Contests
- Roxanne of Fang-tastic Books is giving away a copy of Kate Cotoner’s paranormal m/m romance, Violet: Thunder. Leave a comment by June 12 for your chance to win.
- LesleyW’s wondering about who owns the interpretation of a story after it’s been published – author or reader? Leave a comment answering her question by June 12 and you could win a copy of Carrie Vaughn’s paranormal romance, Kitty and the Silver Bullet.
- Mandi of Smexy Books is giving away three copies of Yasmine Galenorn’s Witchling (Otherworld, Book 1), plus an ARC of Night Mist (Indigo Court, Book 1) – leave a comment by June 13 to enter.
- Blodeudd’s giving away a copy of Ashlyn Chase’s paranormal romantic comedy, Strange Neighbors. To enter (by June 14), ask Ashyln a question or comment about her books or the interview.
- Jackie of Literary Escapism is giving away a copy of Carrie Lofty’s historical romance, Song of Seduction. Make sure you answer the questions in your comment! Contest closes June 15.
- Not sure when this closes, but leave a comment at LB Gregg’s blog to welcome new m/m romance author Harper Fox, and you’ll have a chance to win Harper’s forthcoming release, Life After Joe, or Josh Lanyon’s upcoming release, A Vintage Affair.
- All Things Urban Fantasy has over 125 urban fantasy related contests listed this week.
Bookity
- New books, news, and more: Lily (m/m romance), Literary Escapism (UF, PNR, lots of contest and interview links), and All About Romance (June audiobooks).
- If you’d like to read more of the author fan letters from the Author Fan Letter Blog Crawl, Kassa has the complete list of links.
- If you love to scribble in books and feel constrained when you borrow books or check them out from the library, check out NoteTabs, which are combo Post-its/book flags.
- Book Blogger Appreciation Week will be September 13-17 this year.
- Dear Author has a nice link roundup. Jessica of Read React Review resurfaces from an attack by Russian hackers for Monday Morning Stepback.
- Editor Rich Adin explains why he does not patronize either Apple or Amazon (hint: a similar arrogance).
- Rich also has a post on what he calls the WYSIWYG Conundrum – how it can be hard to edit (and particularly hard to edit our own words) because we see what we expect to see when we read.
- Manga publishers are worried about “scanlation” aggregator sites.
- Author Victor J. Banis has some great tips for writing in general, and writing m/m fiction in particular. (Be aware that the sidebars make this post NSFW.)
- KMont has had enough of tattoos on book covers.
Ebookity
- What do you think of serialized ebooks? You can share your thoughts in a one-question poll. (I’m not a fan of serials, myself.)
- You should all read Brian O’Leary’s excellent open letter to Scott Turow, the new president of the Authors Guild, about ebook piracy.
- Interesting graph on the growth of ebooks.
- Trying to decide which ereader to buy? This post at Reviews by Jessewave might help you decide. (Be aware that the sidebars make this post NSFW.)
- You can get a completely waterproof case for the Kindle 2.
- Miranda of Sweet Vernal Zephyr has a great tutorial on making a hard cover for a Sony pocket ereader.
- Book burning in the age of ebooks… (Make sure you hover your mouse pointer over the comic!)
Learn, Make, Do, Think
- Lifehacker has a nice comparison of Google Docs and Microsoft’s free Office Web Apps. (High level: Microsoft shines in dealing with highly formatted Office documents, but doesn’t have collaboration. Google Docs doesn’t have all the bells and whistles, but I definitely agree it’s great for real-time collaboration.)
- Interesting post at Gizmodo about fanboyism and brand loyalty.
- Wow. I really didn’t have any idea how deep the Deepwater Horizon Gusher was until I saw this infographic. O.O
- Raise your hand if you thought the FDA had the power to recall dangerous food. Yeah, I thought the same thing. We’re wrong.
- Discouraging… an awful lot of Americans don’t care about the environment at all.
- McDonald’s will buy back those recalled Shrek drinking glasses for $3 each.
- If you have a cookbook stand, it might also work as a laptop stand.
- Are gadgets, distractions, and multitasking ruining our lives? And is the internet making us smarter or more stupid?
- Saturday, June 12, is National Get Outdoors Day and admission to all Minnesota State Parks will be free!
- TeddyPig reports some promising statistics on increasing acceptance of gays and lesbians.
Gluten Free
- I really must find some of the Snyder’s of Hanover Gluten-Free Pretzels to try…
- Do you realize how many gluten free products Hormel has? (Love their turkey pepperoni.)
- D’oh! French Meadow Bakery is four blocks from me and I haven’t tried their gluten free muffins yet!
Not that Interested in the Post, But Holy Crap that Picture Is Scary
- Eeek!
Huh
- Strangely, I had not previously considered making a spiderweb from packing tape.
- Maybe your iPhone needs balls…
- Hmm. I can’t imagine why this reminded Eyre of me.
LOL
- The top ten signs that you are reading bad erotica. (If that link doesn’t work for you and leaves you at a “Page Not Found” error, simply search for “bad erotica.”)
- If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to hack a computer, the Action Movie Guide to doing so won’t help at all.
- Internet vices, such as Tumblr and Twitter, defined through drugs and alcohol (via Gizmodo).
- The rejection letter that NBC sent to PETA for its racy ad about vegetables (with the opportunity to watch the ad, of course)…
- Poor Franklin reveals the nasty rash of lace charting symbols on his chest and arm.
- When life imitates Tetris… (and how BP’s efforts to stop the gusher were like Tetris.)
- Crazy Aunt Purl’s kitties in front of the computer, squabbling over Twitter.
- Wow. Not sure I’ve seen a kitty tummy “bikini” of that size before…
- Even Basement Cat gets lost sometimes.
- Be careful opening that package you just received, ok? It might be a box of ebil.
- I think I’m glad that all spiders are eaten here before things get to this point. (Eaten by the kitties, not me, just to clarify.)
Teh Cute, It Burns
- Charlene Butterbean hogs the kitty tent.
- Be honest – who, besides me, is tempted to catnap Melly?
Reading Update
Phonebook by Amy Lane. ebook short. Fun’n’steamy m/m romance short about a guy on a business trip who calls his boyfriend, but is too embarrassed to have phone sex… directly, at least.
Gay Man Seeks Same (G-A-Y, Book 8 ) by Kim Dare. ebook. Sweet’n’kinky m/m romance about a serious guy who has a crush on his fickle coworker and places a personals ad in an attempt to get the coworker off his mind.
Bound by Deception, 
Bound to Him, and Deliberately Unbound by Ava March. ebooks, plus free ebook short. Very good kinky Regency m/m romances about a minor aristocrat who’s been in love with one of his well-to-do friends for years, but only recently realized that his friend was also gay. Will his deceptive scheme to take the place of his friend’s usual whore, while remaining anonymous, ultimately backfire? (And check out Ava’s post Story Behind the Story – Bound by Deception.)
The Cross of Sins (Fathom’s Five, Book 1) by Geoffrey Knight. Say you had five gay Indiana Joneses… you’d have Fathom’s Five and a rollicking romp of a read. 🙂
The Landlord by Jeff Erno. ebook. Ok kinky m/m romance that was a really mixed read for me. It’s about a brand-new college grad who gets his first job, rents his first apartment, and, via his landlord, discovers his submissive side. While I enjoyed the story, I didn’t enjoy the writing; who thinks in the passive voice?!
The following are all part of Dreamspinner’s Midsummer’s Nightmare Daily Dose:
Love Among the Stacks by Andi Deacon. ebook short. Enjoyable paranormal m/m short about a guy who’s doing research among the library stacks late one evening when he meets a very intriguing library worker.
Becoming the Spoils by J.L. Merrow. ebook short. Very good, fun paranormal m/m romance short about a journalist who gets gothed up and goes clubbing in an attempt to get the scoop on vampires, but who gets a little bit more than he bargained for.
The Scenic Route by Chrissy Munder. ebook short. Spooky short m/m paranormal romance about two guys driving through Lower Michigan on their way to the UP who stop at an extremely rustic motel for the night…
The Wounds in the Walls by Heidi Cullinan. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about a day laborer who’s hired by a paranormal psychologist to, supposedly, do some work on an old house with a tragic past. Be aware that there are some menagey bits, but, as with Special Delivery, Heidi Cullinan makes it work.
Wishes by Moria McCain. ebook short. Short paranormal m/m romance about werewolves living in a society that doesn’t believe there can be mating bonds other than male-female. This started out strong, but too much story was crammed into far too little space and the ending felt rushed.
“Maybe they’ll forget how crabby I was yesterday, coo about how cute I look today, and try to rub my tummy. Bwa-ha-ha!” -Chaos
Haha, loved that comic.
I will have something for you to link later today 😉
Damn, I have to go to work, but I want to stay and look through all your links!
A recent post from Eyre..The End of the School Year & WTF-ery
Chaos, you do know how to look cute. Cute but untrustworthy, too.
Chris, I had a bagel from Einstein’s Bros. (made by Udi, from what I understand) and it was quite good!
A recent post from margene.."Do… or do not. There is no try."
2 thoughts here:
1. On the EEK link: did you see the pic of the results of that goo gun? Holy crap that looked gross!
2. In reference to the cougars and cologne…we discovered this summer that Axe Chocolate spray seems to put dogs “in the mood,” when an acquaintance of mine spent an entire weekend running away from a particularly amorous Newfie…took him two days to realize it was the body spray..hehe…
A recent post from Melanie..Homesick
That BP Coffee Spill video was funny.
You know I’ve never had a Twinkie? I don’t even think you can buy them here. We have other similar products made by Vachon, a Quebec company but not a Twinkie proper. I passed on the deep fried Twinkie when I was at the New York State Fair. The smell of grease was so pervasive there we both left feeling sick even though the only think we consumed that was fried was a funnel cake (which was plenty). Oh and I have no real desire to taste a Twinkie, deep fried or not.
I bought something gluten free yesterday. They are cornchips but with cinnamon and sugar on them. Totally addictive. They had free samples in the check-out line, it was a long line, they came home with me. Sigh. Damn subversive grocery stores.
I think I need to take a Kim Dare break, will discuss tomorrow. LOL
A recent post from Tam..Hump Day
Snyder’s of Hanover has g/f pretzels?!!! I’ll be looking for those.
So Melly toots SBDs? Ah, the joy of kitten farts. Malcolm is a PRO amongst pros in that area, let me tell you.
A recent post from Brigitte..Happy Birthday Old Man!
You are cute today my demon master…. 😛
But, but, I like tattoos..
I’m going to check out more extreme linkety when I get home tonight – so much good stuff – thanks Chris!
Have a great weekend. 🙂
love the BP Coffee Spill clip, watched it about eleventy million times already
A recent post from furiousball..dominating it
Thanks for the mention!
That bat pic IS scary… didn’t realize they had teeth like that!
But the quote that Teddypig links takes the cake. Who THINKS like that?! “Last week, the council claimed that repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell†would lead to an explosion of “homosexual assaults†in which sleeping soldiers would be the victims of fondling and fellatio by gay predators”
Scaredy Cats.. geez…
A recent post from Miranda..REVIEW: Covet
@Melanie I wish they put that information into the Axe ads. I find the idea of random women clinging to some guy’s back pretty distasteful, so it would be nice for them into indicate the real b!tch of the story.
A recent post from Seanna Lea..getting it done
Chris- Of course, man boobs = moobs!
I want to catnap all the kitties- especially Chaos- and his decadent black fur.
A recent post from Lorraine..New Hamburg
Well, something like that spiderweb wouldn’t last very long around Mel…it’d be full of teethmarks very quickly.
Maybe I’ll try to rub Chaos’s tummy while wearing a work glove.
A recent post from naomi..eye candy friday
Ooh, nice roundup! So much action in this post! We must go and get those gluten free muffins! Oh, also, I just got a chaing mai bike delivery menu left at my door. Hmmpf!
A recent post from Carolyn Crane..Some links and some chat
Love the links. I think Tam needs to write a story about racy vegetables, though.
Thanks for the mention.
Great links as always. The BP video is funny, the bat is scary looking and the kittens cute as always. I’ve had two cups of coffee clicking and reading your links. lol
A recent post from Lily..Funny…and weird
Dear god how do you find all these links – I’m in awe.
Wow, I must go through some of these links when I get home today. Too much fun! Though, I will say up front that it does not surprise me that most people don’t care about trashing the environment. You can tell by how little is done about it, and how big a stink is made when some law trying to fix things *IS* passed. (Like the banning of plastic bags at grocery stores.)
A recent post from Nicole..Quick WiP
You just send me wandering off and I come back to comment hours later. I’m exhausted!
WOW, that’s a LOT of links! Loved the PETA commercial 🙂
A recent post from Julie..Friday with Clover and Bronson
Some cool link as always – I really like some of those discussions…
We love you still C – crabbiness and all..
E.H>
Glad you liked Ava March’s Bound series, told you 😉
What did you think of the Fathom’s Five book? Can you recommend it?
A recent post from Janna ErotRomReader..Happy Gay Friday & Some sad news
it was super cute! it didn’t burn though. It did make me pick up my kitty and pet her belly.
A recent post from ikisti..Rad…
LOL at the Peta ad and rejection letter!
I love that BP ad.
I’m not sure which is scarier – the photo of the bat or the idea of exploding bats.
My crew hasn’t been doing a very good job of spider eating lately.
A recent post from Sydney..The Food Edition
A waterproof cover for kindle. Do they have anything with bubble wrap for the other ereader? lol waaaaah!
Chas is darned cute – maybe we can overlook yesterdays snit. 🙂
Good books – as usual there are some going on my tbb!
A recent post from Tracy..Saturday Song
OMIG – I SO need to get my iPhone some balls. He’s a boy, btw, so he could use a pair.
That BP coffee spill was hysterical!!! Gotta laugh at it because when I think abt it, it actually makes me ill.
A recent post from Lynn..Making a Comeback?
Thank you Chris! I like the post about how honest a review should be!
Chaos – you have cute sorted…am sure you’re cute even in your sleep 🙂
A recent post from orannia..The E Word
kitties!!!!! *nom* That cover for Midsummer’s Nightmare is ridiculous.
A recent post from katiebabs..WTFckery Or Not? You Decide
Awww, hello Chaos.
What an awesome link list!
A recent post from Eleanor..Sock Fever
Hmmm — thinking about kittens now — luckily there are a couple lurking about somewhere in the house!!
A recent post from mrspao..Good night, Stuart
Linkety-link indeed! Believe it or not, my boys have a twitter account (@CatRulers) where they offer their take on human manipulation and domination.
And yes, Chaos, all crabbiness has been forgotten.