Monday, June 27, 2011

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words - A Promo Op for Writers

Oh wow. Crys at Cryselle's Bookshelf has posted the most intriguing photo prompt on her site for last week's "Thousand Word Thursday." I. Must. Resist! *Grits teeth and exerts willpower*  I have edits to do!

The invitation is open to authors to write a story, poem, etc., of up to 1,000 words, of whatever comes to  mind when seeing the lovely young man waking up alone. Isn't that sad? Maybe his lover is the kitchen, hoping to surprise him with breakfast in bed. Or perhaps he's woken up lonely to find his that his fickle lover didn't come home last night... again.

Gets those creative juices flowing and tell the story. Crys will not only post the story, but your bio, back list, etc., so it's not only fun, it's a great promotional opportunity. Here's the link.

She posts a new picture every week, so if this one doesn't speak to you (or, like me, you're too busy drooking to do much else), be sure to check back.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Rainbow Awards: Cover Contest - Round 1 - Slot 9

 Another week has passed, and another round has begun in the Rainbow Awards Cover Contest. This week the voting was particularly tough, and paring back my choices to just twenty-five proved difficult.

Reposted by persmission from Elisa Rolle's site, the Rainbow Awards Cover Contest-

You can vote as many covers as you want but no more than 25.

All the 50 covers are saved here:


and here is the poll:


I suggest you to open the covers page in a different window and check the covers you like in the poll.

So let's salute the unsung heroes of cover art. Show your support and vote.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

The Best Argument I've Ever Seen for Gay Marriage

I freely admit to borrowing this from Eyre's site "A Reader's Journey." She finds the best videos.

Anyway, they're not carrying signs or marching in a parade, but these two men, together for 61 years, are the best argument I've ever seen for gay marriage.


If only we could all find a love so enduring.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Writing Update

My three in-process novels are currently still in limbo, and instead I've been hard at work writing a trio of short offerings.The first, Sweet Dreams, comes in at approximately 5,000 words and will post sometime next month at the Goodreads M/M Romance Group a part of their "Hot July Days." Letters were submitted, asking authors to write a story for a picture. Here's the one I chose, submitted by Lissa. Ain't Maxxie a cutie? The group will be posting several stories each day throughout the month of July, so keep checking back for free reads by some of your favorite m/m authors.


My second short project is entitled Something Very, Very Right, stars Otis and Garret from The Match Before Christmas series, and was intended for Torquere Press' annual Charity Sip Blitz to raise money for It Gets Better. Sadly, I shot waaaayyyyyy past the 8,000 word cutoff, and couldn't trim words without unraveling the story, so I hope to summit it as a novella in the near future.


Frantic to keep my promise for a Charity Sip, my muse cooperated and Boys of Summer (tentative title) was born. Currently at 7,800 words, it'll be my contribution to a very worthy cause. The theme of this year's Sips is, of course, "It Gets Better" and the stories will show lives and circumstances improving. My offering stars a man recovering from loss and learning to open his heart and mind again. These will publish in September. The goal was for twenty-five stories, but from the buzz I'm hearing, Torquere may far exceed that.

Speaking of September, I have a 30,000 word humorous shifter novella due out the 10th of that month from Torquere Press, called Galen and the Forest Lord. Look for wolf shifters behaving badly.

That's all for now. Ya'll have a great week.

Eden


Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Rainbow Awards: Cover Contest - Round 1 - Slot 8


It's time for the latest edition of the Rainbow Awards Cover Contest. You can vote for up to twenty-five covers this week, and be sure to leave a comment to validate your vote!

I had a hard time making up my mind this week. So many pretty covers to choose from.
See the covers here:

Find the poll here:

It works best if you open the covers page in a different window and check the covers you like in the poll.

Happy voting! Go show your favorite cover artists some love.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Whoo-hoo! Fabulous Review for Highway Man!

Reviewer Lisa gave Highway Man five kisses! There's no better way to end a grueling day than to find a little gem like this about your latest story:
"Brilliant and beautiful, don’t pass up the opportunity to read this short story. If you’re unfamiliar with Eden Winters’ work, this is a great starting point to get to know her voice. If you already know and love that voice, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed in Highway Man."
See the entire review here:

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.

Find Highway Man here.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Rainbow Awards Cover Contest - Round 1, Slot 7

A new week, new lovely covers to vote on at Elisa's Rolle's Rainbow Awards Cover Contest, a chance to show your appreciation for cover artists, whose work may have drawn you to your favorite m/m book to begin with.

There are fifty covers, and you can vote on up to twenty-five. Be sure to leave a comment to validate your vote.

The covers are  here:


The poll is here:


Don't forget that an ebook is given away each week to one lucky voter.


Happy voting!

Sunday, June 5, 2011

A New Source for Free GLBT Reads

What could be better than a great M/M ebook? Downloading it for free! Legally! Queer Magazine Online has recently opened the QMO Book Cafe, a book store in which all titles sell for $0.00. What's the catch? No catch, just great free reads by such well known genre writers as Anne Brooke, Serena Yates, Red Haircrow, Andrew Grey, S.J. Frost, Rick McGranahan, and M.L. Montgomery. And the list of contributing authors is growing.

My own offerings there are my novel The Telling and its short sequel Night Watch. So hurry on over to the QMO Book Cafe and download some quality reads at the best price ever -- free.

All works were donated by publishers and authors.

Authors, if you'd like to participate, contact me and I'll happily direct you to Anders, keeper of the books.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Rainbow Awards Cover Contest, Round 1, Slot 6

More pretty covers to vote on at Elisa Rolle's site ! Whoo-hoo!

Here's the poll

Here's the covers.

Remember to leave a comment on the poll thread to validate your votes, and get over there and show your favorite cover artists some love!

So many good ones this week. Which to choose, which to choose? *Taps chin thoughtfully with forefinger* How am I ever going to narrow my choices down to just twenty-five?

Hot July Days at the M/M Romance Group

Guess what? Very soon readers will be treated to free reads from some of the top writers in m/m romance! Starting on July 1, the M/M Romance Group will be presenting Hot July Days, posting multiple stories every day throughout the month.

The project started with Dear Author letters from readers, presenting a picture and asking an author to tell a story of what they think is happening in the photo. The theme is "Don’t Read In The Closet. Stories of coming out in love, being out in love and committing out in love."

The picture I chose was posted by Lissa who said:
Dear Author,

This beautiful sleepy young man looks like he could use a sweet awakening. 


Thanks.

The story is turning out far different than I originally envisioned, and is currently at 5,200 words. I do hope Lissa likes what I've come up with. Once the stories began posting, I post a link. Some writers are actually doing novellas of around 30,000 words, so if you like good m/m fiction that's free to boot, be sure to check it out.

Friday, June 3, 2011

And more kindness shown to Highway Man!

Heidi Cullinan, who's made an impressive name for herself in the M/M genre, declared Highway Man a recommended read on her blog, The Amazon Iowan.

Here's what she had to say:

"Short stories really are an art form, and this one has it down. It's hard to believe this is a short when you get done reading it for all that's packed into it. Washed-up rock star drifter meets hot, rangy cowboy is enough of a setup on its own, but there's an emotional through-line you don't want to miss. I'm not a big fan of angst because it's usual overdone; Winters gets that the way to do it is understatement, to let the characters' pain fill the empty spaces and speak for itself. The story is full of color and life and resonates long after the last page is turned on your e-reader."

Read post here:

I was thrilled to see this, for I'm a huge fan of hers, and cherish my signed copy of her book Special Delivery. Thanks so much for the kind words, Heidi!


I've been remiss! Excellent review for Highway Man

Oops! Thought I'd posted this. *blushes* Chris at Stumbling Over Chaos had very kind words to say about my recent Dreamspinner Release, Highway Man. 

Excellent short m/m romance based on the song “Papa Was a Rodeo” by the Magnetic Fields. I like to think that part of the song is an epilogue for the story.

See the page here, and stay awhile. She offers links to painstakingly gathered interesting and useful info, and her Adventures in Stock Photography are not to be missed! Plus, she hosts competitions for free ebooks. She also played a big role in the story's existence, for it was her at recommendation on the site, A Reader's Journey, that I first discovered this haunting song.


Find the story here.