“Zombie survival tips for the holiday season” – how zombies can survive the holiday season? Or how you can survive zombie attacks during the holiday season?

Parodies of The Dark Knight Rises trailer.

Secret of the periodic table of the elements revealed!

Portal Christmas tree.

Cats as holiday tree ornaments.

Yes, this. (via Bron’s Pinterest)

Teh Cute

Kittens! Baby tigers! Kitten! Dalmatian and puppies! Kitten! Owlet! Kitten! Dog and cat! Dog and kitten! Kittens! Baby penguin! Kitten! Tiger and baby! Kitten! Lioness and cub! Swan and cygnets!

Reading Update
Among the Living (PsyCop #1) by Jordan Castillo Price. ebook. reread. Excellent m/m paranormal romantic suspense about a PsyCop, who can see ghosts even though he really would prefer not to. (This is one of my comfort rereads… you might’ve guessed, as it’s the second time I’ve read the book this year!)
Criss Cross (PsyCop #2) by Jordan Castillo Price. ebook. reread. Very good m/m paranormal romantic suspense that takes place a few weeks after Among the Living. Jacob’s staying with Vic while looking for a new condo, and Vic has a creepily eager-to-please new partner at work. (Second time I’ve read this book this year, too.)
Body and Soul (PsyCop #3) by Jordan Castillo Price. ebook. reread. Very good m/m paranormal romantic suspense in which Vic gets another new partner at work and Jacob continues hunting for an unhaunted place to live. (Second time this year, third time overall – as with the others.)
Secrets (PsyCop #4) by Jordan Castillo Price. ebook. reread. Very good paranormal m/m romantic suspense in which Vic and Jacob’s living situation changes dramatically and Vic stumbles upon an epic conspiracy. Do I need to repeat myself again?! 🙂
Jesse’s Christmas by RJ Scoot. ebook. Very good holiday m/m romance about a photographer who hates Christmas because his lover left him the previous Christmas, emptying his bank account and breaking his heart. Will he be able to get into the Christmas spirit for his assignment taking daily photos in “Christmasville”?? Bonus points to RJ for including a scene that matches the cover!
Home Ice by Kate Sherwood. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a closeted hockey coach trying to deal with working with his ex after not seeing him for ten years.
A Calling for Pleasure (Lars & Rael #1) (2nd edition) by JL Merrow. ebook (available 1/15/2012). Very good short paranormal m/m romance about two detectives for the Paranormal Enforcement Agency trying to track down 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 who’s picked up during the investigation… This was a fun start to a (currently) three-book series that I’m hoping JL adds to. 🙂
A Silence Kept by Theo Fenraven. ebook short. Very good short paranormal m/m romance about a guy who rents a place a bit off the beaten path for his summer weekend getaway after he catches his boyfriend cheating on him. He doesn’t really believe the place is haunted… at first.
Take Me Home by Sloan Parker. ebook. Good m/m romantic suspense about an author and a screenwriter who’ve been best friends since high school, even after a night together years ago left one brokenhearted and the other moving from guy to guy to avoid intimacy. As they take the train back to Ohio from Los Angeles for Christmas, they try to sort out the decades old mystery they’ve fallen into while figuring out whether they can trust each other if their relationship changes…
Puppy, Car, and Snow (Ryan & Scott #3) by Amy Lane. ebook. Good holiday m/m romance about two guys snowed in at a cabin for the holidays with one guy’s family, trying to deal with with his mom’s ongoing nasty comments to his boyfriend. I think enough background is provided in the book for those who haven’t read the previous two short stories.
Free to Fly by Belinda McBride. free ebook short. Good short kinky m/m romance about a guy who comes home from work planning to move out while his lawyer boyfriend is out of town for the weekend. But his boyfriend is still there, and their confrontation changes the course of their relationship.
Ten Things to Hate About Being a Werewolf by Vic Winter. ebook short. Good short paranormal m/m romance about a guy who was recently turned into a werewolf and hates everything about it.
Winning in a Landslide (Change #1.5) by JM Cartwright. ebook. Good holiday m/m romance that follows up on the sheriff, the rock star, and their two young adopted kids right after an extremely trying election. Something that once I noticed, I couldn’t un-notice – the two main characters just seemed to use each other’s names way too much.
Southern Winterland (By Degrees #1) by Taylor V. Donovan. ebook short. Good short holiday m/m romance about a gay guy who’s been distancing himself from his straight best friend after a drunken almost-kiss under the mistletoe the previous Christmas. This needed to be a bit longer!
The Gift of the Maggie by Belinda McBride. ebook short. Good short holiday m/m romance about a divorced rancher who has his very first boyfriend and is nervous about coming out to his kids.
A Picture Perfect Holiday by ZA Maxfield. ebook short. Good holiday m/m romance about a high school senior, president of the photography club, who has a crush on a straight football player.
Chance of Snow by Brynn Paulin. ebook short. Good short holiday m/m romance about two coworkers who share a steamy night together when their chartered bus can’t make it home during a big snowstorm.
A Summit City Christmas (Sno Ho #2.5) by Ethan Day. ebook short. Pretty good short m/m holiday romance about Wade and Boone’s first Christmas together. This really needed to be fleshed out more to be a coherent or satisfying narrative.
Nice: Christmas Mistletoe by M. Durango. ebook short. Good short holiday m/m romance about a guy who moved home to live with his parents and work at their Christmas tree lot after he was laid off. He runs into an old high school track buddy one night while he’s working at the tree lot… This felt a bit disjointed to me.
Blue River by Theo Fenraven. ebook short. Good short m/m holiday time travel romance about a photographer who walks through some mist and ends up in 1863, where he stays with an innocent young farmer and his sister. The thing I liked best about this book was that it didn’t gloss over historical details like people not bathing very often. I do have my doubts that greens stored in a root cellar would be lovely and fresh by December…
More Than Enough (More #2) by Shawn Lane. ebook short. Pretty good m/m romance about a guy in college who lives at home to run interference between his abusive alcoholic father and his younger sister. When a handsome jock asks him out, he’s sure it’s as a joke.
The Question by Sean Michael. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about two guys who’ve been best friends for years, but not romantically or sexually involved since their single disastrous attempt many years ago. This would’ve been more satisfying had it not been so very short.

*blank* -Mayhem

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity on the lam

September 16, 2011 Chris 23 Comments

Congrats to Susan65, who won Ex Equals by L.A. Witt! Ex Equals will be released on September 18 by Amber Allure.

Congrats to Kimberly, who won the Fire Trilogy (Kian, Darach, and Eoin) by RJ Scott! The final book, Eoin, is now available from Silver Publishing.

Contests

Tracy’s giving away a copy of Primacy by J.E. Fishman. Contest closes 7 pm PDT, September 17. US & Canada only.

Bronwyn Green’s giving away an ebook copy of Elise Hepner’s latest, Roped Emotions. Contest closes the evening of September 18.

Joder’s giving away an ebook copy of the winner’s choice of one of Danielle Gavan’s books (Ardeur, Cursed, Tarnished Tiaras, or UnWrapped). Contest closes 11:59 pm, September 21. International entrants only.

Blodeuedd’s giving away two sets of Leigh Michaels’ books The Mistress’ House, Just One Season in London, and The Wedding Affair. Contest closes September 26.

Patti’s giving away her ARC of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin. Contest closes September 26.

Randomly Me

I now have a tumblr. Mostly it’s going to be quotes, random observations, videos of songs that I love and that have moved me, lyrics, and some of my photos. Near the bottom, you can see some of the things that I’ve liked elsewhere on tumblr.

Bookity

New releases and more: Book Lovers Inc (a little of everything) and Literary Escapism (UF/PNR).

Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

An American Editor on how the roles of editor, proofreader, etc., are blurring and the effect that blurring has on price editors can charge for freelance work.

“Authors say agents try to ‘straighten’ gay character in YA.” (Thanks, Bron!)Â The agents in question respond. The Mary Sue used the original post as a springboard to look at the state of YA publishing.

“He beats me but he’s my publisher.” Traditional publishing… has issues. (Thanks, Bron!)

Vacuous Minx looks at the actual probability of some of the events that occur regularly in romances.

Joyfully Jay on things that drive her nuts about book covers.

Dictionary bracelet.

Mysterious book sculptures have been appearing around Edinburgh. (via Neil Gaiman)

A woman in Los Angeles has been accused of stealing over 2000 library books.

Twenty worst children’s book covers. (Thanks, Bron!) But… why isn’t this book on the list?! (via The Mary Sue)

Ebookity

Ah, the importance of a single incorrect letter… (Thanks, Stephani!)

Anti-plagiarism tools can also be used to plagiarize more successfully.

Is Amazon going to launch a Netflix-esque ebook service?

LeVar Burton launched a Reading Rainbow app for iPad and Android.

Kim Dare has four free reads available at ARe.

Josephine Myles is offering her ebook Fuzzy (First Impressions #2) for free.

The Goodreads M/M Romance Group has put out a special free ebook collection of stories from authors who will be attending GayRomLit in New Orleans next month.

Think, Do, Learn, Make

Make chalkboard paint in a custom color. I love this. I want to do this to all my walls! Talk about the perfect medium for notes to myself… (via The Kitchn)

Research suggests that switching to a standing desk isn’t really better than sitting at a desk.

Research also suggests that only four percent of the internet’s top sites are porn.

Research further suggests that men’s testosterone levels drop when they’re around kids a lot, leading them to be more nurturing.

Research, so suggestive this week…

Have you heard of misophonia?

You don’t need to go to the gym to exercise.

For an annual fee, you can get an enhanced service from UPS that will provide a four-hour window when your packages will be delivered, among other things.

If you have a wandering pet, maybe you need to pick up a pet tracking GPS device that can be attached to a collar.

Google introduces Flight Search.

Do some gas math before driving to save a few pennies a gallon. (Hover your cursor over the comic for additional text.)

Pumpkins might be more expensive this year because of flooding.

Cookity

Make Instagrahams! (via CRAFT)

Make Jack Skellington cake pops. (via The Mary Sue)

Make edible Harry Potter wands! (via CRAFT)

Turn a regular old cake into a creepy spider cake. (via CRAFT)

Make bacon salt.

Make your own Lunchables.

Is vodka the secret to perfect pie crust?!

A DIY family cookbook could be a great gift!

Crafty

Crochet humor.

Make candy corn vases.

Make a bowl from fabric scraps.

Make a Halloween wreath from embroidery hoops. (Darn it, CRAFT, I’m really not mentally ready to start a Halloweenity section.)

Sew a plush kiwa hirsuta lobster.

Sew a quilted modular star.

Download a free pattern from Wendy Knits Lace.

Cool

Cat Tardis.

xkcd wedding cake.

Batman ice cube trays. (via The Mary Sue)

Sugar cookies celebrating the 45th anniversary of Star Trek.

LEGO typewriter. And a teeny tiny typewriter. And a typerwriter made from salvaged paper.

Moleskine releases a Star Wars notebook and celebrates with an origami-esque video.

Archie Comics is going to feature a gay wedding.

I love Eric Arvin’s take on this commercial. 🙂

Kitty microchip success story!

The best astronomy photos of the year. (via Gizmodo)

Cool or Wha…?

Glowing kittens could help HIV research?!

I mean, I like black kitties and all, but… no.

Nyan cat costume.

Frida Kahlo in buttons.

Birth of Venus in LEGO.

Wha…?

Lederhosen MacBook sleeve. Really. I can’t make this crap up.

The guy with the world’s largest Dalek collection (571) doesn’t like Doctor Who.

NATO and the Taliban in a Twitter pissing match?!

Mushroom cloud playhouse.

The video game Doom as painted on a fingernail.

A woman who stated that she was a vampire attacked a guy in Florida…

A social network based on the bacteria in your gut…

A man had surgery to have an eel removed from his bladder after it swam up his urethra during a spa treatment. (via Gizmodo)

Do people actually wear rings like this?!!

I had no idea there was military-branded hot sauce and cologne.

LOL

Caveman’s Swiss Army knife.

Famous sweaters.

CGI-brows…

A turtle outruns some Daleks.

Top 15 ALLCAPS autocorrect fails.

Amelia Earhart reappears! (Hover your cursor over the comic for additional text.)

Classical art with kittehs added.

Kitties, always so helpful.

But we don’t have a cat…

Oh oh.

Smart cat is smart.

Not a pose I’ve seen from Mayhem…yet.

Chaos?!!?

Teh Cute

Kittens! Fox kits! Kitten! Tiger! Kittens! Baby fennec! Cat and kittens! Baby penguins! Kitten! Leopard! Kitten! Baby ferrets! Baby kudu! Opossum and babies! Ferret! Bun!

Reading Update
When Irish Eyes Are Smiling (Irish Eyes #1) by Tom Collins. free online story. Very good free m/m romance about two guys who live in the same building, each surreptitiously eying the other for the past several months. It was refreshing to watch a relationship develop and to see them working through issues in what felt like a realistic fashion.
When Irish Eyes Are Sparkling (Irish Eyes #2) by Tom Collins. ebook. reread. Very good m/m romance about a bi-curious artist with a heart of gold (whose family owns the Irish Eyes pub) and a paramedic who avoids emotional entanglements. My only complaint is a plot thread involving a voicemail and an attack that never went anywhere.
Must Be Love by Dallas Coleman. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about a barista who moved out of the house he shared with his doctor boyfriend, but they continue to hook up with each other.
The Book of Daniel (St. Nacho’s #4) by ZA Maxfield. ebook. Good m/m romance about Jake’s brother, Daniel, who was seriously injured in the previous book. He’s still in St. Nacho’s going to physical therapy, waiting for his divorce to go through, admiring a handsome firefighter from afar, and getting grief from people about substituting money for emotion. I would have liked this better if it hadn’t made several time jumps near the end, which I thought made the story seem disjointed and somewhat rushed.
Can’t Be His (His #3) by Shawn Lane. ebook short. Sweet short m/m romance about an exterminator and a world class figure skater who are roommates, have been friends for years, and have secret crushes on each other.
Library Science Just Got Sexy by EM Lynley. ebook short. Ok short m/m story about a professor involved with a student (although not a student in his program). This is pretty much just a couple of semi-public sex scenes. (And was also previously released as Public Exposure.)
Emerald Moon (Prides of the Moon #2) by Ann Mayburn. ebook short. Ok short paranormal m/m romance about a puma shifter who hasn’t seen his mate since killing his mate’s serial killer brother many years ago. I suspect I won’t be reading more in this series, since it sounds like most of them will be m/m/f.
Love at First Sight (Home #4) by Cardeno C. ebook. Ok m/m romance about a high school senior on a trip to NYC who falls in love with a guy he sees at the hospital holding a newborn and crying. After he graduates, he moves to NYC to find his dream man again, but things don’t go as he had hoped. This book was painfully sweet, which isn’t my favorite thing. And there were several points in the book when the head hopping drove me nuts.

“Aw, come on, May. Don’t hold a grudge.” -Chaos

“You pulled fur off my butt! Again!!!!! You are mean, big kitty!!!!” -Mayhem

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Linkity lounges about lazily

July 29, 2011 Chris 31 Comments

Congrats to Laura M, who won Blind Items by Kate McMurray! Blind Items is being released today by Dreamspinner Press.

Contests

Nicole’s giving away some of her lovely handmade cards. You can enter daily and the winner will be announced on August 1. To enter, leave a comment with a song to lift Nicole’s spirits, or let everyone know that you need your spirits lifted, too.

Blodeuedd’s giving away winner’s choice of a paper or ebook copy of Helen Hollick’s Sea Witch. She’s also giving away a copy of A Weekend with Mr. Darcy by Victoria Connelly (US & Canada only). Both contests close August 4.

Patti’s giving away two copies of Love Story by Jennifer Echols. Contest closes August 5. US only.

Leontine’s giving away one of JP Barnaby’s Little Boy Lost ebooks – make sure you answer her question in your comment for your chance to win! Winner will be announced August 6.

Book Lovers Inc is giving away two copies of The Perfect Play by Jaci Burton, and one copy is signed. Contest closes August 6.

Bookity

New releases and more: Lily (m/m romance),Â Tor.com (YA paranormal, UF/PNR, fantasy, scifi), Book Lovers Inc (UF/PNR, romance), and Literary Escapism (UF/PNR).

Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

A Toronto politician claims he’s never heard of famous Canadian author Margaret Atwood?!

Interesting way to get kids reading again – by forgiving their library fines.

One-stop shopping for standard romance heroines, plus secondary characters…

Kickass librarians!

How to help kids pursue their dreams of becoming writers. (via The Mary Sue)

Another comic from Luisa Prieto on research as distraction from writing.

A complete novel on a poster.

Ebookity

A TeleRead contributor assesses errors in her ten most recently read ebooks.

Traditional publishers are considering shortening the release time between the hardcover and paperback editions of books because of ebooks.

More points to think about in the “does piracy help sales?” debate.

Are free ebooks hurting the market for purchased ebooks?

Some details about the ereader that Ellora’s Cave is putting out… it has a vibrating key?!

Do, Learn, Think, Make

Summer’s Eve pulled its obnoxious new ads after they were mocked by Stephen Colbert. (That Colbert link is completely NSFW.) (First link via The Mary Sue.)

Completely different theory about cancer – cancer as parasitic species.

Curious which 50 words from the NYT’s online version were looked up the most this year? (I knew 32 of the words on the list! Woot!)

Test your vocab. (via Paperback Writer) (Apparently, I know 34,200 words. I knew that obsessive reading would pay off!)

What impact is technology having on sign language?

Has the perfect sports bra been designed?

*blink blink* Apple currently has a better operating cash balance than the US government…

You can use Catalog Choice to stop getting so many catalogs in the mail.

Fancy cars make us happy, but only for a short time.

Time travel has been proven impossible.

Eloquent post against internet rants.

Cookity

Seriously wild deviled eggs.

Cinnamon breakfast biscuits.

Spool of thread cake pops. (via The Kitchn)

Rubik’s cube cake.

Non-wrecky Potter cakes.

Crafty

How to create a color palette from a photo.

Knitting linkity from KnittyBlog.

Knitted octopus knitting.

Magic braided leather bracelet. (via CRAFT)

If you have one of those massive bags of zip ties lying around, you could make some baskets.

Cool

TARDIS cafe. (via The Mary Sue)

LEGO TARDIS. (via The Mary Sue)

Firebreathing LEGO dragon!

New LEGO Marvel minifigs.

LEGO lampshade.

Potter-themed weddings.

Tiny Polaroid magnets.

Starry Night wrist guard.

Double-ended Pantone markers.

Storm trooper costumes are public domain in the UK.

Cool or Wha…?

Make mini doughnuts at home…

You can buy a small town in South Dakota for only $800,000.

The terrifying stuffed monkey that the Bloggess bought at the thrift store…

Bike rack shaped like a giant comb.

Whittling made creepy.

The iPhone case with a slide out bottle opener. (via The Kitchn)

A four-foot wide house.

Star Wars public service announcements from the 1970s.

Wha…?

Scientists have created a glow-in-the-dark dog.

Add a brass knuckles handle to your plastic shopping bag…

Not a problem to bring your goat along to an Apple store…

Too much plaid!

Toilet paper earrings.

An electric propeller for paper planes.

Newly approved vibrator for men, shaped like tongs. (NSFW)

Tropical island megayachts.

Google’s What Do You Love? site doesn’t allow you to search for an extensive list of banned words; instead, it will return kittens. (NSFW!)

LOL

Top 10 autocorrect religion-related fails.

Conan shares some Harry/Draco fanart with Tom Felton (aka Draco)…

Amusing and completely NSFW linkity from Eyre.

I can only imagine if there was a hummingbird outside the windows here…

Escher cats.

Cats and science puns.

Wall cat.

Rainbow wall of happiness!

Not actually taken here.

Woe is ebil!

Teh Cute

Kitten! Lion cubs! Cat and lion cub! Kittens! Baby hamster! Kitten! Koala! Kitten! Lion cub! Tiger! A litter of 16 dalmatians! Lion cub! Jaguar and baby! Fox kits!

Reading Update
Dance With Me by Heidi Cullinan. ebook. Excellent m/m romance about two men who’ve both lost (or given up) something they cared about and been living half lives ever since. It’s also about learning to accept and deal with chronic pain/injury/illness. Plus the story takes place in the Twin Cities; in fact, Laurie’s condo would be a ten-minute walk from mine. 🙂 Recommended.
A Matter of Time, Volume 1 and A Matter of Time, Volume 2 by Mary Calmes. ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense about an architectural assistant who inadvertently witnesses a organized crime-related murder and then meets a straight police detective who keeps turning up in the oddest places. I read this story when it was released a few years ago, in its original and unedited ebook form. It was a delight to reread it all without the editing issues detracting from the story.
Bridges by M.J. O’Shea. free ebook short. Very good free short m/m romance about two guys who got off on the wrong foot with each other in grade school and remain enemies throughout high school. Then they end up working together at the grocery store as overnight stockers…
Breaking Point by S.L. Armstrong & K. Piet. free ebook short. Very steamy free kinky short m/m scene between two lovers.
Shadowed (Treasured #2) by Cari Z. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance in which Arcane Studies PhD student Daniel and his occasional lover Rhys head to Venice for Daniel’s winter break. Things start out well for them…
Family Unit by ZA Maxfield. ebook. Good m/m romance about two very different guys in their mid-40s (one a retired marine, the other a liberal raising his grandson) who get off to an awkward start, but then slowly grow to know each other better. While I enjoyed this one more than the other ZAM titles I read this week, I felt it suffered from a similar problem with the ending – the story stops, with many questions left unanswered, and then an epilogue is tacked on… an epilogue that doesn’t answer the questions. 🙁
Rhapsody for Piano and Ghost by ZA Maxfield. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about a 19-year old pianist who’s brilliant musically, but very naive interpersonally. Then some well-meaning ghosts move in and start “helping” him with his social life…
All Stirred Up (Stir #2) by ZA Maxfield. ebook. Good m/m romance about the “evil” twin brother of one of the main characters from Stirring Up Trouble, who’s struggling with escalating PTSD. An intervention by his board of directors and his twin have him heading for rehab in the company of a very unusual doctor. I found the ending of this one very frustrating – it felt as if it just stopped, rather than providing closure, and the epilogue did nothing to assuage that.
What Child Is This? (Crossing Borders #2) by ZA Maxfield. ebook. Good holiday m/m romance about how getting away from it all for a relaxing holiday weekend doesn’t always turn out as one might hope.
The Truth About Al (Rocky Mountain High: Campus Hearts #2) by ML Rhodes. ebook. Good m/m romance about the son of a conservative politician whose family is pressuring him to present a “suitable” (i.e., straight) image so as not to damage his mother’s run for Senate.

“No, I’m not stuck. I’m just… thinking.” -Mayhem

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Frazzled linkity feels flighty

June 17, 2011 Chris 29 Comments

Congrats to Judianna P, who won Sinnerman (Warder #4) by Mary Calmes! Sinnerman is being released today by Dreamspinner Press.

Congrats to Marie A, who won Just-You Eyes by Clare London!

Congrats to Kerstin, who won Deefur Dog by RJ Scott! Deefur Dog will be released by Silver Publishing on Saturday, June 18.

Contests

Mandi’s giving away a signed copy of Nalini Singh’s Slave to Sensation (Psy/Changeling #1) at Desert Island Keepers. Answer her question in the comments before June 18 for your chance to win.

Bronwyn Green, Devon Rhodes, Gwendolyn Cease, Kris Norris, Suzanne Graham, and Jessica Jarman are having a Summer Solstice Contest and are giving away winner’s choice of a Nook WiFi 3G or a Kindle 3G WiFi! To enter, you’ll need to visit and comment on each author’s blog with your top two choices from that author’s backlist. Contest closes noon EDT, June 21.

Rachel Haimowitz is giving away a Crescendo swag pack to celebrate finishing her first draft of the novel. Answer her question in the comments for your chance to win. Winner will be selected June 24.

Joder’s giving away Dark Passages by Sara Reinke. Make sure you read the rules for how to enter! Closes 11:59 pm, June 25.

Blodeuedd’s giving away a copy of Love & Freedom by Sue Moorcroft. Answer her question in the comments for your chance to win. Closes July 27.

Patti’s giving away an ARC of Wish You Were Here by Phillipa Ashley. Answer her question in the comments for your chance to win. Closes July 1. US only.

Bookity

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

Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

Dear Author on readers’ rights.

KZ Snow wonders why so many readers of m/m romance are fixated on how many sex scenes books have (and seemingly want more).

Neil Gaiman’s novel American Gods is going to be an HBO series.

Wonderful bookish quote.

Turn a book into a reading light.

Make a book strap.

Roll-up bookshelf.

House of bookcases.

Ebookity

The British Flash m/m romance anthology is available free on Smashwords.

You can read a new free PsyCop short by Jordan Castillo Price over at Jessewave.

Overdrive has enhanced its platform for libraries.

The Digital Reader explains why Wired is clueless about ebooks.

Some words of advice from an editor to a speshul snowflake author.

Steampunk ereader.

Make, Think, Do, Learn

The same hacker group that took down cia.gov earlier this week posted a list of email addresses and passwords – check to see if your information was on the list. (One of my email addresses was!)

How to travel with your friends and stay friends.

Tips on macro photography from National Geographic. (via Gizmodo)

Why you can’t win an argument online.

Make a flashlight powered by your phone line for the next time the power goes out.

Nine techy things made possible by IBM (which turned 100 yesterday). My dad (who was a computer design engineer for IBM for 30 years) said there’s a date error in this list, but I’ve forgotten which it was…

If you’d rather that the music in your music library wasn’t filled with identifying data, this program can remove such data for you. (I ran the program and it worked very well.)

Cool factoids about the sounds that animals make.

Vampire stars! O.O

Compare commercial cleaners with some homemade alternatives.

How did you celebrate Captain Picard Day yesterday?

Cookity

Yum – eat peas like edamame! (via The Kitchn)

Homemade Nutter Butters.

Nutter Butter brownies with chocolate peanut butter ganache.

Cream cheese ice cream.

Make homemade Pupsicles for your dog!

Crafty

Quilted iPhone case.

Rainbow quilt.

Knit cable braided necklace/bracelet.

knittyBlog covered International Yarnbombing Day. Kmkat got some great shots of a yarnbombing in Minneapolis.

Eleanor provides a tutorial for dyeing yarn so you end up with long blocks of color.

Pocket watch photo album.

Woven paper gift wrap.

Crocheted gallbladder, complete with removable gallstones.

Crocheted graduation teddy bear.

Cool

Star Wars, the silent film.

Nearly everything that’s been big on the interwebz, perfectly choreographed to “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen.

TARDIS tent. (Thanks, Bron!)

Plush Indiana Jones. (via The Mary Sue)

Balloon art as you’ve never seen it before.

What went wrong with the Star Wars prequels and what writers can learn from them. (Thanks, Bron!)

Cellos playing “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns’n’Roses.

Dear Photograph vintage photo blog.

Cute mug.

Tiny people foodscapes.

Gumball Wars. (via Paperback Writer)

Milky Way time lapse. (via Gizmodo)

Cool or Wha…?

Giant sculptures of candy.

Artist who paints pictures on gum stuck to the sidewalk…

Toast art.

Man Cans candles.

Bicycle helmets made from cardboard.

Turn your hotdog into a little person or an octopus?!

Zucchini weenies.

Unicorn ring (can be used for self defense?).

Chocolate bar bed.

Wha…?

The five most pointlessly women-specific products. Gah! (via The Mary Sue)

The All-Whopper channel on DirecTV…

Just say no to the poopburger.

Toy security wand.

Smell-o phone is a reality…

Sofa bike.

Wine in perfume-shaped bottles.

Twenty percent of human genes are patented?!

A mother might donate her uterus to her daughter. Erm. I wonder if the universe will end when the uterus that birthed her ends up inside her…

LOL

A new Simon’s Cat!

Unicorn eep!

Is there a vampire on my head?

Infographic on when it’s ok to tweet a dick pic.

Twelve most awkward autocorrects.

This penguin’s never going to make it as a cover model.

Cat people vs. dog people.

Not the last two lids that fit! Noooooo!

Sounds like something Chaos might be working on in his spare time…

Kitteh who looks like Gene Simmons!

Teh Cute

Cat and kitten! Owl! Cat and kittens! Foxes! Kittens! Baby sloth! Kitten! Lions! Kitten! Yawny fox kit! Kitten! Bun! Kitten! Lion and cub! Kittens! Baby cheetah! Kitten! Baby sloth! Crabby kitten! Yawny lion! Yawny baby bat! Baby otter! Baby penguin!

Reading Update
Knight Errant by K.D. Sarge. ebook. Excellent m/m scifi romance about a 16-year old being raised on a spaceship by his sister and her crew. He’s been trying to be who she wants him to be, but is quietly miserable. And then he meets a guy who completely aggravates him…
Life Lessons by Kaje Harper. ebook. Excellent m/m romantic suspense about a high school teacher who finds the murdered body of one of his coworkers, then is questioned by (and keeps running into) a deeply closeted police detective. Plus this was set in Minneapolis! 🙂 I’m looking forward to reading more by Kaje Harper.
Lies and Consequences by Kaje Harper. free ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense about an author pretending to be his lesbian best friend’s fiance so that her career in the Navy isn’t threatened. He’s so used to protective lying… can he even tell the truth anymore? (Stalker alert!)
The Night Porter by Sue Brown. ebook short. D’oh. How did I not notice this was a Bittersweet Dreams title?! Very good, but… *blots eyes*
Moments by R.J. Scott. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a badly behaved actor in a cable series who’s been busted for possession and ends up staying at a neighborhood resource center as part ofÂ his community service.
Being Lead by Celia Kyle. ebook short. Very good kinky short m/m romance about a dancer who’s just retired and is at loose ends, needing his Sir to ground him.
Becoming His by Shawn Lane. ebook short. This was a sweet short m/m romance about a stripper and a bisexual television actor getting together. However, it felt incomplete to me. The whole groper subplot sort of stuttered out. And the ending felt somewhat forced and abrupt.
Car Wash by Shawn Lane. ebook. reread. Pretty good m/m romance about Kevin, whoâ€™s working at a car wash after getting laid off from his office job. I must admit that I got a bit frustrated at Kevin not standing up for himself.
Kevin’s Stories: Volume 1 (Car Wash #2) by Shawn Lane. free ebook short. Good free m/m romance containing two short stories following up on Kevin and Michael from Car Wash.
Kevin’s Stories: Volume 2 (Car Wash #3) by Shawn Lane. free ebook short. Good free m/m romance containing two short Christmas stories featuring Kevin and Michael from Car Wash.
Realize by Kerry Freeman. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about a college senior who has a crush on his freshman roommate, but hasn’t done anything about it other than scare off anyone looking to get closer to his roommate.
Fugitive Color by ZA Maxfield. ebook. Good m/m romantic suspense about a sleep walking artist whose muse has been murdered… and he’s pretty sure he didn’t do it…
Rite of Passage by Bryl R. Tyne. ebook. Ok m/m romance about an anxiety-stricken writer who moves to the Colorado Rockies for solitude and to hopefully get past his writer’s block. This was hard for me to rate, since I had a hard time with the writing style and never connected with the main character.
Emerald: Hey, Jealousy by B.A. Tortuga. ebook short. Ok kinky short m/m romance about two friends who are attracted to each other, but haven’t acted on it in a long time, due to a misunderstanding. And then something changes all that… This seemed to stop mid-scene, which I found annoying. And it read an awful lot like a Sean Michael title….
Possession by Jessica Skye Davies. ebook short. Ok paranormal m/m romance about a guy who brings home a cast iron Punch statue, then begins having odd accidents.
His Gentle Touch by Stormy Glenn. ebook. So-so m/m romance about a guy who meets a gentle (and very sexy) giant in a bar, then wakes up married to him without remembering what happened. Classic Big Misunderstanding plot. Fewer mistakes than usual!
Sexier When Wet by Eden Cole. ebook. Meh m/m romance about a wishy-washy guy who stays with his cruel lover because he’s afraid of being left out on the street with nothing. He’s pursued by a not-quite-as-cruel guy, who wants him to leave the cruel guy. So, as you may have guessed, my main problem with this one was the lack of likable characters… (Hi, Candy Cane Guy!)
Takedown by Stacey Kennedy. ebook short. Poorly written and edited short m/m encounter between a US Marshal and a bartender. Some examples: “Kiss for kiss, dominance filled the air until it was thick with it.” “His G-spot stimulated by Wyatt’s hard cock…”

*sunbeam bliss* – Chaos

Contests, Reading

Ebook Giveaway: His for the Holidays by LB Gregg, Harper Fox, ZA Maxfield, & Josh Lanyon [CONTEST CLOSED]

December 2, 2010 Chris 70 Comments

Many thanks to LB Gregg for donating an ebook copy of the excellent forthcoming m/m holiday anthology, His for the Holidays, for a lucky commenter to win! His for the Holidays will be released by Carina Press on Monday, December 6. This contest will close at 7 pm CST on Sunday, December 5. That means y’all should hustle your butts and enter the contest now! 😉 Added: Josh Lanyon will donate an additional copy of the anthology if there are 50+ requests for it, so get commenting, people!

Mistletoe at Midnight by LB Gregg – Excerpt

Owen McKenzie has traveled to Vermont to spend an old-fashioned Christmas with his family when he finds himself staying at the same inn as his first love. Owen is disconcerted to realize he’s still attracted to Caleb Black but refuses to pursue him. Caleb left him once, and Owen’s not going down that road again.

Caleb is ready for a second chance with Owen and gets it when fate and the matchmaking McKenzies conspire to strand the two men in a rustic cabin during a snowstorm on Christmas Eve. Can Caleb convince Owen to rekindle their romance so they can stop spending their holidays apart?

Nine Lights over Edinburgh by Harper Fox – Excerpt

Detective Inspector James McBride is riding high on the belief that he’s about to bust a human-trafficking ring. But just five days before Christmas, his unorthodox methods catch up with him and his world comes crashing down.

McBride tries to concentrate on his new day job as security for the visiting Israeli ambassador. He even starts to feel a renewed sense of self-worth when the leader of the Israeli team, the aristocratic Tobias Leitner, takes a bullet for him in the line of duty. But he can’t forget the trafficking case, especially when his investigations result in the kidnapping of his own daughter! McBride has no one to turn to for help – no one, except Toby.

Can these two very different men work together to bring about a holiday miracle – and heal one another’s heart in the process?

I Heard Him Exclaim by ZA Maxfield – Excerpt

Who Likes a Skinny Santa?

Steve Adams’s heart hasn’t been in the Christmas spirit ever since doctors put a stent in it and ordered him to clean up his act. No longer filling out his Santa suit or allowed to make merry, he’s forgoing the holidays this year and heading to Vegas to indulge in the few vices left to him: gambling and anonymous sex.

His road trip takes a detour when he encounters Chandler Tracey, who’s just inherited guardianship of his five-year-old niece. Overwhelmed, Chandler’s on his way to deliver Poppy to his parents. But fate has other plans and, after car trouble, Chandler and Poppy accept a ride home with Steve. Though the heat between the two men is obvious, they put it on simmer while they band together to make Poppy’s Christmas as perfect as possible.

Steve soon comes to believe that while Chandler is the right person to look after Poppy, someone needs to look after Chandler. Fortunately, Steve knows just the man for the job.

Icecapade by Josh Lanyon – Excerpt

On the eve of the new millennium, diamond thief Noel Snow seduced FBI special agent Robert Cuffe, then fled into the dawn. Now a successful novelist, Noel uses his capers as fodder for his books, and has modeled his hero’s nemesis (and potential love interest) on Cuffe. Though he leaves Robert a drunken phone message every New Year’s Eve, Noel hasn’t seen or heard from him in a decade.

So he’s thrilled when his former lover shows up at his upstate farm one Christmas Eve. Elation quickly turns to alarm when Robert accuses Noel of being responsible for a recent rash of diamond heists. Robert is all business and as cold as ice: it seems his only interest in Noel is to put him behind bars.

Innocent of the crimes, and still as attracted as ever to the oh-so-serious lawman, Noel plans a second seduction – providing he can stay out of jail long enough!

Contest Rules

To enter, leave a comment below stating that you are entering the contest. Leave your comments by 7 pm CST, Sunday, December 5.
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 luck and counterintuitive espionage 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!

“Mom, I’m concerned about how many posts you’ve had this week. We kitties are getting frightfully overworked!” -Mayhem

Donâ€™t forget to enter the contest for Red Lights & Silver Bells (EMS Heat, Book 6) by Stephani Hecht! Contest closes 7 pm CST, December 9.

Of course, you must enter the contest for Trusted Bond (Change of Heart, Book 2) by Mary Calmes! Contest closes 7 pm CST, December 9.

Then go enter the contest for Chasing Alex by Em Woods and A Special Christmas by J.P. Bowie! Contest closes 10 pm CST, December 10.

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Bountiful linkity abounds

November 19, 2010 Chris 38 Comments

Thank you all so much for the birthday wishes on Wednesday! 🙂

Contests

Closetreader Lea’s giving away a copy of Beth Kery’s forthcoming steamy romance, Explosive, and a signed copy of Release. Contest closes at midnight EST, November 19 (aka today).

Smexy Mandi’s giving away winner’s choice of a signed copy of The Princess in His Bed or Awakened by a Kiss, both by Lila DiPasqua. Contest open through November 20.

Kris is giving away assorted swag and yaoi artwork that she picked up at Yaoi Con. Contest closes midnight Western Australia Time, November 22.

Blodeuedd’s giving away two copies of The Forever Queen by Helen Bollicks. Closes November 22, US & Canada only.

Cecile’s giving away a $65 gift card to CSN stores. Closes November 22, US & Canada only.

Book Addict Patti’s giving away three ebook sets of The Unidentified Redhead and The Redhead Revealed by Alice Clayton. Contest ends November 30.

Sweet Vernal Zephyr’s giving away copies of the holiday romances she grew up on – fill out the form by December 12 for your chance to win.

Bookity

New releases and more: Lily (so many m/m romances out this week…); Literary Escapism (UF/PNR news, contests, etc; upcoming Tor releases; lots of UF/PNR new releases); and Katiebabs (upcoming romances that intrigued her).

Remember Cook’s Source, the magazine that stole content, then thought the writer should pay them? They’re closing down… and blaming that same writer. *rolls eyes*

Theater on a giant book… (Thanks, Jase!)

Book news: Dear Author and ReadReactReview.

Lifehacker lists the five best distraction-free writing tools, their top ten tips for better writing, and amusing ways to brush up on your grammar.

The five stages of revision…

Too bad this reading glasses ring isn’t actually functional.

Ebookity

Samhain’s giving away four holiday-themed books for Kindle and Nook through mid-December, including titles from Josh Lanyon and Beth Kery.

Kris has posted Jambrea Jo Jones’s free choose your own m/m romance story, Once Upon a Dragon.

Kristi the Fiber Fool’s starting a serialized knitting ebook, Nourishing Knits: 24 Projects to Gift and Entertain. She’ll have subscription information when the first installment is ready. But you can go enter her contest to win a subscription now! (Make sure you read the rules on how to enter. Closes November 25.)

All About Romance makes some excellent points in this post asking (major) publishers why they’re treating readers who prefer ebooks like second-hand citizens.

It doesn’t surprise me that a recent study discovered people who read a lot prefer dedicated ereaders to multifunction devices.

It’s now possible to autograph ebooks! As someone who would prefer to only procure ebooks, I’ve had to continue buying paper books when it’s something I’d like signed – so I hope the technology is adopted.

If you’re planning to pick up a new ereader over the holidays, spend some time at the eBook Reader Blog checking their reviews – and their list of holiday sales. TeleRead has a Black Friday ereader specials roundup, too. Ereaders are expected to be popular gifts this holiday season, but the iPad’s likely too expensive to enjoy the same popularity. Even Consumer Reports has weighed in!

But maybe it would be better to start with Dear Author’s buying guide, which helps you figure out which device is right for you.

One Japanese manga publisher’s going to work with scanalators via a new licensing model to help meet the growing demand for translated manga in the US.

Gizmo’s Freeware has a list of 250 sites where you can pick up (legal) free ebooks.

How to print and bind your own copy of an ebook (which may violate your ebook license all over the place).

Are you an ebook hoarder or ebook reader? I’m both!

Learn, Make, Think, Do

I’m glad the Milky Way galaxy won this battle. (Thanks, Jase!)

Turn candy bars and vodka into a tasty chocolate beverage… sounds like a dangerous combination, actually.

I didn’t realize how many different things you can use toothpaste for besides brushing your teeth.

We can’t accurately predict how happy we’ll be in the future.

New research suggests jet lag can cause learning problems and long-term memory loss.

Some reusable shopping bags may contain lead.

Cheese has morphine in it – that explains a lot, doesn’t it?

Nanotechnology could turn trees into streetlights.

Oops, we’re back to not being sure if cell phones contribute to brain cancer or not.

Did you celebrate National UnFriend Day appropriately on Wednesday?

Don’t let a lack of snow prevent you from sledding.

Turn the sleeves from an old sweater into wrist warmers.

Drinking two cups of water before meals might help you lose weight.

Scientists have trapped anitmatter.

Scientists have also figured out how cats drink – and it’s definitely not the same way dogs drink.

Linkity Peeps

From Another Purl, some NaNoWriMo links, plus a knitted brain hat.

From Fiber Fool, craft, recipe, natural living, and photography linkity.

From Katiebabs, NSFW WTFery.

Thanksgiving

Have you perused CRAFT’s series of Thanksgiving recipes, which includes gluten-free recipes?

The Essential Gluten-Free Blog has some ideas for making gluten-free gravy and gluten-free stuffing. (My own gf cornbread stuffing is pretty darn tasty, if I do say so myself.)

Vegetarian recipes for Thanksgiving.

Maybe a homemade recirculating gravy fountain would liven up your Thanksgiving!

Pottermania

Do you have your custom Harry Potter Chucks ready? Or maybe you prefer Vans…

Can you name 200 Harry Potter characters in 18 minutes?

CRAFT has a pretty amazing Harry Potter craft roundup, including amigurumi, wands, and even a seat cover.

Harry Potter-related Cake Wrecks.

Even lolcats love Harry Potter!

Gift Ideas

Lens bracelets would make a fun gift for a photographer.

Perhaps a Space Invaders Christmas cross stitch for the geek in your life?

Maybe your Trekkie pals would appreciate some hand-knitted Star Trek potholders.

Know anyone who’d love a giant Star Wars LEGO minifig alarm clock?

Or maybe a usb hub shaped like a battleship?

Gizmodo has gift ideas for the handymanperson in your life.

Cool

Needle-felted Hubble telescope.

(Not quite) 1000 bloom chrysanthemum.

For a flashback to the days of loading software from lots of diskettes…

Felted circuit board slippers.

Google Product Search can now show you which items are in stock locally.

Huh

The fertilization watch?!

Underwear with an iPhone pocket…

Bacon bikini fundraising scam?!

Because you can never have enough bare butts hanging on your Christmas tree…

A pillow that’s also a remote control…

If you’re feeling a lack of something in your life, maybe you just need an individual pie-making machine.

Um. The boner timer for your turkey?!

Waffle shoes, anyone?

Buy a truck, get a free AK-47…

Canned unicorn meat is now “real.”

The UK has asked fast food and soda companies to help write health policy?!

The TSA’s sense of humor makes me nervous, too.

After watching the demented teddy bears video, I was afraid to watch the other video…

LOL

I’m not sure this is funny to we introverts.

Saint or doormat?

The Bloggess goes to Belize…

Because what could be better to illustrate how babies are made than paper cut-outs…

Check out the photos from a vintage knitting pattern book that Knitnzu found! Her captions make this suitable reading for the discerning m/m romance aficionado.

Mushroom hates this game. (Thanks, Jase!)

Hyperbole and a Half on moving with two dysfunctional dogs.

Squirrel!Neo!

Ceiling Peacock strikes!

A new Simon’s Cat! (Thanks, Brigitte!)

Have you checked your bathroom for an infestation?!

Bad kitties!

Kitties in sweaters… but no photos of the injuries the owners sustained because of said sweaters.

It’s not easy to be Basement Cat when there aren’t any basements.

Awww…

Teh Cute

Penguins! Opossum! Meerkats! Tanukis! Sad floofy kitten! Floofy kitten! Ferret! Hedgie! Tanuki pup! Kitten! Kitten! Baby otter! Kitten! Tanuki pup! Tiny koala! Kittens!

Reading Update
His for the Holidays by L.B. Gregg, Harper Fox, Z.A. Maxfield, & Josh Lanyon. ebook advance review copy. Excellent collection of four m/m holiday romances. From LB Gregg’s trademark madcap romp to Harper Fox’s angst-filled tale of a detective inspector possibly beyond redemption, each story shines. Highly recommended and very satisfying read.
Kindling Fire with Snow by Kate McMurray. ebook. Very good short m/m romance about two guys, who’d been each others first boyfriends in high school, who run into each other at a bar during a blizzard and have the chance to reconnect.
Handcuffs and Trouble (Rawlings Men, Book 4) by Kim Dare. ebook. Good kinky m/m romance about a rookie constable who thinks he must be getting hazed or something when he ends up in a dangerous dive bar with no idea who he’s supposed to find. Good thing he’s found first. 🙂
A Realistic Romance by Andi Anderson. ebook. Good m/m romance about a closeted rock star who agrees under duress to be on a reality tv show to help bolster his faltering career, but is alarmed to discover that the guy he’ll be sharing a small cabin with is very cute and very out. A little bit more editing attention would really have helped this book a lot.
Friday Night Jamie by Bren Christopher. ebook. Good m/m romance (that turns into romantic suspense along the way) about an accountant from a rough background who works diligently during the week, then goes out to pick up a different guy every Friday night.
A Tempting Distraction (Lost Shifters, Book 7) by Stephani Hecht. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about Owen, a tiger shifter who was rescued in the previous book and is trying to adjust to life in the Coalition, where he’s not trusted because of his criminal past.
Pride and Joey by Devon Rhodes. ebook short. Good short paranormal m/m romance about a gay lion shifter, hiding his nature from his pride and its homophobic alpha, when he runs across a tranqed cougar shifter. Hopefully Devon will write a bit more in this world!
Once Upon a Dragon by Jambrea Jo Jones. free ebook short. Cute free short m/m fairy tale reminiscent of Sleeping Beauty, with dragon shifters thrown in to make things more interesting.
Twenty Years Until Yes by Cindy Rosenthal. ebook short. Sweet short m/m romance about a long-term couple that takes place in three parts (1984, 1994, and 2004), following changing attitudes about gay couples.
The Hitch-Hiker (The Tomcat Line, Book 1) by Stevie Woods. ebook. Ok m/m romantic suspense about an archeologist who’s made a huge discovery and is now on the run from his jealous colleagues looking to claim the glory for themselves. When he hitches a ride with a handsome trucker, neither of them has any idea what’s ahead of them.
The Lost Temple (The Tomcat Line, Book 2) by Stevie Woods. ebook. Ok m/m romantic suspense continuing the adventures of our trucker and our archeologist/professor. Think gay Indiana Jones, plus bonus stalker. 🙂
Halfway by K.I.L. Kenny. ebook. Ok m/m romance about a college student who’s in the process of pledging the same frat his dad had been in. He falls for a crossdressing townie, but his status in the frat causes problems. Be prepared for an abrupt HFN (I guess) ending and a bit of a plot hole.
Use Your Illusion by Jade Falconer. ebook short. Ok short m/m romance about a college student with a crush on a straight jock who doesn’t know he exists. (Wait, what are the odds of reading two books about college students and crossdressing in the same week?)
The Rosebud by M. Raiya. ebook short. Doctors Without Borders Charity Sip Blitz. Very good short m/m romance about a guy who can heal with touch… but at a personal cost that’s kept him on the road for years.
Going Home by C.B. Conwy. ebook short. Doctors Without Borders Charity Sip Blitz. Very good short m/m romance about a guy who’s been staying at home in the States while his boyfriend works throughout the world, providing medical aid. But now the distance thing isn’t working so well anymore…
The Pavilion by Tracy Rowan. ebook short. Doctors Without Borders Charity Sip Blitz. Good m/m romance about a British doctor who shuts down emotionally and moves to the US after his lover dies.
The Boyfriend Line by Avery Zeno. ebook short. Doctors Without Borders Charity Sip Blitz. Very good short m/m romance about a guy who’s just learned that he might have cancer, but isn’t sure he should discuss it with his “friend with benefits” since it might be crossing “the boyfriend line.”
Take It Slow by Taylor Lochland. ebook short. Doctors Without Borders Charity Sip Blitz. Good short m/m romance about an injured runner who finds himself very attracted to the orthopedic specialist.
Have Hope by Emily Moreton. ebook short. Doctors Without Borders Charity Sip Blitz. Decent short m/m story about a double agent whose current mission does not go at all as planned. Be aware that this has no HEA or even HFN.
Ask the Fire by Dennis Paddie. ebook. I think this was spy thriller with delusions of literary grandeur… Trying to read it hurt my brain – I made it through the Prologue and a chunk of the first chapter, but I just couldn’t wade through the byzantine language and plot any more. DNF.

“Remember, Mayhem, if we don’t make eye contact with Mom, we can’t actually be in trouble for being on the table.” -Chaos

“Lalalalalala, I can’t see you, Mom!” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Loungetastic Linkity!

October 15, 2010 Chris 35 Comments

Congrats to Jenre, who won her choice from LA Witt’s backlist!

Congrats to cturtlechick, who won Why Jay Ran Away (Contact, Book 3) by Jade Archer! Why Jay Ran Away will be available from Total-E-Bound on October 18.

Congrats to Mary F, who won Blood and Alchemy (Drone Vampires, Book 11) and a bonus copy of The Third Floor by Stephani Hecht. How did Mary get so lucky? Well, after I kicked off the contest for Blood and Alchemy, the publication date got changed from October 15 to October 31; The Third Floor is being released today instead. Stephani’s giving Mary a copy of The Third Floor to help tide her over until the 31st – and you can still enter to win a copy of The Third Floor. 🙂

Contests

Katiebabs is giving away her f/f romance, Lovestruck, and her f/f pirate romance, The Princess’s Bride, in honor of National Coming Out Day. Comment by October 16 for your chance to win.

Blodeuedd’s giving away two copies of Mr. Darcy’s Obsession by Abigail Reynolds. Comment by October 18 to enter. (US and Canada)

Devon Rhodes is giving away an ebook copy of her latest menage romance, Falling for the Other Brother. Comment by October 20 for your chance to win.

Tracy’s giving away a copy of Wanda E. Brunstetter’s latest Amish romance, Lydia’s Charm. To enter, leave a comment by 11:59 pm PDT, October 22.

Bookity

New releases and more: Lily (m/m romance),Â Literary Escapism (UF/PNR news, contests, new releases), Donna Fantasy Dreamer (UF/PNR/YA, etc), SciFiGuy (UF news, contests, etc), and All About Romance (romances available in November).

Bookity linkity from ReadReactReview’s Monday Morning Stepback.

KMont on why negative book reviews have value, too.

Smexy Mandi has a great post on what author websites should and shouldn’t have.

Can’t bear to get rid of your old books? Here are 10 DIY projects for repurposing your old books.

Singing and dancing librarians!

Ebookity

Jordan Castillo Price muses on whether having sales and giving books away devalues books. Jordan’s going to be a featured author at Rainbow eBooks this weekend and her excellent paranormal m/m romance, Among the Living (PsyCop, Book 1), will be free 10/16-10/17.

Apparently there’s an ebook gap between the US and the rest of the world.

Consumer demand for pirated ebooks didn’t grow in 2010.

A recent study found that the Kindle has 76% of the ebook market.

Dear Author shares some thoughts on Android tablets for reading ebooks.

If you read ebooks on your iPad/iPhone/etc, a new app called Bluefire Reader will let you read encrypted epub and pdf books.

Confused about DRM? The eBook Reader’s guide might help.

TeleRead has an interesting post about how having an ebook reader changes the way we shop for books.

Think, Learn, Make, Do

Be careful if you take up molecular gastronomy!

Writing by hand instead of typing might give your brain a boost.

Ever wondered why you look so different between photos and the mirror?

Apparently we have a limited amount of willpower.

Careful what you name the files on your computer – if you have to take your computer in for repairs and the repair people find your filenames alarming, they can call the police to investigate your files. At the very least, a big hassle even if you don’t have anything you shouldn’t on your computer.

Five myths about federal taxes. (Thanks, CursingMama!)

A video reminding us how important it is to vote.

Opt out of getting the Yellow Pages delivered to your address. Or build a house from the Yellow Pages if you’ve waited too long to opt out.

Get a six-pack without that pesky exercise stuff.

I had no idea that there were 1.5 million mobile phone users in 1964!

Peek at the desks of artists, writers, and other creative people.

Ok Cupid analyzed its 3.2 million users (gay and straight) and discovered *gasp* that “gay people are basically the same as everyone else.“

Crochet an angel duckie or a devil duckie… or both and have duckie smackdown! (Thanks, Kim!)

Knit or crochet yeti baby booties!

Linkity Peeps

Kristi has craft, photography, and food links.

Sidney has links that caught her eye.

Both Katiebabs and Eyre have NSFW WTFery links.

Halloweeny

Find out what candy is gluten-free!

Make a BP cleanup crew costume!

Crochet a brain hat!

Bake a salt dough organ plate!

Make bloody brain cupcakes!

DIY fuzzy-headed mini pumpkins!

Make baked pumpkin oatmeal!

Cool

An instrumental video featuring cats. (Thanks, Stephani!)

A Lego letterpress.

Maps made from typefaces.

Star Wars as a papercraft video.

A future coral reef made from (fake) people.

The Simpsons title sequence created by a graffiti artist.

The “Homophobia Kills” Flash Mob Die-In at NYC’s Grand Central Station.

Check out some of the things that Improv Everywhere’s done.

Pancake dinosaur!

This one hovers between cool and huh: knitted tiger pelts.

Huh

I think the Portable Armrest makes people look like escaped asylum patients…

Slanket armchair?

Surely you need spaghetti and meatball high heels?

If you’ve always wanted to get married in McDonald’s, Hong Kong McDonald’s will soon be offering $400 wedding packages!

LOL

Franklin on photo retouching…

How the Leaning Tower of Pisa was really made. 😉

The drama of Squirrel!Neo continues.

All hail (and fear!) the God of Cake!

Why you shouldn’t friend your mother on Facebook.

The real Transformers.

Curse that long piece in Tetris…

Kitty as mood killer.

Life cycle of a hairball…

Cat-like typing detected.

Basement Cat has many important decisions to make each day.

Have you tried purrigami, the art of kitten folding?

Teh Cute

Kitties playing in a yarn ball storm – but remember that it is very dangerous to let kitties play with string or yarn! It can kill kitties.

Wee piglet! Kitten! Kittens! Coati! Kittens! Fossa! Kittens! Dog licking kitten! Hatching duckling! Kittens! Kitten! Kitten! Sleepy jaguar(?) cub! Baby sloth! Heart-shaped kittens! Leapin’ Lambert! Kittens! Zombie bunny! Cougar cubs!

Reading Update
Like Pizza and Beer (Dino & Seth, Book 2) by Elle Parker. ebook. Excellent m/m romantic suspense that you should not even pick up until you’ve read the first book, Like Coffee and Doughnuts. That won’t be a hardship. 🙂 Dino takes on two new cases: one for Seth, trying to find dirt on Seth’s sister’s scumbag boyfriend, the other for his own ex-girlfriend, which makes Seth very jealous. Add to that Dino’s own discomfort with anyone knowing that he’s dating Seth…
Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Clare London. ebook. Very good short m/m romance about a guy waiting at the airport for a very good friend who’s been overseas for a final job interview. Since his friend’s flight turns out to be delayed 12 hours, he has plenty of time to think about how much he’ll miss his friend and how much he screwed up the last time they saw each other. Some very unusual people sit near him and help distract him from his thoughts… or do they?
Picture Postcards by J.M. Snyder. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about a guy, in love with his best friend, who drifts out of touch after his friend marries a woman… and then a postcard arrives in the mail.
Bittersweet Seasons by Fabian Black. ebook. Very good collection of short, poignant m/m romances, most of which touch on seasons or time passing.
Maxxed Out by Treva Harte. ebook. Good m/m romance about Max, a college student who hasn’t come out to his parents, who shows up at the door of his (deceased) brother’s best friend with an agenda… The one detractor was the alternating first person, which, while done pretty well, was confusing at times.
Sub for Hire by Claire Thompson. ebook. So-so kinky m/m romance about an author who works as a sub-for-hire at a professional dungeon until he can support himself with his writing. He can handle the job, as long as he’s able to keep his emotions detached, because he actually longs for a loving D/s relationship. Again, I just can’t engage with Claire Thompson’s older books the way I can with her newer books. This was particularly challenging, because I wasn’t overly fond of the dominant characters.
Burning Up by Z.A. Maxfield. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about a fire dancer, entertaining on the street, who gets heckled by a drunken idiot with a quieter, nicer friend.
Lockdown by Augusta Li & Eon De Beaumont. ebook short. Ok short m/m story about a superhero and a supervillain who are locked in a nuclear power plant after their fight damages the core…
In Knots by Celia Kyle. ebook short. Meh kinky short paranormal m/m romance about a human sub who goes to a werewolf bdsm club. At least there were some amusing editing fails.
Call Me Sir, Too (Sir, Book 2) by Stormy Glenn. ebook. Meh kinky m/m romance about a Dom and sub who met in the first book. Since then the Dom’s been gone on mysterious business and the sub’s been seriously traumatized and injured by an evil Dom. Will the good Dom be able to get the sub to trust again? My favorite line in the whole book (and I’m reproducing it exactly!): “That strange twinkled shinned in Dante’s eyes again.”
The Magic in Your Touch (Reed, Book 1) by Sara Bell. ebook. Meh m/m romance from an author whose more recent work I really love. Chicks with dicks, insta-love, stalker(s)… *sigh*
You Don’t Need a Doctor by Julia Talbot. ebook short. Doctors Without Borders Charity Sip Blitz. Good short paranormal m/m romance about an ER doctor who notices that the shooting victim he’s treating is awfully hairy and has very pointy teeth and is healing very fast… This would’ve been better as a longer story, because so much was crammed in.
El Cedral by Kiernan Kelly. ebook short. Doctors Without Borders Charity Sip Blitz. Very good short m/m romance about a doctor from NYC, taking a sabbatical from his cushy hospital job, who agrees to help out an old friend at his clinic on an impoverished Mexican island.

“None of you better be thinking of trying to steal my stripey socks! I’m keeping an eye on you!” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Leapin’ linkity lizards!

August 20, 2010 Chris 42 Comments

Congrats to Nikyta, who won Wild Thing by Mia Watts! Wild Thing will be released on August 23 by Total-E-Bound.

Contests

Leave a comment by August 21 at Smexy Books for your chance to win a copy of Kresley Cole’s forthcoming paranormal romance, Demon From the Dark (Immortals After Dark #10).

LesleyW’s curious if there’s a series of books that you’ve given up on – leave a comment with your answer before August 21 for your chance to win a copy of Sexiest Man Alive by Diana Holquist.

Tracy’s giving away a copy of Jennifer Crusie’s latest romance, Maybe This Time. Leave a comment by 11:59 pm PDT, August 26, for your chance to win.

Head over to Book Faery to read about Carolyn Crane’s favorite messed-up alpha hero moments and have a chance to win a signed copy of either Mind Games or the forthcoming Double Cross! Fill out the form by September 4 for your chance to win.

Bookity

New releases: Lily (m/m romance), Katiebabs (various romances with appealing covers), and Literary Escapism (upcoming UF/PNR release dates).

Some really interesting articles and discussions about m/m romance, gay literature, queer identity, and more: TeddyPig, TeddyPig again, James Buchanan, K.Z. Snow, Gehayi, and Katiebabs.

Sweet Vernal Zephyr provides a concise overview of bdsm in books.

ReadReactReview with some Twitter dos and don’ts for authors.

Do you read in gulps or sips?

*gasp* Some literary authors appear to have realized that genre authors have more fun and usually sell better.

This definitely gave me a high school flashback: how to cover a book with a paper bag.

Via Smart Bitches, differences in fantasy cover art from 2008 to 2009 and changing cover art fashion trends for urban fantasy heroines during the same time.

This tribute to Where the Wild Things Are is both sweet and sad.

Ebookity

The next installment of Kris’s “Choose Your Own M/M Romance Story” (I’ll Tell You a Secret, Jackalope by Matthew Vandrew) is now available!

Kindlefolk, the excellent m/m romance Collision Course by K.A. Mitchell is currently free.

The current state of non-iPad tablet computer rumors.

Speaking of the iPad, maybe yours would like to be camouflaged as a leather-bound book.

Maybe your ereader would enjoy a vintage book cover.

An American Editor on psychological price-point barriers for ebooks.

Ebook linkity post from TeleRead.

Some state-by-state library ebook statistics.

The head of Library Information Technology at the University of Tennessee on how trying to treat digital content like physical content is a path leading to madness.

Newsweek has a good chart on ebooks.

One reader’s thoughts on how publishers could get him to buy more ebooks.

Why do you read ebooks?

The ebook news drinking game…

Think, Learn, Make, Do

Quite a few brands of eggs are being recalled due to salmonella – make sure the ones in your fridge aren’t on the recall list. (Thanks, trek!)

Target’s support of an anti-gay gubernatorial candidate here in Minnesota has led to boycotts and a very creative musical protest.

Nice history of the internet infographic. A scary infographic on texting trends. And an interesting article on the history of some common computer symbols.

Apparently our computer/smartphone lifestyles are hard on our eyes.

If you’re on Facebook, you might want to think about disabling the new Facebook Places feature.

Did you know that you can save money by emailing to phones instead of texting to them?

The FCC reports that those “up to” speeds promised by your broadband provider are kind of a joke.

Lifehacker lists the best online places to learn things for free.

Gizmodo lists the ten most dangerous things you can do online, securitywise.

Apparently venting your frustration and anger only makes you more angry and frustrated.

Make a really sturdy scratching post for your cat.

I love this embroidered quote.

Perhaps you need a print-and-fold robot skull around the house.

Make yourself a Frappuccino on a stick.

Gluten-Free

Mmmm… gfÂ zucchini banana bread…

What does the recent trendiness of the gf diet mean for celiacs?

Knitting & Crochet

Marsha has a scarf-themed linkity post.

Maybe the next baby gift you knit should be baby’s first DNA model. (Thanks, Kim!)

Come on, you know you want to knit devil’s head balaclavas for everyone you know. (Thanks again, Kim!)

Knitted ankle bracelets with bells on them – for kids… or for adults…………

What a cute crocheted rainbow change purse!

Linkity Peeps

Nicole has writing and knitting links.

Jessica has the Monday Morning Stepback at ReadReactReview.

KB’s weekly WTFery post is not guaranteed to be work safe.

Huh

This Testicle Festival is not what you think it is… (Thanks, Bron!)

Have trouble waking up in the morning? Maybe you need an alarm clock that runs away.

Do not attempt to make a car safety seat out of cardboard for your child.

The Canadian government has decided to stop using a penis-measuring lie detector on youthful sex offenders.

Turtle mice.

I’m glad this isn’t a real tricycle.

IMAX 3D p0rn?!

Bacon dinner party, complete with photos and menu.

Meat-Man Parfait, anyone?

Fried chicken dipped in red velvet cake batter?!

I’m not sure the world is ready for pies baked inside of cakes.

LOL

If you’ve ever watched Dora, you’ll appreciate Jennifer Armintrout’s spoof.

Meljean Brook’s curious about what’s underneath Superman’s costume….

Animator versus animation!

A short educational film about landsharks…

There’s a new Simon’s Cat episode! Plus some other kitties in boxes…

Ack! Nine kittens?!

Twilight, the kitteh version…

Do not try to give Basement Cat a bath.

Who could fear evil this floofy?! Or this wee?

Teh Cute

Is the world really ready for these adorable cat band-aids?

This baby panda makes some of the most pathetic sounds ever as it tries to climb a step.

I’m pretty sure those penguins do not have the butterfly’s best interests at heart.

Melly’s tummy! Kittens and the Bean! Sand cat! Baby panda! Naughty kitten! Baby penguins! Floofy kittens! Sweet black cat! Kitten with a feather! Kitten!

Reading Update
Fugly by K.Z. Snow. ebook. Excellent m/m romance about three extremely superficial friends who hit on the wrong man’s husband in a bar. Afterward, they discover that the men they find attractive and hit on now shun them due to a mysterious rash that has appeared on their faces.
A Red-Tainted Silence by Carolyn Gray. ebook. Very good, emotionally draining m/m romantic suspense about two successful musicians, who’ve loved each other since their teens, and the outside forces and people that have torn them apart and nearly destroyed them. Constantly switching between the present and the past, half the story is told from one’s perspective; the rest from the other’s.
Chaos Magic, Love Runes, and Personal Demons (The Gods & Chaos Series) by Jay Lygon. ebooks. Very good kinky m/m urban fantasy series about a willful submissive who’s also a powerful witch and who worships an unusual set of gods: the God of Traffic, The God of Negotiation, etc. As he tries to stay out of the way of his abusive ex, he meets a powerful and compelling dominant and his whole life changes.
The Harem Boy by Jay Lygon. ebook short. Good short kinky m/m romance about Ophir and Chris, two of the characters from the Gods & Chaos series.
Chain-Male by Angelia Sparrow & Naomi Brooks. ebook. Good, quirky m/m romance about a librarian who meets a guy in the history class he’s auditing and gets a history lesson he won’t soon forget.
His Hearth by Mary Calmes. ebook. Good m/m paranormal romance about a guy who’s wildly successful in his advertising career, but much less so when he dates.
Stirring Up Trouble by Z.A. Maxfield. Good m/m romance about a chef who only lasts a few months at any job before getting fired. He ends up working at a failing neighborhood restaurant owned by an anti-social guy who looks pretty tasty when he’s cooking in his Utilikilt…
A Big Hunk O’ Love by Hunter Raines. ebook. So-so short m/m romance about a recently divorced, deeply in the closet mechanic who takes a trip to Alaska with his (gay) best friend, who’s an Elvis impersonator.
Blind Faith by Claire Thompson. ebook short. Ok short m/m romance about a guy, blinded in a car accident, who sees himself as damaged goods that no one could find attractive anymore.
Continuum of Longing by Claire Thompson. ebook short. Ok short m/m romance about two guys who work together in a bank, neither of whom realizes that their attraction is mutual.

“What?!!” -Chaos

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Pick a peck of peppered linkity

July 16, 2010 Chris 36 Comments

Contests

JessaLu is celebrating her birthday with a contest – she’s giving away some handspun yarn and some of her gorgeous bucket bags. Stop by and wish her a happy birthday before midnight EDT, July 16 (yup, that is today), for your chance to win. And, hey, mention that I sent you. 🙂

Lea’s giving away a $10 Amazon gift card, plus your choice of a Beth Kery or Julie James book from the Book Depository. Leave a comment with your three to ten favorite movies by midnight EDT, July 16.

Wendy’s giving away four skeins of gorgeous sock yarn – leave a comment by noon EDT, July 18, for your chance to win one.

Mandi’s giving away a copy of Sean Cummings’s latest urban fantasy, Funeral Pallor (Valerie Stevens #2). US & Canada only. Contest runs through July 18.

Over the Edge Book Reviews is giving away a signed copy of Dark Warrior: Untamed, the latest paranormal romance by Alexis Morgan. Contest runs through July 18.

Heidi’s giving away a skein of Kraemer Sterling Silk and Silver yarn – check out her blog for multiple ways to enter the contest, which closes July 20.

Ms Moonlight’s giving away five steamy print books (three from Samantha Kane’s m/m series Brothers at Arms, Stranded by Eve Vaughn, & Alpha’s Mate by Leah Brooke) – for your chance to win, you need to be a follower in the US or Canada and write captions for the three posted book covers. Contest closes July 21.

Learn a little more about Kim Dare and leave a comment before July 23 for your chance to win an ebook from her backlist.

Morning Glow’s celebrating her birthday by giving away a $40 gift certificate to CSN Stores (US & Canada only). Contest closes 12 am EDT, July 23.

Bookity

New releases: Lily (m/m romance), Renee (eclectic short listing of June books), Katiebabs (eclectic listing of future releases), and Literary Escapism (UF/PNR, with interviews, contests, and more).

Smokin’ Hot Books has some m/m romance book recommendations.

Dear Author does linkity posts several times each week. While Dear Author’s linkity is usually serious stuff, the linkity at Smart Bitches is definitely much less so!

Dear Author reports back from RomCon on what readers think about book covers.

Do you read Good Show Sir? They look at scifi/fantasy book covers and try to recreate what the art director must’ve told the artist to end up with the cover in question… 🙂

Ebookity

An American Editor on ebooks and the TBR (to-be-read) pile.

Ebook sales were up 162% in May.

TeddyPig on increasing ebook sales and decreasing brick & mortar bookstore sales.

Will publishers learn from the recording industry’s mistakes, or will they make the same mistakes with ebooks that the recording industry made with the internet? Can traditional publishers even adapt to the internet?

How should a publisher choose which platform to use for ebook publishing? (My thought: Please don’t be platform-specific!)

IKEA Hacker has a very inexpensive way to make an iPad or ebook reader stand.

Learn, Do, Make, Think

A real unicorn! (Thanks, Amy!)

If you’ve always wanted to be a mermaid/man, now you can make your own functional swim tail!

This is clever – make a self-cleaning pet bowl using a fish tank filter.

You probably thought you knew everything there was to know about Star Wars. You’d be wrong! (Thanks, Stephani!)

Curious about the lies people tell during online dating? (I now understand why every guy who claimed to be my height of 5’9″ was actually shorter than me when we met!)

How to be positive and supportive on social networks, yet not annoy everyone.

Oh oh – the five-second rule is under attack by actual science.

No! Foodborne illnesses from salsa and guac?!

Common kitchen myths debunked… wait, that baking soda isn’t doing any good?! Waaaah!

This hand-crank coffee grinder looks pretty cool.

What will the unemployed astronauts be doing in 2012?

If you have a DSLR, you can make your own inexpensive negative scanner (although my dad suggested you paint the inside of the toilet paper tubes matte black).

Very cool poster from the 2009 Love Your Body Campaign. (Thanks Jase!)

Do you know what caffeine is actually doing in your body and brain?

Linkity Peeps

Eyre’s back with more of her completely NSFW linkity.

Kristi’s back with photography, knitting, and food linkity.

Huh

Make a paper clone of yourself.

Ugh. Clothing grown from bacteria?

A clock that tells time by knitting.

If you crochet and have a small car…

Just say no to canned sandwiches, ok?

A lawnmower tricycle?

What has it got in its pockets? (Thanks, Jeanne!)

Bodily fluids represented in paper art, via CRAFT…

Sperm plush dolls??! (Thanks???, Stephani!)

The Transportation Safety Administration is recruiting via… pizza boxes?! (Really, that explains so much, doesn’t it?)

LOL

Brilliant! Twilight Eclipse as told by cats. (Thanks, Bronwyn!)

Vampires on Facebook…

Your parents on Facebook! (Via Eric Arvin)

Do you know what the nine stupidest superhero secret identities are? (Thanks, Stephani!)

Erm. It’s not often that cake is NSFW, but… more superheroes!

Kitty as a video game.

Kitty sleeping habits.

Kitty porta-potty…

Beware the soul vortex!

Hmm. I think some of these kittehs are more Purgatory Kittehs than Basement Kittehs.

O noes! “Missing” kitty! (Thanks, Jeanne!)

Teh Cute

Kittens! Kittens! Kitten! Kitties! Kittens! Kitties and puppies! Kitten! Floofy kitten! Fundraising kittens!

You probably need Daily Bunny in your life. (Thanks, Jase!)

Kitty wants cake!

Danger! I Can Haz Cheezburger is doing linkity posts, too.

Reading Update
Truth in the Dark by Amy Lane. ebook. Excellent m/m version of Beauty and the Beast about a bitter, disfigured woodcarver who agrees to leave with a strange part man, part beast so that he will no longer be a barrier to his sister’s happiness.
Truthful Change by Jane Davitt & Alexa Snow. ebook. Very good kinky m/m romance about a retired mercenary who becomes fascinated by his seemingly innocent gardener…
Jacob’s Ladder (St. Nacho’s, Book 3) by Z.A. Maxfield. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a pastry chef who ends up in St. Nacho’s because of a cold and domestic violence. He’s planning to leave town as soon as his brother can pick him up… but you know how plans like that go in St. Nacho’s!
Start from the Beginning by Chrissy Munder. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a guy who recently had a stress-induced heart attack and is now staying at a friend’s cabin to learn how to slow his life down. Without much to do, he becomes fascinated by the reclusive artist who lives in a nearby cabin.
Fair Winds by Chrissy Munder. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a guy who’s supposed to be part of a sailboat’s crew during a big race, until the other crewmembers find out he’s gay. I’d really like to see a sequel to this one!
Blast from the Past by Stephani Hecht. ebook. Good m/m romance about a teacher who was laid off and is now working at a daycare center, where he runs into the guy he had a huge crush on in high school.
A Detour Home by Devon Rhodes. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about two college-age friends who’ve known each other for years, but not done anything about their attraction until they work together on summer road crew job.
Undeniable Magnetism by Bonnie Dee. ebook. Good m/m romance about two men who are very different (black/white, closeted/out, white-collar/blue-collar) who may or may not be getting involved with each other.
Runaway Love by Z.A. Maxfield. free ebook short. Good short m/m romance about an artist who’s driving to San Francisco when he stops to pick up two young hitchhikers.
Beautiful Sunset by Sarah Masters. ebook short. Lyrical short paranormal m/m romance about a man who was brutally betrayed by his boyfriend; since then, he’s been going to sit by a small lake and feed bread to a heron and think.
Life After by Jaime Samms. ebook short. Ok short m/m romance about a guy who’s taking some time off from the law firm where he works as he reevaluates his life. He’s been spending a lot of time thinking in the cemetery, until one day the caretaker walks up and starts talking to him.
Unstoppable Force by Lisa Marie Davis. ebook. Good m/m romance about a successful businessman who doesn’t believe in love, so he simply hires high-class prostitutes for a weekend or a few weeks. And then he hires a guy who starts to really get under his skin… and whose past isn’t quite ready to let him go. This would’ve been a much better read if everything hadn’t been tidied it up in half a chapter and an epilogue – it definitely felt rushed.
Martin and the Wolf by Anne Brooke. ebook. Very good short paranormal m/m romance about a guy who has a scorching hot encounter with a crude and mysterious man at a friend’s garden party – an encounter that he doesn’t realize will change his life.
Sweet Surrender by Ashleigh Walton. ebook. So-so, but very sweet, m/m romance about an architecture student who starts dating a guy with his own landscaping business. A bit too syrupy for my taste.

“But if I show you my super soft tummy, you might think that means you can rub it. And it doesn’t. At all.” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

In which Mayhem taunts all of you and I include a few links

April 8, 2010 Chris 39 Comments

Contests

Author Carolyn Crane will be interviewed live on Write On Radio at 11 am CDT today (Thursday, April 8 ) – you can call in for your chance to win a signed copy of her recent urban fantasy, Mind Games!

Leave a comment with the name of your favorite baseball team by midnight CDT, April 9, for your chance to win a $100 Threadless gift certificate, plus assorted books and cds from Largehearted Boy.

Katiebabs is giving away a copy of Louisa Edward’s contemporary romance, On the Steamy Side, plus some other goodies. Leave a comment by April 10 telling her your favorite food to cook for your chance to win.

Janna’s giving away a copy of Lorie O’Clare’s new romantic suspense, Strong, Sleek and Sinful. Leave a comment before April 13 for your chance to win.

Anastasia’s giving away a copy of Kirsten Kelly’s new fantasy, Halith. Fill out the form by midnight MDT, April 15.

Leontine is giving away nearly 20 books (romantic suspense, paranormals, historicals, and more) to someone who leaves a meaningful comment by April 30.

Karen’s trying whip her knitting WIPs into shape. Answer the questions (how many WIPs will she have left at the end of April and will she be able to resist starting any new projects during the month) in her comments by midnight (Danish time), April 20, for your chance to win two skeins of Malabrigo worsted.

Books & Reading

Information about new releases and contests: Lily’s I Love Books (m/m romance); All Things Urban Fantasy (144 urban fantasy contests!); SciFi Guy’s weekend report, fantasy and scifi releases for April, and urban fantasy and paranormal releases for April; and Literary Escapism’s April Escapist Newsletter (urban fantasy, paranormal, etc).

Take a few minutes to complete the Book Smugglers’ survey about book covers.

Oh, the drama! An ethicist at the New York Times suggested it was ok (ethically) to download electronic copies of books that you already own in print form if there isn’t an electronic version available.

Lots and lots of iPad posts this past week. Some that I starred: Smart Bitches, Dear Author, and TeleRead.

How do publishers decide the value of a book? And how is the new “agency model” going to affect publishing and bookselling?

TeleRead has some examples of the “freemium model” in action and how it might apply to ebooks.

What are the environmental impacts of ebooks?

Lifehacker has a nice guide to converting ebooks to ePub format using Calibre.

Nicole found some great links – make sure you follow the one to Librarysarie’s post about her new favorite Dewey number.

Romance author trading cards!

Eek! The Zombies of Lake Woebegotten?!

Learn & Do

Hmm. Looking at sick people boosts your immune system?!

At the end of April, the US Postal Service will be releasing a set of commemorative stamps to help raise awareness of animals in shelters.

Speaking of which… there are an estimated 300,000 feral cats in Miami Beach! 🙁

Recipes to make your own Girl Scout cookies.

Make a biosphere for your cubicle.

The giant LEGO tarantula is pretty darn creepy.

Whoa. The thirty strangest animal mating habits, courtesy of KZ Snow.

Things I Found Amusing

Beware stock photos!

The city of Ely, Minnesota, always does something clever for April Fool’s Day and this year was no exception.

If you’ve ever been addicted to Tetris, think twice before reading this xkcd comic, as it may cause twitching.

A high-level explanation of computer problems. (As always at xkcd, make sure you hover your cursor over the comic to get additional text.)

Q and Data examine the iPad.

High heels made out of circuit boards?! They look scratchy to me…

In which black kitty Maura turns out not to be pregnant.

Poor Basement Kitteh. His favorite mode of transportation revealed!

Chaos??

Do you have captafallaphobia?

Cute!

Aww and aww and aww.

I sure wouldn’t try to take that toy away from that kitten.

I love the last picture in this post.

Reading Update
Admit One by Jenna Hilary Sinclair. ebook. Wow. This m/m romance gutted me, because it was such a powerful read. And yet… I can’t tell you much about it, because part of its power and impact is in how the story develops and in how things are revealed. At the most simple level, it’s the story of a deeply closeted high school teacher in conservative rural Texas, who very occasionally drives to Houston to hook up with someone – but never the same someone twice. It’s a story of being afraid, of having extremely valid reasons to be afraid, and of living a life so constrained by those fears as to barely be alive. Definitely recommended.
Give and Take by Anne Brooke. ebook short. Good m/m romance about a guy who, two years after his partner of 13 years died, is out at a bar trying to connect with another guy for the first time in a very long time – and he so doesn’t want to have to make all the decisions…
Journey to Compromise by Mara Ismine. ebook short. Good paranormal m/m romance about a guy following an itch to travel. He’s had a bad year (lost love, lost job), but maybe things are starting to look up…
Healthy Obsession by Carolyn LeVine Topol. ebook short. Meh m/m romance about a player who’s finally decided he needs more out of life than one-night stands. While he’s at the gym, he meets a guy in the process of getting divorced and coming out and it’s twue wuv. (Hmm. Kinda snarky there. Possibly because I wanted to slap characters while I was reading.)
A Promise Given by Stormy Glenn. ebook. The usual m/m romance fare from Stormy Glenn in this follow-up to A Promise Kept. Can Alec possibly have a good reason for vanishing from Cooper’s life ten years ago? And if they have that pesky serial killer behind bars, who’s killing guys that fit the same profile now?
Blue Skye and Ryan’s Harbor by Viki Lyn. ebooks. After reading and enjoying Viki Lyn’s paranormal m/m romance, Last Chance, I decided to try this pair of m/m contemporary romances. Meh. Blue Skye was about an out artist and a closeted architect who meet again as adults. They were friends in high school, until they acted on their attraction and the architect fearfully rushed back into his closet. Ryan’s Harbor was about the architect’s gay assistant and the architect’s straight brother – this was a better read than Blue Skye, but be warned that the HFN ending suggests there could be more books in the future… *sigh*
Rescue by Sean Michael. ebook short. A quick little m/m about a guy who lost everything in a fire going home with one of the firefighters.
Purple Pen Diaries by Julia Talbot. ebook short. Fun m/m short about a mystery writer on a cruise who hooks up with a security guy trying to solve a mystery.
Landing with Both Feet (Thatcher Brothers, Book 2) by Julia Talbot. ebook. So-so m/m romance that had way too many flashbacks, between the Jed/Eli and Ross/Kevin stories. Too confusing. And I spent a fair amount of time being upset at people. Hmph. This felt like “Hey, that other Thatcher Brothers book did well – how about another one? Let’s mess up their lives to justify this sequel!”
Taking the Leap (Thatcher Brothers, Book 3) by Julia Talbot. ebook. Ok m/m romance tying up the last bit of the mess from the second book. After that angstfest, this book has no angst whatsoever.
Turguoise: Something’s Gotta Give by Kiernan Kelly. ebook short. Ack! Another stalker! Other than that, this was an ok romance about a guy who gets involved with a cop that he met when giving a statement about his ex stealing all of his stuff.
Texas Hold ‘Em, Slow Play, Pocket Pair, and Different Suits (Poker Night, Books 1-4) by Carol Lynne. ebooks. Decent m/m romance series about a group of guys who play poker together every other Saturday night. Each book focuses on one of the poker players as he finds love. As EH has commented, while you always know what you’re going to get with a Carol Lynne book, sometimes that works just fine.
Wild Raspberries by Jane Davitt. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a young man who runs away from home, then heads into the woods after some bad experiences on the road, where he runs into a cranky landowner.
Artistically Yours by Z.A. Maxfield, Andy Slayde & Ali Wilde, and C.T. Piatt. ebook collection. I enjoyed each of the three short stories in this collection of m/m romances about artists getting much, much closer to their models.
Rock Bottom by Celia Kyle. ebook short. Lyrically written m/m romance short about a guy whose partner died in a car crash and who’s been drinking to forget, until he hits rock bottom.
Night at the Office by Drew Zachary. ebook short. Nicely done, steamy short m/m encounter between a night watchman and a guy working late.
Playing the Market by Drew Zachary. ebook. Good m/m romance about a workaholic stockbroker and a footloose construction worker who find unexpected common ground.