Author Erica Pike is my guest today on Friskbiskit. Please give her a warm welcome!
Gay Players:
Sexual Liberty
So, gay players. No, not sports players - man players. Or gamers? Whatever you like to call them. Truth is that a lot of gay men like to have casual sex, just like a lot of heterosexual men like to have casual sex. Gay men are men, simple as that. Gay men liking sex is not me with some stereotypical idealism in my head; this is something gay men have told me and one even wrote me mail thanking me for acknowledging this in a field of literature where everything seems to be going sweet and cuddly. I’m not saying that all gay men enjoy casual sex and don’t like cuddling. I’m not even saying that there’s anything wrong with sweet and cuddly (I enjoy reading and - yes - writing those, too). Not at all. But there are gay men out there who enjoy their sexual freedom and don’t want a steady partner. I don’t think men like that (gay or straight) are bad men. I don’t think they are - as often displayed - messed up characters who have an attitude problem. They’re just men who enjoy casual sex and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, and no one should be made to feel ashamed for going out and enjoying casual sex (well, unless if they’re in a monogamous relationship).
I tend to write books where at least one of the main characters has a very liberal sex life. Why? I don’t know, maybe because I live in Iceland and people here think about sex very differently from the majority of the world. Sex doesn’t have to be a commitment - not even to women. Sex is something to enjoy, to satisfy an urge, and if something more comes of it then something more comes of it. One man told me that for men, it’s very often sex first and then a possible relationship second. However, when I write this in my books, I get criticized for it. I also get criticized for allowing my characters to enjoy casual sex and I’ve even been told by a (according to the profile name) male reader that all I think gay men are about is sex. Comments like that really throw me, because how can someone state that after reading a single story by me - a short story that is written as a scenario - a story that is marked as an erotic romance.
Besides that, my character Eric, in Absolutely Eric, jokes about a lot of things he believes gay men are and aren’t. Whatever his idealism is, it isn’t mine! It’s my character’s. If they all had the same idealisms as me, I wouldn’t be able to create diverse characters and my books would become uneventful and boring.
Yes, I like to write gay players who find their true love and end up stop playing. I like that scenario, that challenge, that urge to be with someone that you’re willing to change your whole lifestyle to be with that one person.
Back to Eric. He’s a sex player who’s never had a boyfriend. After witnessing the love between his two friends, he decides that he wants a boyfriend too. He’s young, inexperienced and naive in his search. He ends up choosing a guy based on looks rather than character. Of course, he realizes his mistake, but I like to drag my characters through hell before they find their happy ending, so it’s not an easy path.
I’d like to thank Jessica for having me over. I was totally star struck when she sent me an invitation to write a guest post for her blog ˆ.ˆ Dharma Café is a story that’s still very fresh in my mind - talk about unique!
Erica Pike
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorEricaPike
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5433276.Erica_Pike
Absolutely Eric at All Romance eBooks:
http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-absolutelyeric-825347-145.html
Blurb:
Eric Wesley is short and snazzy, hot and happy. Or that's what he thought. After three years of living on the wild side he's tired of being a playboy and wants to find love.
Eric, however, has never been in love before and doesn't see that the guy who's been gazing at him all summer might be Mr. Right. Alexander Centauri isn't only style-less and clumsy, but also terribly awkward. After a miserable date, Eric plants Alex on another guy's lap and goes after Mr. Wrong…who looks so right.
When Eric realizes his mistake, it might be too late.
Excerpt:
(Eric and Alex meet in a bookshop and Alex just offered Eric a job. As you can see from this snippet, they’re very different characters, Eric being a player and Alex preferring relationships. This is where Eric’s already discovered his mistake in boyfriend choice and is falling for Alex).
I can’t stop grinning. I’m feeling all gleeful about the prospects of being a real editor. And a chief editor at that.
“Want to talk specifics over coffee?” Alex asks.
Study for a test or have coffee with Alex? Why did I even hesitate?
We stroll through the park by the mall. The weather is surprisingly good for this time of year, and I even zip down my coat when the heat is too much. My body sways a little with the good beat of dance music playing somewhere close by, which has Alex smiling whenever he looks at me. Especially when I start humming along with it.
“So, that ex of yours. He’s totally different from Terry. I mean, he’s even shorter than I am, and that’s saying a lot at only five-six.”
Alex shrugs. “What can I say? Small guys usually catch my eye.”
I kick a loose rock ahead of me as we walk. “But why? Do you have a Tom Cruise fetish or something?”
“No,” Alex chuckles. “I guess I just find them more attractive, and they’re the perfect cuddle size.”
I smile. “But Terry isn’t short or a cuddler. I know that for a fact.”
Alex ducks a low tree branch while I sail right under.
“He makes up for that by being nice, thoughtful, and considerate. And very, very understanding,” says Alex.
I guess that means Terry forgave Alex for the make out incident at Clash last Friday.
“Plus he’s got a hot body,” I say with a tight smile.
Alex nods. “Yes, he does.”
I skip up on one of the many benches along the path and jump back down at the end of it.
“But I really prefer short and sweet over tall and buff,” he continues. “It’s always been like that.”
I get ready to jump onto the next bench.
“Plus, when I’m with someone as tall as Terry I can’t do this.” He yanks the fluffy hat off my head and holds it high in the air.
“Hey!” I protest, trying to look indignant while suppressing the giggles. “I may be small, but I make up for it in other ways.”
“Yeah? Like how?”
He dangles the hat just above my head, trying to bait me into making a grab for it.
“Like this!” I jump onto the bench and fling myself at Alex spider-monkey style. He instinctively drops the hat and catches me. As I sit in his arms with my legs on either side of his waist, I manage to grab the hat as it falls through the air. My shades hang askew so I remove them and stuff ’em into my pocket.
“See? I have a sixth sense for people’s weaknesses, and I don’t hesitate to use it against them.”
“You think you’re my weakness?” he asks, his face so close to mine. I can see that he’s freshly shaven and his usual smell of cologne and soap has my nostrils flaring as I inhale.
Please join me in welcomng G.B. Gordon and Riptide Publishing to the Biskit today!
Thanks for joining us on the Riptide Publishing First Anniversary
Blog Hop Bash! All month long, we’re bringing
you guest posts and interviews from your favorite authors, artists, and Riptide
staff. As a thank you for helping us celebrate, we’re also giving away $10 in
Riptide store credit to one lucky commenter at every stop! Simply leave a
comment below by 11:59pm on Sunday, October 14th to enter. Be sure to check out our complete
tour schedule to find out where else you can
enter to win—one Grand Prize winner drawn from commenters at all the stops will
also win a Kindle that we’ll load with every book we publish in 2013!
Plus, check out our anniversary sale—All October
long, backlist titles are 15%-50% off!
Today we have an interview with brilliant
debut author G.B.Gordon, whose novel
Santuario is
available now. Buy this title direct via Riptide
Publishing and save 25% with our debut author discount!
Keep up with G.B. on the Santuario
Virtual Book Tour all week long for more chances to win
anniversary prizes J
What draws you to romance? M/M romance?
I'm a romantic soul. It's not just romance as a modern novel genre that draws me in, but romance as a human emotion, be it music, poetry, a walk in the woods or two spoons in an ice cream tub. And yes, in real life I can get embarrassingly cheesy given the right incentive.
My interest in M/M romance is maybe a bit more specific. Story feeds off conflict and my guys can be wonderfully tortured about admitting to something beyond physical attraction (or even that).
And then there's of course that delicious voyeuristic tingle of watching two guys getting it on, or even just the chemistry between them develop and grow thick as syrup.
Have you ever written outside the romance genre? If not, do you ever plan to?
I'm not sure I've ever written strictly inside the romance genre. It depends on how narrowly that genre is defined. While most of my stories have a strong romantic plotline, the focus is often on action and a related inner conflict. I like speculative fiction, because it allows me to explore angles and juxtapositions that might not exist. Or not yet.
What do you think is sexy?
Life. Joy. Seriously. I find almost anything can be sexy that is vibrant and positive (or at least potentially positive). Even inanimate objects, like cars, can be sexy if you infuse them with those qualities.
More specifically I find people sexy, no matter what sex or gender, the curve of a throat, collarbones, jawbones, cheekbones, the scent of clean skin, eyelashes, butts in well-worn jeans, capable hands, blown pupils, moans, licks, touches, kisses; and just feeling someone else's attraction can be sexy as all get-out.
We know you’re a romance writer. What’s your day job?
Communication. Non-fiction writing (educational material, web content, whatever I can contract), structural editing, the occasional translation. I'm a freelancer, working from my home office. I've had quite a few very different jobs in my life, but this one, being in control of my own time and environment, is the best one yet.
Do you write under a pen name? Why or why not? Will you tell us your real name?
I do write under a pen name. I firmly believe that an author's sex or gender has nothing to do with what kind of material they write well, so I prefer to take mine out of the equation, write under a neutral name and hope my books will stand on their own merit. I'll answer pretty much any other question as honestly and straightforward as I possibly can.
Have you read any great books lately?
The last one that blew me away was Dani Alexander's Shattered Glass. Before that Dark Soul: The Complete Collection by Aleksander Voinov.
What’s the one question you wish people would ask you when you tell them you’re a writer?
"What are you working on?" Because that's what occupies my mind at that moment and what I like to explore and talk about.
If you were stranded on an island with one book and one object, what would they be?
My left brain recommends a survival handbook and a really good knife. My right brain wants Ondaatje and a super-sized box of pencils.
What do you love about being an author?
Falling down the rabbit hole. The discoveries, and, ultimately, the freedom to do what I want.
What inspires you?
A conversation overheard on the train, a note in the daily paper, a shadow behind a curtain, a piece of furniture in an antique store, a 'Missing' poster on a lamp post; people, places, songs, music, stories; anything really. My muse is very equal opportunity that way. I never know when she's going to kick me in the shins.
Can you tell us a little about your latest release?
Santuario is social fiction in that it's set in the future on a different world, not for any of the edgy technology hard SF is known for, but rather to explore an alternate universe and the development and clash of cultures. It's also a murder mystery and the beginning of a love story. The complete blurb and an excerpt can be found here.
G.B.Gordon worked as a packer, landscaper, waiter, and coach before going back to school to major in linguistics and, at 35, switch to less backbreaking monetary pursuits like translating, editing, and writing. Having lived in various parts of the world, Gordon is now happily ensconced in suburban Ontario with the best of all husbands. Santuario is G.B. Gordon’s first published work, but many more stories are just waiting to hit the keyboard.
Gordon online:
Website and blog:
http://gordon.kontext.ca/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gb_gordon
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/367361.G_B_Gordon
I'm so pleased to welcome Lex Valentine to Friskbiskit today. She's here to talk about gay pro sports players, coming out, and her new book, Scrambling, just out from Loose Id this week.
Lex is sharing a great excerpt with us, and she's generously giving away a free copy of Scrambling to one lucky commenter, so be sure to leave a note letting her know how much you'd like to read it.
Take it away, Lex!
Fear and Denial in Professional Sports
It’s crazy that in this day and age the four major professional sports do not have openly gay players. Statistically, it’s pretty improbable that all of these sports do not have a single gay player. That means that what they have are closeted players. And that’s pretty sad.
It says a lot about us that we now openly accept gays in the military, in law enforcement and firefighting, but not in professional sports. This topic is one that’s been in the limelight (well, the sports limelight) recently with the comments made by Baltimore Ravens player Brendon Ayanbadejo in favor of same-sex marriage. That in and of itself wouldn’t be such a big deal if Maryland legislator C. Emmett Burns Jr. hadn’t then asked the Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti to silence his player, something the team owner refused to do. Who would have thought that homophobia would drive a politician to ask that someone’s freedom of speech be curtailed? How horrid is it that someone’s prejudices are so strong that they would risk their career in this manner?
On Saturday, the NY Times had an article in Frank Bruni’s Op-Ed column about former Pittsburgh Pirates owner Kevin McClatchy who has come out and is now talking about his experiences in MLB and about gays in professional sports. Mr. McClatchy said that professional sports needs to get over itself and that gay players don’t come out because they are afraid. He goes on to say that he believes one day someone will break the ice and when that happens all the gay players who were waiting for someone else to do it first will come out.
There is a concerted movement out there for gays to be accepted in the four major professional sports leagues (the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball League and the National Hockey League.) All you need to do is visit The Last Closet (thelastcloset.org) to see what two female documentary producers are doing to end homophobia in men’s pro sports. Just read OutSports.com to see that there are fans all over the world who would support players in those four leagues if they came out.
In my opinion, the time is really ripe for acceptance of gay professional athletes which is one reason I wrote Scrambling. The first of three novels (I have the other two in process but they have not yet been submitted to the publisher for consideration) about being Out in the NFL, Scrambling is the story of two men who met as children on the peewee field, played college football together and were drafted to the NFL together. Before they even take the field for their new team, they come out together and become the first two openly gay players in the NFL.
Fear and secrets drive this story. Both men are afraid to come out to each other because they are afraid to lose their best friend. When that doesn’t happen a different level of fear takes over. Each is in love with the other but they fear losing that friendship if they confess their love. They need their friendship just as they need football so both men suffer in silence, keeping their love secret in order to preserve a friendship that means everything to them. It is not until both players have retired that they confess their love to each other.
Just like hiding in the closet for years can seem crazy and pointless once a person comes out, these two men realize that hiding their love was just as pointless. In the end, they see that they paid a steep price for never telling each other the truth. They both are forced to retire and they lose football anyway. All the things their friendship survived proved that speaking the truth of their feelings wouldn’t ever have jeopardized that relationship. All their silence did was hurt themselves and each other. But luckily, love can heal those hurts and, like all my books, my players have a very happy ending.
I’ve loved football for many years and it was a pleasure for me to write this book. Loose Id is a new publisher for me and I was so happy to have them accept this novel for publication. I’m confident that they will embrace the next two Out in the NFL novels as much as they’ve embraced this one. It’s my very great pleasure to bring this story to fans of gay romance, football and my writing.
Many thanks to Jessica for having me on her blog today to talk about the subject of gays in professional sports and my novel Scrambling.
Lex Valentine
http://facebook.com/lexvalentineauthor
http://facebook.com/cemeterywinter
http://twitter.com/lexvalentine
Scrambling
BUY LINK: http://www.loose-id.com/authors/l-p/lex-valentine/scrambling.html
TRAILER: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKf9I3q7Ei8&feature=share&list=UU0yyVW4A5Z3ZFiklvt8hw8w
Blurb:
Evan McAdam has two constants in his life—football and his friendship with Reed Matthews. From the age of six, Evan’s played football alongside Reed. In his teens, he realized he was gay and loved Reed, but fear kept him from confiding his deepest emotions to his best friend. When he and Reed are drafted to the L.A. Stars, Evan decides to come out. His decision impacts Reed who’s been in the closet too. The two men struggle with secrets of unrequited love while facing the world as the first two openly gay NFL players. When injury forces Evan to retire, the love he bears Reed can no longer be hidden. But will Reed be able to reciprocate? Or will Evan lose both football and the man he’s always loved?
Excerpt:
Reed held his breath and watched the play of emotion across Evan’s face. He probably shouldn’t have been so blatant about what he needed, but he couldn’t stop himself. All he could think about was that Len lay dying and it could so easily have been him had he ever given in to Len’s whining about his use of condoms. Right now, he needed Evan to make him feel alive, to chase away the specter of death and disease. He needed to feel whole, and only Evan could give that to him.
“You’re overwrought. You don’t know what you’re asking.”
Evan’s voice quivered a little, and Reed could feel the tension in his friend’s body. He could also sense an underlying current of fear in Evan’s voice although he had no idea what Evan could fear.
“Yes, I do. I want you to make love to me.”
There. He’d said it aloud. All his hopes and dreams since he was fifteen years old, laid out for Evan in words of one syllable. No mistaking them for anything except what they were, a blatant invitation for Evan to fuck him. He opened his mouth and made the invitation even more clear, the words driven by the emotion he’d held so long inside.
“I want you. I need to feel you touch me, taste me. I need to be with you. I want your arms around me, your cock inside me. I need to be with someone who cares about me. For sixteen years, it’s been you and me. Even Len and Bryce haven’t come between us. It’s always been you and me.”
Reed poked Evan’s chest with a finger when he said you and his own when he said me. Evan blinked and shook his head as if he were dazed. “I-I don’t understand. Where is this coming from?” he asked with a frown.
“It’s coming from deep inside me, Ev. Whenever something is wrong, you’re there for me and vice versa, although God knows it’s usually me with problems not you,” he said with a tinge of bitterness at the life destiny had given him. “This time, I need more than just hand-holding. Will you give it to me?”
He stared at the man he’d loved since they were kids. The man he’d shared everything with. The one he couldn’t imagine his life without. And he willed Evan to say yes.
A long, soft breath escaped Evan, tension leaving his big body. “Yes. You know I love you. I could never say no to anything you ever asked of me.”
Reed pushed himself against Evan’s chest, his hands coming up to frame the handsome, beloved face of his best friend. “Then just love me. Death is cold. I need to be warm.” He pressed his mouth to Evan’s, and a pleasure like none he’d ever experienced exploded inside him.
Evan’s lips were soft and warm, gentle in a way Reed hadn’t known men could be. He took control of the kiss, took control of Reed, his hands and his mouth leading Reed to ecstasy. Their tongues slid together, tentative in the way of new lovers but without urgency or fear, just a growing awareness and heat. Evan’s hands slipped over Reed’s shoulders and down his back, causing a slow burn in Reed’s veins.
The limo turned a corner, and they rocked, swaying with the movement of the car. Reed pulled his mouth from Evan’s, and they stared at each other, breathing hard.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to push you into something you don’t want,” he asked as pain threatened. He needed Evan, but he could walk away if Evan didn’t want him.
The big man pushed a trembling hand through his sandy hair. “I want it,” he replied, reaching for Reed’s hand. He pulled it toward him and pressed it into his lap.
Beneath his fingers, Reed could feel the hard ridge of Evan’s erection, and his heart sang in triumph. The evidence of Evan’s desire was enough for him tonight. He didn’t need to own Evan’s heart although he yearned to.
What a great excerpt, Lex -- hot and so romantic! Scrambling looks like a wonderful book. Thank you so much for being my guest!
Lex Valentine is visiting this Thursday to talk about her new novel, Scrambling. It's all about being gay in pro football and Lex also has a timely post for us on the real-world topic. She's sharing an awesome excerpt, and is giving away a free copy to one lucky commenter. You don't want to miss this. Scrambling went right to my TBR list.
Please join me in welcoming author Brandon Shire to Friskbiskit today. His new book, Afflicted sounds like it's right up my alley. Be sure to leave a comment, because Brandon is generously giving away a free copy to one lucky commenter.
Thanks for the invite Jessica. So happy to be here to talk to you.
Writing Afflicted has been an interesting experience. I had been writing for about 15 years before friends finally convinced me to publish, and as many of my regular readers know, I go right for the gut on some fairly dark aspects of homophobia and gay life. I’ve had readers, reviewers, and my editor send me emails about how I have left them sobbing at their computer. I make no apologies for that. I’ve seen and experienced firsthand what happens when homophobia evolves into violence and I believe it is important for people to understand the emotional devastation that follows because of it. A cursory ‘that’s so sad’ simply empowers those that contemplate such actions in the future and creates disbelief at some of the harshness that growing up gay entails.
But Afflicted isn’t like that at all. In fact, readers specifically asked for a happy ending. So what I have tried to do is take that same outpouring of emotion, flip it around, and pepper it with a serious dose of sex and sensuality.
I wanted to try something unique though; a topic that isn’t covered much in LGBTQ lit. I had a small piece that I had written about a decade ago about a gay blind man and I took that and extrapolated it out into Afflicted. The difference with Afflicted (from most other M/M novels) is that because the main character (Hunter) is blind, the book has almost no visual cues. No looking deeply into another’s eyes; no knowing glances or visual appraisals of the local man candy. Almost the entirety of the book revolves around the other senses: touch, taste, smell, and sound.
Honestly, even in writing it, the book made me think about sex in a completely different way, and what I mean by that is more than just putting a mask on your partner for 30 minutes of fun. It was a complete submersion in those areas of erotic input; and I really don’t think I’ve fully touched on all of them as much as I wanted to. Not even close. (I’m working on Afflicted II.)
There was also another reason for the main character’s blindness. In researching the book almost every single page I found on the internet had inaccurate, misleading, or derogatory information about blind LGBT people. (What little there was to find.) And there are very few books that I am aware of that delve into the complexities of being blind and gay. I deal with that in the book as well.
Blurb:
Meet Hunter Stephens. He’s gay, tall, dark haired, and he’s hot. Very hot. But he doesn’t rely on the visual cues when appraising a man because he’s also blind. He listens to the timbre of their voice, trembles at the touch of their skin, and luxuriates in the deep richness of the aroma of man. He’s hard of the hand because he’s a black belt and takes no shit, but soft of the heart because he’s lonely and has been for a while.
Until he meets Dillon.
Dillon Chambers is straight man candy. He’s a high priced male escort that works with an exclusive agency who handles only the wealthiest of clients. But it wasn’t always like that for him. At sixteen he was thrown out of the house for being gay and struggled to survive, turning tricks on the street and finding food and a place to sleep wherever he could. He met two people that changed his life, but he has never met anyone who could change his heart.
Until he bumped into Hunter.
And now they are both Afflicted.
Afflicted is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and Smashwords.
Thank you for visiting, Brandon, I really enjoyed hearing about Afflicted. It's going on my TBR list right away.
And I just want to note that 10% of the proceeds from all of Brandon's books go to two LGBTQ youth organizations: Lost and Found in Atlanta, and GLBT Advocacy and Youth Services in Alabama.
Welcome to the Second Hand virtual book tour! All week long, authors Heidi Cullinan and Marie Sexton will be stopping by some of our favorite sites to celebrate their new release. Be sure to comment at all the stops along the way—one lucky reader who follows the tour will win a $10 gift certificate to Riptide Publishing! To enter, simply leave a comment below, making sure to include an email address where we can contact you if you are the winner. Deadline for entry is 11:59 pm EST on 9/16, and the complete tour schedule can be found here. Thank you to all of our terrific hosts this week for helping us deliver another exciting book tour from Riptide Publishing!
Living in a College Town
The fictional world of Tucker Springs is set in a college town, which wasn’t much of a reach for either of us because we both live in one, Heidi in Ames, Iowa and Marie in Fort Collins, Colorado. Iowa State University and Colorado State University are both land grant universities too, which means we have the whole agriculture thing going on. Heidi likes to point out that whenever there’s a weird animal disease to be tested, you’ll notice on the news that they send it down the street from where she lives.
CSU is also known for its veterinary school and equine science. It’s also sort of billed among Coloradans as a down-to-Earth, almost blue-collar school (as opposed to CU in Boulder, the rich-kid party school, and UNC in Greeley, which is known for nursing, music, and education). (For the record, UNC is also historically home to a damn good football team that nobody knows about because they’re Division II.) Not that the Aggies (which we CSU alumni still seem to be referred to, even though we’re the Rams) can’t party, but our officially sanctioned College Days were banned back before Marie graduated from High School.
Iowa State can’t quite claim to be a non-party school. Every year it celebrates VEISHA, which was meant originally to put Iowa State on display (name is comprised of the five original colleges: Veterinary, Engineering, Industrial Science, Home Economics, Agriculture) but now is that plus a lot of partying which has seen rioting so bad it destroyed campus town. The year Heidi moved to Ames it was so bad the president of the college suspended the festival altogether. The celebration is more muted now, excepting the two nights which feature outdoor concerts the reverberations of which reach Heidi’s house until 2AM, usually causing her to scree like a madwoman on twitter on Facebook until it’s all over.
Both of us love living in a college town by and large, though. There’s always something interesting going on, always an event or festival, and the college tends to attract a more diverse than usual population. It’s no wonder when Marie suggested a college town we all said, “Oh yes! That sounds lovely.” Because those of us who do live in them know that lovely is usually just what college towns are.
Second Hand doesn’t see much of Tucker Springs’ universities themselves, but it reaps full benefit of a college town: quaint local businesses, a bustling central square, and lots of interest in the arts. And like most Colorado cities, its citizens revel in the outdoors and the beautiful Rocky Mountain setting. We hope you visit our fictional college town soon. Be sure to come back often. There’s always something new in Tucker Springs!
Find out more at www.TuckerSprings.com.
***
by Heidi Cullinan and Marie Sexton
Paul Hannon moved to Tucker Springs for his girlfriend, but she’s left him with a house he can’t afford and a pantry full of useless gadgets. All Paul wants is to get back to normal, even if he's not sure what that is anymore. When he wanders into Tucker Pawn for a gift to win her back, he meets El Rozal, pawn shop owner and all-around cynic.
El Rozal doesn’t do relationships, especially not with clueless straight boys still pining for their ex. El may make his living dealing in castoffs, but that doesn't apply to men. Still, when Paul starts clearing out his old life, pawning kitchen equipment he never wanted in the first place, El is drawn to Paul in spite of himself.
Paul and El have nothing in common except a past full of disappointments. There's no reason to believe the two of them could fit, but in El’s line of work, one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. When it comes to love, El and Paul may learn that secondhand doesn't mean second best.
This title is part of the Tucker Springs universe.
Read an excerpt and buy the book here
**
About the Authors
Heidi Cullinan has always loved a good love story, provided it has a happy ending. She enjoys writing across many genres but loves above all to write happy, romantic endings for LGBT characters because there just aren't enough of those stories out there. When Heidi isn't writing, she enjoys cooking, reading, knitting, listening to music, and watching television with her husband and ten-year-old daughter. Heidi also volunteers frequently for her state's LGBT rights group, One Iowa, and is proud to be from the first midwestern state to legalize same-sex marriage. Find out more about Heidi, including her social networks, at www.heidicullinan.com.
Marie Sexton lives in Colorado. She’s a fan of just about anything that involves muscular young men piling on top of each other. In particular, she loves the Denver Broncos and enjoys going to the games with her husband. Her imaginary friends often tag along. Marie has one daughter, two cats, and one dog, all of whom seem bent on destroying what remains of her sanity. She loves them anyway. You can find her at www.MarieSexton.net.
It's a real treat to welcome Z.A. Maxfield to Friskbiskit today!
At long last... the much anticipated (by me anyway) rerelease of The Long Way Home is finally just around the corner! There's a new cover, but it's the same book people have been asking for:
I'm a big Alex Beecroft fan, so it's a special treat for me to welcome her here today. Alex has something quite wonderful to say about pennywhistles, and cliche's, and metphors.
And she's going to share an excerpt from her novel Under the Hill: Bomber's Moon
And she's generously giving away a free copy of one of her ebooks to one lucky commenter!
Hee!
The Pennywhistle is a Metaphor
It takes a lot for me to write a blog post. One idea won’t do. I need to have two or three to be able to braid together some kind of rope that will hold my weight.
The rope is a metaphor too.
In case I’d already lost you, I’m not going to talk about metaphors, but I am going to talk about writing, and about cliches, and I’m going to do so in the context of playing the pennywhistle. So here goes:
Recently I started learning the low D pennywhistle. This monster of a whistle is so big that most people’s fingers are not capable of spreading wide enough to cover the holes with the fingertips. It therefore has to be played by what’s called the piper’s grip. This is where you block off the holes with the first, second and third finger joint of each hand – leaving the fingertips to stick out uselessly over the side. Given that most of your feeling and control is in your fingertips, it is very, very hard to tell whether you’re blocking the holes or not, except by whether you’re making a note or a sad wheezy noise.
I’ve been practicing every day for at least half an hour a day, for the last fortnight, and I’ve now progressed to the point where I can hit the notes more often than not. This means that for every day in the last 14 days I have spent at least half of my practice time unable to get a sound out of the damned thing at all.
On numerous occasions I’ve despaired of ever doing it. I’ve been mightily tempted just to throw in the towel, throw away the whistle and find some other instrument that won’t be so hard.I didn’t. I carried on despite despair. I said “fuck it, I can’t do it, I’ll never do it. But I’m going to carry on trying anyway!” And slowly, very slowly, I improved from “Nobody’s fingers work like this!” to “the bottom note is really hard, but most of the rest are OK.” I imagine that with lots more practice I can even overcome that, and perhaps one day end up playing like this:
So, what is my metaphor telling me about writing, and specifically about cliches?
You may have read blog posts all over the internet telling you that writing is hard and you may have despaired of ever getting published because you’ve tried and tried and haven’t succeeded yet.
My first point taken from the wisdom of the whistle is this – sometimes success only comes after you’ve ignored the despair and kept on trying anyway. Also, don’t expect to go immediately from unpublished to NY Times Bestseller. I imagine that happens as often as a non-musical person picks up an instrument and can immediately play it. The occasional fluke aside, that’s not very often.
My second point is a little more controversial, and concerns cliches. Cliches are things that have been done over and over again. Most people’s advice would be that as a writer you should avoid them and come up with something different.
But I look at learning the whistle and I see that in order to learn to do something well, you have to do it over and over again. I see that if you only do something once your performance of that thing is squeaky and wheezy and pathetic, whereas if you do it a thousand times every time is better than the last.
Maybe cliches are like that? Maybe we return to those ideas because it is necessary to keep trying to work them out? Maybe each time we write about a situation about which someone else has written before, we add something – a new angle, a deeper understanding, a better performance?
After all, no-one tells musicians to stop playing Vivaldi’s music. Musicians understand that every performance of the same score is different. Maybe writers shouldn’t be afraid to re-tell the cliche – they should simply strive to make it work again by going deeper inside it, telling it better, doing it with greater feeling and expression. Maybe they should make the monster live again by the application of a stronger bolt of creative lightning, instead of mucking about with watery solutions in petrie dishes to try and culture something new.
The monster is a metaphor as well.
Alex Beecroft is an English author best known for historical fiction, notably Age of Sail, featuring gay characters and romantic storylines. Her novels and shorter works include paranormal, fantasy, and contemporary fiction.
Beecroft won Linden Bay Romance’s (now Samhain Publishing) Starlight Writing Competition in 2007 with her first novel, Captain’s Surrender, making it her first published book. On the subject of writing gay romance, Beecroft has appeared in the Charleston City Paper, LA Weekly, the New Haven Advocate, the Baltimore City Paper, and The Other Paper.
You can find her on her website here: http://alexbeecroft.com
Here's some info about Alex's recent release, Under the Hill: Bomber's Moon. (Part 2, Dogfighters, is also available.)
For a chance to win a free copy of Bomber's Moon or any of Alex's other ebooks, please leave a comment to this post.
Blurb for Bomber's Moon:
When Ben Chaudhry is attacked in his own home by elves, they disappear as quickly as they came. He reaches for the phone book, but what kind of exterminator gets rid of the Fae? Maybe the Paranormal Defense Agency will ride to his rescue.
Sadly, they turn out to be another rare breed: a bunch of UFO hunters led by Chris Gatrell, who—while distractingly hot—was forcibly retired from the RAF on grounds of insanity.
Shot down in WWII—and shot forward seventy years in time, stranded far from his wartime sweetheart—Chris has been a victim of the elves himself. He fears they could destroy Ben’s life as thoroughly as they destroyed his. Chris is more than willing to protect Ben with his body. He never bargained for his heart getting involved.
Just when they think there’s a chance to build a life together, a ghostly voice from Chris’s past warns that the danger is greater than they can imagine. And it may take more than a team of rank amateurs to keep Ben—and the world—out of the elf queen’s snatching hands…
Read on for an excerpt from Bomber's Moon:
Continue reading "Guest Post: Over the Moon with Alex Beecroft" »
Please join me in welcoming author Pia Veleno to Friskbiskit. Pia has a great post for us about emotional intelligence (and the lack therof) on the internet. Words of wisdom, folks.
Pia is also sharing an excerpt from her new release, Hounded by Love, and she's giving away a copy to one lucky commenter, so be sure to leave a comment to this post with your email spelled out (like this: jessicafreely at gmail dot com).
Thanks for inviting me over, Jessica! It’s nice to step out of my private fictional world momentarily. Well, kind of…
Yes, I’m a writer, but I’m also a reader. I read a lot of M/M Romance, of course, but I also read horror, thrillers, and a variety of non-fiction, mostly gender identity and financial topics. Recently, I read a sample from Primal Leadership: Learning to Lead With Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman. (Sounds exciting, huh?) Goleman’s original work, Emotional Intelligence was recommended to me to fine tune financial planning discussions at my Job That Pays The Bills. I have the skills and knowledge to create sound financial plans, but since I work solely by phone appointments, I can sometimes struggle to connect with people I can’t see. When I can’t read physical signs like facial expressions and body language, and struggle to hear through static and background noise of a poor phone connection, it becomes harder for me to hear all the facts, let alone make that very important emotional connection with my client.
I’ve only just started the free sample available for my Kindle, but Goleman hooked me right in with a discussion of how emotions spread. He illustrated his point with a Yale study where positive emotions spread quicker and easier than negative emotions. A laugh, he points out, is hard to resist. Listen to someone laugh, and try not to laugh along with him. Try not to smile. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
Are you smiling yet?
So why am I rambling on about a book I’m reading for what probably sounds like a boring office job to most? Because the internet has a unique place in emotional contagions. It seems that online, behind the mask of a computer screen where we don’t have to look anyone in the eye, or worry about a punch in the nose, people tend to be meaner, more bitter, and more pretentious than in person. Is it because we feel a layer of protection in enmity, striking the first blow before someone can see who we really are? Or is it because we can’t see the smiles, the laughter, the emotion we all carry, share, and thrive off of those more positive feelings?
Maybe if we purposely read web content (especially social networks like GoodReads, blogs, and Twitter) with a positive outlook, we can harvest the better emotions off the internet. I put it to you, next time you see someone being rotten, close that screen and read a love story, tell your best friend you appreciate her, or simply response to the obnoxiousness with a positive spin. I won’t give examples, because I won’t drag my own emotions down by feeding the trolls the attention they crave. Just know that a smile really does spread naturally, and laughter really is the best medicine.
~*~
Looking for a sexy Happily Ever After to recharge your pool of positive emotions? Try my latest Loose Id release, Hounded By Love.
Sebastian gets what he wants. Music, lovers, fun. Now, he wants Reed. Reed likes his quiet, secluded life. He’s not looking for love, just peace.
Do opposites truly attract, or will their differences hound them into an unpleasant end?
Hounded By Love
An excerpt
Reed ducked out the door and into the cool, crisp breeze of the parking lot. He dashed between a car and a motorcycle and nearly tripped over a small tricolor beagle sitting beside the back wheel of the bike. She leaped up, not to get out of his way but to wag her tail at him. She whined and wiggled as if Reed were her best friend in the world, while her tail whipped back and forth so fiercely it appeared to brush her sides with its blur of motion. Her big brown ears flapped with her excited hound-dog dancing. Reed glanced around but saw no one except the sexy man chatting up the beaming, excited woman—just where he’d left them. His nickname might be dog related, but he sure didn’t look like a dog person.
With a shrug, Reed squatted and set his grocery bag behind him to scratch behind the dog’s ears. She put her paws on his knee and stretched her neck up to sniff him. Her warm tongue rasped over his chin as quick as a snake strike, but when he pulled away, she sat back and cocked her head to the side, studying him with deep, dark eyes.
“It’s all right,” he said. “Just no licking.”
As if she understood, she stood and wiggled, her tail flying back and forth at double speed, happy with the negotiations.
“You’re lonely, huh? Don’t I know that feeling.” He rubbed her back from neck to tail. When she shoved her muzzle into his hand, he scratched under her jaw. She flopped over on her side and lifted a leg, begging for a belly rub, which Reed happily provided.
“She doesn’t usually like strangers.”
Reed would normally jump if someone sneaked up behind him, but the beagle had lulled him into that content, relaxed state that only dogs could provide. He glanced over his shoulder, intent on making a friendly comment in return, but lost his voice when his gaze hit leather knee-high boots and then traveled upward over thick leather-encased thighs to an impressive leather-cupped package. Reed gulped and licked his lips. He tore his gaze off the man’s crotch and looked up into chestnut eyes lined with smudges of black.
Just like the dog. The beagle’s eyes looked lined too, thanks to her well-bred coloring. Though on the dog, they looked soulful, and on the man… Reed swallowed hard. Maybe an extroverted bad boy wouldn’t be so bad after all.
“Daisy,” the sexy hound said, nodding at the dog by means of introduction. “She’d much rather sniff out lingering evidence of everyone who’s been in this lot in the past week than greet someone actually standing before her.” He shook his head, and his dark hair flopped around his face. Reed wondered if the Mohawk was meant to be falling down like that, because if it was, it was definitely working for him. The sides weren’t shaved but trimmed short and messy. Did that define a Mohawk nowadays? Reed admitted he didn’t know, and it didn’t matter. Two thin blue streaks raced through the longest part of the Hound’s floppy hairstyle. Reed hadn’t noticed the extra-unnatural color from across the lot. He could picture all that teased black and blue hair falling around his face like a veil as the man leaned over to kiss him. If only.
“You must have a dog spirit,” the Hound said with a friendly smile.
“Huh?” Reed blinked and corralled his thoughts as he rose to his feet. Most men couldn’t strike him dumb, but the Hound looked even better close up than he had across the parking lot. And strangely familiar, again, but Reed couldn’t quite place him. Reed had to consciously struggle not to touch him, not to lick his lips as his gaze traced the line of—What’d she scream? Bass?—Bass’s jaw. Though Reed stood now, the Hound still towered over him by a good five inches, but three of those had to be the boots. He’d never seen a man in platform boots before, but the Hound pulled it off while still looking masculine and tough. Daisy whined and leaned heavily against Reed’s leg, reminding him to breathe and answer the hot man standing in front of him.
“I don’t know about that,” Reed said, “but I nearly tripped over her. She seemed to like the attention.” He paused, silently trying to avoid the dirty thoughts racing through his mind. He’d love to pin the man down and have his way with him all night long. “She’s a nice dog.” He winced as he said it, his lack of social skills offending even him. He had no intention of actually trying to pick the man up, but for once it’d be nice to be able to talk to an attractive man without sounding like the introverted office mule he was.
“She gets plenty of attention. Don’t you, Daisy, you spoiled pooch.” Up close Reed noticed the shift in the man’s smile. It was brighter than the expression he’d worn for the girl. He obviously cherished the beagle. She, in turn, pranced in place as she whined at him and then spun in a circle, tangling her leash around her front leg.
“Oh, Daisy, for such a smart girl, you never could figure that out.” The Hound crouched down and untangled the dog’s leg and then gave her a hardy rubdown that had her wiggling to keep up.
Drinking in one more long look at the man for later use, Reed shuffled back a step, picked up his groceries, and quietly headed for his car.
* * * *
Bas scratched the beagle’s belly, back, ears, and every other spot she loved. The stranger had floored him with the most exquisite eyes he’d ever seen. Windows to the soul, they said, and now Bas was certain of that. He looked tortured and peaceful, nervous and eager, beautiful and fractured, all wrapped in those eyes that reminded Bas of thunderheads. He also didn’t seem to recognize Bas at all. Bas recognized him, and it felt weird—not only to miss the recognition of his band, but this guy, a total blank, apparently hadn’t remembered the look they’d exchanged while he’d been chatting up Nicole at her office last week. Bas shook his head and gave Daisy one more hardy pat before looking up, intent on taking Mairin’s advice.
The man was gone. What the fuck? Bas froze and looked around. Daisy flipped her feet underneath her and then lifted her head to lick his chin. Normally she’d draw his attention with that maneuver, but Bas spotted the stranger across the lot, climbing into a beige compact in dire need of a good wash and wax.
“Hey!” Bas called. He stood and took two steps but stopped short when the car flew backward out of the parking space. Bas called out again and walked closer. The man either didn’t hear him or ignored him completely as he shifted the car into drive and sped away.
Daisy barked repeatedly, unusual for her, pulling his attention back to his beloved pet. “Yeah, girl, I know. Weird.”
“Weird doesn’t begin to describe him.”
Bas turned and plastered his greeting-the-fans smile back on his face for the girl who’d already trapped him in the parking lot once today. He loved his fans, he really did, but this one didn’t know when enough was enough. He’d signed her notebook and her employee smock, but only because she started by asking him to sign her ass. He’d been considering her for a quickie in the storerooms until he spotted Daisy charming the skittish man with alluring gray eyes. Still, if she knew the sexy guy with the canine spirit, Bas would do more than sign an old, stained apron.
“You know him?” he asked.
She nodded. Her gaze raked his body with the movement, but he’d long since grown accustomed to the leers from men and women alike.
“Who is he?”
“Oh, I don’t know his name, but he lives up on Liberty Ridge, I think. He keeps to himself. He talked to your dog more than he’s ever talked to me.”
She rolled her eyes, but Bas refused to reciprocate. She was pretty, but the stranger was drop-everything-and-strip-naked hot. Bas frowned in the direction the car had gone. He knew where Liberty Ridge was, but he’d never explored that part of Jackson Village. The houses, he’d heard, were miles apart once you passed the unofficial northern line marked by Gary’s Auto Repair and the Old Times Diner.
“Thanks,” Bas said. He turned his back to her and untangled Daisy’s leash from her legs and his bike. With tender care, he lifted the dog into a milk crate strapped to the back of his bike and then threw his leg over the seat, hitting the ignition.
The girl said something else, but he shrugged and shook his head, unable to hear her over the roar of the engine. He waved and smiled at her before easing the bike out of the space and angling it toward the exit and Liberty Ridge.
~*~
Hounded By Love is available at many of your favorite ebook retailers including:
Amazon, B&N, and ARe
Check out my backlist and stay up-to-date with upcoming releases by visiting my website/blog: http://www.piaveleno.com, or email me at [email protected]. I’d love to hear from you!
Thanks again for sharing your wonderful readers with me, Jessica. And thank you, dear Readers, for your time. Have a great weekend!
~Pia Veleno
Please join me in welcoming Angela Plowman back to Friskbiskit! Almost a year ago we celebrated the release of Angie's first book, A Wolf in the Fold. Now she's back with another hot historical, The Highwayman!
Angie's generously giving away a copy to one lucky commenter so please be sure to say hello.
Take it away, Angie!
It’s been a year since my first book came out with LooseID; Wolf in the Fold. It takes me forever to come up with plot ideas. It works like skipping stones. In fact I was walking along by the canal side when I got the idea. I’ve always had a bit of a thing for the Alfred Noyses poem “The Highwayman” since we read it at school a long, long time ago. The ending always gets to me; its so sad and beautiful; true lovers dying for each other.
It was actually my partner who made a mocking comment about giving Bess, the landlord’s daughter a sex change, which started this all off. From Bess to Ben and that of course had to be the lovely, fey looking Ben Whishaw running through my head (naked). For his partner in crime there was really only one choice for inspiration for The Highwayman himself, Jeffrey Dean Morgan of course – that smile! Oh that smile!
Once I get going things only take a few weeks to write – my stories are quite short. The next problem was finding a publisher who would take a retelling of a poem. Liquid Silver Press took a chance on me and I hope readers will take a chance on me too. It’s quite different from Wolf in the Fold – which I always considered to be a comedy. We have the historical setting again but the characters are less violent towards each other – no spanking here and more loving. There is peril again but fear not – unlike the poem my story has a happy ending.
Blurb: Romance and adventure are things innocent Ben has only dared to dream about, but the night they come knocking on the door of his father’s inn, they come in the form of a handsome, sexy rogue who is soon showing Ben a thing or two about passion. But Ben’s secret visitor is not as secret as he thought, and danger is following on the stranger’s shiny leather boot heels, and Ben is soon in deeper than he ever dreamed. The moor holds a lot of secrets, but tonight it is going to be giving some of them up. The question is will either of them survive to see the dawn?
Dominant dangerous men despoiling very willing innocents. M/M
Alfred Noyes’ much loved poem, The Highwayman, is brought to colorful life in this retelling with a twist.
Romance, historical, M/M, action/adventure, GLBT
Leave a comment and be entered to win a free copy of The Highwayman!
Behind the cut is an excerpt from The Highwayman. Warning, this excerpt contains extremely hot, naked men. By clicking the link below, you certify that you are 18 or older, and that it is legal for you to read adult themed material.
Continue reading "Guest Post: Angela Plowman Tills Some Fertile Fields" »
I'm delighted to welcome Sloan Parker to Friskbiskit today! She's here to talk about the power and pleasure of reading, and to share an excerpt from her award-winning novel More.
I just recently read More and thoroughly enjoyed both the hot menage romance and the suspense. Now this fun read is available in both e-book and print formats.
Sloan's giving away a print copy to one lucky commenter. Read on for the details!
Reading is My Escape by Sloan Parker
Thanks so much for having me on the blog today, Jessica!
I’m sure many of you saw that Nora Ephron recently passed away. She was one of my partner’s favorite writers and directors, probably best known for her work on When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and Silkwood. As with the passing of any well-known person, there were many mentions of her work and her words on Facebook, Twitter, and the blogosphere.
Here’s one of my favorite quotes that made the rounds...
“Reading is everything. Reading makes me feel like I've accomplished something, learned something, become a better person. Reading makes me smarter. Reading gives me something to talk about later on. Reading is the unbelievably healthy way my attention deficit disorder medicates itself. Reading is escape, and the opposite of escape; it's a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it's a way of making contact with someone else's imagination after a day that's all too real. Reading is grist. Reading is bliss.”
-- Nora Ephron, I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman
I could really relate to her words.
Reading does several things for me as an author:
Recently, I was pleasantly surprised when I re-read my first book MORE in order to proof the paperback edition, and found I loved reading about those men and their story in a very different way than when I was in the midst of editing it. It was almost like I could step back and really enjoy it as a reader, something that is hard to do for most authors when you’re in the middle of the creation process.
In celebration of MORE’s first time in print, I’m giving away a copy of the paperback edition to one random person who leaves a comment on this post. The winner will be drawn on Monday, July 9th at 11:59 pm EST and will be contacted via email.
Blurb for MORE:
For fifteen years Luke Moore has lived by three rules: stay off his father's radar, never spend more than a single night with any man, and never fall in love again. But one night of explosive sex and two men whom he can’t get out of his head have Luke breaking them all. Richard and Matthew push him past all his boundaries—both sexually and personally—and now he’s no longer hiding from his senator father; he’s taking him on. And he isn’t just falling for one man; he’s falling for two. If you're going to break the rules, might as well break them big.
But Luke’s father has his reasons for hating how his son lives, and he’ll do whatever he can and use all his power to keep Luke away from Richard and Matthew.
Can this threesome find a way to make their unconventional relationship last with the world around them trying to pull them apart? And will Luke be able to keep breaking his rules for Richard and Matthew, or will he head back to his familiar way of life just when his new lovers want to pull him closer?
Excerpt from MORE:
I arrived at the Haven a few hours later--the earliest ever--dressed in leather pants, a burgundy dress shirt, and a cocky smirk on my face, determined to put all thoughts of my father, my past, and any other emotional crap behind me.
The Haven was my place to play. My place to feel better about my life and how I lived it.
I wanted to fuck the shit out of someone. I wanted to dominate, to take charge and possess someone, deny him an orgasm until I wanted him to come.
My expectations of what the night would entail affected my demeanor, and I stood taller. I eyed the room for a candidate before taking a seat. The hurried manner in which I went about the task would have bothered me on any other night. Not now. I had something to prove--to myself and to the voice of my father.
Yet, as I surveyed the room and sat on a bar stool, the image of one man assailed my thoughts--a grinning, licking, groaning Matthew.
Shit. I slammed a clenched fist on the bar.
“Something wrong, Luke?” the bartender asked.
“Uh, no. Nothing. Glass of water, please.”
I raised the water to my lips and kept swallowing until I sucked in air instead of the cool liquid. I shoved the glass aside with the back of my hand. The scratching in my throat continued with each gulp of air.
I closed my eyes, and the daydream of Matthew and me slid into view. Richard soon arrived. He pushed into me with abandon while I continued to fuck Matthew.
I rubbed the back of my neck with an open hand. The gesture created more tension instead of easing it. Sex with the same men more than once wasn't the experience I wanted. Not that night. Not any night. It was too expected, redundant, reliable, and complicated. I wanted none of it.
Except I did want them. I couldn't deny how much I wanted to feel them in my arms, to touch them, to kiss them again.
MORE is now available in trade paperback and e-book formats.
Jessica, thanks again for the opportunity to share with your readers! I hope everyone finds a good book to escape with today.
Sloan Parker has been writing for years, but she finally found her true passion telling stories about two men (or more) falling in love. Now she creates m/m erotic romances and romantic suspense. She loves to explore the lives of people who are growing as individuals while falling in love.
You can find out more about her work at www.sloanparker.com.
Continue reading "Guest Post: Angelia Sparrow's Prolific Balance" »
Please join me in welcoming K.Z. Snow to Friskbiskit. She's here today to talk about her recent release, Carney's Magic, and share a magical excerpt from the book.
She's also generously giving away a free ebook to one lucky commenter. Just leave a comment and you'll be entered to win!
K.Z., take it away!
Magic. It’s at the core of all romance fiction. (My hostess, Jessica, certainly knows this!) Sci fi, paranormal, contemporary, historical; fluffy or weighty; light on sex or saturated with sex; m/m or m/f or any variation thereof. Categories are irrelevant. Inevitably, magic prevails.
The unique interpersonal alchemy called love is almost always the most magical thing in our lives . . . and in the stories we’re addicted to writing and/or reading.
My May 29 release from Loose Id, Carny’s Magic, explores different variations of this theme. There are definitely paranormal events in the novel, but they’re inextricably tied to the different kinds of emotional bonds that exist: the first flush of lust that morphs into love; the profound connection that comes with an established partnership; the emergence of a father-son bond from a mentor-student relationship. And, of course, there are the internal and external forces that can undermine the magic that is love—or even destroy it.
But I’ll let Carny take over from here, since this is primarily his story. (I’m also giving away one download of this or any other of my books that feature Jackson Spey and Adin Swift. So leave a comment if you’re interested in winning. Thanks for stopping by!)
Blurb
Carny Jessup here. The best part of my life began when my aunt’s homophobic squeeze smashed his fist into my face. I already knew a wizard named Jackson Spey lived on my side of town, so I figured I’d turn things around by becoming his apprentice.
Problem was, Spey didn’t want an apprentice. He was going through a midlife crisis. All he wanted was to build beautiful furniture and live in peace with his beautiful husband, Adin. He still took me in, though. Guess he felt sorry for me. And he was intrigued by the red paths I’d been seeing in the air.
Hey, I’m only 19, so how could I have foreseen the rest? That I’d fall for a breathtaking boy named Peter, who was at the center of some strange magic tied to Jackson’s past. And I’d have to deal with a sorcerer named Bezod, an evil pig who plagued all four of us and threatened to destroy our relationships.
Sometimes you just have to fight for what’s right. Like love. I might’ve been new to the boyfriend gig and Jackson might’ve been a reluctant wizard, but when the time came, we were ready to kick some supernatural ass.
Excerpt
I glide onto the shoulder and switch on the hazard lights. Jackson gets out of the car. I get out too.
Because we’re close to the lake, the air doesn’t feel entirely like laundry that’s just been pulled from the dryer. But damn, it’s dark out here. Creepy dark. All I can hear are small things singing from secret places.
Jackson moves away from the car and the illuminating blink of the hazards. I soon see why. Headlights are approaching. I pick my way to where he’s standing. A four-by-four pulling a boat shoots past us.
Once the boat trailer is no longer visible, Jackson tells me to face the northeast. I hesitate; I’m disoriented. “That way,” he says, stepping behind me and nudging my head a little to the right. “Pick a point of light in the sky, one you imagine is shining directly over Peter.”
“Star or planet?”
“Either.” He splays his hands over the back of my head, two of his fingers brushing my ears. I have a fleeting vision of Mr. Spock doing one kick-ass Vulcan mind-meld. “Have you chosen one?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Keep looking at it while you think of every good memory you have of Peter, and every warm feeling he’s generated in you, and each moment of happiness and hope you’ve shared. Vividly, Carny. Conjure them up as vividly as you can. Concentrate on the positives. Don’t let anything negative creep in.”
The memories and feelings swell inside me, all intertwined. I see Peter flashing me a smile over his shoulder as he leaves the shower stall, feel his hair between my fingers, hear him giggle as I tickle him and sigh as I hold him. I see the things we’ve done together, and I relive our pleasure in doing them. Tenderness fills me. Joy. Contentment. More…
“When you’ve remembered everything you can,” Jackson says quietly, “pour all of it into that speck of shine in the sky.”
I hold the star in place with my eyes and let that beautiful stuff gush out of me. Discrete images don’t form like so many BBs and shoot into the heavens. Instead, a stream flows, pure and sparkling—a stream that is the finest distillation of Peter-and-Carny.
The star glimmers.
I hear a whisper. “Now release the light. Direct it to spill over Peter and cocoon him. Make it blaze white all around him. See it happening.”
My eyelids flutter and close. Breath is hopping in and out of my chest. I think I’m smiling.
“Save some of the light for yourself. Pull threads of it toward you as it covers Peter. Let them wrap around the center of you.”
From that distant place where Peter is, bright tendrils float through the darkness and coil around me. I feel them just below my rib cage. A low voice is murmuring near or maybe in my head, but I don’t understand the words. Not at first. Then they give way to different words I do understand.
“Don’t give up on me.”
“I won’t.”
* * * * *
Carny’s Magic is currently available from the publisher, Loose Id http://www.loose-id.com/Carnys-Magic.aspx , and will soon be available at all major e-book outlets.
You can view all of K. Z. Snow’s books at her website http://www.kzsnow.com, or visit her at her blog http://kzsnow.blogspot.com and Twitter @k_z_snow.
It's my pleasure to welcome Viki Lyn to Friskbiskit today! Viki's here to tell us all about her new release, John’s Match – Woodland Village Book 3. Read on for the story behind the story, and for an exciting excerpt.
Plus Viki's generously giving away a free digital copy of one of her books, winner's choice! Just leave a comment and you'll be entered to win!
Hi Jessica, thank you for having me as a guest today! It’s great to be back.
For those who aren’t familiar with my stories, I write male/male romance, both contemporary and para/fantasy. I love both subgenres, but I have to confess when I buy GLBT fiction to read, it’s usually contemporary.
My first m/m book that I wrote was Blue Skye, which became the first book in my Woodland Village Series. It has already been three years and ten books later since I’ve written Blue Skye. Before that, I wrote historical romance under another pen name. When I made the switch to gay fiction, it rekindled my passion for romance writing. I was hooked! Over the past few years I’ve learned a lot about the genre and writing in general. But although it’s my first book, Blue Skye will always hold a special place in my heart.
Blue Skye is about an artist, Skye Taylor, who loves his childhood friend, Drew Adams. During their high school graduation, their passion for each other ignites but Skye leaves for NYC without Drew and with a broken heart. Years later, Skye returns to Woodland Village to sell his family’s salt box cottage and help inaugurate his dealer’s new art gallery designed by Drew. When Skye and Drew meet again, all those buried emotions for each other begin to surface and change their lives.
The setting is a fictional village on the east coast. I pictured a cross between Cabot Cove and Cape Cod! It has a harbor, pier and a great crab shack, local coffee house and art gallery. There are salt box cottages that date back to the last decade. Pretty much a place where I’d like to live. Being a native Californian, I’m familiar with the west coast, so I’m not sure why I didn’t set my story in a fictional town near Big Sur or Malibu!
Recently, my Woodland Village series had to find a new home, so when Blue Skye, and the second book, Ryan’s Harbor were re-released, they also were re-edited, making the series even stronger. I had such a great response with book 3 – John’s Match when it came out this March. It was a leading seller during the month of its release, and a best seller on All Romance Ebooks!
When I set out to write my Woodland Village series, I didn’t plan on each story featuring a subplot of a son coming to terms with the relationship with his father. Its uncanny how characters take on a life of their own, and as a writer, I usually go with the flow.
In Blue Skye, Drew must learn to stand up to his father’s expectations. In Ryan’s Harbor, Martin Pierson feels like his father blames him for his brother’s death. He takes this belief and owns it. When I completed the third book, John’s Match, I realized again, I had a father playing a significant role in one of my character’s lives. John has a good relationship with his father, and must learn to accept his father’s illness, and the loneliness that will follow when he passes on. Their relationship is much closer to my relationship with my dad who died several years ago. I still miss him, and wonder what he’d think of his youngest daughter writing gay fiction. I believe he would have shaken his head, not really understand why, but would have accepted it with good grace. :)
Here’s a blurb from John’s Match:
Fantasy writer Scott Marwick just might be John’s financial savior if John can convince Scott to sign over the character rights for a new computer game. John befriends Scott for one purpose -- to get him to sign -- never planning on falling in love. When John shatters Scott’s trust, can Scott forgive and move on from his past mistakes?
John Kramer discovers two guys humping on the hood of his Ferrari in the parking lot of the local gay bar. When he finds one of the pair alone and in a drunken stupor, John drives him home. To his surprise, the young man’s father is his new next door neighbor, Scott Marwick. Tempers flare when Scott accuses John of getting his son inebriated and taking advantage of him. John plans to never see the man again.
Then John’s boss flips out when he finds out the jerk next door is Scott Marwick, a temperamental, but famous fantasy writer. The elusive author could save their company from financial ruin if they can get him to sign over his characters for a computer game. Ryan insists John befriend Scott, show him around the Village and get him to agree to a meeting.
The last thing Scott needs is friends. He moved to Woodland Village to forget about the past and to write. Since his partner’s death three years ago, he hasn’t written one word, and his agent, publisher, and fans are clamoring for the final book of his award-winning series. His life is spiraling out of control and he doesn’t know if he can finish his series. He doesn’t need the complication of love and he certainly wouldn’t associate his name with a computer game.
But when John’s life begins to fall apart, Scott must decide where his loyalties lie—with John or his principles.
Excerpt: PG-13 – some swearing!
Rob groaned and his head wobbled on his father’s shoulder. “Don’t feel so good…” Then his head thumped down, and the kid passed out.
“I’m putting him to bed. You—” Scott pointed to John “—stay put.”
John bristled under the command. He should get the hell out of there, but the bastard was his neighbor. All he needed was all-out war between him and this asshole.
Scott returned, shutting the door behind him.
He tightened the belt of his robe. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t ever want you near Rob again.”
John was never tongue-tied, but the piercing glare of those dark, dark eyes under the overhead light left him unbalanced. Were they navy blue or brown…too hard to tell, the black lashes thick and distracting.
John straightened his tie. He’d be damn if he moved first. “Look, we’re neighbors, so let’s be reasonable, here.”
“Rob never gets drunk, and he doesn’t take drugs.”
Yeah, and the sun sets in the East.
The man either had no clue about his son’s lifestyle or was in denial. John had enough of being accused for an action he hadn’t committed. He was too old for that shit.
John closed the space between them, pleased when he saw the muscle in Scott’s jaw tense. They were almost the same height, but John had the advantage of buffed muscles, a solid chest and his clean, well pressed clothes. He knew he looked good, kept in shape, and had too many admirers to worry about what this piece of shit thought of him.
“Let’s get something straight. I’m not the type of man who gives drugs to get a piece of ass.” He shoved Scott back with a well place palm to his chest, noting with surprise how firm it felt under the material. “I told you the truth. I found Rob drunk and gave him a ride. I suggest you talk with your son and find out why he had to get so pissing drunk he’d throw up all over your hedge bush.”
“Why you son of a bitch—”
John blocked the upraised hand. “Temper, temper…” He escaped down the porch steps two at a time, smiling as curses followed him all the way to his car.
Well, that didn’t go so well.
What a way to end his night.
He’d keep this encounter to himself. His friends would just tease him that he got what he’d deserved for sticking his neck out. Well, hopefully he wouldn’t have too much interaction with his neighbor. All they shared was a stretch of beach with other residents on their street. If John was lucky, he’d never have to talk with the man again
***
As you can see, John and Scott don’t start off on good standing! It was fun to write their relationship, and the softening of their feelings for each other.
Buy link: http://musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=9&products_id=236 or go to my website and all my book resources are located on my sidebar! www.vikilyn.com
Jessica, thanks for the opportunity to post to your site, and come and visit my blog when you get a chance. I’d love to have you as a guest.
Happy Reading everyone!
And if you want a chance to win one of my digital books, please comment. I’ll pick a winner at the end of the week.
Viki Lyn
http://www.vikilyn.com
http://www.vikilyn.com/blog
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