Toilet paper personality types. (Hmm. I have to keep the toilet paper in the cabinet under the sink, protected by a childproof lock, or Chaos turns it into confetti.)

14 Thanksgiving autocorrect fails.

Decisions, decisions.

The Mary Sue takes a look at stock photos of women with laptops.

I always end up with enough fur to make another cat, too.

This makes me even more glad that the kitties aren’t allowed in my bedroom at night.

Teh Cute

Cat and kitten! Sugar glider! Kittens! Baby galago! Kittens! Baby capybara! Kitten! Galago! Kittens! Giraffe and baby! Kitten! Hedgie! Kittens! Baby fossas! Baby black jaguar!

Reading Update
Men Under the Mistletoe by Ava March, Harper Fox, Josh Lanyon, & KA Mitchell. ebook collection. Another exceptional collection of holiday-themed m/m romance from Carina Press. Ava March’s historical was very good. (Poor Sasha! Then… poor Thomas!) Harper Fox’s story drew me in slowly, then seduced me utterly. So good! Its excellent epilogue should serve as the standard to which all other epilogues should strive. Josh Lanyon’s story was a pretty good read, but left me with too many unanswered questions to be truly satisfying. Finally, KA Mitchell’s story kept me wondering how things were going to turn out until the absolute end.
Winter Warmers by Clare London, Chrissy Munder, Lou Harper, Josephine Myles, & JL Merrow. ebook collection. This m/m romance holiday collection is perfectly titled – these are heartwarming, cozy tales that will help you find your holiday spirit as you curl up on your couch with your ebook reader. (Yes, they are also sexy tales. I know you were wondering!) 😉
Simple Gifts (Cornwall Novellas #2) by LB Gregg. ebook short. Very good short m/m holiday romance about an emotionally closed off bar owner who’s dragged to a holiday party, where he runs into the guy who loved and left him for the military without a word ten years ago.
Dudleytown (Cornwall Novellas #1) by LB Gregg. ebook short. reread. Very good Halloween-themed m/m romance about some college students taking a “shortcut” on their drive home for the weekend. Things go a bit more spectacularly awry than is usual for such shortcuts… Plenty of trademark L.B. humor and insight make for an entertainingly suspenseful read.
Trompe L’oeil by KC Burn. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about a history professor who’s been a bit of a hermit since he dumped his cheating boyfriend six months ago. When he moves into a new apartment, his sister gives him a mysteriously compelling nude portrait of a Depression-era artist…
“A Calling for Pleasure” (Lars & Rael #1) by JL Merrow (from The Care and Feeding of Demons). short from ebook collection. I just read “A Calling for Pleasure” because it’s the first story in an m/m paranormal romance series by J.L. Merrow about two detectives for the Paranormal Enforcement Agency. In this short, the detectives are after a succubus who’s leaving a trail of dead guys behind her. The male detective (non-romantic detective pairing, not to worry) becomes fascinated by a male succubus (why didn’t they just call him an incubus?!) who’s picked up during the investigation…
A Blast from the Past (Lars & Rael #2) by JL Merrow. ebook. Good short paranormal m/m romance in which the detectives are trying to catch a demonic firestarter.
A Wish Too Far (Lars & Rael #3) by JL Merrow. ebook. In this one, our detectives are after a mysterious person who’s making and pushing pills that grant wishes… slightly twisted.
Broken Memories (In the Shadow of the Wolf #2) by Diane Adams & RJ Scott. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about the wolf shifter rescued at the end of the last book, who’s terrified of shifting and can’t remember much from before his rescue. I don’t think this book was long enough for the amount of story being told. At times, things seemed to jump ahead inexplicably, as if parts were missing.
Someone Special by TC Blue. ebook. Good holiday m/m romance about a photographer working as a Santaland elf who gets involved with a somewhat prickly, time-crunched guy also working as an elf. This started out much stronger than it finished – the last 1/4 of the book got painfully sugary and repetitive.
Tribe (Todd Mills #2) by RD Zimmerman. Pretty good gay mystery in which an old friend of Todd’s reveals secrets kept since their college days as some creepy fundamentalists with nefarious intent close in. I didn’t like this as much as I liked the first book – way too much time spent with the creepy fundamentalists.
Working It Out by Sara York. ebook. Meh m/m romance about a gym owner whose partner died six months ago. He’s surprised to find himself with feelings for a handsome closeted doctor. Such a frustrating read! The main characters’ intentions and emotions seemed to flip flop on every page. There were not one but two psycho women intent on seducing the gay main characters. The writing was choppy and simplistic. *sigh*

“What a long week! I’m exhausted!” -Mayhem

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity on a lark

September 2, 2011 Chris 31 Comments

Congrats to Laura, who won Clear Water by Amy Lane! Clear Water is being released today by Dreamspinner Press.

Brace yourselves. Monday is a holiday in the US, so there won’t be a Misadventure. Surely there’s a Misadventure or two that you might’ve missed and could catch up on instead? 🙂

Contests

Blodeuedd’s giving away winner’s choice of an ebook copy of Crux, Deadlock, or Crossroads by Moira Rogers. Contest closes September 5.

ModernCat’s giving away three steamy 6 packs/9 Lives 2012 calendars. Comment before September 6 for your chance to win.

Blodeuedd’s giving away two copies of The Lady of the Storms by Kathryn Kennedy. Contest closes September 7. US & Canada.

Fiction Vixen is celebrating her two-year blogiversary by giving away a Kindle loaded with ebooks! Contest closes September 7.

Blodeuedd’s giving away a copy of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star by Heather Lynn Rigaud. Contest closes September 12. US & Canada.

Bookity

New releases and more: Elisa Rolle (LGBT), Tor.com (YA paranormal, UF/PNR/horror, scifi, fantasy), AAR (romance audiobooks), and Book Lovers Inc (a little of everything).

Author and publisher news from Dear Author.

Haruki Murakami on being a novelist.

Kassa on “should read” versus “want to read” books.

Vacuous Minx on the gay-for-you/out-for-you trope in m/m romance.

The Lambda Literary Foundation changes its award rules again.

Neil Gaiman on google and librarians. (via Neil Gaiman’s Journal)

Woe! (Thanks, Juni!)

Some Dalek/book humor.

Turn an old action figure into a bookend.

Make book covers from stretchy fabric.

Ebookity

Stephani Hecht has a free Lost Shifters-related short story, Hey, There’s Fur in My Wedding Cake, available for download.

Kaje Harper has a short m/m-themed young adult story, Intervention, that you can read free on her website.

A children’s picture ebook from David Bowie’s song “Space Oddity” was briefly available free… but has been taken down due to copyright issues.

Interesting post about not being able to resell ebooks from Confessions of a Community College Dean. (I don’t agree with all of it, but it’s a good discussion to have.) (Thanks, CursingMama!)

Amazon’s beta testing a way that you can ask authors questions from within their books as you read. Authors, I’m curious what you think about this. 🙂

BookHunch (still beta) will be a crowd-sourced book review site.

Do, Make, Learn, Think

Are you familiar with FEMA’s Waffle House disaster index? (Strangely, this is not from The Onion.)

If you’re looking for a used car, beware of cars damaged by Hurricane Irene, even if you don’t live near the East Coast.

Before and after Hurricane Irene photos…

iPad tips and tricks.

Make a retractable dock for keeping your iPad safe in the kitchen.

Keyboard shortcuts all computer users should know. I’d add CTRL-Z (undo) and CTRL-Y (redo). CTRL-Z is very handy when you’ve just moved or deleted something inadvertently. 🙂

Use a binder clip to keep your headphones from tangling.

Turn a milk jug into a lightbox for photographing small objects. Or build a larger tabletop softbox.

There’s a scientific reason why images of animals are so popular on the internets.

New research suggests that the gender gap in spatial reasoning is not genetic, but cultural.

Chocolate might be good for your heart!

Gluten-Free

Easy Eats is a new online gluten-free magazine. You can get the first issue free by going to the subscription page and selecting the special introductory offer ($0) of one free issue.

Thomas Keller is introducing a high-end gluten-free flour, which will be available later this month and supposedly can be used as a cup-for-cup substitution with gluten-containing flours. (Unfortunately, it contains milk powder, so is not lactose-free.)

Gluten-free marshmallow peach berry pie. (via The Kitchn)

Cookity

Twelve chocolate cookie recipes. (via The Kitchn)

Biscuits with chocolate gravy?! (via The Kitchn)

Weird ice cream from around the world. (via Consumerist)

Fifteen sweet peanut butter dessert recipes.

Fifteen recipes using late summer vegetables.

Crafty

Crochet a slice of rainbow cake.

Or maybe some pears.

Get garter stitch borders to lay flat.

Needle-felt Kermit the Frog. (via CRAFT)

Cool

Teeny tiny TARDIS. (via CRAFT)

Baby food jar LEGO minifig heads!

If Doctor Who was cast by the Muppets…

Steampunk ships. (Thanks, Bron!)

Steampunk Darth Vader.

Gorgeous geeky cakes.

Owl post necklace.

Typewriter sculpture.

The Survival Strap bracelet.

“Blackboard” lunch bag.

Yarn-bombed NYC bridge.

Moon illusions. (Thanks, Jeanne!)

Poor Clark. Bruce won’t take his calls…

Cat, food, and cool linkity from MrsPao.

Clever waste-free Christmas cookie cutter.

Cool or Wha…?

Self-portrait and pseudo-3D quilts.

Keyboard Cat quilt…

Black velvet paintings for geeks. (via CRAFT)

Yarn brain earrings.

LEGO Nyan Cat.

Hello Kitty duct tape.

Zombie’s Day Out short film.

Haunted dollhouse.

Wha…?

Gollum wedding cake. (via The Mary Sue)

Taxing prostitutes in Bonn, Germany, via parking meter… (Thanks, Kim!)

Creepy candle girl. (via Gizmodo)

Model motorcycle made from… lobster shells.

Giant ear iPhone case.

Darth Vader iPhone case.

LOL

G-Male: If Google Was Your Boyfriend… funny, yet creepy.

English doesn’t borrow from other languages… (Thanks, Jase!)

Best obnoxious responses to misspellings on Facebook. (Thanks, Lorette!)

Knitting and the Internet… from 1997.

Norse crisis flowchart. (via The Mary Sue)

Some dark hurricane humor from xkcd. (Make sure you hover your mouse pointer over the comic for additional text.)

Best or worst hurricane shopper ever?

Hurricane Irene autocorrect fails.

Hmm. He has a point.

Darth Vader cake wrecks.

Do you know how to tie a tie with the Lovecraft knot?

“A 100% Improvement in The Matrix Reloaded.”

What Schrodinger didn’t know…

How kittehs pick the most inconvenient place to stand.

Fuzzy Potter, the kitten wizard.

Force cuddling your cats.

Be very suspicious…

Teh Cute

Kitten and the Bean! Baby cheetah! Kittens! Panda and baby! Kitten! Baby oncilla (seriously, you will squee out loud)! Kittens! Hedgie! Kittens! Baby jaguar! Kittens! Dall sheep lamb! Kitten! Ferret! Baby ring-tailed coatis! Baby zebra! Bunny! Cat and fresh kitten! Tiger! Panda and baby! Falcon! Baby lion! Baby cheetahs!

Reading Update
Barging In by Josephine Myles. ebook ARC. Excellent m/m romance about a somewhat slutty travel writer who’s rented a narrowboat for a week so he can write about and photograph life on the canals. When he (literally) runs into a hunky, prickly boater who takes an instant dislike to him, things get a lot more interesting… for both of them. This was a story that built slowly, but never felt like it. And make sure you have your hankies handy! Highly recommended. Available September 20.
Shattered Secrets (In the Shadow of the Wolf #1) by Diane Adams & RJ Scott. ebook. Very good m/m paranormal romantic suspense about a wolf shifter who hooks up with a cop who doesn’t realize he’s hooking up with a shifter… and isn’t pleased when he does realize. But a shifter-related case throws them together again and things get complicated. So… when’s the next book coming out? 🙂
The Usual Apocalypse (The Society #2) by Christine Price. ebook ARC. Very good paranormal m/m romantic suspense about an agent who works for a paranormal investigation organization and is very good at his job because people can’t lie to him. Usually. When he takes over an internal affairs investigation because the previous investigator and her husband were found murdered in their beds, he has no idea that his life is about to change irrevocably in multiple ways. I didn’t realize that there was a previous book (In Darkness Bound). I see some reviewers have complained that it wasn’t a romance – rest assured that this most definitely was. Available September 26.
Prep Work by P.D. Singer. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about a somewhat disgraced celebrity chef who discovers that the intriguing chef at the pub where he’s having dinner is a fan.
For the Attention Of (Pushing the Envelope #1) by Kim Dare. ebook short. Good kinky short m/m romance about a dom who receives a very intriguing and mysterious invitation, which he can’t resist.
Pop, Pop, Snap! by Winnie Jerome. ebook short. Good kinky short m/m story about a cashier at an amusement park who runs into the guy he broke up with to date a guy who turned out to be a jerk.
A Prideless Man (Supernatural Mates #3) by Amber Kell. ebook. Pretty good paranormal m/m romance about a guy with rheumatoid arthritis who moves to the shifter town because he’s always enjoyed being around shifters… and discovers that most of what he thought he knew about himself is wrong.
Riddle of the Sands (Fathom’s Five #2) by Geoffrey Knight. ebook. Pretty good action adventure about a group of gay adventurers rushing against time both to find an antidote to a rare poison with which one of their group has been injected and to find a lost Egyptian pyramid. Only recommended if you can suspend disbelief for a plot more over-the-top than anything from an Indiana Jones movie.
The Curse of the Dragon God (Fathom’s Five #3) by Geoffrey Knight. ebook. Ok action adventure in which our group of gay adventurers is all over the place, trying to rescue their beloved Professor and prevent a bomb from destroying Beijing. I know that this series is deliberately over-the-top, but sometimes it works, and sometimes… not so much. Particularly if you have people arriving instantly in San Francisco from Krakow and the Caribbean. But hey, you might enjoy this if you don’t mind hearing bad porn music playing in your head during the sex scenes.
Danny’s Boy by Kate Aaron. ebook short. Ok short m/m romance about a guy who can’t find work after university, so returns to the small town where he grew up and runs into his homophobic former best friend. While I quite liked the story, the pronoun confusion was extreme and frustrating.

“I am a Panther Princess Shark, swimming through the living room, hunting my prey!” -Mayhem

Contests, Reading

Ebook Giveaway: Shattered Secrets (Shadow of the Wolf #1) by RJ Scott & Diane Adams [CONTEST CLOSED]

August 17, 2011 Chris 78 Comments

Congrats to Irene J, who won Prep Work by PD Singer! Prep Work will be released today by Dreamspinner Press.

Congrats to Celina S, who won Not One Word (Stand Alone Shorts #1) by Kim Dare! Not One WordÂ will be released today by Resplendence Publishing.

Congrats to Sandy Jay and Ria, who won After the Sunset (Timing #2) by Mary Calmes! After the SunsetÂ will be released today by Dreamspinner Press.

Many thanks to RJ Scott and Diane Adams for donating an ebook copy of their forthcoming paranormal m/m romance, Shattered Secrets (Shadow of the Wolf #1), for a lucky commenter to win!Â Shattered Secrets will be released by Silver Publishing on August 27.

Jamie is human, and he’s also a wolf. Werewolves aren’t just some supernatural fairy tale. They are a living, breathing part of society. Once they hid their true natures, but now they are out and proud, an accepted part of society, but even with all the new laws, it’s not easy. Adding a new species to the eclectic mix of American society opens up a whole different world.

Rob Tarrant is a cop and has just passed his thirtieth birthday. Heâ€™s been promoted to a special police task force specializing in wolf / human cases. He sees it all – the seedy underbelly of city life, the fights, the murders, and the parts of human / wolf interaction that people would rather ignore. He has no problem with wolves in general, but human/wolf relationships are not on his to-do list.

When he meets a young man named Jamie at a club, he embarks on the hottest one-night stand of his life. He finds out that young man is a wolf shifter, and his world is turned upside down. When a case involving kidnappings of young werewolves lands on Rob’s desk, the ugly specter of the werewolf sex trade is brought front and center. With Jamie seemingly at the heart of it all, can Rob keep his young lover alive?

Excerpt (scroll down and select tab)

About RJ

RJ Scott lives in the Chiltern hills just outside London, England. She loves reading anything from thrillers to sci-fi to horror; however, her first real love will always be the world of romance. Her goal is to write stories with a heart of romance, a troubled road to reach happiness, and more than a hint of happily ever after.

She is published with Silver Publishing and Dreamspinner Press and was nominated in the Love Romance Cafe Awards of 2010 as Best GLBTQ Author, for Best Gay Paranormal / Horror (Oracle) and as Best Paranormal Author. Oracle was also nominated for Best Gay Paranormal / Horror 2010 in Elisa Rolleâ€™s Rainbow Awards and was awarded an Honorable Mention (5th). RJâ€™s contemporary romance, The Christmas Throwaway, remained at number one on Amazon and at All Romance over Christmas and into the New Year. She cannot believe how lucky 2010 was for her and her foray into the world of MM writing.

RJ writes across all the genres, but if pushed she says she enjoys writing contemporary romance over the rest. Her newest release, Back Home, has already received favourable reviews on the Silver site and on Goodreads.

You can find out more about RJ and her books at her website, on Facebook, and via Twitter.

About Diane

Diane lives in the Southeastern United States with her three children. She has two passions, her children and her writing, and finds that her time is usually filled by one or the other. You find out more about Diane and her books at her website, on Facebook, and via Twitter.

Contest Rules

To enter, leave a comment stating that you are entering the contest. Contest closes 7 pm CDT, Friday, August 26.
By entering the contest, youâ€™re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
If you havenâ€™t commented before, your comment will not be visible until after I moderate it. Please do not leave a second comment because your first doesnâ€™t show up! The blog gnomes will decide your comments are spam and then only ritual dust bunny sacrifice will salvage your entryâ€¦
If your comment is actually an advertisement or if your CommentLuv link turns it into an advertisement, your comment will be deleted. (Most of you do not need to worry â€“ this refers to some pretty clever comment spam.)
Winners will be selected by random number.
You must leave a valid email address in the â€œEmailâ€ portion of the comment form.
Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from stumblingoverchaos.com!
If a winner doesnâ€™t respond to my congratulations email within 48 hours, I will select another winner.
If you win, please respect the authorâ€™s intellectual property and donâ€™t make copies of the ebook for anyone else.
This contest is open worldwide!

“May!! I told you I was using the nip toy!” -Chaos

“I told you I wanted the nip toy, big kitty!” -Mayhem

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Long ago, in a linkity land…

January 28, 2011 Chris 29 Comments

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…

“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

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Let linkity leech away your life!

July 30, 2010 Chris 40 Comments

Congrats to Kaetrin, who won Priority One by Stephani Hecht! Priority One will be released on August 1 by eXtasy Books.

So, last Saturday evening CJ (aka urban fantasy author Carolyn Crane) and I sat down in my living room with some gluten-free beers, our laptops, and Google Docs to polish up a (hopefully) humorous post with a paranormal romance theme. Thanks to CJ’s tireless efforts, our post has been published at Tor.com. Stop by and check it out if you get a chance!

Contests

Chappysmom is celebrating 2010 blog posts by giving away a copy of Mason-Dixon Knitting! Guess how many knitting and spinning books she has for your chance to win.

Bronwyn Green’s giving away all three ebooks in her Celtic Fire Series. Leave a comment by 7 pm EDT, August 1, for your chance to win.

Over the Edge Book Reviews is giving away two copies of Geoffrey Knight’s new m/m action adventure, The Cross of Sins (Fathom’s Five, Book 3). Contest runs through August 1.

Anna’s giving away a copy of Julia Barrett’s recent fantasy romance, Daughters of Persephone. Comment by August 2 for your chance to win.

Sassy Brit’s giving away two ebook copies of AC Katt’s m/m romance, Shattered Glass. If you win and you live in the US, you’ll also get a t-shirt and a notebook. Contest closes at midnight on August 3 and the winner will be announced August 4.

Janna’s on vacation, but she’s got five contests scheduled while she’s gone! Make sure you stop by each day to check that day’s contest.

It’s time for Jessewave’s 5th Ugly Covers Competition! Submit your ugly cover nominations by August 11. (And be aware that the sidebars are Jessewave may be NSFW.)

The Knit Princess blog is looking for knitting horror stories. Submit yours by August 31 for your chance to win a Knit Princess book, t-shirt, and more.

Bookity

New releases: Lily (m/m romance), Literary Escapism (UF/PNR interviews and more), and All About Romance (August audiobooks).

Dear Author’s news posts are always interesting. So’s the Monday Morning Stepback from ReadReactReview.

Hide your iPhone 4 in a gorgeous little black book case.

The Incase Convertible Book Case for the iPad looks like a good thing to have.

GoodReads was rated the best book recommendation service by Lifehacker readers.

August is Michigan authors’ month at Fang-tastic Books – if you’re an author from Michigan, Roxanne still has some spots open!

Lilith Saintcrow on how not to be a Speshul Snowflake writer.

The Kama Sutra of Reading – less NSFW than you’d think. 🙂

What would tech support for the book have looked like?

Ebookity

The Library of Congress really shook things up this week with its statement about situations in which it’s legal to crack DRM on products you own. Gizmodo has a nice summary of what this actually means and Dear Author speculates on the future of DRM.

Interesting post at TeleRead about copyright, monopoly, and misconceptions about copyright.

The Chief Officers of State Library Agencies have issued their final report on ebooks and public libraries.

How to check ebooks out of the library.

Confused about all the different varieties of epub? This primer might help.

Some of the more minor ebook reader manufacturers are going out of business.

Are second-hand ebooks possible?

If you’d like to digitize your print books and aren’t in a hurry to do so, here’s a setup you can put together yourself.

Apple removed erotic books from its bookstore bestseller list.

How can ebookstores earn customer loyalty?

K.Z. Snow reveals how the cover for Fugly was made.

Don’t miss Tam’s free m/m hamster shifter story!

Learn, Make, Think, Do

Snickerdoodle cake! I don’t see why this wouldn’t work with a gluten-free cake mix…

What do you think is the top source for dvd “rentals” in the US? If you guessed Netflix or Redbox, you’d be wrong – it’s public libraries!

How I wish I could draw better, so I could make some tattooed LEGO minifigs…

Make your own treadmill desk.

Sew your own snack bags so you can avoid plastic bags.

If you understand the science behind having a bad day, you might be able to avoid having a bad day.

Do we live in a black hole?!

Oh dear – your box spring might be acting like a radiation antenna while you sleep. I’m appreciating my futon lifestyle at the moment!

The “F-Bomb-A-Thon” video is definitely NSFW, but it’s a very interesting way for a charity to raise funds for cleaning up the Gulf.

Very, very effective public service announcement on wearing seatbelts. (Not gory!)

Have you ever used incremental reading to help memorize data? Does it work?

Linkity Peeps

Nicole’s got a few links that caught her interest this week.

Kristi’s got more fiber, cooking, and photography links.

Katiebab’s did her weekly NSFW WTFery links.

Marsha’s got links to various crafty ways to cover baby toes.

Huh

Ewwww… beer packed in rodent carcasses. *shudders*

Talk about a really bad idea for trying to make kids less scared of needles…

A sleeping dog runs into a wall. But why was someone filming him sleeping?! Does he run into the wall a lot while he sleeps?? (Thanks?, Amy!)

Jelloware cups sound so, so messy.

The defibrillator toaster is only a concept for now.

An espresso machine made from concrete…

You can now get a refillable stainless steel Sharpie.

Trying to make helmets more fun (concept only).

LOL

Although I know many of you have already seen the Jane Austen’s Fight Club “trailer”, if you haven’t, you must!

Romeo and… Julian?

xkcd on period speech (make sure you hover your mouse pointer over the comic).

Mass Media: Theory Vs Reality…

Comic-Con attendees held a counter protest against the Westboro Baptist Church.

Some examples of why English is such a confusing language. (Thanks, Jase!)

Go try your hand at writing a family reunion haiku and read the ones already there!

A very unique Nokia sign…

A country music video that spoofs the Twilight movies.

This is how I feel on Monday mornings, too.

Keep your toes safe!

The lolcats history infographic you’ve been waiting for.

Do you really appreciate how lucky you are not to have Basement Cat as your brother?

What a deal – you can get your own “Start Your Own Evil Empire” starter kit!

Beware the ninja kitteh!

This is why the toilet paper at my condo is in the vanity and not easily accessible to people… or Chaos.

A little Frogger humor – make sure you hover your mouse pointer over the comic to get additional text!

Teh Cute

A cat and a bunny take a nap! (Thanks, Jase!)

Kitten! Melly in a box! Melly being a cute pest! Kittens! Kitten! Kitten! Kittens! Kittens! Kitten on a puppy! Orange kitty overload! Gray cat and kitten! Pile o’ kittens! Kittens! Heart-shaped kitties!

Reading Update
Bound and Determined by Jane Davitt & Alexa Snow. ebook. Excellent kinky m/m romance about a college senior who realizes he’s submissive, which is simultaneously difficult for him to accept and something he craves.
Blinded by Our Eyes by Clare London. ebook. Very good m/m mystery about a gallery owner who discovers an artist murdered in his gallery and slowly begins to realize that nothing he’d believed about the people in his life is as he thought it was.
Fair Game by Josh Lanyon. ebook. Very good m/m mystery about an FBI agent turned professor after being injured in the line of duty who’s asked to look into the disappearance of a student on campus. (I received this book via NetGalley. Fair Game will be released on August 2 by Carina Press.)
A Game of Chances (Farmingdale Gentleman’s Club, Book 1) by T.C. Blue. ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense with lots of little twists and turns. The Farmingdale Gentleman’s Club is a private grey ops organization. And I don’t want to tell you anything else because being surprised by the twists and turns was a big part of what I liked! I’m definitely looking forward to the next book.
Safe in His Arms (Wicked Hearts, Book 2) by Claire Thompson. ebook. Very good kinky m/m romance about the seemingly irredeemable cruel and controlling “best friend” from the previous book, who’s slowly spiraling toward rock bottom. If you’d told me after I finished reading Wicked Hearts that Claire Thompson could make me care about and like this guy, I would not have believed you.
Ports of Call by Sean Kennedy. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about a couple on vacation at the beach, trying to get past one of them having been mugged.
Two Steps Up by Sean Kennedy. ebook short. Cute short m/m about a teen standing across the street from where a gay teens support group meeting will be held, trying to work up the nerve to go to the meeting.
Protests and Proposals by Sean Kennedy. ebook short. Another cute short m/m romance about two guys protesting Proposition 8 being repealed.
Blue Skies by Diane Adams. ebook short. Decent short m/m romance about a conservative businessman who’s very attracted to a flaming younger man, but stays away because he thinks being “so gay” brings the wrong sort of attention to the gay community.
Gay Best Friend (G-A-Y, Book 10) by Kim Dare. ebook short. Good kinky short m/m romance about an allegedly straight guy who kisses his gay best friend on a dare from his obnoxious coworkers, then realizes that he might not be as straight as he’d always believed.
A Limited Engagement by Josh Lanyon. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about an actor who gambles everything when he outs his closeted lover to end his lover’s engagement to a woman.
Bargaining by Rhianne Aile & Madeleine Urban. ebook short. Steamy short m/m romance about two friends who finally get together, only to discover they’re both tops. This story will work best for those unconcerned about realism in refractory periods or condom use.
Lilacs by Megan Derr. free ebook short. Ok free short paranormal m/m romance about two guys who hate each other due to a big misunderstanding… and then discover they’re about to become stepbrothers.
News at Eleven by Jack Greene. ebook short. Cute’n’steamy short m/m romance about a tv station manager who’s been admiring the very out star news anchor from a distance.
Cold Steel by Morgan Lee. ebook short. So-so kinky short m/m interlude about an undercover cop who’s “arrested” by his partner at the end of his assignment. This teetered on the edge of purple prose… and I’m pretty sure those handcuffs would’ve messed up the finish on the cop car…