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Congrats to Nicole A, who won Snapshots & Bylines (Friends to Lovers #1) by Stephani Hecht! Snapshots & Bylines is being released by eXtasy Books today.

Congrats to elaing8, who won Boots by Angel Martinez!! Boots will be released by Amber Allure on April 17.

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Contests

• Caption the photo for your chance to win your choice of ebook from Devon Rhodes’s backlist!

• Blodeuedd’s giving away two copies of What Would Mr. Darcy Do? by Abigail Reynolds. Contest closes April 18. (US & Canada)

• Tracy’s giving away three copies of Inseparable by Brenda Jackson. Comment by 7 pm PDT, April 22, for your chance to win. (US & Canada)

• If you’d like the chance to be flown to NYC to be part of the full-cast recording of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods audiobook, you’ll have to submit your entry by 5 pm EDT, May 5.

Bookity

• New releases and more: Lily (m/m romance), Book Lovers Inc (romance/UF/etc), AAR (romance), and KB (romance/UF/etc).

• Lots of good stuff this week in Dear Author’s book and publishing news.

• Have you read the cyberpunk classic Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson? It’s pretty amazing how well he did predicting the future. (Every time I think of that book, “Poor Impulse Control” runs through my mind…)

• Some scifi authors and their kitties.

• Josh Lanyon weighs in on reviews, reviewers, and authors. So does PD Singer.

• Jenre contemplates the marriage of convenience in m/m romance.

• Kassa wonders “is kinky the new black?” in m/m romance.

• Copyright troll Righthaven might not fare so well in court.

• So what exactly is happening with chain bookstores?

• Will libraries disappear?

• How are you celebrating National Library Week? Some library humor (rest of site is NSFW).

• Probably just as well this tiny typewriter doesn’t actually work.

• Make your own concrete bookends.

• Curious about the creative process of writing? Check out this humorous graphic! (Thanks, Juni!)

• Very funny slideshow about why meditation doesn’t work for writers.

Ebookity

• Kansas libraries discover an expensive downside to licensing rather than owning content…

• Kindlefolk might want to check out eReaderIQ, a database of discounted and free Kindle books on Amazon.

• Ten budget ebook readers, including the Kindle with Special Offers.

Do, Think, Make, Learn

• Today is the National Day of Silence aimed at raising awareness of anti-GLBT name calling and harassment. (Post is SFW, but be aware that rest of blog is NSFW.)

• In what seems like a bad precedent, Congress removed the Rocky Mountain wolf from the Endangered Species List.

• Lovely – some povidone iodine pads are being recalled because they may be contaminated with invasive meningitis.

• Physicists have built a desktop model of the Big Bang.

• Photos of Japan, one month after the quake. (via Gizmodo)

• If you’re curious what using a standing desk is like before changing things around, this trick might help you get the feel for it.

• Make your own map book using Google Maps. (This actually has gift potential.)

• What do lucky people do differently than unlucky people? (This is actually pretty much what I do!)

Cookity

• The six best gluten-free sandwich breads.

• Coffee vs. tea infographic.

• Red velvet strawberry shortcake.

• Red velvet crepes.

• Homemade strawberry-Nutella pop tarts.

Crafty

• Use old negatives to make a really cool lamp.

• Old knitting needles can give a clock a retro look.

• Crochet some spring bunnies.

• Or… crochet an entire Viking costume, if you’re feeling more ambitious.

• Some fun crafty (and more) linkity from MrsPao.

• Crafty take on Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon album cover.

Cool

• An animated short film set to Tim Minchin’s beat poem, Storm. (Thanks, Jase!)

• Gorgeous origami animals.

• Brazil just broke Chile’s record (set six months ago) for tallest LEGO tower.

• Watch the slideshow to see some of the inventions that have come out of MIT (which turned 150 last weekend!).

Cool or Wha….?

• You can donate toward building a fully operational AT-AT (from Star Wars).

• Photos taken with 50-year old film.

• Edible shoe.

Wha…?

• Octopus chair… (Thanks, PD Singer!)

• Sears sues company that makes sex-enhancement spray…

• Jeans boxer briefs.

• Skeery ventriloquist dummies…

• Bacon bazooka.

• Inflatable movie extras?!

• Tiger riding in a Range Rover…

LOL

• This epic m/m romance tale of two Girl Scout cookies is very NSFW.

• This is our spring weather, too! (Thanks, Amy Lane!)

• xkcd for the hardcore geeks (make sure you hover your mouse pointer over the comic for additional text!). (Thanks, trek!)

• Pain rating, xkcd style (again with the mouse pointer hovering).

• As Consumerist writes, “It was inevitable that these two businesses would someday end up next to each other.”

• Stop playing with it!

• Feline reassignment surgery…

• Some Lord of the Rings humor…

• Your brain after you’ve watched a Harry Potter movie. (Rest of site is very NSFW)

• I find the “blackout” spots very funny.

• Wait, Basement Cat is the good cop?!

Teh Cute

• A cat begging for pets from a…dolphin?!

• Kitten! Fennec and kitty! Fennec bouquet! Bean and kitten! Baby flamingo! Kittens! Tiny tortoise! Kitten! Baby fennec! Kittens! Cow and calf! Cat and kitten! Red panda! Kitten! Kid! Baby leopard!

Reading Update
Hard Fall by James Buchanan. ebook. Excellent kinky m/m romantic suspense about a deeply closeted Mormon sheriff’s deputy in Utah who needs the help of a handsome young climber to retrieve a body.
The Salisbury Key by Harper Fox. ebook. Excellent m/m romantic suspense about an archeologist who abruptly loses his partner without warning or explanation and isn’t doing so well. I spent a bit of the first half of the book sniffling and blotting my eyes and wondering how this could possibly be romantic suspense!
Driftwood by Harper Fox. ebook. Excellent m/m romantic suspense about a former British Army doctor who hides out in a crumbling tower on the coast of Cornwall, alternately working at the village clinic and binge drinking. He rescues a handsome surfer caught in the undertow, with no clue what the consequences will be…
Paris A to Z (Code #6) by Marie Sexton. ebook. Very good m/m romance in which the four guys from Coda, Colorado, are on their way to Paris for Cole and Jonathan’s wedding. What could possibly go wrong?!
The Charlie Factor by Diana DeRicci. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a former firefighter slowly recovering after nearly dying in a murderous fire. He’s befriended by a straight guy who finds himself developing very confusing feelings for his new friend.
Ethan’s Freedom (Portals #1) by Jade Archer. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about a cat shifter, raised with his twin brother to be pleasure slaves to a mage, who manages to escape his world and find his way to Earth, through the cat door and into the home of a very surprised nurse.
Devon’s Revenge (Portals #2) by Jade Archer. ebook. Very good m/m paranormal romance about Ethan’s cat shifter brother who’s out on the streets, trying (not very successfully) to fend for himself and feeling vengeful toward Ethan for ruining their cushy, sheltered lives as pleasure slaves.
The Alpha’s Pet by Louise Gough. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about an omega werewolf who becomes mutually fascinated by the alpha’s latest bed pet and is subsequently inspired to change his status in the pack.
Binding the Wolf by Kay Derwydd. ebook short. Meh kinky short m/m paranormal romance about a couple who’ve been together for six years when one tells the other that he’s not exactly human… Waiting for six years into the relationship to share that and another revelation made absolutely no sense. Add to that the way the story jumped around abruptly and it just didn’t work.

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“Wherefore art thou, stripey socks?!” -Mayhem

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Congrats to LoriO, who won Memories by Valentina Heart! Memories will be released by Silver Publishing on March 12.

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Daylight Savings Time starts on Sunday, March 13, at 2 am. All contest end times will be adjusted accordingly! (aka whoops…)

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Contests

• Patti’s giving away two ebook copies of the Hanaford Park series (Eve of Samhain and Pleasures Untold) by Lisa Sanchez. Contest closes midnight CST, March 12.

• Nicole’s giving away a book (winner’s choice from Nicole’s list) and handcrafted cards. Answer her questions in a comment by the evening of March 14.

• Blodeuedd’s giving away two ebook copies of the paranormal anthology Kiss Me, Kill Me. Contest closes March 15.

• Book Lovers Inc is giving away a copy of Icebreaker by Deirdre Martin. Leave a meaningful comment about the interview with Deirdre by March 26 for your chance to win. (US & Canada only)

Bookity

• New releases and more: Lily (m/m romance), Book Lovers Inc (romances & more), Katiebabs (romances & more), and Literary Escapism (UF/PNR; news, contests, etc).

• Elisa Rolle’s looking for reader judges for the 2011 Rainbow Awards.

• Heidi Cullinan on her writing process.

• Josh Lanyon with the first of (several? at least two?) posts on editing.

• Kassa wonders why rating books at three stars (out of five) is seen as being a tough reviewer.

• Jackie of Literary Escapism is curious whether people prefer reviews of freshly released books or older books. (I like a mixture of both.)

• Make some really cute bowtie paperclip bookmarks.

• Sassy Gay Friend meets Great Expectations (link is to a video). (Thanks, Jase!)

• Some kitty and book humor. (Thanks, Jase!)

• If you find business books too dry to bother with, maybe you need to check out the comic book versions.

Ebookity

• You can download Details of the Hunt by Laura Baumbach (m/m, scifi), L.A. Boneyard by P.A. Brown (m/m, mystery), and The Hitch-Hiker by Stevie Woods (m/m, romantic suspense) for free through March 12. The download links are to the right of the Read an Ebook Week banner.

• Tam has a great round up of the various Read an Ebook Week m/m deals.

• Some observations on ebook pricing.

• Do publisher pricing and quality issues make piracy more attractive?

• Very interesting post at Jessewave about ebook prices and lengths.

Think, Learn, Make, Do

• Lifehacker on how to stay focused.

• I’d never considered the physics of pruney fingers before.

• The Smithsonian discovered 3-D color photos of San Francisco taken after the 1906 earthquake.

• De-clutter your Google search results by adding a comma to the end of your search term.

• Disney’s CEO thinks that people are buying fewer DVDs simply because they’re too busy.

• People who have celiac are more likely to develop asthma, and people who have asthma are more likely to develop celiac.

• Try some cognitive therapy on internet trolls.

• Some of the things that your health insurer isn’t telling you.

• Miss typing on a typewriter? Have an old typewriter? With a little work, you can add USB to it and plug it into your computer.

Crafty

• Sew yourself a knitting needle roll.

• Make dinosaur tails for your kids to wear.

• Cool tesselations cross stitch pattern.

• Knit a LEGO brick doorstop!

• Knit Ferrari.

• Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef.

Cookity

• How to make rainbow pudding.

• Ninjabread men. (via The Kitchn).

• LEGO cookies.

• “Smores”trooper cupcakes. (via The Kitchn)

• Make yourself an orange mocha Frappuccino from Zoolander.

• Assorted red velvet cake links, including a felt red velvet cake and red velvet cheesecake cake.

• Nutella meringues.

• Make your own Pop-Tarts.

• Cooking with gluten-free beer.

Cool

• Fun kitty and book linkity from mrspao – don’t miss the cat library or the video about kitties having thumbs. (Trivia: Chaos has abnormally flexible dewclaws, which I’m pretty sure are proto-thumbs…)

• Photos of animals taken by automated cameras.

• Comic book photo frame.

• Star Wars and snow.

• Camera pencil sharpener.

• Up-inspired balloon house.

• TARDIS bag.

• Surreality from Google Earth Images.

• Pirate bedroom!

• Aquarium phone booth.

• A digital camera shaped like a cat – too bad it’s so expensive.

• A Minnesota man built an ice castle larger than his house.

Wha…?

• I have no idea where to put this one: When a semi carrying 8000 gallons of printer ink flipped over in Massachusetts, it resulted in the most colorful crash ever.

• Will there be a market for compact fluorescents shaped like brains?

• Life-size Play-Doh SUV?!

• The gallery of alarming cereal boxes…

• You might make better decisions if you wait until you really have to pee to decide?!?

• An automatic tattoo machine that randomly chooses a tattoo for you…

• The Flaming Lips are releasing their next three songs on a USB stick that will be inside a life-size gummi candy skull…

• Ewww – a human-shaped phone that feels like skin?!

LOL
Hmm. Apparently I didn’t find things very funny this week.

• Kitties and the Magnetic Fields! (link is to a video)

• Funny warning labels.

• Yoda kitten!

• Black cats aren’t really evil…

• Woe!

Teh Cute

• Pandas! Baby otter and goat! Kitten! Baby pandas! Lion cubs! Lamb! Kitten! Lion! Kitten! Baby otters! Kitten! Lions! Tiger and bear! Sloth! Fox! Kittens! Bunny!

Reading Update
Bound Forever (Bound #3) by Ava March. ebook. Very good kinky historical m/m romance in which Vincent and Oliver need to work out some issues of trust and respect if they hope to have a future together.
The Duty of a Beta (Pack Discipline #3) by Kim Dare. ebook. Very good kinky paranormal m/m romance about a beta wolf who was brought into the pack to be mated to a troublemaking gamma, but who finds himself drawn to the omega…
With Love (With or Without, Book 1) by J.L. Langley. ebook short. reread. Well done m/m paranormal romance about werewolves, set in North Carolina. (It doesn’t feel like it fits as part of the series, however.)
Without Reservations (With or Without, Book 2) by J.L. Langley. ebook. reread. Very good m/m paranormal werewolf romance about a straight vet (and werewolf) who realizes that the injured male wolf brought in to his office is actually a werewolf… and his mate.
With Caution (With or Without, Book 3) by J.L. Langley. ebook. reread. Very good kinky paranormal m/m romance about a guy who was recently transformed into a werewolf to save his life. He’s a little freaked out to discover that he has a mate and his mate is male, but is absolutely terrified that his homophobic, abusive father will find out and hurt his younger brother (who still lives at home) as a result.
A Sterling New Year (With or Without, Book 3.1) by J.L. Langley. free ebook short. Very good short paranormal m/m romance in which Sterling shows up with a friend at Rhys’s door just after the New Year starts.
A Lot To Be Thankful For (With or Without, Book 3.2) by J.L. Langlely. free ebook short. Very good short paranormal m/m romance about Rhys arriving home from work the evening before Thanksgiving to discover Sterling waiting.
Not My Wolf (Fenrir Wolves, Book 1) by Eden Cole. ebook short. Blame it on Tam’s review at Brief Encounters. Good short paranormal m/m romance about a straight alpha werewolf who’s been dreaming that he’ll meet his mate soon, but is so not prepared for his mate to be male.
Treasured by Cari Z. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about a grad student in magic who works at a museum and is surprised to be wooed by a mysterious shifter he runs into at the museum.
My True Love Sent to Me (Cambridge Fellows Mysteries, Book 4.5) by Charlie Cochrane. free ebook short. Good short holiday m/m romance about Jonty feeling taken for granted and Orlando realizing Jonty’s right.
Lessons in Seduction (Cambridge Fellows Mysteries, Book 6) by Charlie Cochrane. ebook. Very good historical m/m mystery/romance, in which Orlando, Jonty, and Jonty’s father look into the death of the king’s former mistress.
Lessons in Trust (Cambridge Fellows Mysteries, Book 7) by Charlie Cochrane. ebook. Very good historical m/m mystery/romance, in which Orlando discovers that most of what he believed about his family isn’t true – a discovery that leaves him feeling very lost.
Once We Won Matches (Cambridge Fellows Mysteries, Book 7.5) by Charlie Cochrane. free ebook short. Good, albeit brief, historical m/m mystery that takes place behind-the-scenes at a cricket match between England and Australia.
All Lessons Learned (Cambridge Fellows Mysteries, Book 8 ) by Charlie Cochrane. ebook. Excellent historical m/m mystery/romance that takes place ten years after the seventh book, after the Great War. I cried quite a bit during this one, which I’m pretty sure is the last book. But rest assured that there’s a happy ending, copious tears notwithstanding.
Between the Pipes (Blue Line Hockey #2) by Stephani Hecht. ebook. Good m/m romance about another of the battling hockey brothers of Battle Creek. He doesn’t want to date a cop because of a dark family secret or two, but he just can’t help himself. I wanted this to be a bit longer, because an awful lot of things were included for a story of this length.
Ivory by J. Rocci. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about an oncologist who’s been trying to be the person his family expects him to be, even though it’s killing him.
Beneath the Shield by Diana DeRicci. ebook. Good m/m romance about a cop, filled with self-loathing for the one he couldn’t save, who doesn’t get involved with anyone and stays beneath his emotional shield. Then a guy gets pushed into him at a club… could that be the first crack in the shield? (Although a guy punching himself in the groin hard enough to drop himself to the floor seemed damned unlikely to me, no matter how much self-loathing was involved.)
Acquired Taste (Icing on the Cake #2) by Shayla Kersten. free ebook short. Good short kinky m/m scene that takes place about three months after Icing on the Cake, when things aren’t looking so good for Ollie and Jeff.
Driving Me Crazy by L.M. Brown. ebook short. Ok short m/m romance about a guy who keeps failing his driving test so that he can keep spending time with his driving instructor.
A Good Bargain by D.C. Juris. ebook short. Ok short m/m encounter between a man (who hasn’t been with another man in nearly 20 years) and a much younger guy.

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“Smells… pink. And feathery. And sparkly!” -Mayhem

Contests

 

• Jackie at Literary Escapism is celebrating her blogiversary by giving away some very cool PNR/UF prize packs. Contest open until February 26.  (Make sure you check back to see if you’ve won.)

• Patti’s giving away three m/m books as part of her M/M Romance Month celebration: College Boys (anthology), Inland Empire (Taking the Odds #2) by James Buchanan, and Love & Loyalty (Faith, Love & Devotion #2) by Tere Michaels. Contest ends February 28.

Bookity

• New releases and more: Lily (m/m romance), Book Lovers Inc (PNR, UF, more), Literary Escapism (UF/PNR), and Smexy Books (various sorts of romance).

• The news that Borders filed for bankruptcy spurred all sorts of commentary: Smart Bitches, Dear Author, and An American Editor.

• Bookity linkity from ReadReactReview.

• Kris shared a great quote that reminded her of the reviews/reviewers brouhaha recently.

• Kassa wondered whether reviews were professional and got some great discussion going.

• A very cool literacy project: The Ministry of Stories (via The Kitchn).

• An artist turns old books into art via 3-D typography. (Not for those sensitive to book maiming.)

Ebookity

• Head over to Kris’n'Good Books to pick up Ally Blue’s unforgettable free paranormal m/m romance, Dead Men Don’t Wash. Um, you might have me to blame for the corpse soap…

• The excellent paranormal m/m romance Without Reservations (With or Without #2) by J.L. Langley is currently free for Kindle and Nook.

• Fifty Kindle cases that you can make for yourself.

• Some thoughts from An American Editor on citing sources from the internet and ebooks.

• Apparently, Borders going bankrupt does not affect Kobo customers or books purchased through Borders.com.

• Are you ready for Read an Ebook Week, which is March 6-12?

Do, Learn, Think, Make

• Global map of alcohol consumption. (Thanks, CursingMama!)

• If red wine or chardonnay usually gives you headaches or migraines, a new yeast could mean you can drink them again (via The Kitchn).

• Is there a giant planet hidden in our solar system?

• How good is the internet connectivity in your area? (US only)

• Easy ways to keep your online life secure.

• Improve your memory by tapping into your spatial memory sense. (I’m having a flashback to Aristotle here…)

• Sleep can help you commit things to long-term memory. (I figured that out in college – no all-night studying sessions for me!)

• Keep zinc lozenges on hand if you’re prone to catching colds.

• Have scientists accidentally discovered the cure for baldness?

• If your young’un plays with your iPhone, maybe you need to get a Fisher-Price case for it.

Crafty

• Knit headphone cozies. (Although I only seem to know people with earbuds… hmm.)

• Knit a flying pig!

• Knit tiny hearts!

• Check out Kristi’s free Infinite Scrunch scarf pattern.

• Crochet an amiurumi doll for the Chinese New Year.

• Willie Nelson yarn bomb!

• Giant ball of yarn!

• Giant knitted squid!

• Make a cross stitch initial mug.

• Love this basket woven from paper – the sample is woven from old maps.

Cool

• Make heart-shaped hard-boiled eggs (via The Kitchn).

• Seanna Lea put together a simple and delicious looking gluten-free ice cream cake recipe.

• Smoke monster!

Huh

• I bet you’re all going to make cookie-stuffed cookies for dinner tonight (via The Kitchn).

• Can’t decide if this is cool or huh, but a guy took pictures of everything he ate for a year.

• Double-barreled marshmallow rifle?!

• Knitted engagement ring?!

• I’ll pass on the giant toasted snacking ants, thanks….

• Bacon toothpaste?! (Thanks, Jeanne!)

• A jacket with a built-in sleeping bag and tent?

LOL

• This might be my favorite Valentine’s comic ever. (Thanks, Jeanne!)

• Although this knitting-themed Valentine’s comic from Franklin is pretty great, too.

• The Oatmeal on Valentine’s.

• A flowchart to help you decide whether or not you should shave your legs. (Thanks, Jeanne!)

• A flowchart to help you figure out why your text hasn’t been responded to.

• Are you the insomniac they’re looking for?

• Secks FAIL.

• The Blogess talks about penises at the post office…

• Nevermore.

• When May did something similar, she fell onto my head. Eeep!

• You’d be surprised (or maybe you wouldn’t) how often this happens around here…

• And probably surprised that this never happens around here.

• What is the circumference of a lolcat?

Teh Cute

• Baby albino sugar glider! Black kittens! Baby polar bear! Ducklings! Pudu! Kittens! Foxes! Kittens! Ferrets! Kitten! Black kitten! Tiger cub!

Reading Update
My Summer of Wes by Missy Welsh. ebook. Really sweet story about figuring out what you want, coming out, first love, and dealing with bullies. (Although I don’t like this cover at all…)
Lessons in Love (Cambridge Fellows Mysteries, Book 1) by Charlie Cochrane. ebook. Very good historical m/m mystery/romance set at a small Cambridge college in the early 20th century. The newest English fellow at the college starts to get under the skin of a repressed mathematics fellow… and then they find themselves working together to help the police try to figure out who is murdering students.
Lessons in Desire (Cambridge Fellows Mysteries, Book 2) by Charlie Cochrane. ebook. Very good historical m/m mystery/romance in which Jonty drags Orlando off to Jersey for the first holiday Orlando’s ever taken.
Lessons in Discovery (Cambridge Fellows Mysteries, Book 3) by Charlie Cochrane. ebook. Very good historical m/m romance/mystery – influenza and amnesia and a centuries-old murder, oh my!
The Back Passage (Mitch Mitchell Mysteries, Book 1) by James Lear. Delightfully raunchy m/m mystery in the best 1920s English country house style. Protagonist Edward “Mitch” Mitchell manages to be endearing as he attempts to solve the mystery… when he’s not distracted by sex.
Hot in Here (Time To Do, Book 2) by Kim Dare. free ebook short. Steamy short m/m interlude that takes place as Brennan and Rigby move into a flat together after graduating from university.
A Thread of Deepest Black by Finn Marlowe. ebook. Very good kinky paranormal m/m romance about a werewolf and a shifter who become involved with each other in a very complicated fashion, even though their people are mortal enemies. Some pacing issues in the first half of the story prevented me from rating this higher.
Dead Men Don’t Wash by Ally Blue. free ebook short. Completely insane (and fun!) short paranormal m/m romance about an octopus shifter and his soap thief lover.
Oscar’s Soul by Missy Welsh. free ebook short. Wickedly funny free short paranormal m/m romance about the devil collecting a soul and realizing he’s fallen in love.
Dinner and a Movie by Alex Marcus-Jacobs. free ebook short. Sweet short m/m romance about a straight guy who’s more than little surprised that the blind date his coworker set him up on is with a guy.
The Queen of Wands by Jenna Jones. ebook short. Good short May-December m/m romance about a guy who’s spent the last 15+ years working as the behind-the-scenes problem fixer for his vast family, atoning for a night he can’t quite remember – the night his best friend drowned. The ending felt a bit too quick and tidy for me.
Whatever It Costs (Whatever You Want, Book 2) by Taylor Lochland. ebook short. Ok short holiday m/m romance about a guy who loses his job, which makes it seem impossible that he’ll be able to afford to take his boyfriend to Ireland for Christmas so his boyfriend can see his grandfather before he dies.
Keeping Secrets by L.D. Madison. ebook short. Ok short m/m romance about an injured police officer who won’t take off his shirt and reveal his dark secret.
A Fated Love by Diana DeRicci. ebook short. Ok short m/m romance about a guy whose vintage car is damaged in a hit-and-run. Fortunately, an attractive stranger was able to snap a few pictures of the accident… I think I would’ve liked this one a bit better if it hadn’t been for all the unclear pronoun references and ongoing editing/writing oddities.
Raising Seth (First Time, Book 1) by Eden Cole. ebook short. So-so short m/m romance about a straight guy whose foster sister dumps her 18-year old ex-stepson on him for a month…
Lemon Kisses: A Yaoi Anthology edited by Augusta Li; A. Steele, Eon de Beaumont, Imari Jade, & B.J. Franklin. ebook collection. So-so collection of yaoi-inspired short stories.

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“Oooooooh, shiny!” -Mayhem

Contests

• Cecile’s giving away an ebook copy of Strange Familiar by Cassidy Hunter. Contest closes January 29.

• Tracy’s giving away a copy of books 10 and 11 in the Virgin River series by Robyn Carr. Contest closes 11:49 PST, January 31.

• Larissa’s giving away a signed copy of Catch Me If You Can (Romano & Albright, Book 1) by L.B. Gregg. Contest closes February 4.

• Blodeudd’s giving away two copies of Yours for the Taking by Robyn Kaye. Contest closes Feb 3. Patti’s also giving away two copies of Yours for the Taking and her contest closes February 4. (US & Canada)

• Juniper Moon Farm is holding a fundraiser to help a Vermont organic vegetable farmer who basically lost his entire business to a barn fire. There are many, many fibery prizes to help encourage people to donate! Donations will be accepted until February 6. (Thanks, Seanna!)

Bookity

• New releases and more: Tor.com (YA paranormal; UF/PNR; fantasy; scifi), Katiebabs (books she’s looking forward to), and Literary Escapism (UF/PNR).

• Via Dear Author, a post from Ursula LeGuin mocking the new morality clause HarperCollins has added to its author contracts. Definitely read the comments on the post!

• Neil Gaiman on seeing words he wrote in an unexpected place.

• Eric Arvin shares some writing wisdom.

• Ten websites Paperback Writer would love to see on the internet.

• Paperback Writer would also like a checklist for returning ideas to her muse.

Ebookity

• Trying to get pdfs to fit on your ereader’s screen better? Briss might help.

• Ebooks are now outselling paper books at Amazon.

• Tired of your Kindle? Microcosm Publishing will trade you paper books and magazines for it.

• Publishers need to decide whether they’re selling ebooks (providing full ownership rights for the purchase price) or providing a rental (at rental prices). Another, longer opinion piece on the same topic. Dear Author weighs in, too.

• The first all-indie ebookstore in Australia is called SPUNC. *ahem*

Make, Think, Do, Learn

• Writing helps you learn better than typing does.

• If you need help visualizing how big the internet is…

• How to modify your google searches to give you better results.

• Do you need a mouse that works on your couch?

• Eighty percent of US divorce lawyers say that social media is now mentioned by their clients as one of the reasons the marriage failed.

• Use an old gift card as a headphone cable wrapper.

• ModernCat’s odor elimination survival guide could come in handy.

• How to determine the cost of clutter.

• Check out The Kitchn’s tips for removing baked-on food from pots and pans.

• Make some spicy dark hot chocolate to drink!

• McGyver would be proud of you for modifying a hand-crank flashlight with a usb port so you can manually charge your tech gear.

• Try a 15-minute no-equipment workout developed in 1904! Or you could use Craigslist to put together a home gym.

Cool

• Jase and Juni started a blog called Happiness Is Shy! (NSFW)

• Last week, The Kitchn blog focused on gluten-free foods and concerns. Recommended! (Thanks, Jodi!)

• Tape art – way better than you expect.

• ThinkGeek has a Molecular Cuisine Starter Kit.

• A 1:35200 scale toy train set is very, very small.

• Maybe a child you know needs a homemade TARDIS.

• Geek jewelry links from EPBOT.

• Extemely geeky tote bag.

• Turn a soda can into an embossed box.

• These yarn words are pretty nifty.

• I have a very similar fabric keychain that I love.

• Kristi’s got crafty, photography, and food linkity.

• Print free US Patent Valentine’s cards.

• Amazingly, this fun short action film (Lazy Teenage Superheroes) was made for $300.

• Gorgeous animated short film about a little girl on a carousel.

Huh

• You can’t even take a three-inch toy gun through airport security…

• Using bombs for snow removal instead of shoveling - not recommended.

• I hope that this isn’t really what Lady Gaga’s forthcoming fragrance will smell like.

• Now you can buy frozen pizza and frozen cookies in a single handy package.

• The L cup bra size just debuted.

• T-shirt fail.

• Air pollution monitoring t-shirt…

• MeatWater. Just say no.

LOL

• I’m a fast listener, too. (Thanks, CursingMama!)

• Bronwyn Green on dropping off her son at a birthday party with an apology… and more.

• Fun video mashup of the Minnesota-Wisconsin December 2010 blizzard, including a cute song.

• Toni Andrews on how to excavate a buried car “using only a small hand shovel and your own wits”.

• Guillotine by Gillette.

• Infographic humor.

• The Oatmeal’s State of the Web, Winter 2010 edition.

• Bottled water addicts should skip this link.

• Not kitty treats!

• Kitty law #1?

• I’ll pass on the skwerls, but the rest sounds good to me.

• I’m sure many kitty boys have this same question.

• Yeah, I can picture Chaos saying that.

Teh Cute

• Kitten pile! Baby flying squirrel! Kitten! Baby polar bear! Red panda! Wee hedgehog! Bunny! Panda! Fennec fox! Baby skunk! Kitten and bunnies! Red panda! Lynx kittens!

Reading Update
The Tourist by Clare London. ebook. Excellent paranormal m/m romance told from the perspective of a tourist, a spirit who can head hop, albeit with limited control. Usually he just stays for the sex and then moves on… but something’s different for him this time. This totally sucked me in and I couldn’t go to bed until I finished it. To be released 2/28.
Another Enchanted April by Eric Arvin. ebook. Excellent and cleverly written m/m romance about three friends on vacation in a seaside town, staying at an Italianate villa with intoxicatingly lovely gardens. Each of them will be profoundly changed… but not necessarily in the ways they expected. (And I may have gotten sniffly whilst reading this. I can neither confirm nor deny.)
A Strong Hand by Catt Ford. ebook. Very good kinky m/m romance about a famous photographer of erotica who’s shooting a catalog of high-end sex toys when he begins to realize he’s attracted to his assistant after his assistant models for the shoot.
Ruby Slippers by Alexi Silversmith. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a police detective who thinks that men shouldn’t wear makeup or do anything feminine, so when he finds out what his boyfriend does for a living, things get ugly. I enjoyed the chance to see James and Ethan from What They Say About Love as secondary characters.
Boystown: Three Nick Nowak Mysteries by Marshall Thornton. ebook. Very good collection of three m/m mysteries featuring Chicago PI Nick Nowak. Set in 1980 before AIDS devastated the gay community, these gritty stories reminded me of Sara Paretsky’s V.I. Warshawski mysteries, only with a lot more sex.
Boystown 2: Three Nick Nowak Mysteries by Marshall Thornton. ebook. Another very good collection of three mysteries featuring Chicago PI Nick Nowak. I really, really hope that the author is busily working on Boystown 3, because the final story ended on a surprising (but sadly realistic) dark note.
Out on the Net by Rick R. Reed. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about a guy who finally accepts that he’s gay 20 minutes before he’s supposed to get married to a woman. The story is told via his blog as he tries to figure out being gay and meeting guys in his small town.
Bloodlines by Jessica Lee. ebook. Very good (and smokin’ hot) paranormal m/m romance about a wolf shapeshifter, supposed to be the next alpha of his pack, who’s kicked out of his pack when his father discovers he’s gay.
Red Hot by Kate Roman. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about a straight guy who breaks up with his girlfriend because he can’t stop thinking about his male roommate.
Brush with Desire by Chrissy Munder. ebook short. Very good steamy m/m short that starts with an exhausted IT guy drooling over a hot man in a suit he sees in the grocery store and ends with a smoking hot (and humorous!) encounter between them.
Hearts and Flowers by Chrissy Munder. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about an accountant, a found puppy, classified ads, and quite a bit more. While I enjoyed the story, I felt there was just too much going on for the story’s length.
Driven to Distraction by Anah Crow & Dianne Fox. ebook. Good m/m romance about a professor who inherited his grandfather’s collection of classic cars. When he damages one of the cars, he has the chance to get to know his mechanic much, much better…
Possession (Devlin Island, Book 1) by S.W. Vaughn. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about an unfortunate vacationer who runs aground on Devlin Island with the worst possible timing, then meets a crabby male witch trying to figure out if there’s a demon loose on the island.
Where He Belongs by D.C. Juris. ebook short. Good kinky short m/m/m romance about a sub who left his two masters and now has to try to convince them to take him back.
Sandpipers’ Secrets (Sandpipers, Book 1) by Jade Archer. ebook. Good m/m/m romance about a guy who desperately needs a job to keep he and his brother off the streets and so is happy to get a kitchen job at Sandpipers, despite the attraction he feels to the couple who own the restaurant.
Xavier’s Way by Diana DeRicci. ebook. Good m/m romance about a guy who realizes that his now ex-fiance was siphoning money out of his business. But what are these strange feelings he has for the handsome auditor he’s hired to gather evidence of his ex’s wrongdoing?
A Measure of Discipline by Diane Adams. ebook short. Ok m/m short about a guy who’s leaving his university number crunching job and needs to train two student workers to take his place. I haven’t read the two previous stories and, alas, this was just confusing as a standalone.
Best Man by Shelley Munro. ebook short. Ok short m/m romance about two closeted rugby players and teammates, neither of whom knows the other is gay, who’ve been lusting after each other.
Work of Art by Rob Knight. ebook short. Ok short m/m romance about a neurotic artist and a guy who manages musicians. This was basically just a little slice of their life together and I couldn’t really see a point to it.
Tryst by Stone Richards. ebook. Meh m/m romance about a PI who gets sent to London to investigate a prominent businessman for a company considering a deal with the man. The whole thing was so implausible…

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“Ok, you’re right, your phone doesn’t have a flash…” -Chaos

“…But the big kitty and I think you need to stop taking pictures of us anyway, flash or not.” -Mayhem

Yup, linkity’s on Thursday because there won’t be a post on Friday this week. Happy New Year to all of you!

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Congrats to Tj, who won The Stroke of Twelve (Perfect Timing, Book 6) by Kim Dare! The Stroke of Twelve will be released by Total-E-Bound on January 3, 2011.

Congrats to Susmita, who won Offside Pass by Stephani Hecht! Offside Pass is the first book in Stephani’s new hockey series and will be released by eXtasy Books on January 1, 2011.

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Contest

• Tracy’s giving away a pdf copy of Karen Mercury’s m/m/f Western historical romance, Working the Lode, to someone who comments by 11:59 pm (PST), January 4.

Bookity

• New releases and more: Elisa (GLBT); SciFiGuy (UF/PNR, YA); Tor.com (UF/PNR, fantasy, scifi); and Literary Escapism (UF/PNR).

• Book linkity from Dear Author and ReadReactReview.

• Does the Library Journal article that listed some m/m romances to get libraries started on an m/m romance collection mean that the genre is gaining mainstream acceptance?

• Sign ups are now open for the 2011 M/M Romance Challenge.

• An American Editor wonders if Amazon has too much power.

• Aw, a lamp for your nightstand that’s shaped like a little house and your book becomes the house’s roof when you’re done reading for the night. Not quite so cute if you’re reading an ebook.

Ebookity

• The state of ebooks at the end of 2010. Some ebook publishing predictions for 2011 from Smashwords. The Electronic Frontier Foundation reviews its predictions from the beginning of 2010.

• Ebook readers are putting classics on best-selling (free) ebook lists.

• How to use your new ebook reader or iPad.  Helpful tips for new Kindle owners.

• How to do more with your Kindle.

• Make your own inexpensive iPad or ebook reader stand.

Think, Do, Learn, Make

• Gluten-free cookie recipes.

• Amazing bee facts! (Thanks, Jase!)

• Build a magnet-free compass from Legos.

• Two no-sew techniques for inserting a zipper into knitwear.

• Dealing with the compulsively neat person in your life.

• Turn the Christmas cards you received this year into Christmas postcards you can send next year.

• Some ideas for keeping the holiday spirit alive throughout the year.

• If you got a new gadget for Christmas, check out Gizmodo’s handy setup guides.

• You might be able to get rid of your texting plan by using one of these eight applications.

• Why one Gizmodo writer ditched iTunes for mp3s from Amazon.

• Idling your car for longer than 30 seconds isn’t a good thing.

• Are gift cards good gifts? Some tips on how not to waste gift cards.

• An infographic on the personal economics behind holiday gift giving.

• Is it better to “self insure” your pets than to buy pet insurance?

• Even if you know you’re getting a placebo, it can still work.

• Ack! The Nintendo 3DS can actually mess up kids’ eyes!

Best Of

• Craft 2010: Knitting & Crochet

• Craft 2010: Geek Crafts

• Doctor Who crafting

Belated Gift Idea

• Recreate your classic family photos.

Cool

• Fallingwater… in gingerbread.

• A rainbow making machine.

• A coffee table that splits in half to reveal storage.

• Amazing photo of running horses.

• Twenty hours of blizzard compressed into 38 seconds.

• Turn your crappy old kitchen cupboards into chalkboards.

• A Clockwork Orange Chucks!

• Nothing says geek quite like percentile dice hanging from your rearview mirror…

• Cheryl continues to outfit her Barbies in high style. (The kitty is my favorite addition to Barbieland!)

• If you’re having trouble coming up with New Year’s resolutions, this handy generator might help. (via Paperback Writer)

Huh

• 2010′s silliest sales taxes.

• Um. If it’s cold enough that you’re using the Nose Dialer instead of taking off your gloves to dial the phone, you’re probably going to get snot all over your phone…

• Male/female plug rings (not as dirty as you’re thinking)…

• CDs that look like lunch meat…

• Panther paw/claw boots…

• Pink “shoehawk” heels…

LOL

• The secret beind bad GPS directions.

• Pets and the Christmas tree…

• Poor Ceiling Cat!

• Woe the unladen swallow!

Teh Cute

• Kitties! Baby bun! Baby cougars! Kitten! Squirrels! Tiger cub! Bunny! Charlene Butterbean! Kitten! Cheetah! Kittens! Baby reindeer! Baby penguins! Kitten! Baby chinchilla!

Reading Update
Ummm… So I’ve been on vacation since last Friday and have gotten rather a lot of reading done… and I read a lot of shorts. Don’t freak.

Life Changes Everything (Life, Book 2) by T.C. Blue. ebook. Very good m/m romance mostly about Ben from Life or Something Scary Like That as he goes on with, well, life after the events of that book. This book does a nice job tying up the loose ends, even if I was kind of cranky about one of them while it was in process.
Sno Ho by Ethan Day. ebook. Reread. Very good m/m romance about a guy staying at a ski resort whose boyfriend was supposed to join him there, but instead dumped him over the phone. Funny, yet touching.
Life in Fusion (Sno Ho, Book 2) by Ethan Day. ebook. Very good m/m romance that picks up exactly where the first book left off and continues the story of Boone and Wade during the six months Boone said needed to pass before he would move in with Wade. And like the first book, this manages to be both funny and touching.
Big Balls and Trouble by Sarah Black. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about a pro football player who’s in Boise for the summer and ready to admit that he’s always loved the childhood friend he hasn’t seen for years. I found this story frustrating because it was so short – it felt more like a fragment from a longer story than something that could stand on its own.
Tooth and Nail (His Hearth, Book 2) by Mary Calmes. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about a big, tough warder who takes too many chances because, according to the other warders, he doesn’t have a hearth (i.e., a mate). And then he rescues an angel…
Just One Bite (Volume 1) by Scarlett Blackwell, J.L. Merrow, Josephine Myles, Erik Orrantia, Nix Winter, & Stevie Woods. free ebook collection. Scarlett Blackwell: Very good, want more! Vampire. :: J.L. Merrow: Very good. Stone circle. :: Josephine Myles: Very good. Genie. :: Erik Orrantia: Pretty good. Mayan. :: Nix Winter: Ok. Fantasy. :: Stevie Woods: Pretty good. Vampire.
Delany’s Catch by Diana DeRicci. ebook short. Pretty good short paranormal m/m romance about a wolf shifter who walks into a bookstore to ask for directions and realizes that the proprietor is his mate.
Same Time Next Year by Eden Winters. ebook short. I’m not usually a fan of ghost stories, but this one, about a guy whose true love died when they were in college, worked pretty well, although I found it to be very sad.
Vanilla: The Dominant Ingredient by Andy Slayde & Ali Wilde. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a sub-for-hire, escaped from a bad situation, who is desperately trying to convince the man he’s staying with while he sorts out his life that he’d be the perfect sub. I want to read more about these characters!
Commanding Acquisitions (1-800-DOM-HELP, Book 2) by Christine d’Abo. ebook. Good kinky m/m romance about a dom, struggling not to lose his bookstore, who’s also lonely and needing something more than just casual encounters. He finds the mysterious 1-800-DOM-HELP business card in his office…
Floggers’ Holiday Sale by Stormy Glenn & H.C. Brown. ebook. Meh two-story kinky m/m holiday romance collection. The two stories were supposed to be about two different doms, each of whom purchased a sub at the Floggers’ (bdsm club) holiday auction, but things weren’t consistent between the two stories: in one, the dom’s not allowed to take possession of the sub until they both negotiate contracts; in the other, the club owner sends the virginal sub with the notoriously brutal dom and just tells the dom to bring the sub back to the club at the end of the week. Editing was consistently horrible across both stories, although perhaps a bit worse in the Stormy Glenn story – for the first part, “dominate” was substituted for “dominant” and “dominant” was substituted for “dominate”…
Hang a Shining Star by Ashlyn Kane. ebook short. Very good m/m holiday romance about a high school teacher who runs into a former student working at a Christmas tree lot and, discovering that the former student has no one to spend the holiday with, impulsively invites him over. My only complaint with this one was that the main characters were named Evan and Eric – I kept getting the names mixed up, as did the editor/proofer at least once!
Snow and Mistletoe by T.C. Blue. ebook short. Very good short m/m holiday romance about a guy with a really bad self-image who hasn’t had any luck finding journalism work. He starts finding mysterious presents outside his apartment door – he’s sure they’re from his friends, trying to cheer him up, because no way could he have a secret admirer…
Christmas with Danny Fit by Amy Lane. ebook. Very good m/m holiday romance about a guy who’s still living with his mother at 30, not really living his life, until his burgeoning friendship with his sexy assistant at work inspires him to start making changes.
You Can’t Choose Your Family by Zahra Owens. ebook. Very good holiday m/m romance about a couple who’s been together for 20 years. One guy’s family is fabulously accepting; the other’s was controlled by his fire and brimstone father. Now that his father is dead, will anything change?
Christmas Bells by Andi Deacon. ebook short. Very good short m/m holiday romance about an assistant professor, staying at his parents’ house for Christmas, whose brother brings home a very attractive friend from grad school who doesn’t have anywhere to go for the holidays.
Silver Thaw by Nora Catherine Price. ebook short. Very good short m/m holiday romance about next door neighbors who get the chance to know each other a bit better because of an ice storm.
Sharing Christmas by Shae Connor. ebook short. Steamy short m/m holiday romance about a guy, recently moved to Atlanta for work, whose next door neighbor invites him over to help put together packages for the homeless shelter.
The Santa Mug by Patric Michael. ebook. Very good m/m holiday romance about a guy whose boyfriend died four years ago and who’s basically retreated from the world since then, until a friend drags him along to a family Thanksgiving celebration.
A Very D Christmas by Jane Seville. ebook short. Very good short m/m holiday romance about D and Jack from Zero at the Bone, reconnecting with family, and being a bullied teenager. (Through 1/31/2011, a portion of the purchase price will be donated to the Trevor Project.)
The Christmas Visit by Marshall Thornton. ebook short. Good short m/m holiday romance about a guy returning to the small town he grew up in to see his dad at Christmas. He keeps running into the deputy who he’d had a crush on and who is now married…
Secret Santa by Deanna Wadsworth. ebook short. Steamy short m/m holiday romance about a guy waiting naked, blindfolded, and wrapped up with a bow as a present for his boyfriend, hoping to revitalize their fading relationship.
Well-Hung by the Chimney by E.M. Lynley, Ryan Field, & Chloe Stowe. ebook. Pretty good m/m holiday romance collection. I really liked EM Lynley’s story about the difficulties involved in mixing business with pleasure. Ryan Field’s story about a couple dealing with career changes and meeting family was ok. I found Chloe Stowe’s story about an Air Force colonel and a doctor at the Air Force base to be sort of confusing. I might’ve enjoyed Field and Stowe’s stories more had I realized they were about characters from a previous collection and read it first.
A Little Something for Santa by J.M. Snyder. ebook short. Ok short m/m holiday encounter about a guy waiting tables at an all-night diner who confesses to the cook that he has the hots for Santa.
A Christmas Eve Wish by Nicole Dennis. ebook short. So-so m/m holiday romance about a celebrity chef, planning to escape to his mountain cabin for a few days, who gets caught in a blizzard and discovers his cabin is trashed. This one didn’t work for me because of instalove and awkward writing.
All I Want for Christmas by Aeryn Traxx. ebook short. So-so short holiday m/m romance about a guy dreading his friends’ holiday party because his cheating ex will be there.
It’s a Calling by Mara Ismine. ebook short. Ok short paranormal m/m romance that I actually read in October, but I somehow managed to not write down the dates I read it or what I thought about it beyond “Huh.”
My Life in Your Hands by A.R. Moler. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about an ER doctor and an undercover detective who get together.
Eyes Wide Shut by Meredith Shayne. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about a doctor and a miner who care deeply for each other, but that’s not enough, because the miner doesn’t want anyone to know they’re together. Part of this takes place in Perth!
Of Sound Mind by Elizabeth Brooks. ebook short. Good short futuristic m/m romance about a guy who has cancer and doesn’t want to telepathically bond with his destined mate because if he dies, his mate would die with him.

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This is definitely a picture you need to click on to embiggen.

“Have a Happy New Year. Or else.” -Chaos