Contests

• Booklover’s giving away a copy of Beth Williamson’s new cowboy romance, Unbridled. Variety of ways to enter before 11:59 pm EDT, July 10.

• Bloudedd’s giving away two copies of Kathryne Kennedy’s historical fantasy romance, The Fire Lord’s Lover. Comment by July 11 for your chance to win.

• Smexy’s getting buried by books – let her know (by July 12) which of the two sets of books you’d like.

• Shawn Lane’s giving away a copy of her forthcoming m/m romance, Pieces. Leave a comment by July 17 for your chance to win.

• KB’s giving away autographed copies of Maggie Stiefvater’s paranormal romances, Shiver and Linger. You have until July 20 to fill out the form.

Bookity

• New releases: Lily (m/m romance), KB (romances that caught her eye), and Literary Escapism (UF/PNR, includes interviews and more).

• Carolyn Jewel wonders if authors understand copyright, fair use, and free speech. Recommended reading whether you’re an author, or a reviewer who’s dealt with an author freakout.

• August is going to be Michigan author month at Fang-tastic Books – let Roxanne know if you’re an author from Michigan!

• Really, I can’t think of a better book for Bella and Edward than Wuthering Heights…

• Make your very own booklight!

Ebookity

• Ebook reader prices have plummeted recently – does that mean that none of the smaller ereader companies will survive?

• Are we unwilling to pay more than $10 for ebooks because we don’t perceive them in the same way we do physical books?

• Ebook news from Smart Bitches, including a link to a Bitten by Books post with links to 44 free Kindle ebooks.

• Looking at the 75th anniversary of the paperback and finding lessons for ebooks.

• Can ebooks and libraries work?

• Who’s reading ebooks?

• And how fast are they reading those ebooks?

• Lots of link goodness from Dear Author, including some Kindle freebies.

• Borders opens an ebookstore.

• Does a system that turns video game pirates into purchasers have lessons for ebooks?

• Read this if you’re an author who’s considering self-publishing ebooks.

• eHarlequin is offering eight free ebooks.

Learn, Make, Do, Think

• Our fittest state is still fatter than our fattest state was 20 years ago…

• If you have an iTunes account, go right now and look at your purchase history, to make sure yours wasn’t one of the accounts hacked recently.

• You might want to look to see whether your favorite stadium has the light poles that are being recalled because they fall over…

• US passport fees are increasing on Tuesday, July 13. Will I remember to get a new photo so I can renew by then?!

• Based on new data, women should be using a more complicated formula to determine maximum heart rate.

• If you’re uninsured and have pre-existing conditions, you still might be able to apply for the new state high-risk pools.

• You can now get Dr. Seuss Chucks! Oh, that Chucks didn’t hate my feet so…

• Words to think about regarding what it means to be male and to be female – check the comments, too.

Linkity Peeps

• Eyre’s linkity is awesome and totally NSFW. 🙂

• Kristi has crafting, cooking, and photography links.

Huh

• Wine vending machines, complete with breathalyzer…

• We’ve all heard of sporks, but have you heard of knorks?!

• A bendable bicycle, which can tie itself to the bike rack?!

• Magnetic thinking putty?!

• Forest in a box…

• Carbon fiber toilets and bidets? Is it really wise to make such things from a material that gets brittle easily?!

• Bruce Willis now has a signature scent and it’s “the manliest scent in the world”…

• Don’t even think about taking your snow globe on the plane…

• Giant eyeball art!

LOL

• A bit of dating humor…

• Are you using the correct social media for your particular behavioral disorder?

• At IKEA, even a Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) is do-it-yourself.

• I love Hyperbole and a Half.

• Metaphor or simile? (Make sure you hover your mouse over the comic to get additional text.)

• If you’re stealing wireless, you might want to be discreet about it…

• Even if silver bullets are expensive…

• Ah, Indexed. Zing! Pow pow! And flee!

• Where do you send your refund request if life isn’t living up to your expectations?

• Archie’s choose-your-own gay adventure (yup, Archie of the Archie comics). (Thanks, Charles!)

• Who care if it’s funny or not, that kitten is cute.

• Is your OCD exceptionally powerful?

• Wow, and he wasn’t even a black kitty…

• Ah, this explains so much about allergy attacks!

• Could be Chaos…

Teh Cute

• Tired of all the kittens? How about a baby mouse deer or a daily bunny? (Thanks, Jase!)

• I hadn’t seen these black cat prints before – very cool.

• Cute’n’chubby black cat.

• Ok, back to the kittens. 😀

• Floofy kittens! Floof! Poof! Floof! Melly! Cats and kittens! Lampshade kitten! Dancing kittens! Kitteny kittens!

Reading Update
Gay Friendly (G-A-Y, Book 9) by Kim Dare. ebook short. Very good sweet m/m romance about an innocent young man staying at a gay friendly hotel who isn’t at all prepared for how “friendly” (and groping) the other guests are. Fortunately for him, an older, more dominant guest takes pity on him and offers his protection… but does the young man actually want more than just that safety? (If you don’t see a bookcover for this one, it means Total-E-Bound is down.)
Handcuffs and Glory Holes (Rawlings Men, Book 2) by Kim Dare. ebook short. Very good sweet’n’kinky short m/m romance about a mistreated sub who’s used to being pimped out and doesn’t dare believe that things can be different.
Gaymes by Jenna Byrnes, Gwendolyn Cease, Kim Dare, Carol Lynne, Jude Mason, Devon Rhodes, & Lisabet Sarai. ebook collection. Overall enjoyable collection of m/m romances, each focused around a game of some sort, such as Highland games, pool, Scabble, and flag football. Five of the six stories were good or better and one story was kinda meh.
Samhain Enchanted Evening by M. King. free ebook short. Ok freebie short m/m romance about a guy whose life feels very dull to him these days and he doesn’t see that changing at the Halloween party he has to attend.
Thirteen Maidens by M. King. ebook short. Good m/m romance short about two guys who are taking a week to visit standing stones, including the mysterious standing stones known as the Thirteen Maidens.
The Dream Thief by M. King. ebook short. Good fantasy m/m short about a guy who has incredibly realistic feeling dreams of a dream lover that start when he’s a teenager and gain power through the years.
Spam! It’s What’s for Christmas by Lenore Black. ebook short. Very good short m/m holiday romance about a guy who was fired and then dumped by his boyfriend. He hasn’t had any luck finding a new job while he pines for his boyfriend… until he answers a modeling ad. *ahem*
Because It’s True by Willa Okati. ebook. So-so m/m romance about a guy who’s given up on dating since his last boyfriend ditched him while they were traveling to Canada to get married. This never came together for me – the guys never seemed like actual guys and the book could easily have been half as long as it was. Also, I wanted to slap characters. Frequently. But hey, I like the cover! 🙂

From the Midsummer’s Nightmare Daily Dose…
Charlies Chuckles by Clare London. ebook short. Very good short paranormal m/m romance about two guys who live in the same building, but have never spoken until a morning of small disasters sends them careening into each other.
I Can See Right Through You by Zahra Owens. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about a writer who’s staying in his aunt’s old house after she had to move to a care facility. He discovers that the house has a ghost… a ghost he comes to care about deeply.
Oubliette by G.S. Wiley. ebook short. So-so historical paranormal m/m short about an Englishman who was captured by Spaniards after his ship was wrecked.
Careful What You Wish For by Elizabeth Copland. ebook short. Ok short paranormal m/m romance about a guy who’s had a crush on his oblivious roommate for a long time.
What’s Past Is Presence by Lori C. Hawkins. ebook short. Meh short m/m romance about a couple who discover that their house may be haunted… or is it? A large part of the meh on this one was the choppy, simplistic language.

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“Napping. Or trying to at least. Go away. All of you.” -Chaos