H.B. Pattskyn's Blog, page 24

Happy Hunk Day!

Whew, what a week!  Those who follow me on Facebook already know that I've been typing my fingers off...and that while the first part of last week was fantastic, the latter half of the week...yeah. Not so much. But I have to go a little easy on myself, part of the issue has been that I desperately needed to edit out some deadwood... and then I had to do it again. And again. I am not one of those writers who can just write a rough draft from beginning to end, I have to go back and edit here and there as I go... the upside is that when I start revising, it's a slightly less painful process and doesn't tend to take as long.

So... being hopelessly behind on...well, everything, and being in the process of gearing up for the Blog Hop Against Homophobia, which starts tomorrow, I wanted to take today to highlight a few things that have troubled me over the past week--things that I think are worth sharing.

First up is something fairly personal. People can be mean and judgmental. Yeah, I know, hardly a revelation. But here's the scoop: it started out with some absolutely horrible mud slinging against the folks who set up the Hop Against Homophobia. And I admit it, I waded into the fray over at Fangs for the Fantasy, where it started. Mostly I don't like being lumped in with whoever caused this guy so much grief in the past. It wasn't *me*, I'd never even heard of him before. I get it that someone (or multiple someones) have been truly awful and that those people were writers of m/m fiction--presumably they were straight women. But that doesn't mean that all women who write m/m fiction are straight (I'm not), and it certainly doesn't mean that everyone who writes m/m fiction is homophobic, as per his assessment. (I'm still confused about how anyone who writes m/m fiction could be homophobic, but I wasn't around when whatever happened, happened, so I really can't judge except to say what I did: I doubt that the gay men who write m/m romance are homophobic and that I know for a fact that I am not homophobic).

Unfortunately, once we got to what felt like civilized dialogue, I was inexplicably put on moderation (i.e. my posts had to be approved) and the last comment from me seems not to have appeared on the thread. Or maybe it just got lost in cyberspace.

That wasn't the end of my lesson in "people can be mean"; I had been trying to set up an interview with a couple of actual acquaintances for the Hop, but the people I was talking to are just as busy as I am, and timing never worked out. Second best was to ask the folks at Yahoo Answers for help; people post little polls there all the time, so it hardly seemed like a big deal. Apparently it was. I got the usual b.s., one real answer, and some asshat who didn't think I had any right blogging about transgender issues and felt compelled to tell me so. Twice. (Reason: I'm not transgender, so I have no right trying to spread a little education about an issue that isn't mine personally.)

It was extremely disappointing.

And so was this, which isn't deeply personal, or at all related, but it still makes me angry:

http://alyndayofthedead.blogspot.ca/2012/05/suffering-in-silence.html?zx=51c48fdfc10a9cd3

http://mandydegeit.wordpress.com/2012/05/14/when-publishing-goes-wrong-starring-undead-press/#comment-141

The quick and dirty is that Undead Press are somebody nobody ever wants to write for. They're not listed on Predators and Editors...yet. I suspect it will only be a matter of time.

So, for the record: Yes publishers edit manuscripts. Yes, they sometimes even ask writers to make changes to content. No, they do NOT change the content for you. That's not what editing means.

And while we're talking unfair and downright wrong, the managers of Adele the singer are asking Google to pull posts by Adele Dubois the author over trademark infringement. As I understand it, Ms. Dubois' actual first name is Adele and she's older than Adele the singer (i.e. she had the ruddy name first). She's also not the only woman on the face of the planet to have the same first name Adele. So what, Sony expects every woman with the name Adele to run right out and change their names? Or are they just not allowed to have careers in the entertainment field? What the bleep is the world coming to, people?! It's a NAME. It's not even an uncommon one.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/post/is-adele-dubois-the-romance-writer-infringing-on-adele-the-singer/2012/05/14/gIQAT32WPU_blog.html#pagebreak


So on that note, I think we all need something warm and fluffy, because let me tell you stupid shit like this makes me want to hide under the blankets!(Okay a guy like that to hide with might make me never want to come out...)

and something just a little less fluffy
(but he's no less gorgeous!)



and finally, a little love...

I'd like to mention that I found that last one here:
http://positivelite.com/content/
the image is certainly found in other places online, but that particular website is very relevant to my current WIP--and well worth sharing and checking out.

Today's recipe is one of simple indulgence--exactly the thing I needed after last week.
Chocolate pudding:no box required
All you'll need is about a cup and a half of milk, a rounded tablespoon of baking chocolate (I use powdered) 2 rounded tablespoons of sugar, a level tablespoon of corn starch, and a half a teaspoon of vanilla. Unless you want to make it really rich, then you can add an egg yolk. (Not the white, just the yolk). 
Assemble everything into a sauce pan and whisk it up so it's all blended smooth. Put the pan on the stove, on low heat and stir continually until it thickens (five minutes, tops). 
Pour into a bowl. Eat and enjoy! 
I grew up eating this kind of pudding and was utterly amazed that none of my friends knew how to make pudding without going to the store and buying a box. 
Using the base recipe (everything except the cocoa), you can make any flavor of pudding you want. I've done cinnamon pudding, hazelnut pudding (skipping the sugar and adding hazelnut syrup, the kind they sell for coffee), chocolate hazelnut pudding, white chocolate pudding (using white chocolate chips--no sugar necessary for that one, either)... the possibilities are pretty much limitless. (One of my favorite combinations is chocolate covered bananas with white chocolate pudding--I slice up a banana, sprinkle on sugar and cocoa powder and pour the pudding over it. Yum!)

Please join me here tomorrow for the start of the Blog Hop Against Homophobia


Over 200 amazing authors, publishers, and supporters have signed up to show our support for Equal Rightsand to stand upagainst homophobia.






Helen Pattskyn, Fantasy Artist, Gay Romance Author

But wait, I already posted once today...

This is just a quick announcement, not a whole blog post; I am absolutely thrilled to have had a guest spot on Miss LJ's Live Journal. I had a LOT of fun with the interview and want to say a HUGE thank you for her having me. Please take a minute to check it out

http://misslj-author.livejournal.com/45417.html
please scroll on down for your regular Hunk Day goodies   ;-)

Helen Pattskyn, Fantasy Artist, Gay Romance Author

Hunk Day Wednesday... and a talk about POV

In writing circles, the letters POV stand for Point of View. Point of View refers to who's telling the story, because it really isn't the author who's telling it, it's the characters.

No. Really. It is, trust me.

The most important question I have to answer when I sit down to write something--and usually the most difficult decision--is who is going to tell this particular story. Who has the right voice--not necessarily the most information. The POV character doesn't always know what all the cards are or who has them, he's just the guy who can take the reader along on the best emotional journey.





The easiest way to tell a story would be let all of the characters tell it--or to not let any of them have a voice and tell the story from God's (i.e. the author's) perspective. (Honest, we're only a little bit egotistical!) Once upon a time, letting God tell the story was the usual method of writing a novel. God's POV is called third person omniscient, third person, because sentences go "he went to the store, she tied her shoe," etc. and omniscient... well because God (the author) sees all, knows all, and can tell all...or not.

The author would gather his or her audience around and begin, "Once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away..." and proceed to tell the tale, dipping into whichever characters' heads he or she needed to in any given scene. Even when I was still taking formal English classes (up until my sophomore year of college, a very, very, very long time ago in a kingdom feels far, far away, even it it really isn't) third person omniscient was the "preferred" point of view for an author (or or at least a student student) to use.



But things have changed. Third person omniscient is no longer the favorite POV--in fact, quite often when someone tries it, they're accused of "head hopping" (literally, hopping from one character's head to another). Head hopping is Very Bad.

Or so we're told.

I tend to disagree; I like seeing multiple perspectives, but I do realize that there is a right way and a wrong way to do third person omniscient. Before hopping from one character's head to another, the author is supposed to pull back, like when a film director takes us from a close up of one character, shows us the room, or some outside detail, and then has the camera operator zoom in on a new character. Just jumping from one close up to another would be jarring (although they do it in daytime drama all the time--and oddly enough, we do it in romance quite frequently too, something which jars readers from other genres, where any form of head hopping is a strict No No.)

So, in romance it really is all right to give the POV of more than one character (although typically we only get to see into the heads of the two--or more--people involved in the romance). But that doesn't mean an author has to let both (or all) of the parties get to talk directly to the readers. One of my favorite novels, Special Delivery by Heidi Cullinan is told only from Sam's point of view. And my novel, Bound: Forget Me Knot, is only told from Jason's. The book I'm currently working on, Hanging by the Moment is only told from Pasha's POV.

Why?

Well, obviously, I can't answer for Heidi, but for me there were a couple of factors. With Bound it was a matter of what worked. I started out writing from both Jason's and Henry's POV, alternating scenes, but I quickly discovered that Jason was getting way more page time than Henry, so even though it meant losing some important stuff (like Henry's ex, Derrik, reading him the riot act for bringing an inexperienced sub back to his room for a little play without even properly negotiating the scene first), in the long run, the story was a LOT stronger for only being told from Jason's POV. I just had to find other ways of getting certain information in (although readers really never get to see Henry getting ripped a new one, by either Derrik or his other ex, David).

Of course, as the author, I know that these things have happened; no matter which character is talking to the reader, I have to be in all of their heads simultaneously.

When I started working on Hanging by the Moment, I knew that I wanted the reader to get to know Daniel the same way Pasha was, rather than to get a peek into Daniel's head. Part of the reason was that even if someone has read my blog and knows ahead of time that Daniel is HIV + --or if that information is included in the blurb (which I suspect it will be, but that's the kind of decision I leave up to the experts), I want them to "discover" it with Pasha--to feel the moment with him. So that meant staying out Daniel's head...which was a really hard call to make. In my short story Encantado, I keep to Oscar's POV for much the same reason. The title and story give the reader enough information to figure out Angelino's big secret pretty early on, but I wanted readers to discover the truth along with Oscar.

Even when I go switch back and forth between characters, I have a rule about only doing it so many times in a chapter--of course rules were meant to be broken, but there are only a couple of chapters in Heart's Home where I switch back and forth more than a couple of times. I really don't want reading one of my books to be like watching a tennis match, because I write in "close third person" or what James Woods calls "free indirect style". I didn't actually know that what I was doing had a label until someone introduced me to Mr. Woods (thanks Joe!), I just knew that I liked getting deep inside my characters' heads.

Hopefully, my readers do, too.





This week's Recipe:Very Lazy Souffle...






In fact, it's so easy, I'm sure it even counts as a souffle, but that's the best name I could come up with. Basically, one day I had a bunch of bits and bobs in the fridge, but I so did not feel like making bread pudding and an omelet seemed like wayyyyy tooooo muucchhh WOOORRRKKK (yes, I was whining.)

Then this occurred to me...

The only thing you'll need special for this is an oven-safe bowl, like the kind used for making French onion soup. I prefer to cook this in my toaster oven, because I'm usually just making it for myself, for breakfast/brunch, but it's a great any-time meal, and I bet it would be great to cook ahead of time and take for lunch at work, too!  Better than a PB & J  ;-)

Okay, so this is one of those super adaptable recipes.
The basic ingredients are:

3 large, extra large, or jumbo sized eggs
1 slice of bread (I like whole wheat)
a teaspoon or so of butter (if you don't have butter, use a little oil on the bottom of your bowl or better still, non-stick cooking spray; the idea is to keep the bread from sticking and margarine isn't always good for that).

The rest is all optional. Yesterday morning, I had a yummy crab, artichoke, mushroom, and cheese souffle; I had a quarter of a package (maybe less) or artificial crab meat leftover in the fridge, ditto on the a quarter of a can of artichoke hearts. At the last minute, I remembered the half a handful of baby bella mushrooms that were in the drawer. I so hate wasting mushrooms. I combined my bits of leftover packages, added some cheese, and had a spectacular breakfast.

The recipe that follows is going to be for a ham, broccoli, and cheese souffle... that's what I'm having for dinner tonight.

I'm going to use about a quarter of a cup's worth of diced ham; I like the thick ham steaks, but lunch meat would certainly do. Eyeballing it, I'd say it's 3 ounces, give or take.

Next give a pretty fine chop to about a third of a cup of broccoli; basically, think smaller than bite sized pieces.

Here's a tip on broccoli: if you peal the stems, you can use more of it without getting that bitter taste that sometimes is associated with the stem. It's the peal that's bitter; the "meat" is sooo sweet. I learned that in cooking class  ;-)

So. Butter the bread and put it butter side down in the oven-safe bowl.

Layer the broccoli, ham, and cheese...how much cheese? Well... if you're me, it's going to be about a quarter of a cup of whatever shredded cheese is lying around the fridge, and maybe a slice or two of something for the top. Seeing as you're you, you can adjust the amount to anywhere from a quarter of a cup to two thirds of a cup, or however much your bowl will comfortably hold (remember, you still have to add the eggs).

Crack the eggs into another bowl and whip.

For this one, I'm not putting any herbs in with the eggs because I don't like most herbs with broccoli; if I were doing mushroom instead, I'd probably put in some chives.
when I did the crab and artichoke souffle, I added dill, garlic, and chives to my eggs.
Like I said, this is one of those recipes that is super adaptable to personal taste.

Pour the eggs over the stuff and bread in the oven-safe bowl. If you want to, lay a slice of cheese on top, or even top with some more shredded cheese.

If you want to, top it with another slice of bread--I usually don't, but it's an option.

Bake for 25 minutes at 400 degrees--if you're like me and layer the top with cheese and like a nice crispy cheesy top, make it 20 minutes on bake and 5 - 10 minutes on broil (depending on how crispy you like your cheese).

Let it cool for a few minutes before plating... or eat it right out of the bowl (I tend to find the bowl too hot, I like to put it on a plate).

And yes, you can definitely double or quadruple the recipe, put it in a bigger baking dish, and make enough for the whole family!


Helen Pattskyn, Fantasy Artist, Gay Romance Author

Happy Hunk Day!

Today, I want to celebrate one of my favorite things: Kissing. 
I don't think there is anything more sensual, more beautiful or more intimate than kissing. 
According to Scientific America, "a kiss locks two humans together in an exchange of scents, tastes, textures, secrets, and emotions."  I guess when they put it that way, I'd better pay more attention to how I write about kissing. Especially when I read further along in the same article, "Lips may have evolved first for food and later applied themselves to speech, but in kissing they satisfy different kinds of hunger. In the body, a kiss triggers a cascade of neural messages and chemicals that transmit tactile sensations, sexual excitement, feelings of closeness, motivation, and even euphoria."(http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=affairs-of-the-lips-why-we-kiss)



Anthropologists suggest that India is the birthplace of the kiss, and that it developed from a practice that involved two people putting their faces close together and sharing one another's breath; this type of "breath kiss" is still practiced Pacific Islanders and is similar to the "Eskimo kisses" practiced by the Inuit. 




In some cultures (notably that of ancient China), kissing is so intimate that it only happens in the bedroom. In other cultures, friends kiss each other all the time.  

Okay, so maybe not the best example of a "friendly kiss"... but it is kinda sexy  ;-)
I'm going to end today with one of my favorite kisses of all time...



...and a recipe that only some of you will understand the significance of... but that's okay, lots of people like pineapple upside down cake!
This particular recipe calls for fresh pineapples...that's because I happen to have one very over ripe fresh pineapple sitting on my kitchen counter. Guess what's happening to it tomorrow?  You could just as easily substitute canned/jarred pineapple.
Because I'm lazy, I'm starting with a boxed cake mix. I know. I'm not a very good example of a kitchen witch right now.
Okay. 
1 box of butter/yellow cake mix; other options will do, but the yellow is my fave for this.
   Your're going to be making some changes to the recipe, however. Where it calls for 3 eggs, you're going to use 4 egg yokes. Where it calls for water, you're going to use milk--and a couple of table spoons of fresh lemon juice. Where the box calls for oil, you're going to use soft butter. Trust me on this, your friends will wonder how you ever got a box mix to taste so good! 
You're also going to need a fresh, whole pineapple...or my case, a mostly whole pineapple. I cut into this morning and realized how close it was to being over the hill. 
Mix up the cake batter according to directions, except of course for the changes I've given you. 
Lightly grease and flour your cake pans. Lay out the pineapple--chunks, rings, whatever works.  Slowly and carefully pour the batter over. Bake according to directions. No, I don't put cherries in mine. You do NOT want to know how they make those jarred cherries, trust me. 
When the cake comes out of the oven, you'll flip it so the bottom is up, hence the name.
Serve with ice cream...or maybe whipped cream... or maybe a kiss or two... 






Helen Pattskyn, Fantasy Artist, Gay Romance Author

Blog Hop Winner!

Just a quick announcement to thank everybody who participated in the Spring Fling Blog Hop!  You have no idea how much I wish I could give everybody a book... unfortunately, then I'd go broke.  
My winner is Sophia -- congratulations!
Remember, I'm participating in the Hop Against Homophobia in May and giving away another copy of Heart's Home. 
Enjoy your Sunday and come back on Wednesday for another hot Hunk Day update!  I've got lots of things to talk about. Helen Pattskyn, Fantasy Artist, Gay Romance Author

Rambling about Writing

We are in the middle of Selena Blake's Spring Fling Blog Hop ...but that doesn't mean that my regular Wednesday Hunk Day report won't go on as scheduled, it just means I have some (fun) business to take care of first!

I am giving away, to one lucky winner, a signed copy of my debut novel, Heart's Home , a gay male romance (just in case the banner at the top didn't give away what I write  ;-).
Heart's Home is a Victorian era paranormal. I'm slated to write the sequel (which is actually a spin off) later on in the year. Click on the tab (way) above, or the title in the above paragraph for more book info.

Entering is simple:
Just post a comment below or drop me an email at helenpattskyn@gmail.com and let me know you'd like a chance to win.

First thing in the morning on the 28th, I'll draw a winner out of the hat and contact you. Once you get back to me with a mailing address, I'll put your book on the mail and announce your name on my blog.

As always, international entries are welcome. Thanks for hopping by!
If you'd like to stay for a bit, my
regular Wednesday Hunk Day blog 
is just below.
I have some very yummy offerings
for you this week, if I do say so myself....



Hunk Day ramblings...As some of you know, I recently joined the Romance Writers of America, and very pleased to also be a brand new member of the Greater Detroit Romance Writers of America. I've never belonged to a professional organization before, and while I admit that the biggest reason I joined was so that I could join the Rainbow Romance Writers, I was pretty excited to discover that the local chapter meets, literally, walking distance from my house, so of course, I had to check them out.

Last week, I attended my first RWA meeting (Romance Writers of America...although my husband thinks with as much time as I spend at the keyboard, that ought to be Romance Writers Anonymous! I know I talked about the kind of ideal day I would have a few weeks ago, but seriously, when I get my teeth into a story, I spend way more than 8 hours a day working on it).

Anyway, there was a lovely guest speaker last week, Gail Gaymer Martin, who talked to us about plotting. Now, she didn't actually say anything I'd never heard before, but sometimes it isn't that a speaker or teacher (or even a friend for that matter) says something new, it's that they say it in a new way that you have an "ah-ha!" moment... or at least a moment where the little light bulb in your brain stops flickering and finally goes on, illuminating the problem. Because what she actually said about the story I've been working on (you know, when I'm not working on Ghosthunting Michigan). She wasn't addressing me personally in any way, but what she was saying about how every single scene needs to carry the story forward reinforced what my critique group had had to say about the first chapter. That the first 1000 words or so just lay there, flat. Even when I revised, I left them in, I just trimmed them up a little.

But they still just lay there flat. And given that they're the first 1000 words, that's a  Real P roblem .  The first scene has got to hook a reader. The very first sentence has to hook the reader. Heck, if you can do it on the first word, do it on the first word. Which I knew. It's writing 101. But sometimes you just need to hear someone else say it, or say it in a different way, for it to stick.

Gail spent a great deal of time talking about hooks in general--because they're not just for the first page. Every scene needs something to hook a reader in, otherwise readers loose interest. Seriously, how many times have we all started skim reading, or just plain put a book down because we got bored? My time is precious. So is my readers'. If I'm not entertaining my readers, I'm not doing my job.

So with that in mind, I've spent a few hours this week revising the beginning of my WIP, Hanging by the Moment. You know the one with Daniel that cute guy I featured a picture of last week... no idea who the model really is, but he's the perfect Daniel. (Hey, at least I'll have something to show my cover artist when we get to that phase!)

I'd also like to take just a moment to piggy back on the idea of hooks and drawing the reader in to talk about back story, because the easiest way to lose a reader is by dumping a bunch of back story onto the page. And we all do it. In the first draft. Maybe the second draft. But then you weed it out, little by little, until only what the reader actually needs to know is left. I might be able to tell you all about my characters' pasts, but you don't necessarily need to know it. You only need to know enough to enjoy the story--if I give you too much, you're going to get bored. I'm not going to be doing my job.

Don't forget, for those of you happen to live in the area, I'll be speaking at PenguiCon, in Dearborn. I'm doing three panels:

Making the transition from fanfiction to published fiction (or "real" fiction as it states in the program book; I find that to be a misnomer. Fanfiction is very real... but we'll discuss that at the panel ;-)   No doubt Fifty Shades of Grey will come up... ye Gods, I don't have time to read it. Maybe I can skim read it or something...World building (one of my absolute favorite topics)and "Strike a pose!" a discussion about the way men on fantasy novel covers tend to look big and buff and sexy and women tend to get the shaft....erm. Not literally. Or maybe literally. I guess it depends on what you're reading... but historically, women on fantasy novel covers have tended to look a bit vapid. I guess they thought the romance author would have something to say about that (even if there are no women on my book covers)  ;-)

And I do believe I owe y'all a guacamole recipe! Now, those who know me know that I don't treat cooking as an exact science. Any of the portions below can be fiddled with to achieve your perfect chip dip! That's the beauty of what I do in the kitchen, nothing is so set in stone that you can't make it your own.

First, just a touch of back story. No, I promise I won't bore you.

I'm 43. I think the first time I had guacamole was at Taco Bell, a decade or so ago. I probably had some at a party along the way too, that had been purchased ready-made at the grocery store. Based on those experiences, I was entirely convinced that I did not like "that awful nasty green stuff".  Avocados had one use in my house: as a beauty aid.

Then I went to New York, and my friend Kitsa dragged me off to her favorite Mexican restaurant, where they make guacamole tableside. Okay, I was willing to give it a shot, but warned her she might be eating the entire bowl of it herself. She wasn't necessarily unhappy about the prospect!

The gentleman came out and I watched with interest as he sliced open a fresh avocado, added tomatoes, peppers, onions, cilantro, and a splash of lime juice (from a real live fresh lime). The ingredients were mashed together in a giant mortar and passel and looked quite similar to this image I found online:

By the time we were done, there wasn't a molecule of it left in the bowl; as soon as I came home, I endeavored to recreate my new favorite appetizer -- hence the left over avocado I used for a beauty treatment last week, because apparently, I'm the only person in the house who wanted any.


1 whole avocado, soft enough to work with1 medium, ripe tomato1/4 small red onion (any onion will do, I like red ones, but I bet Spanish onions would taste great!)a dash of red pepper flakes (better if you can do fresh, but if you're like me flakes are all you have in your kitchen...erm... no, I don't really mean my husband...)1 tablespoon, more or less to taste, fresh cilantro (no, this HAS to be fresh)1/4 lime...oops. I only had a lemon. It worked fine!

I don't own a mortar like the one above, so I used a metal bowl and a potato masher. You could probably use a food processor, but I liked the chunky consistency that mashing it gave.

Slice up the avocado into half inch or so cubes, and give it a quick "pre smash", especially if it's not "perfectly" soft--since really, finding a perfect avocado is almost as hard as finding a needle in a haystack.

Dice the tomato and onion and give your cilantro a nice fine chop. Mix it all together with as much red pepper as you like (I'm more a mild kind of gal), and squeeze in your lime...or lemon... juice. Give it a really good stir or even a light mash if you want.

All done. Serve with your favorite chips and enjoy!

Of course you'll probably want something to DRINK with your guacamole and chips....

Perhaps some...Midnight Margaritas!


I nicked this recipe fromhttp://junie-moon.blogspot.com/2009/10/halloween-party-blog-hop-practical.html

Enjoy!!


Helen Pattskyn, Fantasy Artist, Gay Romance Author

Spring Fling Blog Hop Starts Today!

                                            http://site.selena-blake.com/2012/04/spring-fling-blog-hop-april-23-27/

In honor of the arrival of spring,I'm giving away a  signed paperback copy of my Romantic M/M Victorian era Urban Fantasy 
Heart's Home
At its core, Heart's Home is aboutfinding love and acceptance in unexpected places.

That's a theme I deal with a lot. Not only am a sucker for a happy ending, but I do truly believe that there is nothing more important than loving and being loved--than being loved for who you are. The idea of "finding home" is at the core of my second novel, Bound: Heart in Knots, due out in September. Since there are snippets of Heart's Home already on my website (just hit the link above) as well as on my publisher's website, here I'm going to give you a snippet of my second novel instead. But just in case you want to grab your goodies and run, I'll give you the rules for entering the giveaway first. That's because I'm a nice guy  ;-)
It's easy. 
To win a copy of Heart's Home, all you have to do is drop me an email at helenpattskyn@gmail.com OR leave a comment below.
I'll draw one name out of the hat on the 28th, contact the winner, and as soon as you get back to me with your address, I'll put your book in the mail. Winner will be announced here shortly thereafter. 
No hoops to jump through, no trick questions. 
And yes, international entries are always welcome. 

So now that we have that out of the way, here's the first thousand words or so of Bound: Forget Me Knot; this is NOT a final edit, so minor changes are likely. Which means an editor will show up on my doorstep with a whip and chair to help me tame the wild em dash. Or maybe just a bucket of tar and a feather pillow because she's sick of my run-on sentences and overuse of punctuation!
Fair warning: Bound:Forget Me Knot is a kinky/BDSM novel (just in case the title didn't give that away;-)   



Bound: Forget Me Knot


Chapter One
The gray leather was so soft, it felt like silk in Jason’s hands. It was a good solid piece, though, about two inches wide, with four heavy D-rings attached. It was the kind of collar that would tell a man he belonged to somebody—not that there was anyone Jason wanted to belong to. Not that he wanted to belong to anyone. He swallowed back his discomfort. A little light bondage with his sometime-boyfriend Terry as one thing, but—
“Nice choice.”
Jason jumped at the sound of the rich baritone voice behind him, and not-so-silently cursed himself for getting caught “window shopping”. The dealers’ room wasn’t open yet, he was only allowed in because he was working off his convention membership by helping with setup. Setting up didn’t include pestering the merchants.  
Normally, Jason didn’t pay even attention to anything in the dealers’ room at a con. He’d been going to science fiction conventions since he was fourteen—eight years ago—and the dealers’ always looked the same: displays over flowing with novels and comic books, tables piled high with CDs and DVDs. There were movie posters and action figures. Plush Lovecraftian monsters. The sword dealer was set up next to the guy who sold replicas of Star Trek phasers and Stargate zat guns. Across the aisle was a woman who did custom corsetry work—for both women and men. Next to her was the guy who sold uniforms: Star Fleet, Storm Trooper, Colonial (as in the Thirteen Colonies of Kobal)… if it was on TV or in the movies, he could get his hands on it.
The last few years Jason had noticed more brass and leather making its way in the dealers’ room, thanks to the rising popularity of steampunk literature and the Victorian culture from it came from. He didn’t mind. There was nothing hotter than a good looking guy decked out in Victorian era garb, and all the better if he was wearing leather.
Jason wasn’t wearing leather, but what he did have on was almost as good: a black fish-net shirt that showed off the silver hoops in his nipples and a pair of ass-hugging jeans with a couple of gray bandanas tied into the belt loops at his right hip. Those were more for show than anything else. Nobody around the science fiction community knew the “hankie code” supposedly used in the leather community. Jason wasn’t even sure anybody actually used it in real life, it was just one of those things he’d read about online. Different colored hankies signified different kinks. Gray was for bondage.
He turned to face the shop owner, to apologize for getting in his way, and hope the guy wouldn’t complain about him being where he didn’t belong—but his mouth went dry and his throat refused to work. He found himself staring into a brawny chest.  He looked up. The shop owner smirked. The guy was at least a foot taller than Jason and, while he wasn’t exactly Incredible Hulk muscular, Jason didn’t think he lost too many arm wrestling contests, either. He certainly made Jason feel small, simply by standing there smiling.
He was the epitome of “classically handsome”: strong jaw, cleft chin, dimples. Dimples. Jason loved drawing faces with dimples. His gaze flickered further up and he noticed the full mustache, baby blue eyes and short cropped blond hair. He’d never liked mustaches much, but he was suddenly ready to make an exception.
“See something else you like?” the guy asked him with a lopsided grin.  
Jason blushed. “Yes. I mean no! I mean…” he floundered, certain the tips of his ears were as red as the ballroom carpet as he clutched onto the leather collar. “Sorry, I know you’re still setting up. I saw this and I guess I couldn’t resist.”
“I know exactly what you mean.”                                                                   Jason’s heart hammered in his chest—the guy couldn’t possibly mean that the way it sounded. Could he?
“C’mon,” he took Jason by the shoulders and turned him around, so Jason’s back was to him once more, before lifting the collar out of his hands. “Let’s try this on for size.”
“I…,” Jason licked his lips. He couldn’t afford a collar like that.
But the merchant didn’t give him the chance to finish his sentence. “Jesus, boy, you got enough hair? Lift that mop outta my way.”
“I… huh? Sorry, I…” he blinked. Why was he apologizing to a total stranger about the length of his hair? Didn’t he get enough of that shit at home? If it wasn’t his father, it was Dad’s girlfriend, Alicia, ragging on him about his hair, his cloths. His attitude. According to them, no one would ever hire someone like him. He usually didn’t remind them that he had a job. After all, waiting tables wasn’t “real work”, it was what college kids and unskilled adults did to pay the bills.
“I should get back to work,” Jason told the merchant. “I’m supposed to be helping with setup.”
The big man leaned in close, stopping him in his tracks. “I’m sure you can play hooky for a few more minutes,” he whispered seductively into Jason’s ear.
“Huh?” was the wittiest comeback he could come up with.
“Let’s see what this looks like on you.”
“I… yeah… okay.” God, could he sound any more like a clod?
The merchant cleared his throat. “Hair, boy.”
“Right. Sorry.” Jason lifted the long, curly black hair up off up off his shoulders, exposing his slender neck. He closed his eyes as the merchant slipped the gray collar around his throat. It was heavy. It felt good. The only collar he’d ever worn before was the one he’d bought for himself a few months ago, from the pet aisle at Wal-Mart. It was so much more satisfying when someone else buckled the soft, sturdy leather into place, even if it was only someone trying to make a sale.
“There,” the merchant laid his hands on Jason’s shoulders once more. “How’s the fit?”
“Perfect, sir.” Jason faltered. But ‘sir’ was a generic enough courtesy, and the shop owner looked a few years older than him. Well. Maybe closer to ten years older, not that Jason minded. Older guys knew what they were doing in bed. Not that he thought the merchant was flirting with him. He was just trying to make a sale. He wasn’t going to succeed. “I’m sorry, sir, but I really can’t afford something like this. I didn’t mean to waste your time.”
“Who says you’re wasting my time? ’Sides, last time I checked, looking was free.”
Jason glanced over his shoulder again. “I can’t actually see anything, you know.”
The merchant rolled his eyes at Jason’s petulant tone. “I think I’ve got a solution for that.” He reached to the table behind him and passed Jason an antique brass hand mirror. “There you go. What d’you think?”
Jason gaped at his own reflection in the oval glass. The charcoal gray leather was the perfect complement to his pale skin and almost the same color as his eyes. How was he ever going to go back to wearing a cheap dog collar after seeing the way he looked in a real collar?
He gave himself a good mental shake. Why would he want a real collar? Real collars were for… slaves. Submissives. Jason wasn’t either of those things, he just dabbled with bondage once in a while.
He licked his lips nervously and cast another glance up at the merchant because looking at the other man was easier than looking at his own reflection.
“Kinda makes you look like you belong to somebody, eh, boy?” the big man observed.
“Yeah. I was just thinking… I erm…just…out of curiosity, how much is it?” He had to ask.
“The hardware on there is all hand forged. I can’t go any lower than two hundred.”
Jason’s heart sank. “I really wish I could afford that, but I…I’m not even sure I’m going to be able to afford to school next semester.” God, he sounded pathetic. He wasn’t trying for sympathy, the words had just come out.
“Gotta have priorities, boy.”
Jason gave him a questioning look.
“School first,” he elaborated. “You’ll have time for stuff like this later.”
“Yeah. I guess.”
Jason took a last look at himself in the mirror before the merchant undid the collar’s clasp. He felt an immediate loss when it came off his neck. He smiled anyway. “Thanks for letting me try it on…” he sought out the man’s name badge, but the only thing printed on it was ‘Sir’. He smirked.  
“Henry Durand,” he held out his hand.
Jason accepted. “Jason Kennly.”
“Good to meet you, Jason.” Henry’s hand swallowed his up whole, but his grip was light. Friendly.
“You too. Well, I… guess I should get back before somebody realizes how long I’ve been gone. See you around the con, Sir,” he added, despite having exchanged proper names.
Henry quirked an eyebrow, then laughed. “I’ll be right here, boy,” he shot back with a wink. “I might even let you model a few other things, if you like. Got a set of cuffs you’d look good in.”
With heat burning in his cheeks, Jason beat a hasty retreat. He told himself that Henry Durand was an accountant or something, that selling collars and leather BDSM gear was only a weekend gig, but even the thought of Mr. Tall, Blond, and Handsome sitting in front of a pile of income tax returns wasn’t enough to make his dick go soft.  

................................
Bound: Forget Me Knot is due out in September from Dreamspinner Press. And just to make my life interesting, so is Ghosthunting Michigan, the non fiction book I'm working on for Clerisy Press. 







Helen Pattskyn, Fantasy Artist, Gay Romance Author

Happy Hunk Day

Normally, I don't go in for the whole cut off head look...but sometimes a girl has to make an exception! Besides this particularly cute guy is a great jumping off point to today's discussion.

Does everything (in a novel) need to be on the page?
I'm not just talking about the sex, although that's a good debate, because when I was initially looking for publishers to shop my first manuscript to, I came across one that stated quite clearly in their submission guidelines that all sex must be on the page. No fading to black. No skipping details. They wanted it all there in black and white.

So, thoughts? Does every sex scene *have* to be on the page, or after a while is a blow job a blow job and is it simply enough to say that "Bob sank to his knees in front of Fred and Fred licked his lips in anticipation. He ran his hands through his lover's hair... smiled... God, Bob was good at that..." and then page break to the next scene.

But it's not just sex. I've come to a spot in my new WIP (Work In Progress), Hanging by the Moment, where my boys end their first date on an unspecified weekday at the end of chapter two. Chapter three starts on Sunday afternoon, with their second date.

I know what happens on the in-between (I'd better, I'm the author!) but I didn't write it out.

And it's not that they just live their separate lives, they exchange a couple of phone calls and text messages...but is it necessary to show all of that, or can I just tell the reader later, when they get together for their date?

Thoughts?

Remember, back in school, they taught us to show, don't tell... but if you show everything, does it get boring?

Hanging by the Moment is the official name of that story I talked about a while back, the one that was loosely inspired by the temporary waitressing job I took a few months ago. I got some really good title ideas, but when the book took a serious turn (one my main characters has HIV), the title needed to take a serious turn, too.

I actually came up with the official title on the fly when my publisher asked me for a solid idea of when I was submitting the story; she needed a title to go with the description. Now, nobody get too excited, a conversation like that doesn't guarantee that they'll pick up the story for publication. I still have to go through the regular submission process, but they're working with me on turning my writing into a career, and part of that is letting her know when they'll see what out of me.


Hanging by the Moment is due to be submitted mid-June. A month later, I'm due to submit my YA novel. Yikes.

And in the course of looking for sexy long haired men for today's post, one of the characters from Hanging by the Moment has gotten a make over (but it's really helped to clarify the writing, so I'm happy! I suddenly know so much more about him.)


Meet Daniel
In my original vision, he was "bald by design"I like this vision much, MUCH better! Look at that hair... 

What do you think, folks--do you like your guys with long hair or short?

Which brings us to this week's recipe. 
A week or so ago, I asked my husband to buy me an avocado; I'd recently had home made guacamole and fell in love. I thought I hated the stuff. Turns out, I out what I hate is that green goo from the grocery store... but I'm not doing the guacamole recipe today. Today I'm going to share what I did with the second half of the avocado before it went completely off, but I happened across a couple of bananas that had been forgotten on the top of the fridge. Yup, they were almost black. But there are things you can do with servery overripe bananas and a nice soft avocado. And not so ironically, it has to do with long hair...
Hair and Face Mask
1 super ripe banana 1/2 soft avocado (if you have really long hair, use the whole thing)1 egg yolk (really long hair, use 2)2 tablespoons low fat yogurt (non flavored/no fruit) (long hair use 3T*)1 tablespoon honey (long hair use 2T*)1 tablespoon coconut OR olive oil (long hair use 2T*)
(Coconut oil is lighter than olive oil, so if you have naturally oily hair or skin, go with the coconut; if you have perpetually dry skin and hair, opt for the olive oil. Another light oil is almond. Jojoba oil is pure gold for skin and hair...and is priced accordingly). 
optional add-ins:a sprinkle of dill and/or thymegreen tea (open up the tea packet and dump it in)chamomile tea (same as above--great for hair and skin, adds a subtle highlight to light hair)catnip (great for hair, helps end split ends)
Those are the things most folks have in their kitchen. Mine is a little more exotic. 
More add-ins:comfrey (leaves)burdock (root)calundulaamla powder (may darken hair slightly over time)frankincense (awesome anti-wrinkle ingredient, but you have to get essential oil, not fragrance oil... or make your own by soaking crushed resin in olive oil over night).  
amla paste makes a great facial scrub, by the way.
for hair only:cinnamon (smells yummy, adds shine and a slight red tint--however, it isn't so pleasant on the skin)
(*T=tablespoons, just in case you didn't know that; teaspoon is abbreviated  with a lowercase t).

Basic instructions:
Mash up your avocado and banana (or blend in food processor); mix in remaining ingredients. Whip together. I like to let my mask sit for a bit until it comes up to room temp. If I'm adding in extras, I let it sit for at least a couple of hours, to give all the good stuff a chance to soak out into the goo.
Slather mixture on hair. Wrap in plastic wrap. Put on a cap or scarf (for warmth, because warmth helps the mask do its thing). Endure ridicule from family--make appropriate threats. 
Now, you want your hair coated, but not dripping. Dripping is just yucky. (All right, minds out of the gutters, kiddies...)  I leave the mix on my hair overnight, but anything over half an hour will do. Rinse and wash hair as normal. Since I don't let chemicals touch my hair any more, I condition with a mix of yogurt and egg. 
If you have any mixture left over, use it as a face mask. I like to leave my face mask on for at least half an hour. Usually I put it on right before I shower the goo out of my hair. (Remember, no cinnamon on the face!)
The results: silky, shiny, healthy hair and a radiant, moisturized face. (Seriously, my face never felt happier than when I applied the banana for the first time.)
For dry skin, it's recommended to mask 2 to 3 times per week. I mask my hair once or twice in an average week... less in hot weather or when I'm just too busy. Most people will say once a month, but I'm trying to get my hair to grow longer. The mask doesn't necessarily make hair grow (nothing can speed that up), but the added proteins and other good stuff in the hair mask makes it so that the hair I do grow is healthier. 
Although for truly healthy hair, nails, and skin, what you put INTO your body is twice as important as what you put ON it. Proper nutrition, reasonable exercise, lots of water, and a good night's sleep do wonders. 
Maybe next week we'll talk guacamole and hot Latin men... 






Helen Pattskyn, Fantasy Artist, Gay Romance Author

A Very Dirty Word

but first, a word from your sponsor (that would be me  ;-)
new Game Plan: I will be doing my darnedest to post EVERY Wednesday--plus at the start of blog hops and other special events.

But starting today, Hump Day is now Hunk Day! I'll be scouring the Internet for hunky men to serve up...  normally, I'll post a sexy hunk up here at the Top of the page, but today's hunk belongs on the bottom....

now, back to that Dirty Word:

Promotion.
Or more accurately, SELF-Promotion.
This is a topic that gets bandied about a lot in writers' groups, whether we're meeting in person or on Internet forums. It's a topic I covered a little bit when I spoke of keeping my pussies happy. (I'm never going to actually get tired of that phrase!)
See, even if you have an awesome publisher, things are not what the used to be. Even the Big Boys in New York, the major publishing companies, don't drop thousands of dollars on book tours for their authors any more. And with good reason; readers aren't buying like we used to. We're not reading like we used to. Many of us won't travel an hour to meet our favorite author in person...okay, I would, but, well, I'm of a different generation. (Gods, now I sound really old.)
But the thing is that things are changing, instead of authors and readers trekking out to bookstores, we blog, we do Facebook and Good Reads chats. We tweet. We instant message. In a way, I love it, it means I can meet people in New Zealand, Finland, Germany, the UK... heck, I wouldn't know my very friend Kitsa, who lives in New York, if it weren't for the Internet. And considering she's the one who dragged me to Dragon*Con, which is where I saw that painting that inspired a certain werewolf novel... you get the idea.
So all of this means that we need to change the way that we market ourselves.
The writers that I've run into seem to be divided, almost evenly, into one of two extremes. There are those who honest to goodness think writers should write, not blog, and market, and tweet. Good books are advertizment enough, they say.
And they have a point. You do have to write a good story, and write it well, and you can't let blogging, tweeting, and facebooking take up more of your time than the exposure is worth.
There is also a school of thought that says "promote 'til you bleed", because if you don't get out there and do something to make people pay attention to you (in a GOOD way!), you're never going to get noticed. Let's face it, with POD and electronic format technology evolving the way it is, everybody and their little dog too can publish a book. It doesn't have to be good. It doesn't have to be edited. But it still takes up virtual shelf space and makes it harder for people to find my book.
So, when I outlined my personal plan for making a go of being a writer, I budgeted about 10 hours a week to this stuff. Lately, I've been spending more time on it, but partially that's because I'm procrastinating on a particular project, and part of it is because overhauling my website really did take time. I'm not a professional techie.
But realistically speaking, I can see myself spending closer to 15 hours a week blogging and facebooking (I have my FB set up to automatically tweet for me because I seriously can't suss out Twitter. You see how I blog. Giving me 30 characters to speak my peace is not going to cut it!)
However, Facebook and Good Reads (which, along with my Amazon author page gets automatically updates of my blog--which I usually post to my Facebook) updates really aren't enough. I have over 1500 Facebook friends--no I'm not really that popular, I just accept (almost) anybody who friends me. I've started drawing the lines at the ones whose native writing doesn't involve Latin characters. I like to actually be able to read what my FB friends post. The point I was getting at, however, is that with that many friends, I know my posts get lost in a sea of other peoples' posts--and not all of my FB friends are into m/m romance.
So I do blog hops (which, okay, are a lot of fun!) And I attend conventions. I try to get included on panels, even if it's not to talk about m/m romance (check it out, I'm at PenguiCon, talking about fanfiction, world building, and fantasy novel covers!)  Just getting up there and talking about writing gets me in front of people. I get involved in conversations on romance lists for the sake of contributing something to the conversation, not just to come in and bombard other list members with blurbs and excerpts, then leave until the next promo day.
The more times people see your name, the more they remember it--but you don't want to be remembered as that jerk who only ever comes on the boards to shove a book down your throat, (kinda like those folks who go door to door with a different sort of book...)
Oh yeah, and when I'm done doing all of that, I go back to writing the very best books I can write.
So far, those are the best ways I've found to market myself. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject of marketing... or really anything at all!



Dark Side Brownies…                 1 1/2 cups brown sugar·         3/4  cup dark (unsweetened) cocoa powder·         1  cup flour·         1/2 teaspoon baking powder·         4 egg yolks (or 2 whole eggs)·         2 tablespoons milk·         1 cup softened butter. Not margarine. Not oil. Butter. From a cow.·          2 teaspoons real vanilla extract           1/4 teaspoon powdered cayenne pepper            1 teaspoon chili powder·         2  tablespoon cinnamon powder·         Medium sized mixing bowl·         9x13 inch baking pan—or a nice deep 9x9 inch pan.

In a mixing bowl, cream together the sugar and butter, blending until smooth. Add vanilla and egg yolks and beat until combined. Sift in about half of the remaining dry ingredients (it really doesn't matter in what order). Stir in the peppery water. Blend in rest of dry ingredients. If batter seems dry, add more milk—but brownies should have a nice thick, gooey batter.Bake for about 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes up clean.


And if you can find it, may humbly recommend Chocolate Amore wine to go with your Dark Side Brownies...


Of course you might want some help in the kitchen from your sexy Wednesday Hunk... IF he can keep his fingers out of the mixing bowl...boys. What ever are we to do with them...?





...and how about some mood music...
...from Abney Park.



Helen Pattskyn, Fantasy Artist, Gay Romance Author

Spring Fling Blog Hop in two weeks

I've added a free short story to my blog.  Encantado  originally posted on Clare London's Blog back in January, but I thought I should probably put it here as well. Enjoy!!
and of course, the big announcement....


I just signed up for Selena Blake's Spring Fling Blog Hop... and it's happening in just a couple of weeks. But seriously, spring has come in in full force and I feel like celebrating!

I'll be giving away a signed copy of Heart's Home, my Victorian era urban fantasy (and definitely steamy, sensual m/m romance!) to one lucky winner. As always international entries will be welcome.

Entering is easy; starting on April 23, just drop me an email at helenpattskyn@gmail.com or leave me a comment here and let me know you'd like to enter. No trick questions, no hoops to jump through.  :)  On the 28th, I'll pick a winner out of the hat.

I'll be reposting this on the 23rd--good luck in advance!




Helen Pattskyn, Fantasy Artist, Gay Romance Author