Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
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What else are you reading? (June 2010 - May 2013) *closed*
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Oh... I'm speechless. BEAUTIFUL cover! That book..."
Definitely coming out in print. AND in audio.
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And I love the cover and the..."
Winter of next year. I would like it to be January, but I am listening to my reader friends who wisely said, DON'T PIN YOURSELF DOWN. And they're right. Deadlines still trigger anxiety attacks for me, so I am keeping it loose and general.
I do need to get that first chapter up on my website though so you all are reassured that it's really happening. ;-)
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If you're looking for holiday stories, I think the His for the Holiday antho was one of the most highly rated Christmas anthologies I've been part of. I did think every story was a little bit special.
Josh wrote: "Candice wrote: "Meep wrote: "Susinok wrote: "You know what I wish all ebook publishers would do? I wish they would put a back-cover style blurb in front of chapter one on every e-book. So when I'm ..."I definitely like to read a sample with new authors. With the ones I already know are good writers I often buy without sampling. But to tell the truth, there are so many mediocre writers out there, (of course there are many good ones too) and usually I can find out whether I like the writing style or not by reading the sample. If the writing doesn't appeal, I delete the sample and go on to the next one.
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It seems to me that it must have changed a bit given how much is out there now in the way of new releases and insta-pubs.
Christine wrote: "It's fun poking around on this discussion. I have to admit, I'm pretty picky about my romance books because I've read enough that I didn't enjoy--including M/M, sadly. So, it's nice to see what oth..."If you want to try more Harper Fox, I would recommen Scrap Metal. It is absolutely wonderful. Have you read anything by Tamara Allen? Whistling in the Dark is a rare and wonderful historical. Completely different but a unique one is Atom Heart John Beloved
Christine wrote: "So...I'm going out of town at the end of this week. I have towers of books that I haven't read yet--but all in print. I'm only going to take my Kindle with me. I'd like to load it up with a few good reads. I haven't read anything by Harper Fox yet, so I was thinking of Life After Joe. I was also thinking of Men Under the Mistletoe. (Even though I've read Lonestar, I haven't read the others.)"
Harper Fox is one of my two or three favorite romance authors. And, in fact, I'm rereading one of her stories right now -- as it happens, the one from the His for the Holidays anthology. Life After Joe is my favorite of ALL romance shorts, bear none, so needless to say I think you should check it out. ;-)
Other than that, it's hard to know what recs to give you without knowing more about your tastes. If you haven't read Josh's stuff yet, take some of his. If you can stand angst, take some Amy Lane. And if you can stand angst AND like beautiful prose, take Harper Fox. :-)
Josh wrote: "This is so fascinating because what I have heard for years is readers NOT liking the chapter samples.Do you guys like them or not? "
Well, it depends on exactly what you mean by "chapter samples". If you mean the little blurb summaries, I ignore them because I've already seen them at sites like GR or Amazon. If you mean one book that contains a first chapter for the book's sequel or a first chapter for a different new book coming out, then I also ignore them because 1. I don't want any of the sequel spoiled for me; or 2. I'm simply not interested in the other new book. But I only get irritated at those sorts of sample chapters if they artificially inflate the reported size/page number of the book I've bought -- then I get ticked off.
But if you're talking about the free samples from places like Amazon, then I LOVE those. Those are books that I've already determined I'm interested in -- books that I'm thinking of shelling out money to buy. In that case, the free samples let me try out the writing chops of the author, the setup of the story, the characters, and so on, so I can make a better decision about where my money goes. :-)
Anne wrote: "Completely different but a unique one is Atom Heart John Beloved"I agree with all your recs, excellent books. And I wanted to point out that ''Atom Heart John Beloved'' won a Rainbow Award as did some authors here like Aleks or K.Z. (congratulations!).
Josh wrote: "Do you all feel that the way you discover new stories and new authors has changed? It seems to me that it must have changed a bit given how much is out there now in the way of new releases and in..."
It changed hugely since I discoverd GR and started reading ebooks (almost exclusively). Before that I used to browse through shelves in a bookstore and decided what to pick up from the shelf by the cover and what to take home and try by the backcover text.
Nowdays I rely heavily on recs by my GR friends, lists and ratings. The process (for me) became more of an social thing. Regarding the mass of new books and imprints springing up each day: I grew more careful in my choice during the last half year or so. I stopped believing in general raving about a book but looked more at what certain friends thought about it, friends that I know have a similar taste in books. A lot of the recs come from within this group. :D
Calathea wrote: "Josh wrote: "Do you all feel that the way you discover new stories and new authors has changed? It seems to me that it must have changed a bit given how much is out there now in the way of new re..."
This group is very hard on my Visa card :)
Thank you so much for the recs, everyone! :D@plainbrownwrapper: lol, sadly, I am basically out of Josh books to read. Just the Dangerous Ground series, but I bought that in printed form and there's no way I can lug that thing with me, as much as I'd like to. ^_~ (Heck, you can KILL someone with that volume.)
Angst and beautiful prose--I like these things.
The way I discover books has definitely changed in the last year. In 2011 I got a lot of my recs from the large m/m group. It was pretty scatter shot, and I found some great stuff, but also some dreck. Maybe that wasn't such a bad way to go as a new reader to the subgenre. It certainly encouraged me to read a wide variety of authors and styles. Now that I know who I like, I get most of my recs from here and twitter. I know the folks in this group have similar tastes to my own, so recs here are worth checking out. And I've hit a point where I'm following quite a few authors and readers on twitter, so that's become a good place to feed the wishlist, too. Although, since most of those authors are people I know I like already, it's not so much recommendations as keeping track of upcoming releases.I also discovered a few new authors, and became more interested in reading a few that I'd already heard of, at RT. Although it's a bit pricey as a primary source of book recs.
Christine wrote: "It's fun poking around on this discussion. I have to admit, I'm pretty picky about my romance books because I've read enough that I didn't enjoy--including M/M, sadly. So, it's nice to see what oth..."I haven't read much f/f, but I enjoyed And Playing the Role of Herself. I have a handful of other titles on my TBR shelf, which you're welcome to take a look at. But while I've picked those handful carefully based on blurbs and recs, I haven't read them yet myself, so fair warning. http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/...
If you're looking for holiday stories, I really liked the anthology Winter Warmers. And if you'd like a couple of Hanukkah stories, Astrid Amara has written a few that I enjoyed-- Love Ahead: Expect Delays, Holiday Outing, Carol of the Bellskis, and I'm planning to read the sequel, Miracle of the Bellskis, once Hanukkah starts next weekend.
Christine wrote: "Angst and beautiful prose--I like these things. "In that case you definitely need Life After Joe and Scrap Metal. Add to that Driftwood, and probably Nine Lights Over Edinburgh (the one I'm rereading right now); and Half Moon Chambers is good if you're in the mood for some cops n robbers. But be warned, none of those are cheerful tales!
Josh wrote: "This is so fascinating because what I have heard for years is readers NOT liking the chapter samples.Do you guys like them or not?"
Chapter samples at the end of a book for a sequel: I never read them, because I don't want to be teased and get frustrated. Especially when I liked the book very much. And that's also the reason why I very rarely read excerpts or chapters of a soon-to-be-released book. I want the real thing. ;) My bad if I totally misjudged my buy.
Josh wrote: "Do you all feel that the way you discover new stories and new authors has changed?
It seems to me that it must have changed a bit given how much is out there now in the way of new releases and insta-pubs.
Now that I have a list of favorite authors, their new books pop up on my radar more often or I actively look for them, especially here on GR.
I also am trusting some publishers more than others. I feel that Carina, Samhain and Riptide do a better editing job than others, less new releases but better general quality and a neater product.
My GR friends are invaluable in recommending books. After a while I know what they like or don't and reading a review of theirs is a way to understand if I'll like a book. Even if it's a somewhat negative review, I still know that I might like the book.
Josh, that's a beautiful cover. And I can just read all Kit's neuroses in that blurb. XDAs for discovering new authors - it's a combination between friends/trusted reviewers recommendations, active search (especially of the type "if you liked this, than try this") and blind luck, lol. Being a reviewer for an M/M site, I also choose a lot of new authors to review, because I probably would not buy them. The GR Choice Awards gave me some great books this year as well.
Lady*M wrote: "Off topic but I had to. While writing a new review for Jessewave, I discovered Weeping Cock LJ community. Do not eat or drink while reading. I don't want to be responsible for anyone chocking to death. ~_^ "Holy MOLY Lady M! Thank you so much, that was hilarious.
Christine wrote: "And if anyone can recommend a good F/F...I've been looking. Is there any good girl love out there? Is that silly to ask here? *headdesk*) "Dark Wings Descending by Leslie Davis. I don't read much f/f, but I liked this one a lot, it had great chemistry between the MC's and a solid mystery.
Emanuela ~plastic duck~ wrote: "Josh wrote: "This is so fascinating because what I have heard for years is readers NOT liking the chapter samples.Do you guys like them or not?"
Chapter samples at the end of a book for a sequel..."
I always read the chapter samples after the book, just to get my expectations up. :) I also like to read chapter samples for other books by the same or other authors at the end of the book, I have found many new writers that way. There are so many books out there, I need all the help I can get! Which makes me so happy for you people, I trust your judgement.
Jen wrote: "I am currently reading 
by Neil Gaiman, First Neil book I've read his graphic novels in the past but not books"Jen, have you seen the BBC mini-series? I think it preceded the novel. Admittedly, I was never able to get into the Neverwhere novel, although I enjoyed the mini-series. It's campy, but it's fun. :)
Now, American Gods... Wow. That one was a dark current that swept me away. It's too dark for a couple of my friends, but the darkness is one of the things I loved about it.
(Neil Gaiman is my first accidental favorite author [Josh is my second]. For years I swore I couldn't choose a favorite author. I love too many, and for different reasons. Then I discovered Smoke & Mirrors, and that was it. Some of Gaiman's genius, IMO, is his ability to breathe new, strange life into old literature and myths. "A Study in Emerald," which is a Sherlock Holmes/Cthulhu mash-up, and his novel The Graveyard Book both exemplify this, I think. Also, he's written my favorite gender-bendy story, "Changes.")
@Becky: Thank you for the rec! :D I will also poke around your TBR list--warning duly noted.@Plainbrownwrapper: My life is cheerful enough. I tend to like bittersweet and dark-flavored fiction. ;)
@Feliz: Oooo, thanks!
Josh wrote: "Do you all feel that the way you discover new stories and new authors has changed? It seems to me that it must have changed a bit given how much is out there now in the way of new releases and in..."
Hugely! First of all I allowed myself to enjoy romance without guilt since my co-workers and friends could not ridicule me for my reading material. I'm sensitive about that since mom used to do it as well. I bet my co-workers and friends probably would not make fun, but I still avoided those horrid covers...
So from romance it was a short few hops to erotica and then menage and then mmf menage and then m/m. Although I've read and enjoyed gay literary fiction in the past, I was new to the m/m genre.
Plus I don't know if I could have found these books in a bookstore. Does B&N carry m/m? in Oklahoma? (That's the big question). I have never looked. I should check out their GLBT shelves next time I'm over there.
As far as actually picking out a book, after reading samples for a while which got tiring, I went back to the old method I used. I read the blurb to see if it sounds promising. Now in Goodreads I see what friends have read it and said about it, but I don't take their word as golden.
Christine wrote: "@Plainbrownwrapper: My life is cheerful enough. I tend to like bittersweet and dark-flavored fiction. ;)"Then you should add Chase in Shadow and Dex in Blue to your list. :-)
Oh, man. My bank account is going to be groaning by the end of this month--and not from Christmas presents. *headkeyboard*
I know we have some GR librarians around here.Could someone add the ebook edition for Sweet Like Sugar? It is listed at Amazon and BN..
http://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Like-Suga...
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/sweet...
I could do it (by adding it to my books)...but I always miss something.:(
I was completely unaware of this book. *head desk* I'll add it to some lists once it's listed as an ebook. 8)
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In the past, I used chapter samples at the back of a paperback, or more recently at the end of an ebook, to find new authors/books or to tide me over until the next book in a series came out.
I don't download Amazon chapter samples because my Kindle apps (on 3 devices) are already in various states of disarray. I really need to make time to load and organize my library on Calibre. However, I always read chapter samples/excerpts, when available at the publisher site or Amazon, to get a feel for the author's style and/or for the particular story. Sometimes I'm fooled and wonder what I was thinking.
Links to chapter samples or excerpts received in favorite author's newsletters are always a treat.
Lady*M wrote: "After new Harry Dresden book, I craved more UF so I'm going through Cal Leandros books (5 so far). Not bad, not bad at all. UF is a tricky genre for me, since I didn't like some of the more popular..."Have you read The City's Son? I've had it on my wishlist for a while, and I just spotted it on sale for $1.99 for Kindle. What I've read of the sample looks good, although it's in present tense, which is not my favorite.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Citys-Skysc...
Just finished Half Pass by Astrid Amara. I’ve only read her work before in the fantasy anthologies Hell Cop and Irregulars, so it was neat to read a contemporary romance from her.Overall, I thought it was a good read about a man who inherits a boarding stable and the different challenges that arise, including a mysterious disappearance of one of the horses. I especially appreciated Amara’s humor within the MC’s narrative, and all the neat details about the stables and horse training.
Plainbrownwrapper wrote: "Josh wrote: "This is so fascinating because what I have heard for years is readers NOT liking the chapter samples.Do you guys like them or not? "
Well, it depends on exactly what you mean by "ch..."
Once again I find myself completely in agreement with PBW. In summary - no chapter samples EXCEPT in the way Amazon does it i.e. so you can check out a book just before you buy it. Of course, they are redundant for you, Josh, because we don't need to check but just press the Buy Now button!
Josh wrote: "Do you all feel that the way you discover new stories and new authors has changed? It seems to me that it must have changed a bit given how much is out there now in the way of new releases and in..."
To an extent. I still read a lot of review sites, but over the last couple of years I've come to know which reviewers have similar tastes to mine. Also, I pay a lot of attention to what people say in this group - and again, you get to know who has similar tastes.
When I started I checked through the lists of Lambda winners etc., but I think I've exhausted them now. (I still check the winners of the Lambdas and the Rainbow awards, to see if there's anything I haven't heard of and might like.)
I don't if it's just that I know more review sites etc or if there has been a huge increase in m/m lately; it feels like the latter. So being choosy is necessary.
ETA: I'm reminded by reading later posts that I always used to decide whether to read a print book (usually in the library) by reading the first page. I never read the blurbs on the back because they give too much away - I like to discover things as and when the author wrote them, Similarly, when I read reviews I skip any outline of the plot. So this is why I love Amazon's sample system - I can do on my Kindle what I used to do in the library or bookshop.
To get to the point where I download a sample or not, I look at the genre (e.g. mystery) and other "tags" which reviewers use to put books into groups, both so I can find books I like and to avoid ones I know I won't like. Of course, certain authors are auto buys (except for when they stray into fantasy or paranormal).
Plainbrownwrapper wrote: "Christine wrote: "Angst and beautiful prose--I like these things. "In that case you definitely need Life After Joe and Scrap Metal. Add to that Driftwood, and probably Nine Lights Over Edinburgh ... But be warned, none of those are cheerful tales!"
They're not cheerful, but they're very worth reading; you'll find yourself thinking about them afterwards.
I love Amy Lane, I really do. However, Chase in Shadow was so gut wrenching and horrifically angst filled that I skipped two entire chapters because I really could not take it any more. I know now that I will never, ever re-read that book. I did go back and read those chapters once I'd read through the end to see what I'd missed.Keeping Promise Rock had one scene in it where the angst went so over the top that it made me roll my eyes. It was the rain storm/dead horse scene. I almost stopped at that point.
Her other books have been great but those two just poured it on a bit too thick. I know my opinion is in the minority, but they were over the top.
Susinok wrote: "I love Amy Lane, I really do. However, Chase in Shadow was so gut wrenching and horrifically angst filled that I skipped two entire chapters because I really could not take it any more. I know now ..."She definitely does pour it on sometimes. But she is so GOOD at it that I can't resist. :)
Susinok wrote: "I know my opinion is in the minority, but they were over the top."Not so much in minority. From a must-read, she graduated to "approach with extreme caution". I read blurbs, reviews and comments on her books before I commit at all. She somewhere commented that her books could be divided in "red" (angst) and "blue" (light, humorous). Let's just say, I'm sticking to the "blues" exclusively.
What puts a book over the line into "approach with extreme caution" territory?
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..."
I'm learning to listen to my Goodreads friends. ;-)"
YAY!
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LC Chase! She's redesigned the series for me. Of..."
You go LC! That cover is stunning!
And Josh, now you have me all excited for new covers! I can't wait until you get the rest of your rights back so I can buy them all over again! (Did someone say this group was hard on the Visa card? Yeah, it is. ... but it's totally worth it!)
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That depends on what you like. If you haven't read Jordan Castillo Price's Psycop, I highly recommend that, which is in both print and ebook.
If you like shifters Kaje Harper does really good werewolves. Andrea Speed does good angsty cats.
Fantasy/spec fic, check out Ginn Hale's Wicked Gentlemen and The Rifter series (but buy The Rifter as a pack of ten books all at once. You won't want to be without the next book when you get done with each one.)
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Oh... I'm speechless. BEAUTIFUL c..."
SCORE!!!
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It seems to me that it must have changed a bit given how much is out there now in the way of new releases and in..."
Yes and no. Before I came to GR, I would find titles that interested me on Amazon. If the blurb looked good, I would buy it and read it. Thankfully, most of them were pretty good when you figure the number of books I bought in print compared to the number of those books I ended up giving away because I couldn't stand to have them on my shelves. Some of those books were recommended on Amazon. There is a thread for MM Romance with less sex. I used to follow that and take a few suggestions. But mostly, it was just plain reading titles and blurbs.
Today, it's still mostly reading titles and blurbs. Only now, I get my recommendations here where I trust the readers more for really good recs. But in the end, I still base my decision to buy the book on the blurbs for the most part, if it's an author I'm unfamiliar with or one that I don't read very often.
Some authors are auto-buys for me, but some I just can't get into all of their work.
I rarely read the excerpts, unless I'm 50/50 on the blurb. And yeah, I think that only happened once. These days, if I'm 50/50, I usually just say no. Too many TBR books will do that to a person.
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MY personal favorite MM short of all time has to be In Sunshine Or In Shadow by Josh here. I don't know what it is about that story, but it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and the fact that it's a quick read makes it even better because I can read it in a short period if I'm having a bad day or something and need a quick pick-me-up.
It's in the novella collection in print, but I did get a copy for my Kindle too because I love it that much, and I like having comfort reads available when I'm away from home. I know it might sound odd to call Psycop a comfort read series, but it is! So I have that available in print and ebook too.
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It seems to me that it must have changed a bit given how much is out there now in the way of new re..."
Sadly, and amazingly, we had a Borders here not that long ago that was in the process of closing. I went in looking for something I didn't find, or maybe I did, but I ended up wandering around the store just to see what I would run into that I might like. I found a Gay/Lesbian Studies section that totally caught me off guard. I hadn't expected to see it. In it, I found a bunch of boring looking nonfic, but I found some legit MM romance! Um, yeah, shocked and elated doesn't begin to cover it.
Some how, Neil Plakcy's Mahu cover caught my attention and after reading the back blurb, I bought it and haven't looked back. That was my first Plakcy book and I wonder when/if I would have found his work otherwise if I hadn't found it in the store that day. Granted, we read one of his others for BOM awhile later, but still. I fell in love with Mahu, and it's all thanks to Borders.
I've been in other Borders stores since then (though they're all closed now) and Barnes and Nobel too (several B&Ns in our very liberal state) and haven't found a similar section yet. Major bummer for sure, and one reason why I don't like B&N very much. You can't even find many print or ebook versions of MM on their website. Oh well.
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This is what you get for asking for recs from us. :-)
Amber wrote: "What puts a book over the line into "approach with extreme caution" territory?"Personal taste!
Jordan wrote: "Christine wrote: "This is what you get for asking for recs from us. :-)"A dangerous thing.
Jordan wrote: "Christine wrote: "It's fun poking around on this discussion. I have to admit, I'm pretty picky about my romance books because I've read enough that I didn't enjoy--including M/M, sadly. So, it's ni..."I'm a sucker for shifters.
And...TEN books? Oh, jeez. That good, huh?
Psycop is definitely on my list. I've seen it mentioned multiple times, multiple places. ^_^
Thanks!
Susinok wrote: "Josh wrote: "Do you all feel that the way you discover new stories and new authors has changed? It seems to me that it must have changed a bit given how much is out there now in the way of new re..."
I agree on the 'not taking their word as golden', becasue I have actually found that some books that others haven't liked or rated well, I actually have enjoyed. By reading the blurb, I find that it gives me a feel for the author's 'voice' and I can decide if I like the flow of their words. One of the many things I am going to miss about Fictionwise, as I have found many 'unknowns' that I have added to my wishlist by reading a new blurb as it was introduced for the week.
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Q&A with Josh Lanyon
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So...I'm going out of town at the end of this week. I have towers of books that I haven't read yet--but all in print. I'm only going to take my Kindle with me. I'd like to load it up with a few good reads. I haven't read anything by Harper Fox yet, so I was thinking of Life After Joe. I was also thinking of Men Under the Mistletoe. (Even though I've read Lonestar, I haven't read the others.)
Any other ebook suggestions? I thought this would be the best group to ask! :D
(And if anyone can recommend a good F/F...I've been looking. Is there any good girl love out there? Is that silly to ask here? *headdesk*)