Make sure you enter the contest for How the Other Half Lives by Clare London! Contest closes 7 pm CST, February 4.

Congrats to Wren, who won Threadbare by Clare London! Threadbare will be released by JMS Books on January 23.

Congrats to cturtlechick, who won Sandpipers’ Secrets by Jade Archer! Sandpipers’ Secrets will be released on January 24 by Total-E-Bound.

Contests

• Caption the final book cover (blue flaming naked man ass?!) for your chance to win a $25 credit to the bookstore of your choice. Closes this evening (Friday the 21st). I confess to submitting the first cover in that post – the cover model’s one I’m tracking. 🙂

• Devon Rhodes is giving away winner’s choice of Wet Your Whistle or Sex on Sabbatical to the first person to pair all the last lines with the correct books of hers. Contest closes 11 am EST, January 22.

• Fiction Vixen’s having an unstuff the shelves contest – go check out the books she’s giving away and let her know in the comments what you’d like to win. Closes January 28.

• To celebrate their blogiversary, Book Lovers Inc has lots and lots of paranormal romance and urban fantasy contests running right now. All contests end February 4.

Bookity

• Lily has the week’s new m/m book releases.

• Book news from Dear Author and Book Lovers Inc.

• Where Borders went astray.

• A review of one of my favorite books, To Say Nothing of the Dog, or How We Found the Bishop’s Bird Stump at Last by Connie Willis.

• Shawn Lane has some practical advice for new writers in the m/m romance genre… but really? It’s good advice for all writers, whatever their experience or genre.

• Josh Lanyon lists five ways authors can promote themselves for free, and provides 20 tips for writing cozy mysteries.

• Jenre explains what she feels are the three biggest failings in m/m romance short stories.

• Val discovers a shocking truth about online book reviewing.

• Paperback Writer “advertises” the Book Wubbie.

• Top 10 signs that you’re reading too much paranormal romance, historical romance, or Scottish romance. (Hmm. I bet we could come up with a list for gay romance… Wanna work on it in the comments?!)

• Lesser known proofreading marks… (Thanks, Bronwyn!)

Ebookity

• An iPhone app that could make it safer for you to walk and read (please don’t drive and read, even with the app)…

• Do the easy-to-read fonts on ebook readers make it less likely that you’ll retain what you read?

• Dear Author explains agency pricing and why ebooks from mainstream publishers cost so much.

• TeleRead discusses the frustration of ebook geographical restrictions and wonders how big the Kindle Revolution really is.

• The eBook Reader on why getting free ebooks from the library isn’t as cool as it sounds.

• Does DRM more effectively prevent ebook sharing rather than ebook piracy?

• Another lesson that mainstream publishers could learn from the recording industry.

• Beware publishers who run contests with a submmission fee ($149) and take most of your rights.

• Then make sure you check out the evil publishing contest at Evil Reads, where you can add your own additional clauses in the comments! (Thanks, Stephani!)

• What Neil Gaiman likes about the Kindle.

• Lifehacker on how to remove DRM from your Kindle ebooks.

• Nice chart of devices and formats to get you started with ebooks (via TeleRead).

• Make your own Moleskine ebook reader case.

Do, Learn, Think, Make

• Omg blog has an overview of Out magazine’s first sex survey. (Thanks, Jase!)

• Scientists discover time teleportation (at the quantum level)!

• A mammoth cloning experiment has started!

• Scientists recreate Pac-Man with microorganisms.

• The sun rose 48 hours early in Greenland this year, and that’s not really a good thing.

• The USGS has transmitters on some loons and you can track their migration from the Upper Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico. (Thanks, Jeanne!) (But be prepared that not all of the loons make it…)

• Has the wreckage of Blackbeard’s pirate ship been found?

• Are you still putting two spaces after periods when you type?

• Gizmodo lists 32 ways you can make your digital life more secure.

• Check out Gizmodo’s chart of the best times to buy anything in 2011.

• If your US state was a country, where would it fall in terms of GDP (gross domestic product)?

• Minneapolitan Leif Pettersen is going to spend the next two weeks entirely in the Minneapolis skyway system. (With it hitting -25F this morning, his plan isn’t as crazy as it sounds.)

• A combination of aspirin and caffeine may be the most effective cure for hangovers.

• Ten important dates in chocolate history.

• A 2500 year old recipe to make your own Celtic beer…

• A recent study found that an awful lot of students don’t learn much in college.

Craft

• How to crochet hearts.

• Make your own “cereal milk” ice cream.

• Photography tips for crafters.

• Make an origami box from fabric.

• A Mad Scientist kit would be a great gift to make for a kid.

• Hmm. A book about the challenges of photographing a black dog… I wonder if there’s room in the market for a book about the challenges of photographing two busy black kitties?! 😉

Cool

• Born This Way is an incredibly sweet blog where gay men and women share photos and stories of their younger selves.

• Optimus Prime amigurumi!

• Pencil vs Camera. (Thanks, Wren!)

• S’more keyboard!

• Pantone chip cookies!

• Knitting basket cake!

• House of cards table.

• Photo hanger.

• Crocheted guards to keep skirts from getting caught in a bicycle’s rear spokes.

• Post-Apocalyptic dioramas.

• Is it geeky that I want to go to the Computer History Museum?

• Why haven’t I seen any of these commuter toasting bus shelters?!

Huh

• Did you know Knokkers is a sport that combines billiards and bowling?

• I’d suggest passing on the DIY gastric bypass kit for sale at Amazon.

• Why would you have a live grenade as a bookend?!

• Whisky in a can (contains eight shots) just sounds like a recipe for disaster.

• A Microsoft VP also sells money-scented cologne and perfume…

• Jewelry made from human fingernails?!

• You could get married in a funeral home to save money…

• South Korea has an official toilet museum… in a toilet-shaped building.

• Toxic Waste brand Nuclear Sludge Chew Bars contain lots of lead. More truth in advertising than you’d expect, hmm?

• The new Starbucks drink size (“Trenta”) is larger than the average human stomach capacity…

LOL

• I’m thinking maybe Barbie has a lot of repressed anger… (Graphic doll violence and nudity.) (Thanks, Jase!)

• You could knit a rather graphic lip balm cozy… (Thanks, Amy!)

• Maybe you need a nude men clock on your computer or iphone? (Thanks, Kim!)

• Have you visited the Bangable Dudes in History blog yet? (Thanks, Wren!)

• Indexed on corporate morale…

• You know what’s particularly sad about this macrame book? I’m pretty sure I checked it out from the local library when I was a kid and made that plant hanger on the cover. O.O

• Meljean Brooks’s daughter (age 7) designs a book cover for her.

• Hyperbole and a Half: Wolves.

• The Bobcats (at the Oatmeal).

• Modern irrational fears.

• The Bloggess gets a giant panda suit.

• How to describe your used furniture on Craig’s List.

• If aliens analyzed the internet… (Thanks, mrspao!)

• I hope the Sorting Hat listens…

• Doesn’t look like Basement Cat likes small dogs.

• Basement Cat plans his revenge.

Teh Cute

• Baby panda! Baby monkey! Baby polar bear?! Tiny aliens! Baby hummingbird! Ferret! Meerkats! Squirrel and kitten! Baby bats! Goofy lion! Cat and cougar! Panda! Kittens! Wee sugar glider! Baby cheetah! Polar bear! Tiger cub and bunnies (ummm…).

Reading Update
Gambling on Maybe by Fae Sutherland. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about a delightfully flamboyant guy who decides he needs to add some sparkle to a closeted cop’s life. My only complaint was that I wanted more! Be aware that this has a HFN ending.
Only Words (Max & Skyler, Book 1) by Acer Adamson. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about a closeted cop and his crossdressing boyfriend. This is very short, but skillful enough that I got sniffly while reading it!
Any Excuse (Max & Skyler, Book 2) by Acer Adamson. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance in which our closeted cop and his crossdressing boyfriend both make progress in their relationship.
The Twelve Days of Randy (Special Delivery, Book 2.5) by Heidi Cullinan. free ebook. Very good holiday m/m romance about Ethan and Randy trying to get the Christmas celebration they want.
Blood and Alchemy (Drone Vampires, Book 11) by Stephani Hecht. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance continuing the story of the beleaguered Drone Vampires and their allies. This book focused on warlock Donavan and his vampire mate Nolan. Be warned that this book ends on a cliffhanger, so be sure you have Book 12 on hand!
Tears of Blood (Drone Vampires, Book 12) by Stephani Hecht. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance focusing on vampire Toby, who gets sick at the sight of blood, and his warlock crush, Blaine, who can’t get involved with Toby. This ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, but nowhere near as bad as the previous book.
Quinn’s Blessing (Kindred Spirits, Book 4) by Jude Mason & Jenna Byrnes. ebook. Ok paranormal m/m romance continuing the spiritly adventures at the Whiskers Inn, this time focusing on the new cook and the reverend as everyone prepares for a wedding.
Technique (Taking the Odds, Book 1.5) by James Buchanan. ebook short. Originally published in 2007 in the Toy Box: Handcuffs anthology. Steamy short m/m encounter featuring Nicky, Brandon, and a set of handcuffs.
Aaron Bradley: Closet Detective by Timothy Owen. ebook. So-so m/m romance with an identity crisis. Calling this book Aaron Bradley: Closet Detective is deceptive – only a tiny part of the book is about the deeply closeted Aaron. Far more of the book is devoted to the mysterious Candice and her shenanigans. I think that this book, while definitely written in an engaging style, needed a lot of editing to give it some focus… and maybe it shouldn’t have been published by Dreamspinner.
Irreversible Error (Steppenwolf, Book 1) by Wolf Phoenix. ebook. Good m/m mystery/romantic suspense about a cop who gets drawn into a murder investigation when his friend, the mother of the victim, asks him to look at the case more closely. You’ll definitely want to have the sequel on hand, since the first book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. Also, I dislike the covers on both this book and the sequel, primarily because they’re spoilers for the books.
Cruising Adventures by Nicole Dennis. ebook. Pretty good m/m romance about two guys who meet at the beginning of a short GLBT cruise and decide to be together for the duration of the cruise: no future, no past, just the present… Several parts of the plot seemed unbelievable to me and I didn’t manage to suspend disbelief.
Save Me From Myself by Cassie Stevens. ebook. What, save you from from the issue you have with grabbing yourself? (Sorry, I really hate this cover.) Ok kinky m/m romance about a dominant who hates the former Marine (now successful clothing designer) who came home alive from Iraq, when the dom’s lover did not. Of course, the clothing designer knows all about the dom from the dead boyfriend and is convinced that the dom is exactly what he needs.
Cardamom: A Taste of Home by Winnie Jerome. ebook short. Ok short m/m romance about a whiny college student, away from home for the first time, who spends a lot of time feeling sorry for himself because things, especially with the fuck buddy he followed to college, are not going at all as he expected.
Pomegranate by Vic Winter. ebook short. Sweet short m/m romance about a wedding planner and one of the photographers he works with who have mutual crushes on each other, but neither is aware of the other’s interest.
Dirty Little Lie by C.R. Moss. ebook short. Meh short paranormal m/m romance about an adulterous guy in the process of getting divorced who’s involved with a man for the first time ever, and a very mysterious man at that. The sudden paranormal ending was a complete WTF.

“Hold really still, Mom. I almost have that sparkly red mouse (SRM)!” -Chaos