Contests

• Joder’s giving away an ebook copy of Starline by Imogene Nix. Contest closes 11:59 pm CDT, April 30.

• Joder’s also giving away an ebook copy of Carnal Attraction by DL Jackson. Contest closes 11:59 pm CDT, May 2.

• Shawn Lane is giving away a paperback of the first six “His” stories. Contest closes in May when the book is released.

Bookity

• New releases and more: Tor.com (UF, genre benders, fantasy, scifi), Literary Escapism (UF/PNR), Fiction Vixen (romance), and Book Lovers Inc (a bit of everything).

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• Go vote in the current round of the Rainbow Awards Cover Contest!

• KZ Snow on the “special snowflake syndrome” among authors.

• Becky Black on writers behaving splendidly. 🙂

• Kris discusses the breakdown of communication in the m/m romance community of late.

• Leah Braemel on the changing face of erotic romance.

• Yertle the Turtle by Dr. Seuss has been banned at a Canadian school…

• New picture book Darth Vader and Son looks kinda fun.

• Carbon fiber bookcases wouldn’t sag.

• Pride & Prejudice as autobiographical webseries.

• Jim C. Hines is back, recreating romance novel cover model poses – this time he focuses on how guys are posed on covers. (via The Mary Sue)

Ebookity

• You can download Anything for Love by Ethan Day free at MLR Press. (Direct download link)

• One-third of Brits now own an ereader.

• Chrissy Munder shares a site dedicated to tracking down free reads for Kindlefolk.

• Dear Author provides an antitrust primer for those following along in the ebook price fixing lawsuit.

• “The Case Against DRM on eBooks” by Charlie Stross.

• An American Editor wonders if ebook authors are losing sales because readers seem to quickly forget the titles and authors of ebooks they read. (I must admit that his idea of including a header with title and author throughout the ebook to help readers remember would really annoy me – I hate it when pdfs are formatted like that.)

• Lulu.com hasn’t found that ebook sales undercut print sales, which traditional publishers have claimed

• Smashwords releases lots of really interesting (and useful) ebook sales data about pricing points, book length, and more.

Think, Learn, Do, Make

• Everything you ever wanted to know about cargo bikes.

• Make your own automatic pet feeder. (Chaos would have that thing ripped apart in minutes to get to the food…)

• Apparently parts of women’s brains shut down when watching p0rn.

• What actually happens when you swallow your gum?

• How does brain freeze work?

• Check to see if your Mac or Windows pc is affected by the DNSChanger trojan. Computers that are affected will lose internet connectivity in July.

Cookity

• Cherry pie “Larabar”. (via CRAFT)

• Pinata cookies. (via CRAFT)

• English muffin French toast.

• Strawberry rhubarb crumb bars. (via The Kitchn)

• Strawberry rhubarb lemonade. (via The Kitchn)

• Creamy tofu and green pea dip.

• Spinach feta risotto. (via The Kitchn)

• Shrimp, radish, and asparagus salad. (via The Kitchn)

• 5 grilled salads.

• 10 savory pies and cobblers.

• 15 sweet and savory recipes that use lemon.

Crafty

• String art house numbers. (via CRAFT)

Cool

• Fun pictures that a father created of his daughters. (Thanks, Bron!)

• Another fun dad, singing Bohemian Rhapsody with his kids on the way to school. (Thanks, Bron!)

• AT-AT kitty condo. (via The Mary Sue)

• Feminist Cthulhu… (via The Mary Sue)

• Star Wars/My Little Pony mashup.

Cool or Wha…?

• Seating for your living room shaped like a fallen tree.

• “FingerPickin Cocktail Picks”.

• Inflatable Stonehenge bouncy castle.

• The Ark of the Covenant cake.

Wha…?

• Why would anyone make a cake this gross?!

• You can get pizza crust stuffed with cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets at Pizza Hut Middle East.

• Talk about a major conflict of interest… 🙁

• “Whatever this CVS has planned tonight, count us out“

• The intersection of bondage and texting addiction…

• Bathroom with a glass floor at the top of a 15-story elevator shaft.

• TARDIS dildo?! (via The Mary Sue)

• Chocolate FAIL. (NSFW!)

• An office chair shaped like a chariot.

• Tampon-shaped flash drive.

LOL

• The reason no one considers us a threat, I suppose.

• The real definition of “feet”.

• Count Dad’s arms. (via The Mary Sue)

• The video that’s the strange intersection between firemen, kittens, and margaritas… (Thanks, Jeanne!)

• Ah, kitties – so “helpful” when you’re trying to work…

• Kitten nightmares.

• I can’t say I blame her…

Teh Cute

• Lioness and babies! Lioness and baby! Lion! Tiger! Baby tiger! Tiger and baby! Tiger and babies! Baby tiger! Tiger! Black cat! Black kitten! Fennecs! Fennecs! Bun! Baby black-footed cats! Kitten! Kittens! Kitten! Cat and kittens! Baby otter! Kittens! Red panda! Polar bear and babies! Jaguar and baby! Kittens!

Reading Update
Frat Boy and Toppy by Anne Tenino. ebook. Very good, very steamy, and very sweet m/m romance about a college jock and frat boy who’s been in denial for years that he’s gay, but finally can’t deny it any longer when he realizes he has a crush on his history TA.
False Start by Janey Chapel. ebook short. Very good m/m romance about two guys who were secretly together for one year during college. One graduated and ran away from even the thought of being gay and the other… didn’t.
One Man’s Treasure (Bellingham Mysteries #4) by Nicole Kimberling. ebook. Very good m/m mystery/romance in which Peter tries to figure out why the guy who collapsed in front of him at the farmer’s market died.
First You Fall (Kevin Connor #1) by Scott Sherman. ebook. Very good gay mystery about a rent boy who does some investigating of his own when his friend dies under suspicious circumstances and the police rule it a suicide.
Second You Sin (Kevin Connor #2) by Scott Sherman. ebook. Very good gay mystery in which Kevin tries to figure out why some other rent boys have been killed or injured. This one ends on a heckuva relationship cliffhanger – I hope the next book is out soon!
Mine by Mary Calmes. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a guy who works as a mob runner and who’s the only thing keeping his highstrung boyfriend grounded, until everything in their world changes overnight.
Payback (True Colors #3) by Clare London. ebook short. Steamy short m/m scene in which Zeke arrives at Miles’ office for a meeting but gets a bit of a surprise instead.
Changing Pitches by Steve Kluger. Very good novel about a major league baseball pitcher who, at 36, is heading the last place team in the league as he slowly realizes he needs to make some changes in his personal and professional lives.
Assumption of Desire by Elizabeth Brooks. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about an auditor who hooks up with a totally-not-his-style twink while he’s in town for two weeks. A few years later, he finds himself back in the same town…
Obedient Slave (Sun, Sea & Submission #2) by Kim Dare. ebook. Steamy kinky m/m romance about a guy who works at a gay resort. He doesn’t realize that someone is supposed to serve as his “slave” for a week when he gets promoted…
Office Hours by Rena Butler. ebook. Good m/m romance about an adjunct composition instructor who’s suspicious when the cute senior who sleeps through class turns in an excellent paper…
Sink or Swim by Lissa Kasey & Xara X. Xanakas. free ebook. Good short m/m romance about two guys moving to Australia to work as a dive instructor and a masseuse at a private resort. As they travel, one of them worries about their relationship and how things will be after they arrive.
China House by Vincent Lardo. ebook. Ok gay gothic mystery about a small group of people staying for a week in China House, which has been empty for 20 years… except for a ghost? I didn’t particularly care for any of the characters and could’ve definitely lived without the incestuous overtones in the story.
Cuffs and More by Dakota Dawn. ebook short. So-so short kinky m/m scene between a shy bdsm store owner and the dom he has a crush on. Unfortunately, neither of the guys felt believable to me.
Five Star Review by Lara Brukz. ebook. Meh m/m romance about an m/m author and a reviewer who become friends online and then have the chance to meet. Unfortunately, this was stilted, cliched, awkward, and just painful to read at times.

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“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Chaos