Congrats to Chris B, who won Where He Belongs (Belonging) by Rachel Haimowitz (courtesy of Storm Moon Press)!
Congrats to Seanna Lea, who won Shattered Secrets (Shadow of the Wolf #1) by RJ Scott and Diane Adams! Shattered Secrets will be released by Silver Publishing on August 27.
Congrats to wildflower3d, who won For the Attention Of (Pushing the Envelope #1) by Kim Dare! For the Attention Of will be released by Amber Allure on August 28.
Contests
- Janna is giving away winner’s choice of Kele Moon’s Finding Eden (m/m) or Beyond Eden (m/m/f). Comment with your choice by August 27 for your chance to win.
- Carolyn Crane needs your help picking the title for her third Disillusionist book (and you could win a $10 online gift certificate)! Comment and vote by earlyish CDT on August 29.
- Amara’s giving away an ebook copy of Moonlight Becomes You by Piper Vaughn and MJ O’Shea. Contest closes 9 pm PDT, August 29.
Bookity
- New releases and more: Literary Escapism (UF/PNR) and Book Lovers Inc (a little of everything).
- Connie Willis won her eleventh Hugo Award for Blackout/All Clear. (Here’s the complete list of the 2011 Hugo winners.)
- This lolcat (about cross stitching memes instead of photoshopping them) led me off on a tangent thinking about cross stitched book covers… and led Bron to comment that it’d take an awful lot of “nude” colored floss to cross stitch most romance covers!
Ebookity
- Author Paul Dunbar will send you Bang! The Universe in Verse #1 (free science comic ebook about the origin of the universe) or It’s Alive! The Universe in Verse #2, his free science comic ebook about how life started on earth. You can read them online, too. (via Gizmodo)
Think, Make, Do, Learn
- Goodbye, bell curve… (Thanks, CursingMama!)
- Pinkwashing. (via The Mary Sue)
- How did the animals in the Smithsonian’s National Zoo react to this week’s earthquake? Both the Washington Monument and the National Cathedral were damaged in the earthquake. Why did tweets about the earthquake reach people before the earthquake itself? Gizmodo has an interesting sort of stream-of-consciousness post about the earthquake and its effects.
- You have until the end of August to cancel your AT&T long distance plan without a fee – after that, you’ll be paying $2/month, even if you don’t make any long distance calls, and it will be $9 to cancel.
- How to use acupressure to relieve nausea. (I should probably pick up some SeaBands to help me out in the numerous situations that make me motion sick.)
Cookity
- Make Ding Dongs. (via The Kitchn)
Crafty
- Knitting-themed tattoo. (Thanks, Bron!)
Cool
- To boldly go where no kitteh has gone before… (Thanks, Bron!)
- Available soonishly: TARDIS journal. (via The Mary Sue)
- OK GO and Muppets… (via Gizmodo)
Cool or Wha…?
- Airigami… (select some of the projects from the drop-down menu) (Thanks, Donna F!)
- Vulcan toques. (via The Mary Sue)
- Crocheted skeleton and organs… (Thanks, Kris!)
- Porcelain skulls. (via CRAFT)
Wha…??
LOL
- Han Sulu! (via The Mary Sue)
- An amusing vintage ad about cat pictures! (Thanks, Limedragon!)
- New meaning of cat scan… (Thanks, CursingMama!)
Teh Cute
- Kittens! Baby tigers! Kitten! Meerkat family! Kittens! Baby ocelot! Kitten! Giant anteater and baby! Kittens! Baby clouded leopards! Kitten! Baby wombats! Baby ferret! Ocelot! Red pandas! Baby panda! Baby ocelot! Elephant and baby! Aardwolf! Lion cubs! Red panda! Mountain goat tots!
Reading Update
Not One Word (Stand Alone Shorts #1) by Kim Dare. ebook short. I’m definitely biased, because a photo I took at Twin Cities Pride 2011 was the inspiration for this story. 
But this was an enjoyably steamy, kinky short m/m story about a jogger who stops to make sure a mime in the park is ok… I hope the real life mime had as enjoyable an evening as did the mime in this story!
Landfall by Lori Toland. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about a hospice nurse who rides with some firefighters (including the one he’s been crushing on) during a hurricane so he can reach an at-home patient.
Finding Eden (Eden #2) by Kele Moon. ebook. Good kinky m/m romance that left me feeling conflicted. I really liked the evolution of Paul and Danny’s friendship as it developed into something infinitely darker and more complex. However, I was frustrated by the story seeming to end in midstream. I see that Beyond Eden takes place a number of years later, and perhaps it addresses what happens after this story ends… but I don’t want to read an mmf story. I want Paul and Danny to sort things out themselves!
Heartsong (Fae #2) by SW Vaughn. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about a prostitute who accepts a month-long contract, but has no idea that the man he’ll be staying with is a Fae prince (unsurprising, since he hadn’t realized the Fae existed). If only he found the Fae prince as compelling as the prince’s much abused bodyguard…
Unforgiven (Fae #3) by SW Vaughn. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about the Fae prince from the previous book, who’s returned to the human realm on his own and very out of his element… dangerously so.
Swapped by Christopher West. ebook short. Fun short paranormal m/m romance about a gay guy whose straight wizard buddy needs to switch bodies with him for 24 hours. How odd to be inside the body he’s been crushing on for years…
On the List (Changing Plans #3) by LA Witt. ebook short. Good short m/m romance that starts with Derek and Elliott just days away from their wedding… and then Derek’s family manages to shake Derek to the core.
Sometimes It’s Fate by Angela S. Stone. ebook. Good m/m romance about two members of the RCMP (Mounties) whose friendship slowly develops into something else. I think this book had the potential to be much, much better than it was – better editing would have helped tighten it up and would have resolved problems with punctuation and the like.
Wanna Do Bad Things With You by Shelley Munro. ebook. Good m/m romance about two rugby players on the Auckland team (one gay and out, one closeted) who get secretly involved with each other. I enjoy Shelley Munro’s stories, but always end up feeling as if a deeper edit could’ve smoothed out the roughness.
Cafe de l’Amour by JM Snyder. ebook short. Sweet short m/m romance about a barista and a guy who comes into the coffee shop and flirts with him every day.
Love’s Evolution by Ally Blue. ebook. Ok m/m romance about two guys who meet and feel a deep connection with each other. The book is a series of short stories about their relationship over the course of several years. I wasn’t a fan of the book’s structure, and I found one character’s constant use of “my darling” and “my love” to be cloying and annoying.
Hard Candy (Love’s Evolution #1.1) by Ally Blue. free ebook short. Steamy short m/m romance that’s basically just a sex scene involving chocolate.
Life, Love and Lemon Cookies (Love’s Evolution #2) by Ally Blue. ebook short. Good short m/m romance in which Chris is suddenly out of work after 15 years and not doing very well at all with the situation.
Protect and Serve by Eden Cole. ebook short. Ok short m/m romance about a cop and a district attorney, whose adversarial relationship conceals their mutual attraction.
Fighting Chance (Chances #2) by Viki Lyn. ebook. Ok paranormal m/m romance that picks up where Last Chance left off, with vampire Johan having the chance to live if he stays in the custody of slayer Corbin and takes a newly developed serum that might turn him human again. Corbin chafes at the responsibility, which prevents him from taking his revenge on the vampire who killed his father. While I liked the storyline, the writing often seemed rough and overdone, which I found very frustrating.
Artie, the Good Witch by Scarlet Hyacinth. ebook. Ok paranormal m/m romance about an innocent young witch who narrowly escapes an evil wizard with his virtue intact… and then further drama ensues. And ensues. And ensues. *sigh*
*sigh* “You’d think I’d be able to get away from the picture taking up on top of the cabinets.” -Mayhem
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I want a lego samurai house!
blodeuedd’s last post ..Review: Double Cross – Carolyn Crane
I would have pegged May as a lover of the spotlight!!
Melanie’s last post ..A Foot of Hair…
Chris, I know Paul and Danny’s one on one relationship continues in Claiming Eden
As for the .99c books…I haven’t bought them so far. I do download some of that free stuff promo from Kindle but those are mostly authors I know who want to promote their series or an upcoming release.
Anyhoo, it is stormy here, lighting-y and raining *blegh* but a huge invitation to snuggle on the couch with tea, blanket and a book
And that is exactly what I’m going to do in 5 seconds 
Have a great weekend, Chris!!
Leontine’s last post ..Cooking With the Characters: chef, Liana Richardson
You were made for pictures, Mayhem. You pose so beautifully.
margene’s last post ..Saturday Sky
My brother never uses apostrophes! It drives a grammar geek like me crazy. (He also doesn’t capitalize or acknowledge that there’s a difference between “your” and “you’re” and other such points of grammar.)
I did know about the acupressure thing. I’ve used it many times before
My old dog sort of woke up during the quake and looked around funny, but the young one didn’t give us any indications of odd behavior at all – before, druing, or after. (Then again, thunder storms also don’t faze him, so…)
Alison’s last post ..Long Time
I misspelled “during” in my previous comment. Some grammar geek I am
Alison’s last post ..Long Time
Chris- I have spent more time with Tupperware than I am willing to admit.
Lorraine’s last post ..What is this?
Well May maybe you should ask for that awesome scratch post for your modeling fees
I canceled my long distance access years ago when my phone company started charging $3 per month if you didn’t make any long distance calls. Stupid.
I think I would faint if I saw a Teenage Ninja Mutant Poodle on the street.
Cheryl S.’s last post ..They Only Come Out At Night
Such is the price of beauty, Mayhem.
Marji’s last post ..wip wednesday
RE: Stephanie I’m A Tramp Plum
I didn’t call her a ho bag but I certainly thought it AND I wondered quite loudly to anyone listening while I was reading if Janet really wrote the latest book. Something seemed fishy to me with that one.
RE: $0.99 books – some have been great some have been utterly horrible. Before I buy I check the Goodreads reviews to see if I should put my $ to better use – like possibly skipping 4 cheap books and buying 1 better more expensive book.
cursingmama’s last post ..oh really?!?
Gah, the article about the YA publishing industry makes me want to gnash my teeth. About 80% of what I read is YA, and the rest are M/M or other genres.
I read interesting stories with strong characters. I have a bias towards wanting to read about strong female characters, which is why Twilight was such a fail for me. Bella was just not strong enough with her desire for a stalker boyfriend. However, I really enjoyed Harry Potter, loved all of the Tamora Pierce books, and read am always looking for more.
Seanna Lea’s last post ..sometimes aesthetics win out
That Star Trek cat tower is way cool – it has the Enterprise and DS9!
Ava March’s last post ..One Down, Two to Go
I want those beef jerky potato chips. Badly.
LOVE the Captain Kirk sign, but the YA article gave me The Rage. Guh!!!
The back to school lunch recipes look great – not that my children would touch them. O.o
Bronwyn Green’s last post ..My Woe. Let Me Tell You Of It.
There is no escape, Mayhem. Sorry.
AK Prentice’s comment on the vintage book cover Grid It tech organizer totally sums it up for me. “See, look, I hate this book so much that I TORE IT UP AND MADE A TROPHY OF ITS SKIN!”
Who should I go live with? Karl Lagerfeld or Keith Richards? Decisions, decisions.
A Closer Look at Flyover Land always makes me want to move to MN! It’s so cool there!
Carrie#K’s last post ..Beach Wednesday
Incidentally, I have some mostly-personal experience with Sea Bands (read: the lady sitting next to me on a boat). They didn’t work. Beware…
Melanie’s last post ..A Foot of Hair…
Well… you know the cabinets make the best pic taking places… Just saying, lol!!!
yayayayay Friday!!!!!!!
hugs!
Cecile’s last post ..Review: Grace in Moonlight by Stephanie Julian
What the hell was that creepy thing on Oprah’s couch? I love these celeb libraries that appear to be filled with the Encyclopedia Britannica, because no one publishes normal books that look like that. LOL
I kind of like the idea of a soundtrack, although how could it track what my eyes are reading and I can read “he slammed the door” probably faster than the sound could happen. I’d already be on to the next part before it got finished.
It’s not that I CAN’T make cleaners from stuff at home, It’s I don’t WANNA.
Those porcelain skulls are amazing.
That Tupperware thing is true at my Mom’s. I store mine with lids on.
The only ones of those I’ve read is the Love’s Evolution and I agree with your assessment and the Viki Lynn one. I got a bit tired of Corbin’s whining about how awful his life was and he couldn’t ever be in a relationship. Umm. Your father was, and your uncle and everyone else who was married and breeding. What made you so special? LOL I thought the vamp should have dumped him. He deserved someone less whiny.
Tam’s last post ..Friend’s New Blog
Thanks so much for the link Chris.
Amara Devonte’s last post ..Guest Blog & Giveaway: Temptation Triggers by Brenda Woody & Steve Tindle
I love being able to audit classes online.
Really?! Homemade Ding Dongs? They look wonderful but the name makes me think of the commercial variety.
Hey, those lunchbox recipes look pretty tasty.
Cute hobbit house!
LOL at the OK GO Muppet theme.
Poor poodles!
I guess Katie is a Princess of Insufficient Lighting.
Aw cute baby ferret.
May, there is no escaping picture taking.
Sydney’s last post ..Okay storms, I’m done with you
Linkity – YAH! Thank you
The cat scan photo is gorgeous!
May – maybe you need to talk about a protection order against the camera? It’s stalking you…but then you’re so photogenic *grin*
orannia’s last post ..It’s…
I want to stay in a hobbit house!
Nicole’s last post ..Suzy’s Turn
Hobbit houses! Zombie fighting! Dr. Who cats!
The lunch recipes actually look pretty tasty, I printed a couple. And the apostrophe thing made me laugh, and think of this link:
http://www.happyplace.com/3645/the-best-obnoxious-responses-to-misspellings-on-facebook
Lorette’s last post ..And Now For Something Completely Different…
Love the Dr Who as cats link!! Am definitely going to audit some of those Stanford CS courses.
Great linkity
Oh I didn’t realize that On The List was out. I need to get that one NOW. lol
Tracy’s last post ..What I Read Last Week