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Congrats to choccygrl, who won Going With My Heart by Stephani Hecht and My Subby Valentine by Amber Kell!

Congrats to Paul B, who won First Impressions by Josephine Myles!

Congrats to Nette, who won The Only Easy Day (Sanctuary #2) by RJ Scott! The Only Easy Day will be released by Silver Publishing on February 18.

Congrats to Melissa, who won The Pirate’s Gamble by Eden Winters! The Pirate’s Gamble will be released by JMS Books on February 19.

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Contests

• Joder’s giving away an ebook copy of The Master (Masquerade #1) by Anya Winter. Contest closes 11:59 pm CST, February 18.

• Blodeuedd’s giving away signed copies of the three books in Kathryne Kennedy’s Elven Lords series, plus other prizes. Make sure you read the directions for entering the contest, which closes February 20. US & Canada.

• Joder’s giving away an ebook copy of With This Kiss by Victoria Lynne. Comment by 11:59 pm CST, February 24, for your chance to win.

• Shawn Lane’s giving away an ebook copy of her forthcoming Finally His. Contest closes February 29.

Bookity

• New releases and more: Literary Escapism (UF/PNR), Book Lovers Inc (a little of everything), and Fiction Vixen (various types of romance).

• Warner Brothers is trying to trademark everything related to The Wizard of Oz… even though the book by L. Frank Baum is public domain.

• Kat Richardson points out things writers should watch out for in contracts.

• LA Witt explains why she has an ego bandaid file.

• TeleRead lists reasons publishers should be held accountable for the problems in the publishing industry.

• Heidi Cullinan spotlights the Goodreads M/M Romance Group.

• Daniel Radcliffe reads a bit of m/m Harry Potter fanfiction aloud.

• Aw, Neil Gaiman gave his wife Amanda Palmer a flash mob for Valentine’s.

• If you love those black-marbled notebooks, maybe you need a flask that’s modeled after them.

• GenreReviews recreated romance novel covers with real people, then switched the male and female positions. (via Smart Bitches)

• Awful Library Books posts some pictures from Make Your Own Sex Toys. (possibly NSFW) (Also, you’ll never look at a pumpkin the same again…)

• Watch the video for the parody Goodnight, iPad.

• Yes. What Finnegan’s Wake should be named.

• Cats as fonts.

Ebookity

• RJ Scott explains how to buy Kindle books before they appear on Amazon, for those who aren’t familiar with the process.

• Apparently UK book buyers are switching to ebooks, and spending less overall on books.

• Publishers got two of the largest ebook pirate sites shut down.

• Cracked lists eight unexpected downsides to ebooks. (via TeleRead)

• Are tablets killing dedicated ebook reading devices?

• Unshelved is featuring libraries and ebooks in this week’s comics. Here’s the first one – then keep selecting “Next”. (via The Digital Reader)

Think, Do, Make, Learn

• Lifehacker has some tips for when to consider buying refurbished electronics… and when to avoid them.

• The 20 common grammar mistakes most of us make.

• Curious about the bare minimum amount of exercise required to improve your fitness? Science has figured it out!

• How zebras got their stripes.

• The celiac disease vaccine is set to begin clinical trials.

• A new classification system has been proposed for who really shouldn’t eat gluten.

• The world’s smallest chameleon is very, very small.

• Apparently alcohol can improve verbal creativity and word association skills…

• How much lead is in your lipstick?

• What to do with all those spare takeout chopsticks you have. Or just use them to eat Cheetos without getting orange fingers.

Cookity

• Red velvet waffles. (via The Kitchn)

• Chocolate pancakes. (via The Kitchn)

• Chocolate butter. (via The Kitchn)

• Scotch, espresso, & vanilla affogato.

• Dairy-free creme brulee. (via CRAFT)

• Gluten- and dairy-free beet and poppyseed muffins.

• Doughnuts with dark chocolate glaze and bacon.

• 15 meals that include bacon.

• 15 steak recipes.

Crafty

• Guinea pigs in handknit sweaters…

• What does it look like when 89 people are wearing the same the scarf while standing on a frozen Minnesota lake? (via kmkat)

• Make a TARDIS charging station for your phone.

• Cross stitch a TARDIS card. (via CRAFT)

Cool

• Periodic table of cupcakes.

• Borg cupcakes. (via The Mary Sue)

• Bonsai tree houses. (via CRAFT)

• Dandelion wish necklace.

• Cat, knitting, and food linkity from MrsPao.

• Some close-ups of the Frodo and Gollum LEGO minifigs. Video of the new LEGO Lord of the Rings sets.

• Scrabble fridge magnet set.

• The San Francisco Police Department made an It Gets Better video.

• Subway map of US interstate highways.

• Toas-Tites are back! Or, as we called them when I was growing up, flying saucer sandwich makers! 🙂 They work well with a gas stove, too.

Cool or Wha…?

• A toothbrush connected by Bluetooth to your smartphone?

• Toast in 90 seconds… that’s easier for cats to steal.

• A 787 drew the Boeing logo across the US with its flight path.

Wha…?

• Beware cell towers disguised as palm trees…

• Things the TSA found in luggage last week. (Who thought they were going to get a grenade launcher on a plane?!)

• Raw beef bouquet.

• Did your sweetheart take you on a romantic tour of a sewage plant for Valentine’s?

• Pizza Hut marriage proposal kit… for $10,100.

• Vulvas dressed as superheroes. (NSFW)

• Another stock photo I don’t expect to see on the cover of any m/m romances. This one, either.

LOL

• 10 Valentine’s autocorrect fails.

• 10 romantic moment autocorrect fails.

• Some captcha humor. (via Schneier on Security – check out the comments for links to more captcha humor)

• Indexed on teaching.

• Kitty hiding fail.

• My favorite is “My child eats bugs.”

• Eeep!

Teh Cute

• Kitten! Baby meerkats! Kittens! Baby anteater! Lion and baby! Baby fennec! Baby fennec! Cheetah and baby! Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! Tiger and babies! Swan and cygnets! Red panda and baby! Red panda and baby! Baby skunk! Baby ocelot!

Reading Update
Midnight in Berlin by JL Merrow. ebook. arc. Excellent paranormal m/m romance about an American who’s been drifting around Europe for a while. One rainy drunken night, he accepts a ride from a devilishly handsome man in a Porsche… and his life (and his reality) will never be the same again.
Lesson Learned by Lillian Francis. ebook. Excellent m/m romance about two teachers at a Welsh secondary school who become close friends, although one finds the friendship increasingly challenging, due to the attraction he feels for his oblivious, obviously attracted to women friend.
The Only Easy Day (Sanctuary #2) by RJ Scott. ebook. arc. Very good m/m romantic suspense picking up where the first book left off. As the Sanctuary guys work to build a case against the mobsters responsible for the murder Morgan witnessed, things are complicated by the murder victim’s Navy SEAL stepbrother showing up on a mission of vengeance.
The Hanged Man’s Ghost by Missouri Dalton. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about a Chicago police detective with a drinking problem and a crush on his straight best friend. When he realizes he can see ghosts, his life spirals quickly out of control. Sloppy proofing and a storyline that needed to be reined in just a bit kept this from being a five-star read. (But! There is knitting!)
Fiends in Low Places by Missouri Dalton. ebook short. Good short paranormal m/m romance about a guy who works for the MC from The Hanged Man’s Ghost and who’s trying to get back together with an FBI agent. Apparently the rest of this story (much alluded to throughout this one) is still being written.
Getting It Right (Life Lessons #1.8) by Kaje Harper. free ebook short. Sweet short m/m romance about both Mac and Tony agonizing over what to get the other for Valentine’s Day.
I Dare You, Back (Dare #3) by Tam Ames. free ebook short. Good short m/m romance about a college senior who’s been sleeping around for two years, ever since his boyfriend dumped him and left for grad school. Now his ex is back in town…
The Swimming Swan (Cob Brothers #2) by Amber Kell & Stephani Hecht. ebook. Fluffy m/m paranormal romance about a merman come to land to meet his mate, who he doesn’t know is a swan prince.
Taking the Dare (Truth or Dare #4) by Lee Brazil. ebook. Ok m/m romance about the last unattached Blake brother, who habitually manipulates people and just can’t seem to stop. I didn’t particularly care for him or for his love interest.
Reluctant Mate by Eden Cole. ebook short. So-so short paranormal m/m romance about a wolf shifter who’s pissed off that his father has arranged for him to mate a man instead of a woman.
Awakenings by Tara Larson. ebook. DNF. I only made it to 8% – this looks to be another unedited book from Dreamspinner Press. It featured random and constant POV shifts, non-stop infodumping, and passive voice. Ugh.

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*scratch scratch scratch* -Mayhem