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Congrats to Melinda, who won Owner of My Heart (Mending the Rift #2) by Valentina Heart! Owner of My Heart (Mending the Rift #2) will be released by Silver Publishing on July 14.

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Contests

• Keira Andrews is giving away an ebook copy of her recent Earthly Desires (with Leta Blake). Closes 12:01 am PDT, July 16.

• Armchair Reader Cole is also giving away an ebook copy of The Wish (2nd ed) by Eden Winters. Closes 7 pm CDT, July 20.

• Blodeuedd’s giving away a copy of Thunder on the Plains by Rosanne Bittner. Closes July 24. US & Canada.

• Fetch Me My Fainting Couch is giving away an assortment of books in her TBR Reduction Giveaway #5. Closes July 31.

Bookity

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

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• 25 bad behaviors that writers should avoid.

• I’m pretty sure that the 26th behavior to avoid should be “creating an ‘anti-bullying’ website that outs reviewers you don’t agree with”… Some eloquent words about that complete wtfery from Smart Bitches, Jennifer Armintrout, Stacia Kane, and Fangs for the Fantasy.

• “Kurt Vonnegut’s rules for the short story“. (via Wil Wheaton)

• “The difference between passive voice and using ‘was’.“

• Paperback Writer applies LEGO logic to creating characters.

• Some of the predictions Arthur C. Clarke made 50 years ago about technology have turned out to be very true.

• Gary Oldman reading from R. Kelly’s autobiography.

• Have you ever found reading to be dangerous? (Um, not that I can think of…)

• Proofreading marks you might not see from your editor… but maybe you should. 😉

• Smart Bitches with some completely “Wha…?” book covers. (NSFW)

• Alternate title for A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

• The lawyer who was suing The Oatmeal’s creator Matthew Inman has dropped his suit. The whole thing is so crazy, it’s completely worth a read.

Ebookity

• HQBooks helps you find free pdf ebooks – looks like it leans heavily toward tutorials and manuals. (via Lifehacker)

• “Using Calibre and sideloading to keep your reading private.“

• Ways in which ebooks are not like paper books. (via TeleRead)

• Curious which Avenger is getting the most fanfic action? (via The Mary Sue)

Think, Do, Learn, Make

• If you’ve ever been curious how dinosaurs had sex… (via Tor.com) (NSFW?)

• Check out the original logos from an assortment of tech companies.

• Was your password among those leaked this week? Leaked passwords were from Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail, AOL, Comcast.net, and MSN.com.

• Tips on calling 911 in this mobile world.

• Joyfully Jay explains how she moved her blog from Blogger to WordPress.

• 10 ways to repurpose old toys.

• Use a mesh file box to store hair appliances in the bathroom.

• How to use black cocoa powder.

• Google’s new Legalize Love campaign predictably now has anti-gay conservatives talking Google boycott.

• More on how bad sitting all day is for you. Exercises to help counter the negative effects of sitting all day.

• New research suggests that it’s better to be obese (although not morbidly so) than to be underweight.

• The world’s official kilogram is losing weight, which isn’t such a good thing for the metric system.

• xkcd explains visual fields.

• xkcd has a new blog called “What if?” that should seriously become a physics textbook because it makes physics WAY more interesting than I remember it being in school. To see what I mean, check out the post on Relativistic Baseball.

• Scientists believe that many (but not all) recent extreme weather events have  been caused by human-based climate change.

Cookity

• Avocado chili brownies topped with avocado tequila ice cream. (via Wil Wheaton)

• Gluten-free cherry almond crisp.

• Four-ingredient strawberry-orange sorbet. (via Bron’s Pinterest)

• Boozy red berry fruit salad. (via The Kitchn)

• Polka dot cake using cake pops. (via The Kitchn)

• Single-serving microwave peanut butter cake. (via The Kitchn)

• Cream cheese filled snickerdoodles. (via Bron’s Pinterest)

• Salmon moqueca.

• Cheesy quinoa cakes. (via Bron’s Pinterest)

• Many grilled cheese recipes. (via Bron’s Pinterest)

• BLT with basil mayonnaise and avocado.

• Toasted sesame and white bean hummus. (via The Kitchn)

• Eight-ball zucchini with eggs baked inside.

• Zucchini boats with mozzarella and olives.

• Blue potato salad with lemon basil vinaigrette. (via The Kitchn)

• Savory tomato salad. (via CRAFT)

• Grilled kale salad with ricotta and plums. (via The Kitchn)

• 15 cold supper salads.

• 15 summer squash recipes.

Drinkity

• 5 non-alcoholic summer drinks.

• Cappuccino chip frappe.

• Blackberry gin fizz. (via Armchair Reader)

• Blueberry lavender vodka spritzer.

Crafty

• Make a kitty print t-shirt. (via CRAFT)

• Turn handwritten recipes into tea towels. (via CRAFT)

• Create a string art typography wall hanging. (via CRAFT)

• Make mini bottle necklaces. (via CRAFT)

Cool

• Quotes from fathers on how having daughters changed their views on what being a man means. (Thanks, Jase!)

• Scrabble wall art. (via CRAFT)

• A LEGO Rolls Royce engine – watch it in action.

• The Hobbit LEGOs. (via The Mary Sue)

• Woman in garden with TARDIS.

• Very young Indiana Jones and the jungle spider.

• Paper mache bust of Dragon Maleficent.

• Batmen at the beach.

• Batpenguins. (via The Mary Sue)

• Scenes from scifi films done as Ottoman miniatures.

• Rocket espresso cup.

Cool or Wha…?

• Chair with a wolf’s shadow.

• Batmobile golf cart.

• Swimmable mermaid tails.

• HUSH Pod.

• Trap door colander.

• The Walker Art Center (very near me) is having a film festival of the best internet cat videos…

• New York City is going to turn payphone kiosks into wifi hotspots.

• You can actually bake cookies in a hot car. (Probably smells a lot better than an air freshener, too.)

Wha…?

• Starbucks in a funeral home…

• A mayor in Germany has designated “easy” parking spots for women because “men are better at parking than women.” *must control fist of rage*

• Insulated paper bag sleeve for drinking your classy beverages… Or maybe you’d prefer a bearded beer cozy?

• Naked girl in a hot tub iPhone case… (strangely, SFW)

• Gummy bear dress.

• What if bananas were added to your favorite fantasy/scifi stories?

LOL

• If you can’t decide whether you should knit or buy a gift, check Franklin’s handy infographic!

• 14 First World problems from the 90s. (Thanks, Jeanne!)

• Bad gadget names.

• One way to deal with the heat without air conditioning!

• Truth in advertising names for junk food.

• Choosing a secure name for your pet.

• Do cat people have a higher tolerance for pain?

• Very Chaos.

• Cat lady obstacle course. (Although Chaos and Mayhem do more creative rearranging of the throw rugs here.)

• The Simon’s Cat guide to boxes.

• Yes!

Teh Cute

• Videos: Squeaky black kitten! Baby tigers!

• Tiger! Baby snow leopard! Cheetah and baby! Lioness and baby! Tigers! Cheetah and babies! Swan and cygnets! Swan and cygnets! Cheetah and baby! Baby cheetahs! Baby otter! Seal and baby! Kittens! Kittens! Baby lion! Cat! Baby red pandas! Lemurs! Victoria crowned pigeon and baby! Baby tiger! Cat! Baby lynx! Fennecs! Baby human!

Reading Update
Simple Justice (Benjamin Justice #1) by John Morgan Wilson. Very good gay mystery set in the mid-90s about a former newspaper reporter who’s been working the occasional freelance job to make ends meet since it came out he’d fabricated the story for which he won a Pulitzer. When his former editor tracks him down about working on a story, he doesn’t want to… but he slowly gets sucked in.
Revision of Justice (Benjamin Justice #2) by John Morgan Wilson. Very good gay mystery in which Ben gets pulled into researching a Hollywood story that turns out to be very convoluted, but gives him the chance to face some of his own demons… or flee again.
Justice at Risk (Benjamin Justice #3) by John Morgan Wilson. Very good, but very dark, gay mystery in which Ben meets two very different but compelling men, gets some work putting together a documentary on risky sex, and is drawn into investigating yet another convoluted and dangerous situation. This was dark enough that I need to take a bit of a break from the series…
Every Minute (Max & Skyler #3) by Acer Adamson. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance that manages to cover both Max and Skyler meeting, plus meeting each other’s parents.
One Day at a Time by Dawn Douglas. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about a DEA agent on assignment to a small town police force who decides to help a cop depressed about having had to kill a teen gang member.
Making Camp by Clare London. free ebook short. Cute short m/m romance about two guys who work together and are attracted to each other, but don’t do anything about it until the Country Mouse asks the City Mouse to go camping with him.
Healer (The Institute #1) by Cassandra Gold. ebook. reread. Very good m/m paranormal romance about a doctor who can heal people with his mind. Bad guys who want to capture him and use his power for their own ends are closing in on him when a purportedly good guy offers him a way out.
Touch (The Institute #2) by Cassandra Gold. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about a member of the Delphic Institute who gets captured by a rival organization. When escaping, he takes a hostage and everything starts to change.
Phoenix Rising by Theo Fenraven. ebook. arc. Good m/m paranormal romance about an NYC cop and his partner who are investigating a series of mysterious deaths. When the evidence leads them toward a charismatic singer, things start to get really weird…
Au Bon Pain by Lee Patton. ebook short. Poignant short story about a guy who has the chance to reconnect with his first love – the first love who dumped him and vanished.
The Good Life by Diana DeRicci. ebook. Cute m/m romance about a guy who suddenly finds himself a single parent with a baby daughter when he’d just planned to be the sperm donor. When his best friend offers them a place to live and help with the baby, things get a bit complicated. This had some very oddly phrased bits that seemed to need more editorial attention.
Roadside Assistance by Heidi Champa. ebook short. Pretty good short m/m romance about a week in the life of two friends who carpool together…
Laurel Heights by Lisa Worrall. ebook. Ok m/m romantic suspense two closeted cops who have to go undercover as a gay couple in a small, exclusive gay community in order catch a killer. The plot was implausible, the writing was over-the-top at times, and the epilogue changed it from neatly tied up into a cliffhanger.

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“This is my new kitty bed, not a shopping bag! Silly Mom.” -Mayhem