Cameron D. James's Blog, page 25
September 12, 2015
Google Play and Price Matching – Sex For Money Post #10
Sex For Money is a semi-regular blog series about my experiences in writing, publishing, and marketing gay erotica and M/M erotic romance. All of this information is from my own experience, so your experience may differ. It’s hoped that sharing this information might be helpful to new and aspiring erotica and erotic romance authors, as I see a lot of questions and a lot of misinformation out there. To read more Sex For Money posts, click here.
Anybody who has self-published and read the fine print of the contract between publisher and vendor website will know that there’s always a clause that the price must be no higher than elsewhere. Each site that an author publishes to wants to have the books listed at a price that is competitive with all other vendors.
Usually, this isn’t a problem. If an author prices their work at $2.99, they do so on all sites that they upload to.
However, there are two notoriously difficult factors in this.
The first is that Amazon scours the web for your products and, if it finds your book elsewhere for cheaper, it will automatically lower the price of your product on their site so that it is competitive with the lowest price it can find. It does this without your permission and, from what I’ve heard, is almost impossible to undo. They’ll either undo it on their own, or they may accommodate your request to do so, but it’s more likely they’ll leave it at that lowered price and, if ever, raise it at their leisure.
The second is that Google Play will automatically discount books above a certain price. There is no set percentage that they take off of a book’s price, but rather there is a range of percentages. (This forum post gives you a good idea of the spread of discounts.) If an author’s not careful, their book will be discounted by Google Play, making it cheaper than anywhere else. And when Amazon catches on, their prices get lowered. Authors have lost tons of money over this.
The strategy that authors take, including myself, is to price books on Google Play much higher so that the automatic discount brings it down to close to regular price. However, while that forum post linked above is an excellent guide to the discounts, I find Google Play will make random deviations of a percentage point or two in their discounts. The only real way to fix it is to set the price to what you think is appropriate, give it a couple hours to change the price throughout their system, then check up on it by accessing it through the storefront… then go back into the publisher portal and adjust the price accordingly and waiting a few hours to see if it’s correct. It can take several tries, I’ve found, to get it right.
Even if this goes smoothly, there are still problems now and then. I noticed on Amazon (accessing the .com version from Canada, so your results may differ) that Men In The Hot Room: The Complete Series is priced at $1.95 USD, despite me setting it at $1.99 USD. The only explanation I can come up with is that Google Play has my book priced just under $1.99 USD and Amazon has price matched.
But here’s where it gets difficult (for non-Americans).
Presumably, all of this price adjustment stuff is based on the American prices on the American sites. When I go to Google Play it shows me Canadian prices. (I have to run everything through a currency converter, which helps me set the right price for Google Play.) However, Google Play seems to have this tendency to display “nice” prices for me in Canada. My short stories are all priced at $0.99 USD. This is below the level where Google Play automatically discounts my prices, so I don’t have to worry about that. Or so I thought. Google Play doesn’t want to show me the correct Canadian-converted price of $1.31 (as of right now). Instead, it shows me $1.09.
$1.09 CAD is equal to $0.82 USD (as of right now). I think Amazon has picked up on this. When I recently checked my Amazon catalogue, nearly all of my short stories were priced at $0.84 or less.
Because of Google Play’s tendency to do whatever-the-hell it wants with book prices, Amazon has subsequently slashed my prices, which cuts into my royalties.
However, I don’t think I’m going to do anything about it. All of my $0.99 short stories are older stories, so at this point I’m glad for any sale. And the royalty change between $0.99 and $0.84 is six cents (for a 35% royalty rate on Amazon). That’s nothing to cry over.
With my more expensive stories — the novellas and novels — the price matching has only taken a few cents off the retail price, which has a negligible effect on royalties.
Additionally, I seem to have the unusual result of Google Play being one of my bigger sellers. Most authors complain of Google Play as being a wasteland for ebooks, where a sale might happen once every few months. For me, sales are not very high, but they rank higher than Smashwords (and through Smashwords I get distributed to iBooks, B&N, Kobo, and more). My top two sales venues are Amazon and All Romance eBooks — they switch first and second place often — and then Google Play is usually close behind. My profits gained on Google Play far outweigh the profits lost on Amazon.
There is a lesson in here, though. An author must always read and understand the terms and conditions of any self-publishing site, as well as research everything they can on the industry. (I usually lurk and read the erotica authors Reddit, but don’t post there. There’s tons of good info there.) An author must also be adaptable and responsive — quick to change prices if need be, always looking for new revenue streams in case profits dwindle on a regular site, and be willing to experiment to find out what path in erotica self-publishing works best for that person.
September 7, 2015
New Release, Blog Tour, and Giveaway!
It’s finally here — Go-Go Boys of Club 21: The Complete Series! This omnibus volume collects all five parts of the Go-Go Boys saga, and is available in both ebook and paperback!
And to celebrate the release, I’m taking Go-Go Boys on a blog tour! I’ll update this list below with each of the five stops as they happen:
Monday, September 7: I stop by Beyond Romance to talk about some of the music that inspired the book, and share some links so you have something to listen to while you read!
Tuesday, September 8: TBA
Wednesday, September 9: TBA
Thursday, September 10: TBA
Friday, September 11: TBA
And, didn’t I mention a giveaway???
For the blog tour, we’re holding a giveaway for a $20 Amazon gift card! Check out each of the blog tour posts to find the giveaway app or link at the bottom of the posts and get your entry in!
Want to learn more about Go-Go Boys of Club 21: The Complete Series? Click here to find the buy links, blurb, and excerpt on my website!
September 1, 2015
Book Reviews for August 2015
As mentioned previously, I’m doing book reviews on a month-end basis now, so let’s drive right on in!
James S. A. Corey
We are not alone.
On Ganymede, breadbasket of the outer planets, a Martian marine watches as her platoon is slaughtered by a monstrous supersoldier. On Earth, a high-level politician struggles to prevent interplanetary war from reigniting. And on Venus, an alien protomolecule has overrun the planet, wreaking massive, mysterious changes and threatening to spread out into the solar system.
In the vast wilderness of space, James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante have been keeping the peace for the Outer Planets Alliance. When they agree to help a scientist search war-torn Ganymede for a missing child, the future of humanity rests on whether a single ship can prevent an alien invasion that may have already begun . . .
Caliban’s War is a breakneck science fiction adventure following the critically acclaimed Leviathan Wakes.
My Rating: 4/5
My Review: This is the second of The Expanse series, and I find it a much better read than the first one. Now that the universe has been established in book one, book two was able to dive in much quicker. Caliban’s War brought in several new characters, all of them very likeable. This is sci-fi how I like it — grand in scope, told through relatable characters, and not mired too much in the technicals of science. I read that this is to be a nine book series — I’m looking forward to taking the journey with them. (There are also novella ebooks in between each novel, but I’ll probably skip those. However, this is going to be a TV show soon! I’ll definitely watch that!)
Andrew Grey
The lunch rush at Darryl Hansen’s restaurant, Café Belgie, is getting to be too much for one man to handle, and Billy Weaver is a young man in search of a job—any job—to support his family. Billy gains Darryl’s respect with his earnest nature and willingness to work hard, but Billy’s admiring looks resurrect pain and shame from Darryl’s past. Until Darryl stumbles across Billy’s secret, Billy is suffering in silence: his father died a few months earlier, leaving him struggling to raise his twin five-year-old brothers. Darryl takes Billy and the boys to the restaurant, where they’ll stand together to face the smorgasbord of troubles in their future… while Davey, Donnie, and Billy all worm their way into Darryl’s heart.
My Rating: 3/5
My Review: A Taste of Love is one of those romances that tries to pull on your heartstrings — and not a gentle tug, but more of a fierce yank. The plot revolving around the twins, Davey and Donnie, is one I won’t reveal here, but as soon as I saw it developing, I was like, “Oh, no, don’t do that, don’t do that, don’t do that…” and then Andrew Grey went and did that. But for the tragic turn involving the twins, Grey handled it well — it could’ve turned into a schmaltzy tearjerker, but it held together well. The love story between Billy and Darryl was nice, too.
Shinobu Gotoh and Shouko Takaku
Student and teacher. Man and… man. Taboo upon taboo is what Hikaru and Shima have to overcome if they want to pursue their feelings for one another. Uikaru, a second year high school student, is obsessed with Shima, a male teacher. Surprisingly, Shima is not averse to the boy’s affections. He even convinces Hikaru to study hard so that when he graduates, they would openly become lovers. However, Amamiya, an ex-lover of Shima, steps into the picture and tries to win him back. Will Hikaru and Shima’s passion prove great enough to hurdle all the obstacles stacked against them?
My Rating: 3/5
My Review: This was my first foray into yaoi and one of my few forays into graphic novels. It was quiet well done. I thought the story was a little bit simple, but I chalk that up to the fact that it’s told in graphic novel format, which don’t allow for the long exposition that you’d find in a novel. Reading the panels from right to left was an interesting change that took me a bit to adapt to. I found that even though the storytelling was a little simple, it would sometimes make small jumps where I would be like, “Wait…what just happened?” I eventually figured I would just have to roll with it and figured I’d catch up when necessary… which I did. It was an interesting change to what I normally read.
Shinobu Gotoh and Shouko Takaku
Student and teacher. Man and… man. Taboo upon taboo is what Hikaru and Shima have to overcome if they want to pursue their feelings for one another. In this final installment of the two-part “Passion” series, Hikaru and Shima’s relationship takes on a more serious tone when the pair begins to see each other regularly every weekend. They agree to have this arrangement until Hikaru graduates. However, Shima eventually seems to tire of it. As Hikaru’s graduation draws near, will his relationship with Shima, his teacher, end as well?
My Rating: 3/5
My Review: The is the immediate follow-up to Volume 01 and continues the story nicely. By the time I read this book (which was in the same afternoon I read the first one), I had grown used to the right-to-left reading and the storytelling structure of yaoi. The “love” story was fun. I put that in quotation marks because I’m a little hard pressed to call it love. Lust? Yes. Love? Not so sure. It was a fun read, though. (And in searching for a cover image, I now see that there is a volume 3 and volume 4, so this isn’t the end of it. However, volume 2 ended with a rather concrete ending, so it is a satisfying end… which is good because I don’t think my library has 3 and 4!)
Angelina J. Windsor
An ancient curse. A darkly handsome lord. A desperate woman.
Hungry and homeless, Isobelle refuses to sell her only possession, her body. When she is finally driven to end her suffering, Lord Bram Snowdon rescues her.
Bram lives under a curse, one that’s driven him to become a creature in hiding, knowing every full moon will turn him into a monster.
Bram and Isobelle both have demons to fight, and their struggles soon turn to lust…and love. But destiny awaits them: they are fated to help the Dragonstone clan reclaim its birthright. This mission puts Isobelle’s life in peril and worse, puts Bram’s trust in her at risk.
Morganas, daughter of the Merlin, mage of Dragonstone and Avalon, offers to be a source of the purest help to Isobelle but also becomes her darkest temptation.
My Rating: 5/5
My Review: There was something about this that I truly enjoyed, despite being an M/F erotic romance, a pairing I don’t normally read. The heat and passion between Bram and Isobelle ignites both quickly and fiercely, leading to scorching sex. It took me a little bit to catch on to the setting and some of the history, but once caught up, it pulled me along.
Undercurrents
Robert Buettner
Ace intelligence operative Lt. Jazen Parker parachutes into Tressel, a planet which resembles Earth in its Paleozoic era, on a mission to bring down the local politicos. He quickly realizes he’s been handed a near-impossible task. Tressel is a politically-quarantined nightmare world with a culture confined to iron rivet technology and a ruling regime a bit to the right of Heinrich Himmler. Jazen’s inclined to abandon this particular hellhole to its ways–that is, until he uncovers a plot afoot that will throw a five hundred-planet alliance into the death-throes of anarchy.
So the local Nazis must go. Unfortunately, all Jazen’s got to work with is a handful of rust-bucket tanks, a retread rebellion, and two strong, beautiful women who love him, but think he’s tilting at windmills and is about to get himself killed. What they don’t know is, once committed, Jazen Parker is the best there is when it comes to getting the dirty job done on the ground. It’s the local bullies who are about to be taught a lesson in losing.
My Rating: 3/5
My Review: This is the second in the Jazen Parker trilogy, which itself is a sequel to Buettner’s earlier Orphan series, which is among my most favourite sci-fi of all time. I’m finding this trilogy to be a little lacking when held up against it’s predecessor. The novels in themselves are well-written and the stories are engaging. However, at present, I fail to see the real link between the first and second book — it’s the same characters, but there doesn’t seem to be any follow-up from the first book… perhaps it’ll all tie up in the third. Undercurrents is a fun military sci-fi book from someone who does the genre very well.
Leathersex: A Guide for the Curious Outsider and the Serious Player
Joseph W. Bean
Everyone wants a more interesting and fulfilling erotic life. With that in mind, this book was written to give guidance to one popular style of erotic play which the author calls “leathersex”-sexuality that may include S/M, bondage, dominance, submission, fantasy, role playing, sensual physical stimulation, and fetish, to name just a few. If you are simply curious about leathersex, or if you already enjoy its pleasures but want to learn more, this book is for you!
My Rating: 3/5
My Review: This is a very well written and engaging starter guide for the gay leathersex community. It makes a nice companion read to The Leatherman’s Handbook, which I read previously. Both tackle the same subject matter, but from slightly different approaches. And both are very sex positive — there is nothing to be ashamed about in the kink communities. Really, this book shows that the kink community is larger than people might realize. Bean talks about leathersex in plain and clear language, making it completely accessible.
August 1, 2015
Book Reviews – July 2015
As mentioned previously, I’m transitioning to a monthly round-up of book reviews to hopefully reduce the amount of non-gay-erotica book reviews on this blog. And it’s a good thing, because this month I almost exclusively read Star Trek books!
Here we go!
Star Trek: Enterprise: Rise of the Federation: Uncertain Logic
Christopher L. Bennett
An original novel continuing the saga of the TV series Star Trek: Enterprise—featuring Captain Jonathan Archer and the crew of the Enterprise!
Years ago, Jonathan Archer and T’Pol helped unearth the true writings of Vulcan’s great philosopher Surak, bringing forth a new era of peaceful reform on Vulcan. But when their discovery is seemingly proven to be a fraud, the scandal threatens to undo a decade of progress and return power to the old, warlike regime. Admiral Archer, Captain T’Pol, and the crew of the U.S.S. Endeavour investigate with help from their Vulcan allies, but none of them suspect the identity of the real mastermind behind the conspiracy to reconquer Vulcan—or the price they will have to pay to discover the truth.
Meanwhile, when a long-forgotten technological threat re-emerges beyond the Federation’s borders, Captain Malcolm Reed of the U.S.S. Pioneer attempts to track down its origins with help from his old friend “Trip” Tucker. But they discover that other civilizations are eager to exploit this dangerous power for their own benefit, even if the Federation must pay the price!
My Rating: 4/5
My Review: I’ve really come to enjoy Bennett’s Enterprise novels — which is a feat as I’ve never been a true lover of Bennett’s books (though I’ve always respected his ability as a storyteller) nor a true lover of the Enterprise series (as I felt that the TV show took it in the wrong direction and then the books followed suit). Through this ongoing Rise of the Federation series, Bennett has created a series of stories that I’m coming to absolutely love, and I’m coming to really enjoy Bennett as a writer. Uncertain Logic takes the Enterprise crew in a few good directions — one that explores a tumultuous time on Vulcan (and thus explores Star Trek’s history) and another that follows up on an episode that featured a new technology/culture (and thus explores new ground). Bennett does a fantastic job of writing the characters from TV as well as creating believable original characters and then putting them all in thrilling scenarios.
Star Trek: New Frontier: The Returned: Part 1
Peter David
The first installment in a brand-new three-part digital-first Star Trek: New Frontier e-novel from New York Times bestselling author Peter David!
Captain Mackenzie Calhoun and the crew of the U.S.S. Excalibur are back, picking up three months after the stunning events depicted in New Frontier: Blind Man’s Bluff. Calhoun’s search of Xenex has failed to find any survivors, and now he is bound and determined to track down the race that killed them—the D’myurj and their associates, the Brethren—and exact vengeance upon them. His search will take the Excalibur crew into a pocket universe, where he discovers not only the homeworld of the D’myurj, but another race that shares Calhoun’s determination to obliterate his opponents. But is this new race truly an ally…or an even greater threat?
My Rating: 4/5
My Review: I’ve had a love/hate relationship with the New Frontier series. I LOVED it at first, but then slowly lost interest in the characters. I felt that with the books being a year or more apart and being so disconnected from the rest of the Star Trek universe made me lose a little interest. As well, I felt the writing weakened as the series went on, becoming a little more comic book-like rather than Star Trek-like… which does make some sense since David writes a lot of comic books. The Returned, though, is a return to the very strong storytelling that earlier books in the series have featured. David manages to pull in almost all the characters that have wandered off over the years — and without it coming across as fan-wank — and puts them all in a new and interesting plot. My only beef, though, is that the book is broken into three parts. It would be okay if each part stood on its own, but that’s not the case — it was clearly one book that was split into three equal parts. I will, of course, read the next two parts as soon as they come out, despite my dislike of this sales tactic.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Sacraments of Fire
David R. George III
The latest novel in the ongoing Next Generation/Deep Space Nine expanded universe crossover, from New York Times bestselling author David George!
Days after the assassination of Federation President Nan Bacco on Deep Space 9, the unexpected appearance of a stranger on the station raises serious concerns. He seems dazed and confused, providing—in a peculiar patois of the Bajoran language—unsatisfactory answers. He offers his identity as Altek, of which there is no apparent record, and he claims not to know where he is or how he got there. A quick scan confirms the visitor is armed with a projectile weapon—a firearm more antiquated than, but similar to, the one that took President Bacco’s life. But the Bajoran liaison to the station believes that Altek has been sent from the Prophets, out of a nearby wormhole. The last time such an event occurred, it was to reassure Benjamin Sisko of his place as the Emissary. For what purpose has Altek now been sent out of the Celestial Temple?
My Rating: 5/5
My Review: I’ve seen a few complaints on Goodreads of how this book is mostly summary of previous events… but I found it incredibly engaging and captivating. While I freaking love the DS9 series, I find that so much has happened over the years that I don’t remember huge pieces of it, even though it’s constantly referenced. Half of this book takes place in the book’s past and provides a wonderful retelling of events, but from a different perspective than previously seen. The other half takes place in the book’s present and carries the narrative forward (albeit a little slowly). I have come to think of David R. George III as the George R. R. Martin of the Star Trek universe. George’s books are slow moving, but addictive… and the major twist, like in any of the Song of Ice and Fire books, takes place in the last chapter, leaving the reader begging for the next book. My appreciation for George runs deeper than that, though. Of all the writers of DS9 that I’ve read, George is the only one that seems to really understand the soul of the series and really makes it shine through.
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Armageddon’s Arrow
Dayton Ward
An all-new novel of The Next Generation expanded universe from the New York Times bestselling author!
It is a new age of exploration, and the U.S.S. Enterprise is dispatched to “the Odyssean Pass,” a region charted only by unmanned probes and believed to contain numerous inhabited worlds. Approaching a star system with two such planets, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his crew find a massive alien vessel, drifting in interstellar space for decades. Sensors detect life aboard the derelict—aliens held in suspended animation. Thought to be an immense sleeper ship, the vessel actually is a weapon capable of destroying entire worlds…the final gambit in a war that has raged for generations across the nearby system. Captain Picard is now caught in the middle of this conflict and attempts to mediate, as both sides want this doomsday weapon…which was sent from the future with the sole purpose of ending the interplanetary war before it even began!
My Rating: 3/5
My Review: Dayton Ward is an author I just don’t get. I don’t know if it’s just a matter of reader preferences or what, but I’ve never really understood the appeal of his books. His earlier works are heavy on description and in need of an editor to tighten up his run-on sentences. This book, though, is a lot better in that respect — but I still don’t get the appeal. A large part of it, though, is not Ward’s fault. Ward can only work with what he’s been given — and by this I mean the characters in the present cast of TNG. A number of new characters have been added, but they have not been portrayed consistently across the different authors’ representations of them. (Whereas noted above, the new Enterprise and DS9 characters are VERY real, but the TNG ones don’t seem to be as true.) This is not a problem with just Ward’s books — all of the TNG books featuring Chen, Smrhova (or however it’s spelled), or any of the other half dozen characters whose names I can’t remember have been equally lacklustre for character portrayal. So, Ward is already at a disadvantage due to other writers’ inability to properly build characters.
The plot is another matter. It’s an interesting one, though slow-moving at times… and it gets a little convoluted at the end. I read along without worrying too much about keeping the details straight — I got the gist of it. This book would have greatly benefitted from tightening up the middle and then using the saved word count to expand in the last third.
Overall, it was a little weak in spots, though it was definitely a much stronger novel than Ward usually writes.
Turner Kane
When Guy Holbrook moves north to play rugby professionally, he finds the other players more than ready for some rough action, both on and off the field. Gritty, brutal and primal, this explicit novel by the author of the popular soccer story Man On! is once again aimed at guys who love jocks in all their glory.
My Rating: 3/5
My Review: This book was fun, though it was largely written in passive voice with great swaths of passive voice and summarized action. The sex scenes save the book, somewhat. There’s a real lack of tension since everyone is sort of happy-go-lucky and the stakes are spectacularly low. However, the idea that gay orgies can save the soccer team was a cute idea.
July 29, 2015
NEW RELEASE: LOVE’S LAST DANCE
Not even a week into his move to L.A., Liam has the feeling that things are slightly off. Liam’s new life in porn and Ryan’s big mansion and flashy car can’t seem to mask the fact that Ryan is more distant than he’s been before. L.A. was supposed to be a new stage of Liam’s life, full of happiness and partying, but none of that seems to be happening. Still, he tries to hold on desperately to love he’s certain will last.
Back in New York, Lance has hit it off with the new dancer, Zack. He can’t believe his luck, that this hot young guy has eyes for only him. But as the week goes on, the edges of this life with Zack begin to fray. Lance tries to deny it, but can’t avoid the fact that something is wrong, that Zack isn’t as into him as he wants, and ultimately, the love Lance so longs for just doesn’t seem to be in reach.
While Liam and Lance make compromises to find the love they so desperately need, Ken is immersed in love with his new boyfriend Dan. But this is all new for Ken — he’s never done the “boyfriend” thing before. Will it mean the end of his carefree life that he loves so much? Or will it mean the beginning of a new adventure, one where two can play and more can join?
Amid the misleading pull of lust, the call of love will bring the boys together for one last dance. Hearts will break, and hearts will mend, and as the beat goes on in Club 21, the go-go boys will embrace a new life where they will never be the same.
Click here to read an excerpt and buy your copy today!
July 27, 2015
Blog Tour: Cotton Candy
Today I’m thrilled to have M/M erotic romance author Mae Hancock as my guest. Mae is here to talk about her newest release, Cotton Candy — check out Mae’s guest post below, as well as the blurb and excerpt from Cotton Candy, and a great giveaway!
Guest Post by Mae Hancock
The near death experience is one, which makes us stop in our tracks and take stock of our lives. If you’ve ever had a close call then you probably recall doing something different or thinking through your life. Sometimes the event can be as simple as being narrowly missed by a speeding truck. It could be a health scare or the death of someone in our circle of family and friends. I’ve often sat down and thought through my life after an event like that and pondered the issue: if I died tomorrow would I be satisfied with how I’d lived my life? If the answer was ‘no’ then it was about time I changed things. I have to say that now I write and study full time I feel safe to say that I wouldn’t feel cheated. I’ve lived a worthwhile life and do voluntary work as well as making sure all the people I love know that I love them, and all the things I wanted to do or be are on track.
When my characters from Cotton Candy, Bay and Cotton are on the road together and they’re involved in a landside and it shakes them both up, and causes a total reassessment of their lives. Cotton realizes he needs to support Bay through his difficulties and it’s also somewhat of a turning point for Bay. He makes a reassessment of things and clearly his thoughts are steering toward making adjustments in his life. There’s also other deeper feelings of loss which Bay experiences that day on the mountainside but these are emotions which will steer him long term on the road out of his struggle with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and enable him to bond with his partner and family long term.
I guess my philosophy is, make your life worthwhile and never look back with the regret that you didn’t do or say something. Live to the full and change the things you’re not happy about.
Cotton Candy – Blurb
Cowboy, Cotton Reid is the laid back type of guy who accepts people as they are, no matter how flawed. He’s fun, honest and crazy about his boss and friend the sexy rancher Bay Redman.
Living with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is something that family man, Bay, has done his whole life. Bay can be like a bear with a sore head if the hay isn’t stored symmetrically or his fridge contains an odd number of jars.
When the two men begin a hot affair, Cotton keeps a secret from Bay, but will Cotton find the courage to tell the truth before someone else does?
Cotton Candy – Excerpt
The heat of the spring sunshine made the air thick and heavy like midsummer as Cotton and Bay rode back toward the ranch after a long day rounding up cattle for market. A faint breeze caught strands of Cotton’s hair, blowing it into his face beneath the tan Stetson. He lifted the hat off and ran his fingers through his damp mop of hair. Then, pulling a band from his wrist, he secured the locks into a familiar small bunch, leaving a fingerbreadth of tail hair at the nape of his neck.
Glad for the momentary relief from the heat, he placed the hat back on and took in Bay’s broad shoulders as he rode in front. For some reason today, Cotton had not been able to break away from studying each movement Bay made. Twice before, Cotton had stared at the man too long and noticed Bay’s brown eyes searching his own. Has he noticed me watching him? The man’s deep, smoky cedar scent carried to Cotton on the wind, the smell so rich and bountiful it made his senses stir with desire.
Starting to get darn near obsessed with the man who doesn’t even notice me—not in a carnal way anyhow.
Bay and he were boss and hired help. Bay didn’t chase, pursue, desire—or even demand anything of Cotton, which served to make the man more attractive. Bay’s sensual, deep-brown eyes tugged at Cotton with each glance, and Bay’s thick lashes fanned out, flattering his dark-bronze skin. A simple, meaningless smile had far-reaching and significant implications for Cotton. Put simply, it meant Bay approved of him and the things he did. The rancher’s soft, full lips framed milk-white teeth, and sent urgent ripples right through Cotton’s body, leaving his fingertips tingling and the reins slippery with his sweat.
Mae Hancock – Author Bio
I enjoy writing both academic and fiction material. My research interests include focus on people who experience marginalization, both in historical societies and modern. Themes include disability, neurosis, homosexuality, addiction, mental illness, slavery and prostitution. The most important part of my work is creating multi-dimensional, believable characters that are able to build lasting romantic relationships against the odds. I want all my readers to laugh, cry and enjoy the erotic journey towards a happy ending.
Link to my web site: http://www.maehancock.com/
Link to my blog: http://maehancockfiction.blogspot.co.uk/
Twitter: @Hancockfiction
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008234531718
GIVEAWAY!
Make sure to follow the whole tour—the more posts you visit throughout, the more chances you’ll get to enter the giveaway. The tour dates are here: http://www.writermarketing.co.uk/prpromotion/blog-tours/currently-on-tour/mae-hancock-3/
And here’s the giveaway link! You could win a $10 Amazon gift card! http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/8b9ec5be127/?
July 21, 2015
Gay Erotica Reimagined
This is cute :)
July 18, 2015
What I Read in June 2015
As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m changing how I do book reviews. Gone are the lengthy reviews of everything I read (though I may still do that for particularly good gay or M/M books), and in its place is the month end round-up.
Star Trek: Enterprise: The Romulan War: To Brave The Storm by Michael A. Martin
EARTH STANDS ALONE
The Coalition of Planets has shattered, with Vulcan, Andor, and Tellar abrogating the treaty. Their pledge to come to the mutual defense of any power that is attacked has been shunted aside. Horrified by how easily the Romulans can seize control of their advanced starships, turning them into weapons, Andor and Tellar have joined Vulcan on the sidelines. Humanity is now the only thing that stands between the Romulan Star Empire and total domination of the galaxy.
To drive humans from the stars, the Romulans employ ruthless and murderous tactics . . . and even dare to strike on the Vulcan homeworld with the hopes of demoralizing their Vulcan brethren. Heartened by their victories, the Romulans carry their all-out war assault closer to the heart of humanity—Earth.
But the tattered remains of Starfleet stand unwavering, with the resolution that never again would any enemy strike ever reach Earth. On the front lines of the Earth- Romulan War is the United Earth flagship, the Starship Enterprise. Her captain, Jonathan Archer, has seen his vessel of exploration become a battleship. Once hailed for his work bringing the Coalition of Planets into existence, Archer is now a pariah. Undaunted, the captain keeps fighting, searching for allies and determined to do his duty: to save Earth and forge a new federation of planets.
My Rating: 4/5
My Review: I did a full review for this book here (since I did this before changing to a month-end round-up).
Fruit: A New Anthology of Australian Gay Writing edited by Gary Dunne
The pick of the crop.
This unique collection of gay writing is by the best of Australia’s gay authors; accessible and entertaining stories that illustrate the expanding diversity of our community.
A failed intimacy with a touring porn stud. The plottings of a famous novelist. A TV chat show guest is exposed. Overnight lovers in a bush caravan park. A leathery buzzard nighclubs the Los Angeles curfew. A curious schoolboy grows up in Athens. And adventures from Stockholm, Tokyo, Wangaratta and the Gulf of Siam.
Exciting new writing that is both upfront and confronting; twenty potent examples of today’s Australian gay literature, each one a great read.
My Rating: 2/5
My Review: I wrote a full review that can be found here (since my review predates my decision to change how I do reviews). Short summary — I found this quite inaccessible to the reader.
Star Trek: Rise of the Federation: Tower of Babel by Christopher L. Bennett
The United Federation of Planets has weathered its first major crisis, but its growing pains are just beginning. Admiral Jonathan Archer hopes to bring the diverse inhabitants of the powerful and prosperous Rigel system into the Federation, jump-starting the young nation’s growth and stabilizing a key sector of space. Archer and the Federation’s top diplomats journey to the planetoid Babel to debate Rigel’s admission . . . but a looming presidential race heats up the ideological divide within the young nation, jeopardizing the talks and threatening to undo the fragile unity Archer has worked so hard to preserve.
Meanwhile, the sinister Orion Syndicate recruits new allies of its own, seeking to beat the Federation at its own game. Determined to keep Rigel out of the union, they help a hostile Rigelian faction capture sensitive state secrets along with Starfleet hostages, including a young officer with a vital destiny. Captain Malcolm Reed, Captain T’Pol, and their courageous crews must now brave the wonders and dangers of Rigel’s many worlds to track down the captives before the system is plunged into all-out war.
My Rating: 4/5
My Review: This is a continuation of my catching up on years of backlog in my Star Trek reading. I had put off the Enterprise series until the end because I’d found the books to generally be weaker than the other series. Christopher L. Bennett, however, has really found his stride with the ongoing saga of Enterprise and the foundation of the Federation. This was an excellent book that reveals the history of the Federation without it being pointless fanwank (which I often view “retro” Star Trek stories as).
Blood and Lust by Zack
Fighting to the Finish!
Clint is a loner with an independent streak a mile wide. Hes just your average happy-go-lucky London rent-boy with few cares on his mind, until he unwisely robs a customer. Clint soon discovers that paying society its due for his petty theft carries a lethal price.
He’s now become part of a giant shadowy corporation that runs arenas all over the world. Its prisoners are trained to fight to the death under the cold gaze of cameras and for the pleasure of an elite who pay to watch their favorite blood sport.
Clint is soon fighting for his life, but he also discovers that love is his only redemption.
My Rating: 4/5
My Review: This was a violent, yet sexy book. While the characters sometimes seemed a little one-dimensional, it made it easy to get into the fun of the book and get caught up in the drama. The sexy scenes were hot (including a non-con/dub-con scene) and the sexiness is heightened by illustrations throughout the text. (I particularly enjoyed the pictures…)
Caregiver by Rick R. Reed
It’s 1991, and Dan Calzolaio has just moved to Florida with his lover, Mark, having fled Chicago and Mark’s addictions to begin a new life on the Gulf Coast. Volunteering for the Tampa AIDS Alliance is just one part of that new beginning, and that’s how Dan meets his new buddy, Adam.
Adam Schmidt is not at all what Dan expected. The guy is an original–witty, wry, and sarcastic with a fondness for a smart black dress, Barbra Streisand, and a good mai tai. Adam doesn’t let his imminent death get him down, even through a downward spiral that sees him thrown in jail.
Each step of Adam’s journey teaches Dan new lessons about strength and resilience, but it’s Adam’s lover, Sullivan, to whom Dan feels an almost irresistible pull. Dan knows the attraction isn’t right, even after he dumps his cheating, drug-abusing boyfriend. But then Adam passes away, and it leaves Sullivan and Dan both alone to see if they can turn their love for Adam into something whole and real for each other.
My Rating: 4/5
My Review: This was an enjoyable love story taking place in the shadow of the HIV crisis of the early 90s. The characters are likeable and believable. It was a good read, though I had a few somewhat minor quibbles… **minor spoiler alert** Dan worries he’s HIV+ and goes for a test, the test results were a little wonky, so he gets a second test several months later. At first, he’s freaked out about having to get a second test, then it’s really a non-event as the novel goes on. **spoiler over** And my second minor quibble is the framing story of how the meat of the novel is a fictionalized account of a true story and the “author” (also named Dan) parts ways with his editor because she apparently makes the wise business observation that though this is a beautiful story, it would be a difficult sell on the M/M market. This book would have been much stronger, I believe, without the framing story. Plus, Dan comes off as unlikeable to me. If this is based on a true story from the book’s author’s past (speaking here of Rick R. Reed, not the fictional Dan-author), then I felt a simple note to the reader pointing this out would have been much more effective. However, these are minor quibbles in a great story.
Slight Changes to the Blog
Hi all,
As I continue to evolve how I engage with social media, I’ve got some upcoming changes planned for this blog.
The main change is to the book reviews. Rather than reviewing every book I read, which takes up a lot of time, I will post a month-end round up of the books I read, along with very brief reviews. This will also cut down on the amount of Star Trek on a gay erotica blog. :) I may, from time to time, do a full review of a gay erotica or M/M erotic romance book if I particularly loved it.
The second main change is the addition of videos. I used to share a weekly gay-themed video on Tumblr… but my Tumblr evolved into a porn site and there’s no more room for the offbeat/quirky gay videos. So… they’ll move here.
And the third change is that I’ve signed up as a host for a few blog tour companies, so I’m hoping to start featuring a LOT more hot books on here than I’ve been doing lately.
Hope you’ll like the changes as they’re implemented over the coming weeks…
:)
July 11, 2015
Turn of Phrase – Sex For Money Post #9
Sex For Money is a semi-regular blog series about my experiences in writing, publishing, and marketing gay erotica and M/M erotic romance. All of this information is from my own experience, so your experience may differ. It’s hoped that sharing this information might be helpful to new and aspiring erotica and erotic romance authors, as I see a lot of questions and a lot of misinformation out there. To read more Sex For Money posts, click here.
The English language (same with most languages, I would think) can be odd at times. Common phrases can take on a life of their own and evolve over time — sometimes to the point where it might not make sense. And, to complicate matters, the evolution of phrases can be regional.
I’m specifically referring to two phrases — “nip it in the bud” and “couldn’t care less.”
Let’s start with “nip it in the bud” — looking at it, the meaning of the phrase is probably quite obvious. Nip means to pinch, and bud refers to a flower bud, before it blooms. So if you “nip it in the bud,” you are pinching off the bud on a plant before it blooms into a flower. When using that phrase in general non-gardening contexts, it means to stop something before it becomes a problem.
What I’ve been hearing more and more lately (including from a doctor), is the corrupted version, “nip it in the butt.” To nip something (or someone) in the butt would likely hurry something along. If you pinch an animal in the butt, or swat its butt or something, it’s likely to hurry along. So, in effect, someone saying “nip it in the butt” is likely saying something completely opposite to what they intended.
My hunch is that this evolution of the phrase is largely because people are hearing it wrong and repeating what they thought they heard. Also, if the listener is not a gardener at all, they might not understand the bud reference and assume that the person said butt. While “nip it in the butt” doesn’t mean what it’s used to mean, society has generally accepted it to mean the same thing as “nip it in the bud.”
However, if we want to get anal here, “nip it in the butt” could still have the meaning a writer intends. While “nip it in the bud” would mean to stop something before it starts, “nip it in the butt” could bring the whatever it is to an end much sooner. My vet said we needed to take care of my cat’s ear infection and “nip it in the butt” — and since the ear infection is already there, nipping it in the butt could imply hurrying the process along so the infection clears quickly.
But what about “couldn’t care less”? This one is interesting because in a few quick Google searches (yes, I do heavy and detailed research on this blog), the phrase has evolved to become “could care less” in the USA only, and even then, it’s not used by all people in the USA.
“Couldn’t care less” means that the speaker cares so little about something that they are incapable of caring less about that thing. “Could care less” implies the speaker still cares (at least a little) about the thing, since they are capable of caring less about it. However, both phrases are used to mean that the speaker is incapable of caring less.
So, these two phrases mean the exact opposite, when you look at the meanings of the words, but they are used to mean the same thing.
The blog over at Dictionary.com has an interesting discussion about this (and a few other) phrases. Turns out that “could care less” could have Yiddish origins and may be intended to be spoken sarcastically… bringing it to mean the same thing as the original phrase.
So… how does this affect the writer of erotica and erotic romance? (Or, really, the writer of anything?)
Writers need to be aware of the meanings of the phrases they use — and ensure they are using the correct phrases. While most books are published in the USA, I’ve yet to see a publisher use “could care less” — they pretty much always use “couldn’t care less”, because they know that the American version of the phrase doesn’t make logical sense outside of the USA (and even not throughout the entire USA as it’s not used by everybody).
If you’re a self-published writer, it’s crucial that you’re aware of these things, as you may not have an editor poring over your words. (And that’s another mis-written phrase — it’s “pore over” something, not “pour over” something… unless you’re talking about making coffee using the “pour over” method, in which case that’s the right “pour” since it involves pouring water over coffee grounds.) As a self-published author, you are responsible for putting out work of the highest quality, capable of competing with the big house publishers, and if you are incorrectly using phrases or swapping in the wrong words, you’re going to lose readers.
