Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
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Johanna wrote: "Anne wrote: "I have found a gem, Avery Cockburn's ( terrible pseudonym by the way, it must be a pen name) Glasgow lads series. Playing for Keeps. Football, Scotland and handsome men..."Of cause the name is awful in the context of m/m writing and reading, bur otherwise it's a Scottish name going back to the Middle ages. There is a long article on Wikipedia about it, should you be interested.
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Yeah, I thought it might be a traditional name like that. And to use it for m/m writing... well, at least readers will easily remember it! :-)
Varecia wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Anne wrote: "I have found a gem, Avery Cockburn's ( terrible pseudonym by the way, it must be a pen name) Glasgow lads series. Playing for Keeps. Football, Scotland ..."Okay, I admit I thought maybe it was a "real" name as well, but couldn't really get over the connotations when writing a m/m book. Maybe it is my imagination that is a little too .... what shall we say..."dirty" ;)
I think she explains her name in one of her books? It's actually prounounced as Cohburn or something like that.And I like that series as well.
It's horrible when you have certain expectations to a story and a writer and it doesn't live up to it. I read some time ago My Roommate's a Jock? Well, Crap! and liked it so much that I've reread few times since. So of course I was very happy hearing that she'd written another one in the series and hurried to buy it and oh, what a disappointment! And it pains me to say it because I really like the first one.My eyes hurt I rolled them so often. This was a cliche upon cliche. The book started out really good but around 30-40% it went downhill. And then more downhill. And then it got worse. Around 80% I'd taken to talking to myself about the story, saying: "oh, no. OH, NO! She's not gonna do this, is she?! Don't go there! DO NOT GO THERE! Oh, no, she did it....."
I finished it but damn.
At least I have Sunset Park to fall into. Hope it lives up to my expectations.
So I stayed up until 4 a.m. because I could not put down this piece of 46k fanfic. Could not, even if I tried. It's one of the rare fanfics where you don't need the background to enjoy the story because the characters are fully realised on page without the context of fandom.It's kind of college AU. Tyler is a teaching assistent to Dr. Sharp, writing his masters thesis. He might have a thing for his professor and then there's Jamie, who he had a thing with in his first year at college and who doesn't want to talk about it.
It starts with the "How not to ask for an extension, 101" meme which hooked me immediately and didn't let me down.
One of the authors wrote in the comments about the realationship between TA and Professor: "Despite the potential for power imbalance, one of the things we wanted to do was make sure that the relationship never felt like Sharpy was trying to exert control over Tyler in any way, or show that Tyler was only into Sharpy for the allure of the rule-breaking ways. We wanted to show a relationship that worked because of the people in it, not because of the trope. "
It was so much better than almost everything college/uni related I've read this year. Can you tell I've been blown away? ;)
Anne wrote: "Calathea wrote: "Anne wrote: "I have found a gem, Avery Cockburn's ( terrible pseudonym by the way, it must be a pen name) Glasgow lads series. Playing for Keeps. Football, Scotland..."Karen wrote: "Calathea wrote: "Anne wrote: "I have found a gem, Avery Cockburn's ( terrible pseudonym by the way, it must be a pen name) Glasgow lads series. Playing for Keeps. Football, Scotland..."
Thank you, Anne and Karen! I'll take a deep breath and jump. Despite the name. ;)
ETA: I almost grabbed the wrong one on amazon because there is an m/f of the same title for 0 Euro too. :-D
Alison wrote: "Not free, but Astrid Amara's super awesome Crimean War fantasy romance, The Devil Lancer, is on sale for USD $1.99 at Blind Eye Books right now. One of my favourite books of this ye..."Thanks for the reminder! I still have that one on my to-read list.
I checked and it's on sale on ama too.
Anne wrote: " Maybe it is my imagination that is a little too .... what shall we say..."dirty" ;) "Anne! I'm shocked, I tell you. Shocked! ;-))
Calathea wrote: "Anne wrote: "Calathea wrote: "Anne wrote: "I have found a gem, Avery Cockburn's ( terrible pseudonym by the way, it must be a pen name) Glasgow lads series. Playing for Keeps. Footb..."By R.L. Mathewson? It's actually a fantastic story as well. Bit silly but hilariously funny.
I am reading Unnatural by Joanna Chambers. It drew me in immediately, and it's going well. I love her historicals!
Ame wrote: "Calathea wrote: "Anne wrote: "Calathea wrote: "Anne wrote: "I have found a gem, Avery Cockburn's ( terrible pseudonym by the way, it must be a pen name) Glasgow lads series. [book:Playing for Keeps..."I think that's it. Okay... going back to grab that one too. :-)
Calathea wrote: "Ame wrote: "Calathea wrote: "Anne wrote: "Calathea wrote: "Anne wrote: "I have found a gem, Avery Cockburn's ( terrible pseudonym by the way, it must be a pen name) Glasgow lads series. [book:Playi..."Well I hope you won't be disappointed, I like silly love stories like this one ;)
Ame wrote: "Calathea wrote: "Ame wrote: "Calathea wrote: "Anne wrote: "Calathea wrote: "Anne wrote: "I have found a gem, Avery Cockburn's ( terrible pseudonym by the way, it must be a pen name) Glasgow lads se..."Silly is good. After reading Straight Up: A Dan Stagg Novel recently I needed a large dose of fluffy and silly. It was just too depressing. KC and I buddy-read it and I think we both arrived at this same conclusion.
Calathea wrote: "So I stayed up until 4 a.m. because I could not put down this piece of 46k fanfic. Could not, even if I tried. It's one of the rare fanfics where you don't need the background to enjoy the story be..."It would probably be better for me if I didn't know the real guys. ;-) Not really a big Segs fan if you can believe that. Eh, I'm working on it. But the fic sounds good, I'll give it a try. Sharpy as a Star is still so wrong, though. I just don't like it. :D BTW, did you see Sharpy's tweet to Seguin the other day? LOL. He's great.
Also a bit OT but it is such a great little piece -- Caps' player Evgeny Kuznetzov's article in The Players' Tribune (I love Kuzy!):
How We Play Hockey in Russia
I'm about half way through Playing for Keeps. It's pretty good, not much actual football so far. I took a break to read 'Marry Me a Little' which surprisingly I've not read yet. I'm hooked.
http://archiveofourown.org/works/7575...
Calathea wrote: "Ame wrote: "Calathea wrote: "Ame wrote: "Calathea wrote: "Anne wrote: "Calathea wrote: "Anne wrote: "I have found a gem, Avery Cockburn's ( terrible pseudonym by the way, it must be a pen name) Gla..."Oh, dear. Is Dan still in that codependent relationship with the guy from last book?
Ame wrote: "By R.L. Mathewson? It's actually a fantastic story as well. Bit silly but hilariously funny."Oh, I read that one years ago. I do remember it being quite funny. :)
Valerie wrote: "Calathea wrote: "So I stayed up until 4 a.m. because I could not put down this piece of 46k fanfic. Could not, even if I tried. It's one of the rare fanfics where you don't need the background to e..."Red suits Sharpy better. But that tweet was hilarious. :-D
Your Caps are on fire this year! Thank you for the link, it's an interesting article and I love the photo of Ovi and his little duckling. ;)
I've read "Marry me a little" some time ago and I thought it was good. I think some pining/UST was involved? That's always a good thing. ;-D
Ame wrote: "Calathea wrote: "Ame wrote: "Calathea wrote: "Ame wrote: "Calathea wrote: "Anne wrote: "Calathea wrote: "Anne wrote: "I have found a gem, Avery Cockburn's ( terrible pseudonym by the way, it must b..."Kind of.
Calathea wrote: "Valerie wrote: "Calathea wrote: "So I stayed up until 4 a.m. because I could not put down this piece of 46k fanfic. Could not, even if I tried. It's one of the rare fanfics where you don't need the..."I'm so excited about the Caps this year! Hope they can keep it going.
Your Pens are struggling but Malkin has been racking up the goals lately from what I've seen. He's had some highlight reel goals for sure. Hawks need some help on D and for more of their forwards to start scoring.
1988 fics usually involve pining and/or lots of obliviousness. I love it. :D
I finished Breakaway and it was excellent. Second book by this author, her first Let the Wrong Light In, was stunning. Breakaway was lighter but equally fun to read.
Johanna wrote: "Alison wrote: "Not free, but Astrid Amara's super awesome Crimean War fantasy romance, The Devil Lancer, is on sale for USD $1.99 at Blind Eye Books right now. One of my favourite b..."So I just realised I put this in the wrong topic. Oops. :)
I read KJ Charles' A Seditious Affair the other day and it's amazing. I was quite blown away by it. It's one of my favourite books I've read this year. Really top notch.
Since it's the end of the year, anyone want to mention any of their favourite books they've read this year? I know we all chatter a lot about the cool books we are reading anyway, but does anyone have any standout books you've read this year that are worth squee-ing about again?
Alison wrote: "Since it's the end of the year, anyone want to mention any of their favourite books they've read this year? I know we all chatter a lot about the cool books we are reading anyway, but does anyone h..."The Captive Prince series was probably my favorite this year. I know it's been around for a while, but I won a free hard copy of the first one from GR, so I felt a little obligated to actually read it once I had it in my hands. I was a bit wary, since there's been a lot of hype about it, but, for me, it lived up to expectations, which rarely happens. I was very pleasantly surprised.
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:-) Those sound like fun books!
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I'll have to think about this when I get home. I know I've read something that should rate as my favorite for the year, I just don't know what right now.
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A very good question, this! I'm looking forward to hear what everyone says.
As for me — I managed to read amazingly few new-to-me books this year (barely 50). But I did do A LOT of re-reading (mostly Josh's books).
If I'd have to pick a few highlights from this year, I'd pick these (in no particular order):
The Outward Side by James Colton (aka Joseph Hansen) — A unique, vivid, haunting, harrowing, touching story that tastes bitterly like life itself. It's starkly, painfully beautiful the way only Hansen writes them.
The Persian Boy by Mary Renault — I'm so glad I finally read this one. What can I say? Very different from The Charioteer (which still remains my favorite from Renault), but I adored Renault's brilliant writing in this one too. I listened to the audio book and the narrator was perfect for the story.
Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey. Unbelievable that this one was first published in 1946! It's funny, it's clever, it has stood the test of time extremely well.
Of Josh's books Murder in Pastel is the one that touched me the most and made me ponder the most. I think I've read it at least three or four times already and I love it more and more after every read.
Alison wrote: "Since it's the end of the year, anyone want to mention any of their favourite books they've read this year? I know we all chatter a lot about the cool books we are reading anyway, but does anyone h..."Nice idea, Alison!
My 2015-pub-favorites shelf contains a surprising amount of shorter works, which is quite unusual for a “novel person“ like me:
That cover, uck... The last two parts of Harper Fox's Tyack & Frayne series. This has become one of my favorite series, so brillantly written. The novellas remind my of watercolor sketches, done with an easy hand and a lot of breathing space:
And the book Alison mentioned above:
I love Charles' Think of England, but this one can give it a run for sure!
Otherwise I read Hansen's Brandstetter series, one book a month. Okay, I cheated and the last book will be my first in 2016, but I did not want to say good-bye to Dave around Christmas.
Of cause there are more books I enjoyed reading this year, those by Josh, or by new to me authors like Amy Rae Durreson or Megan Erickson, but I think I will better stop now...
Mod
. 
, the sequel to
was another good read. I also really enjoyed the audio for
. And lastly,
, book two in the Merlin books, was very good.Hopefully next year there will be even better books.
I loved Winter Kill. Maybe because of the Nordic Noir atmosphere I felt in it. But the best book I read, or the story that left me most to ponder and stayed in my mind for the longest time is For Real. Mindblowing story.
Varecia wrote: "Alison wrote: "Since it's the end of the year, anyone want to mention any of their favourite books they've read this year? I know we all chatter a lot about the cool books we are reading anyway, bu..."Nice idea, Alison!
Some might say it was a Novel idea, ha ha.
Stand outs for me were:
I probably read 4 books a week, so I've read a lot of good ones. To be stand out, I can remember what the story was about and how it ended by just looking at the title. It's also one that made me think about it days after I read it. :)
My children got quite a few books for Christmas and the one that seems to stand out is a book based on the Old Norse mythology written in the same way as Stranger Things Have Happened: An Adrien English Write Your Own Damn Story. Not sure what it's called in English. They absolutely love it :)
Ame wrote: "I loved Winter Kill. Maybe because of the Nordic Noir atmosphere I felt in it. But the best book I read, or the story that left me most to ponder and stayed in my mind for the longest time is [book..."Yes, definitely, [book:For Real|25376011] is a stand out.
Ame wrote: "My children got quite a few books for Christmas and the one that seems to stand out is a book based on the Old Norse mythology written in the same way as [book:Stranger Things Have Happened: An Adr..."What's the name of the book? I'm curious if it's been translated (which would be awesome!)
It's this one: Þín eigin goðsaga. Translation: Your own mythology. I think it'd be quite easy to translate. The author's other book might be a bit more tricky. Last year he published this one: Þín eigin þjóðsaga which is based on old Icelandic folk tales. Anazing book as well, my kids love that one too.
I'll have to go through my books to see my stand out list for 2015, but for this month I just read Among the Living from Jordan Castillo Price and immediately scooped up book two, Criss Cross. I haven't gotten book three yet, but the day is still young. :-)I tried reading the Thirds series from Charlie Cochet, got to the end of the first book and don't have any desire to buy the second. Oh well. But I'm not big into shifter stories...
Which leads me to How to Walk Like a Man by Eli Easton, book two in a shifter series that I am absolutely loving.
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Lol. I was doing a good job of clearing off my coffee table. I wondered how long it would take to undo all the good that had been done.
Kirsten wrote: "The Captive Prince series was probably my favorite this year. I know it's been around for a while, but I won a free hard copy of the first one from GR, so I felt a little obligated to actually read it once I had it in my hands. I was a bit wary, since there's been a lot of hype about it, but, for me, it lived up to expectations, which rarely happens. I was very pleasantly surprised. "Speaking of Captive Prince...did you all see book three finally has a release date and is up for pre-order? Kings Rising is set to release on 2 February. That's been a long time coming and I'm excited.
Kirsten, I know what you mean. I'm also wary of those really popular books--so often I don't really like them (with a few notable exceptions). I was also hesitant to read Captive Prince, but I totally loved it. Yes, I was a little surprised when it turned out to be really awesome. Sometimes the hype is deserved. :)
Johanna wrote: "Alison wrote: "Since it's the end of the year, anyone want to mention any of their favourite books they've read this year? I know we all chatter a lot about the cool books we are reading anyway, bu...A very good question, this! I'm looking forward to hear what everyone says."
So am I! You guys have extraordinarily good taste in books! :) Thanks for all the good answer so far.
Alison wrote: "Kirsten wrote: "The Captive Prince series was probably my favorite this year. I know it's been around for a while, but I won a free hard copy of the first one from GR, so I felt a little obligated ..."Excuse me but; SQUEEE!!
And I agree with everything. I never expected to like this series, it's nit a genre I usually read and honestly I started to read it because it was free but I totally fell for the story and the characters.
I finished Unnatural by Joanna Chambers last night and loved it. Have not decided on the next one yet. I have to let this one settle.
I've just finished re-reading the whole of Harper Fox's Tyack & Frayne Mystery Series (all six books) so I could read the last, Third Solstice. I really enjoyed revisiting Lee and Gideon. The latest book is more of a novella in length, and continues the story nicely.
I read so many fantastic and wonderful books this year. Here are some of my most favourite, most memorable, most jump-up-and-down awesome books I read this year:-Vaughn R. Demont's Broken Mirrors series, which begins with Coyote's Creed, and just gets better from there. I have rarely been this excited about a series. I read this series months ago and I still think about it regularly and what's coming next.
-Everything Alexis Hall published this year (with the exception of the most recent short story which I have not read yet). Waiting for the Flood is sublime. For Real is brilliant. Liberty and Other Stories , along with all of the Prosperity stuff, is one of my most favourite things ever. Squamous with a Chance of Rain is bizarre and wonderful and one of the funniest things I've read in a long time. I just love his writing.
-I read Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows for the first time this year and after finishing the first chapter, I'd already decided it was one of my favourite books ever, and at the end , I still thought so and was sad it was over. The illustrations by Robert Ingpen are gorgeous and perfect. I can't remember what persuaded me to pick it up at the library (I think maybe one of you mentioned it?), but I'm so glad I read this.
-Amy Rae Durreson's books in general, and probably Gaudete and Reawakening more specifically. I am so drawn to her books. Her characters and stories are kind of quietly perfect for me.
"Second tier" awesome books worth mentioning that I really loved for whatever reason:
-Play Me, I'm Yours by Madison Parker
-Time Waits by C. B. Lewis
-Trust the Focus by Megan Erickson
-Carole Cummings's Aisling Series--Guardian is book one.
-Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
-Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series (I'm about halfway through this classic sci-fi series and it's so fantastic.)
-Blowing Off Steam by Joy Lynn FIelding
I'll stop there... :)
Just wanted to mention this very cool thing from Ginn Hale. It's a long excerpt from the next Lord of the White Hell/Cadeleonian book (what is this series called?):http://www.ginnhale.com/third-set-of-...
Atreau's in it and it's great! Looking forward to this very much. :)
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Love this! I revisited some of these via audiobook this year.
Alison wrote: "Kirsten wrote: "The Captive Prince series was probably my favorite this year. I know it's been around for a while, but I won a free hard copy of the first one from GR, so I felt a little obligated ..."I did see that! I'm really looking forward to reading it, although I am going to reread the first two this month instead.
I felt the same way about Manna Francis's Administration series as well.
Starting the year with:
and this one in audiobook:
I should find one about reading faster, since I've set myself a target of 150 books this year!
Alison wrote: "Just wanted to mention this very cool thing from Ginn Hale. It's a long excerpt from the next Lord of the White Hell/Cadeleonian book (what is this series called?):http://www.ginnhale.com/third-s..."
Oops! I've just seen this by Blind Eye Books and posted it in the freebies topic...
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Q&A with Josh Lanyon
Books mentioned in this topic
Subtle Bodies (other topics)Husband Material (other topics)
Sing for the Coming of the Longest Night (other topics)
A Shattered Silver Crown (other topics)
A Shattered Silver Crown (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Jordan Castillo Price (other topics)Alexis Hall (other topics)
Katherine Fabian (other topics)
Iona Datt Sharma (other topics)
Cynthia Zhang (other topics)
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Thank you for letting us know, Alison!