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Congrats to Inka, who won Riley’s Regret (Lost Shifters #11) by Stephani Hecht! Riley’s Regret will be released by eXtasy Books on May 15.

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Blogger seems to be spectacularly messed up at the moment. Links to posts on Blogger may not work or, if they do work, you may not be able to comment on the posts. Check Blogger Status for updates.

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Contests

• Carolyn Crane’s giving away winner’s choice of one of eight recent releases. You must live somewhere that Book Depository ships. Comment by May 14 for your chance to win.

• Patti’s giving away ebooks of Moira Rogers’ Southern Arcana series: Crux, Crossroads, and Deadlock. Contest ends May 15.

• Sweet Vernal Zephyr’s giving away a copy of Riptide by Margaret Carroll. Comment through May 15 for your chance to win.

• Blodeuedd’s giving away a copy of Maria Hamilton’s Mr. Darcy and the Secret of Becoming a Gentleman. Closes May 16. US & Canada only.

• Fiction Vixen’s giving away a copy of Tangled Threads (Elemental Assassins #4) by Jennifer Estep. To enter, answer the question in your comment by May 16.

• Seanna’s giving away some nice yarn to whoever guesses the day she’ll finish the Mitred Crosses blanket she’s knitting. You can enter through the end of May.

Bookity

• New releases and more: Book Lovers Inc (romance/UF/PNR) and Literary Escapism (UF/PNR).

• Book and publisher news from Dear Author.

• Best-selling authors speak out against the Harper-Collins library ebook policy.

• AAR on giving up on an author when all the books start to seem the same.

• SJ Frost on editors (via Sloan Parker).

• Kassa wonders if you like or despise euphemisms in fiction. (Possibly NSFW)

• Katiebabs notes the rise of secondary m/m romances in mainstream romances.

• Use hollowed-out books to hide ugly speakers.

• Hamster wheelesque bookshelf.

• Book quote. Book quote.

• Gorgeous book-themed video via Paperback Writer.

• Smart Bitches wonder what period dramas would be improved by a car chase. I’m thinking Wuthering Heights could use several car chases, plus some gratuitous explosions (especially if one killed everyone off).

• “You know your Twitter stream is mostly composed of erotica writers when…”

• If you’re suffering from writer’s block…

Ebookity

• Vacuous Minx has a very thoughtful and thought-provoking post on piracy. Good eReader reports that some authors pirate themselves as a promotional tool (via TeleRead).

• ZA Maxfield’s paranormal m/m romance Notturno is the free read at MLRPress this week. This link will download the book.

• “How Would You Explain the Kindle to Charles Dickens?”

• Ten Kindle tricks and tips from Dear Author.

• Interesting quote from Penguin’s CEO that smacks of elitism – check out the comments, too. Another perspective.

• Whoops. An Agency publisher actually admitted that ebooks are very profitable.

Think, Do, Make, Learn

• Facebook ‘fesses up to its secret smear campaign against Google.

• This app would’ve made dendrology a helluva lot easier.

• A NASA experiment has proven Einstein’s general theory of relativity.

• Why your friends might know you better than you know yourself.

• Easily distracted? It could be because you have “too much brain”.

• Geeks and other “outsiders” seem to thrive after high school. (I can confirm that was true for me!)

• If you’ve ever been curious why some cell towers look like trees…

• Cell phones upset and disrupt bees.

• Samoa’s moving to the other side of the International Date Line and thus will not have a December 30 this year.

• The Library of Congress has debuted the National Jukebox.

Listening

Eyre linked to a song I shared with her a while ago (“We All Need More Kindness in This World” by Guy Davis), and it reminded me of some other songs that have good messages:

• “I Will Not Sing a Hateful Song” by the Constantines

• “If the News Makes You Sad, Don’t Watch It” by Broken Records

• “Hey World (Don’t Give Up)” by Michael Franti

• “The Sound of Sunshine” by Michael Franti (Thanks to Knotty Mouse for introducing me to this one!)

• “Is It Like Today?” (World Party cover) by Eliza Gilkyson

• “Wrote a Song for Everyone” (Creedence Clearwater Revival cover) by Mavis Staples (song is actually only 3:40, not the time listed on the video!)

• “Hurricane & Fire Survival Guide” by Cloud Cult

• “Transistor Radio” by Cloud Cult

• “Everybody Here is a Cloud” by Cloud Cult

• “Running with the Wolves” by Cloud Cult

Cookity

• Bacon-maple candy bars.

• Cake-stuffed chocolate-covered strawberries.

• Sprouting cupcakes.

• Rainbow cookies.

Crafty

• Sew a terrarium.

• Sew a patchwork US map.

• Knit a beaded bracelet.

• Knit a tattoo.

• Knit a Big Lebowski sweater.

• Knit tube sock leg warmers.

• Knit a Frankenhood.

Cool

• Cat and yarn earrings.

• Stained glass TARDIS clock.

• Steampunk Mr. Potato Head.

• Typewriter sculpture.

• Rubbish rainbows.

• Water balloon explosion rainbows.

• Clever >Drunk and <Sober pint glasses.

• Excellent quote.

Cool or Wha…?

• Pixelation overload!

• Converse created a “screen” that has 480 Chucks as its pixels.

• If you’re in NYC this summer, maybe you should visit the scifiesque head statue.

Wha…?

• If you hated rope climbing in gym class as much as I did, you’ll avoid this piece of exercise equipment.

• This is not on my list of things to do the next time I visit Toronto.

• Bacon alarm clock.

• Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” reproduced in bacon.

• Coat hanger chair.

• Cake Wrecks, the clown cake edition.

• Erection-enhancing condoms?

• Spiky reptilian backpack.

• Doritos prom dress.

• Gum mail (as in armor).

• I didn’t realize Belle was crossdressing…

LOL

• If IKEA made manuals for scifi movie gizmos…

• Cats on Mother’s Day…

• Interpretive guide to kitty tail posture.

• You’re not in the right part of the basement for that.

• Cats of War (via Gizmodo).

• Whoa.

• *blink blink*

• Zombie Marie Curie!

• Why the world won’t end on May 21. (Thanks, Jase!)

Teh Cute

• Kitten! White sugar glider! Kitten! Baby racoons! Black kitten stares down Charlene! Baby meerkat! Cat and kittens! Baby marten! Kitten! Cygnet! Kitten! Lion! Lioness and cubs! Kitten! Swan and cygnet! Kitten! Swan and cygnet! Cat and kittens! Tiny sugar glider! Kitten! Bun! Kitten and Charlene! Lamb! Corgi puppy! Hedgie! Wolves! Sugar glider family! Meerkats! Baby penguin! Red panda! Lion cubs!

Reading Update
Private Dicks by Katie Allen. ebook. reread. Very good m/m romantic suspense about a former cop, now working as a PI, who finally comes out to his straight investigative partner. There’s just something about Rhodes and Wash – this is the third time I’ve read the book. 🙂
Hide Out (Private Dicks #2) by Katie Allen. ebook. reread. This excellent m/m romantic suspense is about a cop who’s guarding one of the characters from Private Dicks for seven months until he can testify in a trial. Really, why aren’t there more witness protection books that include remodeling the safe house? 🙂
Bad Case of Loving You by Laney Cairo. ebook. reread. Very good kinky m/m romance about a resident and the doctor supervising him at the hospital. They just can’t seem to keep their hands off each other…
Infinity Pools (Postcards from Paradise #2) by LA Witt. ebook. Very good m/m romance finishing up the story started in Getting Off the Ground about a jilted groom who meets another guy when bad weather delays his flight… the flight that was supposed to be taking him on his honeymoon, instead of on a now solo vacation.
Saturday Night, Live (Alphabet Soup #1.5) by CB Conwy. free ebook short. Steamy short m/m encounter between the owner of the construction company and a guy who shows up on his doorstep demanding to be spanked.
I Like You (Alphabet Soup #2) by CB Conwy. ebook short. Steamy short kinky m/m romance continuing the story of Andy and CK from Alphabet Soup.
Ermine & Bougainvillea (Ermine #1) by ID Locke. ebook. Very good kinky paranormal m/m romance about a gay stoat shifter being chased by homophobic coyote shifters who escapes into a thorny thicket and meets a sexy dryad… There is vine sex…
Claiming Rights (Ermine #2) by ID Locke. ebook short. Very good short kinky paranormal m/m romance following up on the stoat shifter and the dryad after they’ve been together for a while.
Sharing Paul (Portals #3) by Jade Archer. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about a jaguar shifter with a secret – two men live inside his body – who rescues a human being beaten to death by thugs in the park.
Ink Illusions by Val Kovalin. ebook. Good m/m romance about a gay man helping a female friend raise her daughter. Then the daughter’s father gets out of prison and things get complicated.
Chocolate Bites (Of Cocoa and Men #2) by Vic Winter. ebook short. Ok short paranormal m/m romance following up on the baker and the werewolf from the first book. Alas, this story just didn’t have the magic of the original.
Wolf Moon by Ethan Stone. ebook. Ok paranormal m/m romance about an orphaned college student who doesn’t know that he’s a werewolf until he’s drawn into a world he didn’t realize existed. While the storyline had a great deal of promise, the writing was simplistic and repetitive – basically, the writing got in the way of the story.

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“I feel weird… all blurry or something.” -Mayhem