M/M Books of the Year Honors for Diversion!

Lucky is a card-carrying asshole with a chip on his shoulder the size of Texas and barbed wire around his heart. Yet, he spoke to me, of loniliness and loss, insisting I tell his story--a scary proposition. Did I have the writing chops to pull of a sympathetic drug trafficker?

I gavemy best shot at giving this man an HEA, or maybe HFN. To my delight, Lucky's story, Diversion, scored an honorable mention at this year's Rainbow Awards, and has five nominations for the Goodreads M/M Group's Members' Choice Awards.

Through the wonders of a Smart Phone and a kind friend, I found out today on my lunch break that reviewer Jenre at Well Read has named Diversion her top M/M Book of the Year for Mystery category! Thank you so much, Jenre! And Lucky's tale is keeping good company, with books by such talented authors such as Marshall Thornton, Jay Bell, Barry Brennessel, P.D. Singer, Andrea Speed, Jordan Castillo Price, and many more.

And... that's not all!

Guest reviewer Cryselle picked Diversion as one of her Top Picks for 2012 at Reviews by Jessewave.

Well, Lucky, you were right; your and Bo's story did need telling. Umm... you don't have to look so smug about it.

Lucky and Bo will return in Collusion, due out the weekend of March 3 at Amber Allure.

High Praise for The Wish

It's been a great week for my books in the review world. And I'm thrilled with the recent accolades for The Wish:

"The style is sometimes bouncy and sometimes solemn—it’s a strength of the writing that some very serious notions permeate the work but don’t bog it down. Aging, ill health, death, and surviving loss all play a role, but there’s more hope than gloom, and love absolutely triumphs over everything else. For a wonderful emotional journey, a reader couldn’t wish for better than this."

That's what Cryselle at Reading Reality had to say about The Wish. And she rated the story an "A"!

See full review here:

More Love Shown to Naked Tails

It's been nearly two weeks since possums shifters were released on the unsuspecting world, and it appears they've made quite an impression.

Reviewer Pixie at MM Good Book Reviews rated the story four hearts, and had this to say:

"This is a great shifter story that is quite refreshing and pretty unique." 

"I will recommend this to those who love a different kind of shifter, a possum political storm brewing, two men reconnecting after many years apart, a touch of unexpected danger, some hot loving and a very happy ending… oh and don’t forget the crickets!"

Read entire review here:

Goodreads M/M Romance Group's Member's Choice Awards

I'm late posting, but it's my great delight to have my books nominated for this year's Goodreads M/M Romance group's Member's Choice Awards

And here are the nominated stories, in no particular order:

 Bo and Lucky from Diversion

In Dreams

Diversion

Diversion

 Diversion

In Dreams

The Wish

The Telling

Diversion

There's so many of my favorite novels and authors being honored this year, and a lot of tough decisions to make while casting my votes. Voting ends on December 31st, so be sure to show love to your favorite stories and authors. Link.

Oh, and to whomever nominated Diversion for Best Story That Should/Must Have a Sequel? Collusion is due out the weekend of March 3 from Amber Allure.

Thank you readers and Goodreads M/M Romance group, for this incredible honor.

The Day Just Keeps Getting Better! Another Fabulous Review for Naked Tails!

What a wonderful Christmas Eve it's been! I just found out about an awesome new review for my latest release, Naked Tails, from The Novel Approach. 

Here's some of what reviewer Lisa had to say:

"Naked Tails is a sweet and sometimes downright laugh-out-loud romance, touched by just the teeniest bit of bittersweet before the happy making ensues. The town of Possum Kingdom is populated by some seriously wonderful residents, including my favorite female character in quite a while, Monica Sims, the six-foot-tall, pull-no-punches, half-breed possum goddess who gets Seth whipped into fighting shape to claim his destiny before the greasy Junior Timmerman can usurp him and turn the town and the entire shifter world on its ear."

Read the full review here:

Find Naked Tails at Dreamspinner Press:

An Unexpected Christmas Gift--From Reviewer Amos Lassen

I had the privilege of meeting Amos Lassen at the Lambda Awards earlier this year, after having read countless numbers of his reviews. Recently he told me he was about to read and review my novel, Naked Tails, and I must say that I was a bit nervous. I mean, stacked up next to some of the greatest GLBT novels of our time, what would he think of a passel of possum shifters from Possum Kingdom, Georgia?

Well, today he gave me a lovely gift in the form of a review that brought happy tears to my eyes.

Here's some of what Amos had to say:

"Now all of you probably want to know how does the author succeed in writing a love story about possums and keep our interest at the same time? That you would have to ask the writer. She does it and she does it beautifully and it indeed helps that she includes detail and well created characters. She writes with wit and humor and there is a certain “I am not sure what” quality to her writing. I am quite sure that most of us would consider a story about possum shifters to be a ridiculous idea and to a degree it is. Winters is able to turn that “ridiculous idea” into a wonderful story of identity and love. Winters gives us a look at friendship, family and loyalty and the story is really about one finding his place in the world."

Read the entire review on Amos's site. 

Merry Christmas

Wishing you and yours a joyous holiday season and a very happy New Year! Merry Christmas! I have a tendency to be overly sentimental, especially around the holidays, so I'll try not to get mushy.

This past year has seen many changes in my life: I welcomed a new family member, rode an up and down roller coaster with my writing, and I made many wonderful new friends. I'm blessed with a life in which I have enough, not only for myself, but to help others in need. May we all be blessed with "enough." Not only enough food, shelter, and warmth, but enough friends, happiness, laughter, and good memories in the making. 

If you're reading this, as a dear friend from Germany says, "Consider yourself hugged."

Eden