Congrats to Naomi, who won the copy of The One That Got Away (One  & One) by TC Blue!

Congrats to KC (Smokinhotbooks), who won the copy of In and Out (Men of Smithfield) by LB Gregg!

And congrats to orannia, who won the copy of Carnal Intentions (Lost Shifters, Book 4) by Stephani Hecht!

Whew…

Yes, you read correctly – Linkity is now going to be on Fridays instead of Thursdays. *waits for bereft sobbing to die down* Moving right along! 😉

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Contests

• Lea’s giving away an ebook copy of Beth Kery’s forthcoming paranormal romance, Velvet Cataclysm (Princes of the Underground, Book 1). Leave a comment by 6 pm EDT today (May 14) for your chance to win.

• KMont’s giving away two copies of Grace Coopersmith’s forthcoming chick lit novel, Nancy’s Theory of Style. (You might be more familiar with Grace Coopersmith as paranormal romance author Marta Acosta.) Leave a comment about what book’s your feel-good read for your chance to win. Contest closes midnight EDT today (May 14).

• LesleyW wants to know what words you’d like to have banned from books – leave a comment letting her know before May 15 and you’ll be entered to win a copy of Wicked Game by Jeri Smith-Ready.

• LB Gregg’s celebrating the release of In and Out (Men of Smithfield) by holding a contest – leave a comment (by 1o pm EDT, May 16) guessing where the #@*$()# her keys are for your chance to win a bag of LB Gregg swag and a sack of Lindor truffles.

• Mandi’s giving away five ebook copies of Cry Sanctuary (Red Rock Pass, Book 1) and one ARC ebook of Sanctuary Unbound (Red Rock Pass, Book 4) (both by Moira Rogers). Make sure you read what your comment should include before you leave said comment! Contest closes May 15.

• Jessica of ReadReactReview is giving away a RomCon registration ($125 value). RomCon takes place July 9-11 in Denver and focuses on readers rather than on writers. Contest closes midnight EDT, May 16.

• Bloudeudd’s moving in with her boyfriend. Leave her tips on how to live with a guy for your chance to win several romances. Contest closes May 17.

• Janna’s also giving away a copy of William Cooper’s forthcoming m/m romance short, Broken Bones, Mended Hearts – leave a comment before May 19 to enter.

• SciFiGuy’s giving away two signed copies of Annette McCleave’s latest paranormal romance, Bound by Darkness (Soul Gatherers, Book 2). Comment by midnight EDT, May 19, for your chance to win.

• Shawn Lane’s giving away a copy of her forthcoming m/m romance, Only His Heart (Only, Book 3), to a lucky commenter. You have through May 21 to enter!

• Kim Dare is celebrating two important events in her life by giving away an ebook from her backlist (or an IOU for a future release if you already have her backlist). Leave a comment by midnight GMT, May 23, for your chance to win. (Plus you can find out lots more about Kim in her interview at Author Interviews, Book Reviews, and More.)

• Fantasy Sci-Fi Lovin’ Giveaways is giving away an ARC of John Sandford’s forthcoming Storm Prey, plus a copy of Secret Prey (Book 9). Simply fill out the respective forms by May 28 for your chance to win.

• Knitters Gladys and Dotty are holding a raffle to support their husbands in the Ride2Survive cancer research fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society. You have until noon PDT, June 6, to donate. If it helps convince you, the prizes are completely amazing.

• All Things Urban Fantasy has a list of over a hundred urban fantasy-related contests this week.

Books & Reading

• New release information: Lily (m/m romance), Literary Escapism (PNR, UF, and more, including news and interviews), and Renee (m/m, PNR, etc).

• Val had a great post at Reviews by Jessewave on the obnoxious things that we as book reviewers often do.

• And Val then had another great post on her blog asking what makes books DNF (did not finish). (She’s a deep thinker, our Val.)

• I can’t recommend Jessica’s Monday Morning Stepback posts enough.

• It’s time for the 2009 Cover Cafe Annual Cover Contest!

• Have you checked out the Author Fan Letter Blog Crawl yet? I’m up on May 29th. No, I haven’t selected my author yet. It’ll be a surprise to all of us. 🙂

Ebooks

• Dear Author has a new weekly column called Dear Jane, which takes on reader questions about ebooks.

• This 1986 Radio Shack electronic book ad is hysterical.

• Do we actually own the ebooks we buy?

• What are the implications of video game piracy for ebooks?

• After the whole 1984 brouhaha last year, Amazon is understandably very, very cautious about sending out book updates.

• If you’re curious about the B&N Nook, check out author Jill Myles’ amusing review.

• An open letter to Apple, asking them to stop their censoring ways.

• Do multipurpose devices such as the iPhone and iPad lead to more distractions from reading than do dedicated ebook readers and paper books?

• If you’re a student, you might be interested in places where you can download free (and legal) textbooks.

• TeleRead reviews how the Camangi WebStation works as an ereader.

• Is there a future for freelance editors in the age of ebooks?

• Author Charlie Stross makes some predictions about the future of ebooks.

• Is Smashwords the real threat to agency ebook pricing?

• The Kobo Reader should be available in the US in June.

• TeleReader found some fun free pulp fiction reads you can download.

Learn, Make, Do

• Confused about Facebook privacy settings? Check out this pie chart and this matrix. Gizmodo lists more reasons you should think about quitting Facebook. (And our state Senator provides some tips for how to opt-out of Facebook’s “Instant Personalization Program.”)

• Ever wondered how the Library of Congress preserves those crazy old exploding films?

• These hinge hooks are really clever.

• Based on its latest findings, Consumer Reports says that free security software is good enough for most users. (It’s worked great for me for the past five years!)

• Turn an Altoids tin into a tiny stereo mixer.

• Use aluminum foil as a dryer sheet?! (From someone with asthma who believes stinky dryer sheets are evil, this is a great idea!)

Think

• What do you think of the FCC granting “Selectable Output Control” at the MPAA’s request so that you will not be able to record certain things off your tv?

• Ah, Indexed, so skilled at pointing out uncomfortable truths.

• TeddyPig’s been highlighting letters to President Obama asking him to end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and I thought this letter from the grandson of President Harry Truman was particularly powerful.

Yum!

• Don’t these gluten-free summer salads sound tasty?

Eeep!

• Proof that my lifelong fear of sinkholes has validity!

Huh

• How handy – a mini donut maker for your desk!

• Turn your juice into booze in 48 hours?! Ewww.

• Dungeons & Dragons soda?!

• Maybe there’s someone in your life who really needs a shark sleeping bag?

• Really, I don’t think that airplanes need balconies.

• And I’m not sure that paper furniture would survive Chaos and Mayhem…

• Please, just say no to Torani Bacon-Flavored Coffee Syrup…

LOL

• The “Little Scarf of Horrors” indeed. (Thanks for the link, Miranda!)

• I don’t know about you, but I’m very pleased to not be a mother opossum.

• Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

• Poor baby!

• Watch out for the library cat…

• Poor Basement Cat. Who knew souls were so fattening? And he’d prefer not to be wet, thanks.**

• Perfectly Chaos.

• Perfectly Mayhem.

• Even kitties can only take so much Twilight.

• Poor vampire kitteh!

Awww

• The last picture (and caption!) is my favorite.

• Two French hikers have been walking from Miami to the tip of South America since 2008. When they reached Louisiana, a stray kitten joined their party!

• Action kitten!

• Melly and the laptop…

• Good luck at your forever home, Maura!

• Baby clouded leopards!

• And baby lions! (Thanks, CursingMama.)

• Squee! Squee! And more squee!

Reading Update
Lover Mine (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 8 ) by J.R. Ward. *gasp* Not an ebook (bless the library). Not (precisely) m/m! This paranormal romance isn’t one you should pick up unless you’ve read the previous seven books. Fortunately, Lover Mine, being the story of John Matthew and Xhex, was very good. (Oh, come on, aren’t you a little paranoid with each new book now, after the debacle that was Lover Enshrined? And don’t even get me started on “Doc Jane”…) I even got a bit teary once or twice. And if Qhuinn had appeared in my living room, I would’ve smacked him silly.
In and Out (Men of Smithfield) by L.B. Gregg. ebook ARC. Very good m/m romance about a disgraced and now agoraphobic writer whose sanctuary is breached by a gardener, a corpse, his ex, and more! I was late to work yesterday morning because I had to finish reading it. 🙂 LB does such a nice job balancing the tender with the madcap, while managing to infuse both with plenty of humor. (I also liked the tie-in to Gobsmacked.)
Curious? A Woman’s Introduction to Gay Romance, edited by Elizabeth North. ebook collection. Very good m/m romance collection featuring stories by Amy Lane, Sean Kennedy, S. Blaise, M. Jules Aedin, Anna J. Linden, Chrissy Munder, Ashlyn Kane, Jaymz Connelly, Catt Ford, Isabelle Rowan, Bethany Brown, G.S. Wiley, and Janey Chapel. I really can’t remember if I’ve read a collection that I liked better. I think it would indeed serve as a good introduction to the genre.
Pain Management by Cassidy Ryan & Zoe Nichols. ebook. Very good m/m romance about two guys who are business partners and best friends, until a drunken night together threatens all of it. Um, I might’ve cried a bit – this one really got to me!
Between Want and Need To by Kris Dylan. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a fashion photographer who’s lived behind sturdy emotional walls for a long time – will he be able to face his demons and get beyond those walls?
Deadly Nightshade, Deadly Wrong, Deadly Dreams, and Deadly Slumber (Deadly Mysteries, Books 1-4) by Victor J. Banis. ebooks. rereads. These excellent m/m mysteries are set in San Francisco. (I’m rereading so I’m ready for the release of the fifth book. I actually reread the first two last month, but don’t seem to have mentioned them here…) Anyway! In the first book, gay police rookie Stanley must be the perfect guy to work on solving murders committed by a drag queen, right? While the SFPD thinks so, straight cop Tom, who gets stuck with Stanley as a partner, is not at all convinced. The first book, Deadly Nightshade, is available free at the GLBT Bookshelf (go! go now!), but be warned that if you start to read it and like it, you should immediately purchase the second book. You will be most unhappy if you finish the first book without the second book on hand. Trust me on this one.
Broken Bones, Mended Hearts by William Cooper. ebook short. Good non-angsty m/m romance short about a college student whose best friend helps him out after he’s been severely beaten.
Gay Pride (G-A-Y, Book 7) by Kim Dare. ebook short. Enjoyable m/m romance about a dom, not very active in the scene lately due to his activism, who opens his door to discover a drunk young man wearing nothing but a Pride flag.
Your Forever (Eight of Wands) by Jenna Jones. ebook short. Sweet m/m romance about a guy who over thinks everything, including getting involved with his best friend’s younger half-brother.
Taste Test: Shot Through the Heart by D.C. Juris, J.L. Merrow, and Lenore Black. ebook collection. This collection contained three short’n’sweet m/m romances loosely organized around the theme of Cupid.
Il Cavaliere delle Tazze (The Knight of Cups) by Kiernan Kelly. ebook short. Ok m/m time travel romance about a starving actor who receives a mysterious Tarot card in the mail – and the card takes him on a very unexpected journey.
Crossroads by Keta Diablo. ebook. So-so paranormal m/m about a cop turned private investigator who communicates with the dead when he meditates. Be warned that this book contains dub con – I’m not a fan, although it’s totally an old school romance and yaoi trope. (Hi, Torso Guy!)
Blood Prince (Wolf Creek Pack, Book 4) by Stormy Glenn. ebook. Pretty much what you expect from a Stormy Glenn m/m paranormal, although I’d be surprised if anyone actually edited this one.
Walking the Straight Line by D.J. Manly. ebook short. Ok m/m romance short about a dentist who has a crush on his straight best friend from college… and then his friend visits with a guy in tow…
Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Vic Winter. ebook short. Good m/m romance short about a guy who’s dragged to a gay B&B for the weekend, in the hope that it will help him get over his ex.

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** “Bwa-ha-ha! All your souls are mine mine mine! Bwa-ha-ha!” -Chaos

Have a lovely weekend, everyone! I’m definitely looking forward to a little sunshine after a cold’n’cloudy week here.