Brandon Shire's Blog, page 34

Coming in December – Afflicted II

Afflicted II – December 2012

Because of the tremendous response toAfflictedwe are hoping to getAfflictedII to you by December of 2012.

The book was a work in progress before the release ofAfflictedand, depending oncircumstancesoutside of our control, our goal is to get the next installment of the relationship between Hunter and Dillon to you for the holiday season. (They are celebrating together too!)

You can leave your comments here about what you would like to see happen, or ask questions...

LGBT Hip Hop Artist Lanice London

I want to welcome Lanice London to the blog today. Watch for her name, it is fast growing in the hip-hop music scene and, from what I’ve seen (and heard) she’s not taking any prisoners.

I know, most of you are looking at this on my blog and say Whaaat? I don’t listen to that! Grow up, please. Music is a cultural revolution more than any other form of art and the one last bastions of homophobia in music is hip-hop. (Though this is rapidly changing.) The simple fact is that LGBTQ kids aren’t...

Interview with Don Brown from Blind LGBT Pride International

I’m talking with Don Brown today, past President of Blind LGBT Pride International an organization geared specifically toward helping blind LGBT connect, communicate, and dispel myths about gay blind people around the world. Don was also my point man when I had questions while writing Afflicted and provided valuable insight and criticism about the development of the manuscript.

B: Welcome Don. First, thanks so much for stopping by, and thank you very much for your input on Afflicted. Do yo...

Ice Cold Blues – they go down slow

Most of my regular readers know how much I love music so I thought I might make a few posts here and there about some of the artists I come across that touch a nerve with their voice, their music, or just their overall vibe.

Sybil Gage issomeoneI’ve been following for a number of years. She’s an LGBT supporter from New Orleans with a sound that swings somewhere between Jazz and Blues of the old Vaudeville style. I had the opportunity to see her live in NYC a few years back and she brought...

The Generosity of Fans

There are quite a few days when I wake up and wonder what the hell I’m doing putting my books out. I have no inspiration to be an “author,” for me it’s just scribbling words on paper and crafting a story that reflects on some of the harshness, and the beauty, of life.

And then there are days when you wake up, open your email, and find that your expectations of humanity are, once again, reaffirmedbecauseof thegenerosityof strangers. This morning was one of those mornings and here’s why:

Fans...

Vote for LGBT Youth – They need your help!

GLBTAYS is one of theorganizationsthat I help raise funds and awareness for. We need your vote to help them secure a grant from Chase Bank. This is one of theonlyorganizations in the Northern Alabama area serving LGBT youth and is right smack in the middle of hostile central as far as anything LGBT goes.

All it takes is one click tochangethe lives of many LGBT Youth. Vote by Sept 19th.

Cast your vote for GLBTAYS and one other charity using yourFacebook profile.

See the video message from fou...

Music in the Writing Process

It’s always been my practice to have music playing while I write, but then again, there is always music playing in my home so that shouldn’t seem odd. For me, the written word, like a musical score, has a certain syncopation to it, a vibratory tone that underscores what you read as you read it.

Often my writing is described as lyrical, and this is something I (unknowingly) have striven for over the years as I put words down. The writing always had to not only sound right, but feel right to...

Interview with Author David-Paul Erhart

Today I’m talking with author, musician and NYC marathon runner David-Paul Erhart. Mr. Erhart taught at the Royal Conservatory of Music and the University of Toronto Faculty of Music, authored Sound & Symbol (The Rudiments of Music Complete in Two Volumes), and ran in and completed three NYC marathons. His latest project is InnerBouquet, a website devoted to celebrating the lives and accomplishments of LGBT artists, activists and athletes.

B: I read from a piece you had written in 2007 tha...

Afflicted NOW Available

Due to Demand we have made Afflicted available today on Amazon and Smashwords. Other sites will be coming within the next few days. http://amzn.to/OUsXFH

Thank you all for your generous support, :-)

Afflicted – MM Romance – First Review

4.5 Star Book Review

“I have to congratulate the author for such beautiful writing. Every emotion – lust, loneliness, anger, insecurity- was so magnificently written that I felt each and every one of them. Especially Hunter’s. The author managed to describe these in a way that really let me relate to him. The sex scenes described from Hunter’s POV were splendid. At first, I had to really pay attention since it was so very different from what you read everyday with a sighted MC. The author...