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Whistling in the Dark by Tamara Allen
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I have read every one of her books as well! I think my fave book of hers is DowntimeI can't wait for her next one.
Just found out that The Only God, Downtime and If it Aint Love are free to download on Smashworkds now https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi...
I stumbled across her books early in my Kindle history - a few hundred books ago. Loved them, because of her sense of period, her sense of character. I'll have to re-read all of them...
I agree Ulysses - she's a marvellous period writer.Thanks for the freebie shout-out Mercedes ... unfortunately, I already own Whistling In The Dark in hardcopy and the other three are on my Kindle.
There was a discussion in the Josh Lanyon group about what these sales on Tamara Allen books meant in terms of her writing plans. It just seemed odd that so many of her books are currently free at Amazon. I'm afraid we were right to be concerned as she just posted this comment:Antonella kindly pointed out the confusion over my free books and I promised her I'd address it. I can't say it's permanent (especially with Amazon's penchant for changing prices without warning.) At the moment, it's more indefinite.
I've been writing m/m romance for ten years (though I've only really felt like a truly published author for five. Torquere published Downtime as a serial over two years, then an ebook. It wasn't until Lethe took Whistling that I felt like I'd succeeded on a we-don't-publish-everything-that's-submitted basis.)
But that was the high point five years ago, and it's become increasingly apparent that my style may not be the best fit for my genre. It may be a better fit for another type of story or I may find that ten sales a month is the best I'll do in any genre. But you never know till you try, right?
As I won't be writing another sleepy m/m historical (and possibly nothing else under this pen name,) I thought I might as well wring any last benefit out of these four stories (Whistling's contract is up this year, so it may be out at a reduced price.) And no benefit can beat winning over new readers. Not even royalties.
I still heart this genre madly, and will continue to read all your beautiful books (All the writers here. And review some, if I can ever get my shit together for more than an hour at a time.) :)
I'm sorry for invading your space with this, Josh. If you would like me to shift this elsewhere or move it altogether, please just let me know. I don't know how to handle these social things.
Mara
That makes me really sad. I never thought of her style as sleepy.
I really enjoyed her books, so that's very disappointing news. Maybe if she realises how many fans she has, she might reconsider.
Mod
She's one of the best gay historical writers, in my book---I'm really disappointed to hear this....
I wish Tamara all the best in her new writing direction. She always produced stories that gripped my attention and made me love her gay protagonists. The great depression novella remains my favourite work of hers.
I reread this post today (July 25, 2013) because in Josh Lanyon's latest revision of his "Man Oh Man" how-to book, Tamara Allen mentions me by name - not (sigh) as an author, but as a fan who loved her works and encouraged her. She's really a wonderful author, whoever she really is.
Im a huge fan of hers. She's one of the best M/M authors ever, probably in my top 5.She tweeted me a few days ago that she will be releasing a new book but is currently looking for a publisher.
That's great news! She seemed very discouraged earlier this year.
Yay! I am so glad she decided to keep writing in this genre. Can't wait to read her new story.
That is good to hear! I've enjoyed all her books, and was sad to read that she was having a difficult time. Let's hope she finds a publisher very quickly.
Yes - very good news indeed. Bring on 2014 then.
If Im a publisher I would sign her up in a heart beat!
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Books mentioned in this topic
Downtime (other topics)Whistling in the Dark (other topics)
New York City, 1919. His career as a concert pianist ended by a war injury, Sutton Albright returns to college, only to be expelled after a scandalous affair with a teacher. Unable to face his family, Sutton heads to Manhattan with no plans and little money in his pocket but with a desire to call his life his own.
Jack Bailey lost his parents to influenza and now hopes to save the family novelty shop by advertising on the radio, a medium barely more than a novelty, itself. His nights are spent in a careless and debauched romp through the gayer sections of Manhattan.
When these two men cross paths, despite a world of differences separating them, their attraction cannot be denied. Sutton finds himself drawn to the piano, playing for Jack. But can his music heal them both, or will sudden prosperity jeopardize their chance at love?
Here’s a story that is much more than the summary might suggest. In short, I absolutely loved it. It’s very well written and the characters completely came to life for me; I was quite drawn into this story on an emotional level. (Man, some of the scenes were quite affecting---kinda got me all choked up!)
We don’t really get to know New York City as a character in this novel quite as much as in the author’s later The Only Gold---but one small corner of the city is well represented. There was a definite gay subculture flourishing in New York during this time period, and we get a glimpse of that here. I appreciate the fact that the author seems to have done a lot of research into the period, and that it shows in the text without it coming across as a history lesson.
In other words, all the little details are right, but they’re not pointed out in bold letters. There are references to the terrible influenza epidemic of 1918, for example, without the author telling the reader all about it. And there are plenty of other little things---like a passing reference to Marion Harris (she is forgotten by the general population now, but she was a huge singing star at the time---I have some of her recordings). And another mention of the fact that early radios of the time had to be listened to with primitive headphones instead of speakers. I guess what I’m trying to say is that the reader gets a fine sense of the time period, even if they previously hadn’t known much about it.
I’ve now read everything by Allen that I can find (three novels and one short story) and I’m hooked. I hope there won’t be a huge wait until the next book!!!
For a little more information, here’s the review that appeared on the Speak Its Name site:
http://speakitsname.com/2008/12/17/re...
Whistling in the Dark