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Congrats to Evelyn A, who won Playing the Point (Blue Line Hockey #6) by Stephani Hecht!

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Contests

• Joyfully Jay’s giving away the six m/m romance released by Carina Press for their M/M Romance Week. Contest closes 11:59 pm EDT, March 23.

• LA Witt’s having a mullet-themed title contest – go check out the rules and enter for the chance to win an ebook from her backlist. Contest closes noon EDT, March 24.

• Janna’s also giving away the six m/m romances released by Carina Press for their M/M Romance Week. Winner announced March 25.

• Joder’s giving away an ebook copy of Haste Ye Back by Wendy Burke. Contest closes 11:59 pm CDT, March 25.

• Missouri Dalton’s giving away a print copy of her book The Hanged Man’s Ghost, plus some knitting related goodies. Contest closes April 7.

• Guess when the giant pile of snow will finish melting and you could win a prize at Knitnzu!

Bookity

• New releases: Book Lovers Inc (a little of everything).

• Dear Author focused on fan fiction this week: Fan Fiction: A Tale of Fandom and Morality. Fan Fiction, Plagiarism, and Copyright. Are Fictional Characters Copyrightable? Fan fiction Q&A with a law professor. Fan fiction, Slash and M/M Romance.

• Becky Black on converting fan fiction.

• RWA put out an equality statement – it’s definitely a step in the right direction, although they really need to change “sexual preference” to “sexual orientation.”

• Two 2012 m/m romance conferences.

• Better book title for The Hunger Games?

• Smart Bitches couldn’t figure out what the heck was going on with this book cover, so they held a caption contest – here are the winners.

Ebookity

• How ebooks (specifically Kindle sample chapters) have changed plot structure.

• Ereading might affect our memories of what we read – but that might not be a big deal.

• Should publishers be adapting to an abundance model instead of their former scarcity model?

• PDFs – a dead end for digital publishing? (Yet still they persist…)

Do, Think, Make, Learn

• Retail gas prices over the last decade.

• Scientists have figured out how to stop guys from going bald.

• 10 exercise myths debunked.

• Red meat’s definitely been in the news lately – will it kill you? Or make you happy? And here’s a post that breaks down the dubious science behind some of these studies.

• Meteorologists think our early warm weather is weird, too.

• Turn a single sheet of paper into a cd case. (via Lifehacker)

• Keep your old cell phone and car charger in your car for emergencies.

• Turn mason jars into wall planters.

Cookity

• Vegan Girl Scout cookies. (via The Kitchn)

• Cadbury cream cookie cups. (via The Kitchn)

• Inside out Chinese spring roll salad. (via The Kitchn)

• 5 affordable dinners for one person.

• 10 early spring salads.

• 10 unusual spaghetti recipes.

• 10 eggs-for-dinner recipes.

• 15 sweet-potatoes-for-dinner recipes.

• 15 vegan dinner recipes.

• Lots and lots of gluten-free spring recipes.

• Pink grapefruit margaritas. (via The Kitchn)

Crafty

• Realistic knitted bees. (via CRAFT)

• Bam! Pow! fingerless gloves. (via Bron’s Pinterest)

• Pint of beer mittens or socks. (via CRAFT)

• Grow portrait gourds. (via CRAFT) (I can’t be the only one with a dirty mind re: some of the shapes you could grow, right?!)

Cool

• Crocheted crew of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

• Geeky engagement pictures.

• Firefighters in drag fighting a car fire. (If I read an m/m romance with this scene in it, I would shake my head at the implausibility…)

• Dad and daughter in Wonder Woman costumes.

• An artist who makes really large scale sand paintings. (via Gizmodo)

• If you have a 3D printer, you can print a set of adapters that will let you use LEGOs and Lincoln Logs together.

Cool or Wha…?

• The intersection of art and giant butcher knives.

Wha…?

• Two men on a gay cruise ship were arrested for having sex with each other…

• Yet another reason I’m glad I don’t have a Facebook account. (Although the US Senate is working on a bill to prevent employers from asking for such information.)

• Men on Cape Cod can get a free pizza when they get a vasectomy.

• Tattoos that alert you to phone calls and text messages?!

• ASCII art wallpaper.

• Lurid LED dress. Fashion?!

• Snow globes can burn down your house – or at least start your couch on fire.

• Someone cut in line at a gas station pump and caused an explosion…

• Titanic candle.

LOL

• Awkward family photos. (Thanks, Jase!)

• Typos can make things more fun! (Hover  your mouse pointer over the comic for additional text.)

• Speaking of typos – 10 autocorrects from last week.

• Some belated St. Patrick’s Day humor.

• This could involve a long wait.

• Dress your kitty up as the internet for Halloween!

• Just further proof that I’m a cat person…

• Entitled kittehs feel entitled.

• Hee hee!

Teh Cute

• Kittens! Baby tigers! Baby lion! Lioness and baby! Lioness and baby! Lioness and baby! Lion and baby! Baby tiger! Baby tiger vs pumpkin! Kittens! Baby cougar! Baby cougar! Baby white jaguars! Lambs! Ferret! Baby cheetahs! Bunny! Sugar glider! Mongoose! Dormouse! Baby raccoons! Kitten!

Reading Update
The Epic Love Story of Doug and Stephen by Valerie Z. Lewis. free ebook. Doug is straight, not too bright, and a former mechanic who’s now a male model on staff at a gay magazine in New York City, where he decides he’s gay for miserable and sort of scary editor Stephen. This romance manages to be funny, touching, and memorable.
Between the Bars by Carson Shepherd. free online. Very good kinky m/m romantic suspense about a romance writer who hooks up with a guy in town on business, with no idea that his life is about to change forever. Other than a little too much story time devoted to sex at one point and some bits of past progressive tense that I found odd, this was one of the better romantic suspense books I’ve read in a while.
The Luck of the Irish by Megan Reddaway. free ebook short. Very good short and fun m/m romance about a Dubliner, cursed by a leprechaun to have bad luck, who meets an intriguing guy at a training seminar on St. Patrick’s Day.
Owen’s Home and Garden by Evie Kiels. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a guy with a crush on his slutty and oblivious best friend – his best friend who vanishes after a very, very messed up day. Be warned that part of this taking place in northern Minnesota (albeit near a fictitious town) probably weighted my rating. 🙂
Facing Fitz by Kim Dare. ebook short. Sweet short kinky m/m romance about a submissive who’s convinced his severe claustrophobia will make it impossible for him to submit to the dominant he finds attractive.
Fortune’s Favor (PowerUp! #4) by Marie Harte. ebook. Good m/m paranormal romantic suspense about two psychics trying to resist their attraction to each other as they hunt a crazed killer.
On Thin Ice (Ariel Estates #1) by Jessica Lee. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about a lone wolf shifter/doctor in the Alaskan wilderness who rescues the amnesiac sole survivor of a plane crash. Who and what is the man he rescued… and was he responsible for the crash?
The Mask of Narcissus by Vincent Lardo. Good gay mystery (originally published in 1987) about a successful society reporter still trying to recover from the suicide of his lover, a closeted cop, the previous year. When he tries to figure out the truth behind why one of his good friends murders her husband and his young girlfriend, he slowly realizes that nothing is quite what it seems. Unfortunately, I found the title to be something of a spoiler for the mystery.
Brass Balls by Mia Watts. ebook short. Pretty good short m/m romance about a cop who’s had a crush on his dad’s best friend, now the captain of police, for years but didn’t think the guy was gay. Wish the ending hadn’t felt so rushed.
Tapping Darkness (Kavanagh #1) by Kracken. ebook. Ok yaoi-themed romantic suspense about a goodhearted private detective who is hired by a gorgeous painter’s model worried about a missing artist. This moved slowly and never fully engaged me.
The Set Up by JP Bowie. ebook short. Ok short m/m romantic suspense about a movie extra who gets set up for murder. Let’s just say I didn’t achieve suspension of disbelief on this one.
Cam’s Best Friend by Jaxx Steele. ebook short. Ok short paranormal m/m romance about a wizard who’s punished by being turned into a dog and set loose in New Orleans. While this had potential, the execution felt really awkward.

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*drowsing* -Chaos