Tag Archives: Viki Lyn

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

In which it is Friday and there is linkity and no one is surprised at all

November 4, 2011 Chris 26 Comments

Congrats to Verena, who won Teacher Plus Two (In the Eyes #2) by Valentina Heart!

Contests

Jenre’s giving away three ebooks by Aleksandr Voinov: Scorpion, Counterpunch, and a choice from Aleks’ backlist. Comment on one or both of the contest posts for your chance to win.

Joyfully Jay is giving away a varying number of ebooks (depending on how many followers her blog has by 11:59 pm EDT, November 6) – winners will be able to pick from the ebooks she reviews during Virgin Hero Week.

Joyfully Jay is also giving away ebook copies of LA Witt’s The Distance Between Us and its forthcoming sequel, The Closer You Get. Contest closes 11:59 pm EST, November 11.

Blodeuedd’s giving away two copies of Embrace the Highland Warrior by Anita Clenney. Closes November 7. US & Canada.

CursingMama’s giving away three Shutterfly codes, each good for 25 cards. Comment before November 11 to enter.

Devon Rhodes is giving away a GRL swag bag that includes a signed copy of the Gaymes anthology, a Devon travel mug and t-shirt, and more. Answer the questions by midnight PST, November 14, for your chance to win. US & Canada only, but everyone who enters will receive a very cool GRL Devon magnet and an autographed postcard.

RJ Scott’s celebrating her new website/blog with a contest with seven different prizes, such as $20 credit at Silver Publishing, signed paperbacks, and ebooks of freshly released and forthcoming books. Contest closes midnight GMT, November 20.

Bookity

New releases and more: Elisa Rolle (GLBT), AAR (romance audiobooks), Tor.com (PNR), and Book Lovers Inc (a bit of everything).

LoveRomancePassion has the third part of “Who’s on the Cover”, their feature on cover models. (Fabio flashback, anyone?)

Josephine Myles examines the “happily ever after epilogue” in m/m romance.

Gizmodo’s eight things to help you with NaNoWriMo. Lifehacker on the benefits of writing regularly.

Make tiny leather-bound (spell)books. (via CRAFT)

ReadReactReview on romance novel heroes who have uncontrollable erections.

xkcd on homeopathic books. (hover your mouse cursor over the comic for additional text)

Anne Rice talks trash about Stephenie Meyer’s vampires.

Ebookity

Amazon Prime members now have access to Amazon’s new Lending Library program.

PBS’s MediaShift has been running a special series on ebooks.

Kassa wonders whether ebooks affect our memory of what we’ve read.

A recent study found no difference between reading from a screen and reading from a printed page.

If you purchased When I Fall (An Uncommon Whore #2) by Belinda McBride before November 1, your copy may have a major continuity error in it.

Eric Arvin posted a free m/m horror story.

Tam posted a cute free Halloween-themed m/m romance.

GayRomLit

Rarely Dusty Books After Party: Damon Suede

Leontine

Kris

Photos people sent in to Jessewave

Learn, Do, Make, Think

Daylight Savings Time ends this weekend in the US and Canada.

If you use Firefox or Chrome and are frustrated by Google removing the original sharing options from Google Reader, there are some plugins that can help.

Tips from Gizmodo on how to not exceedÂ your smartphone’s data cap.

Make an AC adapter for your battery-only digital camera.

What are the best days of the week to buy expensive things online?

Penguin Girl ponders on notes and notebooks, with a focus on knitting.

Recommended plants if you’re a plant neglecter.

Infographic of facts about cats.

Use a rubber flip-flop as a “magic eraser”.

A “harm-reduction” drug for celiacs has had promising early test results.

I wonder if this actually works to get the seeds out of a pomegranate?

Have you had a glass of “wine product”?!

Apparently peanut butter prices have already started to soar…

How to properly kick down a door.

Four hundred LGB New Yorkers were asked how their lives would be different if homophobia did not exist. (Thanks, Stephani!)

What’s your slavery footprint?

One in 15 Americans lives at least 50% below the official poverty level.

Halloweenity for Next Year

Americans spend $6.8 billion on Halloween?!

Spike your pumpkins with vinegar to keep away the squirrels.

Carve your pumpkin via explosion.

Scifi/fantasy pumpkins.

Geeky pumpkins.

Awesomely geeky (and ridiculously cute) kids’ costumes.

Creepy spider cakes. (via CRAFT)

Cookity

Gluten-free pumpkin bars.

Gluten-free honey glazed old-fashioned doughnuts. (via The Kitchn)

Gluten-free apple cider doughnut pancakes. (via The Kitchn)

Baked apple cider doughnuts.

Non-dairy, non-separating coconut whipped cream. (via Lifehacker)

Fifteen sweet and/or salty fall treats.

Eleven fall drinks.

Five fall desserts.

Five quick pork chop recipes.

Baked spaghetti squash and meatballs… you could even make it with vegetarian “meatballs”. (via The Kitchn)

Baked pumpkin oatmeal.

Pumpkin cream cheese.

$2.50 chocolate-coconut peanut butter. (via The Kitchn)

Candy bar caramel corn. (via The Kitchn)

Caramel corn bars. (via The Kitchn)

Chocolate frog jelly shots… (via CRAFT)

Crafty

Cross stitch a TARDIS case for your iPhone. (via CRAFT)

Crochet a pea coat for a toddler. (via CRAFT)

Knit and felt oven mitts. (via CRAFT)

Knit Missoni-style zig-zag mittens. (via CRAFT)

Knit fox ears (could easily be kitty ears!). (via CRAFT)

Kristi the Fiber Fool has tutorials for right cabling and left cabling without a cable needle.

Margaret Atwood’s a knitter, and her knitted great auk is going to be part of an exhibit on lost avian species. (via KnittyBlog)

Cool

Aw, what sweet kitties, taking care of that kitten! (Thanks, Seanna!)

Have you seen Amanda Palmer, Moby, Stephin Merritt (of the Magnetic Fields), and Neil Gaiman perform “Science Fiction / Double Feature” from The Rocky Horror Picture Show? Delightful!

Princess Vader.

Do you have the Doctor Who Encyclopedia app for your iPad yet? (via The Mary Sue)

Lovely and inexpensive hobbitish house built by a Welshman and his friends.

Or you could go visit Hobbiton!

Watch the Condit Dam on the White Salmon River being intentionally breached. (via Gizmodo)

Doctor Who cupcakes.

How the TARDIS works.

A mug that will help you serve the perfect cup of coffee or tea – and has gift potential!

Cool or Wha…?

Building wearing a giant pink bra to increase breast cancer awareness.

Toaster with built-in griddle.

If the Batmobile was electric, it might look like this.

The Evil Dead in claymation in a minute.

Spider porn.

Wha…?

Eeep! I’d keep an eye on kids, pets, short friends… (Thanks, Jase!)

Some states require sellers to disclose if a house is haunted.

You can buy pizza-sized Whoppers at Burger King in Japan.

A chandelier made from cheese graters.

Some scientists have gone to crowdsourcing to fund their research into how strong duck penises are…

“A frightened face appeared in the ultrasound of a man’s testicle.“

Fashion or tentacle pr0n?!

Leopard print garden hose cover.

LOL

The Kitten Covers… classic album covers redone with kittens. Of course. (via The Mary Sue)

Ten autocorrect misunderstandings with parents.

The 25 funniest autocorrects of DYAC’s first year.

Apparently HAL has a lot to answer for.

Charlie Brown-Cthulhu mashup.

With friends like that… (make sure you hover your mouse pointer over the comic for extra text)

Well, crap. Now I feel old. (make sure you hover your mouse pointer over the comic for extra text)

The dark side of that laser toy you have for your cat…

Personally, I’m happy that my kitties don’t want to cuddle in the summer!

Teh Cute

Kittens! Lion and cub! My all-time favorite picture of a tiger and cub! Big cats carrying cubs! Mama tiger and babies! Baby leopard! Ostriches and babies! Baby skunk! Elephant and baby! Cheetahs eating pumpkins! Baby harp seal!

Reading Update
The German by Lee Thomas. ebook. Very good historical gay suspense/horror set in small-town Texas during WWII, when the brutal murder of two boys has emotions running high against the Germans in town.Â Be prepared for a very disturbing read.
Nexus (Warder #5) by Mary Calmes. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about lawyer and warder Marcus going to Kentucky with his hearth, Joe, to visit Joe’s family, never expecting to run into demons while there. While I did enjoy this, at times I felt simultaneously as if I was missing part of the story, yet was being rushed through the story.
I Dare You by Tam Ames. free ebook short. Cute free short Halloween-themed m/m romance about a college student whose roommate dares him to go to a Halloween party and make a move on a guy he likes.
More Than Anything (More #1) by Shawn Lane. ebook short. Sweet short m/m romance about a college freshmen who thinks the hunky football player hitting on him is just doing it to make fun of him. I want to read more about these two!
Hot Ticket (Serving Love) by KA Mitchell. ebook. reread. Good m/m romance about two very different guys who meet while doing court-ordered community service. *waves at Slave Boy*
Foxe Hunt (Skyler Foxe Mysteries #2) by Haley Walsh. ebook. Good m/m romantic suspense about high school English teacher Skyler who gets involved in another murder investigation while trying to decide if he actually has a boyfriend or not. It wasn’t until I hit the cliffhanger ending that I remembered I wasn’t going to read this one until the next book came out. D’oh! Also, Skyler is starting to reach new levels of TSTL and I spent a fair amount of time wanting to shake him.
Crankset (Chainbreaker #2) by Kate Roman. ebook short. Good short m/m sequel to Chainbreaker, which unfortunately lacks the charm of the original.Â In this one, our San Francisco bike messenger and his Gulf War veteran boyfriend become frustrated about living behind a curtain in the corner of someone’s living room.
Night Terrors (Night Wardens #1) by Stephani Hecht. ebook. Pretty good m/m paranormal romance about a guy who has to leave college in order to fulfill his destiny as a Warder and protect humanity from a paranormal threat. This one needed a bit more polish and development to really shine.
For the Bite of It (Vampire in Exile) by Viki Lyn &Vina Grey. ebook. Meh paranormal m/m romance about an exiled vampire stripped of his powers and baking cupcakes in Tempe, Arizona, where he comes under suspicion of murder. Did the suspicious cop have to be so appealing and so deeply closeted? Although this is kind of choppy and sloppily edited (“scoured” instead of “scowled”?!), it was heading for three stars until it abruptly stopped, at the point of a critical conversation, feeling very unresolved. If this is supposed to be the first part of a serial, there’s sure not anything about it on Liquid Silver’s page for the book. And if there had been – I wouldn’t have purchased it.

“Hmm. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?” -Chaos

Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

What has it gots in its linkses, precioussssss?

August 26, 2011 Chris 25 Comments

Congrats to Chris B, who won Where He Belongs (Belonging) by Rachel Haimowitz (courtesy of Storm Moon Press)!

Congrats to Seanna Lea, who won Shattered Secrets (Shadow of the Wolf #1) by RJ Scott and Diane Adams!Â Shattered Secrets will be released by Silver Publishing on August 27.

Congrats to wildflower3d, who won For the Attention Of (Pushing the Envelope #1) by Kim Dare! For the Attention OfÂ will be released by Amber Allure on August 28.

Contests

Janna is giving away winner’s choice of Kele Moon’s Finding Eden (m/m) or Beyond Eden (m/m/f). Comment with your choice by August 27 for your chance to win.

Carolyn Crane needs your help picking the title for her third Disillusionist book (and you could win a $10 online gift certificate)! Comment and vote by earlyish CDT on August 29.

Amara’s giving away an ebook copy of Moonlight Becomes You by Piper Vaughn and MJ O’Shea. Contest closes 9 pm PDT, August 29.

Bookity

New releases and more: Literary Escapism (UF/PNR) and Book Lovers Inc (a little of everything).

Publishing and book news from Dear Author.

Connie Willis won her eleventh Hugo Award for Blackout/All Clear. (Here’s the complete list of the 2011 Hugo winners.)

Superlibrarian Wendy declares Stephanie Plum a “ho bag” after reading Smokin’ Seventeen.

One Canadian library is including a human with your book checkout…

The Mary Sue deconstructs a recent NYT article that claimed YA publishing excluded books of interest to boys.

Jenre discusses why she reads “dark, edgy m/m romance.”

Turn a vintage book into a Grid-It style organizer.

Make a cheap book weight.

Pride and Prejudice necklace.

This lolcat (about cross stitching memes instead of photoshopping them) led me off on a tangent thinking about cross stitched book covers… and led Bron to comment that it’d take an awful lot of “nude” colored floss to cross stitch most romance covers!

Ebookity

I really do not want a soundtrack with my ebook, thanks.

Paul Carr wonders if ebook piracy is really an issue, because it’s nothing compared to the amount of paper book lending (via libraries and friends) and used book sales, neither of which provide author income.

Free ebooks might boost print sales.

One reader’s thoughts on ebooks and publishing.

Dear Author wonders how good an ebook needs to be for $0.99.

Romances and thrillers dominate the Kindle bestseller list. (via TeleRead)

Author Paul Dunbar will send you Bang! The Universe in Verse #1 (free science comic ebook about the origin of the universe) or It’s Alive! The Universe in Verse #2, his free science comic ebook about how life started on earth. You can read them online, too. (via Gizmodo)

Think, Make, Do, Learn

Goodbye, bell curve… (Thanks, CursingMama!)

Pinkwashing. (via The Mary Sue)

How did the animals in the Smithsonian’s National Zoo react to this week’s earthquake? Both the Washington Monument and the National Cathedral were damaged in the earthquake. Why did tweets about the earthquake reach people before the earthquake itself? Gizmodo has an interesting sort of stream-of-consciousness post about the earthquake and its effects.

You have until the end of August to cancel your AT&T long distance plan without a fee – after that, you’ll be paying $2/month, even if you don’t make any long distance calls, and it will be $9 to cancel.

Lifehacker’s complete guide to knowing your network.

You can audit some of Stanford’s computer science classes for free online.

The importance of apostrophes (and attention to detail in general).

Watch the rise and fall of music on compact disc from 1980-2010.

How to use acupressure to relieve nausea. (I should probably pick up some SeaBands to help me out in the numerous situations that make me motion sick.)

Lifehacker’s list of ten products you don’t really need to buy because you already have the ingredients.

Cookity

Make gluten-free corn dogs. (via The Kitchn)

Make Ding Dongs. (via The Kitchn)

Twenty recipes to liven up lunchboxes.

Crafty

Knit plant pockets.

Knit potted trees (not just for Christmas!).

Knit some cabled pillow cases.

Make crystal egg geodes or galaxy playdough.

Knitting-themed tattoo. (Thanks, Bron!)

Cool

To boldly go where no kitteh has gone before… (Thanks, Bron!)

The science fiction timeline.

Available soonishly: TARDIS journal. (via The Mary Sue)

Or maybe a “My other car is a TARDIS” license plate frame? (Thanks, Kris!)

You might need this Doctor Who t-shirt. (via The Mary Sue)

If you haven’t seen the zombie engagement photos yet, you really need to.

You can stay in a hobbit house next time you’re in Montana!

LEGO samurai house.

Spiderman vs Sandman, in LEGO.

The LEGO version of the flying restaurant from The Fifth Element.

Riverside, Iowa, definitely has a sense of humor.

Pivotal moments in US history, now with 100% more monsters.

OK GO and Muppets… (via Gizmodo)

I love the colors on this wine stain cork heart.

Animal sculptures made from torn paper.

Cool or Wha…?

Airigami… (select some of the projects from the drop-down menu) (Thanks, Donna F!)

Vulcan toques. (via The Mary Sue)

Crocheted skeleton and organs… (Thanks, Kris!)

Porcelain skulls. (via CRAFT)

Pink tongue spoon.

Wha…??

Troll: The Rise of Harry Potter…

Chair made from 10,000 drinking straws.

Next time you take your pet to the groomer, see if you can get the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cut…

A Greyhound bus spilled some of its cargo (bull semen) on a highway…

Beef jerky-potato chip hybrid.

SPAM lip glaze…

LOL

Fifty reasons why Minnesota’s a great state. (via A Closer Look at Flyover Land)

A breakdown of your time spent using tupperware.

Brent Spiner impersonating Patrick Stewart.

Han Sulu! (via The Mary Sue)

Even stormtroopers and Darth Vader have to go to the bathroom… (via The Mary Sue)

An amusing vintage ad about cat pictures! (Thanks, Limedragon!)

New meaning of cat scan… (Thanks, CursingMama!)

The Doctors Who… as cats. (via The Mary Sue)

Cat sizes.

Leaf overload…

Did you know Basement Cat had a brother?

Teh Cute

Kittens! Baby tigers! Kitten! Meerkat family! Kittens! Baby ocelot! Kitten! Giant anteater and baby! Kittens! Baby clouded leopards! Kitten! Baby wombats! Baby ferret! Ocelot! Red pandas! Baby panda! Baby ocelot! Elephant and baby! Aardwolf! Lion cubs! Red panda! Mountain goat tots!

Reading Update
Not One Word (Stand Alone Shorts #1) by Kim Dare. ebook short. I’m definitely biased, because a photo I took at Twin Cities Pride 2011 was the inspiration for this story. 🙂 But this was an enjoyably steamy, kinky short m/m story about a jogger who stops to make sure a mime in the park is ok… I hope the real life mime had as enjoyable an evening as did the mime in this story!
Landfall by Lori Toland. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about a hospice nurse who rides with some firefighters (including the one he’s been crushing on) during a hurricane so he can reach an at-home patient.
Finding Eden (Eden #2) by Kele Moon. ebook. Good kinky m/m romance that left me feeling conflicted. I really liked the evolution of Paul and Danny’s friendship as it developed into something infinitely darker and more complex. However, I was frustrated by the story seeming to end in midstream. I see that Beyond Eden takes place a number of years later, and perhaps it addresses what happens after this story ends… but I don’t want to read an mmf story. I want Paul and Danny to sort things out themselves!
Heartsong (Fae #2) by SW Vaughn. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about a prostitute who accepts a month-long contract, but has no idea that the man he’ll be staying with is a Fae prince (unsurprising, since he hadn’t realized the Fae existed). If only he found the Fae prince as compelling as the prince’s much abused bodyguard…
Unforgiven (Fae #3) by SW Vaughn. ebook. Very good paranormal m/m romance about the Fae prince from the previous book, who’s returned to the human realm on his own and very out of his element… dangerously so.
Swapped by Christopher West. ebook short. Fun short paranormal m/m romance about a gay guy whose straight wizard buddy needs to switch bodies with him for 24 hours. How odd to be inside the body he’s been crushing on for years…
On the List (Changing Plans #3) by LA Witt. ebook short. Good short m/m romance that starts with Derek and Elliott just days away from their wedding… and then Derek’s family manages to shake Derek to the core.
Sometimes It’s Fate by Angela S. Stone. ebook. Good m/m romance about two members of the RCMP (Mounties) whose friendship slowly develops into something else. I think this book had the potential to be much, much better than it was – better editing would have helped tighten it up and would have resolved problems with punctuation and the like.
Wanna Do Bad Things With You by Shelley Munro. ebook. Good m/m romance about two rugby players on the Auckland team (one gay and out, one closeted) who get secretly involved with each other. I enjoy Shelley Munro’s stories, but always end up feeling as if a deeper edit could’ve smoothed out the roughness.
Cafe de l’Amour by JM Snyder. ebook short. Sweet short m/m romance about a barista and a guy who comes into the coffee shop and flirts with him every day.
Love’s Evolution by Ally Blue. ebook. Ok m/m romance about two guys who meet and feel a deep connection with each other. The book is a series of short stories about their relationship over the course of several years. I wasn’t a fan of the book’s structure, and I found one character’s constant use of “my darling” and “my love” to be cloying and annoying.
Hard Candy (Love’s Evolution #1.1) by Ally Blue. free ebook short. Steamy short m/m romance that’s basically just a sex scene involving chocolate.
Life, Love and Lemon Cookies (Love’s Evolution #2) by Ally Blue. ebook short. Good short m/m romance in which Chris is suddenly out of work after 15 years and not doing very well at all with the situation.
Protect and Serve by Eden Cole. ebook short. Ok short m/m romance about a cop and a district attorney, whose adversarial relationship conceals their mutual attraction.
Fighting Chance (Chances #2) by Viki Lyn. ebook. Ok paranormal m/m romance that picks up where Last Chance left off, with vampire Johan having the chance to live if he stays in the custody of slayer Corbin and takes a newly developed serum that might turn him human again. Corbin chafes at the responsibility, which prevents him from taking his revenge on the vampire who killed his father. While I liked the storyline, the writing often seemed rough and overdone, which I found very frustrating.
Artie, the Good Witch by Scarlet Hyacinth. ebook. Ok paranormal m/m romance about an innocent young witch who narrowly escapes an evil wizard with his virtue intact… and then further drama ensues. And ensues. And ensues. *sigh*

*sigh* “You’d think I’d be able to get away from the picture taking up on top of the cabinets.” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Last of the Linkity until November 12!

October 22, 2010 Chris 44 Comments

Congrats to Leigh, who won Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Clare London!

And congrats to elaing8, who won The Third Floor by Stephani Hecht!

Congrats to Tam, who won Eat Me by Mia Watts! Eat Me will be released on Monday, October 25, by Total-E-Bound.

I suppose you’re curious about the title of this post, huh? Early next week, I’m heading to San Francisco with Kris, Tam, Jenre, and Tracy to see the city and attend Yaoi Con. Subsequently, blogging will be a little spotty for the next two weeks. On Monday, October 25, I’ll have a vampire-themed edition of the Misadventures for Halloween. A new Kim Dare contest will automagically post on Thursday, October 28. I’ll post contest winners in the evening on October 25, October 28, and October 29 – please consider 7 pm CDT as a rough ending time for those contests! Contests are still open until I shut off the comments on the contest posts. Also, I’m not going to be able to reply to all of the contest entries and I apologize in advance for that.

Vacationy sorts of random posts may appear without warning. 🙂

Contests

CRAFT’s giving away a copy of the cupcake cookbook, A Zombie Ate My Cupcake. Comment on why you would like to win the book before 5 pm PST, October 22, for your chance to win.

Lea’s giving away signed copies of the first two jaguar shifter books by Juliana Stone. Comment by midnight EDT, October 22, for your chance to win.

Katiebabs is giving away a signed set of the Market romance trilogy by Louisa Edwards. Contest closes October 23.

Smexy Mandi’s giving away five copies of Daughter of Darkness by V.C. Andrews. Comment through October 23 to enter.

Cecile’s giving away two ebook copies of Lori Brighton’s paranormal romance, Ghost Hunter. For your chance to win, answer her question in the comments by October 24.

Katiebabs is giving away a copy of Jennifer Estep’s Venom to someone who asks Jennifer a question in the comments by October 25.

Ginger’s giving away Bisquick Gluten Free baking mix, a silver dollar pancake pan, a spatula, and a “pancake pen” to someone from the US who comments by 7 pm EST, October 26.

Leontine’s giving away a signed copy of Olivia Cunning’s latest romance, Backstage Pass. Answer the author’s question in your comment before October 30 for your chance to win.

Bookity

New releases: Renee (October books that intrigued her), Literary Escapism (UF/PNR news, contests, etc), Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog (November releases she’s looking forward to), SciFiGuy (UF/PNR news, contests, etc.), Fantasy Dreamer (UF/PNR/fantasy/YA, etc), and Smexy Mandi (some upcoming PNR).

Misadventures in Stock Photography found elsewhere: Gizmodo, Smart Bitches, and Smart Bitches again.

Book news and linkity: Dear Author, Smart Bitches, and ReadReactReview.

Tor.com is offering an original story each Wednesday via their new podcast.

Listen to/watch Neil Gaiman read his award winning The Graveyard Book.

Go take the Romantic Times survey – is it just me, or do others feel like having the lowest range spent on books being $0-$20 is weird? My spending $0 on hardcovers, trade paperbacks, and mass market paperbacks (buying ebooks instead) gets lost…

Reasoning with Vampires dissects the writing in the Twilight saga, with delightfully incoherent results. (Warning: This site is addictive!) (Thanks, Bron!)

Ebookity

The big networks’ fear of Google TV reminds me a bit of big publishers’ fear of ebooks.

The word on ebook piracy continues to be conflicting – is it zOMG or no big deal?

Are ebooks anti-literacy and anti-freedom of expression?

The frustrations of regional ebook restrictions.

Patti compares her Kindle 2 to her Kindle 3.

Learn, Think, Make, Do

The Minnesota History Museum’s Chocolate Exhibit runs through January 2, 2011. (Jeanne, we should go!)

Speaking of chocolate, how about making a batch of Nutella chocolate thumbprint cookies? (Note to self: Try Nutella on the most awesome of all peanut butter cookie recipes.)

I guess it’s not that surprising to learn junk food has the same effect on the brain as crack.

Remember that article about willpower being a finite resource? Not everyone agrees – instead, maybe willpower is as strong as you think it is.

Ack! After the Pentagon spent $19 billion on bomb-detecting technology, it determined that the best bomb detectors… are dogs.

The top ten jobs, according to Money magazine.

Do you know how to clean and disinfect your gadgets safely? (Consumerist reports on a new study that found mobile devices to be “excellent virus vectors.”)

Who knew that putting limes in your beer could lead to spotty skin?!

According to the laws of physics, cell phones don’t cause cancer.

Maybe you should be deciding which tv shows you watch based on how likely they are to be renewed…

See part of southeastern Minnesota via Amy’s roadtrip. (I love Great River Bluffs State Park, which used to be named O.L. Kipp State Park).

Did you know that Wednesday was World Statistics Day? Take a minute to read this post at Lifehacker that will help you interpret survey statistics better.

…which leads us to some rather shocking statistics on Facebook games. 😮

The ten top Facebook applications are leaking personal information to third parties…

Did you hear about the amazing breakthrough in solar power… by the inventor of the Super Soaker?

Linkity Peeps

Geeky links from EPBOT.

Crafty, yummy, photography, Halloween, and humor links from Kristi.

NSFW WTF links from Katiebabs.

Halloweeny

Amazing knit skeleton.

Lion Brand has some cool free Halloween-themed knitting patterns. I must make those black kitty mitts!

Instead of carving pumpkins, maybe you should knit pumpkin cozies instead.

Zombie Barbie garden!

Fountains of blood!

The CRAFT Flickr Pool was filled with Halloween fun.

Cats that look like demons… eep! (Thanks, MamaTulip!)

Make Jell-O snacks that look like candy corn! Or knit candy corn instead.

Make mummy meatloaf!

Make vampire martinis!

Make bloody lab slide candy!

Make owl pellets! Or crochet owl pellets! (Not to eat…)

Carve your own R2D2 or Death Star pumpkin. Or maybe you’d prefer carving turnips instead?

Make a stylish beaded spider!

Cool

Not that I feel the need to spend $130 on LEGOs, but Hogwart’s Castle is pretty awesome.

Captain Picard wedding cake!

Giant s’more cake!

The Statue of Liberty being struck by lightning.

A very creative clothespin sculpture…

I hope this “Getting drunk at the spacebar” t-shirt got enough votes to be printed.

Is there a Michigander in your life who would appreciate some Michigan Mittens?

Knit a Very Hungry Caterpillar mobile!

Broadway sings for The Trevor Project and It Gets Better. If you haven’t seen Fort Worth city council member Joel Burns’s It Gets Better video, grab some tissues and watch it.

Huh

An entire billboard made of cheese?!

It takes a lot of USB ports to cook meat.

I find these Homer Simpson slippers disturbing, too. Can’t you just hear Homer saying, “Mmmmmm…. feet”?

Talk about a traumatizing bath toy for little boys…

It seems sort of dangerous to be hurling snowballs 150 feet…

Are you supposed to mix the contents of the instant coffee straw with water, or snort them straight?

LOL

The difference between Facebook and Twitter, summarized in a single sentence.

The button your car doesn’t have… but should.

Hee hee – the 2001: A Space Odyssey monolith “action figure” has definite gag gift potential.

Poor worried bat!

I had no idea Wayne Manor moved around so much!

Not sure of the best way to store and organize your cats? Here are 119 different ways that might appeal. 🙂 (Thanks, Juni!)

Are you sure you know how to properly pet a kitty?

Twenty scifi lolcats!

Looks an awful lot like trying to eat around here…

A good hiding spot for a black cat…

One of Basement Cat’s minions is in a lot of trouble…

Mayhem loves yarn this much, too. Hopefully she never gets into my yarn storage!

Franklin offers up the Stash Attack Advisory System.

Teh Cute

Congrats to Stewie, the new Guinness record holder for world’s longest domestic cat! (Thanks, Lea!)

Kittens! Kitten! Very young kittens! Meerkat! Kitten! Kitten! Baby fennec fox! Kitten! Melly! Hedgehog! Baby otter! Meerkats! Kittens! Fawn! Red pandas! Kittens! Kitten! Fossas! Kitty and a book!

Reading Update
Dudleytown by L.B. Gregg. advance ebook. Very good Halloween-themed m/m romance about several college students taking a “shortcut” on their drive home for the weekend. Things go a bit more spectacularly awry than is usual for such shortcuts… Plenty of trademark L.B. humor and insight make for an entertainingly suspenseful read.
The Third Floor by Stephani Hecht. ebook short. Cute short Halloween-themed m/m romance about two guys working the admission booth of a haunted house, one of whom insists he’s not at all interested in the other. I wonder if there will be more books about these two? 🙂
Dance with a Vampire by Fabian Black. free ebook short. Very good, very short Halloween-themed m/m romance about a guy, trying to get in to a club for a Halloween party and becoming upset with the man at the door who won’t let him in.
Through the Red Door (Vampires & Mages & Weres, Oh My!, Book 2) by Devon Rhodes. ebook short. Good short paranormal m/m romance about a demon enforcer out house hunting who finds a house that would be perfect if it wasn’t for the warded red door and his inexplicable reaction to the owner’s scent… Alas, I felt this book was marred by an abrupt ending – spending a few more pages tying things up after the conflict was resolved would’ve helped immensely.
Trick of the Senses (Sensational #4) by Anah Crow & Dianne Fox. ebook short. Good short paranormal m/m romance about a psychic and his lover, who also shifts into his service dog. This probably would’ve made more sense if I’d read the previous three stories. 🙂
Calendar Boys of October: Trick of Silver by Jamie Craig. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance about a werewolf hunter sent to kill an allegedly murderous werewolf… but the evidence doesn’t add up. And the werewolf is really sexy…
On the Ragged Edge of the World (Trick of Silver, Book 2) by Jamie Craig. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance continuing the story of the werewolf hunter trying to fit into the pack that his werewolf lover leads.
Out of Bounds by Viki Lyn. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a well-known and openly gay artist who returns to his small and bigoted hometown to get away from memories of his ex. Against his better judgment, he becomes involved with the deeply closeted football coach.
The Way You Say My Name (Reed, Book 2) by Sara Bell. ebook. Meh m/m romance about two 18-year old high school students. Besides the insta-love and chicks with dicks, there was just way too much going on in this book and it dragged on way too long.
Winston Quirk by Martin Delacroix. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance set on a small and very racist island in the Bahamas in the mid-1970s. A white professor on vacation from Florida finds himself rethinking his beliefs about race after meeting the title character.

“……..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz……….” -Mayhem

http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2010/10/homemade_owl_pellets_ftw.html

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

In which Mayhem taunts all of you and I include a few links

April 8, 2010 Chris 39 Comments

Contests

Author Carolyn Crane will be interviewed live on Write On Radio at 11 am CDT today (Thursday, April 8 ) – you can call in for your chance to win a signed copy of her recent urban fantasy, Mind Games!

Leave a comment with the name of your favorite baseball team by midnight CDT, April 9, for your chance to win a $100 Threadless gift certificate, plus assorted books and cds from Largehearted Boy.

Katiebabs is giving away a copy of Louisa Edward’s contemporary romance, On the Steamy Side, plus some other goodies. Leave a comment by April 10 telling her your favorite food to cook for your chance to win.

Janna’s giving away a copy of Lorie O’Clare’s new romantic suspense, Strong, Sleek and Sinful. Leave a comment before April 13 for your chance to win.

Anastasia’s giving away a copy of Kirsten Kelly’s new fantasy, Halith. Fill out the form by midnight MDT, April 15.

Leontine is giving away nearly 20 books (romantic suspense, paranormals, historicals, and more) to someone who leaves a meaningful comment by April 30.

Karen’s trying whip her knitting WIPs into shape. Answer the questions (how many WIPs will she have left at the end of April and will she be able to resist starting any new projects during the month) in her comments by midnight (Danish time), April 20, for your chance to win two skeins of Malabrigo worsted.

Books & Reading

Information about new releases and contests: Lily’s I Love Books (m/m romance); All Things Urban Fantasy (144 urban fantasy contests!); SciFi Guy’s weekend report, fantasy and scifi releases for April, and urban fantasy and paranormal releases for April; and Literary Escapism’s April Escapist Newsletter (urban fantasy, paranormal, etc).

Take a few minutes to complete the Book Smugglers’ survey about book covers.

Oh, the drama! An ethicist at the New York Times suggested it was ok (ethically) to download electronic copies of books that you already own in print form if there isn’t an electronic version available.

Lots and lots of iPad posts this past week. Some that I starred: Smart Bitches, Dear Author, and TeleRead.

How do publishers decide the value of a book? And how is the new “agency model” going to affect publishing and bookselling?

TeleRead has some examples of the “freemium model” in action and how it might apply to ebooks.

What are the environmental impacts of ebooks?

Lifehacker has a nice guide to converting ebooks to ePub format using Calibre.

Nicole found some great links – make sure you follow the one to Librarysarie’s post about her new favorite Dewey number.

Romance author trading cards!

Eek! The Zombies of Lake Woebegotten?!

Learn & Do

Hmm. Looking at sick people boosts your immune system?!

At the end of April, the US Postal Service will be releasing a set of commemorative stamps to help raise awareness of animals in shelters.

Speaking of which… there are an estimated 300,000 feral cats in Miami Beach! 🙁

Recipes to make your own Girl Scout cookies.

Make a biosphere for your cubicle.

The giant LEGO tarantula is pretty darn creepy.

Whoa. The thirty strangest animal mating habits, courtesy of KZ Snow.

Things I Found Amusing

Beware stock photos!

The city of Ely, Minnesota, always does something clever for April Fool’s Day and this year was no exception.

If you’ve ever been addicted to Tetris, think twice before reading this xkcd comic, as it may cause twitching.

A high-level explanation of computer problems. (As always at xkcd, make sure you hover your cursor over the comic to get additional text.)

Q and Data examine the iPad.

High heels made out of circuit boards?! They look scratchy to me…

In which black kitty Maura turns out not to be pregnant.

Poor Basement Kitteh. His favorite mode of transportation revealed!

Chaos??

Do you have captafallaphobia?

Cute!

Aww and aww and aww.

I sure wouldn’t try to take that toy away from that kitten.

I love the last picture in this post.

Reading Update
Admit One by Jenna Hilary Sinclair. ebook. Wow. This m/m romance gutted me, because it was such a powerful read. And yet… I can’t tell you much about it, because part of its power and impact is in how the story develops and in how things are revealed. At the most simple level, it’s the story of a deeply closeted high school teacher in conservative rural Texas, who very occasionally drives to Houston to hook up with someone – but never the same someone twice. It’s a story of being afraid, of having extremely valid reasons to be afraid, and of living a life so constrained by those fears as to barely be alive. Definitely recommended.
Give and Take by Anne Brooke. ebook short. Good m/m romance about a guy who, two years after his partner of 13 years died, is out at a bar trying to connect with another guy for the first time in a very long time – and he so doesn’t want to have to make all the decisions…
Journey to Compromise by Mara Ismine. ebook short. Good paranormal m/m romance about a guy following an itch to travel. He’s had a bad year (lost love, lost job), but maybe things are starting to look up…
Healthy Obsession by Carolyn LeVine Topol. ebook short. Meh m/m romance about a player who’s finally decided he needs more out of life than one-night stands. While he’s at the gym, he meets a guy in the process of getting divorced and coming out and it’s twue wuv. (Hmm. Kinda snarky there. Possibly because I wanted to slap characters while I was reading.)
A Promise Given by Stormy Glenn. ebook. The usual m/m romance fare from Stormy Glenn in this follow-up to A Promise Kept. Can Alec possibly have a good reason for vanishing from Cooper’s life ten years ago? And if they have that pesky serial killer behind bars, who’s killing guys that fit the same profile now?
Blue Skye and Ryan’s Harbor by Viki Lyn. ebooks. After reading and enjoying Viki Lyn’s paranormal m/m romance, Last Chance, I decided to try this pair of m/m contemporary romances. Meh. Blue Skye was about an out artist and a closeted architect who meet again as adults. They were friends in high school, until they acted on their attraction and the architect fearfully rushed back into his closet. Ryan’s Harbor was about the architect’s gay assistant and the architect’s straight brother – this was a better read than Blue Skye, but be warned that the HFN ending suggests there could be more books in the future… *sigh*
Rescue by Sean Michael. ebook short. A quick little m/m about a guy who lost everything in a fire going home with one of the firefighters.
Purple Pen Diaries by Julia Talbot. ebook short. Fun m/m short about a mystery writer on a cruise who hooks up with a security guy trying to solve a mystery.
Landing with Both Feet (Thatcher Brothers, Book 2) by Julia Talbot. ebook. So-so m/m romance that had way too many flashbacks, between the Jed/Eli and Ross/Kevin stories. Too confusing. And I spent a fair amount of time being upset at people. Hmph. This felt like “Hey, that other Thatcher Brothers book did well – how about another one? Let’s mess up their lives to justify this sequel!”
Taking the Leap (Thatcher Brothers, Book 3) by Julia Talbot. ebook. Ok m/m romance tying up the last bit of the mess from the second book. After that angstfest, this book has no angst whatsoever.
Turguoise: Something’s Gotta Give by Kiernan Kelly. ebook short. Ack! Another stalker! Other than that, this was an ok romance about a guy who gets involved with a cop that he met when giving a statement about his ex stealing all of his stuff.
Texas Hold ‘Em, Slow Play, Pocket Pair, and Different Suits (Poker Night, Books 1-4) by Carol Lynne. ebooks. Decent m/m romance series about a group of guys who play poker together every other Saturday night. Each book focuses on one of the poker players as he finds love. As EH has commented, while you always know what you’re going to get with a Carol Lynne book, sometimes that works just fine.
Wild Raspberries by Jane Davitt. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a young man who runs away from home, then heads into the woods after some bad experiences on the road, where he runs into a cranky landowner.
Artistically Yours by Z.A. Maxfield, Andy Slayde & Ali Wilde, and C.T. Piatt. ebook collection. I enjoyed each of the three short stories in this collection of m/m romances about artists getting much, much closer to their models.
Rock Bottom by Celia Kyle. ebook short. Lyrically written m/m romance short about a guy whose partner died in a car crash and who’s been drinking to forget, until he hits rock bottom.
Night at the Office by Drew Zachary. ebook short. Nicely done, steamy short m/m encounter between a night watchman and a guy working late.
Playing the Market by Drew Zachary. ebook. Good m/m romance about a workaholic stockbroker and a footloose construction worker who find unexpected common ground.

“You know you want to rub my very soft and fluffy tummy! But you can’t! *neener neener neener*” -Mayhem

Contests, Linkity linkity link, Reading, Reviewettes

Lost in the linkity again

April 1, 2010 Chris 37 Comments

Congrats to Orannia, who won the copy of Freeze Frame (Faerily Imperfect, Book3) by Mia!

Many thanks to Kris, as I was one of the winners in the Kris’n’Good Books m/m rut challenge!

Contests

Lea’s giving away a copy of Juliana Stone’s new paranormal romantic suspense, His Darkest Hunger. Comment by 6:30 pm EDT, April 1 (really hurry!) for your chance to win. Hmm. There’s a black jaguar shapeshifter in this one. Do you think that would satisfy Mayhem? 😉

Tracy’s giving away a copy of this year’s Harlequin More Than Words collection, which contains stories from five best-selling authors inspired by real-life heroines. Contest closes at 11:59 pm PDT, April 1 (so hurry!).

LesleyW’s curious about what sorts of extraneous details in books get on your nerves – food? Clothes? Something else? Leave a comment letting her know by April 2 and you’ll have a chance to win a copy of Stobie Piel’s Lord of the Dark Sun.

For a chance to win a signed copy of Carolyn Crane’s new urban fantasy, Mind Games, leave a comment with your superhero names over at Angieville by midnight, April 2.

Largehearted Boy’s giving away volumes 1-5 of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim comic, plus assorted books and cds. Leave a comment by midnight CDT, April 2, for your chance to win.

Nalini Singh’s celebrating her PEARL Awards by giving away a copy of each winning book (Branded by Fire, Angel’s Blood, Blaze of Memory, Must Love Hellhounds). Leave a comment answering her question by 4 pm New Zealand Time, April 4, for your chance to win.

Blodeuedd’s giving away an ebook copy of Michele Hauf’s new paranormal romance, Her Vampire Husband, to someone who comments by April 5.

SciFiGuy’s giving away a signed copy of Jessica Andersen’s new urban fantasy, Demonkeepers (The Final Prophecy, Book 4). Contest closes midnight EDT, April 6.

Sidhe Vicious is giving away an ebook copy of Brigit Zahara’s new steamy paranormal romance, The Turning. Contest closes 11:59 pm, April 8.

A Journey of Books is giving away five copies of Jennifer Haymore’s historical romance, A Touch of Scandal. Fill out the form by midnight EDT, April 8, for your chance to win.

Donna Fantasy Dreamer’s giving away a copy of Melissa Marr’s forthcoming YA paranormal romance, Radiant Shadows (Wicked Lovely #4). For your chance to win, answer her question in the comments by 8 am CDT, April 9.

Author Laurie R. King wants to know what your fantasy library would be like. If you let her know by April 9 and she falls in love with your library, you’ll win two pieces of literary art, plus she’ll send a box of her books to the public library of your choosing.

Leave a comment for author Julia Rachel Barrett in which you pitch a romance novel in 500 words or less. (Please note that this contest does not commit you to actually writing said romance novel!) Ten winners will receive a signed copy of The Cougar Book steamy short story collection, two winners will receive ebooks of Beauty and the Feast, two winners will receive ebooks of My Everything, and one winner will receive a raincheck for Daughters of Persephone (Books 1-4). Contest runs through April 21.

Reading and Beyond

Looking for book news, contests, and new release info? Check out Donna Fantasy Dreamer’s weekly update (horror, paranormal, steampunk, urban fantasy, YA), All Romance (audiobooks), SciFiGuy (urban fantasy, paranormal romance), Literary Escapism (urban fantasy, paranormal romance),Â All Things Urban Fantasy (self-explanatory!), Lily’s I Love Books (m/m romance), and Elisa (LGBT).

Renee’s looking for people interested in receiving copy of Ask Yourself Questions and Change Your Life: Stop Wishing Your Life Were Different and Make It Happen by Arlene Harder, MFT, and posting a review of the book on Amazon.

All Romance eBooks is giving away the first ebook of series every day from April 1 through April 21. TeddyPig’s got the full list of ebooks that will be given away.

Alas, the Fictionwise Buywise Club has been discontinued! Members will continue to get Buywise Club prices until memberships expire, but will not be able to renew. (The Amber Quill Press Daily Deals also ended yesterday.)

“Hey, Chris, how come you aren’t posting all about that exciting new iPad gizmo?!” Well, two main reasons. First, I’m not an Apple fangirl. Yup, they’ve come up with some cool new stuff, but anything that’s going to force me to use iTunes (which I hate with a hatey sort of hate) isn’t going to appeal to me. Second, I think this we’re at a point of big change for ereaders. Maybe the iPad will change everything. Maybe it won’t. But as Gizmodo notes, there are more contenders out there than just the iPad.

If, even after all the rambling in the previous item, you’re still thinking about getting an ereader now and not waiting until things shake out a bit, TeleRead found a handy buyer’s guide, as well as an overview article.

Gizmodo noted that if you’re looking for a cheapish eInk reader, the Kobo might be just the thing.

Interesting article on TeleRead on why publishers fear price. Dear Author goes into more detail about the possible upcoming ebook price battle.

Do ebook readers mean the death of the dust jacket and its associated free advertising?

The Book Smugglers have a great post about cliched covers in fantasy.

Smart Bitches had some very amusing links yesterday – don’t miss the one for the 15th Century Peasant Romance Comics!

Wow – the world’s smallest library is in a phone booth.

Lightsaber bookends?!

And yet more monster’n’classic mashups… Plus mashup aficionado trek shares her review of Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters.

CursingMama found a wonderfully thoughtful and eloquent post on simply blogging for blogging’s sake.

Learn and Make Stuff

Not sure that anyone should be surprised that the effect fatty foods have on your brain is similar to that of drugs…

Sometimes toys lead to major scientific breakthroughs.

Gizmodo’s got a great post on the 40 most important phones in history.

Here’s clever way to turn a milk/juice/soymilk carton into a cd mailer.

How to recycle an old book in to a very cool journal.

Lifehacker shares tips on how to make your stuff last longer.

Lily found a cool infographic filled with fun kitty facts!

IKEA Hacker’s got a really nice hidden litterbox idea.

Things That Amused Me (or Made Me Go “Huh?”)

You knew it was coming – the Periodic Table of All the Periodic Tables on the Internet.

Fantasy league, in the truest sense of the word…

Turn your food into gold! (Because, hey, that worked so well for King Midas.)

Ninja kitteh fail indeed…

Kitteh camouflage fail.

The story of May’s life.

This could’ve been Chaos as a kitten!

Poor Basement Kitteh in his hot pink kitteh carrier… and then plagued by his evil offspring…

Similar scenes have been enacted here.

Teh Cute

Moderncat discovered some really cute gadget skins with cats on them.

Check out the kitty pictures in the Consumerist Flickr pool.

Kittens, kittens, kittens, kittens, kittens everywhere.

Squee!

Reading Update
Duty and Devotion by Tere Michaels. ebook. Very good m/m romance primarily about the guys from Faith and Fidelity and how their relationship and lives develop. Recommended, but you must read both Faith and Fidelity and Love and Loyalty first. That shouldn’t be a hardship. 🙂
Downtime by Tamara Allen. ebook. Excellent time travel m/m romantic suspense about an FBI agent from the present who ends up back in 1888 London. I don’t want to say anything more about it (besides my getting rather tearful at one point), except that, yes, it was rather historical. And I don’t read historicals. I guess I’m mellowing!
Freeze Frame (Faerily Imperfect, Book 3) by Mia Watts. ebook. Fun’n’steamy paranormal m/m romance about a half-faery PI whose unpredictable ability to freeze time might be more hindrance than help as he becomes involved with a guy he’s supposed to be following. Hijinks ensue. 🙂
Can’t Hurry Love by M. Jules Aedin. ebook. Another fun paranormal m/m romance, this time about a guy who, as his probation from the Easter Bunny Department, is assigned to help a guy in the Cupid Department who isn’t meeting his quotas or completing his paperwork.
Windows in Time by M. Jules Aedin. ebook. Very well done m/m romantic suspense/ghost story about a writer, convalescing in his apartment after breaking his leg, who sees a guy in the apartment across from his do a striptease… and then dissipate.
All the Things You Are by M. Jules Aedin. ebook. Sweet (but not too sweet!) m/m romance about a guy who’s just finished college and moved to San Francisco from Alabama. He’d been hoping to play pro football, but a knee injury ended that possibility; instead, he plans to explore life uncloseted, which he wouldn’t have been able to do as pro football player.
Simple Men by Eric Arvin. ebook. Decent m/m romance about a straight college football coach who finds himself inexplicably attracted to the new college chaplain. There’s another storyline about two of the football players who are best friends and roommates.
Drawing Closer by Jane Davitt. ebook. Good m/m romance about a professor who tries to resist a slightly younger painter because he doesn’t believe the painter could be attracted to a D/s lifestyle. (I find this cover very disturbing, because it looks like the guy lying down is missing the lower half of his body.)
Pineapples & Chocolate by E.M. Lynley. free ebook short. Nicely done m/m short story (and free!) about a guy out grocery shopping, hoping to score.
Last Chance by Viki Lyn. ebook. This m/m paranormal romance really drew me in and I’m glad I didn’t start reading it right before bed, because I might have stayed up too late. A sexy science major is desperately trying to find a cure for his encroaching vampirism, so he certainly doesn’t need the distraction of a straight football player as his time runs out… or does he?
Hearts Afire: January by Bonnie Dee & T. A. Chase. ebook collection. I enjoyed Bonnie Dee’s paranormal m/m romance about a guy who inadvertently starts fires when he gets stressed, excited, etc. Will the sexy firefighter he meets believe him, or think he’s an arsonist? T. A. Chase’s m/m romance about a firefighter, an architect scarred by fire, and an arsonist stalker was ok… but, oh, am I ever sick of stalker stories…
Hearts Afire: April by Emery Sanborne & Jamie Craig. ebook collection. I thought that both of the m/m romances in this collection were very good. In Emery Sanborne’s, two firefighters in the same station don’t fight their mutual attraction very much, but things are complicated by them being just about the worst communicators ever. (Possibly worse than me! Impressive, that.) In the Jamie Craig story, a guy who was blinded in a car wreck looks up the firefighter who talked him through the rescue…
The Messenger by Adrianna Dane. ebook. Ok m/m holiday romance with some slightly squicky voyeurism and another darn stalker! Ack! Please. No more stalkers! (Also, I’d figured out what the big reveal was going to be by the time I’d read half of the story…)
Timeless by Patric Michael. ebook reread. Good m/m romance about two guys, one straight, one gay, who become friends in high school and stay friends, helping each other through the ups and downs of their lives and loves.
Reckless by Rick R. Reed. ebook short. Good, albeit disconcerting, short m/m story about a guy accused of passing HIV on to a one-night stand.
Moving Day by Jaime Samms. ebook. Nicely done m/m romance about a guy afraid to take a chance on love, and his best friend, who has loved over and over and watched too many of those loves die.
Apron Strings by Jaime Samms. ebook short. Well done m/m romance short about two guys in a relationship that’s gone a little stale over time.
The Best Man by Jenna Jones. ebook short. Hmm. Another well done m/m romance short about two guys in a long-term relationship that’s gone a little stale over time.
Wild Lickins by Amber Skyze. ebook. Between the title and the author name, I should’ve been warned, eh? Meh m/m romance about a guy who goes to a gay resort in an attempt to get over his attraction to his business partner, with whom he owns the ice cream shop Wild Lickins. It wasn’t too bad at first, but after some rather twisted duplicity was revealed, I was over the story. And it got worse as the dialogue deteriorated.