E.J. Russell's Blog, page 8
December 5, 2016
Release Day for Clickbait!
December 5, 2016 – Release day for Clickbait!
Clickbait, my M/M rom-com (with a side of family drama) releases today from Riptide Publishing! Geek meets blue-collar construction in the second book in my Geeklandia series. Check out my Books page for an excerpt and links to places where you can pick up a copy. The ebook edition of Geeklandia #1, Lost in Geeklandia, is still available at the special price of $0.99 through the rest of the week.
After the disastrous ending of his first serious relationship, Gideon Wallace cultivated a protective—but fabulously shiny—outer shell to shield himself from Heartbreak 2.0. Besides, romance is so not a priority for him right now. All his web design prospects have inexplicably evaporated, and to save his fledgling business, he’s been compelled to take a hands-on hardware project—as in, his hands on screwdrivers, soldering irons, and needle-nosed pliers. God. Failure could actually be an option.
Journeyman electrician Alex Henning is ready to leave Gideon twisting in the wind after their run-ins both on and off the construction site. Except, like a fool, he takes pity on the guy and offers to help. Never mind that between coping with his dad’s dementia and clocking all the overtime he can finagle, he has zero room in his life for more complications.
Apparently, an office build-out can lay the foundation for a new relationship. Who knew? But before Alex can trust Gideon with the truth about his fragile family, he has to believe that Gideon’s capable of caring about more than appearances. And Gideon must learn that when it comes to the heart, it’s content—not presentation—that matters.
December 4, 2016
Clickbait Blog Tour
Clickbait Blog Tour
To celebrate release week for Clickbait, book 2 in my Geeklandia series, I’ll be touring these lovely blogs. Stop by and leave a comment for a chance to win a $25 Riptide gift card!
December 5, 2016 – My Fiction Nook
December 5, 2016 – Love Bytes Reviews
December 5, 2016 – Man2Mantastic
December 5, 2016 – Diverse Reader
December 6, 2016 – Prism Book Alliance
December 6, 2016 – Booklover Sue
December 6, 2016 – Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews
December 6, 2016 – Bayou Book Junkie
December 6, 2016 – 2 Chicks Obsessed
December 7, 2016 – The Day Before You Came
December 7, 2016 – MM Good Book Reviews
December 7, 2016 – Erotica for All
December 7, 2016 – Book Reviews and More by Kathy
December 7, 2016 – Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
December 8, 2016 – The Novel Approach
December 8, 2016 – The Jeep Diva
December 8, 2016 – Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents
December 8, 2016 – Boy Meets Boy Reviews
December 8, 2016 – Attention is Arbitrary
December 9, 2016 – TTC Books and More
December 9, 2016 – Dog-Eared Daydreams
December 9, 2016 – Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews
December 9, 2016 – OMG Reads
October 10, 2016
Release Day for Wolf’s Clothing!
It’s release day for Wolf’s Clothing!
Check out my Books page for the blurb, an excerpt, and links to where you can pick up a copy.
To celebrate release week, I’ll be touring these lovely blogs. Stop by and leave a comment for a chance to win a $25 Riptide gift card!
October 10, 2016 – Sinfully Gay Book Reviews
October 10, 2016 – Booklover Sue
October 10, 2016 – MM Good Book Reviews
October 11, 2016 – Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents
October 11, 2016 – The Novel Approach
October 12, 2016 – My Fiction Nook
October 12, 2016 – OMG Reads
October 13, 2016 – Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews
October 13, 2016 – Bayou Book Junkie
October 14, 2016 –
October 2, 2016
Featured Author at Riptide
October with Riptide
Featured Author, New Release, and Anniversary Sale Bargain!
October is shaping up to be an exciting month for me with Riptide Publishing! First, I’m their featured author for the month–check it out if you want to find out about my writing process, what’s coming up in the future, and what inspired my next release, Wolf’s Clothing.
And speaking of Wolf’s Clothing, it releases on October 10th! This is the second book in the Legend Tripping series. Book one, Stumptown Spirits, is on sale as part of the month-long Riptide Anniversary Sale. You can pick up the e-book for $0.99 (on the Riptide site only) during the whole month.
Hallowpalooza Scavenger Hunt
Night Owl Reviews HALLOWPALOOZA Scavenger Hunt
October 12 – 31
I’m one of the sponsors of the Night Owl Reviews HALLOWPALOOZA Scavenger Hunt.
During this event, you’ll have a chance to discover some great new books from over forty authors. Make sure to check out my featured title, Stumptown Spirits, along the way.
The grand prize is a $100 Amazon Gift Card. The total prize pool is over $1,000.
You can enter at: https://www.nightowlreviews.com/v5/Blog/Articles/Hallowpalooza-2016 starting October 12th
Happy Halloween!
June 17, 2016
Portland Pride 2016
Portland Pride Weekend
June 18th and 19th
This weekend, I’ll be at the Portland Pride Festival in Waterfront Park along with authors L.C. Chase, Ethan Stone, B.A. Brock, Chris Cox, CJane Elliot, Amelia Gormley, Anne Tenino, Charley Descoteaux, David Holly, and D Jordan Redhawk. We’ll be at booths #R1 & R7 near the south end of the exhibit area, so if you’re in Portland, stop by and say hello.
May 4, 2016
Stumptown Spirits Releasing soon
Virtual Book Tour Approaching!
Stumptown Spirits, the first book in my Legend Tripping series with Riptide Publishing, releases on May 16th! Join me on the virtual book tour to qualify for a giveaway.
Check out my Books page for the blurb and excerpt, or see more on the Riptide website.
Here are the stops on the tour:
May 16, 2016 – Love Bytes Reviews
May 16, 2016 – Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
May 17, 2016 – GGR-Review
May 17, 2016 – My Fiction Nook
May 18, 2016 – Erotica for All
May 19, 2016 – Booklover Sue
May 19, 2016 – Sinfully Gay Book Reviews
May 20, 2016 –
February 23, 2016
Upcoming Legend Tripping Cover Reveals
Cover Reveals for Legend Tripping Series Coming Soon!
The covers for the first two books in my new Legend Tripping series with Riptide Publishing are set for an exclusive reveal on the Prism Book Alliance site on March 2nd!
What price would you pay to rescue a friend from hell?
For Logan Conner, the answer is almost anything. Guilt-ridden over trapping his college roommate in a ghost war rooted in Portland’s pioneer past, Logan has spent years searching for a solution. Then his new boyfriend, folklorist Riley Morrel, inadvertently gives him the key. Determined to pay his debt—and keep Riley safe—Logan abandons Riley and returns to Portland, prepared to give up his freedom and his future to make things right.
Crushed by Logan’s betrayal, Riley drops out of school and takes a job on a lackluster paranormal investigation show. When the crew arrives in Portland to film an episode about a local legend of feuding ghosts, he stumbles across Logan working at a local bar, and learns the truth about Logan’s plan.
Their destinies once more intertwined, the two men attempt to reforge their relationship while dodging a narcissistic TV personality, a craven ex-ghost, and a curmudgeonly bar owner with a hidden agenda. But Logan’s date with destiny is looming, and his life might not be the only one at stake.
What do you do when you finally prove the existence of the otherworld, but the ghosts kick your ass?
For Trent Pielmeyer, the answer is run like hell—away from his hostile family, away from the disbelieving cops, and far, far, far away from anything that smacks of the supernatural. After seven years’ captivity in a whacked-out alternate dimension, he is so over legend tripping.
When Christophe Clavret spots Trent in a Portland bar, he detects a kindred spirit—another man attempting to outrun the darkness of his own soul. But despite their sizzling chemistry, Trent’s hatred of the uncanny makes Christophe hesitant to confide the truth: he’s a werewolf, one of a dwindling line, the victim of a genetic curse extending back to feudal Europe.
But dark forces are at work, threatening more than their growing love. If Christophe can’t win Trent’s trust, and if Trent can’t overcome his fear of the paranormal, the cost could be Trent’s freedom and Christophe’s humanity. Or it might be both their lives.
February 10, 2016
wRomance
wRomance: A weekend of writing and love
My wonderful local RWA chapter, Rose City Romance Writers, is hosting a weekend filled with events for writers and readers of romance!
Writing workshops, Saturday, February 20th, 9:00am – 4:00pm:
Forensics for Fiction: make your crime pay with Geoff Symon
When writing crime scenes, what is the balance between accuracy and overkill? Geoff Symon shares his experience as a 20-year Forensic Investigator with authors of every popular genre. We’ll visit the most common forensic flubs and fallacies while discussing true primary forensic methods and fundamental terminology to bring authenticity to the scene of your crime.
Half-day Brand Plan with Damon Suede
Branding is the cornerstone of all promo and marketing plans and is necessary to building a career and setting long range goals. During this workshop, author Damon Suede will assist attendees in identifying, honing, and crafting their personal author brand. Participants will also leave with a platform for effectively wielding their unique brand.
University Place Hotel. Portland, Oregon.
Cocktails with Readers and Authors, Saturday, February 20th, 5:00pm – 8:00pm
No-host bar, hors d’oeuvres, schmoozing.
University Place Hotel. Portland, Oregon.
Love Between the Covers, Sunday, February 21st
One-time local screening of Love Between the Covers, a feature-length documentary about the romance industry–its readers and writers, and why romance deserves respect.
The Venetian in Hillsboro, Oregon. Doors open at 3:00; film begins at 4:00
For more information, or to buy tickets, check out Rose City Romance Writers.
October 4, 2015
When a Review Shapes a Career
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When artists – whether performing, visual, or literary — release their work into the world they’re de facto inviting the world to express an opinion. However, no matter how personally validating a leading role, or a gallery showing, or a published book might be, exposing your work to potential attack is still difficult, frightening, and sometimes so disheartening it can derail an entire career.
Consider Harpo Marx, the silent Marx brother, arguably one of the most gifted physical comedians in stage and film history.
In the days when the Marx Brothers played the vaudeville circuit, audience disapprobation could be quite physical (and often disgustingly smelly) in the form of objects launched at the stage. Of course, the Marx Brothers were just as likely to fling those objects back. W.C Fields, who toured the same circuit with his juggling act, claimed nobody could follow the Marx Brothers except trained seals, because they (the brothers, not the seals) tore up the stage.
Harpo Marx had no trouble with the rotten produce or the odd stream of tobacco juice. Ironically, it was words that hurt him the most, and catapulted him into a career using no words whatsoever.
When the Marx Brothers first took their act on the road, Harpo still spoke lines. However, he had a very thick New York accent. The character he portrayed in their act at the time was supposed to be an Irish immigrant. As Harpo related in his autobiography, Harpo Speaks!, they were still playing one-night stands in the midwest when a critic in Champaign, Illinois, reviewed the act and said that while Harpo’s character, Patsy Branigan, was fine in pantomime, once he spoke, the notion he was Irish was ruined.
Hurt, Harpo declared he’d never speak onstage again. When his formidable mother, Minnie Marx, the driving force behind putting her sons onstage, didn’t argue, he realized he’d been terrible the entire time.
Harpo knew he could never match Groucho’s razor wit, nor Chico’s glibness. Since he couldn’t hope to outtalk his brothers, he settled for upstaging them for the rest of their lives.
(In this clip from A Day at the Races, Harpo has just overheard a plot against Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush, played by Groucho.)
Before the advent of widespread social media, the way a civilized audience displayed their sentiment was simply not to buy – the ticket, the painting, the book. Things are different now. Now, anyone with an internet connection can express an opinion about everything from politics to the latest viral cat video. This wild and woolly virtual stage is more akin to those early vaudeville days, when audience feedback was immediate and visceral — pelting acts they disliked with garbage, or, by their applause, giving popular acts the chance at an extended run.
But what isn’t different is the hurt the artist feels at harsh words. We all have to accept criticism – and some of us do it with more grace than others – but the feelings of rejection, the same ones that prompted Harpo to become a silent comedian, are still there.
We can only hope the words we choose to take to heart will result in success even a fraction as great.
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