K-lee Klein's Blog: Chaos in the Moonlight , page 16

A new release, some news, trees and waterfalls

I'm a bad, bad, bad author. Didn't even do a post for my release day so let's pretend it's yesterday, shall we? Happy Release Day to meee! Domestic Relations is live and ready for take-off. You can grab it at Less Than Three Press.

I hope you like reading about Riley and Josh and their "little' issues as much as I enjoyed writing it. It was actually supposed to be a short story to begin with and as usual, it grew but this time into novel proportions, and yes, it will be available in print as well. My second print book - very exciting! Now I'll have two books to sign at GRL should anyone want to 1 - buy them and 2 - want me to sign them. :)

Speaking of GayRomLit, I've been working on some swag with the help of my awesome-sauce friends L.C. Chase and Megan Derr. The Family of Misfits now has collector cards or trading cards or character cards whichever you prefer to call them. They're fabulous and my boys look exactly how I wanted them. I'm tempted to post the boys' pics here but I want it to stay a surprise until I give them out at GRL. I have a couple other things I intend on giving out too and I'll be having a contest as well for those who aren't attending GRL which will include some swag (cards and stuff) and a print copy of either Lucius or Domestic Relations.

In other news, I finally stopped poking at Matteo and Gabe in their Christmas sequel to Countdown to Daddies and sent them to be poked at by my betas. I have to abstain from revamping them all over again when the betaing is done because that's always an issue with me.

I should also pimp the Going for Gold anthology that is now available at Amazon. My story, An Olympic Goal, is pretty short but there are some other fab authors like my friend Kaje Harper who contributed, too. So if you miss the Olympics and want to read about some hot athletes, check it out.

Did I tell you my Kiss Me at Midnight collection story was accepted by Less Than Three? 12,000 words so just over the 10k limit. Up next, I'm working on something for a serial submission call for LT3 and of course, Ali must have his story! I'm estimating the next Family of Misfits book will be out early in 2013 since Christmas is a busy time at MLR and that gives me some more time to polish and make sure it's how I want it. All the misfits will be back and perhaps, there will be a few more to add to the family. :)

In RL news, today is my last day at my housesit. I don't leave for home until Saturday but the folks are coming back tomorrow. That meant today was cleaning and organizing day. I enjoyed my time here and it was productive. I had some issues with the dog who is old and wasn't supposed to be here while I house-and-cat-sat but other than that, it was a good experience. I'm going to close with some pics from my BC trip. Have a good weekend. <3

Coombs BC - they have a lovely market and a restaurant with goats on the roof


Little Qualicum Falls - so beautifulIt was a challenge getting to the bottom on a crutch but I made it and could have stayed all day. There's just something so soothing about waterfalls and running water.







Cathedral Grove - also in Qualicum, BCMassive Douglas Fir trees - spectacular to see

New Release giveaway - Domestic Relations

Giveaway!

Domestic Relations comes out on Wednesday, September 5 so here's your chance to win an ebook copy the day it releases.

I'll be doing a random draw next Friday (September 5) so just leave your name and email address (a comment would be nice, too) to be entered.


Domestic Relations
Life has thrown a lot at Riley, most of it bad. But Riley is nothing if not stubborn, and though it left scars, he's managed to overcome the worst parts of his life. Not all of his problems are gone, but life is certainly better than it's ever been. Most of his strength and happiness is due to his boyfriend Josh, the best thing that life has given him, and Riley will do anything to keep him at his side.
But when past and present collide, and the problems become too much for Riley to contain or control, Josh is the very thing he stands most to lose ...

Excerpt


 "Your Honor, my esteemed colleague is completely out of order!"
"I decide who's out of order in my courtroom, Mr. Devon, and at the moment I suggest you sit down and refrain from any further outbursts." The judge's voice rang through the courtroom, hushing the titter of whispers from the gallery.
Josh Devon threaded a hand through his blond curls, brown eyes glowering as he shot his colleague a look of pure contempt. "But, Your Honor, I clearly must object to Mr. Callahan's abrasive view that my client is homophobic. This case has nothing to do with being gay and everything to do with the complainant's lack of restraint when it comes to public affection in the office."
"Kissing your lover goodbye at the door of the building is lack of restraint?" Riley Callahan said. He snuck a peek at Devon before rolling his eyes and turning back to the judge. "Unless my colleague is aware of some archaic statute regarding public affection, I believe he is the one out of order."
"Mr. Callahan—"
"It is clearly a lack of restraint when there is tongue involved and you are employed for a company supplying religious and missionary supplies to third-world countries. And you know how the saying goes, Judge:  'A slip of tongue at the door only leads to a slip of penis in the office.'"
"Mr. Devon!"
"Oh, please, Your Honor. That isn't even a real expression. What Mr. Devon is actually stating is that my client works for a right-wing bigot who finds it perfectly acceptable for a man to kiss his wife goodbye, but not his boyfriend."
"That's bullshit, and you… my colleague knows it, Your Honor."
"Language, Mr. Devon. You've been warned once. I won't tolerate it again."
"You heard Judge Morrison, Devon. Sit down and take your punishment like a man." Callahan smirked, blue eyes shifting momentarily to Devon before dipping back down to peer at his notes.
"Mr. Callahan!"
"My apologies to the Court, Your Honor. I don't know what came over me." Callahan forced his smirk into a look of concern and straightened his tie in a show of respect.
"Lying bastard," Devon hissed, narrowing his eyes as he glared to the side at Callahan.
The judge thumped his gavel on the desk, the resounding bang shattering the now silent courtroom. "Mr. Devon. One more outburst and I shall surely find you in contempt."
"I humbly apologize for my colleague's obvious attempt to delay the proceedings," Callahan said.
"Don't apologize for me, Callahan. If your client wasn't such a goddamn liar and drama queen, I wouldn't be required to make any outbursts at all."
Bang! Bang!
"That, Mr. Devon, is the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. Bailiff, please remove Mr. Devon from the courtroom."
"But, Your Honor …" Devon protested.
"Perhaps a few hours in a cell will remind you to use your manners and quiet voice in my courtroom, Mr. Devon. Court is recessed until tomorrow."

Rainbow Hop winners & update-type-thingies

I'm a little slow with my winners so I decided to increase the odds and give away three of my ebooks. Congrats to *drum roll*

Zoe RideMadison ParkerSuze

I'll be sending out emails to all three of you lovely people so you can tell me your preference in book and format. Thanks to everyone for stopping by during the Rainbow Book Reviews Blog Hop and I really hope if you liked what you've seen on my blog that you'll drop by again. :)
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Writing update - I submitted my story for the Kiss Me at Midnight collection at Less Than Three and it was accepted - yays! The image below isn't the cover since each story will have their own but I just think it's really pretty. :) I expect those stories will be released at the end of December or around that time. As for more of LT3, I just did the last edits for the P.I. & the Rockstar for their Private Dicks anthology so now onto proofing and galleys. It sounds like it's going to be an awesome anthology - can't wait to see everyone's contributions.

My next project - the sequel to Countdown to Daddies for MLR's Ho Ho Ho collection - is almost done and ready for betaing. Matteo and Gabe (mostly Matteo this time) have not been cooperating so I'm gradually whipping them into shape. And yes, there will be cute babies and hopefully a cute cover to match. :)

Next on the agenda is Ali's story from the Family of Misfits series. He's foaming at the mouth (God, I hope not literally) to get his say and he's already been filling my head with how he thinks things should go. ^_^ Wonder if he'll find and accept his spirit mate just as Lucius and Nicu did? Smooth sailing perhaps? Not likely when it comes to my strong-willed white witch. <3

And speaking of Ali and his family, the lovely L.C. Chase has been helping me make collector/trading cards for GRL of my Misfits - I have four lovely boys to go with the names now and I can't wait to share them with you. By the way, for those not going to GRL I'm going to run a contest closer to the date for a print copy of Lucius' Bite and some swag. :)
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In other news - I have a short story called An Olympic Goal coming out in the Going For Gold anthology from MLR Press this Friday. This is my Olympic soccer (European football) story. There's no buyer's link yet but it's on GoodReads here --> Going for Gold.
An Olympic Goal 
The Olympic Games bring countries and people together in a long tradition of competition. But that can too often mean competition between friends, family, and lovers. Sebastian and Fernando have been together for over a year—professionally and personally—but now must compete on opposing teams in the rough and tumble game of soccer.When an injury occurs on the pitch, one of them questions whether footballers first, lovers second is really the motto he wants to live by. Matches come and go but maybe what matters is what’s left when the game is over.~*~*~

And finally, I'll be doing a giveaway for my upcoming novel Domestic Relations from Less Than Three Press. The official release date is September 5 and I'll have the contest up and running by tomorrow so make sure you stop by. :)
Domestic Relations
Life has thrown a lot at Riley, most of it bad. But Riley is nothing if not stubborn, and though it left scars, he's managed to overcome the worst parts of his life ... mostly. Not all of his problems are gone, but life is certainly better than it's ever been. Most of his strength and happiness is due to his boyfriend Josh, the best thing that life has given him, and Riley will do anything to keep him at his side.
But when past and present collide, and the problems become too much for Riley to contain or control, Josh is the very thing he stands most to lose ...

Going for Gold - Olympic anthology out August 31st

Just a quick post about a story I have coming out in the Going for Gold Olympic anthology. We got the cover today and the confirmed release date of Friday, August 31st from MLR Press. It was a whirlwind round of writing, edits and proofs in a very short period of time so I'm very happy to see it come out.

My short story is called An Olympic Goal and it's about Olympic soccer (European football) players. There's some awesome authors involved in the anthology as well as the editor, EM Lynley. Here's the blurb and the cover. 

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An Olympic Goal"The Olympic Games bring countries and people together in a long tradition of competition. But that can too often mean competition between friends, family, and lovers. Sebastian and Fernando have been together for over a year—professionally and personally—but now must compete on opposing teams in the rough and tumble game of soccer.
When an injury occurs on the pitch, one of them questions whether footballers first, lovers second is really the motto he wants to live by. Matches come and go but maybe what really matters is what’s left when the game is over."

Rainbow Book Reviews Blog Hop - August 24-26

Welcome to the Rainbow Reviews Blog Hop and if you've come through the hop list, thank you very much for visiting. Also, thank you to my regular readers for stopping by.

The Rainbow Book Reviews Blog is a fairly new blog dedicated to GLBTQ-related books, reviews and authors. And they've asked each participant to work with the following theme for their hop post:

"What does writing GLBTQ literature mean to me?"

I had some long convoluted answer to this question because as usual I was over-thinking things. I wanted to sound intelligent and like I was with the times and up on all the issues involved in the GLBTQ community. But in reality - and after trying for two days to write something that didn't make me sound shallow and brainless - I write because I love it and loving what I'm doing has the biggest meaning for me.

That's not to say that I don't think it's a valid question and it's not that I'm trying to trivialize it in any way, but it's not something I've really thought about before. I never set out to write m/m so I could make a difference but I do think the positivity of GLBTQ literature is a important way to showcase vital issues in the community. I'm a straight, married, forty-something woman who raised three kids and I've never experienced any of the issues that I generally give my characters but that doesn't mean I don't have empathy for those who have. I think empathy is important and being part of a community that strives to make a difference makes me proud so maybe that also adds some meaning to my writing and to my life.

I write because I love to write.  I write because it makes me happy. I write because it keeps me sane (and my sanity definitely has meaning to me). I write m/m because I love the relationship between men and I believe everyone should have the right to love whoever they want in a non-judgmental way. I write in hopes I will have a positive impact on people who read my writing and I write because it gives me meaning in my own life. My answer is definitely not rocket science but it's mine. J

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Now if I haven't scared you off with my very odd answer, I'd love for you to reply to this post with your name and an email address - and some sort of comment would be really, really appreciated, too. J
I'll be doing random draw for an ebook copy of one of my books - winner's choice of Countdown to Daddies or Lucius' Bite (Family of Misfits 1).


 
Now click the Follow the Rainbow logo and hop on back to the main page of the Rainbow Book Review Blog Hop and find another author to visit. Cheers.

Domestic Relations available for Pre-order from LT3

Domestic Relations featuring my lawyer boys, Riley and Josh, comes out September 5 from Less Than Three Press but it's available now for Pre-order (at 15% off the cover price). 

Click the link below and go get yourself a copy. :)

Domestic Relations pre-order

"Life has thrown a lot at Riley, most of it bad. But Riley is nothing if not stubborn, and though it left scars, he's managed to break free of the worst of his life. Not all his problems are gone, but life is certainly better than it's ever been. Most of that is due to his boyfriend, Josh, the best thing that life has given him, and Riley will do anything to keep hold of him.

But when past and present collide and the problems become too much for Riley to contain or control, Josh is the very thing he stands to lose most..."

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Also, this weekend is the Rainbow Book Reviews Blog Hop - August 24-26 so stop, read my post and enter my draw for a copy of Lucius' Bite, Countdown to Daddies or Domestic Relations. There's some awesome authors participating with some great prizes so don't miss out.

Six Sentence - Sunday - at the movies

So I'm changing things up after this post. I usually do Sunday at the movies but them sometimes Six Sentence Sunday so now I'll start Saturday at the movies and Six Sentence Sunday - but not until after  this post. This one will obviously include both.

As for my posting pictures dilemma - that still hasn't sorted itself out in my head. There are just so many opinions from both sides that I don't know what my best course of action is yet. I've left my blog as is since this whole thing rolled in but I haven't really added too many more pics and I hate that fact. Pretty pics are the way to get someone to actually read your blog - at least that seems to be the way it is. I'll be doing some posts of my trip to Europe and to Vancouver Pride -whenever I get motivated enough to upload them from my camera. (I know it's an easy task - *sighs*)

Anyhow - first up Six Sentence Sunday -


Fernando bolted forward, clenching his jaw so hard it ached while flashes of red filled his head and his hands balled into fists at his sides. He headed directly for the Spanish number seven responsible for taking Sebastian down. He chest-bumped the player, getting all up in his face, spewing a one-sided conversation of curses and what-the-fucks. His mind whirled with everything he wanted to say, to do, but rational thought returned, quickly overriding the flurry of emotions burning in his head, in his heart. Someone grabbed him from behind and he backed away, struggling against the strong arms holding him in place. His words came loud and fast as he tried to assure everyone, including himself, that he was calm again.
(pic found here http://carlosbetancur.com)

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Sunday at the Movies
From Beginning to End (Docomecoaofim)~~Portugese with English Subtitles~~
This Brazilian movie is highly controversial and is not for everyone. It involves incest between two half-brothers but if that isn't something that squicks you and you can get past it, this is a beautiful movie. The sexual/emotional relationship between the brothers is consensual and doesn't happen until both characters are adults. A lot of the film revolves around Francisco and Thomas when they are growing up, and the resemblance of the child actors with their counter-parts is extraordinary. 
There is a strong womanly presence in the movie  - that of course being the brothers' mom and I loved the fabulous character of Thomas's father, Alexandre. All the actors give believable, passionate performances and they drew me in immediately.
I was chomping at the bit when I first heard about this movie a few years ago and I wasn't disappointed when I finally got my DVD in the mail. One of the things I love about it, besides the absolute gorgeousness of these actors, is the way they play their characters with such emotion and determination. It couldn't have been easy given the premise of the movie but they portray their relationship with such passion and love, and most importantly with no guilt. It's also one of the rare gay films that doesn't revolve around hiding who they really are or being ashamed of it, and the fact it doesn't  end in tragedy is something I really appreciated.




~I love you because you're mine~~I love you because you need love~~I love you because when you look at me I feel like a hero. It was always like that.~~I love you because when I touch you I feel more a man...than any other man~~I love you because when I touch you...I make you feel more a man than any other man~~I  love you because nobody could ever accuse us of love~~I love you because to understand our love...they'd need to turn the world upside down~I love you because you could love somebody else...yet still you love me. Just me.~
~Just you~
(Pictures from http://www.listal.com/movie/do-comeco-ao-fim/pictures/2)

Talk of swag, stock photos & other babble...

I still haven't deleted all the pics on my blog. *sighs* Still not sure what I'm doing about that. It's mostly my main page that will be a bummer. I know I can still use Nicu

<-- Nicu

because he's bought and paid for and yes, he did have a female behind him in the original. He looks better without, don't you think? :)

I'm also still debating what swag to do for GRL. I really like the idea of characters cards (and I've spend soooo much time looking at stock photos, most of which have been used way too many times) and I have found my Ali and my Kalo but it's still my Lucius that I'm struggling with. I even contacted the photographer of my Lucius inspiration -->
but since it's apparently an old pic, he's not sure if he can get model approval to use it. It would be perfect though. I don't mind posting the pic because at least I've had some contact with the photographer now.

Maybe one of you have spotted a similar boy on one of the stock sites? If so - please yell because "Lucius" is driving me crazy.

My other thought is bookmarks with the characters on them as well. I thought they might be a little more practical than cards even though most people don't read print as much. I know I keep all my bookmarks because I love them so that might be the way to go. There is an option in Word to make bookmarks but then you'd have to find a place to print them and more than likely, laminate too. Guess I'm really not sure about anything.

I'm also humming around the idea of having one or two T-shirts with the cover for Lucius' Bite and maybe doing a draw at GRL. Will probably get one for myself regardless since I love the cover so much. Thank you, LC Chase.

Does anyone have any thoughts on swag? I know there was so much paper thrown away at last year's GRL and I don't want what I decide to do to end up in the Albuquerque landfill but I feel compelled to do something to get my name out there besides cards with my name and website on them, mostly because I feel so damn intimidated by my small-fry status.

As for edits, Domestic Relations is done and I'm just finishing up ones for P.I. and the Rockstar despite a rocky start in that regard. WIPs - I'm working on my MLR Christmas story (Countdown to Santa), a story for the Kiss Me at Midnight anthology at Less Than Three and Ali's story, of course. Ali needs some more brainstorming because my brain finally decided what the issue in the story will be so now I have to figure out just how to accomplish what I want.

There's been a lot of talk in m/m romance genre about reviews and reviewers and authors acting badly toward them. I'm one of those authors who reads reviews and takes them a little too much to heart unfortunately but I'd never say anything nasty or reply in a negative way. That's something I'm still learning - not to be nasty but to read ones that aren't so encouraging and then let them go instead of allowing them to ruminate and fester.

I had recent reviews of Lazy Sundays and Lucius' Bite that 1) made me not want to write Ali's story at all because, you know, what's the point if it sucks so bad and 2) delete Lazy Sundays completely because there is a slight error someone pointed out. My peeps talked me out of that and I'm glad because yesterday I got an awesome review from Rainbow Book Reviews. Lazy Sundays is not the end for Devon and Scott either - I intend on expanding it (and fixing the error) and I know I'll enjoy getting back into their world.

Here's the review - just in case you're interested.

LAZY SUNDAYS - RAINBOW BOOK REVIEWS

I leave on Friday for Vancouver to spend a week with my daughter and her beau. They're awesome little people so I know I'll have a good time. Dan is going into his 4th year at Emily Carr art school and he's done a lot of digital stuff so maybe he can give me some perspective on designing and printing, etc. We go to the Pride Parade on Sunday and I'm hoping to see Patrick and Tyrell from my Hop Against Homophobia interview - they're both in the parade then Tyrell is performing at Sunset Beach after. On the 10th I'll be taking the ferry to Vancouver Island (Nanaimo) to do the house/cat sitting gig in Parksville. Everyone keeps telling me how beautiful it is there so I'm looking forward to it - especially getting out of the city.

Have a good week and hit me up if you have any thoughts on swag, photos or anything else. Basically just frigging hit me up so I know you're out there. Lol.

*hugs you all*

To blog or not to blog - that is the question

The title to this blog has been a serious question in my head for the last couple of days. There's been a lot of crap going on in m/m community but I'm not here to discuss that. If you know me, you know I'm emotional and some of the stuff going on is very emotion-invoking so I'm just keeping my head down and as usual, worrying about other things. This blog is one of those things or more precisely, how I'll go about handling what the following article says:

Blog: You can get Sued for using pics on your blog

Feel free to read the article, it's very thought-provoking, and, in my case, made me feel like a moron. To gather it all up and shove it in a tidy little box, if you use pics that aren't yours on your blog there is a chance (no matter how slim) that you can get yourself in trouble from the original photographer or site that you got the pics from.

Some of you may be thinking, "Well, duh K-lee. What are you stupid? Where've you been living? Under a rock?" and I can completely understand those sentiments. But the problem is a) I didn't really think I was a stupid person, b) I haven't been living under a rock (or at least not completely), and c) yes, I do know about copyright since I'm an author, have not been living under a rock and am not stupid.

So now you may ask "what's the problem then?" The problem is I can't decide if it's worth going through all my entries and deleting all the pics I used, not to mention getting rid of all my character inspirations on my main page. I'm kind of attached to those pics and a big part of my blog is posting pretty pictures for myself and others to enjoy (even my header is not my photo so what would I use for that?). Or is the easier decision just to delete this blog and start again?

Another problem is I don't really understand what pictures I can or cannot use, except my own (please say hi to Chili way up in the corner - she and the pic are mine). I'm an all-or-nothing kind of girl, something I've tried for years to change (it's part of my disorder as well so it's not entirely an issue of my choice) so for me rather than trying to figure out what I can and cannot post, I'm thinking it's better to just not blog at all or just use this as strictly a writing blog.

I guess I can still post youtube videos - as far as I know - and I can still talk about what I'm writing and what I'm doing but do I go through and delete all the entries that already contain pictures. Or do l leave then and just hope they never get found. As for my home page, I can't really think of anything else to put there besides my books, my wips and a few links. I'm not the most exciting person and there just aren't any men I can go out and take pictures of so I can post them on my blog.

And it goes further than just my blog - what about my LiveJournal and FaceBook and Tumblr and how about Twitter? Do all those have to be cleared out as well. Does this also mean when someone shares something on Facebook and you in turn share it, that's bad too? Considering all the problems in the real world, it seems like such a silly thing to spend so much time pondering and worrying about, but in my little world it's important.

This is nothing more than a rambling mess but I'm happy to get it at least partially off my chest. I guess I should just get back to writing and editing, plus I have some word counts I can update on my main page. I can always make these silly decisions later - and hope I don't get sued in the meantime. Have a good week friends.

EDIT: Oh, I forgot to mention my European football story was accepted for the Olympic anthology. :)

Thursday night pretties...

Just wanted to post some pretties and share what I got in the mail today. I had a total squee-fest. They look so awesome. :)

In writing news - I've been doing 30 minute sprints (or WordWars) and have had good results. 3,464 words yesterday and 3,331 today all on Ali's story. :) Gonna try to keep it up.

In other news, I got my steroid injection in my knee on Tuesday and though it doesn't feel like the one I got before, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will work. It's certainly not a pleasant thing to go through. AND I've made some summer plans. I'm going to Vancouver for a week to see my daughter and for Pride then housesitting in Parksville, BC (it's on Vancouver Island) for four weeks all by myself. :) It's supposed to be a beautiful place and I'm looking forward to getting out of the city. And now, on to the pretties. :D

Aren't they awesome?

Marlon Teixeira - beautiful as usual

Totally rockstarish - hot

There are just no words - hair, abs, tats, scruff, that look on his face - umph

Awesome picture and, you know, bodies too

There is just something so adorable about him

Football boys - I think they need a dog pile right about now

Megan found this on Tumblr for me - so freaking awesome(oh, Thor and Loki if you didn't already know)