Saturday, April 30, 2011

Two Chances to Win a Copy of Fanning the Flames

Fanning the Flames, the sequel to The Match Before Christmas, publishes next Saturday, May 7. In honor of the release two contests are being held to win an ebook copy. All you have to do is follow the links and post a comment saying you'd like to be included in the drawing.

The first contest is being held at Brief Encounters, a site dedicated to reveiwing M/M short stories.

Click here to find out more.

The second contest is being held at Stumbling Over Chaos. While you there, check out the pictures of Chaos and Mayhem, the two kitties featured in the story's dedication, and the inspirations for Toms I, II, and III.

Find it here!

Friday, April 29, 2011

The Rainbow Awards Cover Contest!

It's that time of year again! The Rainbow Awards Cover Contest has begun.

Head on over to Elisa's Rolle's site to vote for your favorites! You'll need one page open to the poll and another to the covers.

So many lovely ones to choose from, and this is just the beginning!
Vote here.

Five Kisses for Settling the Score!

Lisa at Top 2 Bottom Reviews gave five kisses to Settling the Score, my latest novel. Whoo-hoo!

She had this to say:

This is a story that is, like Joey himself, engaging and uncomplicated on its surface, though as the plot unfolds, it becomes evident there is much more to explore beneath the exterior, lending the characters and their story depth and heart. As Troy and Joey work together, spending time talking and excavating Joey’s thoughts and feelings, they begin to discover their similarities outweigh their differences. It isn’t a case of opposites attract as much as it is a case of Joey serving as a reflection of who Troy had once been before life made him who he’d become. This is a story of transformation, but certainly not of whom I’d expected.
Read entire review here.

Thank you, Lisa, and Top 2 Bottom Reviews!

I've Been Interviewed!

Stop by Michael Mandrake's site, where she asked some very thought-provoking questions and I tried my best to answer them.

Read interview here.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

A Thousand Word Thursdays at Cryselle's Craziness

Every Thursday at Cryselle's Craziness a new picture is posted meant to inspire a brief story. Crys calls it "Thousand Word Thursday." The story can be a one hundred word drabble, a short story of up to 1,000 words, or even a poem.

When someone dangles a plot bunny before my nose I have a hard time passing it up, and last week's picture was downright intriguing. My  take on the photo posted today.

Here's the link:

If you'd like to participate, check out the site on Thursdays for the latest inspiration, let your creativity flow, and send the results to Crys. Not only will she post your story, if you're a published author she'll promote your latest releases and other news, so it's great publicity and a lot of fun.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Five Diva Review for Duet

Dark Divas Reviews has given my historical/contemporary/paranormal story, Duet, five Divas!

Here is some of what reviewer Doug had to say:

"Eden Winters has become a must-read author for me.Duet is the second book I have read by her, and once again, I found the story to be absolutely spellbinding and delicious. Typically I do not enjoy reading historical fiction and when I began this book, I thought, “uh-oh, what did I get myself into?” To my great pleasure, Eden created a book that handled historical fiction with authenticity, portraying a world in which the characters followed the norms of a specific time, yet she managed to highlight how certain emotions and feelings are timeless; especially love."
Read entire review here.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Chatting Today at Goodreads' M/M Romance Group

At 4:00 PM EST today, April 23, Goodreads M/M Romance Group will be hosting a chat for me, their Author of the Month. Come on over and say howdy.

You do have to register for the group if you haven't already. Here's where you to do that:

Once registered, when chat begins, you can access it here:

You must create a unique name or the chat will give you one.

I hope to see you there! Two lucky commenters will receive a print copy of one of my books.

Awesome Review at BlackRaven's Reviews!

The good folks at BlackRaven's Reviews have given five Ravens and a Recommended Read to Settling the Score!
  
"Settling the Score by Eden Winters is a highly entertaining and laugh out loud read. Witty exchanges and meaningful dialogue keep the reader firmly immersed in this compelling novel. Troy and Joey are three dimensional protagonists whose shortcomings and failures make them breathtakingly realistic. There are many important lessons to be learned from this multi-layered and complex novel."
 
Read entire review here:


Friday, April 22, 2011

Whoo-hoo! The Hotties are Back!

It looks like Photobucket resolved their problems! Whoo-hoo! I was so afraid I'd have to recreate the whole site! So enjoy the hotties who inspire me, I need to post some more. I'm currently neck deep into the draft for Return to 13th Street (tentative title) that picks up a few months into Noah and Jeremy's relationship.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Please bear with me...

Photobucket has offered all kinds of assurances that their technical difficulties will soon be solved and my site will once again display my book covers and the lovely hotties that inspire my work. I have so much feeding from their site. Hopefully the issues will be resolved soon as I really don't relish rebuilding all the files.

Check back in a few days. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a quick resolution.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Thank you, PD Singer!

The wonderful PD Singer and her amazing blogging powers stepped in and brought most of my pictures back! Whoo-hoo! Thanks, Pam! Now I'm counting on Photobucket to restore the rest. I've got too many sites feeding off those pics to recreate them all.

What happened to my pictures?

Folks, Photobucket has assured me they are working to get my pictures back up. I've got my fingers crossed, especially for the recovery of my hotties. I miss them so. I'm not sure what happened. Apparently Photobucket has some kind of major issue.

Bear with me; I'm sure everything will be sorted out soon. 

Coming Soon - Highway Man

Dreamspinner Press has a page up for Highway Man, a short story in their Nap Sized Dreams category. It will be available for purchase on May 15. Some of you may remember an earlier post about this one, inspired by a comment Eyre made on her site, A Reader's Journey, wishing she could write a story for The Magnetic Fields rendition of "Papa Was a Rodeo."

Here's the blurb:

If their gravelly-voiced front man died in the wreck that claimed the rest of Trickster, what's he doing filling in for a tribute band's absent guitarist? All Killian Desmond wants is to forget that tragic accident, make a few bucks off rodeo wins and pick-up gigs, and occasionally find a willing one-night stand. A listening ear in the form of a fellow musician he dubs Tex reopens old wounds. Tex knows the songs and hears the pain—Killy may have found more than he was looking for.

Here's the link:

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Fabulous Review from BookWenches

What a wonderful surprise to come home to today after a grueling day at work:

Review at BookWenches

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Good News, Bad News and Free Read

I'll give the bad news first. The GLBT Bookshelf's March fundraiser has ended, and I've been told that particular strategy will not be used again. Equally sad is the closing of their bookstore.

My offering, Night Watch, a short sequel to The Telling, was written especially to help support the site. With the closing of fundraiser and store, it's now adrift.

That's where the good news comes in, for readers. The tale of a wounded warrior's pain and the love the kept him sane is dedicated to our returning heroes, whose wounds aren't always easily visible.

That said, Night Watch is now available as a free read. All that's asked is that you're over 18 (I'm a mom, I gotta ask), and not offended by M/M Romance.

The cover, done by my good friend, Jared, brought tears to my eyes. To me, it almost tells the story itself.

Here's the link to the PDF. Enjoy!

Settling the Score is Book of the Month for the M/M Romance Group at Goodreads!

My latest novel, Settling the Score, has been named Book of the Month at the M/M Romance Group.

All month there'll be discussions and questions asked and answered. A few spoilers are provided, so proceed with caution if you haven't read the book yet.

Come join us!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Raccoons on the Roof and Things that go Bump in the Night

Okay. I determined early on to make my site a place for news, reviews, and professional writer type stuff. Then, I needed to vent.

I often joke about living "off the paved road" and being "queen of the trailer park," however it is no joke. I live exactly twenty-three miles to the nearest Walmart (might as well be one hundred, in my book). When you live that far away, you have a tendency to clock distances, to remind yourself how far you are from civilization, or rather, Walmart, a major outpost.

"Country" doesn't even begin to describe where I live. Like the settlers of old, I've discovered a very important fact about the little niche of wilderness I've carved out for myself -- I am not alone  My new home is somebody else's old home. And that somebody, or rather those somebodies, don't intend to give up without a fight.

Now the deer and her annual fawns are lovely and harmless, and think anything I try to plant is a gift. They check my flowerbeds often for new offerings.

Then there's "the thing that lived under the house." I was sitting in my living room at eleven PM, reading, the first time it "came home," by getting in God knows where and jumping on the ductwork to settle in. At first I made it a deal, "You stay on your side of the floor, and I'll stay on mine." When months progressed and, like clockwork, clang went the vents every night at eleven, I considered charging it rent. Coworkers often asked about my roommate. It turns out to have been a feral tom cat, later trapped and taken to the Humane Society by a neighbor. Oh, yeah. Here "neighbors" live about a half mile away, or the non-furry ones, anyway.

Ever get woken from a sound sleep by a bobcat's argument with an owl? The indigenous wildlife is quite wild, yipping, yowling, howling, scurrying, traipsing, barking... you name it, it's what kept you up last night.

Now even if they are a bit annoying, most of my fur-neighbors have a little respect for me. When I open the door, they skedaddle. Except for one. I slammed and locked the back door, heading to my car by the weak glow of the porch light, nothing on my mind but getting to work on time. SOMETHING rustled the leaves nearby. (Oh, did I mention the fur neighbors 'rustled' too?) This one didn't run when I approached. In fact, he stood his ground with a vengeance. I hopped in the car and locked the door - just in the nick of time. It took a week for the skunk spray to clear out of the car and house, but at least it wasn't a direct hit on me.

And who knew that two raccoons fighting on the roof of your house made such a gawdawful racket! Doesn't anything around here but me sleep through the night?

Well, I thought I'd come to a delicate truce with the locals until...."the thing that lives in the walls" moved in. Nothing will have you sleeping with the light on quite like scritch, scritch, scritch (yeah, they scritch, too!) inside your walls at night. Oh wait! Is it in the heating duct? Will it get in?

If this wasn't a pet-free place I swear I'd have a dozen cats. (Is it too late to get the feral back? I mean, I really didn't mind him waking me up every night. Much.) And a Rottweiler. With no other recourse, I've resorted to technology. I've bought some of those electronic thingys that are supposed to drive out pests. Tune in next time to either a post that says, "I won!" or instructions on where to forward my mail.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Fabulous Review at Cryselle's Craziness!

Oh wow! What a great way to perk up an exhausting Monday. Cryselle's Craziness posted a five-marble review for Settling the Score!

Read it here:

Friday, April 1, 2011

Goodread's M/M Romance Group's Featured Author

I'm absolutely thrilled to be this month's featured author over at Goodreads, for the M/M Romance Group. I'll be hanging out there, answering questions, and talking about my stories. What mother wouldn't happily talk about her kids?

On Saturday, April 13, beginning at four PM eastern time, they'll even host a chat. There will be a couple of giveaways, so keep your eyes open for that.

So come on over to the M/M Group here.