Thursday, July 26, 2012

Diversion--Now on Sale at Amber Allure!

I just noticed that Amber Allure is having a sale, and Diversion is discounted 25%! 


Drug dealers aren’t always on the streets; sometimes they sit in offices and boardrooms, selling merchandise in official-looking bottles instead of little cellophane bags...

When given a choice between eight more years in prison or using his “expertise” to assist the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau's Department of Diversion Prevention and Control, convicted drug trafficker Richmond “Lucky” Lucklighter takes the sentence with the illusion of freedom. Cynical and unwilling to admit he’s begun to care about his job, he counts the days until his debt is paid. His sole obstacle to getting his life back is the rookie he’s assigned to train before he leaves—a rookie who quotes pharmacy texts, hasn’t paid his dues, and has the obnoxious tendency of seeing the good in everyone, including the target of their investigation.

Former Marine Bo Schollenberger dreamed of becoming a pharmacist, but watched the dream turn into a nightmare of PTSD-fueled prescription drug abuse. Battling his demons daily, he wakes up every morning, wondering, “Will this be the day I give in?” To keep his license, he must now put his skills to use for a diversion control task force, deal with a crude partner with too much attitude and no brain-to-mouth filter, and take down a drug lord who reminds him of his favorite cooking show hostess.

The bad guys don’t stand a chance—if Lucky and Bo don’t strangle each other first... 


Friday, July 20, 2012

"Eden Winters Friday" and The Novel Approach

I just discovered that Lisa at The Novel Approach held an "Eden Winters Friday" today, reviewing both the 2nd edition of The Wish, and the newly re-leased short story, Tinsel and Frost.



Here's a little of what Lisa had to say about The Wish:
So see, where most other books offer only one love story, in The Wish I got two, and while one of those romances got off to a shaky start, it’s how it withstood the journey that counted. I can say with complete honesty that it unfolded beautifully and now that I’ve had a second chance to visit these characters, I’m reminded why they remain among my all time favorites; because their stories touched the sometimes cynical part of me that needs reminding true and forever love does exist.
A now some comments from her review of Tinself and Frost:


 Before a car accident rerouted the direction of his life, before Tony became Tony and he was still Anthony, he was an accomplished ballet dancer and the stage was his world. But as the musical score of his life changed from Tchaikovsky to the pounding rhythms of the strip club where he now dances for tips, Tony learns a valuable lesson: if you give a man a tip, he dances for a day; if you give a man love, he dances for a lifetime.

Read the reviews in their entirety, at The Novel Approach. 

Book Reviews, Character Interview, and Ebook Giveaway!





Today at the good folks at Mrs. Condit and Friends Read Books are helping me to celebrate the re-release of The Wish, by posting a lovely Five Sweet Peas review and offering an ebook giveaway


Here's some of what she had to say:
I loved this book and recommend it for anyone who likes a romance that has to overcome barriers, ghosts with good intentions that go badly, and sorrow blended with laughter. This is a re-edited edition of the book but it is the same sweet story.
Comment on her post for a chance to win.   



Also, she's posted a review of Valentine Wish (four Sweet Peas), a free short story starring minor characters from The Wish. 


This is a sweet short story with some spicy bedroom sex between the two men and an HEA for both of them. I enjoyed it very much and if you read THE WISH I know you will enjoy this free treat from Eden Winters and Dreamspinner Press.
As an added bonus, there's also a character interview with Byron the Ghost. 

So hurry over to Mrs. Condit's and get in on the drawing!

Thursday, July 19, 2012

New Releases!

In just a few short hours, midnight to be exact, my first full length novel with Dreamspinner will release, The Wish. 




At his death, Byron Sinclair left behind more than just his much older partner Alfred Anderson. The couple helped raise their respective nephews, and while Paul Sinclair and Alex Martin are now adults, they still have some growing up to do, particularly when it comes to getting along with each other. 
If they refuse to be in the house at the same time, how can Alex be so sure Paul is an opportunistic suck-up with the morals of an alley cat? Paul isn’t impressed with aloof and arrogant playboy Alex, either. Both swear they know all they need to about the other--and about themselves. 
Byron’s dying wish is for Alfred to help Paul and Alex see how perfect they are for each other. But when the boys stubbornly refuse to acknowledge what's right in front of them, Byron must get creative – though it’ll be difficult without hands, or a voice, or a body…. 
Find The Wish here:

Also releasing tonight is Valentine Wish, a free short story starring two minor characters from The Wish. 


Isaac Lewis left the gangs behind to remake himself. He’s a street fighter turned gym rat, a thug turned honest man—only his loneliness hasn’t changed. 
Success as a restaurateur hasn't erased Thierry Guillaume’s insecurities. Well-padded in a world where looks matter, he’s been grasping at crumbs of affection. Can Isaac convince him he deserves the whole cake?

Find Valentine Wish here:

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

The Return of Tinself and Frost

I'd hoped to write a longer version of Tinsel and Frost and still may one day, but other, more pressing projects pushes any rewrites into the far distant future. The site I'd hope to give the short to for a permanent fundraiser  decided not to pursue an online store at this time. Since I've received several inquiries about the story, I decided to republish it.

Thanks to Jared Rackler of Jared Rackler Designs for the lovely cover, and to the incomparable P.D. Singer for formatting instructions, advice, and for just being a darned great person and fount of wisdom.




The last time Tony danced, he wore the spangles and tights of the Nutcracker’s Prince and the audience threw roses at the stage. One career-ending accident later, he’s dancing again, and he’s not proud of hoping that the audience will reward him with twenties.

Frost, the big, pale bouncer, has reasons of his own for keeping a watchful eye on Tony. He keeps his distance, too, until he has to bounce an aggressive customer who takes things with Tony too far. They have a short, shared walk home but a huge divide between their lives. Do Tony and Frost have more in common than they believe?
Tinsel and Frost, now available at Amazon.







Monday, July 16, 2012

Guest Post by J.P. Barnaby - Coordinating a Blog Tour

Good morning! Today I'm turning over my blog to J.P. Barnaby, creator of the emotionally charged series, Little Boy Lost. Not only has she painstakingly planned and executed a blog tour to promote the final installment, she's here to share with us exactly how one goes about such an undertaking. 

Take it away, J.P.!

Coordinating a Blog Tour

The 30 Days of Little Boy Lost Blog Tour was supposed to last two weeks. I had planned to hit a couple of familiar blogs the week before the release of Little Boy Lost: Sacrificed and the week after. I sent out invitations to a list of people, hoping that I could actually fill those 14 spots. When they all came back with resounded yesses—not only was I completely shocked, but now I had 28 spots to coordinate dates and posts for. It’s been very a interesting and rewarding process so far—one that I would definitely do again.

The Blog List
The list of invited blogs came from several places. First, I added the blogs that had reviewed the Little Boy Lost series well. In our small genre, the bulk of advertising for a novel falls to the author. Word of mouth is generally our best form of advertising, so I started with those blogs who enjoyed the series. Next, I went to the list of blogs compiled by one of our Dreamspinner Press authors who wanted to host on blog tours.  I made a list of all the blogs I’d heard of. Finally, I went to each blog and searched for an email address in order to contact them, which is not as easy as it sounds.

Finally, I had a viable list.

The Pitch
Over the next few days, I wrote and revised the email that I would send to each of the blogs. I knew that I would get only one shot to convince them to be on the tour. As I mentioned, I only expected about half to agree, but I needed to make my case anyway. With the email drafted, I sent it to each blog individually addressed to them rather than a mass mailing because I wanted them to know that I was asking them personally.

Organization
In the pitch, I gave the blogs a list of topics from which to choose for the post. So, as the answers came in, I got a few specific dates and a few specific topics, but generally, I just got a “yes”. So, I printed out calendar pages from Outlook and got to work nailing down dates and topics for each stop. It took about a week, but since I’d started well before the tour was due to begin—I didn’t need to scramble.

Writing the Posts
When everything was scheduled, my breakdown looked like this:
Interviews: 7 (some with me, some with my characters)
Posts about Writing: 13
Posts about Gay Porn: 5
Excerpts: 2
Social Issues: 2
Stories: 1

At approximately a thousand words per post (some more, some less) that was a novella that I had to write in order to pull off this tour. Some of the topics took more thought and planning than others. Topics like this one about putting together the tour, for example, where I had to think about and analyze a process were harder to write than, say, an account of meeting porn stars.

Standardization
Most of what I know about coordinating a blog tour, I learned from being on them. Marie Sexton & Heidi Cullinan are masters at it (or mistresses if you prefer). On Heidi’s tour, she had templates for us to use when we posted about the tour – it was cut and paste this and then add your post – very easy. I wanted to make things as easy as I could not only on the bloggers, but on myself. So, I created separate .rtf files for each thing I needed to send, and I put them, along with the posts, images, and covers into a single blog tour folder to keep everything neat and organized. Inside each post, I tagged where I wanted pictures to go and added captions so the person posting wouldn’t have to guess. I copied and pasted a promo for the tour at the end of each post, so the blogger wouldn’t have to do it. I sent an entire package, which included the date of the post in the subject line, the post, my bio, a promo for the Little Boy Lost series, and covers for each book. I followed up with an email or tweet to let them know it was coming, and most importantly, I thanked them for being on the tour and helping me to promote my books.

Day of the Post

When each post went up, I followed a series of steps to make sure that each stop got as much attention as I could give:
1.    Tweeted about the post (tagging the publisher and the blogger for retweets)
2.       Blogged about the post (so it would go out to all of the affiliate blog sites)
2.      Facebooked the post (to give it the maximum exposure)
4.      Put links to the post on Goodreads (m/m Goodreads group, Dreamspinner group, etc)
5.     Followed up and acknowledged every comment
Remember that the bloggers are doing you a favor by helping you promote your new release. Be kind, courteous and flexible, and remember that if someone bows out, you always have your own blog to post on, so don’t panic.

Tips to Remember

1.  Start early – leave yourself enough time to schedule and write your posts. Also – some bloggers book up    to a month or more in advance so respect their time.

2.  Be polite – this is not the only tour you’ll ever do and bloggers talk to each other just like authors do. Don’t be that author.

3.   Be specific – don’t make your hosts guess at what you want to do, and don’t make them email you asking questions. Give them what they need.

4.   Decide how much time you can devote to your tour – remember that you have to write posts, coordinate things, promote the tour, and respond to comments. If you have a demanding day job, or a book coming due to the publisher, take that into account.

5.   Give your bloggers a wide range of topics to choose from – you can only write about yourself and your new release for so long.

6.  Prepare your posts – caption and place pictures, send the post in an .rtf to strip out Word’s obnoxious formatting, include everything they need, and provide clear requests for how you’d like your post formatted.

7.  Respond to reader comments politely – this is not your blog, it’s some else’s blog with someone else’s readers, so treat them with respect. Answer every comment, even if it’s just a thank you –and answer them nicely, even if they aren’t nice.

8. Thank your bloggers – they have helped you reach a segment of your target audience and introduced new readers to you – the least you can do is thank them.

9.  Be consistent – don’t just promo and answer comments when you get around to it. Do it every day.

10.Remember to promote your book – I know that sounds odd, but there is so much going on that sometimes you may lose sight of the actual goal—promoting your new release.

Promoting your book through a blog tour is a lot of work, but it’s also very rewarding. It’s an excellent way to network within the genre and make new friends.

The Little Boy Lost blog tour continues June 25th – July 24th . Make sure to comment at each stop for more chances to win some really great prizes such as an entire series autographed to you by J. P. Barnaby. For additional entries – tweet about the tour including @JPBarnaby and #LittleBoyLost.


Little Boy Lost is a coming of age story about two teenage boys—Brian McAllister and Jamie Mayfield—growing up gay in rural Alabama. The six book series chronicles their lives as they navigate through peers, parents, and porn, desperately searching for the perfect combination of circumstances in which they can be together. Through their journey, they find friends, pain, acceptance, loss, and most importantly, themselves.

July 2 – July 9th, Dreamspinner Press will offer the first book in the Little Boy Lost series for free on their site (http://www.DreamspinnerPress.com) and books 2-5 at 20% off in celebration of the release of the final book, Sacrificed.

Reviews for Little Boy Lost
This is a compulsively readable book. I sat down with it the other day, intending just to skim it for this re-review, but within a few pages I was pulled completely into the story just like I was last year. Brian and Jamie are wonderful characters, beautifully drawn and realized. They experience the wonder and excitement of their first love, going through each step: a touch, a kiss, an embrace, and more. At the same time, they are terrified of what might happen to them should anyone find out about their relationship. They live in a very small town in Alabama where faggot jokes and homophobia are the norm. How do they reconcile their feelings for each other with the reality of the time and place in which they are living? – JesseWave

What this author does in ABANDONED is just amazing, it is a pure and honest kind of writing that bares the soul of a seventeen, going on eighteen year old. It offers the worst of circumstances in which various forms of love can ignite, nourish and inspire Brian on his journey. I never expected to experience such a strong connection to the person Brian is. I’m still amazed by it and savoring it every chance I get. ABANDONED blew me away as J.P. Barnaby continues the story of memorable characters who just go for your heart. This is just about as good as it gets in the M/M genre! – Leontine’s Book Realm

About J. P. Barnaby
As a bisexual woman, J.P. is a proud member of the GLBT community both online and in her small town on the outskirts of Chicago. A member of Mensa, she is described as brilliant but troubled, sweet but introverted, and talented but deviant. She spends her days writing software and her nights writing erotica, which is, of course, far more interesting. The spare time that she carves out between her career and her novels is spent reading about the concept of love, which, like some of her characters, she has never quite figured out for herself.







Saturday, July 14, 2012

The One That Got Away

I just finished a story about a man's quest for a new beginning with the proverbial "One that got away." Over the years I've heard many folks mention someone they'd never quite gotten over. Personally, there's no one in my past I'd like to bring to my present, or not romantically anyway. How about you? Do you have a lost love you'd like to reconnect with? What makes this person special? Do they live on in your memories only, or do you occasionally see them?

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Another Giveaway for The Wish

Cole at The Armchair Reader is holding a drawing for a copy of The Wish, to be published from Dreamspinner on July 20.

Be sure to check out his entire site, so much interesting to see there. I'm not much of a cook, but he's tempted me to try out my culinary skills (or lack thereof) with a recipe for pumpkin cheesecake.

Check it out and be sure to leave a comment to enter the drawing!

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

"The Wish" Giveaway

It's giveaway time again! The Wish 2nd Edition will release from Dreamspinner Press on Friday, July 20, and to celebrate, Chris at Stumbling Over Chaos is hosting a drawing for an ebook copy. All you have to do is leave a comment on the giveaway post saying you'd like to enter the contest. All rules are posted on the site. While you're there, don't forget to check out some linkety, the pictures of the lovely Mayhem and wily Chaos, or have a chuckle at the expense of the Misadventures in Stock Photography models.

Stumbling Over Chaos


Find The Wish here at Dreamspinner

At his death, Byron Sinclair left behind more than just his much older partner Alfred Anderson. The couple helped raise their respective nephews, and while Paul Sinclair and Alex Martin are now adults, they still have some growing up to do, particularly when it comes to getting along with each other. 
If they refuse to be in the house at the same time, how can Alex be so sure Paul is an opportunistic suck-up with the morals of an alley cat? Paul isn’t impressed with aloof and arrogant playboy Alex, either. Both swear they know all they need to about the other--and about themselves. 
Byron’s dying wish is for Alfred to help Paul and Alex see how perfect they are for each other. But when the boys stubbornly refuse to acknowledge what's right in front of them, Byron must get creative – though it’ll be difficult without hands, or a voice, or a body…. 

As a bonus, Dreamspininer is also releasing a free companion story, Valentine Wish, starring two minor characters from The Wish
Isaac Lewis left the gangs behind to remake himself. He’s a street fighter turned gym rat, a thug turned honest man—only his loneliness hasn’t changed. 
Success as a restaurateur hasn't erased Thierry Guillaume’s insecurities. Well-padded in a world where looks matter, he’s been grasping at crumbs of affection. Can Isaac convince him he deserves the whole cake?
So don't forget to enter the drawing at Stumbling Over Chaos. Good luck, and happy reading!

Thursday, July 5, 2012

The Kaleidoscope Trust - Guest Post by Ijeoma.

What if it were illegal to be you? What if blue eyes, a bald head, or being over 5'10" were reasons for ridicule or possible arrest. That's the question asked by The Kaleidoscope Trust. 


Today I yield the floor to my guest Ijeoma, who'll tell us a bit about The Kaleidoscope Trust and their mission of equality. Also included is a link to a very stirring article by John Barrowman, star of Torchwood. 






What if it was Illegal to be You?

Imagine if it were illegal for you to be you. It should never be a crime to be gay, but in 78 countries it is and in five of these countries the maximum penalty is death.

We are asking people to imagine how they would feel if it were illegal for them to be themselves. How would you feel if you were persecuted or attacked for things you can do nothing about like having blue eyes or being tall, or being left handed? We all know people are not imprisoned for being left handed, so why should they be imprisoned for being gay,lesbian, bisexual or transgender?

For many people all over the world today that is precisely what happens and they are imprisoned, harassed, abused, and discriminated against because they happen to be gay. This is the everyday reality of their lives.

But we want to change that. We are an international charity based in the UK and we believe that all people should be able to enjoy their lives free from discrimination, harassment or persecution. We are working with LGBT people in many different countries where it is still a crime to be gay and we need everyone to support our work in any way they can. Please visit our website, sign up for our bulletin and follow our work and give your support to the many people who are persecuted in their countries simply for being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.

www.kaleidoscopetrust.com