Congrats to Gigi, who won Worth the Wait by Lori Toland!

Congrats to SueM, who won Countdown to Daddies by K-Lee Klein! Countdown to Daddies is being released by MLR Press today.

Contests

• Tracy’s giving away three ebooks by Jeffe Kennedy: Sapphire, Feeding the Vampire, and Rogue’s Pawn. Contest closes 7 pm PDT, June 17.

• Tracy’s also giving away an ebook copy of Under Fire by Rita Henuber. Contest closes June 18.

• Joyfully Jay is giving away an ebook copy of Where Nerves End (Tucker Springs #1) by LA Witt. Contest closes 11:59 pm EDT, June 18.

• Joder’s giving away an ebook copy of Let’s Keep on Trucking by Laci Paige. Contest closes 11:59 pm CDT, June 19.

• Joder’s also giving away an ebook copy of The Gift by VS Morgan, another Decadent Press title, or a $5 Amazon GC. Contest closes 11:59 pm CDT, June 19.

Bookity

• New releases and more: Armchair Reader Cole (m/m romance),  Literary Escapism (UF/PNR), AAR (romances), and Book Lovers Inc (various sorts of romance).

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• It’s pretty ballsy to rip off an established author’s name to sell your own stuff, but one “Nora A Roberts” is doing so.

• Neil Gaiman’s advice for working freelance.

• Josephine Myles’ tips for writing your own blurbs.

• KZ Snow on the “special snowflake syndrome”.

• VacuousMinx on “authenticity, identity, and imagination” in writing.

• MelanieM on homonyms, homophones, and homographs.

• Does your neighborhood have the Little Free Library? Mine does! 🙂

• Metal and wood industrialesque bookcases.

Do, Think, Make, Learn

• How to eat healthily when you’re dining out.

• Why eating meat is considered manly – what’s behind food stereotypes. (via The Kitchn)

• How to keep produce fresh.

• On restaurants catering to people with food allergies and intolerances. (via CeliacChicks)

• Laddie’s starting a mental health blog called Notes of the Kindred – Cole explains it all much better than I can. 🙂

• Is Brony culture changing the face of masculinity?

• “Iconic photos aren’t so iconic when left uncropped.“

• 500 movies you can stream for free. (via Gizmodo)

Cookity

• Chopped salad. (via The Kitchn)

• Black bean edamame burgers.

• Pesto portabello burgers. (via The Kitchn)

• 10 vegetarian barbecue recipes.

• Grilled asparagus with bacon vinaigrette.

• Grilled curry shrimp. (via The Kitchn)

• Blackened beer-brined chicken breasts.

• Thai grilled steak salad.

• Tequila lime grilled chicken club sandwich with guacamole and roasted jalapeno mayo. (via The Kitchn)

• Salmon BLTs.

• Dark chocolate sorbet.

• Rainbow popsicles. (via CRAFT)

• Rhubarb scones.

• 10 desserts featuring grilled fruit.

• Gluten-free shortcakes.

Drinkity

• Strawberry mint mojitos. (via The Kitchn)

• Kiwi vodka tonic.

• Absinthe pops.

• Whiskey smash sorbet.

Crafty

• Tutorial for four different styles of sewn tablet/ebook reader sleeves.

• Screen door embroidery. (via CRAFT)

Cool

• Video tribute to the Redshirts of Star Trek.

• The Princess Bride pint glasses. (via The Mary Sue)

• Transformers wine rack.

• Disney in stained glass. (via The Mary Sue)

• Geeky coasters with great gifting potential.

• Armor inspired hoodie.

• Velociraptor flask. (via The Mary Sue)

• Vintage TARDIS photos.

• If Dr. Seuss had written Star Wars…

• Star Wars cats.

• Zen kitty!

• Origami paper flower garden.

Cool or Wha…?

• A sofa that folds into a briefcase?!

• You’ll be able to get a bacon sundae at Burger King soonishly.

• How to make… fried chicken and waffle ice cream?!

• NASA had a bake sale…

• Werewolf slippers. (via If Style Could Kill)

Wha…?

• USPS mailing FAIL.

• Apple Maps (iOS6) has some data issues… If you’re using it, beware – it might try to take you off the edge of a bridge.

• A beer vending machine that you have to tackle in order to get your beer.

• Dresses made from wine.

• The photo. Ack!

• Batman backpack hoodie. (via The Mary Sue)

LOL

• Can you make a spider dizzy? (Thanks, kmkat!)

• Neil Patrick Harris as Spiderman at the Tony Awards…

• College laundry habits. (Make sure you hover your cursor over the comic for additional text.)

• My kinda math.

• So very fierce!

• Cat’s resume.

• Famous film scenes, recreated with a cat. (Thanks, Jase!)

• It’s so easy to get birthday presents for cats…

• Hmm. The melting point of my cats is much lower.

Teh Cute

• Baby tigers! Swan and cygnets! Cygnet! Swan and cygnet! Black cat! Black cat! Cheetah and babies! Baby cheetah! Cheetah and baby! Tiger and baby! Violet-backed starling! Tiger! Kitten (gif)! Baby pygmy goat! Baby skunk! Baby sea eagle! Koala and baby! Baby arctic wolves! Cat and kitten! Cat and kitten! Kitten! Dog, puppies, and baby tigers! Baby otters! Baby clouded leopards! Kitten! Kittens! Kitten! Baby tiger!

Reading Update
Blood Howl (Sanguis Noctis #1) by Robin Saxon & Alex Kidwell. ebook. reread. Very good paranormal m/m romance about a guy, formerly Special Forces, who now offers those skills for hire. When a job goes in an unexpected direction, he has no idea how much his world is about to change…
Blood in the Sand (Sanguis Noctis #2) by Robin Saxon & Alex Kidwell. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romantic suspense in which Jed and Redford are hired by Jed’s friend David to travel with he and Victor to Cairo to rescue some people that David believes have been kidnapped by an old associate of his. More, please. 🙂
Pain (Darwin’s Theory #1) by Adrienne Wilder. ebook short. Very good short paranormal m/m romance about two college roommates, one serious and brilliant, the other smart but wild. They’ve been friends since they were 12, and in love with each other for almost that long, but Peter (serious and brilliant) wanted to wait to become lovers…
Secrets (Darwin’s Theory #2) by Adrienne Wilder. ebook short. Very good short paranormal m/m romance in which Peter reveals a shocking secret. (Hey, cut me a break – these are going to be almost impossible not to spoiler, even in a single sentence reviewette.)
Promises (Darwin’s Theory #3) by Adrienne Wilder. ebook short. Very good short paranormal m/m romance in which Peter is becoming dangerous to Darwin, but other dangers abound as well.
Lost (Darwin’s Theory #4) by Adrienne Wilder. ebook short. Very good short paranormal m/m romance in which Darwin hopes they’ll be safe in the Gray Zone…
Found (Darwin’s Theory #5) by Adrienne Wilder. ebook short. Very good short paranormal m/m romance that twists and turns and twists and turns and…
To Adam With Love (The Gray Zone #1) by Adrienne Wilder. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about Adam, whose mother brings him to live in the Gray Zone when he’s just a boy, and Ean, who becomes his closest friend. As the story alternates between present, when they’re both adults, and past, eventually the two points converge. I got sniffly at the end!
Worth (The Gray Zone #2) by Adrienne Wilder. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about a guy who puts himself between his stepfather and his younger brothers to keep them safe. Then he meets a Lesser-Bred and, for the first time, wants something for himself.
Pale as a Ghost (Duncan Andrews #1) by Stephen Osborne. ebook. Very good m/m paranormal romantic suspense about a private investigator who has a zombie dog and a jealous ghostly boyfriend to deal with as he works cases involving a possession and a supernatural serial killer.
Animal Instinct (Duncan Andrews #2) by Stephen Osborne. ebook. Very good m/m paranormal romantic suspense in which Duncan has to figure out who’s using the power from a dead wizard’s skull to control animals and kill people.
The Way Back by Carter Quinn. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a guy hung up on the one who dumped him and got married to a woman. Years later, he’s finally letting another guy in emotionally when guess who shows up, all repentant?
Carny’s Magic by KZ Snow. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about a young man who presents himself to Jackson Spey, wanting to be the wizard’s apprentice. And then he meets a gorgeous and mercurial guy living a few houses down and discovers just how messed up magic can be.
Chuffed (Finnshifters #1) by Tia Fielding. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about a half shifter who owns a farm in Finland that’s a sort of shifter refuge, sort of an oddly assorted family.
Loving Eden by Lee Brazil. ebook short. So so short m/m romance about a college student trying to discourage a younger guy’s attraction to him, then ending up involved with the guy’s dad instead. This had too much story crammed into too few words, making the story choppy and superficial and instalovey. You should probably read the blurb, since it contains Eden’s backstory, which isn’t in the book. And be warned that the epilogue basically sets up for another book and cuts off midscene.
Book Cover Lover by Eve Tesoro. ebook. Meh m/m romance about an editor of erotic romance attending his first conference when a gorgeous cover model catches his eye. The story was implausible and the writing poor; this was painful to read.

“Maybe you need to get out more, Mom, if you think this is photo-worthy…” -Mayhem