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Congrats to Harper Bell, who won Tono (the sequel to Loving Edits) by Mickie B. Ashling! Tono is being released by Dreamspinner Press today.

Congrats to Samantha, who won Tears of Blood (Drone Vampires, Book 12) by Stephani Hecht! Tears of Blood will be released by eXtasy Books on January 15, 2011.

Congrats to Marie A, who won the Saddle Up ‘N Ride anthology by Em Woods (and friends)! Saddle Up ‘N Ride will be released by Total-E-Bound on January 17.

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Contests

• Janna’s celebrating her fifth blogiversary by giving away yarn and your choice of a $20 Amazon or iTunes gift certificate. Closes midnight CST January 14.

• Patti’s giving away two paranormal romances and two non-paranormal romances. Comment by January 16 for your chance to win. US & Canada.

• Blodeuedd’s giving away two copies of The Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy by Mary Lydon Simonsen. Comment by January 19 for your chance to win. US & Canada.

Bookity

• New releases and more: Lily (m/m romance), Literary Escapism (UF/PNR news, contests, etc), All About Romance (romances), and Book Lovers Inc (assorted types of romance).

• Authors of m/m romance|gay romance who use Scrivener – TeddyPig wants to feature you! Some authors who’ve already participated include Jet Mykles, A.M. Riley (includes information on how to participate), Heidi Cullinan, Ally Blue, and more.

• Book news and links from Dear Author, ReadReactReview, and Book Lovers Inc.

• All About Romance kicks off its Speaking of Audiobooks 2011 Challenge.

• Orannia explains the 2011 Support Your Local Library Challenge.

• Ten things that indicate you’re a published writer (from Paperback Writer).

• Larissa Ione on the three-star review.

• Paperback Writer features some unusual bookcases.

• Bookshelf Porn, via CRAFT.

• TeddyPig on what he considers to be the three deadly sins in gay romance.

• Did you catch the special edition of the Misadventures in Stock Photography over at Clare London’s blog earlier this week?

Ebookity

• Go download Stuff My Stocking: M/M Romance Stories that Are Nice…and Naughty free, courtesy of the 25 authors and the Goodreads M/M Romance Group.

• If you feel like reading something a little heftier (but still free), how about Access to Knowledge in the Age of Intellectual Property?

• Dear Author has ten tips for new ebook reader owners.

• TeleRead lists five good ways to read ebooks on a device, online, or on a laptop/computer.

• Libraries (including academic libraries) are actually experiencing growth, with many planning to get into ebooks this year.

• Interesting article from TeleRead on how ebook pricing relates to revenue.

• I can’t say that I’m surprised that a recent survey found traditional publishers don’t understand consumers/readers.

• “What leads to piracy is not meeting emergent demands.“

• BookBaby is the new ebook publishing/distributing venture from CDBaby. It will focus on independent authors.

Think, Make, Learn, Do

• Some very profound words from International Space Station Commander Scott Kelly.

• A thoughtful post called “Dear Teen Me” from Jo Knowles. (Thanks, Bronwyn!)

• Know the differences between AT&T and Verizon before deciding to switch to the Verizon iPhone.

• Paperback Writer explains what an ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) for your blog is and why it might be useful to get one.

• MaximumPC names the 12 technologies they expect to be nearly gone by 2020.

• The American Dialect Society named “app” as the Word of the Year for 2010.

• Red wine can apparently enhance the conducting properties of superconductors (and yes, this discovery was made about how you’d guess it was).

• You can use baking soda and charcoal to remove bad smells from your car.

• Because the North Magnetic Pole is shifting 40 miles/year, Tampa International Airport has to rename its runways.

• If you take public transit, you’ll be thrilled to discover Google Maps can now help cut down on how much time you spend outside waiting (and at the mercy of the weather).

• Lack of sleep can make it harder for you to avoid unhealthy snacks.

• How to set up your own treadmill desk.

• What’s happening in your brain when you shop?

• Make your own tastier hot chocolate mix.

• Make your own chocolate hazelnut spread! (Mmmm… Nutella…)

• OKCupid reports on the math of beauty in online dating.

• Fascinating chart of cat coat colors and patterns. Chaos is a black tabby (mackeral pattern). Mayhem is a black smoke, albeit without the light-colored ruff.

Snowity

• A soothing short film of winter in the Netherlands.

• Florida is the only US state that doesn’t have snow right now.

• Make your own removable cleats for walking on ice or hard-packed snow.

• Does this shoveling technique actually keep snow plows from blocking your driveway?

• Make some snowshoes from cardboard for your kids.

Craft

• Have you tried dyeing fabric using snow?

• Hmm. Is it really the world’s largest yarn stash?

• Yarn and knitting links from the knittyBlog.

• Cute paper houses you can make.

• Crazy sewn scarves.

• Turn socks into fingerless mitts (this has potential for handknit socks that get a hole or two).

• Craft, cooking, and other linkity from Kristi.

Cool

• The new Star Wars area in LEGOLAND California will contain 2000 hand-built models!

• Short film 3 Minutes – it has light sabers!

• Another choose-your-own-adventure zombie film.

• The Fifth National Soup Swap is January 22. (Hmm. Maybe not so good to have this after that zombie link.)

• Subway’s testing a new gluten-free menu in Texas.

• Perfect house for cats.

Huh

• Ice cubes shaped like vampire fangs?

• I think it’s easier to carry a notebook in your pocket…

• Snail guitar.

• Beaded bacon and eggs bracelet.

• Jumpin Jammerz…

• Pretty sure I don’t want to eat noodles that had boll weevils, even after the boll weevils were removed…

• Assemble your own life-sized human!

• A guy was shot in the head and sneezed out the bullet!

• Drinking more (booze, not water) makes you exercise more?!

LOL

• I love ridiculous warning labels.

• How to write good (computer) code…

• What to do if you find something cool on the internet.

• Is this how you spend your workday?

• Aw, Dr. Tinycat!

• Basement Cat loves tornadoes! Do you know why?

• This would be Chaos…

• Backyard fauna oneupmanship.

• From the Oatmeal, how his handwriting has changed since kindergarten.

• Most movies would be really short if they had the internet…

Teh Cute

• Cats in a Christmas tree! Kittens! Bunny nose! Quokka! Kitten! Cat and kitten! Fawn! Fennec foxes! Fossa! Kittens! Kittens (or gollums?)! Bison! Baby tree kangaroo!

Reading Update
Death by Misfortune by A.M. Riley. ebook. Excellent m/m romantic suspense/mystery about the murder of a “psychic to the stars” and a prominent Hollywood producer, filled with lots of complex twists and turns. The story is told from two alternating points-of-view: Jeremy, a production assistant, and Bill, the closeted cop first introduced in Amor en Retrogrado.
His Client by Ava March. ebook. Very good kinky Regency m/m romance about a prostitute who’s had enough to retire for a while, but stays on at the brothel because he’s fallen in love with one of his clients – a client who’s been pining for his straight best friend since they were at university together.
Trusted Bond (Change of Heart, Book 2) by Mary Calmes. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance continuing the story of Jin and Logan about six months after Change of Heart ends, complete with attackers, kidnappers, and assassins! As Logan comments more than once, life with Jin is never dull or predictable.
Taking You Home (Boys of Summer, Book 2) by Cooper Davis. ebook. This sequel to Boys of Summer was a very good m/m romance that continues the story of Hunter and Max as they deal with Max’s family and Hunter works to adjust to the idea of himself as not straight.
Pulling Apart (Pulling Away, Book 2) by Shawn Lane. ebook short. Good short m/m romance continuing the story of Noah and Charlie as Charlie pulls away and Noah has no idea what’s wrong or how to help.
Things I’ll Never Say by M.J. O’Shea. ebook. Very sweet m/m romance about two guys who’ve been best friends for years. One’s had a crush on the other for ages, but is so sure it isn’t returned that he plans to go to college out of state to get some distance.
Euphorbia by Glyn Soitino. ebook. Very good short m/m romance about a gardener who was burned by love and doesn’t plan to get involved beyond one-night stands ever again.
Black Gold by Clancy Nacht & Thursday Euclid. ebook. Pretty good m/m romance about a glam rock superstar and the leader of a punk band. I would’ve rated this higher if there hadn’t been so damn much talking. These two talked and talked and TALKED. They had long, complicated, deep conversations during allegedly spectacular sex. Um. Yeah. *rolls eyes* Really, I just wanted everyone to shut up after a while. Love the cover, though! 🙂
Firm Touch by Christine d’Abo. ebook short. Steamy short m/m holiday romance about a couple whose lives have been so busy with work that they’ve been growing apart, even though it isn’t what either of them want. Will a drunken revelation that leads to a kinky surprise help bring them closer together or be the beginning of the end?
What He Wants by Eden Cole. free ebook short. Free so-so short m/m romance about two nominally straight best friends whose mutual female friend points out to each of them that they’re in love with each other.
Giving Chase (Seattle) by Jamie Hill. ebook short. Meh short m/m romance about a programmer who meets a gift store clerk and is instantly smitten. The whole thing felt forced and unrealistic.
Best Laid Plans by Cat Kane. ebook. Ok m/m romance about a disaster-prone wedding coordinator who gets involved with the groom of a wedding he’s planning. I might’ve liked this more had the whole reason behind the big misunderstanding plot made sense to me.
Rescuing the Librarian (New Horizons, Book 1) by Serena Yates. ebook. Ok m/m romance about a research librarian who agrees to help a porn star attempting to break into more mainstream acting get a better understanding of what a librarian’s job involves. Alas, I had some niggles about this one – the actor, from Scotland, must not have had any accent at all, since the librarian didn’t realize he was from Scotland. How likely is that? And what happened to the librarian’s assistant, who seemed as if he was going to be a critical player in the story, but vanished after a couple pages?
Naughty Nooners by Carol Lynne, Kaenar Langford, J.P. Bowie, Cian Fey, Jade Mason, & Dakota Rebel. ebook collection. Ok collection of m/m romance short stories about steamy lunch hour interludes and instalove.
Law and Ardor by Jack Greene. ebook short. Steamy short m/m romance about a cop who responds to a breaking-and-entering report and meets an adorable guy that he’d really like to get to know better. Small editing fail when counting fingers at one point…
Love Thy Neighbor by Jack Greene. ebook short. Steamy short m/m/m story about a guy who becomes fascinated by the two exhibitionist models who have an apartment across the courtyard from him.

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“Why are  you taking my picture?!” -Chaos