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Ebook Giveaway: Lashings of Sauce anthology [CONTEST CLOSED]

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Many thanks to Josephine Myles for donating an ebook copy of the freshly released anthology, Lashings of Sauce, for a lucky commenter to win! Contributors include Tam Ames, Becky Black, Anne Brooke, Charlie Cochrane, Rebecca Cohen, Lillian Francis, Elin Gregory, Clare London, Sandra Lindsey, JL Merrow, Emily Moreton, Josephine Myles, Zahra Owens, Jordan Castillo Price, Elyan Smith and Robbie Whyte.

We Brits love our sauce, whether it’s what we lash on our food, read on our seaside postcards, or write in our stories. Come and enjoy a buffet of tasty LGBTQ treats!

From marriages to reunions, via practical jokes and football matches, to weresloths and possibly the oddest Tarts and Vicars party in the world, join us as we celebrate the UK Meet in the best way we know: telling the story.

As a follow-up to the critically acclaimed British Flash (free) and Tea and Crumpet anthologies, our talented writers bring you sixteen stories about gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and genderqueer characters enjoying what Britain and mainland Europe have to offer, with their wonderfully diverse range of cultures and landscapes and some incredibly colourful and quirky people.

This anthology is a souvenir of the 2012 UK Meet, an occasion for GLBTQ supporters to get together in a relaxed setting to celebrate and chat about the fiction community they love. Funds from the sale of this anthology will go towards future UK Meets, to which all are welcome. Please visit the website for details, or contact UK MAT through the publisher.

Other UK MAT Anthologies

Contest Rules

  • To enter, leave a comment stating that you are entering the contest. Contest closes 7 pm CDT, Friday, August 10.
  • By entering the contest, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • If you haven’t commented before, your comment will not be visible until after I moderate it. Please do not leave a second comment because your first doesn’t show up! The blog gnomes will decide your comments are spam and then only ritual dust bunny sacrifice will salvage your entry…
  • 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 – this refers to some pretty clever comment spam.)
  • Winners will be selected by random number.
  • You must leave a valid email address in the “Email” portion of the comment form.
  • Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from stumblingoverchaos.com!
  • I am not able to reliably contact people with aol.com and netscape.com email addresses – please use a different email address if at all possible!
  • If a winner doesn’t respond to my congratulations email within 48 hours, I will select another winner.
  • If you win, please respect the author’s intellectual property and don’t make copies of the ebook for anyone else.
  • This contest is open worldwide!

“I am on this bag, which means it’s mine!” -Chaos, being very possessive of Jeanne’s knitting bag

Knitting, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Ligamentary, my dear linkity

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Congrats to wusswoo, who won Cleave (Cutting Cords #3) by Mickie B. Ashling! Cleave is being released today by Dreamspinner Press.

Congrats to Logan, who won the signed paperback copy of The Talker Collection by Amy Lane! The Talker Collection is being released by Dreamspinner Press today.

Congrats to Jane O, who won Bennie’s Wish by Xara X. Xanakas (plus swag)!

Congrats to Wendy, who won Absolutely Eric (Boston Boys #2) by Erica Pike! Absolutely Eric is being released today by MLR Press.

Contests

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Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

  • Bacon cat toy – it looks like Chaos in that picture, but it’s not!

Teh Cute

Reading Update
The Persistence of Memory (Mnevermind #1) by Jordan Castillo Price. ebook. Excellent alternate reality m/m romance about a mneomographer who’s lost his confidence after accidentally changing his dad’s reality… permanently. And then he runs into something inexplicable during an mneming session… Totally sucked into this, and impatiently waiting for the next segment. *taps fingers*
Hard Tail by JL Merrow. ebook. Very good m/m romance about an accountant, freshly laid off and from his job and newly left by his wife, who ends up running his brother’s bike shop while his brother is in the hospital. Since he’s not gay, why does he spend so much time staring at the bike mechanic’s arse?
My True Love Gave to Me (Brook Street #0.5) by Ava March. ebook. reread. Very good historical holiday m/m romance about young love, fear, and trying for a second chance, even if you’re not sure you deserve one.
Thief (Brook Street #1) by Ava March. ebook. Very good historical m/m romance about a peer who heads to a gambling hall of a certain repute to find out whether, as he suspects, he’d be wasting his time looking for a bride. The man he meets that night proves that, but is ever so mysterious…
Fortune Hunter (Brook Street #2) by Ava March. ebook. Very good historical m/m romance about a man who returns to England planning to marry an heiress so he won’t have to work; he’s not going to let anything, even friendship, stand in his way. This one really got to me. *blots eyes*
Rogues (Brook Street #3) by Ava March. ebook. Very good historical m/m romance about two men who’ve been friends since childhood and occasional lovers since their teens. Both are notorious rakehells, although one prefers men and the other women. But the whole balance of their friendship is about to change… I got sniffly reading this one, too.
Acrobat by Mary Calmes. ebook. Very good m/m romance about an English professor who spends a lot of time taking care of the teen living next door and who’s become comfortable with the teen’s uncle over the years, but never really noticed just how attractive said uncle was… until recently.
Frog by Mary Calmes. ebook. Sweet m/m romance about a cowboy who’s always traveling between rodeos and short-term jobs, only visiting his not-quite-a-boyfriend in San Francisco a few times a year. Because… how could he be a cowboy if he stayed?
Smoking Is Bad for You by Sasha L. Miller. ebook short. Very good short m/m story about two guys meeting under interesting circumstances and proceeding from there. This would get a PG-13 rating, so be aware.
Tumble Turn by Charlie Cochrane. ebook. Good m/m romance about a Paralympic swimmer who’s always planned to avoid romantic entanglements until after the 2012 Paralympics, but life has other plans… As others have noted, the British voice in this is very, very strong.
Dirty Little Secret (Dear Lake, Michigan #2) by Anah Crow & Dianne Fox. ebook short. Ok short m/m story about a guy who reaches a gay-friendly resort town in Michigan just as his married boyfriend sort of dumps him over the phone. This was way too short to be satisfying for the amount of story. Be aware this has an HFN ending.

Finally finished my sister-in-law’s Christmas (2011) socks! 🙂

“I love me some stripey socks!!” -Mayhem

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Leaky skies means linkity cries

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Congrats to Philina, who won The Art of Words by RJ Scott and Meredith Russell!

Congrats to Irene J, who won Mind Magic by Poppy Dennison! Mind Magic will be released by Dreamspinner Press on April 23.

Contests

Bookity

  • VacuousMinx on authors behaving badly. This is my favorite quote from the post: “Why read a book that might lead to a confrontation when you want to discuss it, especially since there are plenty of books by authors who don’t behave like that?” Yes. This.

Ebookity

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Cookity

Crafty

Cool

Cool or Wha…?

Wha…?

LOL

Teh Cute

Reading Update
Written in the Stars by Alix Bekins. ebook. Very good humorous m/m romance about a prickly physicist working as a fact checker for a science magazine after a professional disgrace. When his editor and best friend bribes him to write an anonymous astrology column for the magazine, he doesn’t think things can get any worse… until his editor comes up with a plan for him to go on blind dates with guys from each astrological sign…
Different Spheres by Cari Z. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about a professor who has MS and needs to ask his next-door neighbor for a ride to the hospital when he has a relapse.
The Ghost on My Couch by LA Gilbert. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about a nurse who becomes friends with the ghost who appears in his apartment one day and changes the way he looks at his own life. I got sniffly more than once whilst reading this!
Witness by LA Gilbert. ebook. reread. Sweet m/m romance about a cop who meets a bike messenger while on a routine call, then runs into him again when he backs over the guy’s bike. This book would’ve benefited from a bit more conflict (0r perhaps conflicts not effortlessly resolved) and fewer point-of-view shifts, particularly near the beginning of the book.
No Remedy for Love by podga. free online. Very good m/m romance about a couple who were together for 25 years and then split up, painfully. Be warned that at least half the story is told via flashback.
It’s Like This by Oribiting Jupiter. free online. Very good kinky m/m romance about two guys who’ve been together for three years, since high school, but they’ve never talked about whether they’re actually in a relationship. I could definitely relate to Niles’ communication issues…
College Boys (Men of Holsum College #1) by Daisy Harris. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a college student who changes dorms partway through the semester, after his mom dies, so he can have some time alone, away from the soccer teammates he’d been rooming with. Strangely, he finds he’s ok with talking through the wall with the gay guy who lives next door…
Hot Hands (College Fun & Gays #1) by Erica Pike. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about a college student who keeps getting groped in the halls, but can’t figure out who’s the culprit.
Grade-A-Sex Deal (College Fun & Gays #2) by Erica Pike. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about a professor who realizes he’s developing feelings for a student he has a “sex for grades” agreement with.
The Walls Have Ears (College Fun & Gays #3) by Erica Pike. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about a college student who develops a crush on the guy in the next apartment, whose bedroom is adjacent to his…
First Impressions by Christopher Koehler. ebook. Good m/m romance about a former porn star (now a mostly respectable businessman) who makes a terrible first impression on the store clerk he finds attractive. Of course, the store clerk is simultaneously making a terrible first impression on him, too… and things don’t really improve between them from there.
Music in the Midst of Desolation by Charlie Cochrane. ebook short. Good short paranormal m/m romance about a guy who dies in the trenches during WWI, then is sent to our modern time as a sort of guardian angel.
Relationships 201 by Alix Bekins. ebook. Good m/m romance about a first-year history grad student who’s crushing on the straight professor he TA’s for, at the same time he’s struggling to reconnect with his boyfriend after a summer apart. I think this would’ve been a stronger story if it had been shorter, with less time spent on introspection.
I’m Not Sexy and I Know It by Vic Winter. ebook short. Cute short m/m romance about a guy who knows he’s not a sexy stud, but who starts to feel a bit less awkward when dancing with an unseen man at a club.
Bartender, PI by Ethan Stone. ebook. Pretty good m/m romantic suspense about a rather dim hockey player whose career ends unexpectedly, so he tends bar and tries to get his PI license. This had some funny moments, but the thing with him never using the right word got old fast.
Spell Cat (The Aloysisu Chronicles #1) by Tara Lain. ebook. Ok paranormal m/m romance about a gay pure-blooded wizard who’s betrothed to a female pure-blooded wizard and planning to go through with the marriage for the good of wizardkind, until he and his fiancee discover a very big secret indeed. Aloysius the familiar was probably the best part of the book.
Seizing It by Chris T. Kat. ebook. So-so m/m romance about a prickly veterinary assistant who can’t decide if he likes the overbearing guy who rescued him from a stalker. Everyone in this book was annoying. And I don’t believe that Kit would be all better psychologically from just the love of a strong man.

*lurking* -Chaos

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Linkity: The one with the tiara (oh, come on, you had to see this coming)

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

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

Contests

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

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Crafty

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  • 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…)

Wha…?

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

Teh Cute

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.

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

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It’s a beautiful day for some linkity, don’t you agree?

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Congrats to SusieQ, who won Woke Up in a Strange Place by Eric Arvin! Woke Up in a Strange Place is being released today by Dreamspinner Press.

Congrats to Marsha, who won The Tourist by Clare London! The Tourist will be released by Carina Press on Monday, February 28.

Contests

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Reading Update
Lessons in Power (Cambridge Fellows Mysteries, Book 4) by Charlie Cochrane. ebook. Very good historical m/m mystery/romance in which events conspire to bring up a dark event from Jonty’s past that continues to haunt him.
Lessons in Temptation (Cambridge Fellows Mysteries, Book 5) by Charlie Cochrane. ebook. Very good historical m/m mystery/romance, which finds Jonty and Orlando in Bath for academic pursuits, mostly. This one had me quite anxious (the temptation bit).
Putting Out Fires (Coda Book 5) by Marie Sexton. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about Matt trying to figure out what he can do for Valentine’s in order to make Jared feel appreciated.
Promises (Coda, Book 1) by Marie Sexton. ebook. After reading Putting Out Fires, I really wanted to read more Matt and Jared, so I read Promises and The Promise again. 🙂
The Promise (Coda, Book 3.5) by Marie Sexton. free ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about Matt and Jared, after they’ve been together for about 18 months. Reread.
First Impressions by Josephine Myles. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about an artist who becomes fascinated by the guy wearing a suit and crazy socks who he sits across from on the train every day.
Nowhere Ranch by Heidi Cullinan. ebook. Excellent kinky m/m romance about a guy who stays on the move since his family discovered he was gay and started praying for his soul. When he starts working at Nowhere Ranch, he certainly was not prepared for the interpersonal complications… but will he stay or will he go?
Long-Term by Angelia Sparrow & Naomi Brooks. ebook. Very good kinky m/m romance about a university president who takes in a sub whose top kicked him out with not much more than the clothes on his back.
Finding Sanctuary by D.C. Juris. ebook. Good kinky m/m romance about a guy who’s felt only half alive for a long time, even though he has all the trappings of success (nice house, lovely fiancee, good job). He’s slowly beginning to realize that what he actually needs are things that his father beat into him as being wrong.
Eros Rising by Ally Blue. ebook. Good m/m romance about a guy who’s staying in his not-so-good  relationship out of complacency, until he becomes friends with a stripper…
Ten Percent by R.J. Scott. free ebook short. Good m/m snippet (covering maybe an hour) about a guy sitting at his desk, thinking about what being out at work would mean.
Another Little Secret (Sandpipers, Book 1.5) by Jade Archer. free ebook short. Sweet, steamy short m/m/m romance that takes place some months after Sandpipers’ Secrets, at Valentine’s.
Granite: A Rocky Start by G.H. Worth. ebook. So-so m/m romance about a police detective and an assistant district attorney who’ve had the hots for each other for months, but neither realized the other was gay.

“Look at how cute and snuggly I am! You’re jealous, I know.” -Mayhem

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Linkity means that I can happily overindulge in exclamation points!!

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Contests

 

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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.

“Oooooooh, shiny!” -Mayhem