Lori Perkins's Blog, page 6

Celebrate Keanu Reeves' Birthday with This New Bio

No one has a cult following quite like Keanu Reeves. There’s more to the real Keanu than pop culture talking points and, in Keanu Reeves’ Excellent Adventure: An Unauthorized Biography by New York Times bestselling author Marc Shapiro, the star of the Matrix trilogy, Speed, John Wick, Point Break and countless big and small films proves to be a lot more contrary and anti-establishment than most Hollywood cookie cutter celebrities.

Equal parts biography and character study, Keanu Reeves’ Excellent Adventure: An Unauthorized Biography is a journey as the actor deals with his life and times in a straightforward, often philosophical and spiritual manner. He can be shy, self-effacing, an introvert and somebody who has been a pain in the side of the Hollywood establishment. He’s also found time to be an all around good guy as he deals with life’s ups and downs. At the end of the day, Keanu Reeves is nothing less than human.

Keanu Reeves dealt with the deaths of those he’s loved the most. He makes no bones about the fact that he comes from a dysfunctional upbringing. He’s walked away from big-budget studio films in favor of doing Hamlet for peanuts. Early on, he didn’t think twice about starring in the overtly gay-themed way out of the mainstream theater production Wolfboy. He readily admits to having done drugs and has had his run-ins with the law. And along the way his risen to that rarified air of international star.

“He’s come through all manner of triumphs and tragedies,” said author Marc Shapiro. “Emotionally he’s a complex guy who deals with things as only he can. Keanu is a tough person to put a finger on because, in every possible way, he’s always on the move and always seeking the next big thing that will bring him joy.”

“We’ve all been watching Keanu for decades, and it's so great to see him hitting his grown-up stride now, while he goes back to his Bill & Ted roots in Bill & Ted Face the Music,” said publisher Lori Perkins.” He’s shown us what a versatile actor he is, as well as what a great internet boyfriend he can be for us all."

Call for Short Stories for Hanukkah Erotica Anthology

Hanukkah Erotica
An anthology of sexy Hanukkah stories

It’s time for a little balance this holiday season romance with latkes, candles and eight passionate nights. Hanukkah is a wonderful festival that gets little play in books and movies, so Riverdale Avenue Books is looking for your HOT sexy romances which feature characters celebrating this holiday. How about a game of strip dreidel? The challenge of blending family traditions? Gelt or guilt? Eight nights to change someone’s mind? Have fun and help us celebrate love and miracles.

Please – do not submit stories like the ones attempted last year by Hallmark. We will not accept Christmas stories in disguise.

LGBTQ+ and under-represented characters/voices are welcome and encouraged.

Any setting – contemporary, historical, fantasy – acceptable but traditional celebration of Hanukah must be included.

The higher the heat level – the better!

All submissions will receive an acknowledgement email and a response by or before September 25, 2020. Please inquire about reprints. Original, previously unpublished work is preferred. Payment is prorated share of the epub, print and audio royalties split evenly among all contributors, a pdf and print copy of the book. Rights are for seven (7) years, reusable during that time with permission and notification.

All submissions should:

Be submitted as a Word document
Be between 4000-8000 words long (query for longer stories)
Be proofread and edited
Include a HEA or HFN ending
Use Times New Roman 12 point and underline italics
Use ### or *** centered for scene breaks with a blank line above and below
Include title, last name and page numbers in upper right hand corner using the ‘header’ feature.
Submission deadline: September 12, 2020

Expected publication: December 10, 2020 (to coincide with the first night of Hanukkah)

Send submissions via attachment to submissions@riverdaleavenuebooks.com

RAB Republishes Classic LGBTQ GenderQueer

When GenderQueer was first published in 2002, it was groundbreaking, even inventing a new word for those whose voices had been hidden behind the walls of the gender binary. Now—finally!—it's republished by innovative book publisher Riverdale Avenue Books, and those voices are still fresh and compelling in a volume that can take its place as one of the field's early and most original "classics."

Perhaps more than any other issue, gender identity has galvanized the queer community in recent years. The questions go beyond the nature of male/female to a yet-to-be-traversed region that lies somewhere between and beyond biologically determined gender. In this groundbreaking anthology, first published nearly two decades ago, three experts in gender studies and politics navigate around rigid, societally imposed concepts of two genders to discover and illuminate the limitless possibilities of identity. Thirty first-person accounts of gender construction, exploration, and questioning provide the groundwork for cultural discussion, political action, and even greater possibilities of autonomous gender choices.

Joan Nestle is the cofounder of the Lesbian Herstory Archives in New York and the writer and editor of six books including the groundbreaking Women on Women series. Riki Wilchins is the executive director of GenderPAC, the national gender advocacy group, and the cofounder of the Gender Identity Project of New York City's Lesbian and Gay Center. She is the author of read My Lips: Sexual Subversion and the End of Gender, Gender Theory, Burn the Binary and TransGRESSIVE. Clare Howell is a senior librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library.

“We are thrilled to be republishing this LGBTQ classic that actually defined the term ‘genderqueer’ two decades ago,” said Publisher Lori Perkins. “Riki Wilchins was ahead of her time.”

“It’s so important to see GenderQueer back in print. It’s hard to how things were back then now, but back when it first came out, it was the only outlet for an emerging generation of nonbinary, genderfluid, and genderqueer writers to be heard,” said Editor Riki Wilchins. “This was the “bleeding edge” of a gender revolution beyond the four-box model of L-G-B-T few of us could see coming, and even fewer could articulate. And even now, many of their voices still resonate in new and exciting ways.

Under the Cape, Superhero Romance Anthology, Just Pubbed

What superpower would you choose if you could? Would you be the hero or the villain? And how would it affect your relationships?


Under the Cape edited by Rachel Kenley features 11 stories that explore the different aspects of romances between caped heroes.


The challenge of connection, secret identities and the murky line between good and evil are explored in this collection of original romances. From heat levels mild to wild, and all sexualities, these authors explore the universal truths of love and romance and the happy endings we all desire.


"It's clear from the last decade plus of movies and television that we never tire of superhero stories, but during this pandemic, it seems even more powerful than usual to think about how and when we use that term. To notice the heroes who are all around us,” said Author Rachel Kenley. I hope that when they read this anthology, people not only enjoy the romances, but will see some of the hero that lives within us all."


Published during the Corona Virus Pandemic, a portion of the profits from this book will be donated to the CDC Foundation.

30% Off Christmas in July Sale

Riverdale Avenue Books celebrates summer with its annual Christmas in July sale featuring 20 holiday-themed books titles at 30% off on the Riverdaleavebooks.com website using the promo code 30OFFEBOOKS. These titles will also be available at 50% off on Overdrive for sale to the nation’s libraries. Four of their LGBTQ+ titles will be offered as FREE give-aways on Erie Gay News.

Said Riverdale Avenue Publisher Lori Perkins, “This year, more than any other, we need Christmas in July as a magical escape. Since we’re staying in, we might as well curl up with as many hot holiday hunks as we possibly can.”

Below is a list of titles on in this promotion:

Hot for Xmas by Trinity Blacio

A Christmas Carl by Ryan Field

Forever Bound with Tinsel by Chloe Stowe

Christmas Magic by Cecilia Tan

The Naughty Angel and Her Three Very Wise Men by Trinity Blacio

Naughty Mommy and Santa’s Helpers by Trinity Blacio

The Naughty Stepbrothers by Trinity Blacio

A Christmas Tail: Book Four of the Masters of the Cats Series by Trinity Blacio

Holiday Smut edited by Lori Perkins

Whips & Chains & Candy Canes by F.L. Bicknell

Her Three Men by Trinity Blacio

Hot for Winter by Trinity Blacio

A Scarlet Christmas: A Femdom Christmas Carol by DL King

Bad Santa by Lise Horton

Her Stepbrother’s Christmas Gift: A Once upon a Stepbrothers Novella by Rachel Kenley

Home Alone for Christmas by Lori Perkins

Wrapped Around Your Handlebars by Ana Lee Kennedy

Frosty, Inc. by Trinity Blacio

Holiday Gay edited by Maitland McDonagh

Not Home for the Holidays by Isabelle Drake

Riverdale Avenue Books Wins 4 Book Awards

As the annual book awards season rolls in, Riverdale Avenue Books announced that four of their titles have received awards.

Riverdale Avenue Books won a Bronze Medal from The Independent Publisher Book Awards, affectionately called the IPPY Awards, in Erotica for No Safewords 2, edited by Laura Antoniou, and a second Bronze Medal in Horror for The Armageddon Chord, by Jeremy Wagner.

The Golden Crown Awards, the leading lesbian literary awards, choose Find Someone to Love by Divya Sood as a Finalist in their General Fiction Category.

The Armageddon Chord by Jeremy Wagner also was selected as a Finalist in the Horror Category of the Next Generation Indie Book Awards

“We are honored to receive these awards for the ground-breaking books we publish across the erotica, LGBTQ and horror landscapes” said Publisher Lori Perkins. “The breath of this years’ awards shows the diversity of our publishing company across our 15 imprints. It is especially gratifying that our newest imprint, Circlet Books, which highlights erotic science fiction and fantasy, received an IPPY award.”

Bwest-selling Romance Author Trinity Blacio Pens Twist on Docuseries "The Tiger King"

Inspired by the headlines of the popular Netflix documentary, Tiger King, best selling paranormal erotic romance author Trinity Blacio has given an already bizarre story a supernatural twist using the real-life characters of this feline tale as the basis for her eighth installment of her Masters of the Cats series from publisher Riverdale Avenue Books.

Dominik Schmidt, the man people referred to as “The Tiger King,” which just pissed him off, was perfectly happy with his polyamorous male foursome until she came along. His mates Hariku, Trank and Ando had never even looked at a woman before, but as soon as that female vet came on the scene, all chaos broke loose. Not to mention the police sticking their noses where they didn’t belong and accusing him of all sorts of “animal rights” violations.

Dr. Sandy Cree was perfectly happy saving wild animals from collectors who couldn’t take care of them. She didn’t need anyone, especially the pompous “Tiger King” and his three bad ass, but hot, boyfriends. So why was she such a hot mess whenever they came around?

"One of my editors mentioned that the people in the Joe Exotic documentary would make great characters in one of best-selling author Trinity Blacio’s paranormal erotic romances, if they weren't such bad people, so Trinity decided to give them a better life and turn them into heroes in her 8th installment of her paranormal cat shifter series, The Master of the Cats. This is compelling reading. Anyone who loved the docuseries will not be able to put it down,” said Publisher Lori Perkins.

The first installment of this three-part story is now available for download at Amazon, Barnes & Nobles Nook, iTunes, Kobo and Smashwords, as well as through libraries through Overdrive.

Kickstarter Campaign for The Binge Watcher's Guide to the Films of Harry Potter Launches

For the second title in their new Binge Watcher’s Guide series, Riverdale Avenue Books has launched a Kickstarter campaign. The Binge Watchers Guide to the Harry Potter Films by Cecilia Tan, an unofficial guide, kicked off on the author’s birthday and has already raised the initial funding within a week from fans eager to experience this new look at their favorite universe.

Twenty years have passed since the Harry Potter films were first released for an entire generation of moviegoers. The films broke ground in every way: at the box office, in movie making art, and pulling off an unprecedented magic trick of keeping the main cast together for ten full years, as they grew from schoolkids to adults.

Readers who contribute to this campaign will be able to receive an ebook, paperbacks at a discounted price, ebooks and print books bundled with goodies like a Binge Watcher book bag, and some virtual experiences with the author such as a tarot card reading, a virtual tea or a one-on-one watch of one of the movies. The Kickstarter campaign starts now until May 8, 2020.

“Binging the Harry Potter movies is the perfect way to really see how the series holds together, as well how the actors age just like in the books. Cecilia Tan has been knee-deep in the fandom for two decades and is the perfect guide to take fans on this journey,” said Publisher Lori Perkins
“We know there's a global pandemic going on. The first time I felt some relief from the unrelenting stress since my household started isolation in early March was when some friends suggested we should each make cocktails, pop in our DVDs of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and livetweet it together. In the end we didn't do it, but I started watching the movie anyway....and I realized it was even better than a cocktail for lifting my spirits and relieving my stress. It literally let me escape our troubled world for a while. What better time to be encouraging people to revisit these movies than now? ” said Author Cecilia Tan.
Readers who contribute to this campaign will be able to receive an ebook, paperbacks at a discounted price, ebooks and print books bundled with goodies like a Binge Watcher book bag, and some virtual experiences with the author such as a group watch of one of the movies. The Kickstarter campaign starts now until May 8, 2020.

Cygenic, a M/M Erotic Romance, Just Pubbed

Circlet Press, an imprint of Riverdale Avenue Books, has just published Cygenic by Monique Poirier. The book takes place in the not-so-distant future, where human DNA and advanced technology have combined to create sentient machines that look and feel oh-so-human, whether they are used as nannies, nurses, or sex toys. But what happens when a sex toy sits up and demands rights?

Dante is blond, brilliant, and beautiful because he was made that way, commissioned and raised by an eccentric professor to prove a point. After the professor's untimely death, Dante's life is reduced to usage by the state, because technically a cygenic is a machine, not a person. To everyone, Dante is just a piece of "wetware" that happens to think and feel like a human. Drudgery at the hands of the state isn't the worst fate, though. Many humans have developed cruel tastes they satisfy with cygenic exploitation. Can Dante rise above the sordid and sadistic circumstances he finds himself in?

Nate is a programming prodigy with a righteous soul. Fresh out of college, he goes to work for a nonprofit dedicated to rehabilitating destitute cygenics. But cyborgs aren't the only ones being taken for granted and exploited by those who may be human but are far from humane.

Dante and Nate are both lonely, angry, and left vulnerable by a world that should have treated them better... and they are on a collision course. Can they navigate the pitfalls of love, lust, and systematic oppression together, or will the system rip them apart?

"Like all the best robot and cyborg stories, Cygenic asks us to examine our own humanity, in particular the very human needs for sex and love,” said Editor of Circlet Press Cecilia Tan. "I'm so pleased to have Monique Poirier's first novel. She has been selling brilliant erotic short stories to Circlet Press for over a decade and it has been fantastic to watch her stretch her wings with a full-length book."

RAB During Shelter in Place

Of course, things are different today as I write this note to you, but I wanted you to know that the staff at Riverdale Avenue Books is committed to bringing you new content throughout this period of social isolation. While the rest of the world slows down and waits to see what the future will hold, we are continuing to work to bring out a book a week.
No one is as important to maintaining our society as those working in hospitals, grocery stores, mailrooms and newsrooms, but we believe that entertaining people at a time like this is also important. People will need their escapes more than ever, and erotic romance and binge watching books will be perfect for that.
At Riverdale, we are also working on a completely original daily erotic romance story series, details of which we will announce shortly. We are acquiring, so if you have any books you want us to consider, please send them to at submissions@riverdaleavebooks.com.
We will also be offering some titles for free, so keep your eyes open for those announcements through email, as well as on our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Goodreads accounts, as well as on our blog, riverdaleavebooks.blogspot.com. If you are not on our email list, go to our website and sign up, riverdaleavebooks.com.
Please also rest assured that during this time we continue to operate in the normal course and will pay our staff, as well as send out royalties to authors, so your patronage of our books is more important than ever!
Thanks for being a loyal reader, stay safe and be well!