Leta Blake's Blog, page 45
October 2, 2014
“Do you think it’s bad luck to talk about what sort of master we’d like?” A Superior Slave Excerpt #mmromance #amreading
A FREE prequel to the awesome Ganymede Quartet series!
Martin of House Ganymede, trained as a companion slave, is eager for a master of his own. Everything he’s done in his short life has been to prepare him for auction day, and now all that waits is to be chosen. In being sold, he’ll be separated from the boys he’s lived and trained with his entire life, and it’s possible he won’t see them ever again. Goodbyes are hurried and emotions are raw as the slaves go on display for prospective masters. Martin has ideas about what he’d like in a master, though of course he’ll have no say in who will buy him. When he meets tall, handsome Henry Blackwell, he’s found the one he wants, but does this shy master want him?
A Superior Slave is a prequel introducing the books of the Ganymede Quartet, a fantasy of Gilded Age New York in which young men from the richest families form intense bonds with the slaves who serve them.
BUY LINKS:
Amazon (.99 — they haven’t price-matched despite efforts!)
Excerpt:
Charlie, who was a notoriously fast eater, finished his sandwich and said, “Do you think it’s bad luck to talk about what sort of master we’d like?”
“Yes,” Noah said firmly.
“No,” Georgie said at the same time. “What do you want, Charlie?”
Charlie thought about it a moment. “I just hope he isn’t actually ugly. Hideous, I mean. It would be nice if he was handsome, but we’ve been warned so often that most masters aren’t that I’m pretty well reconciled to my master being homely.”
“I hope he’s clean,” Stuart said, making a face. “We all keep so clean for each other, but I don’t imagine free boys even think of such things.”
They all contemplated gamy cocks for a minute, noses wrinkled in distaste.
Georgie said, “I just hope he’s not a mean little bastard. I don’t want one who’ll be bossing me around for no other reason except he can.”
“Yes, I want a kind master,” Charlie agreed. “A nice boy, more or less. He doesn’t have to be an angel or anything, but a decent guy. That’s what I want.”
Noah cleared his throat self-consciously. “Not too fat.”
They all looked at him.
Noah blushed. “I don’t want some great huge boy squashing me,” he said, sounding somewhat defensive.
“Well, of course not.” Georgie put his hand on Noah’s arm and gave him a reassuring squeeze. “No one wants that.”
“In that case, you get on top and ride him,” Stuart pointed out. “Let him just relax and enjoy you, and no one gets squashed.”
“It would be nice if he wasn’t terrible at sex,” Charlie said. “I know I’ll have to teach him everything, but I hope he’ll learn. I hope he’ll listen to me.”
Martin thought the things his friends hoped for were very reasonable, very modest. He did not want to share his hopes because they were not reasonable at all. He wanted a handsome master, kind and affectionate, who’d touch him like a lover and treat him like a friend, and these wishes were desperately, unrealistically romantic. He’d been taught as much at Ganymede and it had been made very clear: his master would be an ordinary boy with an extraordinary bank account, and he would be under no obligation to think of his slave as a person.
September 29, 2014
40% Off For Leta Blake’s 40th Birthday! Get The River Leith and Training Season Now! #mmromance #gay
This opportunity ends on the 30th! Use the coupons while they’re good! :D Happy 40% off to you, happy 40th to me! :D
Originally posted on Leta Blake:
Leta is turning 40! In celebration, she’s offering 40% off her books The River Leith and Training Season over at Smashwords! Find the coupon codes below.
OFFER ENDS SEPTEMBER 30, 2014!!!
COUPON CODE AT SMASHWORDS! SG45C (not case-sensitive)
The coupon code for THE RIVER LEITHat Smashwords is SG45C (not case-sensitive).
COUPON CODE AT SMASHWORDS! WR24Y (not case-sensitive).
The coupon code for TRAINING SEASON at Smashwords is WR24Y (not case-sensitive).
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September 26, 2014
Writer Research Help: some words NOT in use in 1900 | @Darrah_Glass #slang
“With Ganymede Quartet, I tried to make all the things that weren’t slavery in the 20th century as historically accurate as possible, and that included the language I used. Here are some words that would have come in handy but were not appropriate for the time period.”
click through to Darrah’s site to find out what those words might be –> some words not in use in 1900 | Darrah Glass.
September 24, 2014
5 Fantastic, Overwhelming, Obsessing Stars to A Most Personal Property by @Darrah_Glass
A Most Personal Property by Darrah Glass
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Have you ever read a book that left you walking around for weeks in a daze of daydreaming about the characters? Have you ever read a book that tempted you to write fanfiction for the universe because you just couldn’t let it go? Have you read a universe so thoroughly realized that you just want to roll around in it for ages? This book (series, really) was all of that for me and more.
It hasn’t been since Ginn Hale’s Rifter series that I’ve been so taken with characters and their world. I have spent countless hours since reading an early draft of this book thinking of the completely realized side-characters, the intensely relatable main characters, and even making up little side stories in my head for their future.
I can’t fathom reading this series and not falling in love with Henry and Martin, not rooting for them and their dangerous relationship. I can’t fathom NOT reading this series, period, actually, because it has so impacted me and set my mind on fire with feeling and inspiration.
I’d tell you more particulars about the book, but I almost feel like every single bit of it is worth discovering for yourself. Every character, every interaction, every moment is so wonderful and intense that I don’t want to take any of it away from a reader by relating it in advance. Suffice it to say, this book comes with my absolute highest recommendation.
This is just the first book in a four book series (which will also have some side stories that go along with it, but are not required for the rest of the series) and I can’t wait for Book 2! This is just such a lush, wonderful, fantastic world!
Available now at:
AMAZON
Coming soon to B&N, iTunes, and more!
September 23, 2014
Superior Slaves? Shy Masters? It’s The Amazing Ganymede Quartet! A New M/M Romance Series by @Darrah_Glass #gay #amreading
1. The books of Ganymede Quartet are unlike any I’ve read before, containing elements of non-magical fantasy, gay romance, and historical fiction. Tell us about the books, especially A Superior Slave and A Most Personal Property, your two upcoming releases, and what they’re like.
The Ganymede Quartet series is set in New York in 1900, and it’s a recognizable version of turn-of-the-century New York except that a system of slavery that resembles an intensification of Britain’s servant classes is part of the culture. The books tell the story of a relationship between a young master and slave.
A Superior Slave is a prequel written from the point of view of the slave. It introduces the character, but also introduces the slavery scenario for the universe. Slavery is based on economics, not race. It isn’t like American historical slavery, and it’s also not a BDSM version of slavery. The reader gets to know the slave and his world right before he’s auctioned off to a master. He’s a smart, capable person who’s quite ambitious in his own way.
2. You’ve said that the idea for the book came from a popular television show. What show was it and how did that influence these books?
The initial impulse to write this story came when I saw the first season of Downton Abbey sometime in early 2011. I was extremely taken with the setting and the costumes, of course, but I was also intrigued by the way the servants deferred to their masters and the degree of devotion and near-reverence they showed. Even Thomas and O’Brien, with all of their scheming, only schemed against other servants. The psychology of servitude and the way the servants seemed to buy wholeheartedly into the class system brought up so many questions for me.
I don’t really know why my brain made the leap to thinking, “Huh. What if those were slaves instead of servants?” but once I started thinking that, I couldn’t stop. I imagined slavish devotion amplified to an interdependent extreme. I imagined a slave who was well-trained, proud, and eager to prove himself, and then a master who was bashful and nervous and afraid to make full use of the slave. Obviously, the story veered pretty far afield of Downton Abbey right away!
3. Your book does not depict American historical slavery. How is slavery set up in your universe?
Slavery in this universe is not based on race. While there are black slaves in this series, there are also black masters. The two main characters in the Ganymede Quartet stories happen to be white. The slaves readers will meet in these books were bred and trained by slaving Houses; they know no other life, and for the most part are eager and willing to serve. This is not a story about slaves railing against their bonds!
4. What research did you do on the historical elements of the book, and how did you make your fantasy world fit in with the actual history?
I did a lot of research into Gilded Age New York, the history of sexuality, late-Victorian/Edwardian men’s clothing, the history of restaurants and fine dining, Coney Island, turn-of-the-century baseball, boys’ adventure stories, robber barons’ mansions, and virtually everything to do with daily life circa 1900. Even though this is a fantasy series, I wanted everything that wasn’t related to the slavery fantasy to be as realistic as possible, to give a real sense of the era.
It was surprisingly easy to fit slaves into the landscape. The people who own slaves in these stories are the sort who would have had grand houses full of servants in reality. Giving them an additional, very personal servant who was a combination social secretary, valet and bed partner wasn’t really such a stretch.
***
The FREE prequel to the main four books in the series!
FREE on Smashwords, .99 on Amazon (help it be free by reporting the lower price at Amazon!)
Martin of House Ganymede, trained as a companion slave, is eager for a master of his own. Everything he’s done in his short life has been to prepare him for auction day, and now all that waits is to be chosen. In being sold, he’ll be separated from the boys he’s lived and trained with his entire life, and it’s possible he won’t see them ever again. Goodbyes are hurried and emotions are raw as the slaves go on display for prospective masters. Martin has ideas about what he’d like in a master, though of course he’ll have no say in who will buy him. When he meets tall, handsome Henry Blackwell, he’s found the one he wants, but does this shy master want him?
A Superior Slave is a prequel introducing the books of the Ganymede Quartet, a fantasy of Gilded Age New York in which young men from the richest families form intense bonds with the slaves who serve them.
***
ORDER Book One in The Ganymede Quartet Series.
Order Book One!
In the heat of August 1900, Henry Blackwell—rich, handsome, and painfully shy—anticipates the purchase of his companion slave, that most personal of properties, with equal parts excitement and dread. There are limits to what a gentleman might do with his slave and still remain a gentleman, and what Henry craves goes far beyond what’s allowed.
Martin, a slave from House Ganymede, is the most beautiful young man Henry’s ever seen, and he’s ready and willing to do as Henry commands, but Henry’s afraid to ask him for what he really needs. A master needn’t care what a slave thinks or how he feels, but Henry can’t help wanting Martin to like him anyway. If Henry could be certain Martin wanted the same things he does, he might be bold enough to reveal his secrets.
Unfolding against a backdrop of progress, privilege and turn-of-the-century amusements, the four installments of the Ganymede Quartet present an erotic coming-of-age fantasy of Gilded Age New York in which young men from the richest families form intense bonds with the slaves who serve them.
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Soon to be available at Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Sony, and more!
September 22, 2014
The End of Writing (before I start again) @flickerjax
Ajax’s charming, lovely book, This Charming Man, will be coming out sooner or later (hopefully sooner! because I love it!) and in her insightful blog, she talks about the insecurity of writing/waiting/publishing.
Originally posted on Ajax Bell:
I wrote a book and I like it. It’s a book I want to read. Which I guess is why I wrote it? And yet here, on the cusp of publishing, I’m paralyzed with insecurity. I guess the old chestnut is true, being an artist is the intersection of flagrant, narcissistic ego and devastating, debilitating insecurity. The closer my writing comes to the reality of being an actual book, the more I’m waffling between the two. Some days I’m unabashedly proud of what I’ve accomplished and of my simple, sweet little story. Other days I’m certain I’m setting myself up for humiliation and my beta readers just won’t tell me how stinky my book really is.
How it feels in the middle of writing: you’ve taken a vow and you might never get laid again.
Writing a book was equally exhilirating and exhausting. I’m dragging my feet right now on committing to…
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September 21, 2014
Just A Reminder. There Is A Thing That Will Make It Worth It. #mystery
I’m speaking now as a messenger from the other side. I still get angry and sad and pissed off and so forth, but when I think of how, if I’d killed myself, I’d have missed drinking sake with my awesome friends and discovering anime and seeing Ian McKellan as Gandalf and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine and making out with a better class of men than I’d previously dated and having J– teach me reverse roundhouse kicks and selling my first book and flooring it past the ocean with the roof open and “Thunder Road” playing …
If all I got from not killing myself was one hour in Kyoto when the autumn leaves were falling, it would have been so, so worth it. — Rachel Manija Brown
September 20, 2014
40% Off For Leta Blake’s 40th Birthday! Get The River Leith and Training Season Now! #mmromance #gay
Leta is turning 40! In celebration, she’s offering 40% off her books The River Leith and Training Season over at Smashwords! Find the coupon codes below.
OFFER ENDS SEPTEMBER 30, 2014!!!
COUPON CODE AT SMASHWORDS! SG45C (not case-sensitive)
The coupon code for THE RIVER LEITH at Smashwords is SG45C (not case-sensitive).
COUPON CODE AT SMASHWORDS! WR24Y (not case-sensitive).
The coupon code for TRAINING SEASON at Smashwords is WR24Y (not case-sensitive).
September 19, 2014
Interview with Blogger Beth Brock
Aw, thanks, Beth for loving Matty in Training Season so much! :D Loved the entire interview! Go check it out!
Originally posted on jamielakenovels:
Beth Brock has recently started blogging, but that doesn’t mean her reviews are anything below great. Her blog spans from reviews of all types to daily events in her life. If you’re looking for a blog that has a lot to read, check out this blog.
Tell us about you and your blog. Where can we read it?
Hey Jamie, thanks for the interview. About me? I’m short, sassy, and an avid reader and writer.
My blog is titled, “Books, Reviews, and Bent Bunk” and that’s pretty much what it’s about. I mostly do reviews on MM Romance, but I’ll write about any LGBTQ book I like.
My web address is bethbrockbooks.com
How often do you post m/m reviews?
My blog is very new, but I have posting about one or two a week.
What makes you passionate about reading and reviewing m/m books?
My first MF romance novel was…
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September 18, 2014
Are You A Runner? Or A Fighter? — The Running Zachariah #mmromance #amreading
(a word from Zachariah Stevens, a character in The River Leith)
I’ve always thought that some people are fighters and some people are runners. Leith’s always been a fighter. He fought for his addict dad, he fought in the ring, and he fought hard when it came to figuring out his sexuality. But, see, being a fighter isn’t always good. Sometimes people get hurt that way. Leith knows that all too well.
The way I see it, the main difference between a fighter and a runner is in their instincts. A fighter attacks the problem, clings to it, rolls around and wrestles it into submission. This is one way Leith hasn’t changed since the injury: he’s still going to wrestle with his demons—and my demons—until he’s beaten the fight out of them, until he has them in his grip.
I admire that about him. But I’m not the same.
See, I’ve always been a runner. I remember the summer I was nine. My friend Jeremy’s mother caught us with our pants down and our hands on each other’s little dicks. I barely got my shorts up before I was running out the door, running, running, running down the sidewalk, running into my house, running up to my bedroom, running back out again with a bag of clothes, running down the street toward the park, running until I realized I had nowhere to run to because I was too little to escape the consequences of what I’d done. So I walked back home, terrified. I had to fight the urge to run again when I faced the belt my grandmother wielded with a fierceness my mother could never muster.
My first instinct is always to run.
When I was older, I ran the circumference of the earth more than once. The cruise ship I worked on was nothing but me in constant running mode. No place to call home, no relationship to call permanent, and no commitments or mistakes stayed with me for more than a few weeks’ time.
It was during my cruise ship years I started my vlog. It was perfect for a runner like me: a place to dump my emotions and record my experiences, and then just leave them there to run away into the ever-changing world. It was like a cyber-anchor of sorts, a place I could tell myself I’d dropped meaning, off-loaded a piece of me, and yet the consequences of that deposit were, once again, something that didn’t stick around and impact my daily life.
My cruise ship years were exciting and emotionally superficial, but ultimately unsatisfying. My sister called it growing up. I called it loneliness settling in. Even runners need someone to love.
In New York, I found that someone. His name was Leith and he identified as straight. It wasn’t easy. He’s a fighter and I’m a runner after all. When he realized his attraction for me, he fought it hard, and I desperately wanted to run away from him. But I’d put myself in a situation where I was committed to a job and to running a bar, so I couldn’t leave.
Even though Leith fought his affection and attraction, it was only a matter of time until he wrestled the meaning of his feelings for me into a heated and intense conversation that ended up with us naked on the floor of his bedroom. After that, he stopped fighting his feelings and started fighting for me. And I stopped wanting to run away, and instead ran to him.
Then the accident happened and he lost his memory. I admit, I did some stupid things. I struggled with my urge to run as far away from the pain as I possibly could. But even though it took me awhile, I’ve learned that you can’t run away from pain. It finds you and you’ll feel it. It’ll take you down and wrestle you until you submit to it. Pain’s a fighter. Like Leith. Pain will get its grip on you.
But I’ve also learned that pain isn’t merciless. It lets joy have its way, as well. And that’s what this book, The River Leith, is about. It’s about me, Zachariah Stevens, learning not to run. It’s about Leith and his beautiful, merciless desire to fight for what he can no longer understand or remember feeling. It’s about how a runner and a fighter wrestled their way to a beautiful new life after losing the one they’d already fought to win together. It’s about love and how it never forgets.
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