Cherie Noel's Blog, page 28

Friday on the Go

This is a test.
This is only a test.

Did you study? Cause I didn't, and life gets damned con-fruzing at times.
I've got a couple of RL tasks to accomplish today that require my being Away From Keyboard... but when I get back, I'll have gathered my thoughts and such into my neat little basket I can carry and then I'll comb through them and come up with something to share that you will, hopefully, find interesting, or take inspiration from.

See you all in a bit.

Thursday Think Tank: On Civility

"Being considerate of others will take your children further in life than any college degree." ~Marian Wright Edelman

I saw this quote on Twitter yesterday, and it truly spoke to me. For many, many different reasons. It's really all I want to say today, though I would encourage everyone who stops by to leave their response to these words, and share them with others.

Wicked Wednesday: Beat Your Winter Blues Blog Tour

Welcome to the latest post in the Beat Your Winter Blues Blog Tour, where sixteen authors will do their level best to make your winter brighter in January, February, March, and April. (Unless you're south of the equator, and then we'll just be jealous of your summer.) Every Wednesday will be a new stop on the tour.

Be sure to leave a comment at each stop for up to sixteen chances at the grand prize: a $200 USD gift certificate to the e-retailer of your choice! Also keep an eye out for links to individual authors' sites on their release dates for a chance to win some free books.

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Ethan: I haven't done a lot of traveling and the trip to New Orleans for GayRomLit was one of furthest trips I've ever been on. I do make several drives a year to Las Vegas, Reno and Salt Lake City. The Salt Lake City Zoo is one of the best I've ever seen. Very cool exhibits and an albino alligator. Vegas for me has been more about the bars and the strip. Well, and the adult theaters. And the bathhouse. In Reno I like…the bathhouse and the adult store. Yeah, I got a one track mind!

Andrew: I have traveled throughout the world, but the place I most want to go back to is Australia. Warm, crystal clear waters, the friendliest people in the world, scenery that will take your breath away, and wildlife unlike any place else in the world. When I was there I did a number of things including having a kookaburra steal French fries right off my lunch plate, went swimming in the South Pacific and I got to hold a koala. Outside Brisbane, there a koala preserve and some of the animals are sensitized enough for you to hold them. Where else on earth, could you get a picture like these?
Someday I want to get away from the coat and visit Ayers Rock and the Great Barrier Reef.



Blaine: I'm addicted to 'Escape to the country' a BBC programme in which people want to move to the country. I love the tours through cute cottages and gorgeous barn conversions. I love the great views, the gardens, the nooks and crannies, the original features and the combination of modern and old. For a while now I've been seriously thinking about moving to the UK when my husband retires—which won't be for a while, yet— and my husband hesitantly acknowledges the possibility. My husband is swamped in work—which is good in these not so good times, and he's a bit of a workaholic—and more often than not comes home tired and his mind still on the job. And let's not forget those fanatical gamers we're surrounded by.But, as I said, retiring isn't on the agenda yet, so, in the meantime, I'd love to rent a cottage in the rural British countryside, for a well-deserved—fanatical gamer free—getaway with my husband. I'm already imagining long walks, soaking up the atmosphere, and staring out the window, enjoying the magnificent views, as I write.
Sue: I travelled a fair bit in my younger years, when finances allowed. One of my most memorable trips was a trip along the Silk Road. I could fill blog post after blog post with tales from that ten day trip. It wasn't so much a holiday/getaway as an expedition. I saw some amazing places, met some great people and came away with a shed load of memories. There were one or two places that really stayed with me and one, in particular, I'd return to in a heartbeat. The Hunza Valley in Pakistan is where I'd love to go for a bit of peace and quiet. I'd love to sit on the veranda of that hotel again and watch the stars appear, one by one, above the shadowed, jagged mountains. Sadly, no alcohol allowed, but I'd settle for a cold tonic water with ice and lemon, a pack of cigarettes and a fine summer's evening.If you ever get the chance, if circumstances change and you want a glimpse of what Shangri-La is like, get yourself there. It really is beautiful.
Blaine D. Arden is a purple haired, forty-something writer of gay romance with a love of men, music, mystery, magic, fairies (the pointy eared ones), platform shoes, and the colors black, purple, and red, who sings her way through life. Born and raised in Zutphen, the Netherlands, Blaine spent many hours of her sheltered youth reading, day dreaming, making up stories, and acting them out with her Barbies. When not writing, reading, or at choir practice, Blaine has singing lessons and hopes to be in a band someday. Blaine can be found at: http://blainedarden.com

Andrew Grey grew up in western Michigan with a father who loved to tell stories and a mother who loved to read them. Since then he has lived throughout the country and traveled throughout the world. He has a master's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and works in information systems for a large corporation. Andrew's hobbies include collecting antiques, gardening, and leaving his dirty dishes anywhere but in the sink (particularly when writing) He considers himself blessed with an accepting family, fantastic friends, and the world's most supportive and loving partner. Andrew currently lives in beautiful, historic Carlisle, Pennsylvania. You can find out more at www.andrewgreybooks.com, on facebook, twitter, or email him at andrewgrey@comcast.net

S.A.Meade lives in deepest Wiltshire and is pathetically happy to see rain after eight years in the desert of south central Arizona. She stumbled into writing m/m by accident when she realised that her historicals put agents to sleep. Since then she's realised she's addicted to the genre and keeps writing more dirty books. She loves cooking and eating what she cooks and shares her home with a patient husband and son and two heat-seeking cats. S.A. can be found boring people witless with her blog - kestrelrising.blogspot.com/

Ethan Stone lives in Nevada. But not Reno or Las Vegas. There are other cities there, you know. Where he lives, gambling isn't on every block, just every other block. He has been obsessed with two things in his life: books and all things gay. After spending years trying to ignore the voices in his head, he finally decided to sit down and listen to them. What he discovered was a perfect union of his two obsessions. Ethan has a day job that pays the bills. He wears a uniform to work and he looks damn sexy in it. Find Ethan at ethanjstone.com.

Tuesday Teaser: For All in Tents, and Porpoises

An Unedited Excerpt


Ivan wrapped his arms around his center. Sleeping on the land had many drawbacks, but the clear view of stars shining down on him was well worth all the inconvenience. Mikhail had whispered to him just last night how the stars he watched were long gone. Mikhail lied sometimes, which in and of itself set him apart from most of the other People. Before the cataclysm, it was said that many of the others had practiced the art of lies, but afterward the People had eschewed the practice. Ivan did not care that others spoke ill of the spotted dolphin. He liked the other man, and often saw a sadness hiding in Mikhail's black eyes, hinting at a tragic truth behind the lies. A flash of silver shot across the sky, and Ivan held his breath. The strange beauty of those far away points of light drew his imagination, and lit up his soul. He would never dare to speak of that to another of the People though, lest he be branded a fool, or worse yet, a heretic. Well. He might tell Mikhail, if his friend were here. Tonight Mikhail had chosen to sleep with the pod. The unusual behavior was yet another oddity to ponder. Mikhail had never chosen the pod over Ivan before, not once in the four months since they'd become friends. Ivan's skin tingled and felt tight around his eyes. He did not like the feeling.  

Manic Monday: To Do Lists and other Oddities

I like to start the day out with a to-do list. It gets me organized, and then if I don't get something accomplished, I can at least remember that, and shift it onto tomorrow's agenda. Makes sense, right?
Right.
But then there are those days like today, where I start out with the very best of intentions and yet never seem to catch up with a day that is running far faster than I could ever hope to.

To Do Today for 3/26/2012
Write 5,000k in The Faery Tree

Write this blog

Get up

Start diet (right after this brownie--nom-nom-nom)

Get a shower

Beta the prologue and first four chapters of my lil'bro's wip... er, one of his many, many wips.

Make my bed

Answer my emails

Write to my sis

Connect with an old friend

Write another blog, this one about what it's like to write a book you know may be banned and get it turned in to the owner of the blog it's going to go up on.

Have a cup of coffee... or a pot

Water plants

Write at least 2,500k in various other wips

Write this weeks Silver Short

Find out where Hermoine from Harry Potter books got her time-turner and apply for one of my own.

Clean kitchen

Call doctor to get new script for the kidlet

Make sure the lil'bro is adhering to bedrest orders

Revise list down to manageable size

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Sunday Snog: A Family Dinner from The Faery Tree

Steven looked up sharply, his sage green eyes sliding right past my face to land with unwavering intensity on the man behind me. Ee-an's hand twitched in mine, as if he were fighting the impulse to cling to me. The deep rumble of his voice rolled over me."Thank you for cooking, Steven. I am most delighted to be invited to share this time with Thomas's closest kin, and hope someday to return the honor."Steven snorted."Sure man. Take a seat over here between Lily and me."Confining my desire to roll my eyes, I shot Steven a sharp glance. The turd was being all man-of-the-house. I waited until he sat, and on my way past I cuffed him lightly on the back of the head. He grunted, but didn't even look around, which told me he knew very well what I was hitting him for. Taking my seat, I smiled as sweetly as I could at Ee-an. He looked from Steven to I with a small furrow between his brows. I placed a piece of garlic bread on my plate and then passed the plate to Lily. She took two, but they were small. The girl loved her garlic. As she handed the plate holding the last few slices of garlic covered goodness, a sudden thought popped into my head."OH MY GOD! Ee-an, don't touch them, their covered in GARLIC!"I leapt from my seat and raced around the table, trying to grab the plate before he touched it. Ee-an quirked a brow at me, and then calmly placed a single slice of uber garlicky toast onto his plate. My heart banged painfully against my ribs. Would my brand new lover be horribly burned where he'd touched the substance?"Dude. What gives?"Steven's question was underscored by Lily's tinkling laughter. Turing my head, I took in the puzzled expressions of my family. Oh. Crap-doodle. How was I going to play this one off?"I—ah, I thought you said you were allergic to garlic."Ee-an smirked at me."No. Not a bit. Love the stuff."His big hand stretched out to take the plate from me. As I handed it over I had to concentrate on unclenching my fingers from their death grip on the plate. I smile weakly at my brother and my daughter, and took my seat again. I could feel the heat in my cheeks, and knew my face had to be nearly as red as a fire engine. I piled spaghetti and sauce onto my plate, keeping my head down and my mouth full for a few moments while I regained my composure. "So, big dude. What are your intentions toward my bro?"I choked on my spaghetti bolognaise. Oh, hell to the no. Steven did not just say that. Peering up from beneath my lashes, I see a big dumb smirk on the twerp's face.  Dropping my head into my hands I start to count. Lily joins me."Three, four, five… Daddy, how come we're counting?"Lifting my head I see a solid smear of sauce covers three quarters of Lily's face. By some magical feat know only to small girls of Asian descent, she has completely missed the circumference of her mouth. Her little pink lips and the area immediately surrounding them are scrupulously clean. The entire rest of her torso seems to be coated in a solid half-inch of savory red pasta sauce. Thank god. I'm saved by the mess only Lily can create."Steven, can you take Lily and get her into the bath."Steven shoots me a disgruntled look. A glance at his still mostly full plate is self-explanatory. I, however, have no mercy."Do it Steven, or I'll reconsider letting you have the car this weekend."Groaning, my bigger and younger brother pushes back from the table."I still want an answer to that question, neighbor-man."Ee-an doesn't miss a beat."I want to marry him."The small bite of well chewed food I'm attempting to swallow morphs into a mid-sized creature with razor sharp claws and a desperate need to escape the confines of my throat. I pound on the table, only a high pitched, thin little whine taking the place of the horrified shout I aimed for. In a flash Ee-an is out of his chair, pulling me up out of my chair and taking me in his arms. He spins me around, putting my back against his chest, and wraps his long arms around my middle.Then, with a massive upward thrust, he performs a flawless Heimlich maneuver, and my humiliation is completed by the spray of sauce and noodles flying from my mouth to coat the table, my very surprised daughter's face, and the entire side of my troublesome brother's head. Lily's eyes go huge.Her lower lip trembles.Water wells in the black depths of her gaze.Steven, knowing, I'm sure, that this debacle is completely his fault, attempts to stave off the coming storm. He makes a farting noise with his mouth and then crosses his eyes at her. She laughs instead of bursting into tears, and I begin to consider letting him live to make inroads into his eighteenth year. Crisis averted.Lily and Steven disappear down the hallway toward the bathroom, and I stand, still loosely wrapped in the circle of Ee-an's arms, surveying the wreck of our family dinner. His chest moves against my back, a familiar shaking sensation. A moment later a booming laugh sounds above my head. He guffaws for a few moments, and then pulls one arm from around me to wipe at his face."Oh, Thomas. You make my heart happy.""Okay, but… did you say you wanted to marry me? What are you, nuts? We just met."Ee-an sits, pulling me down to straddle his lap. Tilting his head down, he kisses my temple, and I lean into the warm press of his lips. Is it wrong that this strange being makes everything difficult in my world seem bearable with a brush of his mouth against my skin? He moves back just enough to speak, his lips and breath dancing across my temple. The words rumble against the side of my face and I close my eyes to absorb the feeling."That is what I said. I will wait as long as you desire. I just wanted to assure your brother that my intentions are honorable."This time I let go of any impulse I may have had to stifle the rude gesture and rolled my eyes for all I'm worth. 

Find more Snogging Goodness at the home of the original Sunday Snog.http://victoriablisse.co.uk/ 

Six Sentence Sunday : from The Enslavement of Luez-the Akanti book 2

The slightly husky tenor voice sent more blood to Shae'els already hard cock... and the way the little man was watching his mouth made him want to do wicked, wicked dirty things with his lips, tongue, and teeth, wicked things to every filthy inch of the disheveled little beauty on his knees in front of...oh hell--on his knees.On.His.Knees.With his pouty lips only inches away from what was now a painfully hard cock. Oh hell yeah.

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For more Six Sentence fun, check out all the other Sunday Sixers right here: http://sixsunday.com/

To Bill, With Love

So, listen. Some folks are saying goodbye, and some are honoring your life and some are there in Cleveland today to show support for your Marty. And some are spread around the world wishing they could hug you, or look into your beautiful blue eyes one more time. We'll miss you Bill. There's no doubt about that. We'll miss your clear insight and spot on humor and unwavering acceptance.

And some of us will believe that you haven't really left us, that you are still whispering over our shoulders and sharing in our triumphs. That's where I hang my hat, Bill. So, this next year? Is dedicated to you. Today is day one for me in my quest to be a little more gracious in my dealings with the world. To be a little kinder and yet as unswerving in my defense of what I believe to be right as you seemed to me to be.

Wish me luck, Bill.
Those shoes you left behind are a tad difficult to fill, sir.
I'll do my best.

Satuday Snark: Buy Mah Book(!) and other Promotional Faux Pas...

You know you've seen it.
The overdone appeals to not let your Kindle, or Kindle fire, or Nook be lonely, or empty, or--for fuck's sake, how is an inanimate object lonely? And just who are you appealing to, oh you of the Buy-Mah-Book overshare? The folk you are tweeting to, or tagging in FaceBook, or sending a zillion emails to already know that you're an author.

They even know that your new book is available. Because you yourself told them. Repeatedly. Until they wanted to unfollow, unfriend and block your access to their emails and whatever other social media you have access to them on.

Please.
For the sake of your own dignity.
Stop.
Just stop, for fuck's sake, and give me a moment of your time. Ask yourself a question, and look hard at the answer... do you really think that being the internet version of a pushy telemarketer is going to garner you more sales? IDK. I can only speak for myself, and babies, I block that crap. Oh, I may not unfriend you or whatever, but... I do start to tune you out. Which sucks. Because at some point you may have something to say that I would have wanted to hear. Taught me a lesson (a positive one), or reached out for help that I might have been best suited to give you... and I will most likely not know. Because I will have become so very inured to and by your spam-bot like Tweets and FB posts that I'll have glossed right on past your profile pic to see if anyone has anything interesting to say.

Don't get it twisted, babies.
Writing is a business.
For a lot of us (or at least some) it's our full-time job, and we need to treat it as such. We do need to advertise, and promote our product. We need to make those sales to bring home the bacon. You know, the figurative bacon that lets us buy real bacon to feed our families.

So if it's a business?
Treat it like one.
Get educated.
Learn how to market with skill.
Make it fun for your readers to learn about your newest, latest and greatest. Support your fellow authors, because they are NOT your competition.They are your brothers and sisters in arms, and we will NEVER have enough stories to fill the hungry void of the human mind. That's right, not ever.

By all means, let your readers and fellow authors know when you have a new release, or a new cover or a great day of writing... and if you say, "Buy-Mah-Book" only do so with a wink and a tip of your cyber-hat. Get a publicist. Cultivate fans who will talk you up on the social networks. Write the very best stories that you can and cheer every single time someone else's book breaks into the top ten list somewhere... because everyone loves a good sport. And I can tell you from experience, that I'm far more likely to buy the book written by the funny, good natured author who laughs at his or herself and roots for everyone to do well.

Didn't anyone tell you that ultimately the product you're selling is that funny little character you created first? You know the one. The author that is you. And if that character comes across as a pushy telemarketer type how likely are you to Buy-Their-Book?

I'm betting not very.

So, heh, try out the cheering others on. Build a network, and get your friends to read your book and ask them to talk about what they like or don't and why. Ask them to please do this a LOT. Get a publicist. It doesn't have to break the bank... you can get some very affordable and  truly useful help over at a place called Author Island (click on the name to check them out) utilize services like Manic Readers and get together a group of fellow authors to help promote each other. Trust me, it works. And it's a hell of a lot less annoying to your friends and potential fans.

Right, and oh, yeah. Buy-Mah-Book.

For More Saturday Snark, get thee to the Vicdom...get it? Vic-Dom? LOL... get it right here, babies:

Fabulous Friday: Staying in Step

Yesterday I spent some time with my friend Cynthia. I got to know Cynthia through an odd set of circumstances that are likely important only to me, and anyway aren't just my story to tell and as such--off limits. You know?

So, anyway, I was hanging with Cynthia, and she told me a few things I thought really everyone should hear... so I'm gonna share them with you. See, Cynthia and I were talking about staying in step. Knowing where you are in the world and knowing what keeps you there. You know it's like knowing that the earth is spinning around its axis at a ridiculously fast rate, and rotating around the sun at the same time, and the solar system is moving within the galaxy and the galaxy... but what keeps us clinging to the fragile crust of this little old planet? Magic? Alchemy? Gravitational force? Yes. To all of those. And yet I was really looking at something at once deeper and more profound.

What keeps us where we are in our lives? What makes us move? What sets us free and what chains us?

I have an amazing family. They love me, and they share space on this rock with me. And that eats up time and it gives meaning to my days and...well, there's a thousand was to look at what life throws you. It can all be a burden, or a blessing or a mixed bag of nuts. And the key to loving your life is staying in step. With who you are. With what your dreams are and why they matter to you or anyone else.

I have a difficult, draining family. My brother is disabled and my daughter is angry and they are utterly, perfectly themselves. And I wouldn't give them up for anything. Because they are mine. I'm rarely anywhere near perfect for them, and forget about being plain old perfect... but they are mine and I will fight to keep them, fight to make the world a better place for them, fight myself and the man and even the individual family members to make sure that each and every one of us is getting what we need. It's just that important to me.

Right, a lot of rambling today. But maybe, just maybe in the midst of my ramble you'll find a key to keep yourself in step. If you do, take it. It's yours.