Dev Bentham's Blog, page 6
December 31, 2016
Happy New Year
December 23, 2016
Happy Winter Holiday
Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Solstice and Merry Christmas to you all.
May you feel surrounded by love and warmth and good cheer throughout this holiday season.
December 16, 2016
The Tarnished Souls - all bundled up for the holidays
Today Love is a Light Press released all four novellas in the Tarnished Souls series in a single bundle on Amazon so folks could save a little money and read the whole series at once. The books center around a group of friends finding romance by the light of four Jewish holidays, Passover, Rosh Hashanna, Hanukkah and Purim. Enjoy!
December 6, 2016
A story
Each month I send out a newsletter (Dev's News Flash) that has some news about upcoming books and such, but is mostly an original, exclusive piece of flash fiction. You can sign up for it on my webpage or Facebook page.
I usually reserve the fiction for newsletter subscribers, but I thought I'd share the December piece because it's a holiday story and also because it reflects what I'm feeling these days. So here's a holiday flash with Avi and Pete from Fields of Gold.
This Little Light of Mine
Outside, a new snowfall made the farm glisten. I set my menorah on the window sill. It looked tiny and a little ridiculous in the same room with the cluttered Christmas tree. Especially on the first night, when we’d light two little candles, one of which didn’t count since its only purpose was to light the other. This year, first night fell on Christmas Eve. So the little candelabra on the window had to compete with the tree behind it, brightly lit, with gifts piled beneath. Maybe it wasn’t worth lighting.
The truth was, I wasn’t just in the mood. It was hard to feel festive this year.
Pete came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close.
He whispered, “Hey my gorgeous Avi. It’s almost sundown. Do you want me to get Brynne and Logan to help light the candles?”
“In a sec.” I leaned against him. His warmth, his solidness, soothed me. I knew he was scared, too. We all were. But he never let fear stop him.
Gold and then red streaked the horizon as the sun drifted below the tree line. I couldn’t hold off any longer. No matter how far I drifted from the religious training of my youth, there were some things I couldn’t let go of, like lighting candles on time.
And so, we gathered, my funny little family that consisted of my amazing, goyish lover, his sister and her child. My father didn’t approve and my mother rarely visited, but this was the safest place I’d ever been.
Because it was the first night, I followed the candle blessing with the Shehecheyanu, thanking God for blessing, sustaining and bringing us to this time. This time. The familiar ache was back in my chest. I’d woken every morning for more than a month in the new reality. The beautiful lights, the little candles, the familiar rituals and the crackling fire couldn’t take away the pain, the anger and the fear.
Once I was done reciting the prayers, Brynne gave me a big hug before heading back to the kitchen to finish her baking. Logan fled upstairs to his videogames.
Pete took ahold of my hand. “You’re thinking about the election again, aren’t you?”
I tried to smile. “Sorry. Still obsessed. I can’t help it. I’d still be analyzing the results, even if this election didn’t feel like a personal attack. I’m a historian after all, and I used to work for a politician.”
“Work?” Pete raised an eyebrow. “Is that what they call what you did for him?”
“I did plenty of actual work…” I stopped. I didn’t need to get defensive with Pete. He knew the whole story.
“Come on.” Still holding my hand, he tugged me toward the back door.
“But the candles.” I waved at the little flickering lights.
“It’ll be okay. You’ll see. Now get your boots on.”
I shrugged. Whither thou goest… The mudroom smelled of damp wool, mixed with bite of cinnamon from the cookies Brynne was baking. And behind that the aroma of roast chicken. My stomach grumbled. But food would have to wait. I slid on my boots and shrugged into my coat and followed Pete out the door. Maybe we’d be moving livestock or building a fence. In the dark. It didn’t matter. In the past month, between winding down the semester and trying to make sense of the election, I’d been grateful for the farm and the possibility of good, hard, muscle-straining labor.
Outside, the air was crisp and cold. I blinked snowflakes from my eyelashes. Pete led me away from the house, through squeaking snow, until we were in front of the window.
“Look.” He pointed. From this angle, the Christmas tree was a small background element and the Hanukkah lights shone clearly.
“It’s beautiful.” My breath clouded the air and my cheeks stung from the cold, but the candles were heartwarming and I didn’t want to go in. Again Pete stood behind me, with his arms around my chest. He quietly held me, while we watched the candles burn.
After a moment, he said, “We have to be like those candles. Even though the world feels very dark, we can be two small lights that burn brightly.”
I twined my fingers with his and shoved both our hands into my pockets to keep them warm. His hands were calloused from hard work. All around us the farm hummed with life. As long as we had each other, we’d be okay.
I leaned back against him. “When I was a kid, I used to imagine all the candles burning in all the windows across the world. People lighting at sunset in a rolling blanket that revolved with the earth.” I squeezed Pete’s fingers. “It’s true, you know. Across the world, candles are burning, or will soon. It’s the same with kindness, with love—even in the darkest times, they shine out of windows across the world. It’s a hell of a metaphor.”
“You’re welcome.” Pete buried his chin in my shoulder.
We stood in the snow, in the dark, until the candles began to sputter. Then we went back inside to dinner and the warmth of our family. Because, in the end, love is the best antidote.
The end
November 25, 2016
Happy Winter
Winter is finally here in the northwoods. Soon we'll be skiing and snowshoeing and dreaming of spring. Weather is a wonderful thing. Except when it isn't. Stay safe everyone and enjoy.
November 21, 2016
Early spring in Lisbon
I've been so busy with rereleases lately, that I haven't had much time to talk about what's coming up. I do have a few things in the works. The one I can talk about today is Buyout, A Love Story, a novella set in Lisbon, Portugal, which should come out from Dreamspinner Press sometime in the first couple of months of 2017.
It's still in edits, but here's a taste from Chapter One:
I closed my eyes. I was thirty-six, relatively attractive, financially stable, healthy—with the exception of an occasional migraine—and alone. Again. It always hurt when my delusions got shattered. Until the next pretty man came along to make me want to believe. What would be next? An actor? A dancer? Whoever he was, he’d be delightful when I met him but not when he left.
I knew that paying their rent for a few months after they left was a defense mechanism. And an atonement. I was always making up for Martim, the man I’d abandoned years before. The one that got away. Except that he haunted my dreams, and his face always filled my mind when it was time to let the pretty boys go. Martim, who had been the best thing that ever happened to me, perfect until it all went wrong and I’d kicked him out on a cold night with no place to go. If I could take that back, I would. But all I could do was to pay off a stream of new, young, bad boys, even when they didn’t deserve it. None of them were Martim. And never would be.
Nothing like lost love, eh?
I'm very excited to share Sean and Martim's story with you, not to mention spending a little virtual quality time in the beautiful city of Lisbon.
November 11, 2016
In other news...
Nobody's Home will be rereleased next week, on 11/15, so this post is supposed to be all promo. My hearts just not in it. It's been a tough and very scary week. Still don't have my feet under me. And nothing I can say about the U.S. election is any more edifying, reassuring, radicalizing or depressing than what's already out there. I know, I've been gorging on the stuff.
Ah crap, who am I kidding? The only thing I know anything about is fiction. It's what I'm hoping will get me through the dark times. The "new" book, Nobody's Home, was first released from Amber Allure in 2013. When AA closed up shop, I listened to what readers had said about the story and responded with a few revisions. I'd intended to rerelease this earlier, but the schedule got mixed up behind scenes it got delayed. You'll find the except I posted earlier here.
This is a poignant story about two guys who are trying to find their way from heartbreak to joy. It's not an easy road. But in the end, it's worth the effort. And there are dogs to help them find their way.
You can find the book for preorder here
November 4, 2016
Nobody's Home Cover Reveal
Have you seen the gorgeous new cover the amazingly talented Jordan Castillo Price made for Nobody's Home? It's hot! The book's available for preorder here and will come out 11/15.
Second chances can appear where you least expect them.
An artist: You can’t go home again—that was Nick’s motto for the past twenty years. He was a teenager when he left his abusive, mentally ill father back in Lacland, a small town in the northwoods of Wisconsin.
Nick’s made a successful life for himself in New York. Then comes the call—his estranged father has killed himself. Nick flies home to a house crumbling from years of neglect, and one very fat bulldog.
And a veterinarian: Jonas doesn’t love his job enforcing university research protocol. His passion is working with dogs, especially volunteering for his boyfriend’s behavioral studies projects. But when he discovers his so-called "life partner" is messing around, he leaps at a job offer in a small town miles away.
In spite of the grief swirling around Nick and Jonas, their first meeting is electric. But Nick will be in town for only a short time and Jonas is still stinging from the betrayal. The men try to keep their distance, but that’s easier said than done, especially in a small town where misery and hope share the same address.
This poignant story about two mature gay men will warm the hearts of readers who believe happy endings are within anyone's grasp.
This is a lightly edited author's version of the novel published by Amber Allure in 2013.
If you're looking for other opportunities to gaze lovingly at the cover, or more probably, you're interested in the rafflecopter for a copy of the Tarnished Souls series, you can find both at any of the following stops.
http://felinewyvern.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/nobodys-home-by-dev-bentham-cover.html
https://wickedfaeriesreviews.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/nobodys-home-by-dev-bentham-cover.html
https://velvetpanic2.wordpress.com/2016/11/04/cover-reveal-nobodys-home-by-dev-bentham/
http://anne-barwell.livejournal.com/204240.html
http://bfdbookblog.net/2016/11/cover-reveal-including-excerpt-giveaway-nobodys-home-by-dev-bentham/
http://www.books-laid-bare-boys.com/news/nobodys-home-by-dev-bentham-cover-reveal/
https://www.facebook.com/MJsBookBlogandReviews/posts/1095638723884472
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=561126577420986&id=277934755740171
http://www.purpleroseteahouse.com/2016/11/04/cover-reveal-and-giveaway-nobodys-home-by-dev-bentham/
http://bayoubookjunkie.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/cover-reveal-nobodys-home-by-dev.html
https://bayoubookjunkie.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/cover-reveal-nobodys-home-by-dev.html
https://kirstylovesbooks.wordpress.com/2016/11/04/cover-reveal-nobodys-home-by-dev-bentham-giveaway/
https://embracetherainbow.net/2016/11/04/cover-reveal-nobodys-home-by-dev-bentham-giveaway/
October 28, 2016
Nanoing
I love November. For the past several years I've participated in the writers' marathon known as Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month). For those of you who've somehow missed this spectacular event, tens of thousands of people sign up every year determined to write 50,000 words in 30 days. The idea is to get people out of their perfectionism, into a writing routine and push them to get out a rough draft.
I'm pretty good at getting words on paper. At this point I have ten published books to my name and a couple more in the pipeline. Some are longer and some are shorter than 50,000 words. The rough drafts took me anywhere from one to three months to complete (the editing...now that takes time). All of which is to say that I know how to finish a story. I even know how to get 50K down during the month of November because I've done it seven times already. I also know how to fail the Nano, because I've done that too.
So what do I have to prove by doing the Nano again this year? Nothing. But I'm going to do it anyway, because there's nothing like the rush of getting all those words out in one big splat. If I do it right, I'll have plenty of raw material to bang away at over the next few months until the mass of goo produced in November turns into something readable.
I'm going to start with a novella for a new contemporary romance series I'm developing and run right from that to a second murder mystery in my Tanzania series (the first one is one of those "in the pipeline" stories). Hope I don't get whiplash with the change.
If you're doing the nano too, I'd love to buddy up. You can find me there as DevB.
Oh, and my newsletter comes out next week with a nano oriented short. If you're interested in that, the sign up sheet is on the right.
See you in a few days.
Race ya. On your mark, get set, go!
October 21, 2016
Appreciation - the Bridge Back
This morning someone reminded me to take time to appreciate the little things. Lately I've gotten wound up or depressed by all sorts of stuff and it hasn't been a comfortable roller coaster ride for me. Not when my sleep and my work suffer. My friend was right, the way out of this morass is through gratitude.
And I have so much to be grateful for. I have a roof over my head, plenty to eat, good clean water, not to mention that I live out in the country where I'm surrounded by beauty. We may not have much cultural sophistication out here, but it sure is pretty. I also have a supportive spouse and a day job that allows me time to create, and live inside for a while, as many other lives and loves as I want. What could be better?
I'll still try to change the world. But maybe I don't need to fret about it so much. And maybe neither do you. Time to take a deep breath, relax and remember the good stuff.
Speaking of which, I have a brand new flash/short story for my newsletter. It'll come out Friday, November 4th ONLY in the newsletter. Sign up for Dev's News Flash if you're interested. I'm sending out a little news and a story every month. Ironically, it's not a flashy newsletter but it is a lot of fun.
