Contests

• Ralph’s giving away an ebook copy of Addison Albright’s sweet short m/m romance, Cow Pie Bingo. Contest closes at midnight EDT today, April 29.

• Largehearted Boy’s giving away a copy of The Essential Wonder Woman Encyclopedia and a selection of books and cds. Leave a comment about your favorite female superhero by midnight CDT, April 30, for your chance to win.

• Jackie of Literary Escapism is holding a baby pool – two lucky winners will receive $15 gift certificates to the online bookstore of their choice.

• LesleyW has more questions about prequels – answer them in her comments by May 3 for your chance to win a copy of Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler.

• SciFiGuy’s giving away a $10 Amazon e-gift card and an ebook copy of Jessica Lee’s new paranormal romance, Dark Desires at Midnight (closes midnight EDT, May 3). He’s also giving away a book from Michael J. Sullivan’s Riyria Revelations fantasy series (closes midnight EDT, May 5).

• Cecile’s giving away a $10 gift card to the Cheesecake Factory and a copy of Lissa Matthews’ steamy romance, Sweet Caroline. Contest closes May 7 and the winner will be announced May 9.

• Ms Moonlight is giving away five print m/m romance books (Tri-Omega Mates by Stormy Glenn; Switch by Claire Thompson; Frost Fair by Erastes; Male of the Species by Kate Steele; Polar Reaction by Claire Thompson) to a follower of her blog. Contest closes noon EDT, May 7. You must live in the US or Canada to win.

• Tracy’s giving away an ARC of Diana Palmer’s forthcoming romantic suspense, Dangerous. Leave a comment by midnight PDT , May 8, for your chance to win.

• For your chance to win one of three copies of Debbie Macomber’s latest romance, Hannah’s List (and maybe a $25 Visa gift card), leave a comment at Book Addict or at Fiction Vixen by May 7. Or leave a comment at the Book Binge by 11:59 pm, May 10. Book Junkie’s having the same contest.

• Oh, you lucky Canadians – SciFiGuy is giving away five copies of J.R. Ward’s new Black Dagger Brotherhood novel, Lover Mine, but you must have a Canadian address to enter. Contest closes midnight EDT, May 10.

• Abigail’s got links to over a hundred urban fantasy related contests.

Free Reads

• Check out the Free Gay Ebooks page at the GLBT Bookshelf, which has free stories from Josh Lanyon, Mary Calmes, Victor J. Banis (the first Stanley and Tom Deadly mystery! I love that series.), Eden Winters, P.D. Singer, P.A. Brown, Claire Thompson, and more. (Thanks to Mary Calmes for the link!)

• My Reading Update (below) has links to some of the books above, plus links to additional free m/m romance ebooks. Apparently it was freebie week!

• Debbie Macomber’s knitting-related romance, The Shop on Blossom Street, is currently a free download at OmniLit until May 4.

Reading & Book Miscellania

• For info on new releases (and more): SciFiGuy (UF, PNR, scifi, etc),  Lily (m/m romance), Elisa (LGBT), and Literary Escapism (UF, PNR, etc).

• Carolyn Jewel responds to recent Huffington Post article called “Why Men Don’t Read.”

• Beware this nasty and elaborate scam in which victims are pressured to accept a “‘pre-trial settlement’ for copyright violations.”

• Josh Lanyon ponders why we need fiction and storytelling in our lives.

• LB Gregg contemplates consolidating her online identities.

• Carolyn Crane wonders why comfort reads are comforting.

• Make sure you read Amy Lane’s hysterical filk, “The Rise of the Plotbunnies”!

• Check out Lynn Viehl’s humorous writing horoscopes.

• Best meeting recap ever.

• Hmm. This bookcase seems like it’d be a bit hard on books – but what great exercise!

• Need more linkity? Try Lynn Viehl’s post on cool bookcases,  Monday Stepback at ReadReactReview, Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog, Dear Author, or the Book Smugglers post on blogging drama (featuring hysterical comic).

Ebook News & Views

• TeleRead reports that Shelf Awareness has a round-up of reviews on how the iPad works for reading.

• More on ebooks and the downfall of literature.

• Some articles on how public libraries are dealing with ebooks.

• What should you do if you buy an ebook that has so many errors it’s nearly incomprehensible?

• Oh, check out the second Kindle 2 case in this review – it has a built-in bookstand!

• Dear Author describes how to share ebooks without stripping the DRM.

• The future of ebooks – locked down or open?

• How could ebooks and ebook readers be improved?

• Reading an iPad (or other LCD reading device) might make it harder for you to fall asleep.

• Using less paper could endanger the supply of toilet paper?!

Covers

• Alex Beecroft on why so many books have naked torso covers (ie, what makes the Misadventures in Stock Photography possible).

• Thanks to SciFiGuy for the link to the amusing Good Show, Sir blog, which features the very worst of scifi and fantasy covers, complete with snarky commentary.

• Miranda found some examples of cover art resuse.

• The Book Smugglers have a new monthly feature called Cover Matters. In this month’s post, they interview fantasy writer Celine Kiernan about her covers. They also posted the results of their survey on how much covers matter to readers.

• Smart Bitches has a little narrative about a few covers featuring backs and chests.

Reviewing

• Kassa wonders what you think of reviews in which the reviewer states “I don’t usually like read this genre” – do you give the review more or less credence?

• Val considers the role of authors on blogs that review their books.

Learn, Make, Do, Think

• Hmm. Depressed people eat 50% more chocolate than non-depressed people.

• Lay’s has restructured salt to help it dissolve faster and reduce the amount of salt needed for taste.

• The consequences of gay marriage… (via CursingMama)

• Hee hee – Brazil’s health minister suggests that Brazilians should have more sex to help reduce high blood pressure.

• Which states use the most gas per capita? I suspect that Minnesota’s poor showing has to do with the summer tradition of going nord to da cabin…

• High doses of aspirin might be as effective as some prescriptions for combating migraines. (Curses, I get hives from aspirin.)

• Too bad this shark fin tea infuser is just a concept.

• Check out the results of this laptop reliability study before you buy a new laptop. (short lines = good)

• Rick Adin on Arizona’s new proof-of-citizenship law.

• If you’re into genealogy, check out the new FamilySearch.

• The Foreign Service Institute has placed its extensive language courses online for free.

• Lifehacker has the lowdown on hangover cures.

• Make a crossbow out of office supplies…

• Danger! Make your own Snickers bars at home.

Huh

• A Post-It assault rifle?

• The Starship Meaterprise…

• A sculpture made from cords and cables – love the quote from Gizmodo: “I do, though, wish I could stop myself from thinking how annoying it’d be to untangle all of those cords.”

• The Boy Scouts now have a video game merit badge?!

Gluten-Free

• Maybe I need to march across the highway some day when I’m at work and visit the headquarters of General Mills to thank them for continuing to bring gf products mainstream – look for gf Bisquick and gf Hamburger Helper later this summer.

• Lots of good tips for traveling gluten free without dining out from the Triumph Dining blog.

• Thanks to Miranda for sending me these tasty looking gluten-free pasta recipes!

LOL

• The Blogess on why the new Anti-Zombie Night Table will get you killed. (Thanks to CursingMama for the link.)

• Keep this chart handy so you can determine how trustworthy someone is by the amount of facial hair he has. As Tam pointed out, werewolves are more trustworthy than someone with a Hitler mustache. Heh. (Thanks to CursingMama again!)

• 15 unintentionally perverted toys… Totally NSFW.

• Ha – the relationship between sense of humor, drama, and taking offense.

• If you’re curious about how that Icelandic volcano got its name… 😉 (Thanks, Marsha!)

• Brigitte’s been sharing her training regime for getting (C)Atticus to the vet…

• Cat cakes featured at Cake Wrecks – presumably none of the cakes are made from cats, but it’s often hard to tell with Wrecks! 😉

• RIP, CheetahCat.

• Does evil really taste like black jellybeans?

• Be careful if you startle your cats…

• Not everyone is impressed by the power of Basement Kitteh.

• You know how true this is if you’ve ever tried to share a bed with a cat.

• On starting a knitting blog…

The Cute

• A retro kitten tote that promotes pet adoption.

• A kitten and a feather toy.

• A kitten and a cup of coffee.

• A kitten balancing act.

• Sparkleball standoff!

• Dishwasher with a kitten infestation.

• Kittens and a lamp.

Reading Update
All or Nothing (Taking the Odds, Book 3) by James Buchanan. ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense, being the continuing adventures of Nicky and Brandon. With a beloved series, I always worry that a new release won’t live up to the previous books, but I should’ve known better. So go. Go get the first book, Cheating Chance, and read it. I’ll wait. 🙂
Only for Him (Only, Book 2) by Shawn Lane. ebook. Sweet m/m romance about a slightly outrageous administrative assistant at a law firm who’s really attracted to a cutely nerdy guy (one of the firm’s partners).
Cow Pie Bingo by Addison Albright. ebook short. reread. A guy who’s recently realized that he’s gay but has no idea what to do next discovers a very cute guy in line at his kissing booth…
The Wish by Eden Winters. ebook. Very good m/m paranormal romance about two guys who have never met, but dislike each other based on reputation and circumstance. (Hmm. Possibly my most vague summary ever!) I don’t want to tell you too much about the story, because part of what I enjoyed about it was reading and putting the pieces together. How about I just say I highly recommend it? 🙂
The Boy Under the Bridge by Eden Winters. ebook short. This is about a character who makes a brief appearance in The Wish and isn’t treated particularly well or shown in the best light – it’s surprisingly satisfying to find out what happens to him. You should definitely read The Wish first!
The Telling by Eden Winters. free ebook. Good m/m romance about a soldier who returns from Iraq suffering from PTSD and crippling guilt.
The French Have a Word for It by Josh Lanyon. free ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about a young man painting in France who runs into the bodyguard who rescued him from kidnappers when he was a teen.
Pinky Swear by Lynn Lorenz. ebook. Good m/m romance about two guys who grew up next door to each other in New Orleans and were best friends until a misunderstanding drove them apart and they lost touch… and then Hurricane Katrina arrives.
Upwardly Mobile by Clare London. ebook short. Steamy m/m romance about a couple talking to each other on the phone, one from his parked car, the other from the train…
Home Sweet Home by Clare London. ebook short. Ok m/m romance about a couple who have been taking a break from each other, not sure that their differences are surmountable.
Swap Meet by Lolita Lopez. ebook. This m/m romance is terribly misnamed. It should be The Straight French Billionaire and the Gay Firefighter, especially since it reads like a smokin’ hot category romance, complete with the slightly awkward writing. The straight French billionaire is accompanying a female coworker to a partner swapping event – he’s just there because she needs to appear to be part of a couple to get in. A mysterious, magnetically handsome man gives the billionaire a card with just a name and a room number and the billionaire cannot resist going to the room… (Issue: If this is a couple’s event, who the heck did said magnetically handsome man arrive with? That’s never mentioned.)
Last One Standing (The Five of Swords) by Andy Slayde & Ali Wilde. ebook. Decent m/m romance about a prostitute who tries to blackmail a customer and instead ends up off the streets, working as a dishwasher. I liked this a lot more before the ending – it felt like the story simply stopped. If this kicks off one of those Torquere serials, I’ll be mightily annoyed. (Also, if they managed to tie the Tarot into this Arcana, I completely missed it.)
Angelfish by M. King. ebook. Very good m/m story about a guy, back in New Zealand after attending college in England, who isn’t settling comfortably into parental expectations as he’s haunted by the mocking image of a tattoo.
The Ice Shack by M. King. ebook short. Good m/m short about a couple getting away from their families over the holidays.
First Day of Forever by Mary Calmes. free ebook short. Sweet m/m romance about two guys who were best friends growing up. Did one wait too long to figure out what he wanted? (Needs a few more commas…)
If by Rowena Sudbury. free ebook short. Meh m/m story about two martial artists who train and live together, until one realizes the other has been lying to him. I didn’t really care about either of them by the end of the story, so… *sigh*
Waiting by P.D. Singer. free ebook short. Good m/m romance about a spring break that gets off to a really rocky start when Daniel’s boyfriend shows up at the airport with a girl clinging to him.
More Than Just a Good Book by Sloan Parker. free ebook short. Very good m/m short story about two guys who meet in the college library. *fans self*
Gregori’s Ghost by Sarah Black. free ebook. Very good m/m romance about a neurologist whose dying grandfather charges him with looking after the son of a man befriended by his grandfather during WWII. I’m definitely going to be reading more Sarah Black.
Some Place Only We Know by Christiane France. ebook. Ok m/m romance about a rather innocent bookstore owner who volunteers at a hospice, where he meets a writer who’s visiting his brother. Beware! Instalove alert!
The Five of Wands by Sara Bell. ebook. Decent m/m romance about a resident suspended after being accused of a careless medication error who finds help from an unexpected source.
Only Human by Glyn Soitino. ebook short. Good paranormal m/m romance about a man, created by a wizard with all the knowledge he needs to survive, who falls for a closeted cop. I didn’t realize until I was well into this story that it was the sequel to Out of the Blue. Oh well.
Hoosier Werewolf: Howl and Prowl by Kate Steele. ebook collection. Very good paranormal m/m romance collection of three stories about werewolves finding their mates. The cover’s the usual Changeling Press horror and the title’s kind of weird, but this was one well-done and scorching read.
BDSFerret by Celia Kyle. holiday ebook short. While this m/m paranormal romance about a ferret shifter going to a prairie dog shifter bar is billed as being a satire, it only managed that once or twice.
Passion’s Victory by K.C. Kendricks. ebook. So-so m/m romance about a guy who owns part of an architectural firm and can’t resist the newly contracted, older architect. Does Kendricks always write in first person point-of-view? Seems like it, from what I’ve read. Not my favorite, especially when the characters don’t seem particularly guy-like.
A Hard Habit To Break by K.C. Kendricks. ebook. Another so-so romance about two guys who’ve been in love with each other since high school, but allowed massive miscommunication and misunderstandings to come between them. Another story told in first person… Also, I think the blurb for this one is a bit misleading, so beware.

*happy sleepy stretchy clawy purry* -Chaos