Leta Blake's Blog, page 94

Homosexual or Homoamorous

Larry Benjamin has a great blog post up asking “Is Homosexuality Really Just About Sexual Identity?”

To quote:

I put forth the notion that “being gay, lesbian, homosexual is about attraction, it’s about who you want to hold hands with, who you want to go to prom with, who you want to build a life with. Sex is an outgrowth of attraction, an expression of something. And yes, sometimes it’s just a primal urge but surely not all the time, not every time, not exclusively.”

It’s a topic I’ve been thinking about recently myself, but had never gone so far as to spell it out in the way that Mr. Benjamin has done so well. I’d been thinking more along the lines of, “Maybe it’s time we stop thinking about it as homosexual and consider it homoamorous.”

The definition of the word ‘amorous’ includes sexuality but more largely encompasses the idea of falling in love. To me, that seems more descriptive of the majority of gay and lesbian experiences.

Rainbow Con 2014 – Tampa! And Exposed by Skylar M. Cates!

Rainbow Bright and Lala Orange by fabian ciraolo

 

I’ll be at Rainbow Con in April of 2014. I believe they still have reader (and possibly author) slots available. I’m excited and look forward to meeting folks there!

In other news, Skylar M. Cates’ book, Exposed, is out and available now. I was lucky enough to be involved in some editing of this book, and I’m excited that it is out in the world. Here’s an link to a  gushing review left by someone other than me over at Goodreads.

 

 

Fanwork Friday: Art Nouveau Firefly Posters

If you were a fan of the show Firefly then you know that the travesty of its short life can never be forgotten. In the meantime, there are people who celebrate the show for what it was and could’ve been with all the passion of their art. Here are some examples:

The above are by Megan Lara and you can get them HERE.

Rabble — Thoughts and Kickstarter

Apparently, this is some game app, but I thought it fit this post rather nicely.

Rabble is being touted as publishing’s potential answer to The Trouble With Finding Books Online (Forbes). Some are describing it as “Rotten Tomatoes for books.” It is apparently going to be the first site of its kind to try to put self-published books on the same level playing field as traditionally published books.

After reading the Forbes article, I was pretty interested in the concept and even went to Rabble’s Kickstarter page to find out more about it. They’d raised $510 toward their goal of $10,000 in the less-than-one-day the kickstarter had been live.

I admit this surprised me. I mean, compare that to the recent HONY efforts to raise money for kids for camp. He’s got $60,000 now, but at a similar stage in the game as Rabble’s attempt, he had over $10,000 raised. Is the difference that one is for charity and everyone has a dog in that? And the Rabble Kickstarter is for an untried website where only some people (readers, authors) might have a dog in it? Probably. That would probably explain a lot. And I’m also not sure where this Rabble Kickstarter is being marketed. I only read about it because a friend sent that Forbes article to me in a general interest sort of way.

But, I don’t think that’s all that’s going on here. HONY is a very life affirming organization and their reason for their Kickstarter was inspiring. He’d had DNKY in Bangkok steal what amounts to about $100,000 worth of his photos. And instead of suing them, or wasting his time on that, this is what he had to say:

I feel like the luckiest guy in the world right now. I do what I love every day. No amount of money would be worth taking my mind off that. Not for a month. Not for a week. Not for a day.

In ten years, I don’t want to look back on this week as some sort of missed opportunity. I’d rather remember it as that time we took something negative and used it as an excuse to send a bunch of kids to summer camp– who otherwise would not have had the resources to go.

We’ve raised almost $10,000 in just a few hours, which is great. We may need a few heroes to reach our $75,000 goal, but either way we are going to make a huge impact, and I’m thrilled about that.

That’s inspiring and makes me want to give him and his cause some money.

Which brings me back to Rabble, when I clicked on the Kickstarter page for Rabble, I was immediately disappointed. Not in how little money they’d raised, but in the aggressive and hostile tone they took in the headline: Death to the Sockpuppets.

I think we can all agree that sockpuppetry in reviews exists and that it sometimes gets out of hand. But when I read about Rabble in the Forbes article, I wasn’t thinking about sockpuppets. I was thinking, “Wow, this could be huge. It would be amazing to see this built. It will be fascinating to see them aggregate reviews in a helpful way and to put self-pub and traditional on the same level.”

But when I clicked, instead of seeing anything inspiring like, “Let’s fix reviews together! Let’s build something amazing!” Instead, I got a faceful of anger. I immediately no longer felt like donating.

Call me strange, but I just don’t think anger sells. Or it doesn’t sell for me, anyway. Not when it comes to this kind of thing.

I closed the page and didn’t donate. I still haven’t. Even though I still think that if Rabble is more like the Forbes article descrption, then I want it to exist. Strange how easily we are turned off by things, isn’t it?

Trust people to pay for music: Amanda Palmer at TED2013

Reblogged from TED Blog:

Amanda Fucking Palmer want us to re-think how we think about paying for music.

She is known for her music, first as half of the Dresden Dolls, now as a solo artist. But for 5 years after graduating, Palmer made her living as a living statue called the Eight Foot Bride. ("Everyone always wanted to know, 'Who are these people in real life?' Hello!") When a stranger gave her money, she gave them a flower and extreme eye contact.

Read more… 642 more words

For a long time I wanted to dislike her for very valid reasons, at this point, though, I find I just can't. I give in to the liking of her.

Writer Wednesday: Sabrina York

Welcome. Please Introduce yourselves.

JAMES TULLY, EARL OF DARLINGTON NODS. A GOLD-TINGED CURL FLOPS ONTO HIS BROW. I’m James.

THE PETITE BLONDE AT HIS SIDE SMILES AND PATS HIS HAND. And I’m Helena Simpson.

JAMES FROWNS. Helena Simpson…Tully.

SHE GIGGLES. I keep forgetting.

Although I still think of you as Eloise, darling. THEY GAZE INTO EACH OTHER’S EYES UNTIL THE INTERVIEWER BECOMES A LITTLE UNCOMFORTABLE.

Ahem. Can you tell us a little about yourselves?  

ROUSED FROM HIS REVERIE, JAMES BLINKS. Certainly. While I’m a peer of the realm, I spend a lot of time in the stables. Love a good line.

He has the finest stables in Christendom. HELENA SMILES IMPISHLY. And the most beautiful gardens.

AGAIN WITH THE MOONING.

Soooo…How did you meet? Was it love at first sight?  

JAMES CHUCKLES. It was definitely lust at first sight.

HELENA WRINKLES HER NOSE. First sight? I looked a mess! You see, I’d run away from home and I was hiding in his gardener’s shed. I was wet, bedraggled—

And there was a hank of beef hanging out of her mouth. THIS, JAMES CROWS. It was adorable.

HELENA HUMPHS. I was hungry. A GRUMBLE.

Why were you running away?

Oh! HELENA ROLLS HER EYES. My guardian was forcing me into a marriage with a hideous Lord.

JAMES FROWNS AND MUTTERS UNDER HIS BREATH, Not so hideous.

Hideous! I saw him in Brighton several summers ago. He was fat and bug-eyed and had lips like a landed trout. SHE SHUDDERS. At any rate, I had to run away. And that’s how I met James. My romantic gardener.

You’re a…gardener?

JAMES COLORS. I might have pretended to be a gardener.

Why on earth would a Lord of the Realm pretend to be a gardener?

JAMES AND HELENA EXCHANGE A GLANCE, BUT DON’T ANSWER. THEIR KNOWING SMILES TELL THE TALE, THOUGH.

 All right. Let’s move on. James, what is your most frustrating quality?  

HELENA ANSWERS. He’s stubborn.

I most certainly am not stubborn. THIS HE SAYS WITH A STUBBORN TILT TO HIS SQUARE CHIN.

You are supremely stubborn. And demanding. And occasionally arrogant. And…dominating. FOR SOME REASON, HER VOICE SOFTENS ON THIS LAST WORD. AS DOES HER EXPRESSION. A DELICATE BLUSH RISES ON HER CHEEKS.

JAMES SNORTS. Hardly arrogant. But let’s talk about your most frustrating quality, darling.

Oh. Let’s. SHE SOUNDS DELIGHTED TO DO SO.

Okay. What is Helena’s most frustrating quality? 

It’s not a quality, so much as a habit.

HELENA SNIFFS. I have no habits.

You clap your hands.

SHE BOGGLES. I clap my hands? That’s my most frustrating quality?

JAMES TURNS TO THE INTERVIEWER WITH A DARK LOOK. She claps her hands. It makes her look like a little girl. Do you know how…off-putting that can be? When a man’s in a…certain mood?

Hmm. I can only imagine.

Some men are always in a certain mood. THIS, HELENA OFFERS IN AN ASIDE.

JAMES ADJUSTS HIS CRAVAT. I’ve never heard a complaint about that.

AGAIN, THEIR EYES MEET. WICKED SMILES BLOSSOM.

So.

THE INTERVIEWER MUST INTERJECT.

What is her best quality then?

JAMES GAZES AT HELENA FOR A LONG LONG WHILE BEFORE HE RESPONDS. Everything.

Everything?

Everything. Her face, her voice, certainly her body.

HELENA WRINKLES HER NOSE. I’m tiny.

I love that you’re tiny. I love everything about you, darling.

And I love you.

A QUICK KISS. THEN A LONG ONE. YEAH. A REALLY LONG ONE. THE INTERVIEWER GLANCES AT HER WATCH.

So Helena, what is your favorite thing about James?

SHE DOES NOT HESITATE. His palm. A WHISPER.

WHILE THE INTERVIEWER IS PERPLEXED BY THIS ANSWER, JAMES SEEMS TO UNDERSTAND COMPLETLEY. A DEFINITIVE FIRE BLAZES IN HIS EYE AND HE SHIFTS, AS THOUGH HIS POSITION HAS SUDDENLY BECOME UNCOMFORTABLE.

Hookay… Next question.

THE INTERVIEWER CONSULTS HER LIST.

If you could have one wish come true, what would it be and why?

JAMES STANDS AND GRABS HELENA BY THE HAND. I wish this interview was over. My wife and I need to have…a chat.

HELENA GASPS. TREMBLES VISIBLY. Now, James?

Now, Helena. Right now.

HIS EXPRESSION IS ADAMANT, AND ARROGANT AND DOMINANT AS HELL. SHE DOES NOT DEMUR. WHAT WOMAN WOULD?

AND WHILE HE IS CLEARLY IN A HURRY TO WHISK HIS WIFE AWAY, HE TAKES THE TIME TO BOW OVER MY HAND AND THANK ME FOR THE LOVELY VISIT, AS A TRUE GENTLEMAN WOULD.

AND, AS THEY DISSAPEAR IN A FLURRY OF CRINOLINE AND LACE, I HAVE TO ADMIT…I’M A LITTLE JEALOUS OF HELENA.

***

Welcome Sabrina York, Your Royal Hotness. Tell us a little about yourself!

Hello all! Thanks for having me Leta! Well, I’m an award-winning erotic author and while I’ve only been around for a while—my first book came out last April—I’m delighted to report I now have a dozen titles available or coming soon. They range from novels to novellas to short stories—everything from contemporary erotic romance to BDSM to erotic horror.

Yeah. I know. Horror? That one took me by surprise, but writing happens that way sometimes. I can build the characters and the bones of the plot, but the story has its own ideas.

Of course, my passion is for romance so I focus on that. The steamier, the better. And because I am a snarky minx, you might chuckle once in a while.

From your back catalog, do you have a secret favorite? If so which book and why?

My absolute favorite—and I know we’re not supposed to have them!—is Folly. I cut my teeth reading Regency romances as a girl and so it was a real joy to try my hand. Folly was so much fun to write and I fell in love with the characters.

When I finished the manuscript, I was so into that world, James and Helena’s story just flowed right out. And when I finished that one…Edward and Violet came to visit. They nagged me for weeks to write their stories. If all goes well, there will be at least four books in this series and maybe more.

All thanks to Sabrina York’s Folly!

What’s the coolest factoid that you discovered while doing research for this book?

Funny you should ask. I’ve read so many historical romances in my life, I thought I knew everything there was to know about the Regency period. Well, as they say, that’s what you get for thinking!

When Folly went to final line edits the word came back: Silly rabbit, the Tantalus (the ubiquitous feature in every Regency I’ve ever read, where the Lord of the Manor keeps his liquor locked up so the servants cannot snitch it) wasn’t invented until much later.

Another blow to my sexy plots…apparently women didn’t wear pantaloons in the Regency period. Those came along during the much stricter Victorian era. I had to rewrite several key scenes on that revelation.

Trust me, it pays to know your History of Underwear. Especially if you’re writing erotic romance.

Well, I hope I’ve piqued your interest! Dark Fancy is available on Amazon  and at Ellora’s Cave and everywhere-books are sold.

About Sabrina York

Sabrina is an award winning author of erotic romance with over a dozen titles available, ranging from sweet & sexy erotic romance to BDSM to erotic horror. Connect with her on twitter @sabrina_york or Facebook.

Check out Sabrina’s books and read an excerpt on her webpage (www.sabrinayork.com) or explore on Amazon or at Ellora’s Cave.

Adam’s Obsession: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Extreme Couponing: Contemporary BDSM
Folly: Erotic Regency
Pushing Her Buttons: Contemporary BDSM
Rising Green: Steamy Erotic horror
Training Tess: Contemporary BDSM
Trickery: Magical Domination
Tristan’s Temptation: Contemporary Erotic Romance

Win a Tiara From Her Royal Hotness!

Enter to win a gorgeous tiara by signing up for Sabrina York’s Royal Hotsheet (new book and contest info only–no spam! Your e-mail address will not be shared). If you’re already getting the newsletter, don’t fret. You’re already in the drawing. Send an email with “Enter Me” in the subject line (this is erotica, after all) to sabrina@sabrinayork.com. The drawing will be March 31, 2013.

One entry per person.

Refer Your Friends Bonus Entries

Tell your friends about Sabrina York, Her Royal Hotness. If they sign up for Sabrina’s Hotsheet you earn another entry, plus a chance at a Referrals Only drawing for more bling. (NOTE: They must tell me that you referred them in the message box so I can give you credit).

Good luck!!!

The Truth About Where I Write

Not too long ago I came across a little project by Kyle Cassidy called Where I Write. It’s a beautiful and interesting photo essay on where Sci-Fi and Fantasy authors do their writing.

I started imaginging a future where someone might ask me in all earnest interest where I do my writing. And maybe want to take a picture of me in it. (Hahaha, let’s all snorfle at the probability of that future.) But…well, the answer to the question, for the most part, is a bit odd. I’m not sure how many other people write in the location I generally do my writing.

Let me show a picture of a similar location if not my exact one.

That’s right. I write in my bathtub. Yes. It’s true. And, yes, I put water in, but not as much as when I’m taking a bath, just enough to keep warm. And, no, I’m not worried about dropping my computer in. And, NO, I am not an idiot–it isn’t plugged into an outlet. And, yes, that means I’m usually naked. Now, how’s that for an image?

All of this came to a head recently when I hired a babysitter to watch my kiddo on every other Saturday in order to get in some extra writing time. Obviously, it would be very odd to write in the bathroom the whole time she’s here. And it’s kind of the only truly serviceable bathroom in the house for various reasons, so it wouldn’t do to hog it with my naked self the whole time she’s here. Which means I had to figure out a new place to write. I’m still not sure if I’ve found a satisfactory one.

At the moment, I waffle between writing in my bedroom with the door shut and white noise makers on, or going to my office and writing there. I’m not sure which I find most inspiring or helpful. I dislike losing the travel time when going to the office, but when I’m home I can’t help but “parent” from a distance. It’s hard to let that role go.

Anyway, I’m trying to find a new writing space that works as well as my beloved bathtub. Wish me luck.

Fanworks Friday: Fanart by Sudjino

 

This is a wonderful rendering of Dylan O’Brien in his silly werewolf hat. See more at Sudjuino’s work at his/her Deviant Art page found HERE.

GRL from a Socially Anxious Newbie Perspective

I wanted to reblog Amelia’s post about this, found HERE, but WordPress made that look a jumble mess, so I’m going to post about it with a link instead. So, please read Amelia’s post before reading mine.

As an incredibly new author and one who didn’t necessarily know if she was going to even attempt to attend GRL (and still isn’t sure), I saw one comment that made a lot of sense to me. An author named Daniel (sorry, I’ve forgotten the last name!) suggested that if they’d wanted to give those 30 authors the readers requested a heads-up, they could have sent them all personal messages saying, “We’ve been alerted that readers very much want you at this con. This is the day and time registration opens, it’s first come, first serve, but we and your readers would really love to see you there!” I thought that was a decent comment on a possible solution to this situation.

From the outside looking in, the main problem seemed to be the communication of the changes. The newsletter was so poorly worded that it’s kind of amazing. The clarification was worded much, much better and it probably would have gone over better as an initial communication about the topic. It is kind of a shame that they didn’t release that the wording of the first was so…problematic. (Although, the bit in the clarification post about how important it is to keep the stress levels of the better known authors–who have most likely attended plenty of cons–at a low level is kind of hilariously off-putting, too. I mean, newbie authors are super busy people as well, probably holding down a day job still, running a family, and trying to write/market; not to mention they are also probably a whole lot more stressed about attending a con situation for the first time–much more stressed than a well-known author who has been to many.)

I think they knew quite well that a kerfuffle was going to come of it, otherwise their original newsletter probably wouldn’t have needed a multi-paragraph reminder that they are all volunteers and do this for the love of it and please, for the love of God, don’t crucify us.

I, for one, am not upset or angry. I feel like I’m watching it from a bird’s eye view because I didn’t have a dog in the fight, so to speak. From the outside looking in, they just really bungled the communication side of things, imho. This could have been avoided by seriously thinking through how to present this whole thing. I wonder if the person who penned the “must-have author” line spent the day in bed with covers over their heads yesterday, because I’m quite sure the hurt feelings that came out of that were something he/she never intended.

Anyway, it’s an interesting mess. I’m curious how it will play out. I haven’t decided if I will attempt to attend or not. It’s in driving distance for me which makes it appealing, but as a newbie author who is already a socially anxious person, this kerfuffle has made it look like a pretty scary thing to attempt. Maybe since I’m so stressed about it they could give me a pre-registration time and hold my hand through all the steps of the process? Just kidding.

***

After their clarification, which can be found here, I have to admit that while some logical part of me understands what they are attempting, I’m still not sure I agree with what they’ve chosen to do. Regardless, being a Libra with social anxiety issues, I very much want to give them the benefit of the doubt and be fair to them, but, like Amelia, my triggers were pushed hard here. Like her, there were tears. Not because I won’t be a special invited person, I already knew that, but because I was able to imagine the grueling, exhausting, emotional let-down of it all so clearly. Like her, I’m anxious about attending now. I had been moderately excited and now I just feel dread–and certainty that if I even try to register I won’t ‘make it’ because there are only 30 spots I qualify for anyway.

It’s pretty disappointing. I’m…at an emotional loss with it all. Though, as I said, I’m still waiting to see how it all shakes out.

Writer Wednesday: Anya Richards

What are your names? And tell us a little about yourselves?

J: I am Jakuta Dagbo, once a storm god in the West African pantheon known as the Orixás, now a tattoo artist at the Midnight Café. After what happened when I was on the human side of the Veil, I’m happy not to have the kind of responsibility I had back then, even if I can’t always let go of my protective nature.

G: My name is Gràinne Bairdie, and I’m a banshee, although now I’m wondering if that’s all I really am. It’s all I could remember—a cold, emotionless life—until recently. I want to feel, want to know if I could be more, even if it kills me to find out.

How did you meet? Was it love at first sight?

J: I could tell a storm was coming, even before Gràinne walked in through the door looking for a tat. I just didn’t know the feeling had nothing to do with the weather.

G: Jakuta was just another piece in my puzzle of self-discovery, until he touched me…

If it wasn’t love at first sight, what changed?

J: You can’t go through what we did together without learning the heart of a person, and what I learned about her just made me want her more, and for forever.

G: I knew what I felt, what I wanted from Jakuta, but how was I to know whether it was real or not? Everything was so new to me.

What do you believe is your worst or most frustrating quality? What about his/hers?

J: Ha! Where do I start? Lack of anger management is obviously my worst flaw, closely followed by impatience and a lack of empathy. Can I stop now? It’s getting a little depressing. As for Gràinne, her lack of trust in me—in what we have together—that’s frustrating as hell.

What is your best quality? What about his/hers?

G: I have no memory of my past, so it’s hard to tell what my best quality is. If I can get my memory back, maybe I can tell you later.  But Jakuta, oh, that’s easy. He’s protective, caring, ready to take on any- and everything for me.

If you could have one wish come true, what would it be and why?

J: I think we’d have the same wish—or similar anyway—that Gràinne get her memory and emotions back. Of course, I want her to stay with me too, let me help her through whatever that will bring, but I don’t think that will happen.

***

Tell us a little about yourself!

I write erotic romance and erotica under the names Anya Richards and Anya Delvay and offer editing services through my website Grammar Goggles. While those things keep me busy, I also have a part-time job as a law clerk too. As a transplant to the Frozen North, winter, more particularly the ice it brings on the ground, is my least favorite time of the year. Ice should be in a glass, with a nice shot of Appleton rum on it, not under my feet!

I have a wonderful husband, three children (who pretend I write religious tracts) a cat, Moe, and a dog, Sable, whose street name is Beansie, which suits her down to the ground. What little spare time I have is taken up with cooking, crafting, reading and, occasionally, sewing, although I don’t do as much of the latter now as I did when I was younger and wanted the latest fashions but didn’t want to spend the money to get them.

From your back catalogue, do you have a secret favorite? If so which book and why?

I have to confess that, while I love Fleeing Fate, which is the first book in the Unveiled Seductions series, I really, really love the second book, Stone-Hard Passion. It was the first time I’d written a hero like Vidar or, for that matter, a heroine like Jasmina. As the book unfolded I just became more and more invested in them and their happiness, wanting, so very badly, to make it come out right for them in the end, despite all the obstacles. The reality is, if I can’t feel my characters as I write, if I don’t like them, that book doesn’t get finished, so being invested in the people I create isn’t new. What was new with these two was just how real they became to me, and how much I craved their HEA.

 

What’s next for you?

Well, I just got an acceptance for the third book in the Unveiled Seductions series, Dragon’s Claim, and I’m working on the fourth book, which has the working title Jaguar in the Sun. I’m also very excited to be a part of a humorous erotic anthology, Fondled and Gobbled. The first book, Someone Had To Do It, was released on February 6th, and the second, Going Back for Seconds, will be out on February 22nd. The Cabal of Hotness, as we call ourselves (*grin*) are also under contract for another round of anthologies, so it’s all very exciting. To get an idea of how all the craziness came to be, you can check out the “primer” here, and please stop by and visit our group page.

 

Fleeing Fate

Jakuta Dagbo knows bad weather’s approaching, even though the sky above the faie world is clear. And when Gràinne Bairdie walks into The Midnight Café wanting an arcane tattoo, he realizes the tempest raging into his life has nothing to do with wind and rain. Just one look at her brings his storm god libido, and the protective instincts he no longer trusts, to thundering life.

Gràinne is a banshee on the run, desperate to claim the emotions she’s sure are rightfully hers and has no time to explore the sparks of need flying between herself and Jakuta. What she’s trying to do will bring the wrath of the Banshee Council down on her head, and she knows they’ll do anything to stop her.

Yet, as Gràinne and Jakuta peel back the layers of their lives, searching for the answers she needs, they can’t ignore the lightning-hot passion searing their blood. And when desire reaches its apex, demanding complete surrender to the cyclone of desire, neither can resist. Even if it means Gràinne’s banshee wail of release will be her last.

Anya Richards

Journeys Through Seduction

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