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The Title of Your Dreams Contest (event over!)
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Help! I'm Gay in OklahomaMy name is James and do you know what is worse than being gay in a homophobic small town. Try living in a small town determined to be enlightened & fix you up. I am trying to get through to them that I can find my own guy but they just don't listen. In fact I may have already found him but I don't have time to find out if he is gay. I spend my days trolling dating sites making sure nobody has decided to help me out by registering me again. If he is in the closet is there anyway I can go back in too?
CambionIncubus Dezi has always felt that he didn't quite fit in with all the rest- unable to flirt, bumbling with sex at best, and longing for a family aren't particularly sex-demon-like qualities. All he really wants is a place where he can be himself and find love.
But when he's captured by his newest conquest (a Lord, at that!) and his wife, love is as far from his mind as it has ever been. Learning to live with, and even maybe love, his captors takes up all the energy he has left. However, perhaps a little spice in his life was just what he needed after all!
Elf-SkinA Queen from a human kingdom says to her King before she dies: "You must never marry; unless you find one to take that has hair like copper as I." His advisers say he must have a consort. A daughter with hair like her mother's is of age and the King asks, "Why can I not marry her? All are horrified, but no other has the criteria. A fairy tale unlike no other. But not all is what it seems...
COULDN'T I JUST TELL YOUIt's 1979, but Danny Lowell feels like he's stuck in the '50s. His family has just moved, and he's the only punk rocker in a lame suburbia of leisure suits and easy listening. Senior year at a new high school is bound to be awful--until he meets Jake Pearson in homeroom. Over the next few months, the boys bond over a shared love of music and a mutual wish to finally lose their virginity by graduation. They start a rock band, assuming it's a foolproof way to meet girls. But weeks of intimate songwriting and intense band practices lead to something they didn't expect...
Across Oceans of TimeI can't remember a time when I didn't dream about him. It seems as though he has always been with me. Even when I was a small child, I felt as though he was near, a constant companion of mind and soul.
A slight tickle on my ribs when I needed to laugh, the light touch at my chest when I started to fall, just enough to tell me he was near, he was watching me. It comforted me in my childhood, so alone in a old house full of adults preoccupied with their own affairs.
Then as I aged past childhood, and sent away to school. The dreams and thoughts of him lessened. He became illusive, like the faint sounds of a stream in the distance. I played, and studied, and laughed, only looking now and then over my shoulder for the one I expected to be there. A slight ache in my heart, always present, never healed.
Then, it happened. I turned 21 and returned home. And just as quickly the thoughts of him came roaring back with a strength and power that I was not prepared for. He filled my nights with dreams of a touch so sensual that my skin ached with his absence in the morning. During the day, I caught myself leaning into a caress that only I could feel. Those around me were starting to talk and look at me oddly. How could I tell them, that I felt whole once more? That I had come home and he had waited for me. He was here.
What's New Pussycat?Walking home alone at night is never a good idea. As a gay man living in a big city like New York I should know better. I've heard all the stories and the key to not getting a bat to the face but I can't help who I am. So I want my hair to look good, so I may be dressed a little flamboyant, so the fuck what if my favorite color happens to be of the pink variety and blinged out like a mo-fo. I dress how I want...bitch.
Why does it always seem like when I'm out at night all the bashers, drunks, and republicans (mostly likely a mix of all 3) seem to come out of the woodwork and pick a fight with me? I didn't ask for this. I didn't ask to be so goddamn fabulous. Sigh. So here I am getting the shit kicked out of me in a dark alleyway by 3 shit-brick houses who are as mean as they are stupid, and I'm bemoaning my now ruined carefully applied eye makeup and my perfect hair getting crushed in the grip of one of the fuckers.
I'm just hoping this will be one of those stories where a tall dark hunky man rushes to my rescue and beats the shit out of my attackers just like that one is doing now- wait... It takes me a few seconds to process that the groans of pain I hear are not mine. WOO HOO! It's happening!! I'm getting my very own night in shiny as fuck armor and he's gonna pick me up and carry me off into the sunset and we will have passionate man sex all through the night. The last of the meat-heads goes flying over my head and I hear the approaching footsteps of my savior. He bends down and puts his arms around me and cradles me to his rock hard chest. I raise my eyes over his sculpted jaw behind a layer of dark stubble, his high cheek bones, his straight nose, his deep dark eyes that are strangely reflecting the overhead light like night shine, his dark hair falling over his brow, his cute little pair cat ears nestled on top-…what?
“Are you okay”? He asks in his deep timbered voice and I can’t see anything but his twitching ears. I’m struggling to keep my eyes focused when I notice something strange about him, besides… you know, and before I fall into the depths of unconsciousness I manage to ask, “If you have cat ears why do you have normal human ears too?” His rich laughter is the last thing I hear as I slump in his arms and he carries me away.
The Tarot Emporium: I The MagicianPete begin the new chapter of his life in French Quarter, NOLA, as an apprentice mage under the guidance of Tarot Spirits. Where he worked as a fortune teller in the shop 'Tarot Emporium' by day and train in the art of magics by night. Things got even more complicated when he ran into a gorgeous werewolf.
Chaos ensued when they began a careful courtship, each were unsure how to tell each other about what they are, add a mysterious party wanted to captured Pete for their own gain. Will Pete survive his first year as the Tarot Mage?
Losing the V-CardA light-hearted YA comedy.
It's the mid 90's, in a time before Internet, social media and cell phone apps made meeting, dating and hooking up, if not quite a piece of cake, at least a lot easier than it is for Trevor. He is about to start his junior high school year in a medium sized town in the middle of nowhere,when his best friend Bridget comes back from a long summer vacation and tells him everything about the hot summer romance she has just experienced.
That's it for Trevor. Determined he wants a hot romance for himself, or some sex, or at the very least a kiss or two, with someone he is actually attracted to, they start their scheming.
"You should advertise!" Bridget suggests.
"As in putting an ad in the paper? Are you crazy? What if I end up on a date with some old perv?"
"Not an ad. You should put yourself out there. Let the world know, or in your case, the other students at school. Act a little gay!"
"How?"
"Join the poetry club, wear pink, wiggle your butt when you walk down the halls. Do whatever it takes to get the message out!"
And that is the beginning of a surprisingly eventful, sometimes a little embarrassing and occationally sexy junior high school year. Never has Trevor anticipated he would have to kiss so many toads in search of one single frog that might just be prince-material. Or that there are so many v-cards he can lose; it seems it takes forever to lose one's virginity. Who would have known?!
Rainfire #1:(Working title of the volume: Never Say Forever)
This is not a story about supernatural beings in a fantasy universe.
This is a story about souls who glimpse how things connect, and who touch the invisible force that holds together the cosmos as we know it.
Where does a man with a wonderful, dangerous gift hide from shadowy enemies? In the case of a certain, moderately famous stage magician, he does so in plain sight. He was a boy, still only vaguely aware of being different, when they got to his family; but they murdered the wrong brother and, with him, the lone survivor's ability to love.
So he fled the charred ruins of his legacy, shed his name and his past, created a fake life and founded his own family: a strange, devoted bunch of talented misfits who help him develop and maintain his illusions, including the one that he is, all in all, fulfilled by living the lovely lie of the Enigmatic Lucian.
Then his pocket gets picked in Berlin, the day of his performance. By a swirl of light.
That night a blinding flash from the audience causes him to fumble a trick and he instinctively saves his number by means he had vowed never to use in the open. One of the silk and wire butterflies escapes. Afterwards, shaken by the incident, Lucian is smoking by the stage door. He is approached by a ragged young man who returns his wallet, and his errant, fluttering prop.
But his enemies, too, have found Lucian.
Together with a scarred street kid who calls himself Rain and carries his own bright Truth, Team Lucian comes out of hiding and confronts a new peril that is bound up in old wrongs. As they hunt across Europe and the Mediterranean after a cabal intent on altering the fabric of reality for their own profit, Lucian and Rain seek redemption in each other.
Perhaps, if they make it through and, naturally, if they manage to save the world, they can finally unfold their own torn wings, and Rain can become what he was meant to be.
But only if Lucian allows the secret, powerful energy he calls Truth fully into his heart and his life.
(Here's hoping:)
Traci wrote: "Help! I'm Gay in OklahomaMy name is James and do you know what is worse than being gay in a homophobic small town. Try living in a small town determined to be enlightened & fix you up. I am tryin..."
Too funny. I love it!
Melanie wrote: "Across Oceans of TimeI can't remember a time when I didn't dream about him. It seems as though he has always been with me. Even when I was a small child, I felt as though he was near, a consta..."
All of these, so imaginative, but this one really stirs at me.
Shuck's Fen.A contemporary mystery with hints of paranormal and romance.
Jack Curtis was brought up in an odd family; his dad was obsessed with magic, and Jack, too, always read about paganism and ancient beliefs.
When Jack inherits his uncle’s cottage in the middle of the East Anglian fens, he also finds himself the owner of a derelict barn in the centre of a legend.
Once there, Jack is followed by an elusive black dog, perhaps the spectral beast of local legend.
What is the secret hidden within Jack’s isolated home, and will uncovering it lead to someone who will affect the rest of Jack's life?
(TW: Mentions of cancer)Autumn's Ashes
There are many pleasant endings to a blow job. Alfie telling Scott there's something wrong with his left ball isn't one of them.
Scott, a photojournalist in Detroit, has testicular cancer and will have to go through surgery and chemo. Long-time partner Alfie witnessed his mother battle and lose against cancer when he was a child, and isn't strong enough to stay.
Dr. Nicholas Green is left behind with a five year old daughter when his wife dies of cancer. They had been together since they were sixteen so he has never had reason to suspect he might be bisexual. Not until Scott Braeburn walks into his office. Falling for Scott would be a bad idea for so many reasons. Scott is vulnerable and hurting and he is a patient. But most of all, Nick doesn't know if he can face fighting cancer from this close again.
Autumn's Ashes sounds like something I would definitely read.
*feeling mischievous*Brief Shadow: Book One of Lord Cecil's Men
It's 1603, and the Queen is dead. To save the new king from assassination threats, spymaster Robert Cecil calls on the services of his most skilled agent, enfant terrible of the English theatre, Hamnet Shakespeare. His mission: use all the chameleon-like acting skills learned at his father's knee to infiltrate the conspiracy and keep King James alive long enough to make it to the throne.
But Hamnet's got other problems. Twin sister Judith has attracted the attentions of yet another rotter, and his famous father is being blackmailed by a man who claims to be the real Mr W. H. The last thing he needs is to start falling for one of the men he's supposed to be investigating, but something about the mysterious Guido Fawkes sets sparks flying between the two men.
Can Hamnet save the king, solve his family's romantic dilemmas, and win his man without setting off more than just fireworks?
(I'd never actually have the chutzpah to write it, but wouldn't it be fun?)
I love the variety and content of all these... Now I'm just imagining the 'covers' of these stories, since I'm so into the visuals these can portray ;)
Amy wrote: "*feeling mischievous*Brief Shadow: Book One of Lord Cecil's Men
It's 1603, and the Queen is dead. To save the new king from assassination threats, spymaster Robert Cecil calls on the services of..."
Fabulous!
KimE wrote: "I agree Maddie. Goestra's as well."Thanks! Psst: Truth is, I am actually writing it right now (my first novel), but Julyssa let me post it anyway. So hopefully you really will get to read it eventually. ;)
Goesta wrote: "KimE wrote: "I agree Maddie. Goestra's as well."Thanks! Psst: Truth is, I am actually writing it right now (my first novel), but Julyssa let me post it anyway. So hopefully you really will get to..."
Oops? Was this supposed to be for imaginary novels only? Because mine is half-written too... And thank you Maddie & KimE, that's nice to hear!
That is so cool. I love Shakespeare.Amy wrote: "*feeling mischievous*
Brief Shadow: Book One of Lord Cecil's Men
It's 1603, and the Queen is dead. To save the new king from assassination threats, spymaster Robert Cecil calls on the services of..."
Goesta wrote: "KimE wrote: "I agree Maddie. Goestra's as well."Thanks! Psst: Truth is, I am actually writing it right now (my first novel), but Julyssa let me post it anyway. So hopefully you really will get to..."
:) Cool. I started mine, sort of, maybe, not really late last year. It's a dream, right? Can't wait to see it.
So many of these sound so good. How will a winner be chosen?
Indra wrote: "Goesta wrote: "KimE wrote: "I agree Maddie. Goestra's as well."Thanks! Psst: Truth is, I am actually writing it right now (my first novel), but Julyssa let me post it anyway. So hopefully you rea..."
I would like to see yours too Indra. They are all compelling...
Bang, Bang, My Baby Shot Me DownCooper Lewis was 27, had a good job, a nice home, and a boyfriend who loved him. He thought his life was perfect; he couldn't have been more wrong. With two bullets Cooper discovered the sting of the ultimate betrayal. In the wake of his lover's murderous attempt Cooper shut himself off from the world. He works from home, cut off his friends and family, and lives in bitter fear.
Tristan Blackburn never claimed to be a good man. A black ops agent with his skill set could only feign innocence. But that doesn't mean he feels no guilt over the man he destroyed 10 years ago. Dating Cooper was part of his cover but falling in love with him was not in the assignment. When the mission went south the only way Tristan could protect Cooper was to prove he felt nothing, by shooting him and leaving him for dead.
Now that Tristan is out of the spy game he hopes to convince Cooper that their love a decade ago was real. But Cooper is not the same man he was and his trust will be a hard prize to win. Danger lurks around the corner. Everyone knows you can never escape the life of a spy…
*Cardeno C. held a chat last year and asked us if we had any story ideas based on a song title, I had a vauge plot, this jumps off from that. Nancy Sinatra's version of Bang, Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down).
Heart of WolfKuzo is a wolf-shifter, and he always believed to be straight until he meets his new co-worker Takara. Since the beginning, he feels attracted to him in a way he never had before. And he thinks it's strange- well, at first, at least. Working every day with Takara so close to him, makes Kuzo feels bit by bit more attracted to him, until he can't hide the truth anymore: he really do love Takara. He crave for his touch, and at night he dreams to be with him, in an intimate way.
But being the only male wolf-shifter in his family, he always thought his duty was to mate a woman and have cubs with her. So he decided to keep his feelings for his co-worker buried within him, and to not show them.
But keeping his feelings to himself and staying away from Takara is a really hard thing to do for Kuzo, since they work side by side.
One rainy day, returning home from work, Kuzo sees a lonely cat in front of his house, all drenched. Taking pity of the pet, he lets him inside. When looking for a towel, he learns the truth about the pet: what he thought was a big cat, in reality was a fox. And the fox was none other than his co-worker Takara, that used his fox-senses to track down his house. Kuzo is a bit surprised to finds out that Takara is a shifter like him, and moreover a fox.
Kuzo can't hide his feelings anymore, and taking the courage in his hands he confess his love to Takara, expecting a rejection. But, to his surprise, Takara feels the same way and was waiting for him in front of his house to confess as well.
Kuzo doesn't want to upset his family, but he wants to be true to himself so he tells his family about him and Takara. Truth be told, he didn't expect his family to be so supportive, but instead he finds out that his family can live without him having cubs at all- for them, his happiness was all that matters.
Juliana wrote: "Bang, Bang, My Baby Shot Me DownCooper Lewis was 27, had a good job, a nice home, and a boyfriend who loved him. He thought his life was perfect; he couldn't have been more wrong. With two bullet..."
I would absolutely read that. ^_^ It sounds awesome.
Juliana wrote: "Bang, Bang, My Baby Shot Me DownCooper Lewis was 27, had a good job, a nice home, and a boyfriend who loved him. He thought his life was perfect; he couldn't have been more wrong. With two bullet..."
I'd love a good spy story. :)
Mod
If All Snowflakes Can Be Different Why Do I Have To Be Normal.Ken had always know he was different but everyone around him told him he needed to act normal. He never enjoy their idea of normal. He was tired of fitting in to please everyone around him. He new that somewhere beyond his small town he could find others like himself. Just who and where he was going to meet these people who understood him was still a mystery. But it was a chance he would need to take if he wanted to find happiness.
Goesta wrote: "Melanie wrote: "Across Oceans of TimeI can't remember a time when I didn't dream about him. It seems as though he has always been with me. Even when I was a small child, I felt as though he wa..."
Thanks, Goesta. They all sound so good, don't they?
Mod
Maddie, Koozebane, Melanie, Amy (What's New), Goesta, Indra, Amy (Brief Shadow), Juliana.
Congrats!
Mod
Incubus Dezi has always felt that he didn't quite fit in with all the rest- unable to flirt, bumbling with sex at best, and longing for a family aren't particularly sex-demon-like qualitie..."
Congratulations! You won!
Mail social@dreamspinnerpress.com with the title of the book you want (no higher than $7). If you have an account at the DSP store, send us the e-mail you use there and we will put the book on your shelf. If you don't have an account with us, let us know in what format you want your title and we will mail it to you.
Mod
It's 1979, but Danny Lowell feels like he's stuck in the '50s. His family has just moved, and he's the only punk rocker in a lame suburbia of leisure suits and easy listen..."
Congratulations! You won!
Mail social@dreamspinnerpress.com with the title of the book you want (no higher than $7). If you have an account at the DSP store, send us the e-mail you use there and we will put the book on your shelf. If you don't have an account with us, let us know in what format you want your title and we will mail it to you.
Mod
I can't remember a time when I didn't dream about him. It seems as though he has always been with me. Even when I was a small child, I felt as though he was near, a consta..."
Congratulations! You won!
Mail social@dreamspinnerpress.com with the title of the book you want (no higher than $7). If you have an account at the DSP store, send us the e-mail you use there and we will put the book on your shelf. If you don't have an account with us, let us know in what format you want your title and we will mail it to you.
Mod
Walking home alone at night is never a good idea. As a gay man living in a big city like New York I should know better. I've heard all the stories and the key to not getting a..."
Congratulations! You won!
Mail social@dreamspinnerpress.com with the title of the book you want (no higher than $7). If you have an account at the DSP store, send us the e-mail you use there and we will put the book on your shelf. If you don't have an account with us, let us know in what format you want your title and we will mail it to you.
Mod
(Working title of the volume: Never Say Forever)
This is not a story about supernatural beings in a fantasy universe.
This is a story about souls who glimpse how things connect, and..."
Congratulations! You won!
Mail social@dreamspinnerpress.com with the title of the book you want (no higher than $7). If you have an account at the DSP store, send us the e-mail you use there and we will put the book on your shelf. If you don't have an account with us, let us know in what format you want your title and we will mail it to you.
Mod
Autumn's Ashes
There are many pleasant endings to a blow job. Alfie telling Scott there's something wrong with his left ball isn't one of them.
Scott, a photojournalist..."
Congratulations! You won!
Mail social@dreamspinnerpress.com with the title of the book you want (no higher than $7). If you have an account at the DSP store, send us the e-mail you use there and we will put the book on your shelf. If you don't have an account with us, let us know in what format you want your title and we will mail it to you.
Mod
Brief Shadow: Book One of Lord Cecil's Men
It's 1603, and the Queen is dead. To save the new king from assassination threats, spymaster Robert Cecil calls on the services of..."
Congratulations! You won!
Mail social@dreamspinnerpress.com with the title of the book you want (no higher than $7). If you have an account at the DSP store, send us the e-mail you use there and we will put the book on your shelf. If you don't have an account with us, let us know in what format you want your title and we will mail it to you.
Mod
Cooper Lewis was 27, had a good job, a nice home, and a boyfriend who loved him. He thought his life was perfect; he couldn't have been more wrong. With two bullet..."
Congratulations! You won!
Mail social@dreamspinnerpress.com with the title of the book you want (no higher than $7). If you have an account at the DSP store, send us the e-mail you use there and we will put the book on your shelf. If you don't have an account with us, let us know in what format you want your title and we will mail it to you.
Congrats all! You guys deserve it. Mine was not quite fleshed out enough. :) Oh well. That means I have to dream some more and finish it...This was fun. Thanks Julyssa!
Dreamspinner wrote: "Juliana wrote: "Bang, Bang, My Baby Shot Me DownCooper Lewis was 27, had a good job, a nice home, and a boyfriend who loved him. He thought his life was perfect; he couldn't have been more wrong...."
Thanks so much! I am so glad you liked my story blurb!
Oh wow. I won something! *glows with glee* Thanks so much! One thing I appreciate about GR is the fluid boundaries - here, one 'meets' lovely people who by the by turn out to be bestselling writers/artists, and readers can be inspired to become authors. Thank you Dreamspinners for supporting and encouraging that! I hope I get to read some of these soon. You've all redoubled my determination to finish my own book now.
Big hugs, G
Thanks so much, what a fun contest. Hmmm.what to choose, what to choose......so many on my wish list.......
Thanks so much! This is the first time anything I've made has won anything! (even if it was only my summary) Squee!
Everyone's entries were so amazing, and I'm so thrilled to be one of the winners! I sent an e-mail with my choice yesterday, but I realized I probably should have done it from my Goodreads mailbox instead of my e-mail account (I'm still a bit of a newbie here)...I hope that doesn't cause a problem, I can re-send it if it does!
oh. I assumed that it was real email, too. Should it have been from goodreads?
email is fine, especially if you sent from your registered dreamspinner email. They will have to have it in order to drop it into your account. :) Maybe I will get my act together and see about filling out this story and another I started. The universe has a tendency to kick you: I lost my job the Monday after I started my first story, and I started my new job 6 months later when this contest happens. Coincidence, much? Yeah, I thought so too. *waves to everyone* I would love see all these stories too.
Winners of the best titles and blurbs win a free ebook from us.
The contest is open until tomorrow (May 30) 3PM EDT.