Reading Update
A Ring and a Promise by Devon Rhodes. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about two guys in the military who start a friends with benefits relationship as cadets… but what will happen after they’re commissioned and sent in different directions? I got a little sniffly on this one.
Cold Turkey by Zebbie. free online. Very good m/m romance about two guys who dance around their attraction to each other, but are too stubborn and proud to admit to any such weaknesses. Be aware that this just barely has an HFN ending.
No Other Life Than This by podga. free online. Very good m/m romance about a fifty-ish guy who’s resistant when his best friend wants to set him up with a date for said best friend’s third wedding. This could’ve used a bit of groveling and explaining near the end, but it managed to work without that.
A Year Full of Days by seventhswan. free online. Very good m/m romance that follows up with Nate from The Side Effects of Forgetting, who isn’t doing very well at all watching Kellan date Will.
I Know What I’m Doing by AzanianHeat. free online. Very good m/m romance about a guy on holiday who unexpectedly runs into the straight guy he once made out with in university five years prior… the straight guy who fled, but hasn’t been able to forget their encounter. Set in South Africa, which was a refreshing change of pace.
Gambling on Maybe (The GlitterBomb #1) by Fae Sutherland. ebook short. reread. 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!
Games Boys Play (The GlitterBomb #2) by Fae Sutherland. ebook short. Cute short m/m romance following up on “the gayest of the gay boys” Zach and “Officer Hotness”. As others have mentioned, it was just too short – these two could’ve filled a novel. 🙂
Coming Out With the Truth by zolia_lily. free online. Good m/m romance about a writer who moves to a small town after he’s dumped by his boyfriend for a woman, then gets involved with someone deeply closeted.
The Good Old Boy by Carson Shepherd. free online. Good m/m romance about a guy who returns to the small town he grew up in (and fled years ago) after he loses his job, gets dumped by his boyfriend, and breaks his arm.
I Read a Lot by lill_street_writer. free online. Sweet m/m romance about an intense guy who mostly reads during his free time, not really needing to be around others until he meets an intriguing bookstore clerk. This story had some missing words and letters that were an ongoing, lowgrade annoyance.
Life Between Day and Night by podga. free online. Good, but very short, m/m romance about dancing around the edges of attraction, not wanting to ruin a friendship.
All That Matters by podga. free online. Good short m/m romance about two closeted colleagues, one of whom is married, who work for an international corporation and travel a lot.
Chicks Just Get in the Way by Carson Shepherd. free online. Steamy short m/m/m scene that takes place when things don’t go at all as the scheming friend planned. Be aware that there’s dubious consent in this one.
Happy World by Kiernan Kelly & Tory Temple. ebook. Good m/m romance about a guy who works at Happy World (basically Disney World) and rigidly follows the rules until a free-spirited trainee disrupts his routine and gets under his skin.
Dharma Cafe by Jessica Freely. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about sorcerers and demons and food magic and dreams that you should possibly not read if french fries are your favorite food. The writing was very simplistic, but I got sucked into the story anyway.
Po’ Boys by Lydia Nix, Kiernan Kelly, TC Blue, Julia Talbot, & BA Tortuga. ebook. Ok collection of m/m romance stories (one paranormal) set mostly in New Orleans. I mostly kept reading because I was feeling too lazy to not keep reading…
Fire by DWSimon. free online. Meh short m/m romance about a closeted firefighter who never sleeps with the same guy twice. There was plenty of poorly written sex, instalove, and the arson subplot wasn’t resolved.

“This spot was a lot more pleasant when the heat was on…” -Mayhem

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

In which linkity contemplates the merits of winter hibernation

January 20, 2012 Chris 27 Comments

Congrats to Mandy B, who won Forever in One Second by Finn Marlowe!

Congrats to Cathy M and Alder, who each won their choice of Saving Valor (Fanged Love #1) or Chalice (Planetary Submissives #1) byÂ Amber Kell! Saving Valor (Fanged Love #1) was released by Silver Publishing on January 14. Chalice (Planetary Submissives #1) was released by Total-E-Bound on January 16.

Contests

Brief Encounters Reviews is giving away an electronic bundle of the Channeling Morpheus (2nd edition) stories 1-5 by Jordan Castillo Price. Comment by 11:59 pm CST, January 20 (aka today), for your chance to win.

Margene’s giving away a copy of Sweet Shawlettes by Jean Moss. Comment before January 21 for your chance to win.

Becky Black is giving away a print copy of her m/m scifi romance, Liar’s Waltz. Comment by 9 am GMT, January 21, for your chance to win.

JL Merrow is giving away an ebook copy of her forthcoming Permanently Legless. Contest runs through January 22.

Josephine Myles is giving away an ebook copy of her forthcoming Tailor Made. Contest closes 6 am GMT, January 23.

Joder’s giving away an ebook copy of Deadly Obsession by Kristine Cayne. Contest closes 11:59 pm CST, January 23.

Celiac Chick is giving away a copy of The Complete Allergy-Free Comfort Foods Cookbook by Elizabeth Gordon. Comment before January 26 for your chance to win.

Blodeuedd’s giving away two ebook prize packs containing Sparring Partners and Second Chances by Leigh Morgan. Contest closes January 27.

LA Witt needs a band name for a book she’s working on – comment with your suggestions by January 31 for your chance to win an ebook of your choice from her backlist.

Shawn Lane’s giving away a copy of her forthcoming paranormal m/m romance, Eternally His. Comment by February 3 to enter.

Bookity

New releases and more: Literary Escapism (UF/PNR), Book Lovers Inc (a little of everything), and Fiction Vixen (various sorts of romance).

RJ Scott explains how Edit Minion works – it’s not going to replace actual editors and proofreaders, but it can certainly help you spot issues with your writing.

Becky Black has some tips for authors after they’re published.

Heidi Cullinan discusses the author’s EON (end of novel) experience.

Jenre muses on how the three-star book rating is perceived.

World Book Night is is April 23 – you can volunteer to hand out books that night.

Orannia’s hosting the 2012 M/M Romance Challenge!

Whoops on that library sticker’s placement…

Newest cover model?

The final Diary of an Author entry by Meljean Brook. Dear Author responds.

Ebookity

JL Merrow’s providing a code that will let you download the newly revised edition of her paranormal m/m romance, A Calling for Pleasure for free until February 14.

Download the 1966 Disneyland Monorail Operator Guide.

The ebook crunch at public libraries.

Penguin pulled its ebooks from libraries in November and is now pulling its e-audiobooks.

Sourcebooks reports that ebooks were more than a quarter of its sales in 2011.

Do, Learn, Make, Think

Poor little brown bats – they went from abundant to nearing extinction in just six years.

Some of Stonehenge’s stones are from 160 miles away.

How the “women and children first” into the lifeboats thing got started.

Not that I’m much for fast food, but if McDonald’s and Burger King have gluten-free buns in other countries, why not the US?!

When it’s safe – and not – to eat moldy cheese.

Apparently school lunches are not the culprit in the childhood obesity epidemic.

More on the clitoris.

Health benefits of beer.

Tips for dealing with pet hair in your home. (via The Kitchn)

The end of an era – Kodak files for bankruptcy.

How did you celebrate National Popcorn Day yesterday?

The big news of the week was the internet blackout against SOPA/PIPA. This infographic illustrates the difference the protest made. And if you didn’t listen to “The Day the LOLCats Died”, you really must.

Cookity

10 variations of buttermilk quick bread

10 citrus desserts

Spicy honey-glazed chicken. (via CRAFT)

Savory gluten-free olive and rosemary scones

Gluten-free noodles with shrimp, greens, and mushrooms.

Vietnamese rice cakes

Zesty quinoa cakes. (via The Kitchn)

Bittersweet chocolate pecan pie. (via The Kitchn)

Hot chocolate on a stick. (via CRAFT)

Chop up your salads to make them easier to eat.

Use edible glitter to stamp fruit for a fun and healthy gift.

Crafty

Knit your own cat – solves all sorts of allergy problems! 🙂 (Thanks, Lorraine!)

Knit a Hudson’s Bay-inspired crib blanket. (via CRAFT)

Turn a recycled sweater into mittens or a hat. (via CRAFT)

Make your own felt insoles for boots. (via CRAFT)

Needle-felt a voodoo doll pincushion.

Use painter’s tape and watercolors to make a gorgeous winter painting. (via CRAFT)

Sew a macaroon coin purse. (via CRAFT)

Cool

Go download Redemption City, a free double album from Joseph Arthur. (via You Ain’t No Picasso)

Kristi has craft/food/photo/etc linkity.

Kitty-themed felt iPad case.

Illusion knitted tapestry of the Mona Lisa.

Movie posters from an alternate Earth.

Life-sized stormtrooper cake.

Not your ordinary stick people family bumper sticker!

Daniel Radcliffe played Harry Potter on SNL.

The Bloggess and her cardboard TARDIS.

A crow… sledding.

Cool or Wha…?

A rhinestone-covered box of Darth Vader chocolates. (via The Mary Sue)

LEGO Apollo 11 Saturn V model that’s 19-feet tall.

Eyebombing.

Lord of the Rings manicure. (via The Mary Sue)

The perfect hat for Pastafarians.

Wha…?

Awkward stock photos… (via TeddyPig)

Fashion… and more.

Magical unicorn mask.

Giant spider attacks space shuttle!

A Psycho prequel series?

Mint eyedrops?!

LOL

Siri’s interpretation of a knitting store shopping list… (Thanks, Jeanne!)

Blog post about the Eagle Nebula written without the assistance of Wikipedia (due to the internet blackout). (There were Romulans in it the first time I read it…)

10 autocorrected gifts…

The 1980s were a scary time for crafting…

Dogs barking “The Imperial March”…

Ah, the weird rituals that kitties develop.

This was posted after I captioned that picture of May from earlier this week!

Weirdest cat ever?!! Maybe so. (Thanks, Jeanne!)

Point.

Minions indeed.

Hmm, I haven’t played this version of Tetris…

Catpire!

The internet is a series of tubes… oops.

Teh Cute

Cat and kitten! Baby falcon! Kitten! Baby polar bear! Kitten! Sea otter and baby! Cat and kitten! Baby cheetah! Kittens! Bun! Kitten! Kitten! Cat and dolphin! Kitten! Tiger and cub! Lioness and cubs! Lion! Leopard! Tiger!

Reading Update
Galley Proof by Eric Arvin. ebook. Excellent gay fiction (with romantic elements) about an author who lives a very predictable, safe life ruled by lists and habit… until his attractive new editor shakes things up. As with so many books by Eric Arvin, this book was simultaneously fun, funny, and thought-provoking – pretty much like life itself.
Pole Star by Josephine Myles. ebook short. arc. Excellent short and smutty m/m romance about a stripper who gets injured onstage and ends up in the emergency room in his firefighter costume, flirting with the cute radiographer. I had really good intentions of waiting until closer to the release date to read and review this one, but… I couldn’t resist. 🙂
Tailor Made by Josephine Myles. ebook. arc. Sweet and smutty m/m romance about an unapologetically slutty art student who wants to get his advisor in bed. But he’s not expecting to find himself so drawn to the fashion student he tries to shanghai into helping him with his senior project…
The Heart of Texas (Texas #1) by RJ Scott. ebook. Very good over-the-top m/m romance reminiscent of the tv show Dallas, complete with oil wells, villains, lies, a marriage-of-convenience, and more!
Heatstroke by Taylor V. Donovan. free ebook. Very good m/m romance told via nearly 50-year old journal entries being read by a young man trying to figure out the mystery of why his cold grandmother is so adamant he stay out of her attic.
Raven’s Mark (Sandpipers #2) by Jade Archer. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a chef who becomes fascinated by Raven, the guy who’s just started watching the owners’ son along with his own. However, Raven suffers from crippling PTSD… and his past hasn’t given up on him yet.
A Life Without You (Boston Boys #1) by Erica Pike. ebook. Good m/m romance about a gay college student who has a crush on his engaged straight best friend and roommate… his apparently bi-curious straight best friend. Emotions definitely run high in this one (and the POV is first-person present), but it worked for me. And I’m very curious to see who the next book will be about!
Just Like Cats and Dogs by BA Tortuga. Good m/m paranormal romance about an orphaned panther shifter who grew up with a pack of wolf shifters, but was never really accepted. So when he runs into a wolf shifter who tormented him while they were growing up, he’s surprised at the attraction between them. The repetitive style of writing isn’t so noticeable for short works, but it definitely grated during this longer book.
There’s Cock in This Book (The Hockey Story) by Isa K. free ebook short. Good short m/m story about a deeply closeted minor league hockey player who survives by keeping his head down and blending in… until the new guy on the team hits on him. With a bit more proofing and a less abrupt ending, this would have been a Very Good read.
How to Keep the Love of Your Life (After Mistaking Him for a Serial Killer) by Maureen Willmann. ebook. Ok m/m romance about a guy who thinks someone is following him right up to the door of his apartment… and it turns out to be his neighbor across the hall. Too sugary sweet and implausible for me. Also, so very tired of stalkers.
The Man Who Spoke My Name (Joey #2) by Azalea Moone. free ebook short. Meh short m/m story about a guy torn between the ex who cheated on him and the guy he slept with on New Year’s Eve.

“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Chaos

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Frazzled linkity feels flighty

June 17, 2011 Chris 29 Comments

Congrats to Judianna P, who won Sinnerman (Warder #4) by Mary Calmes! Sinnerman is being released today by Dreamspinner Press.

Congrats to Marie A, who won Just-You Eyes by Clare London!

Congrats to Kerstin, who won Deefur Dog by RJ Scott! Deefur Dog will be released by Silver Publishing on Saturday, June 18.

Contests

Mandi’s giving away a signed copy of Nalini Singh’s Slave to Sensation (Psy/Changeling #1) at Desert Island Keepers. Answer her question in the comments before June 18 for your chance to win.

Bronwyn Green, Devon Rhodes, Gwendolyn Cease, Kris Norris, Suzanne Graham, and Jessica Jarman are having a Summer Solstice Contest and are giving away winner’s choice of a Nook WiFi 3G or a Kindle 3G WiFi! To enter, you’ll need to visit and comment on each author’s blog with your top two choices from that author’s backlist. Contest closes noon EDT, June 21.

Rachel Haimowitz is giving away a Crescendo swag pack to celebrate finishing her first draft of the novel. Answer her question in the comments for your chance to win. Winner will be selected June 24.

Joder’s giving away Dark Passages by Sara Reinke. Make sure you read the rules for how to enter! Closes 11:59 pm, June 25.

Blodeuedd’s giving away a copy of Love & Freedom by Sue Moorcroft. Answer her question in the comments for your chance to win. Closes July 27.

Patti’s giving away an ARC of Wish You Were Here by Phillipa Ashley. Answer her question in the comments for your chance to win. Closes July 1. US only.

Bookity

New releases and more: Literary Escapism (UF/PNR) and Book Lovers Inc (romance, etc).

Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

Dear Author on readers’ rights.

KZ Snow wonders why so many readers of m/m romance are fixated on how many sex scenes books have (and seemingly want more).

Neil Gaiman’s novel American Gods is going to be an HBO series.

Wonderful bookish quote.

Turn a book into a reading light.

Make a book strap.

Roll-up bookshelf.

House of bookcases.

Ebookity

The British Flash m/m romance anthology is available free on Smashwords.

You can read a new free PsyCop short by Jordan Castillo Price over at Jessewave.

Overdrive has enhanced its platform for libraries.

The Digital Reader explains why Wired is clueless about ebooks.

Some words of advice from an editor to a speshul snowflake author.

Steampunk ereader.

Make, Think, Do, Learn

The same hacker group that took down cia.gov earlier this week posted a list of email addresses and passwords – check to see if your information was on the list. (One of my email addresses was!)

How to travel with your friends and stay friends.

Tips on macro photography from National Geographic. (via Gizmodo)

Why you can’t win an argument online.

Make a flashlight powered by your phone line for the next time the power goes out.

Nine techy things made possible by IBM (which turned 100 yesterday). My dad (who was a computer design engineer for IBM for 30 years) said there’s a date error in this list, but I’ve forgotten which it was…

If you’d rather that the music in your music library wasn’t filled with identifying data, this program can remove such data for you. (I ran the program and it worked very well.)

Cool factoids about the sounds that animals make.

Vampire stars! O.O

Compare commercial cleaners with some homemade alternatives.

How did you celebrate Captain Picard Day yesterday?

Cookity

Yum – eat peas like edamame! (via The Kitchn)

Homemade Nutter Butters.

Nutter Butter brownies with chocolate peanut butter ganache.

Cream cheese ice cream.

Make homemade Pupsicles for your dog!

Crafty

Quilted iPhone case.

Rainbow quilt.

Knit cable braided necklace/bracelet.

knittyBlog covered International Yarnbombing Day. Kmkat got some great shots of a yarnbombing in Minneapolis.

Eleanor provides a tutorial for dyeing yarn so you end up with long blocks of color.

Pocket watch photo album.

Woven paper gift wrap.

Crocheted gallbladder, complete with removable gallstones.

Crocheted graduation teddy bear.

Cool

Star Wars, the silent film.

Nearly everything that’s been big on the interwebz, perfectly choreographed to “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen.

TARDIS tent. (Thanks, Bron!)

Plush Indiana Jones. (via The Mary Sue)

Balloon art as you’ve never seen it before.

What went wrong with the Star Wars prequels and what writers can learn from them. (Thanks, Bron!)

Cellos playing “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns’n’Roses.

Dear Photograph vintage photo blog.

Cute mug.

Tiny people foodscapes.

Gumball Wars. (via Paperback Writer)

Milky Way time lapse. (via Gizmodo)

Cool or Wha…?

Giant sculptures of candy.

Artist who paints pictures on gum stuck to the sidewalk…

Toast art.

Man Cans candles.

Bicycle helmets made from cardboard.

Turn your hotdog into a little person or an octopus?!

Zucchini weenies.

Unicorn ring (can be used for self defense?).

Chocolate bar bed.

Wha…?

The five most pointlessly women-specific products. Gah! (via The Mary Sue)

The All-Whopper channel on DirecTV…

Just say no to the poopburger.

Toy security wand.

Smell-o phone is a reality…

Sofa bike.

Wine in perfume-shaped bottles.

Twenty percent of human genes are patented?!

A mother might donate her uterus to her daughter. Erm. I wonder if the universe will end when the uterus that birthed her ends up inside her…

LOL

A new Simon’s Cat!

Unicorn eep!

Is there a vampire on my head?

Infographic on when it’s ok to tweet a dick pic.

Twelve most awkward autocorrects.

This penguin’s never going to make it as a cover model.

Cat people vs. dog people.

Not the last two lids that fit! Noooooo!

Sounds like something Chaos might be working on in his spare time…

Kitteh who looks like Gene Simmons!

Teh Cute

Cat and kitten! Owl! Cat and kittens! Foxes! Kittens! Baby sloth! Kitten! Lions! Kitten! Yawny fox kit! Kitten! Bun! Kitten! Lion and cub! Kittens! Baby cheetah! Kitten! Baby sloth! Crabby kitten! Yawny lion! Yawny baby bat! Baby otter! Baby penguin!

Reading Update
Knight Errant by K.D. Sarge. ebook. Excellent m/m scifi romance about a 16-year old being raised on a spaceship by his sister and her crew. He’s been trying to be who she wants him to be, but is quietly miserable. And then he meets a guy who completely aggravates him…
Life Lessons by Kaje Harper. ebook. Excellent m/m romantic suspense about a high school teacher who finds the murdered body of one of his coworkers, then is questioned by (and keeps running into) a deeply closeted police detective. Plus this was set in Minneapolis! 🙂 I’m looking forward to reading more by Kaje Harper.
Lies and Consequences by Kaje Harper. free ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense about an author pretending to be his lesbian best friend’s fiance so that her career in the Navy isn’t threatened. He’s so used to protective lying… can he even tell the truth anymore? (Stalker alert!)
The Night Porter by Sue Brown. ebook short. D’oh. How did I not notice this was a Bittersweet Dreams title?! Very good, but… *blots eyes*
Moments by R.J. Scott. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a badly behaved actor in a cable series who’s been busted for possession and ends up staying at a neighborhood resource center as part ofÂ his community service.
Being Lead by Celia Kyle. ebook short. Very good kinky short m/m romance about a dancer who’s just retired and is at loose ends, needing his Sir to ground him.
Becoming His by Shawn Lane. ebook short. This was a sweet short m/m romance about a stripper and a bisexual television actor getting together. However, it felt incomplete to me. The whole groper subplot sort of stuttered out. And the ending felt somewhat forced and abrupt.
Car Wash by Shawn Lane. ebook. reread. Pretty good m/m romance about Kevin, whoâ€™s working at a car wash after getting laid off from his office job. I must admit that I got a bit frustrated at Kevin not standing up for himself.
Kevin’s Stories: Volume 1 (Car Wash #2) by Shawn Lane. free ebook short. Good free m/m romance containing two short stories following up on Kevin and Michael from Car Wash.
Kevin’s Stories: Volume 2 (Car Wash #3) by Shawn Lane. free ebook short. Good free m/m romance containing two short Christmas stories featuring Kevin and Michael from Car Wash.
Realize by Kerry Freeman. ebook short. Good short m/m romance about a college senior who has a crush on his freshman roommate, but hasn’t done anything about it other than scare off anyone looking to get closer to his roommate.
Fugitive Color by ZA Maxfield. ebook. Good m/m romantic suspense about a sleep walking artist whose muse has been murdered… and he’s pretty sure he didn’t do it…
Rite of Passage by Bryl R. Tyne. ebook. Ok m/m romance about an anxiety-stricken writer who moves to the Colorado Rockies for solitude and to hopefully get past his writer’s block. This was hard for me to rate, since I had a hard time with the writing style and never connected with the main character.
Emerald: Hey, Jealousy by B.A. Tortuga. ebook short. Ok kinky short m/m romance about two friends who are attracted to each other, but haven’t acted on it in a long time, due to a misunderstanding. And then something changes all that… This seemed to stop mid-scene, which I found annoying. And it read an awful lot like a Sean Michael title….
Possession by Jessica Skye Davies. ebook short. Ok paranormal m/m romance about a guy who brings home a cast iron Punch statue, then begins having odd accidents.
His Gentle Touch by Stormy Glenn. ebook. So-so m/m romance about a guy who meets a gentle (and very sexy) giant in a bar, then wakes up married to him without remembering what happened. Classic Big Misunderstanding plot. Fewer mistakes than usual!
Sexier When Wet by Eden Cole. ebook. Meh m/m romance about a wishy-washy guy who stays with his cruel lover because he’s afraid of being left out on the street with nothing. He’s pursued by a not-quite-as-cruel guy, who wants him to leave the cruel guy. So, as you may have guessed, my main problem with this one was the lack of likable characters… (Hi, Candy Cane Guy!)
Takedown by Stacey Kennedy. ebook short. Poorly written and edited short m/m encounter between a US Marshal and a bartender. Some examples: “Kiss for kiss, dominance filled the air until it was thick with it.” “His G-spot stimulated by Wyatt’s hard cock…”