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Congrats to Karl A, who won Galley Proof by Eric Arvin! Galley Proof is being released by Dreamspinner Press today.

Congrats to Cayce, who won Noble Metals by L.A. Witt!

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Contests

• Joyfully Jay’s giving away an ebook copy of Six Degrees of Lust by Taylor V. Donovan. Contest closes 11:59 pm EST, January 13 (aka today).

• Carefully read the contest rules and directions at Book Reviews & More to discover how you can enter to win Galley Proof by Eric Arvin. Contest closes 5 pm MST, January 15.

• Tracy’s giving away a box filled with m/f historical romances. Comment by 7 pm PST, January 17, for your chance to win. US only.

• Blodeuedd’s giving away two copies of Sins of the Highlander by Connie Mason and Mia Marlowe. Contest closes January 19. US & Canada only.

• Tracy’s looking for urban fantasy and PNR recommendations. Comment by 7 pm PST, January 20, for your chance to win a mystery box of UF/PNR books. (US only for the contest.)

Bookity

• New releases and more: Literary Escapism (UF/PNR), AAR (romance), and Book Lovers Inc (a little of everything).

• Book and publishing news and linkity from Dear Author and ReadReactReview.

• Clare London has some tips on writing romantic suspense.

• Heidi Cullinan on keeping your ego healthy as a writer.

• Dear Author on the interaction of writers and readers.

• Ron and Hermione were the top-grossing onscreen couple.

• Find out more about the real Quileute tribe (versus the fictionalized version from Twilight).

• Make an origami cat bookmark.

• Book sculptures. (May not be suitable for especially sensitive readers.)

• If you haven’t watched the Joy of Books video yet, you really should… even if it does take a dig at ebooks at the end.

• Better Book Title for The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.

• Have you been reading Meljean Brook’s hilarious Diary of an Author? Day 1. Day 2. Day 3. Day 4.

Ebookity

• Brief Encounters Reviews will be interviewing Jordan Castillo Price on Monday and Tuesday next week as part of their Vamp Week. Rumor has it that Jordan will be giving away a bundle of the new Channeling Morpheus releases, too. Put it on your calendar! (Have you checked out Jordan’s diagram of the dorm room in GhosTV, plus her diagram of how Vic and Jacob’s home is laid out?)

• The Beat Your Winter Blues Blog Tour starts on January 18 – the grand prize will be a $200 gift certificate to the “e-tailer of your choice.”

• An American Editor on ebooks as commodities. Redux.

• The Digital Reader shares his Kindle Fire lessons learned.

• I didn’t realize that plagiarism was such a big problem on Amazon. (Thanks, Val!)

• Beware of knockoff ereaders and tablets. (And I’d further suggest that if you see a great deal on Woot! or the like, take a few minutes to go read reviews on reputable tech blogs – a lot of crappy tech gets dumped on “deal” sites.)

• For nearly 85 percent of the books on the USA Today bestseller list, ebooks outsold print.

Think. Learn. Do. Make.

• Why this winter is so warm and dry.

• Infographic on the state of pet adoption in the US.

• SuperTracker is a free diet and exercise tracker from the USDA.

• Some more about the new gluten-free labeling laws that went newly in effect in the UK.

• Learn more about the clitoris.

• Body myths debunked by science.

• Eeek! A study found that only 14% of medical errors are reported by hospitals.

• The Mary Sue takes another look at LEGOs for girls.

• As someone who’s owned nothing but Olympus cameras, I found this news discouraging.

• Turn two binder clips and an index card into a smartphone stand.

• A new study found that women are more likely to purchase technology products than men.

• How many atoms does it take to hold a bit? IBM knows.

• Tips on charging devices to prolong battery lifespan.

• How to safely clean your gadgets.

• If you build a working medical tricorder (Star Trek style), you could win $7 million.

• Time to stockpile Twinkies?

• There’s a new island in the Red Sea.

• Make your own lip balm. (via CRAFT)

Cookity

• How to make unicorn poop (cookies). Of course they’re rainbow-colored and sparkly. 🙂

• Healthy three-ingredient ice cream.

• Double chocolate and chili cookies.

• Nilla wafers. (via The Kitchn)

• Minnesota wild rice soup.

• Gluten-free crabby noodles with snow peas.

• Chicken and waffle wings. (via CRAFT)

• 5 shepherd’s pie recipes.

• 7 cabbage recipes.

• 15 recipes/tips for homemade vinaigrettes.

• 15 braised meat and vegetable dishes.

Crafty

• Sew a stuffed penguin. (via CRAFT)

• Sew a stuffed Hobbes. (via CRAFT)

• Crochet Spock ears… (via CRAFT)

• Crochet Batman outfits for your baby.

• Star Wars needlework on Han Stitched First. (via CRAFT)

Cool

• It’s David Bowie week at Tor.com in honor of the singer’s 65th birthday.

• Photos that look like Chinese ink drawings.

• Crafting, food, and photo linkity from Kristi the Fiber Fool. Crafting, food, and cat linkity from mrspao.

• Dragon sculpture made from disposable plasticware.

• A steampunk wedding, plus UP engagement photos, plus a LEGO proposal video.

Cool or Wha…?

• TARDIS purse. (via The Mary Sue)

• Crocheted cyclops costume.

• Gingerbread cuckoo clock with internal gears. (via CRAFT)

Wha…?

• Jenny Craig and Purina team up?!

• A woman coughed up her cancer while driving…

• “Penis tattoo gives man a permanent erection“.

• “Crab soup recalled for undeclared milk, wheat, and…crab?“

• Amigurumi cockroaches.

LOL

• Excellent point! (Thanks, Jeanne!)

• Honest logos.

• “The Droids of Star Wars Feel All the Feelings.”

• Truth.

• Also truth.

• If you say so…

Teh Cute

• Kitten! Fennec! Kitten! Cygnet! Kittens! Lioness! Kitten! Tiger! Gentoo penguin and baby! Lion and cub! Lion and cub! Baby black leopards!

Reading Update
The Violet and the Tom by Eve Ocotillo. free ebook. Excellent kinky historical fantasy m/m romance about a pleasure slave gifted by a king to his unwilling son, who is uncomfortable owning a slave for reasons that slowly become clear…
The Angel of 13th Street by Eden Winters. ebook. reread. Excellent m/m romance about a bar owner and former rentboy who, with help, turned his life around and now helps other young men get off the street and out of the life… and then one of his rescues really starts to get to him.
The Gallows Tree by RJ Scott. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about a guy who hasn’t stayed anywhere very long since his abusive ex got out of prison. When he goes to England to oversee the renovation of an old cottage, he realizes he’s hearing and seeing things and starts to wonder if he’s finally snapped. I liked this one despite there being a stalker. 🙂
Squeaky Clean by Kim Dare. ebook short. Good kinky short m/m story about a guy sitting on his couch, working on his laptop, who’s startled by a window washer. Inspired by an email I sent Kim last summer. 🙂
The Fix (Whitetail Rock #2) by Anne Tenino. free ebook short. Good short m/m romance following up with the recently graduated but underemployed Nik and his cop lover Jurgen.
Aspergirls: Empowering Females with Aspergers Syndrome by Rudy Simone. This was a book that definitely gave me a lot to think about… because even though I’m positive my computer design engineer father has Aspergers, it never occurred to me until recently that I might have it. I’m now pretty sure that I do – the reasons are too numerous to list, but having had the same breakfast for the past 20+ years and finding my weird pattern-matching ability described as “fluid intelligence” and an Aspergers savant skill… Yeah.
I also had a lot of trouble with this book because it seemed too touchy-feely, without enough references beyond the author’s other books. And then I hit a sentence that exponentially increased my resistance to the book: “…depression exists because there’s a problem in your life.” Oh, hellafuckno – sometimes it does, to be sure, but sometimes it’s a purely biochemical sort of thing that you have little control over.
Psychic Moon #1 by MD Grimm. ebook. Good m/m paranormal romance about two guys working for an animal rescue organization who are attracted to each other, but unaware of the other’s paranormal abilities…
Celtic Warrior and Wolf Spirit (Psychic Moon #2) by MD Greem. ebook short. Good short paranormal m/m holiday romance in which the two guys from Psychic Moon have to deal with one’s psychotic ex tracking him down.
Nothing To Do With Pride (Supernatural Mates #4) by Amber Kell. ebook short. So-so m/m paranormal romance about a coyote shifter trying to find his missing, possibly psychotic sister. This read almost like a story outline, plus it had some continuity issues; for example, is the sister’s son fine, as at the beginning of the story, or is he missing, as at the end of the story (with nothing between the two points about him vanishing)?
The Thirteenth Child (Section Thirteen #1) by JL O’Faolain. ebook. So-so m/m urban fantasy about an exiled sidhe living in New York City who gets called in by his “straight” ex to help the police solve a series of murders and child abductions. This had potential that wasn’t realized due to clunky style and pacing. As with so many other releases from this publisher, it needed indepth editing to realize that potential. Also, be aware that there’s virtually no romance in this one.
The Thirteenth Pillar (Section Thirteen #2) by JL O’Faolain. ebook. So-so m/m urban fantasy about an exiled sidhe now working as an NYPD cop investigating paranormal crimes. This was a frustrating read, because I like the characters and the storyline… just not their awkward presentation. The sex scenes in this one read like bad amateur porn, using terms like “love nut” (for the prostate) and “almighty Johnson”.
Loving Jacob by Lee Brazil. ebook. So-so m/m romance about a married attorney who has an “understanding” with his wife (they’re staying together “for the sake of the children”) and gets involved with a younger man – a younger man who’s looking for his Prince Charming. Broken hearts, boozing, and cutting ensue, but it’s all ok by the last couple pages. Um, yeah, obviously this one hit some negative buttons for me…
Layover by CJ Black. free ebook short. Meh short m/m encounter between two guys in a bus station.

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“My name is not Kilroy! Honestly, Mom, you are so weird.” -Mayhem