Congrats to Kathy K, who won the copy of LB Gregg’s Catch Me If You Can (Romano & Albright, Book 1)! (Don’t forget about LB’s review contest, which runs through March 16.)
Contests
- Largehearted Boy’s giving away a $100 Threadless gift certificate, plus an assortment of books and cds. Answer the posted question in the comments by midnight CST, March 12, to enter.
- Dear Author’s giving away copies of some forthcoming Penguin and Riverhead releases – comment by noon CST, March 13, for your chance to win.
- Ralph of The Dancing Dove is giving away some m/m ebooks to celebrate Read an Ebook Week! The contests for Hue, Tint and Shade by Jordan Castillo Price and Hell Hath No Fury by Carol Lynne both end at midnight EST, March 13, the contest for Mara Ismine’s A Journey To Compromise ends at midnight EDT, March 15, and the contest for K.P. Kincaid’s The Next Competitor ends at midnight EDT, March 16.
- Patti the Book Addict is giving away a copy of Megan Hart and Lauren Dane’s steamy Taking Care of Business. Comment by midnight CST, March 13, for your chance to win. Even if you aren’t interested in winning the book, it’s worth reading the post for her hilarious momfail story!
- Donna’s giving away a signed copy of Angelology by Danielle Trussoni to someone who comments before 8 am CST, March 14.
- Anna’s giving away a copy of Amanda Forester’s new Highland romance, The Highlander’s Sword – enter before March 14 for your chance to win.
- It’s time for the Third Annual Snow Melt Contest over at Knitnzu! Submit your guess by 5 pm EDT, March 15, to be in the running. Last year the snow pile wasn’t completely gone until nearly the end of June.
- SciFiGuy’s giving away a copy of the new all-Canadian vampire anthology, Evolve: Stories of the New Undead, to someone who comments by midnight EDT, March 15. He’s also giving away a signed copy of Marta Acosta’s delightful Happy Hour at Casa Dracula – leave a comment by midnight EDT, March 16, for your chance to win.
- Head over to CursingMama’s before 10 am CDT, March 17, for your chance to win a copy of The Mayo Clinic Diet.
- KB’s giving away three hardcover copies of Rachel Ward’s new young adult novel, Num8ers. Leave a comment by March 19 for your chance to win.
- Cecile has a whole bunch of contests going on at her place, for books from Beth Kery, Jenna Byrnes, Tracy Wolff, and Kimber Chin. Make sure you enter each of them by March 31!
- If you support Erin for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society fundraiser walk in Olympia, Washington, and let Heidi know, you’ll be entered in a drawing for either a $25 Amazon gift certificate or a $25 KnitPicks gift certificate. If we donate more than $100, Heidi will add a second gift certificate to the prize. Contest closes March 31.
- The list of urban fantasy contests over at All Things Urban Fantasy was at 145 when last I checked.
Books & Reading & Readers, Oh My!
- Head over to SciFiGuy for the urban fantasy weekend update, to Fantasy Dreamer’s Ramblings for this week’s interesting paranormal/urban fantasy/YA releases and contests, Literary Escapism for midweek urban fantasy updates, and I Love Books for this week’s m/m romance releases.
- MrsGiggles with some thoughts on and links to the relationship between authors and readers. (Dear Author has a bit on the events leading to the post from MrsGiggles.)
- Sounds like this month will see the “first big web copyright content crackdown”.
- A study found a correlation between free ebooks and increased print sales for most publishers.
- Check out the daily Read an Ebook Week updates at Books on the Knob.
- SciFiGuy on what men are reading.
- Author Jordan Castillo Price writes about why she loves ebooks.
- Gizmodo has a great article about ebook formats and all the pain we’re going to suffer because of them.
- Interesting op-ed piece from Gizmodo on the wider implications of censorship in the Apple Apps Store.
- Another op-ed piece, this time from author Ben Bova on the current state of ebooks.
- Still some time (I think) to vote for hottest m/m romance couple at Kris’n’Good Books (NSFW). Vote by midnight Perth time, March 12.
Learn Things
- Lifehacker has a good article on making the most of a point-and-shoot camera.
- I had no idea you could turn a hoodie into a laptop bag.
- Ugh. More food recalls – this time for salmonella in hydrolyzed vegetable protein.
- But hey! Looks like I live in America’s drinking belt.
Things That Didn’t Fit Elsewhere
- Don’t these kitty beds/caves look like something hobbits would have for their cats?
- An iPhone case made from a rock? Huh.
LOL
- Yup. This happens to me every day, too.
- Several of CJ’s sidekicks (the skeery Little CJ and the most proper Miss Doreen) were over at DIK this week, being interviewed by True Blood’s Eric Northman.
- The caffeine curve is pure brilliance!
- Franklin on some of the things his fellow airline passengers would rather do than sit next to him as he knits.
- I had no idea you could shoot an entire short film (1 minute, 8 seconds) on a scanner.
Reading Update
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The Larton Chronicles by James Anson. I heard about this delightful m/m romance when Josh Lanyon mentioned on his blog that it was one of his comfort reads. The book is about Robert, ex-policeman and mystery author who moves to the obscure village of Larton, and Michael, the horse-mad and out of control village “squire”. Written in a fabulously understated style that seems quite British indeed to me (Jenre and EH will have to confirm or deny this for me), the book chronicles the ups and downs of building a life together. (Also, all sex occurs entirely offsides and is only referred to in the most discrete terms.) I’d definitely recommend picking this up directly from the publisher and not from Amazon – the price difference is quite significant. Recommended.
The Dark Farewell by Josh Lanyon. ebook. As previously mentioned, I won this historical m/m romance over at Jessewave’s. This was an extremely well-done story about a reporter from NYC in central Illinois to follow up on a union-related massacre when he becomes intrigued by a medium who is staying at the same boarding house. From Josh’s comments on Jenre’s review of this ebook, I was sort of prepared for the abrupt ending to the story, which is modeled on ghost stories from the period (early 1920s), but I found myself really wanting to know more about these characters! Recommended.
No Souvenirs (Florida Series, Book 3) by K.A. Mitchell. ebook. Very good, steamy, and intense m/m romance about that mysterious ER doctor we met in previous books. Hard to go wrong with K.A. Mitchell! Recommended.
Custom Ride by K.A. Mitchell. ebook. Good m/m romance about a guy who has an anonymous encounter with a mysterious stranger at Pride (in Minneapolis!), then keeps encountering the guy again back home in St. Cloud.
Scared Stiff by Laura Baumbach, William Maltese, Josh Lanyon, & Sarah Black. ebook collection. This was a good m/m paranormal romance collection overall, although each story had its foibles. Baumbach’s was unfortunately plagued by egregious editing errors such as misused words, missing words, and randomly introduced names. (Wait, I thought that Eli and Mason were in bed together. Where did this “Josh” come from?!???) Black’s story suffered somewhat from the main characters overusing each other’s names in conversation, so their conversations seemed stilted. (Handily, author Patti O’Shea just posted about this very problem.) Lanyon’s story was very good, with just a condom use issue. I skipped Maltese’s story because I’m not a big fan of his style, plus it was fantasy.
Primal Passions (Lost Shifters, Book 1) by Stephani Hecht. ebook. Enjoyable paranormal m/m romance about a paramedic who suddenly discovers that the world is much weirder than he knew when he’s imprisoned by thugs and rescued by a feline shapeshifter.
Fire and Ice by A.J. Llewellyn & Stephani Hecht. ebook. I definitely like Stephani Hecht’s work on her own better. This m/m romance about a former boxer and a hockey goalie was all over the place, with instalove and bits of story that didn’t fit very well.
Garron’s Gift and 
Rawley’s Redemption (Good-Time Boys, Books 2-3) by Carol Lynne. ebooks. Ok m/m romances being the continuing story of the Good brothers, their guys, and dangerous homophobes in their small Nebraska town. It appears that this series, like Campus Cravings, also intersects with the Cattle Valley series. Apparently Cattle Valley is like the Borg…
Now and Forever by Addison Albright. ebook short. Sweet m/m romance short about a couple planning their wedding reception, during the all-too-brief time gay marriage was legal in California.
Moving On and 
Moving Along by Addison Albright. ebook shorts. These are sweet m/m romance shorts about a guy trying to move on after his lover was killed in a car accident a year ago.
Aidan and Ethan (Seeking Redemption, Book 1) by Cameron Dane. ebook. Angsty m/m romance about a guy who vanishes without a word after planning a life together with his best friend, then reappears over a decade later. I started out feeling as if the entire premise of the story was extremely flimsy, but that was actually addressed a bit later. (Also, not so good with the condom thing in this book.)
Private Dicks by Katie Allen. ebook. This m/m romantic suspense was a reread – it’s one of my comfort reads. Obviously I think it’s a good book! 🙂 And you’ll have a chance to win a copy of the sequel in the not-too-distant future…
“Mom, do I really want to know why you’re taking a picture of my back toes?” -Chaos
If you commented on this post before 7:30 am CST, March 11, your comment has vanished. Sorry! My fault entirely.
I love those cat caves. I doubt Mel would be interested, though.
I’m more likely to be listening to an audiobook, get distracted, and realize I just missed ten minutes of book…
.-= naomi´s last blog ..a weekend’s spinning =-.
i’m giving a copy of Custom Ride to my neighbor that fired me
.-= furiousball´s last blog ..the ultimate phone in… the meme =-.
Chris- I came across something I wanted to share that is one of the funniest things ever: http://www.dontevenreply.com/
The one about the concealed weapons did me in.
.-= Lorraine´s last blog ..Blue Monday =-.
That iPhone case is so cool!
And yeah, that happens to me all the time too. You know what I mean, the cartoon? The novel cats on the Internet? LOL!
That paws picture is totally cool – I had a hard time figuring out what it was a picture of until I read the caption.
How should we celebrate living in America’s drinking belt? LOL. These are a rich bunch of links! And thanks for the linkage to the Eric interviews!
.-= Carolyn Crane´s last blog ..Question of the day, cage match & the Aztec Lady interview!!! =-.
Have I mentioned how much I love your reviews/summaries? You’re very good at the succinct. And apparently we have similar taste…
cute toes!
.-= wren´s last blog ..Ramblings and Cats =-.
You’ve outdone your self this week hon…
Love the lifehacker stuff – I love my Fuji very much – so always keen to know cool things to do with it…
Everytime I see Cameron Dane mention I feel to drop everything and read her books…
Good haul of books this week – I am hoping to get to my copy of the The Larton Chronicles soon…
Chaos -…
Evidence my dear, evidence….
.-= Erotic Horizon´s last blog ..Excerpt Day: Marianne © Simon Lowrie =-.
Thanks for the mention honey!
Thanks for the linkty links!
I hope you are having a great day!
Chaos… we love kittie toes….
Thanks for all the links!
Love the caffeine curve.
And the drinking belt is hilarious. Here in Davis, CA, I was amazed that a university town of +60,000 people has 3 bars.
Cute toes!
.-= Brenda´s last blog ..Week in Photos =-.
The Larton Chronicles arrived at my house the other day. As it’s not got a cover with naked men on the front it might get read quicker than some of my other m/m paperbacks :).
.-= Jenre´s last blog ..Review: Footprints by Clare London =-.
Poor men, are they not supposed to be reading anything except for sci-fi and fantasy
.-= blodeuedd´s last blog ..Release winner =-.
I know have a TON of windows open from all those linkies! Thanks for mentioning my contest as well.
Too funny about Cattle Valley. I really can’t read too many Carol Lynn books. They are filled with rampant insta-love which sends me around the bend. I do enjoy Stephani Hecht although she’s fairly new to me and I’ve never tried her stuff with anyone else.
LOVE KA Mitchel though. I have that and can’t wait to read it.
I hate it when books have major errors like the name thing. That’s a basic one. I found Moving On to be kind of creepy (not in a good creepy way) with the ghost kind of watching his ex (?) get together with the other guy, whispering in his ear telling him to what to do. It just kind of freaked me out. I did like the sequel better, because there was no instruction from the dead guy. LOL
I don’t know how you get this all together – it must take forever!!
Thanks for the link love. BTW, you’ve got an award over at my place
Caffeine was the reason Excedrin used to work on my early migraines…
The iPhone case reminds me of the Flintstones too much. If I used it, I would be too busy looking around for a dinosaur crane or Pebbles to take any calls.
Thanks for the reviews! I’m so glad you enjoyed Primal Passions.
Cute cat caves! And “katzenhohle.” I love how descriptive it sounds all on its own. 🙂
My iPhone does not need a rock case. No phone needs a rock case. What, are we trying to enourage our cell phones to brick themselves? No thank you.
.-= Nicole´s last blog ..Perfect Timing =-.
Congrats Kathy!! 🙂
Well, I already blabbed about my caffeine addiction earlier… still have it. 😉
.-= Donna-FantasyDreamer´s last blog ..Review: and Falling, Fly by Skyler White =-.
Why am I so behind the times? What is book 2 in Mitchell’s Florida series?
.-= Tracy´s last blog ..Review: An Impossible Attraction by Brenda Joyce =-.
Great links today. I had a great time clicking and reading.
Thanks for the mention! 🙂
Tracy: The order is Diving in Deep, Collision Course, and now No Souvenirs.
How can I ignore a blogpost with Kitty toes in the title? 🙂 Your reading week wasn’t too bad, was it 😉 I kept scribbling the titles down.
And isn’t that Sexy Crouching Guy (or how did you name him again) standing on the cover of Rawley’s Redemption?
.-= ErotRomReader Janna´s last blog ..I was given the Sexy Blogger Award & Some Man Candy to Forget All Sorrows =-.
I don’t even know where to start…I want a giant Katzenhole for myself. I want to climb inside, hide from my deadlines and take a cozy little nap – for about a month.
Though I haven’t yet read a Stacia Kane book, I’m a total fan after reading that blog post.
And OMG…Miss Doreen made me laugh so hard I choked on my water. Not nice, Miss Doreen. Cowboy menage dystopian – snortle!!!
I thought those were the pads of your kitty’s paws and then I though nah, I’m just seeing things. lol
I actually just downloaded the Josh Lanyon story before hoping over to say hi Chris now I’m looking forward to the read even more. Thanx.
I love the hoddie/laptop bag! lol
Great linkety post. :0)
.-= Lea´s last blog ..May I Have Some Cheese Please? =-.
Normally I would comment so much earlier, but going to the vet is exhausting!
(We are vet groupies and follow our vet as she does relief work across the state. This time the appointment was about a 50 minute drive away.)
Beautiful caffeine is mana, the elixir of life!
.-= Seanna Lea´s last blog ..quickie not quiche =-.
I absolutely love the Katzenhohle! I just know Katie wouldn’t use it though.
I do the same as Naomi, above, with audiobooks. I’ll get distracted and realize later that I’ve missed 10, 20 or even 30 minutes.
I’m kind of glad I have been buying much prepared food lately. (It’s a recent thing.)
Ah sweet kitty toes. 🙂
.-= Sydney´s last blog ..A Blogiversary, And Suddenly It’s Spring =-.
Completely off topic, but did you know there is a ravelry group called mayhem and chaos?? It’s a group from Australia. TOO funny!!!!
http://www.ravelry.com/groups/mayhem-and-chaos-abounds
.-= Lynn´s last blog ..Up and Running! =-.
LMAO @ Cattle Valley is like the borg!
I’m in awe at your link sourcing skills Chris! And I so must read me some more Josh Lanyon!
.-= orannia´s last blog ..Almost… =-.
I can’t even start looking at that popular science site. I will send it to my brother, though, so he can do some cyber loafing in the name of science.
.-= Mary Lou´s last blog ..My Sweater Can Beat Up Your Sweater =-.
Thanks for the links (of both kinds) 🙂
.-= Doug Knipe [SciFiGuy]´s last blog ..Urban Fantasy Weekend Report =-.
Nice post!!
I really need to read a KA Mitchell book!
I may be the only person to not like the Dark Farewell..I thought it was boring. First Lanyon book fail for me..SOB 😉
.-= Mandi´s last blog ..Review: A Matter of Trust by Judi McCoy =-.