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Congrats to Em Woods, who won Handcuffs & Pretty Things (Rawlings Men #8) by Kim Dare!

Congrats to Jennifer V, who won Telling the Truth (Truth or Dare #2) by Lee Brazil! Telling the Truth is being released today by Breathless Press.

Congrats to Midia, who won Static by L.A. Witt! Static will be released on June 26th by Amber Allure.

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It’s been a busy, busy week at work and I’m behind in reading blogs, replying to email, and pretty much everything else, too! But I’m definitely going to Twin Cities Pride at Loring Park this weekend – will I see you there?

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Contests

• Blodeudd’s giving away three ebooks by Lori Brighton, but you need to enter by the end of today, July 24.

• Anna’s celebrating her blogiversary by giving away a True Blood themed prize pack! Winner announced June 30. US & Canada only.

• Book Addict Patti’s giving away a copy of Forgotten by Cat Patrick. Contest closes July 1. US only.

• Fiction Vixen’s giving away assorted romance/paranormal romance paperbacks. Comment by July 1 for your chance to win. US only.

• The Grand Rapids Writing Group is running a writing contest for all types of genre fiction. The final round judge is Miriam Kriss from the Irene Goodman Agency. Entries and fees must be received by July 15.

• Sweet Vernal Zephyr’s having a vacation reading contest! Take a picture of yourself reading “on vacation” and submit it to her by September 23 for your chance to win a box of books (US winner) or a selection of her favorite ebooks (international winner).

Bookity

• New releases and more: Lily (m/m romance), Fiction Vixen (new covers), Literary Escapism (UF/PNR), AAR (July romances), and Book Lovers Inc (romance, UF/PNR, etc).

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author and Smart Bitches.

• Dear Author on book awards and GLBT books.

• Will more indie bookstores begin charging you to attend author events?

• Paperback Writer lists ten resources to help writers name fictional locations.

• How to give constructive criticism as a beta reader.

• Things you can make from hardcover book jackets.

• Make a reading tent for your kids.

• Tor.com on books within books, such as Seven-Day Magic by Edward Eager (which I can see on my bookshelf from where I’m sitting!). Read the comment to discover more titles.

• How authors have insulted each other through the ages. (via Wyrdsmiths)

Ebookity

• Jordan Castillo Price’s free PsyCop prequel, Inside Out, is now available as an ebook.

• The Harry Potter books will finally be available as ebooks this fall – and they’ll be DRM-free.

• Have ebooks changed your reading and/or book buying habits?

• Two-thirds of US libraries offer ebooks.

• The Kansas state librarian (with the backing of the Kansas attorney general’s office) is terminating the state’s contract with OverDrive and moving their content elsewhere, due to contract language that suggests they purchased rather than licensed the content from OverDrive.

• Watch out for spammy self-pubbed plagiarists in the Kindle store.

• Some ereader satire. (via The Digital Reader)

• Some ereader trauma!

Think, Do, Make, Learn

• A new camera that swims through your digestive system may completely change how colonoscopies, endoscopies, and the like are done.

• You can carry more things on to a plane than you maybe realize, including sex toys and more then three ounces of contact solution.

• Background checks can now include social media.

• Best and worst places to retire, taxwise (apparently Minnesota’s one of the worst).

• Use vinegar to deodorize a room. (As someone who gets migraines and asthma attacks from air fresheners, potpourri, incense, and other highly scented things, I’m definitely trying this.)

• I think Smell-O-Vision is a really bad idea. (See previous item for why.)

• Organic doesn’t mean pesticide-free. (via The Kitchn)

• People are getting clothes repaired instead of getting rid of them. (That’s part of why the selection at the thrift store’s been abysmal for the past few years!)

• Did you know there’s a fungus called Spongiforma squarepantsii?

• Make infused spirits for fun and gifting.

Cookity

• Time to make sorbet!

• Make chocolate ice cubes to turn a glass of vanilla (soy)milk into a summery treat. (via The Kitchn)

• Microwave peanut butter chocolate chip fudge.

• Food on a stick.

• Pink fuzzy slipper cookies!

• Foods you can take along to eat on a plane.

Crafty

• Knit a Futurama balaclava.

• Knit or crochet a dodecahedron. (I have done this, and Mayhem totally loved it!)

• Knit an empire waist tank top.

• Knit a bomb.

• Crochet granny circle place mats.

• Etch pint glasses for amusing gifts.

• Sew a patchwork lanyard.

• Giant knits as artwork.

Cool

• Last Saturday was Rock the Garden at the Walker Art Center. I didn’t attend, but you really must check out this amazing time-lapse video of the event! I love Minneapolis. 🙂

• George Takei and Patty Duke are in a series of Star Trek themed Social Security PSAs?!

• Doctor Who visits Fawlty Towers.

• Harry Potter – Dr. Who mashup. (via The Mary Sue)

• Harry Potter crafts on etsy.

• Cthulhu slippers! (via The Mary Sue)

• Cthulhu lollipops!

• Barcodes as art.

• Street art cats.

• Photograph of a single night.

• Photograph of a lunar eclipse, with bonus lightning.

• Typographic maps (click on one!). (via CarrieK)

Cool or Wha…?

• C3PO backpack.

• Deep fried Kool-Aid balls (with recipe).

• Latch-hooked eye pillows.

• Crayon dress.

• Karate chop knife.

• The kilt beach towel. (via Smexy Books)

• Rob Zombie directed a Woolite commercial.

• Rotting Hill, a “light-hearted” zombie romance.

Wha…?

• Buggy banana purse?!

• Bok choy dress.

• Skirt o’ Barbies.

• Newspaper scented candles?!

• Scented usb drives?!

• Betty Crocker recipes from 1971…

• A $100,000 razor.

• Mind boggling tourist attraction in Singapore.

• Las Vegas has a new construction-themed theme park.

LOL

• Ten weekend plans autocorrect fails. (NSFWish)

• The “Army” guide to fighting zombies (make sure you read the first comment, too).

• Excellent advice!

• The persistence of kitties…

Teh Cute

• Kitten! Tanuki! Kitten! Musk ox and baby! Kittens! Lamb! Kittens! Lions! Kittens! Ferret! Kitten! Swan and cygnets! Kitten! Lions! Kitten! Baby owl! Tiger! Hedgie! Baby snow leopard! Baby skunk! Tanukis! Caracal! Galapagos tortoise and baby! Lioness and cub! Baby clouded leopard! Baby sloth!

Reading Update
Inside out (PsyCop #0.1) by Jordan Castillo Price. free online short. Very good free short m/m story about the first time Jacob saw Vic.
Sinnerman (Warder #4) by Mary Calmes. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about a warder who’s not doing very well at all – he’s been taking too many chances ever since his hearth left him for another man. At least fighting with that pesky not-quite-a-demon’s been keeping things interesting…
Winterlude by Tam Ames. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about two guys who literally run into each other on a wintery Ottawa street and decide to get to know each other a bit better…
Deefur Dog by R.J. Scott. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a widower with a two-year old daughter and a giant, unmanageable dog who belonged to his late husband. Strangely, they’re having trouble keeping a nanny for longer than a few hours. 😉 Recommended if you’re looking for a sweet, non-instalove m/m romance with more story than sex.
British Flash by a whole lot of authors. free ebook collection. Delightful free collection of very short stories in a wide assortment of genres, united by the common theme of being British and gay (be it male or female). I did skip some of the stories that weren’t to my taste, but I really enjoyed the ones I read and wished many of them were longer – particularly the one about the rook shifter. 🙂
Sex, Lies and Edelweiss by J.L. Merrow. ebook. Good m/m romance about a guy on holiday in the Alps with his adoptive mother who meets a cute waiter and misunderstandings abound.
Hot Head by Damon Suede. ebook. This book about two straight NYC firefighters, one of whom needs money so desperately that he does some gay porn, was a really mixed read for me. The first two-thirds of the book dragged enough that I kept wandering away to read other things. But I really liked the last third of the book – the pace felt better and the story drew me in so much that I couldn’t put the book down until I finished reading, well after my bedtime. 🙂
All Work and No Play by Anah Crow & Dianne Fox. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about a couple who are supposed to be heading out of town for a long weekend… Will the workaholic’s going in to work instead be the end of them as a couple?!
Vengeance Paid with Blood (Drone Vampires #13) by Stephani Hecht. ebook. Pretty good paranormal m/m romance continuing the saga of the Drone Vampires and their wizard allies as a small group road trips to take out a dark wizard. Alas, the scene with the dark wizard was rather anticlimactic. 🙁
Passing Time by Ash Penn. ebook. Ok m/m romance about a guy who’s back in England after 20 years because his mother’s in a coma and dying. He hooks up with a college student and keeps his emotions at bay by talking to his dead lover. This just never came together for me, particularly the whole ghost/dead lover thing.
Smashed into Pieces (Clear Water Creek Chronicle #2) by Scarlet Blackwell. ebook. My major problem with this book was that it basically just took the love of a good man and some hot sex to cure ten years of emotional, physical (broken bones, burns), and sexual abuse. Oh, hell no.

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…..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz….. -Chaos