a preference. (Oddly enough, I was Team Jacob there) Reading a book with a character who falls into your preferred type is what makes you fall in love with that hero. I always enjoy listening to fans explain why a character from a book, movie or TV show is their favorite. We're all so different and that's what makes it fun.

So what are your favorite character types to read and/or write? Are you on Team Dark and Brooding with me? Or do you like the sunshiney charismatic types? Or maybe you prefer the shy, quiet nerd boys. Let me know! I’d love to see everyone’s favorites.

Thanks for reading!
Christa
www.ChristaTomlinson.com
Like my Facebook Author Page Christa Tomlinson
Follow me on Twitter @ShockZ314

Perspective by Felice Stevens

Normally we post about happy things here on the blog, but I wanted to take a minute and talk about something very important. 

Us. Our bodies, our minds. Our health. 

We're overstressed, overworked, underpaid and under appreciated. We may eat too much, or too little, drink too much and don't go outside to breathe fresh air and exercise our bodies and our minds. We are all so caught up in a daily routine of run to work, run to get the kids to school, rush to shop for groceries, rush to get home and finish that next chapter...run run run...You get the idea.

Earlier this year I had a health scare and while it thankfully proved benign, it was a wakeup call for me. I decided to take myself in hand and be pro-active. No one is going to take care of me better than, well, me. 

Yesterday I found out a woman I'd been friendly with and whose daughter was friends with my son has advanced stage cancer. She's younger than I am and it's so sad and scary for her and her children.

We need to pay attention to ourselves and our bodies' signals to slow down, that something isn't right. 

We can't use the excuse that it's too expensive or we don't have the time. If we can't get to the gym, or the gym is too expensive. there are ways to get exercise at home. Cable television has FitTv which has all kinds of exercises on television. Youtube has many channels featuring exercises. And if you have an iPhone there are many apps to help  you workout. I've used Sworkit, which shows you how to do the exercises on your phone.

You don't need fancy clothes or sneakers or equipment. Use heavy cans or jars as weights; you can buy stretch bands for cheap and use them as resistance. Use a jump rope. Just get moving. Try and drink water instead of sugary drinks. Eat dark green vegetables. 

The winter, with its shorter days and lack of sun can bring on seasonal affective disorder. We get depressed and feel helpless. Know you aren't alone. Make sure you take your medication and if you feel sad and overwhelmed, try to talk to someone. If you know of someone who exhibits signs of this illness, check up on them and make sure they're okay.

We're all in this together. Let's take care of each other.