Tam's Reads

I'm moving on

2012-01-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

So I finally got fed up with Blogger. It's been good to me, I'll give it that, but since Google has suddenly started insisting that users must use Google Chrome (or at least Firefox) in order for it to function properly, blogging has become more complicated. You can't access it at all for editing through IE and while everyone will say "don't use IE", I don't have an option for 8-9 hours a day.

So I've set up a new blog over at Wordpress. I've changed my name a bit. I'm no longer Tam's Reads, but

I wanted something that takes into account my writing and the fact that sometimes I just yammer about nothing much at all. Just click on the little banner.

I hope all my followers will add the new URL to their feeds. The URL has changed in order to accommodate a new name. It's just http://cdntam.com. I wish I could have used my name, but Tamames is a region in Spain, so it's rather taken. :-) So since Cdn_Tam is usually the other moniker I use, I decided to go with that. There is a link to the RSS feed and to receive notification by e-mail at the bottom of my sidebar, so hopefully it will be easy and Good Reader will let you add WP blogs to follow.

This blog will remain here for the foreseeable future. But this will be the last post, except for possible reminder post for those who might have missed it in their reader feed. I have transferred over all of the posts and comments (I hope - the last couple may not have made it). Of course my hottie of the day is coming with me, along with blog rolls.

If you have me on your own blog roll, I'd appreciate it if you could switch over the address to the new one. I don't really care too much if you change the title, it's up to you.

I think that's it. I want to thank everyone who's been with me on the fun ride here on Blogger as I figured out what blogging was all about and as I developed and changed over the last nearly two years. Hope to see you at my new place.

Raven's Mark by Jade Archer

2012-01-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

Title: Raven's Mark (Sandpipers #2)
Author: Jade Archer
Length: 198 pages
Publisher: Total-e-Bound

Blurb: Sometimes the strength to fight the past lies in the love and friendship of the present.

Mark Carter has taken care of himself and those around him since he was a teenager. But with his younger brother and sister now packed off to college, he finds himself suddenly alone. Throwing everything he has into his new position at Sandpipers Restaurant leaves little time for anything else. And that’s just fine by Mark. Then Raven stumbles into his life and everything changes. Mark can’t help wanting to know more about the mysterious man. Which is easier said than done. Raven is painfully shy, a single parent and stutters, especially when he’s nervous. But Mark is determined to get to know the warm, intelligent man he glimpses beneath the quiet exterior. The question is, will Raven let him?

Raven finally has a chance to start again. He’s determined to put the past behind him and do whatever it takes to create a normal life for his young son, Ryan. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as it sounds. He doesn’t have much acquaintance with ‘normal’, and the past has a way on intruding on the present no matter how hard he tries to escape it. Can he trust Mark with his secrets? And more importantly, should he?

Review: I was lucky enough to have one the first book in this series which is m/m/m and the story of Lark, Zak and Brody who run the Sandpipers Restaurant. This book sort of overlaps the end. Raven is the single parent of one of Brody's little brother's preschool friends. The three have kind of taken Raven under their wing, but he's extremely skittish, has a stutter and panic attacks, however he's starting fresh with his son. Mark is the new head chef who is instantly fascinated by Raven. Mark raised his own twin siblings when his parents died, so he has no problem with the kid issue, nor does he care about Raven's PTSD or stuttering. They start out slow and things are going well until Raven has a bad panic attack and pushes Mark away. They finally get back on track and Raven's ex (mother of Ryan) shows up to case more mayhem, and Raven pushes Mark away.

While that might seem like eye roll worthy, it didn't come across that way. Raven has been beaten down (in all senses) and his reactions were understandable. Luckily pushy Lark was there to help them work it out most of the time. What was also nice is that while at first Mark comes across as Mr. Perfect and in control, he's not quite so perfect. He's got OCD type control issues and later when confronted, maybe has a bit of a saviour complex as well. So while he's not in as rough shape as Raven, he's not so perfect as to make him annoying.

Also so many times I wanted to slap my hand over Mark's mouth and just tell him to shut up. LOL He assumes Raven has been abused based on his behaviour, and yet the first time he sees burn scars on his chest he goes (paraphrasing) "OMG, What happened?" Right, like the guy is just going to open up now. So again, it was kind of nice to see him screw up and not be Raven's saviour. In the end Raven had to stand up for his son and do the right thing, with the support of his friends.

I also appreciated that this was not a magical healing dick story. It took weeks and weeks before they even kissed and having sex did not make it all better, in fact it made it worse for a time. The epilogue is many months later and Raven is starting therapy for his issue and while he's better, he's still got a stutter and he still has PTSD issues, so I like when that kind of realism is there. Nothing worse than having disability disappear so that both heroes can be "perfect". I really enjoy this story and there were a few emotional moments, but some cute ones as well. I was happy to see the guys get their HEA even if it wasn't "normal".

There appears to be a set-up for a third story with Dave and Andy, kitchen workers assumed to be friends, when one of them quits suddenly at the end. My only concern, is that they kept making reference to both of them flirting with Jaime, a waitress so, nothing personal author, I just hope there aren't any lady bits involved in their story. LOL Call me a purist, all dick, all the time. :-)

Follow My Adventures - Guest Posting

2012-01-18T18:33:00.002-05:00

Today I am at Clare London's blog as part of her month long birthday celebration. Stop by and say hi and read all about my exciting Ikea experience. :-) Most of us have had one. Just click on the pic below.

Happy Birthday month Clare. Hope it's a great one.

Bite me!

2012-01-16T18:16:00.002-05:00

Well, maybe I'll bite you. ;-) Stop by Brief Encounters Reviews this week where we are celebrating those sexy undead heroes of m/m. Cole and Ruby are doing duelling reviews of Jordan Castillo Prices Channeling Morpheus series and there will be a give away of the entire 5-pack if you comment on one of the two posts with Jordan's interview. We will also be reviewing a few other vamp short stories, so stop by and say hi. We don't bite ... unless you ask nicely. :-D Just click on my little fanged guy below to join the fun.

Shying Away by Kate Sherwood

2012-01-15T12:20:00.000-05:00

Title: Shying Away
Author: Kate Sherwood
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Length: 240 pages

Blurb: Quinn Donahue will do anyone once, so when Aaron Miller spots Quinn making his moves in a Vancouver gay bar, Aaron thinks he's found just the guy to relieve him of his unwanted virginity. Quinn, however, has apparently decided to make an exception to his usual open-bed policy. He may be an unrepentant connoisseur of one-night stands, but he's not going to disappoint a sweet kid like Aaron by giving him a hot night and then leaving while the sheets are still warm.

After Quinn takes a job at Aaron's family horse farm, Aaron spots both the demons and the decency that drive Quinn's frequent brush-offs, and it makes Aaron want him even more. But Quinn is determined that Aaron won't go home with a man who doesn't deserve him, so he starts sending likely candidates Aaron's way. It takes a grim act of sacrifice for Aaron to realize exactly why Quinn's been so skittish, and he’ll have to keep a firm grip on the man of his dreams to keep Quinn from shying away.

Review:

I picked up this story because I reviewed the sequel New Tricks at BER and was curious about how the couple got together. Quinn is a party boy who one night picks up Aaron at the bar. However it soon becomes clear that Aaron is a virgin and Quinn's not getting involved in that, however Aaron is hooked and looking for him. No amount of rebuffing seems to put him off the pursuit. When the bartender mentions a job working at a farm, Quinn applies, only to find it's Aaron's family farm, where Aaron gives riding lessons. To his surprise he gets the job and it seems Aaron is not the only one who takes a liking to him, Aaron's brother and mother both take to subtly pushing them together and bring Quinn into the family fold despite his protests.

Quinn has issues, big issues. It turns out he had a twin brother who committed suicide and Quinn holds himself responsible, and was rather spiraling down into drugs and booze so his parents told him to leave and he did. And never went back. He still feels Aaron should find a nice boyfriend, not him, and Aaron tries but it doesn't really work. When Aaron's father starts digging he finds that Quinn's parents did file a missing persons report, and since Quinn finally reported the guy who beat and raped him, it opens the file bring his super rich family down on him just when he's decided to give him and Aaron a chance.

I have to say I was really annoyed with Aaron's father and then his mother for pushing things. Why does everyone thing if you don't have a perfect storybook relationship with family there is something that needs to be fixed? They didn't know anything about it but started sticking their nose in. Maybe it wasn't all that bad, but the point was he was 29 years old, not a 19 year old kid. Still, I appreciated Aaron's pursuit, and how he'd try different things, backing off, pushing, it was like a puzzle he just had to figure out. I also loved Aaron's big brother Danny who was perfectly comfortable with Aaron and Quinn being gay and just wanted them to be happy. It was nice to have a supportive sibling who didn't interfere but was there for advice.

So I'm glad I read this one. Quinn is pretty screwed up, but maybe Aaron can help him get his head on straight and the sequel was very cute and touching as well with a playful side.

Guest Movie Review: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

2012-01-12T21:00:00.000-05:00

Today I have a guest movie review from "The Kid", aka my daughter. I did not go to see this movie last week with her and a friend, but I know lots of people have enjoyed the books so I asked her to do a review for me. I've been told it's totally a fangurl squee, so be warned.

Mikael Blomkvist might have been portrayed by Bond actorDaniel Craig, but he was certainly not the famous 007 in The Girl with theDragon Tattoo. Craig was a different man, both in character and appearance.He was Blomkvist, a man caught in legal dispute after the publication of hisaccusatory news paper article, who stumbled into a way out of the mediaattention. The way was through Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plumber), an oldSwedish businessman seeking help with his memoirs (code for find out what happenedto my missing and more than likely dead niece). Needing rest from the publiceye, Blomkvist accepted the challenge, unaware of the deceitful past of theVanger family; their life filled of dark secrets, corruption and history ofanti-Semitism.

The main question still remains; where in this chain ofwriting and investigations does the girl with the dragon tattoo, LisabethSalander (Rooney Mara) fit into the picture? Here: when Blomkvist reaches aroadblock in researching the alleged death of Harriet Vanger. Requesting anassistant in the case, the company suggests their best agent, Salander, whoalready knows her fair share about Blomkvist (having researched his backgroundcheck earlier). Abandoned at age 10, traveling from foster-home to foster-home,Salander had been on her own for most of her life. A history of drugs, violenceand being warranted as insane by the state, Salander was strange; butnonetheless a genius.

Teamed together, Blomkvist and Salander discover a link to aseries of serial murders in Sweden to the missing Vanger girl. Flipping page bypage through Leviticus the code is cracked, Harriet wasn’t a victim she too wasa detective caught up in more than she bargained for. A similar position bothSalander and Blomkvist find themselves in after discovering the religiouswoman-killer. Bringing an answer to one of the many questions asked throughoutthe film, but not the most important one; what happened to Harriet?

If your heart wasn’t won over by the two minute animated oilintro, twisting and turning with vivid images of hands, eyes and bees. Then itsurely was won in Lisabeth’s first appearance. Mara’s delivery, presence andpresentation were all impeccable. Her verbal withdrawal from the scene was enticingand from that moment on, your heart had fallen for the obscurely beautifulwoman. If Mara hadn’t have playedLisabeth, the movie would have been far from phenomenal; her appearance andtalent were far more suited for such an avant garde role compared to NataliePortman, who was the original pick. In the devastating rape scene, Mara’sperformance had one gaping at the mouth and feeling the true pain of Lisabethherself. There was no doubt that Mara was talented, beautiful and powerful, butshe can’t have all the credit (even if she was the best part of the show).

Opposite the daring motor cycle riding beauty was the manhimself, Daniel Craig, deserving three rounds of applause for his impeccableacting job. His role as Blomkvist truly proved his versatile ability. Whetherit was natural chemistry or just his great acting, the on screen pairing ofSalander and Blomkvist was remarkable. Words cannot describe the emotionalconnection between the two both intellectually and physically. Though a trulyunique and intertwined couple, the movie’s ending proved the blond always gets theman. Erika Berger (Robin Wright), gave us our first glimpse at the secret lifeof Blomkvist, but also gave you reason to despise her. Evidently using him forpersonal gain (and sex), Berger’s intentions were never for ‘them’ only forher, even if stated otherwise.

Together with the super star cast was a qualified productionteam and working under the master director David Fincher (responsible directingfor film masterpieces such as Fight Club and The Social Network). Accompanyinghim was Fight Club and Social Network cinematographer, Jess Cronenworth, whohelped provide the cutting edge ‘Fincher’ feel to the movie. Full credit isgiven to the spine chilling original score, composed by Trent Reznor andAtticus Ross (also creating the award winning Social Network score). Togetherthey’ve proven “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” or in this case “if they stillwork, keep hiring them,” creating the stunning movie that may be regarded assome of Fincher’s best work.

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Really, I need her to write my reviews. She hasn't read the books so I can't say how the movie compares to the book though. Maybe some others who've done both can comment on that.

Movie Review (and more): The Artist

2012-01-11T18:38:00.002-05:00

So last night I had a date … with my kid. But that’s okay, because we had fun. She asked me to go to a movie, which was playing very near my work, so she came downtown and we had dinner first. We went to an Ethiopian restaurant we’d never been too. We ended up having the combo platter for two. In an Ethiopian restaurant there are no utensils. You simply rip off a chunk of the bread and scoop it up. The bread is rather like a thick crepe and we each got samples of: beef, lamb, chicken (which came with boiled eggs), red lentils, yellow lentils, green lentils and a cabbage/carrot mixture. I particularly loved the beef, red lentils and cabbage. My daughter liked the lamb, chicken and red lentils. This is what the tray looked like. HUGE. And they brought more bread even though the meal was on 4 large pieces. We were stuffed and while it was a bit messy eating with fingers, it was fun and delicious. And cheap. It was $23 for that big plate of food along with sodas.

Then we went to get our movie tickets. Because the movie theatre is an independent one, known for showing obscure movies not released in theatres or foreign films, it’s not got a big lobby like a multi-plex. So we got our ticket and had to stand out in the cold in line. But not for very long. The theatre was quite full as it’s the only place it’s playing. The only downside was the woman next to me had on a very strong perfume. I didn’t care for it anyway, but combined with that movie theatre popcorn smell. Ugh. And since the theatre is old, that butter smell has probably been there for 40 years. LOL I think my daughter was by far the youngest person there. Most people seemed over 60. But she’s very interested in film (wants to take film studies) and was intrigued by the concept, so I was happy to go with her even if her friends weren’t.

Anyway, the movie. It is very different, and has been nominated for six Golden Globes and has won, or been nominated for, several other awards, with the male star Jean Dujardin winning best actor at Cannes.

The lead character, George Valentin, is a huge star of silent films. However when talkies come in, he wants nothing to do with it, sure that’s it’s a fad. However soon he’s out of work and a young woman Peppy, who was an extra in a movie with him, is the darling of the talking cinema, and he’s spiraling down into depression. His wife leaves him, the stock market crash leaves him broke, and he’s a legend in his own mind only now. However he keeps running into Peppy, who has been in love with him for years, but it’s fairly one-sided. When he has a breakdown, and nearly kills himself setting his apartment on fire, he finds out she’s been the one buying his memorabilia to help him out, which stings his pride.

So it’s a pretty standard story, it’s well done, but not spectacular. What is, is the way the story is told. His life is a silent movie. The entire movie is done as a silent movie, about silent movies. :-) It’s black and white, there is no speaking, only music, and you see the words on the screen as you would in a silent movie. It’s a very intriguing concept. You don’t realize how much you rely on words and tone to convey what is happening, until there are none. The actors use overly dramatic movements in those old movies because there was no other way to convey if you were angry or sad or surprised.

They also don’t script every word on the screen. You do a fair bit of lip reading, and just imaging it from context. They meet on a staircase, and you can tell she is really excited and crushing on him, and she’s babbling on and you have no clue what she’s saying, but you don’t need to know. You can tell how she’s feeling just from the action on the screen and the music. So it was very a very cool concept. Also near the end, there is about 90 seconds of absolute silence. No music, nothing. You don’t get that in a movie. Movies are like radio, dead air is to be feared. And it was very weird. Suddenly you hear EVERYTHING in the theatre and you become very aware of yourself. You only really get to hear sound for about 90 seconds at the end, when the lead actor finally says two words on-screen (with the cutest French accent).

So I think it was innovative, or innovative for 2012. The lead actor was really very good at portraying a man who went from the top of his game, to as low as he could go. The one thing though, he always loved his dog. The dog was adorable and starred in his movies with him. The girl playing Peppy was also very good, her loving him from a distance was not over-done, but you knew. She was his biggest cheerleader, even when he wasn’t interested in having a cheerleader and was happy to wallow in self-pity. As well, James Cromwell as the faithful driver, and John Goodman (who has lost some weight) as the producer, were nicely played. On the whole it was a fun time, there were laughs combined with the drama and the costumes and sets from the late 20’s and early 30’s were fun.

Definitely worth a chance to see, however I doubt it will be at any of the big multiplexes (unless it wins a Golden Globe or Academy Award). I’ve put a clip below so you can get a feel for what it was like. If you get the chance, I’d say go and see it.

Holiday Catch Up

2012-01-08T22:27:00.003-05:00

So I'm still reading the odd holiday story. I do read holiday stories of all holidays year around so I'm sure these won't be the last.

Puppy, Car, and Snow by Amy Lane (90 pages)
Dreamspinner Press

Blurb: Ryan’s entire life changed the night Scott surprised him in a bathroom at a party. Now Ryan’s soulless climb up the corporate ladder has stalled—but his quality life has become a whirlwind of laughter, joy and surprises, thanks to Scotty’s playful, gentle heart.

After three years together, they’re going to Ryan’s parents’ cabin to spend Christmas. Snowed in by the weather and locked under the icy glare of his mother’s disapproval, can Ryan show he has found the most profound happiness in the simplest of things?

Review: It should be noted that there are several stories with this couple and it took me a while to figure that out because there is no mention of those stories on the blurb page. You don't NEED to have read them, but once I figured out who they were (I have read the others), it made more sense.

Ryan's family were okay with him being gay, they're just not okay with Scott. Ryan's highly driven mother has no respect for anyone whose primary purpose in life is not to claw their way to the top of the corporate ladder, and Scott is the antithesis of this, and Ryan loves him exactly that way. He knows exactly how his mother feels and is not above putting her in her place when necessary, although, she's smart enough to generally not say anything too snarky in front of him, however when she really gives Scott hell for "free-loading" on Christmas eve and Ryan's BIL spills the beans, Ryan makes it very clear to everyone how important Scott is to him.

The part I loved most about this whole story was Ryan's (and Scott's) absolute adoration of the other. Too often the family manages to cause the one guy to basically freeze and he allows them to treat his partner badly, but Ryan didn't. He was going to protect Scott no matter what. He wasn't ashamed he loved him, they were caught making out many times and he didn't care. He would keep his man emotionally safe at all cost and I really respected that attitude. It's how it should be and it was very romantic how it all ended.

My one bit of confusion was the BIL. He went from apparent homo-phobic jerk to their biggest cheerleader over a couple of days. I wasn't sure if the homophobia shtick was an act and he just needed to get to know Scott, or he had an epiphany, or what. I kept wondering if he'd been hit on the head by a Christmas tree or something since he seems to do an abrupt 180 on the relationship between the men.

Still, it was an absolutely adorable story without being too sappy sugary. A perfect feel-good story, although I still thing Ryan's got a horrible mother, even if she started to thaw slightly at the end.

Miracle of the Bellskis by Astrid Amara (110 pages)
Loose Id

Blurb: Too much family…too little Egg Nog.

It’s been three years since Seth Bellski forced his boyfriend and ex-boss Lars Varga out of the closet. Since then, Seth has passed the bar and become an attorney, and Lars has started his own firm. Their sex life has gotten steamier, and everything seems perfect between them. Until the holidays arrive.

It’s bad enough that Seth’s mother and father want them over every single night of Hanukkah. And that Lars’s less-than-tolerant parents are sleeping in the room next door for the duration of Christmas, putting the kibosh on their kink. They also end up as the attorneys representing opposing sides in a divorce case, one which quickly proves to be much more than it seems.

Amidst Hanukkah candles, Christmas lights, burned dinners and delayed court appointments, Lars and Seth’s relationship is going to need a miracle to survive the ultimate holiday challenge of too much family.

Review: We might have switched holidays to Hanukkah, but I just realized we have a theme with a bit of a switch. While in the last book they didn't mind him being gay, they hated his partner, in this one they are freaked that he's gay, although not that freaked by his partner, if they knew him.

This is the sequel to Carol of the Bellskis (wow, that was 2009) which I adored even if I wasn't certain Lars was the right guy for Seth. But it's been three years and things are going well. He's totally supportive of Seth's new career as a lawyer, he's out of the closet and not afraid to treat Seth as he deserves to be treated. However Lars' parents are coming to spend the holiday, and by chance Christmas overlaps with Hanukkah and now that Seth's parents have moved to Seattle, they expect him and Lars to spend the holiday with them.

Lars parents are the ice king and queen, his father taking every chance to cut Lars down, while Seth tries to deal with his needy parents and by chance the two men end up on opposite sides of a very weird divorce case, which gets out of control ending up with Lars in jail for contempt. I love Seth, he is such a laid back guy, he loves to lay around and do nothing, whereas Lars is the opposite. I also loved that Seth stood up to Lars' Dad and didn't let him criticize him because he also was no longer on the corporate law fast track.

I really enjoy Astrid Amara's holiday stories and this was no exception. Lots of humorous moments and some more serious and sweet ones. A nice holiday read that even though the holidays are over I still enjoyed.

My shoe fetish

2012-01-04T22:47:00.000-05:00

When most women talk about their shoe fetish, the image that pops into your head is this:

But when I'm talking shoe fetish, it's ... something that looks like my front hallway to be honest.

I'm the one, drunk in the gay bar, with a naked boy dancing over my head, his junk blowing in the wind, while I pet his sneakers and declare how cute they are. (Gets you hugs later, don't knock it.) I would wear sneakers every day if I could and probably wear them more often than I really should. Red are my favourite.

So I've been collecting some pictures of sneakers and thought I'd share them with y'all, since I got nothing else going on. Back to the office after vacation, thankfully the -29C weather is moving off and I'm adjusting to real life. Hope everyone is having a great first week of January.

My fave colour but mine are lowtop.

I had a pair of these, they wore out.

I have these but mine are cleaner. I don't look nearly as good wearing them either.

Little too blue for me, but he wears them well.

My daughter has these ones.

Maybe I need yellow ones?

And how about a little song about sneakers.

Connor's Journey, A Velvet Glove Story by Sean Michael

2012-01-03T06:00:00.000-05:00

Title: Connor's Journey, a Velvet Glove Story
Author: Sean Michael
Length: 139 pages
Publisher: Torquere Press
Genre: m/m futuristic BDSM

Blurb:

Connor attends a friend's pre-commitment send-off at the Velvet Glove, and he knows he's out of place, but is determined to enjoy his one night among the rich. Then he meets Desmond, a regular member, who wants to show him everything about being a sub if he'll take a five year contract. It beats his old job, but can he do the things Desmond wants him to?

Originally published on the Turn of the Screw serial service, and in print in Velvet Glove, Volume 1.

Review:

This was written as a serial and has pretty much just been put together, including chapter headings. For those not familiar with the Velvet Glove, it is a self-contained BDSM community/club set at some point in the future. Many people have apartments at the Velvet Glove and there are all kinds of services for the residents, most of them BDSM related. As the blurb notes, Connor is there for a friend's party, but he has no experience in BDSM at all, but the club part is pretty tame. However he's soon approached by Desmond and before Connor knows what hit him, he's getting a tour of the facility including seeing a whipping in progress and needless to say, he's a bit wigged out. So they head up to Desmond's apartment and within hours Desmond has gotten Connor to agree to a five year contract to be his sub, even though Connor has no clue what that entails. However Desmond "knows" that Connor will be a perfect sub.

The next several chapters chronicle Connor's adjustment to the lifestyle, including shopping for fancy clothes (Connor was a blue collar worker), learning about submission and pain and of course getting a tattoo and some piercings because what sub would be complete without them. There is also a commitment ceremony of his own as they soon discover they are made for each other and a collar appears.

There were some pretty obvious continuity errors. I even double checked and sure enough "they were both naked" and then ten minutes later he's undoing Desmond's pants. Umm. How did they get back on him? As well, Desmond has a rather odd method of speaking, rather formal and stilted and until he starts calling Connor, Lyum, he seems insistent on calling him by his first and last name. Connor Dean. It either kept annoying me as if his name was Billy Bob or something being called David Jones. "Come and sit by me David Jones." Huh? Connor always referred to himself just as Connor so I found it rather odd.

On the whole the BDSM is pretty light given that Connor is a newbie and Desmond doesn't want to freak him out too much. Connor's amazement at the life he now leads with perpetually rich Desmond was cute to observe, but the whole "I knew you were perfect for me the minute I saw you" thing kind of caused a bit of eye rolling. The BDSM equivalent of gaydar? There were a few cameos by other characters in the Velvet Glove universe, but none of them more than a fleeting glimpse save for the piercer/tattooist twins from Braided. I've not read too many of these stories, a few including Braided, but I'm not sure this was a must-read unless you are a real fan, but then most fans probably caught it the first time around.

Happy New Year Everyone

2012-01-01T16:40:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone had a good New Year's Eve and is not too hung over. I basically stayed home and got in a writing groove. I didn't even have a drink, mostly because I was too lazy to get one. :-) I had to go out at 2:00 and pick up my daughter and a friend anyway. I don't mind having a quiet time at home though. I have one more day off work and I can't believe how quickly the ten days passed. I could use another ten, or twenty. :-)

I'm not going to come up with any great resolutions because it's just too depressing when they all fall by the wayside, but January is a nice time to start fresh and put all the blerg of 2011 behind and move forward. So many of my friends had an awful year and I hope that 2012 will bring much more happiness and health and other good stuff. I will try and use the gym membership I paid for more, to eat healthier and actually get off my butt and submit some stories that are languishing.

Speaking of stories. (Wow, what a segue.) I posted another edition of my Halloween story over at Brief Encounters yesterday. You can download it free at Goodreads. Just click on the cover below.

End of Year blah blah blah

2011-12-28T20:49:00.001-05:00

So it's that time when everyone does their round-ups of this that and the other thing, so why should I be different right?

On the site statistics front:

The most popular post in 2011 was the one about cowboys. Naughty naughty readers. ;-)

Levi Poulter and "guys with long hair" are popular search terms. And really, why wouldn't they be?

Top 3 countries from which visitors stop by: US, Canada and UK.

Book stats as per Goodreads:

Number of books I've read (to date, may be a few more before the 31st): 444 (take into account I read a HUGE amount of short stories)

Number of pages read: 32,725 - My goal was 30,000 so I can't complain. If we translate that, it's 444 books of 73 pages each.

Ratings: The majority of the books are almost equally divided between 3 and 4 stars, 214 - 4 stars, 193 - 3 stars.

And how many 5 stars? 20 which is about 1.5 per month really. What were they you ask? I'm not saying these were necessarily my favourites, because some books I really enjoyed got 4 stars for a variety of reasons but I can only give 5 stars to so many, and I'm finding I'm more discerning as I read more. I've noticed authors are showing up more than once on my 5 star list. If you want to know what I said about these, you can find my reviews on Goodreads (aka I'm too lazy to link to all the reviews). So those books/authors were (in no particular order):

Ginn Hale - Lord of the White Hell #1 & #2 and Wicked Gentlemen

JL Merrow - Muscling Through and Hairy, Horny and Over Here

Josephine Myles - Barging In and Insta-Love

Anne Tenino - Whitetail Rock (FREE)

PD Singer - Prep Work

Jordan Castillo Price - GhosTV

KZ Snow - Mongrel

Vic Winter - Pearls Before Swine

Ryan Loveless - Off the Page

Vincent Diamond - Holding the Reins

ID Locke - Ermine & Bougainvillea

Clare London - How the Other Half Lives

Sue Brown - Prey Time

Eden Winters - The Match Before Christmas

Jay Lygon: Unbound: Bonded II

As a special mention, I am listing the last 12 Petit Morts books. I only have the pic for the last seven but it was an amazing series with great authors Jordan Castillo Price, Josh Lanyon, Sean Kennedy and Clare London. All of them were enjoyable and maybe not all of them were 5 star, but close enough for the whole series to merit a mention this year

Oh and I suppose on the publishing side, I had two of my own short published and thanks to all those who gave me support on those and are pushing me to get more submitted. Laziness, thy name is Tam.

Winterlude and The Santa Problem

Gravity by Sean Michael

2011-12-27T07:00:00.000-05:00

Title: Gravity (Hammer #12)
Author: Sean Michael
Length: 210 pages
Publisher: Torquere Press

Blurb:

It's never easy to run into an ex-lover, especially when the break-up was a bad one. That's exactly what happens to Hunter Barrister one evening at the Hammer, though, and he's more upset over seeing the amazingly beautiful Forrest Greune again than he ever thought he could be. When he finds out that Forrest is not only back in town for good, but wants to join the Hammer Club, board member Hunter balks and refuses to give his consenting vote.

Forrest, a now retired model, isn't the same flighty young thing he was when he and Hunter were together, and he wishes Hunter could just move on. When that doesn't happen, he finds himself amusing himself, elsewhere with disastrous results. Broken and injured, Forrest is surprised to find Hunter the one at his bedside, the one who sticks with him and offers support through everything.

Can Forrest and Hunter put their history behind them and be what they need for each other, or will guilt, fear and the past put an end to the relationship neither of them seem to be able to abandon?

Review:

This is rather typical of the Hammer series, although with less sex than usual, which is a good thing. Hunter is still hurting ten or so years later, because his soon-to-be-permanent sub Forrest, a model, cheated on him the night they were going to sign a contract. Out of the blue, Forrest shows up at the Hammer club applying for membership. Hunter vetoes it, because he's certain Forrest is just a flighty feckless jerk. However soon after Forrest is attacked by three men and badly injured, nearly dying. He is suffering from numerous stab wounds and his face is cut badly, along with rectal and throat tearing and his hands were smashed with hammer and are broken. Hunter realizes it was his fault because if he'd not banned Forrest from the club, he would have been there rather than out somewhere else he could get targeted, and finally admits he still loves him and intends to take care of Forrest and help him recover.

I said there was less sex than usual, because if Hunter had had the amazing healing cock, I would have been really annoyed. Forrest is deeply depressed and wishes he'd died in the attack. He was a model, although he'd just retired, and hates the scarring he now has, and has nightmares and emotional trauma he has to deal with daily. However Hunter continues to help gently push him back into the world. I don't think there is any sexual interaction between them for nearly 6 months or something close to that and Forrest is natural afraid he can never be sexual again and has many of the irrational fears that I think a victim of that type of attack would have.

I did find the middle dragged a bit, because not much happens. Forrest apologises a lot and Hunter says don't. Forrest freaks out asking for reassurance and Hunter gives it, over and over and over. While I think that's realistic, it does get a bit repetitive for a reader to see it play out over and over. There is no miracle cure. Forrest's hands will never work properly again, he has trouble holding a wine glass or opening buttons, he'll always have emotional issues probably, but I think that fit rather than just "whee, now you're okay".

For those who like Jack and Oliver, Jack is Forrest's friend and they spend some kinky time at the beach house toward the end of the book. So it's certainly not sex-free, but it makes sense in the context of what happened. The description of his attack is really awful and it comes up in bits and pieces as Forrest reveals more and you find out there was more to the whole cheating incident than Hunter knew all those years ago, leading to a big ugly mess at the end. But on the whole I thought it was some of the more realistic portrayals of someone who has been attacked. Totally realistic? I can't say, I've never known anyone who endure that, nor thankfully had to myself, so perhaps not perfect, but there was no magical cure. Also unlike some Hammer books where the crime plot is rather ignored, this one does come to a head at the end when Forrest has to face his abusers, so it wasn't just brushed under the rug in favour of the relationship.

One of the better Hammer stories I've read lately (if a bit repetitive at times), but if the whole attack thing makes you uneasy, while it's not described in detail, it doesn't really pull any punches and his emotional reaction is quite visceral on the page so it may be a factor for some readers.

Merry Christmas to All

2011-12-24T10:20:00.001-05:00

Christmas is here. Wow. How the year has flown by. It didn't really feel like Christmas for us, because until yesterday, we didn't have a lick of snow. Now we have just enough to cover the grass so it looks mostly white outside, and is definitely Christmas temps. It's -15C this morning. Brrr.

The gifts are all wrapped, at least mine are - don't think my kid is finished, the tree is decorated, the food is bought. I have to do some tidying up today and I'm working on some laundry I've been letting go, but it will be a lazy day for us and I hope we won't have to go anywhere. That is my intention. I'm also looking forward to being off work until January 3.

I wish all of my friends a most wonderful holiday, whatever you celebrate, and if you celebrate nothing at all then have a super weekend. :-) I have appreciated all the support I've received from everyone this past year and you are the best friends a girl could ask for, whom I may or may not ever meet in real life.

Love you all and may these little elves put something special under the tree for you this year. ;-)

Authorly/Readerly Stuff

2011-12-23T03:30:00.000-05:00

So I was thinking yesterday, as I was writing something, how much my emotional state affects not only what I'm in the mood to read, but what kind of drivel turns up on the page.

I'm going through some rather stressful (if idiotic) stuff at work (with the complete backing of my immediate managers thankfully), but that combined with PMS means that what I wrote the last two days is totally angsty and I cried while I wrote it. LOL Definitely not my usual light fluffy ha ha stuff. I mean it's not like the guy is undergoing torture and abuse, but I know at certain times I write much more emotionally angsty stuff. Last fall, when my job was REALLY bad and I actually filled a prescription for an anti-depressant (which I ended up not taking), I wrote something quite long, several hundred pages that was an emotional train wreck and did involve memories of childhood abuse. (Which I never suffered so don't panic.) When I'm feeling good, it's all light and fluffy and fun.

When I feel like this though, I want to read light and fluffy and fun. The last thing I want to do is ADD to it when I'm feeling emotionally rather "fragile" for lack of a better word. It's like writing it down gets it out, but I don't want to read it which would bring someone else's emotional angst in, and compound it. At times I have plenty and don't need any more. Thanks anyway purveyors of angst. ;-)

So authors, do you find yourself writing different emotional types of stories depending on your own emotions or can you pretty keep an even keel? When you guys read, do you tend to wallow and read stories that have a similar tone to your mood, or do you read something that is the opposite, for example better able to handle a dark emotional story when you are in a good mood and life is going well?

I may have to rewrite this little story when I'm a better mood, because the tone of this little trilogy is getting darker and more serious and not likely what people want/expect.

Have a great Friday. Two more sleeps until Christmas. Guess I should wrap some of those gifts huh?

Random Stuff Again

2011-12-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

So we finally got our tree up on the weekend. Whew. Of course the new string of lights I bought was the wrong type so I had to get dressed Sunday morning and go and get another string which seemed to come with a wreath, tree topper and bows. :-D Ooops. I think it looks good, although we can't use tinsel or we just have to run around dragging it out of the cats' mouths. Not healthy for them.

What else is going on? (Click on the pictures)

Go to Cocky and Rude and check out Michelle's "12 Days of Whatever". I'm riding a reindeer y'all!

There is also the voting going on for the readers' choice awards at the m/m group on Goodreads. Click on the button below to take you to a VERY long poll. I'm actually amazed how many of the books nominated I HAVEN'T read. It's crazy. So many books, not enough time.

You can win a copy of I'll be home for Christmas by Alex Whitehall over at Brief Encounters. Jenre reviewed it here. It's an historical Christmas romance. Stop by and leave a comment.

Dreamspinner is having lots of goodies for the next 12 days.

Dec. 20 - 30% off all historicals
Dec. 21 - Free copy of Infected: Prey by Andrea Speed
Dec. 22 - 30% off all Westerns
Dec. 23 - Free copy of Bounty of Love by Scotty Cade
Dec. 24 - 30% off all Mystery Suspense

Looks like some good deals there. I'm definitely picking up the Bounty of Love and will check out some mysteries.

I should be finishing my shopping today. Knock on wood. Both things I need to get are in stores about a block or two from where I have a meeting at lunch so my plan is to go 20 min early, run and pick them up and then be FINISHED! Except for wrapping.

Hope everyone is having a great week and are nearly final prep for the holiday if you celebrate.

Daddy, Daddy & Me by Sean Michael

2011-12-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

Title: Daddy, Daddy & Me
Author: Sean Michael
Length: 200 pages
Publisher: Torquere Press

Blurb:

When Jeff agreed to be the sperm donor to his best friend Beth, he never expected a tragedy to leave his newborn and three year old motherless. That's exactly what's happened, though, and it's totally thrown his life into chaos: his lover has left him, his house isn't anywhere near childproof and his boss feels the restaurant has been patient enough with the time off.

Donny has always known he wanted to be in childcare, and he just finished his degree in early childhood education. He didn't count on people being less than thrilled to hire him when they find out that not only is he a male nanny, but a gay one at that. Job hunting has been frustrating to say the least, so when he knocks on Jeff's door and is greeted by the sounds of things breaking and a pair of screaming children, he thinks, just maybe, he can begin this particular interview with a trial by fire.

Becoming the nanny to Jeff's children just might be a dream come true for Danny, and exactly what Jeff needs, but are either one of them ready to really be a family?

Review:

The story jumps right into the chaos here, with Donny arriving to find a disaster in the making, however he quickly takes control and gets things settled down before he can even be interviewed. Jeff is completely exhausted and frazzled and is happy to hand things over to the more experienced Donny and pretty much hires him on the spot. Before long they are getting into a routine, although Jeff works until very late because of his restaurant job, however on his days off he tries to spend as much time with the kids as possible and often invites Donny to be a part of family outings. Before long ... well, you guessed it. The two men are having fun after the kiddies are in bed and then .... the ex comes back, wants Jeff to dump the kids and let him come back or at the very least give him half of the dream house they lived in, but that Jeff bought and built.

When on a weekend away, the house burns to the ground, Jeff completely loses it and Donny is forced to pick up the pieces again as Jeff spirals into a depression. While I thought these two moved a little fast, I think it was within a couple of weeks (hard to say as it's not spelled out - at most a month), and Jeff had only broken up with his lover of seven years, it didn't bother me too much. It sort of seemed natural given that they spent all of their time together outside of Jeff's work. I rather enjoyed the fact that while Jeff was older and supposedly more stable with a job doing something he was very good at, when the pressure came, it was younger Donny who stepped up and put on the big girl panties and did what needed to be done, while Jeff flailed around emotionally.

I didn't find the kids overwhelmed the story as can happen sometimes. The little guy had tantrums, and they got thrown up on, although I have no idea anymore how a 3 year old really talks or behaves (my how quickly we parents block it out LOL) but I didn't find the kids intrusive to the romance, which would have been a bit sweet perhaps if Jeff hadn't had his breakdown and Donny had to give him a metaphorical kick in the ass. On the other hand, the kids weren't ignored in the story until convenient, they interrupted sex, they ended up in bed with them, they got sick, it was what most parents of small kids deal with while trying to keep a relationship as a couple.

There were some nice female characters in Jeff's sister who was freaked out by kids, and also the kids' grandmother who quickly accepted Donny and didn't have a problem with Jeff having custody after her daughter died. So that's a pleasant change, although the psycho vindictive ex is rather cliche.

One thing I'd not come across, was when Donny told Jeff he was gay, Jeff said "you're family" and then later the gay couple who ran the B&B they stayed at said they wanted to sell it to "family". Is that a new thing, to call the gay community family? Am I just out of the loop on that? I'd just never seen it before and at first I was confused that somehow Donny and Jeff were related.

Still, if you liked stories with kids and or the boss/nanny trope, it was an easy enjoyable read.

Oops, I forgot ...

2011-12-18T17:51:00.001-05:00

Cryselle posted a pic on her "1000 Word Thursday" post which reminded me of my Christmas story The Santa Problem. You can click on the inspirational picture for a little x-rated excerpt from the story.

Thanks Cryselle for the opportunity to promote my story and your inspirational pic of course. :-)

Guest Posting & Give-Away at Keira Andrews Today

2011-12-17T09:00:00.001-05:00

Hey guys. I'm over at Keira Andrews' place today talking about which Santa songs my guys Lane and Gavin would enjoy. You can also tell me your favourite song and win a copy of The Santa Problem as well. So come on by. Just click on the banner.

There are lots of other posts this month as well that have give-aways, so surf around her site and see what else you can win.

Have a great weekend. I will get my tree up today, I will.

Change on the Fly by Stephani Hecht

2011-12-16T07:00:00.000-05:00

Title: Change on the Fly (Blue Line Hockey #5)
Author: Stephani Hecht
Length: 104 pages
Publisher: eXtasy Books

Blurb:

From a very young age, Aldrich knew two things: he'd grow up to play professional hockey and he'd make his mentor fall in love with him. After years of hard work, both are within his grasp. Not only has a professional team called him up from his farm club, but the man he's dreamed of for years has finally noticed him.

Then everything is brutally torn from him when he suffers a career-ending injury and finds himself dumped before the relationship has even really started. Depressed, he retreats to his childhood home, where he runs into his former best friend and hockey buddy, Nobel. They rekindle their friendship and grow closer...in more ways than one. Aldrich is shocked to realize that, not only has he been overlooking what could be the best thing in his life, but love may always have been right in his own backyard.

Review:

I read this some time ago but it seems more relevant with all of the news lately about hockey injuries, the young man who died and it seems his brain is so damaged (possibly from playing hockey) that he likely would have had dementia in middle age, Sidney Crosby who has not played in nearly a year due to a severe concussion and who is not playing yet again due to symptoms and other players who are starting to question if their health is due to injuries sustained "on the job". Not all have the tragic outcome that Aldrich had in this story, of severe medical problems following the injury, but it happens and likely if the player is not super-famous, they just disappear and no one thinks about them again, except their family and friends who put back he pieces.

In this case I really liked that Aldrich did not have any miracle cure. Nobel did not possess the magical healing cock of some romance novels. He would always have impediments as a result of his injury, he'd never be normal, he'd certainly never play hockey again. I also loved that Nobel didn't care. He liked Aldrich, he wasn't ashamed to be out and about with him in public or to acknowledge them as a couple which I think Aldrich needed to see that his life was not over, just very different.

Aldrich's sister was quite the girl with her pink house, and Nobel's flamboyant younger brother was a character who I hope we'll see again. But for those who want a romantic story that includes a darker side of hockey, of those who've had their dreams completely ripped away forever after spending their entire lives, literally fighting for it, it broke my heart a bit, but Nobel was there to help him adapt to his new life. So I think a very timely story these days, with a lovely happy ending as all this author's stories do.

Release Day!

2011-12-14T07:38:00.000-05:00

Hey all, it's happy release day for my Christmas short. You can pick it up at Torquere for the low price of $2.49. :-) I am also spending the day popping in and out of the Torquere Social LiveJournal today. I am going to be talking about Santa. Santa on TV, Santa in movies, Santa in song and of course, Santa in underwear. Ahem. Check in and out during the day and anyone who leaves a comment will be eligible to win a pdf copy.

The Santa Problem

Lane woulddo most anything to make his live-in love Gavin happy, but this is takingthings too far. Just because Gavin can’t find someone to play Santa at hisoffice building, doesn’t mean it’s Lane’s problem too. But Gavin can be verypersuasive when he wants his way, and Lane may be taking on more than he canhandle in order to keep his man content.

High Scores - The winner is ....

2011-12-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

So one day, for no apparent reason, I decided to see which authors I have given the highest ratings on Goodreads. I decided I had to have rated at least 8 books, because just having one book with 5 stars skews things. So everyone on my list I've read at least 8, possibly more depending on the author if they had something in an anthology or a freebie somewhere I may have missed.

So who are my high scorers? (in ascending order) *drum roll*

Amy Lane - 10 books - 4.0 average

Lynn Lorenz - 12 books - 4.0 average

Josh Lanyon - 18 books - 4.05 average

James Buchanan - 8 books - 4.12 average

K.A. Mitchell - 8 books - 4.12 average

Eden Winters - 8 books - 4.12 average

KZ Snow - 16 books - 4.31 average

Sean Kennedy - 11 books - 4.36 average

AND THE HIGH SCORE GOES TO ...

Jordan Castillo Price - 32 books - 4.43 average

So what does this mean? Nothing much I suppose, but I think my scores line up pretty securely with authors who have a reputation for being superior writers. Oddly enough all of the stories I used covers from have not been added to my scores yet. In fact I've only read one of them. Must get on that.

To practical for my own good?

2011-12-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I wonder if I'm too practical for my own good. Most of the time when I'm reading I can let stuff go and not even really think about it, and then I start obsessing on something and want to tell myself to get a grip.

Case in point. I read a Christmas story which I actually really liked. I'm going to do a review of, and when you read this you'll think, OMG, horrible, but it wasn't. I even reread it later that day because I enjoyed it but ....

My kids is great for letting me vent on this stuff. So the guy gets back to work and has an important meeting thus, making him very late (after midnight Christmas Eve - Christmas morning?) to get to the love interest's place, and because of the second blizzard he had to abandon his car in a snowbank and walk the last little bit.

My first reaction: OMG, what if he had died trying to get home in a blizzard on Christmas Eve? They could sue his company for forcing him to work when there were unsafe conditions. That's just irresponsible.

So later in the car I get caught up in the whirlwind. Okay, they made him stay late because there was an issue with an article in a trade magazine that they had to fix right away because the video game was coming out. Wait. Magazines don't print on Christmas day. What are you going to do at 10:00 at night on Christmas Eve.

My kid then says: Well, they had to get the game out. Noooo. I could understand if it was a game release. Hell those people pull 4 days straight to get the game to market. He was a marketing guy dealing with a magazine who was not going to get his message until the 26th at the earliest. Did they REALLY need to stay in a blizzard and risk their employees lives? Seriously? (Notice how I'm spiraling into practicality here?)

So my remark to the kid: I expect reality in my books. Her reply: It's a fantasy. Me: No it's not. Her with a dose of sarcasm: It is now. Smart ass.

As I said, I really enjoyed the story, the relationship between the two guys was smokin' hot with a BDSM edge and it was the geek and the smooth guy and at the time when I read it, save for the "OMG, he could have died" moment I never even noticed the other, and then I start obsessing.

So do you get caught up in that or can you let it go? Most of the time I don't even notice, but sometimes I think I'm out of control with my practical side. "Normal people wouldn't do that." "Clothing stores aren't open at 10:00 on Christmas Eve." and so on and so on and so on. :-/

What's going on around the net in my little world

2011-12-07T07:00:00.000-05:00

So I got nuthin'. Haven't been reading much, well nothing but shorts as I attempt to feel like I'm on top of the Christmas shorts at BER. It's an illusion but it makes me happy. In addition to the promo at Keira Andrews that I posted about yesterday, there is some other stuff happening around the blogosphere believe it or not.

At Reviews by Jessewave there is a "favourite author" contest as chosen by readers. You can go and vote for your fave author. You have the choice of:

Josh Lanyon
Marie Sexton
Abigail Roux
Abigail Roux/Madeleine Urban
Jordan Castillo Price
J.L. Langley
K.A. Mitchell

There is a little poll on the right hand side. Just click your fave and voila.

Also at Wave's, any author who has not yet done so, can donate books to the great Christmas give-away. A great way to thank our readers and show our appreciation. Just leave your e-mail and what you would like to donate (hard copy or e-books) in a comment under the post. I don't envy Lynn who is trying to keep it all straight.

You can win a copy of my new Christmas short The Santa Problem coming next week over at Stumbling Over Chaos, just stop by and leave your name. Chris always has tons of give-aways so snoop around and enter your name for more great books.

KZ Snow is over at Jadette Paige's blog today talking about her new novel The Zero Knot (of which I am now the proud owner of a signed cope - twirls in glee). Stop by and read a never before seen excerpt and say hi to KZ.

For those following Stephani Hecht et al's plans to develop the Safe Reading Zone, the site is almost up and running. You can pick up a button there to place on your own site and people of all persuasions will know your blog is a safe place for them and there will be lots of resources at the new site to help people and also to let it be known that you are there as a friendly ear when they feel there is no one to listen and understand. If you would like to join the m/m authors and bloggers already on-board just give Stephani a shout and she'll hook you up.

Do you have a thing for parakeets? Not a thing thing, just like them. My friend Michelle M's little boy Cooper has his own blog now. Michelle is very funny and Cooper is adorable and smart. Stop by and check out his stuff at Cooper's Corner.

Over at Joyfully Jay you can win a copy of LA Witt's new book Search Me. Just leave a comment before Friday night.

My friend Polt does a hilarious Christmas video every year. This year with some special cameos. The best part sometimes is the out-takes after. Good stuff.

Speak Its Name is doing an advent event (hmmm, odd moniker I've given it). And our own Jenre was behind yesterday's door. Stop by and check out all the posts. You can win all kinds of prizes and goodies.

For those who were fans of Thorny's posts, he's back on a lovely new blog being himself and sharing his life with those of us out here in bloglandia.

Kris asked who some of your new favourite reviewers are that you found this year. Either official or someone on GR that you find you share similar tastes with.

My friend David just got the lead in a new musical his community theatre group is doing in New York City, Utopia, Unlimited. The production is late April so if you'd like to check out a great show (and David is a great performer as we got a chance to see him perform two years ago when we were in NY purely by chance) mark the dates on your calendar. It's a Gilbert & Sullivan musical so you know it will be good fun and sounds sharply witty given the current political climate.

Smexy and Fiction Vixon have a promo where you can win a Kindle Fire. I think you have to answer a bunch of questions and know your m/f, but if that's your thing as well, check it out.

And really people. Do you not follow Cakewrecks yet? If not, what are you waiting for. Haiku day with radio active tampons. You can't lose.

Something else good for a laugh is Damn You Auto Correct. Warning. Do NOT check out this site at work or in a quiet space where others are around you. Stifling laughter is not healthy. I love the ones where something is accidentally said in a typo, only to be revealed as true. Like pregnancies accidentally revealed or vice-versa, people excited about reveals which were only typos. Ouch. My stomach hurts.

The largest Ikea in Canada is opening in my city today. They expect 17,000 insane people to show up there today. Ack! I'll give it a month to settle down. It has 400,000 square feet, spread over two floors, it will feature 55 decorated room settings (the old store only has 15) and a restaurant with seating for 640. Swedish meatballs anyone? The new store will now carry all 9,500 products the Swedish retailer sells. The first person in the door wins a $10,000 gift certificate. Wonder how many days that first person has been glued to the doors refusing to move?

So that's it. Have a great hump day!

Make the Yultide Gay Blog Event

2011-12-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

Starting today, the lovely Keira Andrews is hosting a bunch of authors with Christmas stories at her blog over the next three weeks, including your's truly on December 17. I'll repost that day with link to remind ya'll, but if you click on the banner up top you can get to her blog and read the posts form the other authors. There will be some give-aways and interesting posts and maybe some excerpts and lots of fun Christmas shenanigans.

The authors stopping by in addition to me are: (in random order as I don't have the full schedule yet)

Berengaria Brown

GR Richards

Jaxx Steele

JM Cartwright

Kayelle Allen

Matthew Lang

PD Singer

Samantha Kane

Silvia Violet

Sloan Parker

ZA Maxfield

Keira Andrews

Someone Special by TC Blue

2011-12-05T07:00:00.000-05:00

Title: Someone Special
Author: TC Blue
Length: 209 pdf pages
Publisher: Torquere Press

Blurb:

Gracen loves Christmas. It's his favorite time of the year. So much so that he works as a mall photographer for the season, taking pictures of children with Santa. There's something about seeing all those happy families that he finds satisfying, which may be slightly odd since he's so very alone, himself.

Working three jobs is never fun, but when Jesse takes a part time position as a greeter elf at Santa's Workshop in the mall, he meets Gracen and realizes that maybe job number three isn't that bad, after all. The handsome photographer appeals to him, even with all Jesse's family issues.

Two lonely men, one Santa's Workshop, elf costumes, curl-toed shoes and a camera. They aren't exactly a recipe for finding that someone special… except maybe they are.

Review:

This is a super sweet Christmas story that some people may find a bit sugary at the end. Gracen and Jesse meet at their mall jobs and Jesse bites the bullet and asks Gracen out. He doesn't really expect much, but is surprised by how much he likes Gracen and that he is a truly nice guy. It soon comes to light that Jesse's mother suffered from schizophrenia and snapped and killed his father, and now Jesse is just counting the days until he also comes down with the diseases, hence he works several jobs to allow his younger sister to attend university to become a lawyer.

Eventually, Gracen finds a way to break through Jesse's walls and perhaps find the a solution to his fears. My biggest issue was I was so frustrated with Jesse. He had access to google. For one thing there was little chance he would snap and go from perfectly normal to full blown schizophrenia. Also while it can be hereditary, it often manifests itself in the late teens I thought and he's now 25 with no signs whatsoever. He's never seen a doctor about it, he completely kept his fears from his sister who had as much of a chance of coming down with it as he did. Should she not have been on the look-out for signs of schizophrenia? And not all schizophrenics flip out and kill people. Many live pretty normal lives. So I thought his whole reason for never getting close to anyone, including Gracen was kind of lame.

He worked as a bagger at an overnight grocery store making minimum wage, but turned down a better paying job with benefits at the mall because ... no clue. Did he think he was going to flip out and kill a customer? Just as much of a chance of doing that at a grocery store. He would have medical coverage if he did get ill but he refused it. So I was very frustrated with Jesse who seemed unwilling to deal with his fears in any rational way at all and was basing his reactions on myth and fiction. I am also getting a bit frustrated with characters who refuse to take any help from anyone for any reason. I realize it's to show a strong independent streak and being mature and self-reliant, but when that kind of behaviour is actually harmful to your family or yourself? Then it's just dumb and no longer noble.

I liked Gracen and Jesse together when he wasn't coming up with half-baked ideas as to why they couldn't be together and Gracen's agent and best friend Alonzo was quite funny, especially once he met up with Jesse's snarky sister. The sex was hot and at times romantic, but I did get a bit frustrated with Jesse's behaviour and it got a bit sweet at the end, but that's something that I can live with more than some people. So when you need sweet and uplifting, it's a good Christmas story.

Oh and I have to say I'm in love with that big S on the cover.

The Closer You Get by L.A. Witt

2011-12-02T18:03:00.000-05:00

Title: The Closer You Get
Author: L.A. Witt
Length: 170 pages
Publisher: Samhain

Blurb: Sequel to The Distance Between Us

Self-described manwhore Kieran Frost is loving the single life. Two years after moving to Seattle, he still has his friends with benefits, Rhett and Ethan, plus a never-ending supply of gorgeous, available men wandering through the bar where he works. A relationship? Spare him the drama and heartbreak. He’s got no complaints about his unattached lifestyle.

When Rhett’s daughter introduces him to newly-out-of-the-closet Alex Corbin, Kieran’s interest perks up. After all, the quiet ones are always the freaks in bed. But Alex isn’t just shy and reserved. He’s a virgin in every sense of the word, having never even kissed anyone else.

Kieran is no one’s teacher, and his first instinct is to run like hell in the other direction. But his conscience won’t let him throw the naïve kid to the wolves for someone else to take advantage of. The plan is to introduce Alex to his own sexuality, pull him out of his shell, then go their separate ways.

It’s the perfect, foolproof plan…assuming no one falls in love.

Review:

I confess I have not read the first story in this series, but you really don't need to in order to enjoy this one. Enough of the history from that first book is explained to make it clear. Kieran is immediately intrigued with Alex, although he's stunned the guy is a total virgin at the age of 21. Usually Kieran stays away from virgins but he likes Alex and fears that he'll hook up with someone who could hurt him, so he decides to help "educate" him about being gay in Seattle.

There is lots of fun stuff like a trip to the sex toy store and bars. Although I did wonder that Alex claimed to have never watched porn. Yes, when he lived at home he didn't want anyone to find out, but he's been in Seattle for a year and it's not like internet porn isn't rampant and free. However, putting that aside, I have to say that the build-up to sex is "whoa hot" in this. Wow, the first kiss is smoking and you just want to see more. Although you never get into Alex's head, it is rather fun to hear Kieran who's a bit like an eager puppy but trying to keep it cool and not freak out Alex.

There is a whole sub-story of Kieran's father's wedding and dealing with his mother who has not gotten over the divorce and Kieran's disgust with his father's cheating, which explains in part his refusal to have a "relationship". There was the separation thing, but it was short-lived so didn't annoy me as it wasn't dragged out. All in all, if you are in the mood for a super-steamy story it's a great choice.

I will likely go back and read the first one, I know some people had issues and it's not on some moral grounds I've not read it, I just never did and this one grabbed my attention. I think fans of the first book will also enjoy the epilogue for this one greatly.

One Year Together

2011-12-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

It's been one year since Jen and I joined in holy blogrimony and we started Brief Encounter Reviews, which is devoted to reviewing short stories in the m/m genre. It's been a fun year where we've gone from a monogamous twosome of reviewers, to more of a polyamourous love-in with five of us now. So stop by the blog to read a recap of the past year and our impressions of one year of happily ever after.

Winter Warmers Anthology

2011-11-30T07:00:00.000-05:00

Title: Winter Warmers
Authors: Chrissy Munder, Clare London, JL Merrow, Josephine Myles, Lou Harper
Length: 126 pages
Publisher: Pink Squirrel

Blurb:

Baby, it's cold outside! Beat the chill with Winter Warmers - a seasonal anthology

Mulled wine. Butterscotch kisses. Hideous sweaters. Candy at the beach, or a trip to a sex shop in Amsterdam. And the man of your dreams, wrapped around you...

Winter warmers come in many shapes and sizes, from the tongue-in-cheek to the hot-as-hell. Enjoy a quintet of heart-warming tales of men loving men from Clare London, Chrissy Munder, JL Merrow, Josephine Myles, and Lou Harper that are guaranteed to leave you with a smile on your face.

One thing's for sure—it's going to be a red-hot Christmas!

Review:

This is going to be an abbreviated look at each story saying what I liked about it.

Lucky Dip - Clare London: A story of a grade school teacher who is forced to work with his ex (the uncle of a student) to prepare for the Christmas carnival. They manage to get locked in a storage closet for the night, complete with bottles of wine and mince pies where the ex gets a chance to explain his behaviour. I really liked that while it all worked out over the night, Andy didn't give in easily to a second chance. He made him grovel and seriously was ready to move on. I get frustrated when one guy just say "gee sorry" and the other goes "okay". Nooooo. Groveling is good. Lots of fun descriptions of the kids preparing for the fair with a good dose of humour.

Butterscotch Kisses - Chrissy Munder: A man dumped by his bf because of his fear of heights and refusal to go on the toboggan run, is determined to conquer his fear, if it means showing up every day and paying to climb a little more each day. Flirting with the ticket sales guy with the funky hats is just a bonus. When he's rescued by hat boy, they finally get a chance to talk. It was a very cute story and I felt for Matthew who suffered from dyslexia as well and felt that he couldn't live up to the "perfection" that was his twin brother, but was determined to beat this one thing. The hats were amusing.

Wintertide - Lou Harper: Escaping noisy neighbours, Jem sees a sexy older guy on the pier. They flirt and end up at sexy guys place, although later after waking Jem sees pics of another guy and figures he's with a cheater, but Oscar tracks him down and explains it his lover who died and they decide to try dating. This story had one of my hot buttons, BIG age gap. Oscar was 45+ and Jem was not yet 21. Long term viability? I find it hard to buy into that. If I look at in a "for a period of time that works for them" maybe. I just tried not to think about the numbers much. Well written and I'm sure others won't mind the gap at all.

When in Amsterdam - Josephine Myles: An interracial couple head to Amsterdam to spend Christmas with Jos' parents. Brandon is first freaked out by all the pieten he sees in the store windows (little black elves who help Santa) and he's also feeling self-conscious about the fact that Jos is into BDSM and he's very vanilla. However taking shelter in a sex store from the rain, maybe he's not quite as vanilla as he thought and could give Jos what he needs. This was more sexy and intense and a while not angsty or serious, not so light as the others. Seeing vanilla Brandon explore his Dom side was very interesting and hot.

A Pint of Beer, a Bag of Chips and Thou - JL Merrow: Liam, who lives with his mum and two aunts who are witches, spends his evenings playing his saxophone in the metro to earn cash. Everyday he sees an older man but they never talk. His family is eager to get him mated off but end up knitting him a variety of odd items they insist on wearing. A hat that covers his mohawk, a long Dr. Who scarf and a god awful cardigan. Each item seems to bring him closer to meeting his crush, the cardigan being the last piece of the puzzle. I snickered many times reading this. The hat that looked like he had a tea cozy on his head and the references to Dr. Who were very funny. Even though there was another big age difference, maybe because they only spent the evening together I didn't feel the same squick factor. *shrug* Who knows with me.

Anyway, these stories are all fun reads, all have a light hand with humourous moments, although some are more outright funny and others less so, but when you're in the mood for something that leaves you feeling light and positive about the season it's a great selection. All of these authors are ones I can rely on to give me a good story with strong writing and appealing characters, so you can't go wrong with this collection.

Island Affair by Cait Miller

2011-11-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

Title: Island Affair
Author: Cait Miller
Length: 90 pages
Publisher: Ellora's Cave

Blurb: When Robin decides to spend his vacation at a gays-only resort on a beautiful island to escape from his suffocating hometown, falling in love wasn’t on the agenda. John is handsome and unashamed and Robin finds himself swept away. However, the enigmatic Scotsman harbors a dangerous secret.

Their island affair explodes with a passion neither man expected. As they realize something stronger is blossoming between them, events conspire to separate them and both men are irrevocably changed. Robin returns home to pick up the pieces of his life, slipping back into the small-town closet and putting the island behind him. John has other ideas, but staying together might be the least of their worries.

Reality has a way of making you work for your happily ever after.

Review:

John and Robin's relationship starts off with a bang, as John's attempt to keep Robin from falling in the pool means he cracks his own head on the edge and nearly drowns. Not an auspicious start, however John is fascinated by the young man who turns out to be much less experienced and shy than John, however before long they're spending their time together in and out of bed at the resort. John finally has to explain why he has four body guards. Seems he stopped a crime in progress and now is in protective custody until he can testify against the crime boss who ordered the hit. He hates it, but Robin's presence on the island helps distract him, however before long it's time for him to head back, leaving Robin who tells him it was only an island fling and it's over as he's not prepared to step out of the closet in his small Texas town.

At the last minute Robin changes his mind but it's too late, however Dan, the body guard promises to tell John, but the men after John don't give up and when they see Robin wearing John's shirt, well, it doesn't go well for Robin. However John doesn't find out any of this until weeks later after the trial because Dan kept it secret and John goes to find Robin and made amends.

I really enjoyed John and Robin together. John is from Scotland originally although living in New York now and I swear I could hear his accent. It was written with just enough "accent on the page" to let you hear it without being impossible to read as sometimes accents are written. He's older and more experienced than Robin but the passion and sex between them was very hot. I also liked the fact that they had to deal with the residual effects of the attack on Robin, including epileptic attacks. It wasn't just happy happy no problems when they got back together, also dealing with the homophobic small town was part of the challenge.

The only thing that kind of threw me off was Robin was often referred to as Rob. I know it's a personal thing but I've never known anyone named Robin who went by Rob. I associate that with Robert. *shrug* Personal thing. I know this is the author's first m/m as she's published several m/f stories but I think she did a fine job and I liked both characters a great deal.

New Release - The Santa Problem - December 14

2011-11-25T07:00:00.000-05:00

So I finished this little story on the way to and from New Orleans last month, so I guess I can thank the city for contributing to my success. But no scenes of drunken bar crawls included. :-) It will be released by Torquere on December 14. There's not a buy page for it yet. I just finished edits on the weekend so when I'll post the info on the release day.

The Santa Problem

Boats in the Night by Josephine Myles

2011-11-23T19:23:00.000-05:00

Title: Boats in the Night
Author: Josephine Myles
Length: 150 pages
Publisher: Smashwords

Blurb:

Like two ships passing in the night—if one was a narrowboat and the other a luxury yacht.

Disgraced private school teacher Giles Rathbourne has been sent home on extended sick-leave and is stuck in a rut of obsessive housework and drinking. His ex may have been a snobbish bastard, but without him, Giles is adrift, rattling around his huge, lonely house. When a dreadlocked narrowboater’s engine breaks down at the end of his canal-side garden, Giles is furious at this invasion of his privacy—for a while.

Smutty might not have ever held down a proper job, but the fire-dancing, free-spirited traveller can recognise an opportunity for mutual benefit when he sees it. Giles’ extensive gardens are in as desperate need of attention as the upper-class hunk is himself, whereas Smutty knows a thing or two about plants and needs a place to moor up.

A simple business arrangement between two men who have nothing else in common? It would be—if they could keep their hands off each other!

Review:

For those readers who were fascinated by the long-boat culture in Barging In will enjoy this second foray into the experience, although most of the action takes place off-boat. Giles' life kind of sucks. His ex left him and after a drunken flip-out on his students he's been put on administration leave. He spends his days obsessively cleaning and his nights drinking himself to sleep. He's not impressed when the freaky guy in the long boat ends up at the end of his garden, although really, the boat is broken, what can he do, besides basically tell him to move along. However despite his better judgment he's kind of curious about the flame haired supposed fire dancer, and ends up going for a visit that evening, which turns into more than a visit.

I'll be honest. At first Giles is damned annoying. He has this habit of putting his foot in it more often than not. He comes across as a bit of a jerk, who probably thinks he's better than most and a bit weak. Especially when you see him interact with his ex. However I adored free-spirit Smutty right off the bat. I have a feeling there is some part of me that wishes I could be like that, just travel, do whatever, see the world, no responsibilities, no commitments. Sigh. However once you get to know Giles he's not such a jerk after all and his defence of Smutty whose had some nasty run-ins with guys in bars was sweet and touching, for the reader and Smutty who'd never really had anyone stand up for him before.

I loved seeing Smutty bring about a change in Giles. Sex on the kitchen table? How "unsanitary". Maybe? Is it? Could he? Perhaps. And he's not alone. Giles makes Smutty think about some things that happened to him as a young man and the hurts he's still holding onto that affect how he looks at life and his need to keep on moving. But his exuberant good nature can't help but drag Giles out of the doldrums and Giles even manages to stand up to his ex a bit. An ex who appears to be a psychopath, not in the murder you and wear your skin way, but in a callous no feelings way which based on his history didn't really surprise me.

The only odd little niggle I had was the odds of Giles' ex and Smutty having a connection, although I suppose Smutty did grow up not that far from Giles, but still, I kind of thought "hmmm, what are the odds?" but hey, it worked with the story and by then I was totally invested in Smutty and Giles so I was okay with it. It's a very sweet story of opposites who bring out the best in each other and make changes in their lives for the better.

Oh and if you've never seen a fire dancer do their thing at night, it's amazing and if you get the chance do it. I've seen them perform after dark and it's probably dangerous as anything but it's dazzling and a true skill I wouldn't even attempt. I was very happy with the way it ended and it was a real pleasure and kept me coming back to it while I was reading. I have a tendency to get distracted while I read and I will read a bit then surf or watch TV and read a bit, but this one kept dragging me back as I wanted to see how it was all going to go. Definitely worth a read so pick it up as soon as you can or sign up for the author's newsletter and get a code for a free download. Free people, seriously, hop to it.

Magic Mansion

2011-11-22T07:00:00.000-05:00

Have y'all been reading the Magic Mansion over at Jordan Castillo Price's site? It's a monthly serial where she posts anywhere from 4-6 chapters once a month and then you get to vote on some aspect of the story. Because this is based on a reality TV show for magicians, you get to vote someone "off the island" or "out of the mansion" I suppose, or this time it was someone to switch teams. It's great fun although I was quite disappointed at who got voted off last time. :-( Oh well, them's the breaks.

If this was a real show I would watch it. I generally hate reality shows (unless they involve cooking) but it is fun to hear about the tricks they have to do and how they are done. Maybe that's why I enjoy it. There has to be some skill involved, not just who is the most annoying or whiny. It's also fun to see the "behind the scenes" stuff as they try to make the show more interesting. I'm wondering how this is going to wind down and eagerly awaiting to see what's up next. So stop by and read up on the last chapters. It's up to Chapter 19 but they aren't overly long and you can quickly catch up with the action.

I'm torn between cheering for John or Ricardo. Maybe a tie? :-)

By the way, voting this round ends tonight. So hurry.

Learning to Walk - Drew Zachary

2011-11-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

Yes, you're seeing a whole new format here. I've kind of gotten in the habit from BER and since I'm reviewing fewer books I can do it this way.

Title: Learning to Walk (City Hospital #3)
Author: Drew Zachary
Length: 180 pages
Publisher: Torquere Press

Blurb:

A terrible motorcycle accident leaves Kit in pain, living with his father and needing to teach his legs how to walk again. He's actually lucky to be alive, but don't try telling him that; Kit's too wrapped up in bitterness and pain to feel any sort of happiness.

Neil knows exactly how lucky Kit is. As Kit's physiotherapist, he's seen the man's medical records, and knows a lot of people never recover after an accident such as Kit’s. His job is to get Kit moving and to get him walking again, so when Neil finds himself attracted to Kit, he buries the feelings and focuses on the job.

That's hard to do, though, when Kit starts falling for Neil in return. And starts making moves. Neil is determined to keep things professional between them, though, because he feels that Kit's recovery is far more important than a physical relationship. Can Neil teach Kit to walk again without either of them getting their hearts broken?

Review:

While this is #3 in the series, there is no overlap with the other books so is essentially a stand-alone. I thought this did a really good job at the beginning of showing how Kit was coping, or not as the case may be, with the fall-out of motorcycle accident. He felt guilty that now he father had to care for him when he should have been having his own life and I imagine like most of us, the whole "Well, at least your alive" thing wore thin as he struggled with life in a wheelchair. Needless to say, he was less than hospitable with his physiotherapist, however Neil was one of those people who never let a surly client get him down. Probably as annoying as hell in real life, but he managed to drag Kit along with him.

It was nice to see their friendship grow before they hopped into bed. In fact Neil refuses to date Kit while he is his therapist. So often in romance they hop into bed right away, ethics be damned and oh, wait, he's cured by the magic healing power of twu wuv. But in this case no. The therapy was long and grueling, their friendship slowly developed and granted I got a bit annoyed with Neil who kept telling Kit that he only liked him for now and he'd move on. Sheesh, give people some credit. But it was nice when Kit took the bull by the horns and fired Neil so they could date.

The awkwardness of going out for a date in a wheelchair, having his Dad have to drive them, it was all awkward but sweet and Neil was great about seeing Kit, not the guy in the wheelchair. So on the whole I really enjoyed this and even though Kit eventually does walk, he's never going to be running marathons. It sounds kind of awful, but I like it when someone with a handicap isn't "cured" so that they can fit the "normal" stereotype of romance leads. Even people who walk with a cane or in a wheelchair fall in love.

My new friends

2011-11-18T13:30:00.001-05:00

Okay, they aren't new friends in the traditional way maybe, but I am totally stealing this idea from Mandi's blog, where there was a post about new-to-you authors. So I know we keep saying there are all these new books and new authors on the m/m scene, so have I been reading them? Have I liked them? It would seem not so much. Looking back through about the last 6 months there are probably less than a dozen. A few where I may have read them in an anthology and then a stand-alone book, but not 100's. So I thought I'd go through and see which ones I gave a 4 or 5 stars on GR and give them a bit of a promo bump here. These are all authors that I've only read one book, some I have other books in my possession, all I would definitely read more, but haven't got there yet. Patience is a virtue if you are an author, really. :-)

They are not necessarily NEW authors, but they are new to me, and I'm not going to talk about the book - I'll link to my review if you care what I said - but I'll give a little bio of the author and a link to their other books.

JP Barnaby - Mastering the Ride

Bio & Contacts

Erotic fiction is more than just moans, grunts, and physical pleasure. To J. P. Barnaby, erotic fiction consists not only of the mechanics of physical love, but the complex characters and relationships that lead to those all-encompassing feelings of need and longing. Sex without context is merely sex - but sex coupled with attraction, with explosive repercussions - that is good erotic fiction. J. P. authors all different kinds of erotic fiction including gay, straight, male, female, BDSM, sweet, romantic, and dark.

As a bisexual woman, J. P. Barnaby is a proud member of the GLBT community both online and in her small town on the outskirts of Chicago. A member of Mensa, she is often described as brilliant but troubled, sweet but introverted and talented but deviant. She spends her days writing software and her nights writing erotica which is, of course, far more interesting. The spare time that she carves out between her career and her novels is spent reading about the concept of love, which, like some of her characters, she has never quite figured out for herself.

Official Website: http://www.JPBarnaby.com
Blog: http://blog.jpbarnaby.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/JPBarnaby
Email: jp@jpbarnaby.com

I had the pleasure of meeting JP at GRL in New Orleans. A lovely woman, friendly, and funny. She has 14 books listed at Goodreads including the Little Boy Lost series which I believe has it's biggest cheerleader in Leontine. :-) I'll be honest, I don't yet own any of her other books. I think Little Boy Lost will make me cry, so not sure that's for me, but I really must make the effort to check out some of her other works and she said that Mastering the Ride has a novel coming so I'm very much looking forward to that.

This is Kate's new book
LOVE the little Cdn flag

Kate Sherwood - New Tricks (Shying Away 2)

Bio & Contacts

I started writing at about the same time that I got back on a horse after a twenty-year break. I’d like to think that I’m far too young for it to be a mid-life crisis, but apparently I was ready for a few changes!

My writing focuses on characters and relationships, people trying to find out how much of themselves they need to keep, and how much they can afford to give away. I try to find that careful balance between drama and humor – I want readers to have an intense experience and feel drawn into the book, but I also want them to enjoy the time they spend reading.

I started writing in the m/m area of Romance, and I’ve spent some serious time trying to figure out why that is… if you’re interested, my reflections on why m/m fiction appeals to this straight woman can be found at my blog (here). And, now that I feel like I’m hitting my stride writing the m/f stuff, I’m working up another post outlining how I made that work, for me. I definitely plan to continue writing in both sub-genres, and of course I still have my YA projects to play with. And I’m thinking about trying some women’s fiction, too! This writing thing is fun!

by e-mail kate@katesherwoodbooks.com

at my blog

at my Goodreads page

Kate has 12 books listed on Goodreads. I really want to read Shying Away since I read the sequel already. LOL But I liked both guys and would like to explore how they got to that point. I must get on that. I'm not sure why I haven't read some of the others because I think my love of m/m/m is pretty legendary and hey, there's a Canadian flag on the new book so must support the maple leaf. My list of books I want to read is far too long. Eek.

Jules' Latest release

Jules Jones - Promises to Keep

Bio & Contacts

Jules Jones is a British author of science fiction and erotic romance, mostly with m/m themes. Much of her work is cross-genre, being science fiction or fantasy with a strong romance element. Some is written in collaboration with writing partner Alex Woolgrave. Her day job is materials science, and it tends to show -- many of her characters are scientists, engineers, and sundry other geeks.

website http://www.julesjones.com/

twitter username http://twitter.com/#!/bookfetishist

Jules has 19 books listed at Goodreads, I confess I have only read the one. Obviously not because I dislike the author's style, because I gave this book 4 stars, just lack of time once again.

=========================

Perhaps rather than buying empty calorie books I should be purchases those of author's whose work I have rated highly. Okay, am I listening to myself? Yeah. But junk food is oh so appealing sometimes.

So are you already fans of these authors? Am I way behind the wave? Who is a new to you author who has impressed you in the last few months? Anyone?

Riptide Winners

2011-11-16T07:00:00.000-05:00

Thanks to everyone for stopping by to say hi to the Riptide authors who came by to visit. Be sure to visit again the week of Dec. 26 when three more are going to stop in and visit. The lucky winners have been chosen, and your names and contact details forwarded on to Riptide. They will be in touch with you directly about your prizes. Congrats and enjoy your books.

Winner of a selection from Brita Addams' backlist: Anne Brooke

Winner for their choice of a backlist title from Rachel Haimowitz, Aleksandr Voinov, L.A. Witt, Brita Addams, or Cat Grant: Raelyn

Winner of a selection from Kari Gregg's backlist: Bookishly Awesome

My new policy

2011-11-14T21:56:00.001-05:00

Although, I suppose you should have an old policy before you have a new policy. Whatever, just go with it here.

Ever since I started this blog I have basically reviewed every book I've read. Yes, really. They aren't long reviews, although they've gotten longer since the beginning, but I have. I'm finding it pretty grueling sometimes now, especially with Brief Encounters where I actually have to do things on a schedule and I have the special projects I always seem to be coming up with that take more time than I always predict.

So, no, I'm not disappearing, but from now on I'll only be reviewing books I promised someone I would, that I receive from a publisher with the understanding that I'll review them (mostly Torquere), or books that I REALLY want to share (4+ stars). I will continue to place everything on Goodreads and I will do a quick paragraph in the review section when I post, I'm not a fan of just slapping 3 stars on and not at least explaining why in a few sentences.

I'll continue to post sexy boys, random stuff about my life, my travels and the usual miscellaneous chatter. If you want to follow me on Goodreads and see everything I post, I'm Tam Ames there and you can see my avatar is always the same so you'll know it's me.

The end result? Fewer reviews (no longer 3 per post or so), but otherwise, not much will change. So far this year I've read about 30,000 pages and it gets tough sometimes to keep up.

So there you have it. And to thank you for your kind attention to this new policy change here at Chez Tam, here's a few cookies for a late night snack for you.

Weekend Update

2011-11-12T10:05:00.001-05:00

Yay for long weekends. I had yesterday off for Remembrance Day. I didn't do much. All stores remain closed until 12:30, although schools are open. But the kid didn't have to be there until 9:20 so we got to sleep in a bit and then I drove her. I did go to the gym and walked 2 km. I really need to find my ipod. It's here somewhere, just where.

No specific plans today either. Just laundry and probably some grocery shopping. Maybe pick up pet supplies. I see I am nearly out of cat food. May hit the gym again. November weather has arrived. It's in the 30's but going to warm up again. So weird and warm but I am NOT complaining. :-)

Don't forget to leave a comment on my three guest posts this past week to be eligible to win a prize. You have until Sunday at 6:00 pm EST to be entered.

In His Hero's Shadow by Stephani Hecht (96 pages)
eXtasy books

Chauncey, a trauma nurse, and Brody a medic hate each others guts, or appear to. They can't be in the same room without the insults flying. Younger Brody thinks Chauncey is a rich entitled jerk, and Chauncey thinks Brody is a snotty little brat. After the loss of an elderly patient, someone phones Chauncey to go and get Brody out of the bar. Before long they are getting funky in the car, to be followed up by a hot night of smexin' and secrets. Brody reveals that his father was a fire fighter who died on 9/11. The next morning things get awkward and a few days later when Brody believes Chauncey told others about what happened all hell breaks loose, also Chauncey find out Brody's mom has mental issues. I thought the 9/11 storyline was very well done and Brody's pain about what happened to his dad when he was just 10 was very touching. This book was released around the 9/11 anniversary so was very pertinent at the time.

Lone Wolf by Shelley Munro (223 pages)
Samhain

This is set in a world were werewolves exist but are mandated to take drugs to suppress the ability to change so no one finds out about them. However a few have special permission and there is one program where the rich can send their kids (older teens) to Yellowstone for a few weeks where they learn about their wolf sides. RJ is a counselor and Corey is the rich son of the man who runs LA. Corey is older, 21, goth and not at all interested in the whole process. He wants to be an artist and his dad insists he be an architect. Basically RJ and Corey start a fling despite RJ's protests and Corey gets in touch with his wolf and seems to have special abilities. Once Corey returns and tells his Dad to take a leap things get more complicated and it seems wolves who don't toe the line are eliminated. This seemed to be the set-up for more and it left a lot of things hanging at the end, there's an "underground railroad" for wolves who don't want to take the drugs, Corey's real father is an important man, will they fight against things? There were lots of descriptions about the park and shifting and the process of training the young and the different kids who were there. I didn't mind it, but I can see some people being frustrated that the plot doesn't move more quickly. Might be hit and miss depending on your tolerance level.

Where you Least Expect It M. Durango (200 pages)
Torquere Press

Matt is a former army guy working in IT who broke up with his fiance about a year ago. His friend Sam is always hounding him to hook up with a chick but he's not interested. On his way to a party he nearly runs over a cyclist, only to find himself face to face with the guy at the party. However Christian doesn't hold a grudge and soon he discovers that Christian is a student who works at the coffee shop next to his work. They start chatting and Matt often drives him home if it's raining and they start hanging out. Then suddenly it occurs to Matt that Christian said he was gay and he starts to weird out. After another party (they run in the same circle) he drives a drunk Christian home who makes a move. After thinking about it Matt decides to try it out and after some fuck-buddy time they agree to try a relationship. It could be said it's GFY, but more like WCBY (was clueless before you). Because Matt starts noticing other guys and notes his porn watching has changed since meeting Christian. I liked that Matt really liked Christian as a person and a friend before he even thought about anything sexual. Matt was also a typical guy. He just didn't want to think about it and what it meant. He just preferred to do it and not analyze it which got him into trouble. The build-up to the sex scenes was very spicy with lots of anticipation and seeing Matt want to try things and not just be the "I'm the straight guy so I take but don't give" was good and Christian was kind of neurotic and funny. I'm wondering if Matt's best friend Sam (who moves in with Christian's best friend Trevor) have a story. Anyway, I really enjoyed this one, it moves slowly on the relationship front but both guys were so appealing and the build-up was fun.

Interview with Kari Gregg

2011-11-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

Our last Riptide guest this week, last but not least, is Kari Gregg. Kari's first story with Riptide is Collared and anyone who comments on today's post is eligible to win their book of choice from Kari's backlist. Good luck everyone and let's get down to business.

1. What do you like most about writing?

Creating and exploring new worlds. How does that world work? How doesn't it work? Who's trying to fix what's broken and are they making life better or worse? Who's in charge? No, who's really in charge? How do my heroes fit? I love my worlds and I love discovering how my heroes move inside them.

2. What genre do you write mostly and what appeals to you most about your genre?

I write contemporaries, fantasy, paranormals, AU, and BDSM (of every flavor). Writerly ADD is obviously an issue. :D Why those stories? Those are the worlds I'm drawn to and revisit again and again.

3. What is the most interesting thing you have learned from your research?

The Blooming Onion at Outback Steakhouse has 1600 calories. Have I ever used this in a story? No. But I'm weirdly fascinated by this.

4. Where do you get the names for your characters?

Any- and everywhere. I got a name from a tombstone once. Serious. Connor's name, though, is perfectly non-weird. A casual acquaintance (who is nothing like my character, by the way) is named Connor and the name stuck in my head until my hero took form.

5. Tell us about your latest release (s)?

Collared features a world in flux. A natural disaster caused when genetically engineered crops mutated and propagated in the wild is producing a biological shift in the aggression centers of the brain and those affects -- as well as civilization's response to them -- are still intensifying. Connor Witt had everything he ever wanted, a promising relationship and a successful career, until the disaster. Instead of becoming bigger and badder like everyone else, Connor is an anomaly. His aggression hasn't been stimulated by the changing environment. He is one of the rare few whose dominant traits have been suppressed. When predatory security consultant Emmett makes a move on Connor, David -- Connor's boss -- collars him to keep Emmett away. One man offers safety; the other is the safer best. Who will Connor choose for his master?

6. What are you working on next?

In the Red is a m/m BDSM mystery for Loose Id. My forensic accountant was a rising star at TFOS, Terrorism Financing Operations Section in the FBI, until he was abducted and left for dead nine days later. What he endured during those nine days broke him, not so much physically as mentally, but he's fighting his way back. All evidence to the contrary -- his retreat to an isolated rural house in the mountains of western Maryland where he's amassed enough weaponry to hold off the zombie hoard and keeps enough lamps lit in his tiny house to pinpoint the glow from the international space station. Too bad TFOS needs him back so badly. He was on to something with that last case, something big The FBI tasks Special Agent Zachary Murdock with gluing the boy wonder back together and getting him back to work. Zachary isn't sure which presents the biggest complication: the accountant's special brand of crazy, the case they're working or the closeted sub's surprising -- and surprisingly enthralling -- kink.

7. What fascinates you most about writing m/m?

Two strong guys striking that magical balance with one another and the dance leading up to that balance. Even in BDSM, especially in BDSM, where in spite of appearances, subs are (IMO) stronger than their Doms and subs are the ones who are truly running the show.

8. What do you enjoy reading the most?

Two heroes for the price of one. Does it get any better? Nope.

9. What are you reading now?

A historical account of the 1938 Hurricane. Yeah, I know. Sexy, no? LOL. If it helps any, I just finished re-reading Jet Mykles' Heaven Sent series. Loves me some hot rockers.

10. Who are your favorite authors?

For kink, I'm a Kim Dare fangirl, but I repeat read titles from Jamie Craig, J.C. Owens, and Thom Lane, too. (Although to be fair, the Aramanth series isn't strictly BDSM since slavery is a cultural convention rather than a choice, but nonetheless, WOW.) Non-kink, I love Josh Lanyon, K.A. Mitchell, L.B. Gregg, Joely Skye (for her shifter series)...so many wonderful authors. So much m/m goodness. ;D

11. What would you advise an aspiring author?

Don't quit. Keep writing. Keep learning and growing your craft.

12. Is there anything you'd like to tell your readers?

I have over 200 books in my K3's TBR file. Help me. Please.

13. How can readers connect with you?

If you would like to catch up with Kari, caffeinate yourself and head on over to http://www.karigregg.com/
Friend Kari on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Kari.M.Gregg
Follow Kari on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#%21/karigregg
Find Kari at Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4366316.Kari_Gregg

Thanks so much for stopping by Kari and you are not alone with that TBR file. I've heard much higher numbers that made my hair curl. Good luck with your new projects.

Interview with Peter Hansen

2011-11-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

Our Wednesday interview is Peter Hansen whose first release with Riptide publishing is the rather spooky First Watch. Welcome to the blog Peter and everyone who comments will have the chance to win any one backlist book from Rachel Haimowitz, Aleksandr Voinov, L.A. Witt, Brita Addams, or Cat Grant
(“Frontlist” books, i.e. Riptide releases and newest non-Riptide release, are excluded, as are the Courtland Chronicles).

So let's get to know Peter.

1. When did you start the adventure of writing?

I was four, and I wrote a story about football.

2. Have you always loved romance writing?

Come to think of it, my football story was totally a romance.

3. How about some favorites.

Favorite Hero: Superhero? Iron Man all the way.
Favorite Dessert: Tiramisu.
Favorite Villain: Magneto.
Favorite Song: Calexico's "Guns of Brixton" cover.

4. Have you ever written to music?

Never write without it.

5. What music?

Mostly metal, particularly symphonic metal.

6. Tell us about your work:

Changing the Guard (in Weight of a Gun) – In this tale of interplanetary espionage, disgraced security officer Tomi Vuorela is assigned to a solo posting in an icebound outpost. His job is to guard the remote access node of IntelServ: an intelligence supercomputer built into the crust of a planet. When smooth talker Andile Harper makes an unscheduled service stop at the outpost, though, Tomi doesn't believe for a second that he's a mechanical engineer. As he fights to uncover Andile's real identity, Tomi bares old scars and leaves new ones—and as the threats shade into sex, he begins to suspect that Andile has come to find out about him.
First Watch – 1926. Eldritch creatures roam the darkness, preying on the dying and the desperate-to-live. Aboard the Flèche, a grim submarine with a nightmare captain, Edouard Montreuil must give his body each night as the bells sound for the first watch. To save his own life on the battlefield, Edouard made a pact with a monster—a pact with a steep price attached. As the days stretch into months beneath the waves, Edouard becomes desperate for escape … and calls on his old comrade Farid Ruiz to help him break this devil's bargain.

7. Do you have a writing tip to share with our viewers?

If you've got a lot to keep track of, it helps me to make an outline or a map or a spreadsheet or something. I'm a spatial thinker. I like to see how stories work in space, rather than in time.

8. What genre do you write mostly and what appeals to you most about your genre?

Fantasy/science fiction, often shading toward steampunk or dieselpunk. I like the challenge of building plausible worlds and then populating them with people, although unfortunately I often wind up with worlds full of people I don't want to write about.

9. What is the most interesting thing you have learned from your research?

I have learned a heck of a lot about shortwave radios in Italy.

10. What fascinates you most about writing m/m?

As a queer person, myself, I really like having the chance to create worlds where it's okay to be queer. It's a little utopian of me, maybe, but I like to imagine that there are (or were, or one day will be) people for whom being queer is simply a fact of life, not something they have to fight to recognize in themselves and to be recognized as in their society.

11. What does your family think of you writing erotica?

I think my dad laughed for a solid minute.

12. What would you tell a reader reluctant to read erotica?

Depends on why the reluctance. As a person who was reluctant, myself, I needed to understand that erotica wasn't just whack-off material, and that many of the writers were thoughtful, talented people who could craft stories with punch and plot and soul-searing characterization. Other people, though, have got traumas that they just can't bear to see engaged, and others are more asexual than I am, and others just don't find it to their tastes. There are a lot of good reasons to be reluctant to read erotica, and I want to honor those reasons as well as I can.

13. Have you ever tested out one of your sex scenes on your significant other?

Nope! My girlfriend and I are in a long-distance relationship.

14. Is there any topic you find taboo?

"Taboo" is a social construction, so it's not just about me or my hang-ups. Taboo topics are ones that we-as-culture, we-as-society find difficult to address, and so we wind up not dealing with those topics at all—let alone dealing with them maturely and sensitively. I'm not always going to succeed in being mature and sensitive, myself, but I want to learn to be, and I can't learn unless I open a conversation about things that we-the-culture find hard to approach.

Thanks so much for joining us today Peter and letting us get to know you better. Good luck with your new releases and we look forward to more stories from you.

You can find Peter at:

Website: http://peterhansenfiction.weebly.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/P_HansenWrites
Email: peter.hansen.writes@gmail.com

Tattoo Tuesday

2011-11-08T07:33:00.000-05:00

In training again today, so how about some tattooed lovelies for the day?

Interview with Brita Addams

2011-11-07T07:17:00.016-05:00

I'd like to welcome Brita Addams to the blog today as part of the Riptide Publishing week here in my little corner of the world. Brita's first entry to the Riptide family is Romeo Club #1: Surprises.

Everyone who leaves a comment will be eligible to win a copy of any one of Brita's backlist, so comment away and perhaps you'll be the lucky soul.

Welcome Brita and lets begin.

1. Who is your hero? And why?

My husband is hands down my hero. Why? Aside from being handsome, loving and my best friend, he's truly my other half. He helped me raised my two older children and he loves me no matter who I am on any particular day. That, my friends, is the very definition of hero in my book.

2. What one event in your childhood had the greatest effect on your writing career?

When I was in seventh grade, my teacher, Mr. Green, sent one of my short stories to an author, Hal Borland. I didn't know anything about it until Mr. G. called me to his desk one afternoon and showed me my story, with lots of notes written in the margins. Mr. Borland had read the story and critiqued it. He said some very nice things about my promise as a writer.

When I took the story home, I was greeted with a lecture on pipe dreams and the "reality" of how successful writers really are, and that alone stopped me from writing for a very long time. It also was one of the reasons I started writing seriously.

3. Who is your best friend, and what do you like best about him or her? List your best friend’s favorite books. How do they compare to yours?

As I said before, my husband is my best friend. He's kind, loving and the best cook on the planet. He is the best dad a kid could ever hope to have and he has the best smile I've ever seen.

His books – well, he reads what strikes him, but romance is definitely not on his to-be-read list.

4. What “lesson from mom” do you still live by today?

My mother was very old fashioned, which was one of her most endearing qualities. She taught me how to dress for the occasion, be polite and she was a stickler for manners. I'd say those lessons have served me well.

5. What’s the one thing you want to accomplish, or write about, before you die?

I really want to write a m/m Civil War story, and will, maybe in the next year or so.

6. If you could spend a week anywhere in the world, where would it be? Would you write or read there, or do something else?

I want to go to England. We've traveled a lot, but we've not made it to England yet. I don't believe I'd do nothing but sightsee. I can read and write at home.

Maltipoo
Not Brita's but still darn cute.

7. Do you have a pet that keeps you company when you write? If so, write about him or her. Has your pet taught you anything about writing? If so, what?

We have two pets actually. Our cat Stormee, is thirteen years old. We got him when he was a little guy and now he's a cranky old fart, but we love him dearly.

Our other pet is our two-year old Maltipoo, Fiona Dahlia. She is with me all the time, no matter what I'm doing. She usually sleeps right beside me while I'm writing.

Stormee made an appearance in a story that isn't yet published, but Fiona hasn't and probably won't. No, they haven't taught me anything, save for to take a break and throw her puppy toy more often.

8. What’s the most unusual place you have visited?

I lived in Iceland for two years, which was an experience I'll never forget. It made me appreciate my home country, but I wouldn't give up those two years for anything. I traveled to Scotland during that time on holiday, and it was an amazing experience.

9. If you could have a quiet dinner with just one author, who would you choose?

Undoubtedly, I'd love to have dinner with Aleks Voinov. He's a clever guy, who thinks in a way that's extraordinary to me. I'd love to have a couple of hours to pick his brain.

10. Tell us about your latest project.

Romeo Club is a series of erotica short stories. They take place at a fantasy club, where everything is possible. I've never written erotica before, but I'm having a great time writing them.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog and best of luck with the Romeo Club series. I enjoyed the first one and look forward to seeing more adventures at the Club.

Here's an excerpt from Romeo Club #1: Surprises:

How often do you like to fuck?

Not “have intercourse” or “make love,” but “fuck,” written out right on the application. Damn! I hadn’t expected such personal questions, but after a few moments of thought, “No limit” seemed as good an answer as any.

“What is your favorite position?” Oh, the possibilities.

“Bent over a sofa, chair, table?” All of the above, giving or receiving.

“On all fours on a bed or the floor?” Right you are.

“Standing against the wall?” Definitely has merit.

“Do you suck cock regularly, or do you prefer to be sucked? Do you swallow?” I should have seen that one coming.

“Dildo preference—glass or flexible?” I’d never thought about it, but the question gave me ideas.

“Butt plugs?” Damn, did other people use those things? I squirmed, thinking a smaller one might have been in order for this excursion.

A whole section entitled “Probing Your Fantasies.” “Are you into cowboys, pirates, millionaires, policemen, doctors? Kidnap, rape, ménage? Explain your desires in detail.” I took the expeditious route and wrote, “Yes to all the above.” Why limit my options?

“Are you willing to put yourself in our hands?”

Now, that was a loaded question. The devil in me wanted to write, “Hell, yeah,” while the commodities trader wrote a more dignified, “Yes.”

Only one section left: “The Usual Stuff,” mercifully mundane after an hour’s worth of divulging everything there was to know about my sex life, real or imagined. Name, address, phone number. Then, bam, “Do you consider yourself handsome?”

Now, what’s a guy supposed to do with that? It’s one of those damned if you do, damned if you don’t questions. If I said “Fuck yeah,” I’d come off as arrogant. If I said “No,” I’d sound like someone desperate enough to live in his mother’s basement. But then, I was filling out an application for a freaking dating service. Wasn’t that desperate by definition? Oh, hell, just leave it blank.

I checked over the tome to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything, lest a fantasy be left undiscovered. My libido had kicked up several notches this past hour and the black and white photos on the walls did nothing to tame it. Damn, if this was a sample of what Romeo’s offered, I was glad I’d taken the afternoon off.

The adorable blond behind the desk looked up and smiled when I stood. Good Lord Almighty, they didn’t grow guys like that back in Kansas.

Blondie came around the desk, his slim hips working overtime. His body was built to my personal specifications. The fact he’d wrapped it in skin-tight jeans and a royal blue shirt was the cherry on top of the cake. Oh, my unruly cock, be still, boy.

I glanced at the black engraved desk plate: Aaron. He checked over my application with pursed lips and an exaggerated hand to the hip “Have you answered every question? It’s very important that you answer all of them.”

Hmm, what was he, the damn question police? “I believe I did, yes.”

“We’ll just have a peek, shall we?”

He grasped the clipboard with both hands and studied it, save for an occasional smirk or eyebrow waggle in my direction.

“Ooh,” he said with a giggle. Though curious, I was too chicken to ask what part he’d read.

He flipped through the last couple of pages, then settled a hand over the first page. “You have unique tastes,” he said. The sparkle in his eyes was unmistakable. “I believe Blake would be interested in talking to you. If you’ll come this way, I’ll take you to him.”

You can purchase Romeo Club #1: Surprises at Riptide Publishing - http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/surprises-romeo-club-1

Romeo Club #2: Rubbed the Right Way is available for pre-order: http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/rubbed-right-way-romeo-club-2

Email address: britaaddams@gmail.com
Website URL: http://www.britaaddams.com/
Blog URL: http://www.britaaddams.com/
Twitter: @britaaddams
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/britaaddams
Goodreads Page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4093476.Brita_Addams

Finally I finished - Lord of the White Hell

2011-11-05T18:14:00.000-04:00

So there is some conflict in this review, well, conflict on the surface. I bought these books in San Francisco, slightly over a year ago at Yaoi Con. I got them signed by the author (swoon). They are amazing. Okay, if they are so damn good why are you only finishing them a year later? Sigh.

I have t admit that fantasy is really not my thing as a rule, but everyone I was with told me I should get them. So I finally started one in the spring while on a trip and finished book 1. Then I started book 2 when I was on vacation this summer and finished it today. So what the hell was my problem? I seriously think it was because they are paper book. I just don't read paper books unless I am traveling because reading on the lap top is more of a pain so I can just pull out a book. When I'm home I never read paper books, I am on-line reading e-books, checking the internet, whatever else I need to do. I'm pretty sure if I had these in e-books I would have devoured them.

It is the story of young Haldiim boy Kiram who is the first to attend a Caledonian academy based on his participation in a mechanical competition. He's forced to room with Javier, a Duke whose family is cursed and everyone fears him and the curse. Kiram is gay and comes from a matriarchal society and doesn't believe in all the curse/religion hocus pocus. Many Haldiim men are gay, but Caledonian society is more rigid, patriarchal and religious frowns on homosexuality. Despite being attracted to each other Kiram is determined not to be some dirty little secret so pushes Javier away. Eventually they are forced to acknowledge each other and work together to fight the curse which is growing stronger with the help of Kiram's uncle and his husband who is a Bahiim holy man.

It's complicated, there are lots of their friends from the school you get to know, the teachers, family, the possible bad guys, magic, fighting and studying. It needs the two books to tell the story and it's not overly explicit, yes, Kiram and Javier are young men who eventually have sex but I'd have no problem letting my teenager read these books and will likely be pushing her to do so. You just get caught up in the story. So despite taking me a year to finally finish and dragging out the process, I would easily give the books 5 stars and even if you don't like fantasy much, I would recommend you read them, either e-book or paper, which ever works for you. :-)

If you click on Book 1 up top you can get to the BEB page.

Riptide is coming for a visit

2011-11-04T07:29:00.001-04:00

Next week I am going to have three authors from the new publisher Riptide stopping by to chat (click on the button above to take you to the Riptide party site) and offer some backlist give-aways. I hope you will all stop by and say hi, learn a bit more about the authors and some of the projects they have in the works and take the chance to win a great book.

First up will be Brita Addams on Monday, November 7. Brita's first release with Riptide is Romeo Club #1: Surprises and she'll tell us a bit about her fur-babies.

On Wednesday, November 9, Peter Hansen, author of First Watch will be here, and you'll want to know his favourite dessert. :-)

And finally on Friday, November 11, Kari Gregg is going to come by and tell us about her Riptide release Collared and who some of her favourite m/m authors are.

Look forward to seeing you then.

Thursday Update

2011-11-03T07:10:00.001-04:00

Made it back from Montreal. I was there for a game developers conference and I learned tons, met some interesting people and saw some cool things. I have a feeling this job may be a slippery slope to gaming for me. I've always prided myself on not playing games of any kind (does Farmville count?), but .... we'll see.

I didn't really see any of the city. We arrived after 10:00 yesterday and went straight to seminars all day in a hotel in rooms with no windows. I did end up going to the mall after we got done at 6:00 because I only took one pair of shoes and they were killing my feet so I ran out and bought some Converse sneakers. Being at a gaming conference all of the CEO's and down were wearing jeans and t-shirts so sneakers and cargo pants fit in today. Then started meetings at 8:00 this morning and we were on the road by 4:00. Whew.

I didn't do much reading there, but have a couple of books I finished lately.

Moon Run by Joely Skye (40 pages)
Samhain Publishing

This is book 3 in the Wolf Town series. I have a soft spot for these because they are set in my general neck of the woods in Canada. This is set at the same time, more or less, as book two. Iain is Rory's ex who was kind of clingy and annoying and I didn't like him much. This book his story and by about half-way through I just wanted to put him in my pocket and take him home and hug him. You find out why he behaves as he does and my heart broke a little. He's crushing now on Teo, the town beta and also doctor who has this weird rule of never dating anyone, but he has his own issues that conflict. So while most of the action part with the bad guy overlaps and is the same (from a slightly different perspective) as book 2, the focus is on Iain and Teo and them figuring out their relationship and Iain's deep-seated insecurity with his place in the world. It definitely makes you look at things from a different angle, annoying characters you dislike may have more going on than it appears on the surface and fans of the series will want to pick up this quick short.

Broken Wings by Bethany Brown and Ashlyn Kane (294 pages)
Dreamspinner Press

This is book 4 in the Lost Boys and Love Letters series. When the last book ended Patrick freaked out and left his lover Brad in Alberta without saying good-bye. This kind of goes back before the epilogue and Patrick is very depressed and his friends are concerned so they drag out of him that he left Brad. They make him pull his head out of his ass and he apologises and he and Brad decide to try long distance. There really wasn't much point to this story for me. It was just two guys working out a long distance relationship. You found out Patrick was rich thanks to his Grandmother who just happened to be Brad's Grandmother's best friend (how convenient) and you get to meet all of the people from the other stories who are in this one (I never really liked any of the women in this series except maybe Patrick's partner). A stalker was thrown in for good measure (sorry Chris) but it seemed rather long for just a follow-up with the only real challenge being they lived far apart and Patrick could afford to quit his job and move if he wanted so that wasn't much of a challenge. *shrug* It was okay, Patrick and Brad had hot sex with a biting fetish going on, but not sure it was a must-read for me.

Really behind in reviews

2011-10-29T08:29:00.003-04:00

I have been reading, just not very motivated to write about them. There always seems to be something else to do instead. Plus I've read a couple of stories out of sequence so I'm kind of waiting to read the missed ones before I do anything about them. (Rationalize much?)

It's Halloween weekend here which of course in North America is a big deal. My daughter has a party tonight, but not a costume party. They are doing that the weekend AFTER Halloween. Whatever. They all have to leave the party today at 11:00 and my party animal wants to go somewhere else and was having issues getting commitment so I said they could come back here. So I may have a few kids over late tonight. Not that many I imagine. At this age there is lots of talk and usually not much action. At least we aren't getting snow like many in the US, so I'm not complaining.

So here are two of the books I've read.

Galen and the Forest Lord by Eden Winters (119 pages)
Torquere Press

Galen is a young village man hiding his sexuality and finds his friend has taken on a baby of a young unwed woman from another village. However if the village believes it to be hers, she'll be banished or the baby will be sold to traders. When Galen is betrayed by his village crush so that he is banished (with the babe) allowing his evil uncle to inherit his land, Galen runs for it, being told that the babe will keep him safe from the wolves in the forest and he can seek shelter with the Forest Lord. Oh he finds the forest lord, and all those stories about wolf creatures, all true. The villagers banished haven't been eaten, they've been living happily with the werewolves and mating and babies aren't sold (usually half-breeds), they are brought to be raised. Everyone in the forest is trying to steer Eric, the Lord, towards Galen who is his mate, but both he and Galen aren't quite on board with that, despite the smoking' hot sex that turned Galen into a wolf. Okay, first off, this is not a story to be taken seriously. Eden said she wrote it a bit tongue in cheek and I found myself smiling all along the way. Neither Galen nor Erik are that bright. They aren't stupid, they just aren't very swift. I imagined lots of eye-rolling as their advisers waited for them to "get it" sometimes. The wolf villagers are all hilarious, the pregnant women everyone are terrified to cross, the aunt with the super hairy legs, Galen teaching the wolves how to be civilized, it's all done with a bit of a wink and a nudge and I was quite annoyed when I had to go to work and stop reading just as Galen was surrounded by the wolves. So when you are in the mood for something to lift your spirits with that traditional fantasy feel it's a perfect choice, and Eden always writes very appealing characters.

Chance's Vindication by Stephani Hecht (117 pages)
eXtasy Books

Things are going "ok" for Chance with the coalition. He's not getting beaten up but he has no real friends either and although he's crushing on Thomas who is supposed to watch over him, he knows Thomas hates the ravens for causing his brother to be caught in a permanent animal form. However when Dalton decides to befriend him, life gets more interesting, especially when they are attacked in the mall and Chance refuses to shift and heal himself and Thomas realizes that Chance means something. After Chance is accused of trying to hurt Riley (he was trying to keep him from hurting himself) he finally changes and Thomas is fine with it. He then decides that to help Thomas he needs to get the poison that caused the early shifts so that Owen can find the cure. I too am a sucker for the character that no one wants around and is lost and alone. I totally adore Dalton and how he sees things that no one else does in his own bouncy lynx way. I was glad that Thomas was supportive of Chance, sometimes when the prospective mate treats them badly I'm not too keen on them getting together. But it was a nice addition to the series and I still adore Riley and his bipolar problems, that aren't made to be no big deal or a joke. They hurt him and the people who care about him, but they just keep struggling through to find the best solution.

I'm guesting over at Rarely Dusty Books today

2011-10-28T09:23:00.000-04:00

Please stop by Janna's today and see my entry into her series about GayRomLit in New Orleans. I'm feeling a bit low-brow given the very thoughtful, literary and touching entries of the other participants. Oh wait, it's me, no one should be surprised. (No judging 'kay?)

So come say hi and see what I enjoyed about New Orleans. Just Click on the banner below.

Getting back in the reading saddle

2011-10-24T20:04:00.000-04:00

Seems like I haven't read much since I came back from New Orleans. I haven't actually read much since I left for New York. A bunch of yaoi, but I haven't really kept track of it.

I've been kind of blah on the posting front. Okay, on all fronts. Just kind of recovering I guess from two back-to-back trips. I was in theory going to Toronto this week for three days, but to be honest, if I was my boss I would have said it wasn't worth the money. I just couldn't justify spending it. We are going to Montreal the week after so that will be plenty for a while. I get to drive with my supervisor for 2.5 hours there and back. I like him, but I can't very well just ignore him and curl up with an m/m book. So I have a bunch of stuff I HAVE to take care of next week which I didn't do this week.

I am also getting more involved in my union now that I'm on the executive. We spent 5 hours on Saturday deciding what are priorities are for the year, beyond contract negotiation since our current on is expired. Our current employer is rather anti-union at the moment so ... but we are a small union so don't have much power. It will be interesting to see how it plays out and part of the reason I joined.

That's my life. Seeing my child get a full-blown social life. Hanging out, kind of blobbling. I did get some stuff read so not all bad.

A Prideless Man by Amber Kell (103 pages)
Total-e-bound

This is book three in the series. Town sheriff and bear shifter Lou finds himself attracted to human James who takes a lot of medication for arthritis. When he accidentally overdoses on his super strong meds, it's discovered that he's actually a shifter and it seems his father who runs an anti-shifter organization has been giving him drugs since he was a child to restrict shifting. Now James has to deal with being a shifter and finding himself mated to Lou and it seems his father's organization is a lot more sinister than he was led to believe. Once he confronts his father they get to the heart of the matter and James is kidnapped by the bad guys to be an experiment. It was what it was. It was kind of interesting that James was physically handicapped by his chronic pain (even if once he figures out he's a shifter he's cured). I'm not sure if I was happy the father was not the bad guy so as not to fit the cliche, or whether I was disappointed because it was rather anti-climactic once they talked. Can't please me huh? This one had a bit more story going for it than the last one so it was an improvement.

Haunted by Your Soul by Marguerite Labbe (380 pages)
Dreamspinner Press

This is a continuation of My Heart is Within You. Kristair died in the firefight in the warehouse, transferring his soul and heart into Jacob. Jacob has not been dealing well, sometimes he feels Kristair's heart beating, he has his memories and knowledge. Meanwhile Kristair is dealing with the collective, sort of a bunch of souls who drift around the universe seeking knowledge forever and ever. However he is spending his time trying to get back to Jacob and finally convinces them to let him go back for two weeks to break his bond. Meanwhile, Jacob's friend Tony who turned into a vamp is back and the syndicate is still after Jacob believing he knows some secret to immortality. They then have to deal with fighting the syndicate and figuring out how to get Kristair back on the human plane. Honestly, toward he end I became more interested in Tony. The collective kills Tony because they believe he'll reveal their secret and he actually seems to be smarter than all of them up there. I wanted him to come back and let's follow his story. LOL In the end, Tony helps Kristair find his way back as a human, the syndicate is defeated by another group of vamps and ... I guess we'll see what happens in book three now that neither Kristair nor Jacob have any paranormal abilities and no longer share a mind meld.

Happy Birthday Steppenwolf

2011-10-24T07:12:00.000-04:00

I hope you will join me in wishing a happy birthday to my Tumblr friend Steppenwolf (NSFW) today. He is the grand old age of 24 and lives in Santiago, Chile (which is undergoing some hard times these days which you can read about here and here.) But today is a day to celebrate the birthday of a super young man that I'm glad I met on-line.

So happy birthday Sweetie and I hope your day is wonderful. I've provided you with a delicious birthday cupcake and a few hotties to keep you company on your special day. ;-) Hugs from Canada.

New Orleans pictures

2011-10-18T20:12:00.001-04:00

Okay, I seem to have very few pictures of people. Huh. I'll have to grab those from others.

In this set there is a picture of Janna, Leontine and Tracy, me and Clare London, me and Cole and I think another Clare. Most of the pictures of the park/open area are Jackson Square, not far from the hotel. There are fortune tellers, musicians and artists all around it. The river boat was not ours, but passed us. Lots of pics of the interesting tombs at the cemeteries. The first pic is the memorial garden (and graves you can't see) of the unclaimed victims of Katrina.

I think most of the pictures of houses were on Bourbon Street or Royal Street in the French Quarters. That's about it. Lots of houses with Halloween decorations and many of the balconies covered in plants which I'm sure helps blunt the noise and heat in summer.

If you see something you want to know what it is, you can stop the slide show and note the picture number at the bottom and I'll try to figure it out.

I didn't die in New Orleans ...

2011-10-17T21:11:00.002-04:00

although Sunday morning that seemed like a viable alternative to what was happening. Ugh.

I'm not sure how much posting I'll do. I haven't even looked at my pictures. But generally:

Wednesday:

I arrived at midnight, crept into the apartment and crashed.

Thursday:

Got up and met Kassa. Headed downtown with Kassa and Chris. Wandered down Bourbon Street then met Leontine, Janna, Tracy and Kris for lunch. We registered for GayRomLit and wandered some more then went to the opening ceremony. This was followed by a trip to Lafitte in Exile for our first of many visits there. Naked boys on the bar, but there were issues. No dancing skill, but much nudity. (I will be doing a post on Lafitte's for Janna so y'all have to wait for details). Home at midnight, pretty drunk with all the free booze and what wasn't free was cheap.

Friday:

Off to the conference some author readings. Then we went for a stroll further down Bourbon street and I had jambalaya for lunch. Then we walked further to the Riverboat cruise/author signing. We didn't really get out on the boat much because we were in a glass enclosed portion and at times security didn't even want to let people up the stairs. *sad face* But it was cool to put faces to the names of all the authors. We then went back to the apartment and ordered pizza from the wood fired pizza place/health food store next door.

We headed back for the pretzel party and Kris and I stopped at Lafitte's to drop off some weird Aussie cigarettes for the bartenders. And hey, it was super happy hour and Brandon knows how I like my "vodka and fruity stuff" so we had a couple of drinks then went to the pretzel party, talked to some more people and went home.

Saturday:

We got up early to go on the cemetery tour. It was cool. I find the whole concept of above ground tombs kind of creepy, but I'm sure it's cultural. Then we took the street car back downtown and I headed off to do some shopping and found the sex toy store. Wheee. I didn't buy anything because I was terrified customs would search my bag, but they had some freaky "no way that's for real use" stuff.

Then I went back to the hotel and I went for my author lunch with author Rachel Hamowitz and my new friends Jackie, Angel and Catherine. It was an okay lunch, the restaurant had a line so they kind of grabbed your plate as soon as you were finished and slapped the bill on the table. Still, thanks to the author for lunch.

After hanging by the pool for a bit, I went back to the apartment to "rest". We headed back for the MLR hurricane party. Had a drink and chatted with Clare London for a while. Also started talking with John and Kelli and ended up going out for dinner with them and Clare and her son David. After dinner we went back for the wine and cheese party and gabbed some more and introduced Kelli to Kris. Kris swooned because Kelli personally knows Samuel Colt and Chris Porter. Honest to fucking god. I'm getting together with her when I go to SF in March. Whether she liked me or not. LOL

After being bored (texting Adam and Polt) and wanting to get the GAY bar crawl going it finally happened, then promptly didn't. The first stop was some bar in the straight part of Bourbon street, it was totally unorganized, no one knew what was happening, so Kassa, Kris and Chris and I said screw this and went back to Lafitte's. We were met by the joyous cries of Jimmy (it was like Cheers when we walked in) and then we proceeded to drink and watch go-go boys and drink some more and flirt with go-go boys and anyone else within walking distance and each other and did I mention we were drinking? Yeah. Stay tuned for Janna's post. Some people from the bar crawl finally made it there but around 3:00 we went home.

This was not one of the boys we saw, for one, he`s got way more clothes on. Touching however was encouraged.

Sunday:

Umm, yeah. I became intimately acquainted with the toilet bowl. We went back to the hotel (6 of us in a cab, seriously) because Chris was sick or there would have been 7. I couldn't face the smell of the brunch so I sat in the lobby and chatted with Clare and David some more. Then after some very tearful good-byes and huge hugs I left for the airport.

I got a call from my daughter saying the flight was delayed while I was in the cab. Grrrr. But I made it and they said I'd still make my connection. Later it was delayed again and there was no way I'd make it. I was told they could fly me to Philadelphia, then the next day I would get to Ottawa at 3:00. Arrgghh It turned out I could stay another night in New Orleans and still go to Philly in the morning and catch the same flight home. No brainer. I made them give me taxi vouchers and headed back to the apartment. I was glad we had it one more night.

We walked back to the hotel to drop some stuff off for Lori from GR and then picked up a slice of pizza and some cheesecake for dinner. I could barely keep my eyes open and finally at 8:00 gave it up and went to bed.

Monday:

All the flights were on time and I got home around 4:15. Then had to run my daughter to her riding lesson and go and get groceries since we had nothing at home and made dinner and showed my kid all my loot and now typed this. I`ll upload pics tomorrow maybe.

I thought I'd be more exhausted but it's not that bad. The best part of the weekend was meeting some people from on-line that I know like John and Cole. I also met some new people like Jackie and Angel and Laura, Kelli and Catherine. There were also some authors I was stoked to meet and I refuse to name due to leaving someone out who will be hurt I didn't say them. :-)

I heard next year is Albuquerque. Huh? I'm not sure if I'll go. Part of the appeal of this year was the chance to get a bunch of people I know in one fun place. Half the appeal was the city. I'm sorry, but Albuquerque holds no appeal for me. Santa Fe, yes. So we'll see if I attend next year or not. It's a long way off.

New Orleans, here I come

2011-10-12T16:21:00.000-04:00

So I'm off to New Orleans tonight for GayRomLit. I managed to get out of work extra-early since I had taken care of everything. I think everything is ready at home and just have to make it to the Big Easy. Let's hope all the flights are on time, so far they say they are.

I'm looking forward to seeing some old friends, and meeting some new. It's going to be great fun and I've never been to New Orleans so I'm looking forward to it. I've head that Bourbon Street is a sight to see and I've heard about all the great food. Hopefully I'll be able to post some pics as I got, but it's a pretty packed schedule. If I see any vamps I'll steer clear, unless they are hot of course. :-D

Just for fun, Thorny posted some inspirational pics today and asked for flash fiction. Clare London and I responded (likely when we both should have been getting ready to leave town LOL). Clare's is absolutely perfect and appropriate. Stop by and have a read. Only 300 words each so should take about 5 min.

Catch y'all later.

New York, the end ... of my trip, not the world

2011-10-11T13:18:00.004-04:00

Although I see Mr. Psycho Old Guy has claimed that the end of the world is coming on Oct 21 (since May 21 didn't pan out). Yeah right. He had a stroke and is obviously suffering dementia. Shouldn't he be committed to a nursing home or something? Anyway.

Sunday we got our butts out of bed and off to the Wall Street area to meet up with Enrico and David for brunch. And ... sigh ... I got no pictures. They looked the same as last summer. :-) We had a fun brunch, talking about movies and celebs and jobs and moving and all that good stuff. And I had gingerbread pancakes which were yummy.

These were not MY pancakes but they are a pic from the restaurant with the pumpkin butter. Considered some of the best pancakes in New York City. So they say.

We then planned to meet Kris at the Apple Store at the corner of Central Park and check out the boys. It was a HOT day. Whew. As we came out of the subway there was a parade. We THINK it was the Columbus Day parade but we're not sure. It was mostly Latin American groups divided by country. The Bolivians were amazing with the costumes and hundreds of participants and we took some pics of Chile for my Tumblr bud Gefallener Engel who lives in Chile.

Huge Bolivian groups. All the guys had bells on their boots and it sounded very cool.

More crazy Bolivian costumes. It was 29C (very hot), I can only imagine how sweaty they were getting.


The Chilean delegation

The parade was VERY long and slow so after Chile we crossed to the park and walked through Central Park. It was such a gorgeous day and tons of people. We found the open area of the park and sat down for a while to enjoy the scenery. :-D

After some struggles with a subway line that didn't appear to be running, Kristen and I went to H&M to do some shopping and to Macy's to buy her a bag since Delta managed to completely destroy the wheels on her's. Grrrr. On the way back home Kris sent a text that the fire alarm was going off and there was water everywhere. ACK!!! Luckily we were about 5 min. away in a cab. Seems there was a leak in the apartment above us and the water poured through the ceiling and started the smoke detector freaking out. Sigh. So Kris had mostly wiped it up and I went hammering on the neighbor's door. She claimed it wasn't her, she was in the shower. No, it was you. When the shower stopped upstairs, it also stopped in our apartment. So we had the super there and was on the phone with the apartment owner. Sigh. What a nightmare. But at least it stopped and didn't happen again in the night or before we left. Oh and it wasn't our fault. Yay for innocence. :-) Update: Just got an e-mail from the owner offering me 50% off our last day. I'm good with that.

Kris left early Monday to catch the train to Washington and we left around 10:30 to take the subway to JFK airport. Seriously, how does luggage seem to weigh twice what it did when you arrive and we didn't buy that much stuff? Anyway, it took us about 90 min. to get to JFK, but we made it in time, caught out flight home and despite losing my parking ticket thingy at the Syracuse airport we easily got on the road and headed home. We stopped for some food and the border wasn't too busy yet so made it home by 7:00. Long day though.

We had a great time to be with Kris and see the gang. I'm looking forward to New Orleans this week as well. Crazy busy but lots of fun stuff. I've heard New Orleans has a "smell". So does New York. LOL

New York Day 2 and 3

2011-10-10T20:45:00.000-04:00

Here are some pics from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Another gorgeous day in the big city so we stopped to have a fresh hot pretzel on the steps of the museum. Yum.

Then since we all have separate interests we kind of split up a bit. My daughter is totally into ancient Egypt and I'm into ancient Greece so the two of us headed off that way while Kris went to explore the Asian art exhibits.

This is a Cycladic statue that I am totally enamoured with. When I saw one in Athens I nearly swooned and was thrilled to see another in New York.

I love these black and red pottery pieces. However, as we were wandering around that exhibit room I overhead this guy leading a tour group. Normal. But then he's starting to use Greek culture and art to make a religious statement. They had a large jar they would fill with alcohol and get drunk and that's immoral and they did these horrible things while under the influence of alcohol. He points to a statue of Heracles and states that the fact that he is carrying a spiked club is a sign of an immoral, violent and dangerous personality. WTF? My kid had to pretty much shove me out of the room before I could go over and ream him one for using ancient Greek culture to somehow "reinforce" his religious views. Sigh. Don't be perverting my ancient Greek culture or face my wrath.

Then we went to the store and when we realized they had a particular Van Gogh painting we quickly ran upstairs to the Impressionist section. It is probably my fave era in painting.

Then we had our dinner with KB and went home.

Saturday, Kris went to see the High Line which is a park built on an abandoned rail line and the kid and I headed down to Times Square, with a billion other people.

Walking was reminiscent (I imagine) of a salmon swimming upstream.

After my kid posed with the girls promoting Priscilla Queen of the Desert, we saw they had tickets for the matinee show so we grabbed tickets, then some lunch on the stairs in the middle of Times Square and hit the show. It was lots of fun with fab costumes and I kept thinking "OMG, Polt would sooooo love this show." ;-) Lots of shirtless mostly pantsless hotties.

We then met up with Kris again, headed down to Whole Foods and picked up some dinner and snacks and waited for the gang to come over. And I have zero pictures. (ducks from Michelle's flying fists of fury) They are on Adam's camera, so soon, I said I want some. Mike, Ty, Adam, Drazen, Chris D and FDot all came by and we laughed and gabbed and mocked musicians on the music channel and ate snacks and probably freaked Kris out. :-) Things got really wild when Drazen and Kristen started doing yoga. Wish some others could have come, but hopefully next time.

Tomorrow I'll post about our last day and the return trip.

New York, New York

2011-10-08T09:45:00.000-04:00

So we arrived unscathed on Thursday and Kris met us at the apartment. After pausing for about 5 min. my kid was ready to hit the town and wanted to see the Wall Street protest so we headed down there while my kid wandered through the tent city and took pictures. It was pretty quiet, people making signs, talking to media types, just hanging out. Lots and lots of cops.

Some protesters cuter than others.

After seeing all there was to see there, we headed down to Times Square. We went to Toys RUs where Kris bought some Lego which is apparently much cheaper here than in Australia and then on a whim we checked out what was still available at the Tkts booth since we were right there. They had tickets for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying with Daniel Radcliffe which my daughter really wanted to see. Kris is still adjusting to the time so I just got tickets for my daughter and I. Pretty expensive even at 40% off (paid $80 each) but we had great seats in the balcony but the theatre is so small you have a great view anyway. The show was fun, Daniel Radcliffe did a great job and John Laroquette was freaking hysterical.

However after the show as over they came on stage and we happened to be there on a night when the Trevor Project was associated with the show as Daniel Radcliffe works with them. So a portion of the proceeds went to the project and then they auctioned off some items which I was blown away by the price. Two cast autographed posters went for $1,100 each, two autographed baseball caps for $700 each and then Daniel took of his blue bow tie he wears and said that plus the chance to meet with him after the show went for $2,500. They then let the audience ask the whole cast questions. It was great fun and a real bonus to get the extra interaction. One young girl was there for her 16th birthday and she had her Harry Potter book which already had Rupert Grint and Emma Watson's signature and he said he's sign it for sure. I'll bet she was in heaven later. So it was an extra special performance that we were lucky to hit.

Yesterday we dragged ourselves out of bed and eventually headed out to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We split up and the kid and I went to Ancient Egypt and Greece and Kris headed off to Asian. We also grabbed a quick look at the impressionists then ended up on the roof top garden in the absolutely perfect New York weather with an over-priced cocktail and just relaxed and people watched. We saw a young man get down on one knee and propose to his girlfriend, we saw some slutty chick picking up a guy who was buying her champagne and just generally relaxed until it was time to head off to dinner.
We met up with KB whom many of you might now from around the net and had some New York pizza and enjoyed a good chat, then we walked on home as it was not that far from our apartments.

We also stopped at the Big Gay Ice Cream Store which is a block from us and had ice-cream. They have crazy stuff. I had a cone covered in curried coconut. Smelled like that yellow curry in a can, but tasted very good.

Today I have sore feet. LOL But I think we are probably going to go to a matinee show today. And some of my NY friends are coming over this evening to hang out so I have to buy some supplies and get ready. Having a great time though. Hope everyone else has a super weekend.

LA Witt-day

2011-10-04T06:17:00.001-04:00

Which is kind of like a Tuesday but with more butt-secks. (Thankfully)

Infinity Pools by LA Witt (153 pages)
Amber Allure

This is the continuation of Getting Off the Ground. After a wild night with Derek following getting stood up at the alter, Elliott decided to go off and spend his two weeks in Hawaii with Derek. This totally threw him out of his comfort zone of research and list making but he wanted to do it anyway. The story is basically just the guys hanging out, having hot sex and getting to know one another. Derek also encourages Elliott to try out being single, but they end up at the end of the night with each other. There is also time for Elliott to think, about his relationship and whether it was as great as he thought and worthy of marriage, and what he wants when he goes back home. Because the story is told from Elliott's first person POV you never really know what Derek is thinking beyond what he says, it worked well. It was nice to see commitment-phobe Derek admit that he felt something for Elliott and the reason why he didn't want to connect to anyone was kind of sad, but in the end, there was a very romantic ending as they decide to bring their long-distance romance to a close. The descriptions of Hawaii were also amazing and I liked the banter between the two men and Derek's friends which was snarky and fun.

On the List by LA Witt (67 pages)
Amber Allure

Things continue (with a great shout-out to Jenre) and Elliott and Derek have decided to get married in Seattle where their families are before Derek moves to Hawaii permanently. They have to do the usual family get-togethers before the wedding and when they get to Derek's family the reception is chilly to say the least. He's surprised since they had met Elliott and knew about the wedding, but they declare that they don't support him and won't be attending. Derek is left reeling by his family's rejection and starts to question the whole concept, however he doesn't want to disappoint Elliott who got stood up once. After a sniffle inducing conversation with his brother on the eve of the wedding, he decides they don't need his family and proceed. This story is told from Derek's first person point of view since most of the story revolves around him coming to terms with his family's feelings about not just his relationship with Elliott, but his whole life. Word of warning. I read these one after the other, like "finish page 153, start page 1" and it took me a very long time to wrap my brain around the fact that it was Derek speaking. I kept thinking "Why would he say that?" Oh wait. It's Derek. Right. Makes sense now. This had nothing to do with the writing, because it was out of character for Elliott so it was not a case of both characters being "the same", it was my brain. So maybe take a day between unless you are able to switch gears faster than I am. :-)

Loved this series and how Derek was a calming and relaxing influence on Elliott. He still had his lists, but he was also able to go with the flow more often and not get so freaked out. Also you find out Derek isn't quite the slacker he comes across as. When he needs to suck it up and do his job, he does and does it well.

Saturday Update

2011-10-01T11:03:00.002-04:00

So our Indian Summer is over. When from 30C with the humidex on Wednesday and to about 9C today. Brrrrr. Kind of gray and damp too. Oh well. No big plans for the weekend. Try and get laundry and some stuff done up as we leave Thursday morning for New York. Ack! It really snuck up on me. Looking forward to seeing Kris and the guys in New York though. Hopefully it will be nice weather.Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Just Like Cats & Dogs by BA Tortuga (200 pages)
Torquere Press

This is a shifter story with a bit of a different feel. Sam is a cat shifter who was adopted by a wolf family. In fact they are a bit of an odd-ball family. His one older brother is blind, his older sister can't shift but things were particularly hard for Sam growing up. He was forced to be locked up during the moon shift because the other wolves in the pack would attack him. Growing up, Gus was Sam's best friend's older brother who delighted in making Sam's life hell. However when Sam comes home for his father's funeral, Gus is in for a surprise. Sam is now a very successful choreographer and he's not taking any crap. They happen to run into each other months later and the attraction is strong but cats and dogs can't be together so they move on, until they run into each other again and finally admit they are mates, however the cats in the city Sam lives in hate Sam because he smells like wolf and decide to make him pay. Gus manages to get him rescued and they need to work out where their life will go from there. What was different is the shifters still have many animal traits while in human form. Most shifters are completely human, but Sam would go nuts when Gus would scratch his lower back like a cat and Gus loved having his ears scratched and they made animal sounds, purred, etc. in human form. I liked seeing a more animalistic human. Also after Sam is attacked, he's injured very badly and there is no magical shifter healing, he's permanently damaged for life. No easy solutions. But while Gus started out as a total asshole, the way he treated Sam when he was injured and at the end made me fall totally in love with him. So for a little different look at shifters, it was a good read that I quite enjoyed.

Slow Bloom by Anah Crow & Dianne Fox (490 pages)
Torquere Press

I believe this story was originally a serial and should probably have tripped one of my major squick buttons, HUGE age gaps but it worked. Go figure. Ricky is 19 and looking after his reclusive neighbours yard for the summer. He's been crushing on 47 year old Jack and one day he ends up making a move. They spend the summer having sex but no strings. Jack has his own baggage as he used to be a dom who had things go badly when he couldn't take the pressure of keeping up the mask he felt he had to wear. He's now cautious. This story takes place over about a year and while Ricky goes back to University they continue to chat and see each other periodically, gradually growing closer. When Ricky comes home the next summer he finally confesses to his parents and his mother does NOT take it well, but his father is supportive. I thought his father was great. It's hard to summarize because its nearly 500 pages, but even though they often mention how old Jack is, it didn't bother me, maybe because I didn't feel even at the end that it was necessarily a forever thing, especial Jack knew that, maybe in 10 years they'd go their separate ways, who knows. I did find I was skimming the sex at the end so I could get to the plot part. I realize that there was a lot of sex because each month it was released there was probably a sex scene but when you string them all together it got a bit much. Ricky and Jack were hot and sexy and I loved how Jack would try things with Ricky he never did before and wanted to make him happy and how Ricky changed Jack's crabby ways. If you don't like sex with other people once they hook up this could be an issue as they are not exclusive that first year, but it fit with their relationship and I enjoyed it.

It's time to vote again!

2011-09-29T08:49:00.001-04:00

Only this time you get to vote for my kidlet. She in the semi-final round of the Cocky & Rude Fight Club. Up against Michelle M, who is roughly the size of a peanut and FDot, who is a boy. Enough said. :-P So stop by and vote for "the kid" a time or 50. Vote early and vote often, that's our motto. Keep Canada's hopes alive in the ultimate internet fight club.

Just click on the picture for the post and the poll is embedded or if your firewall, like mine, thinks C&R has too much cock and is way too rude, you can just go to the poll itself.

This is her trash talk. I'm so proud of my little girl. *sniff* *sniff*

If you think adding a third person to this fight will phase me, think again. After being in a thirteen man cage match in the underground back in ’97 there ain’t a chance that I’ll lose. I’m fierce and have put on over 10 kilos of muscle from training with the highest class of security guards around. I’m strong, I’m tough and I’m god’s unwanted child. I plan on taking this ring by storm and not only will I tear up the competition I’ll tear out the ring, the crowd and anything that’s within the square kilometer. Just call me the Hulk because once I’m in the ring I’m ready to explode.

Wicked Wednesday

2011-09-28T07:00:00.002-04:00

I haven't posted a blather post for a bit. Today's subject is the naughty, wicked taboo, twincest. Like many subgenres, I have no desire to have sex with a sibling (that I don't have), and in real life would I be squicked out if real twins told me they were romantically involved? Probably. Obviously twincest is an off-shoot of incest in general, which I don't find hot at all. I think parent/child (or step-child) has too much of an inequality factor. Even m/f incest turns me off and maybe that's more of a physical inequality. With twin men you have the same size and age so there seems to be something more equal in my brain. I also seem to gravitate to m/m/m involving twins, but not exclusively.

I know twincest doesn't trip everyone's hot button. There are kinks that don't work for me, but that's okay. I don't think a fantasy means anything negative, it's pretend and lord knows straight men have been fantasizing about twins for centuries. :-)

I thought I would list some of my favourite twincest books and you can tell me your own or if this is really not your cup of tea. I won't hold it against you.

Gemini by Chris Owen

This was the first twincest book I ever bought. I read it with one eye, and it was squinted half-shut. I was prepared to be freaked ... Now I read it about every month or two. When I can't focus on anything else, I know I can pull this one out and pass the time. It was also my first fisting scene and first m/m/m (I think). Holy smokes, talk about throwing myself into the deep end of the pool ... filled with piranhas.

D.N.A. Double Helix by Jaye Valentine

There was some controversy surrounding this book when Amazon removed it from it's catalog because it was deemed unsuitable because it was twincest. Although I see you can still buy Gemini there. Go figure. This is young men who are a popular musical duo who get caught by their manager having a relationship. It's only a short story and I know there is a novel coming of their story which I am looking forward to. Often twins are opposites which is the case here, one brash and bold, one more quiet and introspective.

Telling the Truth by Lee Brazil

This was book two in the series with one a set of twins who had a rough childhood. There was some debate as to whether they really were together, but to me a BJ is close enough to all out sex to count. However I love twinky twins and they were sweet.

Baked by Sean Micahel

This is set in the Hammer world which is an exclusive BDSM club. Two bratty twins need themselves a good Dom to take them in hand. Their brother hands them over to a Dom, who is a twin himself. The two brothers end up hooking up as well as the twins and the Dom. Rather typical of the Hammer stories, LOTS of sex.

Dinner and a Movie and My Secret Valentine by M. Durango

This is the story of twin college-aged brothers. The first story is when they admit their feelings for each other and then the second is where one is more insecure about their relationship, sure his brother is going to find a more "normal" boyfriend. They were cute shorts if you want to give twincest a try before spending more money on a novel length books.

I know there are other twin stories out there. There are some I've come across in anthologies like Toy Box: Twins, sometimes with a third, sometimes just two. There is also the other "sub-sub-genre" with twins who don't seem to be sexually involved with each other but only the third, examples are the Horsfall series by Jade Buchanan and Fever Lust by Lizzie Lynn Lee.

I even wrote (am writing?) something that has twins but they are secondary characters and I don't imagine I'll actually write anything more than a few current public displays of affection between them. I really should get back to that story.

So tell me what you think of twins in romance or your favourite books.

Movie Review - Coffee Date

2011-09-25T13:41:00.000-04:00

So FINALLY our gay TV channel had something worth watching, although I'm thinking I might start watching Gay Army since it seems funny. Last night this movie was on so I thought I'd give it a whirl.

It's from 2006 and was made on a shoestring budget and that was my biggest complaint. The sound. I had my TV cranked as loud as it would go at times to hear them, then the next scene the microphone would be closer and it was loud, then far away and quiet. Sigh. But sound issues aside, I found myself laughing more than once.

Jonathon Bray - Todd

Todd is a divorced man who is finally going out on a date with a woman he met over the internet via his brother who is mooching off him and living at his place. Oddly the meeting place is a gay cafe. Todd is very uncomfortable and has a little run-in with a guy, but they eventually agree to share a table until their respective dates arrive. They get to talking and ... OMG, he is Kelly. He assumed Kelly was a girl as his brother had hooked them up. After they get over the shock, they do have a lot in common and go out to a movie. To play a joke on his brother, Kelly sneaks in with Todd and they pretend to have sex. Only the whole thing backfires because Todd's brother phones his mother who comes running and NO ONE will believe he's not gay.

He comes home to find the head of the local PFLAG at his house. His mother is played by Sally Kirkland and she is very funny and makes Todd crazy. Also, when he goes out to a movie with Kelly and some gay friends he runs into his gay co-worker who then spreads the word and the next thing he knows he's being offered partner benefits by his understanding boss, his female coworker is asking his advice on the best lube for anal sex, his coworkers pay for a male stripper for his birthday, and he's invited out for drinks with the girls. Still, no one believes he's straight no matter what he says. It was really very funny and Kelly was so sweet and cute.

Wilson Cruz - Kelly

Even funnier, Todd's older brother who seemed homophobic admits that he's gay and no one believes him because his mother thinks he's just jealous of the attention Todd is getting. In the end Todd starts to question his sexuality. He likes Kelly a lot, and when he picks up a girl at a bar, Little Todd decides not to show up to the party. Kelly's solution is to try sex with him and if he likes it, he's gay, if not, then he's straight. Unfortunately Kelly ends up with a broken heart out of the deal. You could see it coming and I was kind of hoping it would be a GFY HEA ending where Todd realizes that he loves Kelly even if he's a guy, but the ending was probably more realistic. In the end they manage to remain good friends.

If you can get a hold of this movie either through Netflix or something on-line it's a great little movie to lighten your mood. It's not graphic. The only sexual contact you see if Kelly and Todd kiss although there lots of innuendo. Sure it's not academy award material and the sound is not great, but I found myself snorting so many times as poor Todd tried to convince everyone he was straight and they insisted he was just in denial. And oh, Wilson Cruz is so cute.

Lazy Saturday

2011-09-24T15:08:00.000-04:00

Just feeling like a bit of a lump today. My kid is away all day and while I could have been doing laundry and going to get groceries, I've managed to talk myself out of it. I can do both later, or tomorrow. :-) I can order pizza. Yeah, that's the ticket.

I did manage to go through all of my e-mails to make sure that all the books we are committed to reviewing have been selected, downloaded, etc. I'm now a bit freaked by my TBR file. I'll soon ignore it and pretend it's not there and feel better. I got a little reading done this week when I wasn't watching animation.

Soft Focus by Reno MacLeod and Jaye Valentine (95 pages)
M&V Tailz at Smashwords

Ethan is a wildlife photographer who also writes gay erotic romance. After a run-in on a plane with a guy with a BDSM magazine, he decides to contact the Dom in the magazine and ask if he can interview him before writing his next book. By chance David is going to be a fetish show near Ethan so they agree to meet. David arrives with his cross-dressing partner of 5 years Kiyoshi. Before long Ethan is back in their room and naked getting a first hand look at BDSM. He's a bit confused, he's attracted to both, but Kiyoshi seems a bit snarky, however the next day they talk it out and it seems Kiyoshi is afraid that David will choose Ethan, but Ethan confesses he likes them both soothing Kiyoshi's fears. There is a run-in with a total jerk who pushes Kiyoshi until he issues a challenge which nearly gets him beaten and raped later until Ethan saves him. My only frustration was Ethan. He's supposedly just picked himself up two new lovers, for the weekend at least and some guy grabs his zipper in the bathroom and he just stands there and gets a blow job from a stranger while Kiyoshi is being abducted. WTF? Are men REALLY so ruled by their dicks? He didn't even TRY to push the guy off. Okay, they needed the plot point but I would have been a billion times more pissed off than David was since Ethan was supposed to be looking out for Kiyoshi. Anyway, it's an interesting look at BDSM and the stigma attached to being involved and how idiots like the one in the story can give a whole community a bad name. Kiyoshi was cute and impertinent.

Russian Roulette by Alex Alder (150 pages)
Dreamspinner Press

Jacob is a martial arts/fitness instructor who gets a hot new neighbor Nate, who moved from Dallas. Before long they are dating and Jacob thinks everything is super. Soon women are being found murdered and it's suspected that a serial killer form Dallas is killing women in the new city. When one of my Jacob's students is murdered, he starts to get suspicious as to why Nate refused to allow him in his apartment and he moved form Dallas and ... Jacob confesses his concerns to one of his students who is a police officer and they raid Nate's apartment, finding nothing but some notes from an apparent stalker. Needless to say Nate is not ready to forgive Ethan, but when the stalker strikes trying to get Jacob out of the way, all hell breaks loose. I really liked Jacob and Nate together, however I was a bit annoyed that Nate behaved in a way that led Ethan to believe what he did. Every time Jacob asked to see his place he refused and wouldn't say why and wouldn't say why he moved, all very suspicious. Jacob tried to ask but Nate refused to tell him. And yet when the police entered the apartment, everything he didn't want Jacob to see was in a bedroom with a closed door so there was no excuse. My other annoyance was Jacob's feeling guilty every time someone liked him and he said no. He felt so bad when the dead girl had asked him out as if he was crushing her very dreams by saying "I'm gay", same when the clerk at the cafe asked him out, he felt sooooo bad that he said no, even if he was dating Nate. Look buddy, you weren't god's gift to man-kind, they'll get over it. Although given his history with his ex-girlfriend, maybe I can see his reaction but sheesh, you're not obliged to date every person who looks at your sideways. On the whole though I enjoyed it.

Animation

2011-09-23T07:47:00.001-04:00

The last couple of days I got to attend the Television Animation Conference in my city for work. Part of the time was spent in seminars about funding and tax credits (kind of boring but important for my work) and part was spent in interesting seminars like the interactions of social media with television stations, which touched on things like what kind of responsibilities does a TV broadcaster have if someone (especially children as much television animation is geared towards teens and down) appears to be suicidal or violent on message boards and how do you deal with that, to the emergence of animation for adults and what direction that is going in with some very funny stories. Adult Swim was there which is one of the most well-known adult oriented channels. But when I wasn't learning important stuff, I had a chance to see some of the videos that were in competition. I couldn't see them all of course, otherwise I would have spent two days in that dark room on the comfy couches watching movies, (not that it would have been a bad thing) but I got to see nearly two competitions.

The competitions have different categories and they are submission from around the world. There are high school production, slick commercials from companies like Coke and Mr. Peanut along with college/university pieces, commercial animation studios and just people who do it for fun.

Some were very cute and really short, some were more in-depth and longer and some were 0__0. One I arrived in late because of another seminar and it was papier mache rabbits (walking and wearing clothes like people), really well done and as I watch it, suddenly the male rabbit leaves his wife in the forest, goes home, eats some papier mache food, then promptly vomits it up, takes a stuffed animal back to the forest where his wife is being attacked by a dog and a hunter who takes her away, then the husband is stuck in the leg hold trap (I didn't realize his wife was also, missed the beginning), she returns, they hug and can't get him out so she finds some white strawberries and they eat them and start vomiting blood and die. Oh. Um. Yeah. Wow. Technically so cool, but ... Not the animation you take your kids to. :-)

I found some of the ones I saw on-line. The first one is one of the more abstract concepts I saw. It is a submission from the US.

Two from Steven Subotnick on Vimeo.

This was a Canadian submission and is more of an information video rather than entertainment. I loved the colors used and the simplicity of the animation that really got the point across.

This is only a short clip from a Canadian college which has a digital media course. It was only done in black red and white and was so beautiful with the music and how negative space was used. Wish I could have found the whole video for you.

Paso Doble teaser from Jamie Metzger on Vimeo.

I think this was my favourite. I was just captivated when I saw it. Such a cute idea and so well done.

This particular style and look, very simplistic, stark, little or no use of colour and just very basic minimal artwork seemed to crop up several times. It's not my favourite look but I an appreciate the simplicity of it in telling a story and not cluttering it up with background. It is from the US.

Stay Home from caleb wood on Vimeo.

This is a far more traditional look from Germany. It's quite a cute little story and would be good for families. I just realized this is just clips from the movie rather than the whole thing, but it's a good example of the animation.

Hinterland Trailer from Jakob Weyde on Vimeo.

This was one of the very smooth 3-D-ish animations from Pepsi who probably spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for this. Very well done of course.

This was just a cute little video that combined real video with animation. There were a few that combined live action and types of animation. I liked the little flame guys. It is from Japan.

There were others that were really interesting. If you ever get a chance to see The Last Norwegian Troll (Det siste norske trollet) which is narrated by Max Von Sydow it was excellent. Much more traditional animation but longer and a wonderful story. Unfortunately not on line. Things You Better Not Mix Up from the Netherlands had us all laughing out loud. I'm sorry I couldn't find those two on-line.

On the whole I was very impressed and while not everything was to my taste, I can appreciate the amount of work that goes into animation. One company who did a case study has been working on a feature length movie in Quebec for 2 years for Christmas release and we won't see it in English Canada until next Christmas. It's not a career for those who enjoy instant gratification. I think next year I'll get my daughter and I some passes and see some of the other shows together.

Hope you enjoy the movies, all are suitable for kids, if not appealing to them, and have a super weekend.

Tuesday Two

2011-09-20T07:00:00.003-04:00

Barging In by Josephine Myles (207 pages)
Samhain

This is now available today. Dan is a journalist who is doing an article about barging on the canal near Bath. He's pretty hopeless at it really, and literally runs into hottie Robin, who lives on his boat. He's surly and not impressed with idiot tourists, however before long, self-professed slut Dan, with no interest in a relationship, and firmly-bi Robin, have agreed to spend the week together, no strings. Well, we all know how that goes right? At first Robin comes across as a bit of an ass, and Dan is a good-time Charlie, but the more you get to know them and dig beyond the surface you find out what they are really about. Why Robin behaves as he does toward Dan, and Dan's sexually-free lifestyle and why he is staying away from commitment. I really really liked this story. It takes the time to develop the relationship, even after the week vacation, there's no easy answer to their issues, especially the distance. The cast of secondary characters was great, the locals who live on/beside the canal, Robin's very upper-crust family and Dan's blue-collar family, and his best friend and sometimes bed-buddy Tristan, all play important roles and are individuals with distinct personalities. I may have sniffled a bit at one point, but it's not super angsty. There are funny parts and serious parts and both men change and grow and move forward in their personal growth due to the other. If I had any niggles it was Robin's female friend who interfered a bit (but I appreciated that both guys ignored her LOL), and I would have loved to see Robin address his bi vs gay status, but those are very minor. So I am saying, rush out and get this great little story. You'll fall in completely love with Dan and Robin by the end of the book. I'm kind of hoping Tristan gets to find his HEA soon. :-)

Goldilocks and His Three Bears by AM Riley (105 pages)
Loose Id

Brian is new to LA and has found solace in one of the leather bars. One night he meets Paul, a big tattooed leather Daddy and they start up an exclusive relationship. Paul has roommates who are never home and things are going well, when Paul has to leave for several months for his job, and he never makes a commitment to Brian. He's hurt Paul left, but he meets Jim, a bit of a pot-head and they start a relationship, when Jim finally takes him home, holy hell, it's Paul's house. Then before long, just when Brian is getting attached, Jim disappears and asks Brian to water his pot plants. One day, Scott, the third roommate shows up and before long they are having fun, when, oops, Paul and Jim come home and find him in bed with Scott. Brian feels guilty and yet Paul never even discussed their relationship, nor did Jim. Before long they are all in bed together, however things can be a bit awkward and before long Jim and Scott have some kind of complicated thing going on, and what does that means for all of them. I liked that it wasn't just "easy", that everyone fell into bed and la la la, life is perfect. It was complicated and messy and confusing at times, and I think it naturally made sense that they tended to pair off with play-time still between all four. And the fact that Scott didn't get the D/s relationship between Paul and Brian, and felt it was abusive, so they had to try and explain to him how it worked for Brian, was an interesting twist. If you only like your two main heroes together then this isn't for you, but I think this was an interesting portrayal of a semi-open (polyamorous to an extent) relationship with three very different bears who all offered Brian something different that made a complete relationship for him. I quite enjoyed the complexity.

Torquere Two

2011-09-18T10:53:00.001-04:00

Ah. Sunday. I got some house cleaning done on my day off Friday. Not as much as I'd hoped but ... Anyone want to come and take care of my second floor? Sigh. No big plans for the weekend, I need to do some laundry and grocery shopping, but a quiet weekend for me. My kid was off at 7:45 this morning to watch a horse show with some friends, far too early to be up on a weekend. :-)

Three More Wishes by Sean Michael (230 pages)
Torquere Press

This is a follow up to Three Wishes which I didn't read, but it's essentially three men who run a "fantasy island" for BDSM fantasies. Each book is three stories of men who come to the island seeking a particular BDSM fantasy. Three men run the island, Guard, Damian and James, however I found myself wondering about the back story of the men as James is pushing away his lovers because he's in a wheel chair, but it's unclear what happened but Damian believes he's responsible.

The three stories are a man going blind whose intention is to commit suicide after this fantasy, however the man chosen to be with him is seeking someone to care for, and he fits the bill. The other is an author of thrillers who wants to try a kidnap/slave fantasy. However it doesn't go as well as he expects. The third is a Dom who wants to be a sub for 5 days to better understand what it's like and is shocked when he sees he knows the guy chosen to be his Dom for the week.

I really liked the first story, it was the longest of the three and I felt for Cameron whose ex actually helped him by the pills. Sheesh. Nice guy. The second story had me a bit on edge as the author was not coping well with the sex slave thing and FINALLY used his safeword. I wasn't sure exactly where that was going, but conveniently worked out. And the third was kind of cute as the Dom confessed he was in love with the wanna-be sub. I was curious though they both "trained" subs but he said he didn't want to date a sub. So the sex with subs is what, like your day job? I don't quite get that. This is a typical SM with LOTS of sex and at times I found myself skimming to get to the relationship resolution. There was some movement on the original trio, but I still would have liked to see more than a little intro and epilogue to know more about them and if they could work it out.

Cereus: Building by Julia Talbot, Sean Michael, BA Tortuga (190 pages)
Torquere Press

This is set in the world of the Blood Rose club where several short stories have been set by Julia Talbot. In this case, the original author has created a new resort location and then each author has written a story about a pairing within that world. I thought it was well done and they all merged in a fairly common voice and characters would spill over from one story to the other. The set-up is that a dragon, Daniel, asks Jonny to build an exclusive resort for paranormal creatures, mostly to protect his own lair because other dragons steer clear from humans.

The first story is werewolf Chayton who is a carpenter on the construction who is driven mad by interior designer Kenny. They are attracted but after sex Chayton pretty much accuses Kenny of being an incubus as he's a demon, so Kenny gets pissed. Eventually Chayton pulls his head out of his ass after a visit to his brother and he's very thrilled with Kenny's horns and tail and allows him to be himself without hiding it.

The next story is twincest. Cat shifters Marco and Stephan are the pastry chef and regular chef who are always fighting. Bar manager Faelan is fascinated with them and things are going well until during their shift on the full moon Faelan loses his head and attacks Marco and he has to get back in their good graces. These are typical twins, one naughty, one good, one more protective of the weaker more submissive brother. Nothing very different but they were cute.

The last one is dragon Daniel who sees BDSM master demon Zee. However Zee is all he-man alpha and Daniel just basically laughs at him, although secretly he wants it. I loved how Daniel make Zee crazy because he didn't cower in front of him and would egg him on. Also Daniel's self-consciousness about the fact he's rather small for a dragon was sweet, they were just a cute couple.

There will be more stories set at the resort as this story ends as they are just ready to open and lots of characters were dropped in who could have the potential for stories. Like most "anthologies" some couples will appeal more than others, but in this case you actually get a bit longer stories for some than in the shorts.

Thursday Three

2011-09-15T07:00:00.000-04:00

So, another week nearly finished. Well, getting closer. I'm still liking my job, the part I'm not liking so much is not to do with the people I work with, but the general fact that I work for an organization that still exists in a 1975 mind-set. Ugh. It's so frustrating. I shouldn't have to be out of pocket $1100 until you decide to reimburse me because the concept of a company credit card is foreign to you. Sigh. Hopefully I can get it worked out today but I was ready to smack someone around yesterday afternoon.

My kid had a job interview Wed. Not sure she'll get it, it was at a shoe store, but it was her first one so that's good experience for her. Of course that meant running out to find black dress pants which Mom then had to hem up. But she's got them now. She really wants to get a job at the movie theatre so she can get free movies. Ah, the priorities of youth. :-)

Have a great Thursday everyone.

Troubled Range by Andrew Grey (180 pages)
Dreamspinner Press

This follows in the Range books and Philip has been lost his job and has decided to head out and visit Dakota and Wally. He's kind of hoping he can hook up with the foreman he had a fling with last time, however he's got a man of his own now. Philip's a bit down but meets Haven, from the neighboring ranch, however Haven's father hates Dakota and his father with a passion and Haven has to watch never to be caught near them, but he accepts Philip's invite to a date and is ready to explore his gayness with him. Suddenly after some suspect fence breaks, somehow Haven's father dies when he's out riding on Dakota's ranch in the middle of the night and the horse goes down. They then find out dear old Dad was about to sell the farm leaving Haven out in the cold. Then Philip has to deal with his natural inclination to run and not wanting to be a kept man by Haven but his own career. I liked that the evil dad was gotten rid of fairly quickly, even if his influence went on. I always wanted Philip to find his guy and there was enough kinky interest on Haven's part to keep Philip happy. A cute story that fans of the series will enjoy.

Unexpected by Sommer Marsden (110 pages)
X-cite

Jen recommended this one so I thought I'd try it. Her review pretty much sums it up. When I saw the cover originally I thought "Oh no, another "he's left with the baby" book. I'll pass." But it wasn't quite what I expected. Yes, he got left with the baby after his best friend couldn't cope, but the emphasis was not on that so much, there was pages of him changing diapers and buying strollers, etc. Yes, it was insta-love but it didn't bother me too much. Perhaps Charlie was a bit emotional. He cried more than I thought maybe necessary and was pretty chatty about his emotions but it while it walked close to the line it didn't quite cross it for me. I also found at the beginning I felt at times like I was kind of dropped into the middle of a scene and it took me a moment to get my bearings, but either that stopped happening or I adjusted to it because I didn't notice it later. So don't let the baby turn you off if that's not your thing.

Clear Water by Amy Lane (214 pages)
Dreamspinner Press

Patrick is a bit of a rich boy with no real purpose. He lives off his Dad's money, ends up with bad boyfriends and generally floats along with his father's disdain. He finally decides to start taking Ritalin again and go back to school and tell his Dad he's gay. However when the boyfriend finds out the gravy train is stopping, he nearly kills Patrick in a car accident and he's rescued by Whiskey, a biology researcher doing research on pollutants in the river causing mutant frogs with his lesbian best friend. They take Patrick in and before long have formed their own little family with Whiskey slowly falling in love with ADD Patrick and realizing Patrick's so much more than everyone told him, he just has to convince Patrick of that. I think everyone needs a Whiskey for their mate. Someone who supports you and believes in you and doesn't judge. The best part for me was when after the boyfriend comes back and nearly gets them all killed Whiskey doesn't shy away from laying into Patrick's father who always wrote him off as flighty rather than having a serious disability and needing medication. I loved that he called a spade a spade and made Patrick's father see the light. Patrick was a bit of a spaz by his own admission but he was just adorable and his love for Cal and Catherine the two-headed frog was so sweet and even the crusty best friend was won over by his cuteness. There is some poignant parts, as Patrick reassesses his life and how he wants to change it, but it's not overly angsty and you are just cheering for Patrick to realize he's as great as Whiskey knows he is.

Two for Tuesday

2011-09-13T17:20:00.001-04:00

I might need a shot or two. Another god awful early conference call. At least it was during my waking hours. I got rather spoiled only dealing with people in the US and Mexico so my time zones weren't that off. Now India? Europe? Ack! Oh well, I can listen/watch in my pjs then go into the office.

Here's a couple of books I read last week. Hope everyone has a great day.

Psychic Moon by M.D. Grimm (112 pages)
Dreamspinner Press

Derek is an animal control worker who is also a wolf shifter. He takes his job very seriously and often falls into rages at the cruelty people inflict on the animals he has to rescue. He's been working with Brian, a vet at the shelter the animals go to for a couple of years. He likes that Brian is always cool and he always seems able to calm the animals but he doesn't ask him out because he wants to keep his secret. However Brian has a secret as well, he can communicate with animals and that's show he's good at his job. After another blow-up, Derek finally asks him out and things are going well until Brian is attacked by a wolf out of the blue, then comes in the "who is after him" plot. At first I thought it was going to be Brian's abusive ex, but it wasn't and another character from a special paranormal agency was brought in to capture the wolf. I'd be curious if he's getting a story. It was an okay read, my only issue, which stuck in my mind so much I found myself discussing it with my daughter on the weekend. Brian had 3 dogs, 2 German shepherds and a pug and Derek had 3 dogs, all big, then they moved in together into what I took to be a relatively small house in the city (not a farm house) and they adopted a 3-legged lab. So they had 6 large and one small dog (and a cat) in a house in the city. If I was their neighbour I would be NOT impressed. I like dogs as much as the next person but 7 dogs? Seriously? Isn't there a by-law against that? LOL See, it's still making me shake my head days and days later. :-)

The Book of Daniel by Z.A. Maxfield (175 pages)
Loose Id

This is Daniel's story. He is Jake's brother who is in the process of divorcing and exploring his new gayness to the fullest. He is also dealing with his injured arm that was crushed in the car accident in the last book. Cam is the fire fighter that saved him and is friends with Jake and JT, however Cam and Daniel seem to rub each other the wrong way, even though Daniel finds him hot, he's not interested in staying in St. Nachos or having a relationship. He's on the gay buffet. However he can't help his attraction and eventually they start a sort of relationship but when Daniel's partner wants to buy up some local land and open a casino, it causes stress in the town despite Daniel being against it. There is also a sub-story of Daniel and Jake's father who is trying to get back in their lives. I found Daniel a bit flighty despite being a business man. He decides suddenly to stop lying and confesses to his ex about his cheating which basically has negative repercussions all around. His ex was a piece of work with major psychological issues which seemed to spill over on Daniel. I'm just not sure I really liked him all that much. He was okay, but not my favourite character, although he stepped up to the plate at the end without expecting anything in return. However I loved the pets in the family and gave Cam a lot of credit for putting up with Daniel. For those who follow the series it's a must. Lots of characters from the past, especially the pie shop.

A Day in Montreal

2011-09-12T21:35:00.000-04:00

So Sunday after my god awful early conference call, we got our butts on the road and headed off to Montreal for the day. Turned out to be a perfect day. The best part was we met Adam of Cocky & Rude and Mr. Sombrero who are in Montreal having a little French Canadian vacation. It was wonderful to meet Mr. S in person and see Adam again. We had a nice vegan/vegetarian lunch and then went to a little park with some giant chess pieces and hung around for a bit until the kid and I left for the museum.

Am I a midget? What's up with that?

My kid making her move with the white knight.

We couldn't take pics at the museum exhibit. It was a special Indiana Jones exhibit. There were props from the movies and it was an audio exhibit so there were mini-lectures about some of the fact vs fiction in the movies which was interesting. It was a fun exhibit and my kid is a big Indy fan so she really enjoyed it. VERY expensive though for the size. Oh well. It's not everyday you get to see the actual ark they used in the movie.

The museum is right out on one of the piers and it was a gorgeous sunny day, so we were looking across the river and we love this apartment complex. Every time we see it we say we would want to live there. It looks like it's made out of stacked blocks. I'd want to have one of the apartments that is right over a hole, so it would be like being suspended.

After the museum we headed off to the Botanical Gardens for the lantern festival. Again, perfect day, sunny, around 22C, just perfect. We walked all around the gardens and Kristen took some pictures of the roses and lilies that are still in bloom. We were disappointed however that they now longer seem to have the little shuttle train which used to go all around the gardens. It's HUGE and it was probably a good 30 min. ride just to get around. It probably takes 40-50 min. (more if strolling) just to get from one end of the gardens to the other. Oh well, budget cuts right? Sigh.

So as the day wound down, we had an ice-cream and went to the Chinese garden. They have hundreds of full-size silk lanterns. You can see the size, they are more or less life-size.

Same size as the kid.

We think they were lions

There is a small pagoda on the hill across from the large one and for the festival they sell little souvenir type things inside. It's lit up after dark and has lanterns around it as well.

This is the main pagoda and the large lake in front of it where most of the lanterns are set up. Inside this year they had a calligraphy exhibit and behind it there are other gardens with bonsai trees and more lanterns and lots of interesting Chinese features. Each year they have a theme representing a story or event in history. This time it was some procession of an emperor, I forget the details but he was riding in the chariot with all of his minions around him.

The blue dragon in the daylight and then as it's getting dark. It wasn't even completely dark when we left but it was in a tree sheltered area where you could see how the dragon lit up.

A large dragon in the forest.

A turtle who was looking up at the tiger below.

The warriors on the water.

A pheasant (?) at the entrance to the exhibit.

So after we left the gardens we went and grabbed some dinner nearby and then left for home around 8:30. We made it back at 10:30. Not without a bit of excitement. I was paying by credit card and my daughter said something about "don't leave your card" because I've done that TWICE at the same restaurant near my house. And I said "I'm NOT going to forget it." So we pay and leave and the parking is behind the restaurant and as I'm pulling up near the door, there is our waitress waving us down. Yep, sure as hell, I left my credit card. Sheesh. I shouldn't be allowed out alone it seems.

But we had a good trip home, no police. ;-) However today I am uber-grumpy because I'm tired. LOL I should go to bed early tonight but ... Anyway, if you ever get the chance to go to Montreal there is some amazing things to see and do. Living so close we can make it a day trip is something I really appreciate about living here.

Have a great week everyone.

Happy Friday

2011-09-09T12:55:00.002-04:00

Yay. Even though it was a short week for me, I'm glad to be at the end of it. I'm still enjoying my new job although it's much busier than my old job on top of trying to learn everything. I have to be on a conference call for Europe this Sunday. At 6:00 AM. Ugh. I'll be in my jammies pretending I know what I'm talking about. :-)

I also foolishing volunteered for our United Way Charity campaign. Not because it's not a good cause. My department alone raised over $1.5million last year, but it's suddenly taking way more time. There was a bus tour of centres we've given money to, there are kick-off breakfasts, meetings, training. Ugh. Monday will be 4 hours of my day devoted to this. Come on. I just wanted to hand out forms and remind people. Sigh.

Sunday we are heading to Montreal. It's supposed to be nice weather, and since I'll be up already anyway LOL I thought we would head out. As a bonus, my friend Adam (he of the plaid) will be there with his BF so we are going to get together for lunch. I just have to find a vegan/vegetarian restaurant. *muttersillyvegansmutter* Then Kristen and I are going to an Indiana Jones exhibit. Apparently they have props from the movies and stuff and then it's the Chinese lantern festival at the Botanical Gardens where they have HUGE lanters all set up on the lake by the Chinese pagoda and in the hills around it. It's gorgeous. So we'll be able to walk around the gardens for awhile and then after it gets dark and we see the lanterns, we'll probably grab a bite to eat and head home. It will be a long day but we haven't been for a couple of years and I'm looking forward to seeing Adam and Mr. S. Hope everyone has a great weekend

So I've done some reading this week. Not tons but a couple of books.

By Any Other Name by Tia Fielding (200 pages)
Dreamspinner Press

This story clicks onto a couple of my fave themes. It's m/m/m and it's a hurt/comfort story. Dru and Thom have been together for 3 years although Thom still has attacks of insecurity as Dru is about 10 years younger. Out of the blue they are contacted by a mental hospital that says Dru's first love and childhood friend who disappeared Skye is being released and has nowhere to go. Seems the "uncle" who took Skye after his family abandoned him, enslaved him and abused him in anyway possible, including sexually. They both agree, despite being nervous, to take Skye in. Eventually Thom realizes that Skye and Dru are in love, but so is he. However Skye is in no place to have any kind of a normal relationship, certainly not sexual and it gets pretty complicated. I liked that there was no magic dick here. In fact Skye wasn't even sure he was gay, or was it only because he was raped and brainwashed. It took time, a lot of time and little things like being afraid to be touched in any way, panic attacks, I thought it was all well done, along with therapy sessions. I wasn't sure I liked their female friend who wanted Skye for herself, but in the end seemed to be scheming to keep them apart, but on the whole I liked how this went and I liked that each character got to tell their story so you knew why they were acting as they were and how they felt. I really enjoyed this. Oh I should add if you're looking for rampant m/m/m sex here, it's not there. Yes, eventually they all do have sex, but it's not like some where it's nothing but variations of the threesome positions through the book, which in this case would have been totally inappropriate and I would have been annoyed if that had shown up.

Notice by M. Raiya (176 pages)

Torquere

As someone noted on GR, this is less a romance than an adventure story with gay characters. Although there is a relationship and Adrian FINALLY pulls his head out of his ass about Josh, his live-in lover, but primarily it's the dragon story-line which leads. Adrian is a high school teacher, leader of his dragon clan and gay man. And never the three worlds shall collide. Although he lives with flamboyant nail polish wearing artist Josh, no one at school or in the dragon clan knows he's gay and neither of those know he's a dragon. He is given notice by a knight in his classroom which means he must now fight for his life, but he won't fight a student although things go bad. Eventually he finds out the student was the son of the last knight he killed who has special powers, and only went after him because the knights threatened his girl friend. It gets very complicated with political intrigue, betrayal, time travel, mystical stuff, but it's all pretty well done and while I was left with a few questions, in general it's not too confusing. Adrian is prepared to do what he has to in order to save his people, even if it means he could die and leave Josh who he finally figured out he's in love with. He faces some truths about his own behaviour and finds out more about Huntington, the student sent to kill him. I loved Josh who was so much more than Adrian thought, he was a bit funny and sarcastic and I did want to smack Adrian for the way he had treated him over the years, like a filthy secret. Thankfully he redeemed himself. If you like dragons or more mystical adventure stories that are light on the romance (but it's still there), it's a good choice.

Tuesday Two

2011-09-06T07:00:00.000-04:00

Hope those who had a long weekend enjoyed it. We went from high humidity and heat to very cool temps. I did get all of my laundry done (still one basket to put away) and ALL OF MY IRONING!!! Yes, give me a medal people. I am awful for just ironing what I need in the morning, but yesterday I buckled down and now my closet is soooo crowded.

Looking forward to a nice short week although at my new job it's going to be like back to school. Everyone is returning from vacation so it will be odd to have so many people around. I guess I'll find out if the cubicles are noisy or not. It's also first day of 11th grade for my daughter. She only has a half day today, but she's looking forward to it I think which is odd for her. She's not a fan of school, although she's good at it. :-)

Have great week everyone.

Hayashi's Hero by Marie Harte (140 pages)
Loose Id

I think this may be book 2 in the series, but it's the only m/m one. Hayashi belongs to an elite military group called circs who were experimented on and can change into half animal creatures. They are used for special missions and are now searching for their ex-captain who did the experiments. One of Hyashi's special gifts is he can see the future. He keeps seeing a green-eyed man and it leads to his leader's death and his shunning by his team, his only family for being gay. While the change means they go through mating urges where they have gay sex, the other men are not gay and he fears being revealed, although Morgan shows up as an ex-mercenary brought in to help them. Little does Hayashi realize Morgan has an ulterior motive and has been searching for Hayashi, his destined mate and Morgan has his own powers that are natural. The usual happens, Hayashi fears coming out, but everyone is ticked at him for shunning Morgan not for being gay. I was interested in the political intrigue storyline. Someone is behind the bad guys and now they want the leader because of his special skills, but all of the other stories are going to be m/f so I'll pass although I'd like to know how it all ends some day. This has several scenes of m/m/m including one with Hayashi/Morgan/Julian who has to make an alpha play after Hayashi and Morgan are together, so that may not be for everyone.

Whitetail Rock by Anne Tenino (55 pages)
All Romance e-books freebie

I was disappointed when I realized this was over 20K words because I wanted to give it an A rating at BER. I hadn't had one in so long. Nik is a English postgraduate with a bit of a chip on his shoulder. He grew up in a white town, the son of a white couple adopted form India. The only brown kid in town and later, the only gay kid which some were quick to take advantage of. He's home for a visit when he sees uber-alpha state trooper Jurgen. When he flirts, to his surprise Jurgen makes a move which only ticks Nik off when he thinks Jurgen just wants the novelty of an Indian guy for sex. However Jurgen doesn't give up and Nik gives in. Before long Jurgen is traveling 2 hours to spend weekend with Nik, but Nik still doesn't want to admit that it might be more, nor does Jurgen say anything, which eventually leads to a misunderstanding and revelations. Nik was a great character. He starts with a real chip and Jurgen's behaviour make him have to reassess whether his life was so awful and if it's not time to put it behind him. As well the sexual stalking by Jurgen was oh so very hot and sexy and Nik's internal babble as he tries to convince himself that this is nothing and that Jurgen's not even his type was adorable and funny. This little interaction with is friend Sam was typical:

"He made me pick a safe word." Nik peeked between his fingers. Sam's mouth was hanging open.
"Oh." Sam's voice was a whisper. More of the throat clearing. "What did you pick?"
Not the question he'd been expecting. Nik looked up at Sam from under his hand.
"Lemonade."
"Lemonade?" Nik nodded. "Do you like lemonade?"
"Does it matter? Yes, I like lemonade."
"Shouldn't you have picked something you didn't like, to make sure there were no, um
inadvertent exclamations at an important moment?"
He dropped his hand and stared at Sam. "Who screams out 'lemonade' in the middle of
sex?"
Sam blushed. Nik was momentarily grateful for his dark skin. "You'd be surprised," Sam mumbled.

Yes, they didn't talk and that would have saved them some issues, but they were pretty typical guys I think. This is a super read and seriously, for free I expect an okay read, but this surpassed that. I can definitely see myself rereading this and I'll be checking out other work by the author. So I'm giving it my own A rating here. :-)

Another long weekend

2011-09-03T11:47:00.001-04:00

Ah, three days off. We have no big plans. We have to get some back-to-school stuff and of course the endless chores of laundry and groceries never end. I considered going to Montreal Monday but we'll see. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Under the Skin by Kannan Feng (85 pages)
Torquere Press

This is set in the future where cybernetic implants are the norm. Padraic is a bit of a nerd who works for high tech companies, although he has done work on himself and has a neural net system which basically is a port in his chest connected to his brain so you could download information. He kind of a giant walking USB drive. His cousin hooks him up with a company in Japan who he believes would be interested in the technology and sends a bodyguard with him, as Padraic is quite naive and doesn't get the full ramifications of his technology. They are met by Minoru who is the son of the company owner, but the company execs aren't interested so they come up with a plan to prove the technology. however when it starts malfunctioning and Padraic wants to back out, both the body guard and Minoru threaten to report him to the police where he'll be arrested for stealing information. I liked the espionage part of this story, who is on his side, what is the truth, however I was very frustrated with Padraic's reaction to Minoru. The guy just threatened to tell the police you stole information if you won't do what he wants, and then you are begging him to kiss you 10 min. later. Ugh. And Minoru was more turned on by doing it with a guy with a port in his chest than Padraic, at least that's how it seemed. I just wanted him to kick Minoru to the curb and get some self-respect. The whole concept was rather creepy, but it's set in a time where being without some kind of modification is looked down upon. An interesting look at the future through sci-fi.

Crying for the Moon by Sarah Madison (200 pages)
Dreamspinner Press

Alex is a vampire who is running from his ex and vampire society. He buys a house in the middle of nowhere near his wolf shifter friends, although traditionally wolves and vamps are enemies. His neighbor, vet Tate stops by but Alex is quite rude, he wants to be alone, however he ends up calling on Tate for help with the old house and when one of the wolves is injured by something in the woods when Alex allows them to run on his property, he calls Tate to help. Before long Tate has figured out they are shifters and he's not backing off a relationship with Alex. Alex is a bit mystified with it all but finds himself going along with it. This is quite an ensemble book and although there is a wolf on the cover, the vamp does not get together with a wolf, although the pack plays a pretty large role and you get to know each character in their little pack of four. The reason Tate is so quick to accept werewolves and vamps comes to light later. There's quite a lot of things going on, the explanation of why Alex wants to escape vamp society, his ex returning, one wolf's sister who won't accept what's happened to him, the homophobia in the wolf community, so lots of stuff to cover, but it's done well and with a pretty light hand. It's not overly angsty and I rather enjoyed poor uptight controlled Alex having to deal with a life out of control. Werewolves are living in his house, the snotty sister show up with no intention of leaving and Tate just seems to be bowling him over and not letting him back off. The poor guy was floundering. Definitely a good read when you're in the mood for some paranormal fun.

Lines in the Sand by Lyn Gala (140 pages)
Dreamspinner Press

Carl worked for the Armenian (I think) mob until things went to far and he saw an innocent woman killed, so he went to the feds. However he refused witness protection. He's now just waiting for someone to track him down and kill him. He knows his days are numbered and then Pete, the enforcer he worked with, shows up and he's sure death is coming. However to his surprise Pete grabs him and takes him to Mexico where Pete has been living. Seems Carl didn't give the police much information about Carl and he appreciates that so wants to help Carl. Pete runs a repair garage of sorts and when Carl is still not sure what the hell is going on. when he gets drunk and comes on to Pete he freaks and runs, but Carl drags him back and admits he wants him too. Things are going well, the local community accepts them, until a cop shows up which could mean they need to run again. This was quite different and not a traditional "soft" romance. These are two tough guys, criminals, and they don't swan about saying how much they love each other, they just do it and there is a definite D/s edge to their relationship. I liked it though and I though Carl's confusion about what Pete was doing, because explaining it would be to unmanly :-) was well done and showing how both men had changed since their days in the mob, but they weren't completely different. Dealing with the Mexican community was also interesting and the insight into the drug wars in the region was a nice addition. Pete's mechanic/friend Jose was a likable character as well who accepted both men for who they were. I liked it even though non-explainersWTF moment.

Black mood

2011-09-01T10:55:00.000-04:00

No, not me so much, the lovelies below. Although I do seem to be getting a sore throat. I hope it doesn't get worse. The new job is going okay. Lots to learn and I'm really liking my supervisor and it's nice that there are two of us kind of struggling to really define what we are supposed to be doing because it's all rather vague some days.

I've been updating my Goodreads books. I found about 25 books I'd missed in 2010. Also added a bunch of reviews. So I'm kind of blahed out and not in the mood to do any reviews today, so instead you get the boys in black. Yum.

Have a great September.

Pride Parade aka Irene can't get us down

2011-08-30T19:49:00.001-04:00

I am finally getting my Pride post up. While we got only the dregs of Irene, it was very cool and windy and cloudy, but no rain. My friend Michelle joined us (Why do I know so many Michelle M.s? What's up with that? She's #3.) and we enjoyed the parade. There weren't very many floats but it was a pretty good size for our city.

The wind-blown crew

We got some swag. We got a free Legalize Gay t-shirt from American apparel, candy, beads, magnets, stickers, a couple of condoms, a band-aid carrier (which my daughter was most thrilled with) and of course lots of propaganda from various sources.

We didn't see any "religious" folks out condemning the crowds, but maybe they were in another part of the parade. Lots of straight couples, families and groups of friends of all persuasions. Although I must say the parade was rather short on hot mostly naked guys (thank the baby jeebus for the university engineering students) and heavy on middle-aged lesbians. Save for that pesky orientation thing, I would have fit right in. LOL

One of the parade participants came over to me and said she liked my t-shirt. We saw quite a few variations on the Fck H8 t-shirts. We didn't go to the festival grounds, but we had a good time seeing everyone out and supporting the community. Hopefully next year the hurricanes will stay away and we'll get some sun for a change.

Enjoy the video.