What a Canada Day

Happy Canada Day for all of you out there in Canada. Hope you had a lovely day, or are having, I suppose. We spent the afternoon at a friend's house, playing board games. Unfortunately, their deck is under construction, so no hanging out by the pool. We came home, had a bit to eat and are just kind of relaxing and hanging out. We decided NOT to tackle the crowds downtown trying to get near the royal couple. Me plus half a million of my closest friends? Not so much. I thought about going to see the fireworks, but due to security stuff, eh.

That's on the up-side. This morning I woke to find a message from a friend of mine in Chicago. Her teen (18 or 19 I think) step-son was "car surfing" and flew off the car and has a traumatic head injury. His pupils are no longer responding and they are waiting for another CAT scan tomorrow to see if there is any development, but it does not look positive. So very sad and so very preventable. The stupidity of youth, and now his family tries to cope.

When we got home from my friends' house, there were more messages about an odd post on a friend's FP page. It implied she had died, and after some digging, we found it's true. We are trying to find out the details, but there are conflicting reports from a heart attack in the night, to throwing up and aspirating on vomit and dying. Either way it's awful. She suffered from depression and had pulled away from us in recent months, but we never dreamed it would end as it has. She has three young daughters, in age from about 9-13. A couple of friends in California are going to try and go to the service this week. Maybe we'll find out more, but I was just shocked. She was only 44. Far too young to not be with us anymore.

So there is my weird Canada Day. Ups and downs. Although I never met Ilka, we've known each other on-line for nearly 8 years, and I watched her kid's grow. I got the chance to meet Jenn last summer, and I am looking forward to seeing her in Chicago again this summer, I just never dreamed the kind of hugs we'd have to share would be over such a family tragedy.

So it would be great if you could send mojo, prayers, positive thoughts, whatever works for you, to Ilka's girls who are going to grow up without a Mom, and to Jenn and her step-son Austin, for the best possible outcome, whatever that may be.

Anthology Thursday

Okay, it's not really an alliteration per se, but close. It's my last day of work today. Yay. Canada Day tomorrow. Not sure if we'll go downtown or not. There are going to be a bazillion people here because William and Kate are visiting. They will be showing up at noon which means if I want to get close enough to see them I probably have to be there are 9:00 waiting and bored. My kidlet is not all that keen, especially as I'd have to pick her up at her Dad's even earlier. So maybe we'll skip it, perhaps go down for fireworks at 10:00. We'll see. A three-day weekend is always a bonus though. :-)

British Flash (87 pages)
Smashwords (Free)

This is a small collection of flash fiction (2-3 pages each) with a distinctly British flavour. I won't go into each one, but it's free so you have no excuse not to pick it up yourself. Some are quirky and amusing, some are memories of love lost, some tackle more serious themes. There are historicals, contemporaries and even a very appropriate paranormal with a perfect ending to the whole anthology. There are also a couple of f/f and and m/m/f so if you wanted to try one of those but didn't want to pay for it, here's your chance to see if you like it in a couple of pages. All excellent authors with different visions of Britain.

This anthology is a souvenir of the 2011 UK Meet, an occasion for GLBTQ supporters to get together in a relaxed setting to celebrate and chat about the fiction community they love. I'm looking forward to the Tea and Crumpet anthology which will be on sale soon with more comprehensive stories with a popular British flavour. 

Skater Boys edited by Neil Plakcy (265 pages)
Cleis Press


This is a paper book *gasp* that I picked up after Kassa recommended it. It's been in my purse forever and I would pull it out and read a story when I was stuck waiting somewhere. There is something for everyone here, but as the by-line reads "gay erotic stories". Some have a definitely romantic bent, and some are pure one-off erotica pieces. Some I adored, some I skimmed. :-) When you're screaming at the character (in my head of course, I do have some sense of decorum) "Are you f-ing nuts? He's a stranger for god's sake, wrap that sucker up!", probably not a favourite story. Some were kind of sad, some were funny and some left you thinking. So if you're in the mood for some hot skater action, or some more straight up erotica with only the slightest dash of romance, it's well done. As I said, not every story will likely appeal which speaks to the breadth of the stories. They aren't just all the same-old-same-old. It was worth a read.

Thousand Word Thursday - Free Story

Eden Winters sometimes posts about the Thousand Word Thursdays at Cryselle's Bookshelf. Every Thursday she posts a pic, and invites people to write 100-1000 word stories about it. So when I saw this one I was inspired. Of course the world would come to an end if I wrote anything less than the limit, so at about 996 words, you get Late ... Again. 

Just click on the boy above and it will take you to the story. Have a great Wednesday everyone. 

Old and New

 

So, life is ... bleh (possibly looking up but not holding my breath). Whatever. I'm trying to maintain my "whatever" attitude. Sigh. It's a short week, what more can I want. Let's not discuss it shall we?

So what is the point of my title, and cute pic? Today I have two books. One I bought June 23, 2011 and one that was one of the oldest in my TBR file. It's been there since November 18, 2009. Wow huh? 

Fighting Chance by Viki Lyn (193 pages) [The new one]
Loose Id

This is a follow-up to Last Chance which I quite enjoyed. Corbin has been "babysitting" vampire Johan for awhile now, and giving him the serum to hopefully turn him back to a human. And hating every freaking minute of it. It pisses him off to no end, that he can't just kill Johan, and what pisses him off more is his physical attraction to him. When Corbin is selected to take a test to make him the ultimate warrior for his people, he's forced to take Johan along, and when Johan finds out Corbin's plan is to go after the vamp who killed his father, Johan insists he's going to help, even though Corbin is a miserable SOB most of the time. There's some angry sex, and Corbin's insistence that he hates Johan, and he could never be human and should die. I got a bit tired of Corbin's constant negativity. He kept on about how he couldn't have a relationship because of what he did, blah blah blah. But yet his people have babies, his father had a relationship with is mother, so what makes you so damn special, besides a chip on your shoulder? I was really feeling for Johan, and thinking he should have pushed Corbin in the pit, and gone and got himself a boyfriend who appreciates him. :-) In the end it all works out I suppose, but Corbin got a bit tiresome. I would have liked to see something happen with the mother here, since she rejected Corbin for being gay, but seems to accept his GFY brother no problem. A nice family confrontation would have been nice.

Bound And Determined  by Jane Davitt and Alexa Snow (190 pages) [the old one]

Loose Id

Sterling is a young man who is pretty sure he wants to be a dom. He goes with his friend Alex to a club where he runs into his freshman English professor. He suddenly realizes he wants to be a sub, and wants Owen to train him. Owen is NOT interested. He remembers Sterling was a smart-ass student and, just that, he's a student which could be troublesome. Eventually Sterling wears him down, and he agrees with some conditions. Most of the book is Sterling figuring things out, he pushes, Owen punishes, Sterling changes tack, they fight, they make-up. While it doesn't sound like much, it was really very good, and seeing Owen's confusion about a sub he would normally kick to the curb, but he couldn't help caring about was good, along with Sterling figuring out what it all meant to him and his reasons for submission. There is lots of talking, how he felt about different acts, what he needs and wants and learning on both sides. There's no smug dom, Owen screws up a few times, as does Sterling, and his father is certainly a prize. But on the whole if you like a BDSM read (and there's not much beyond some heavy duty spanking and bondage), more on the D/s side, it's a well written book and I was happy that it all worked out for them, despite their issues.

Gay Pride Month

I have nothing in the book realm today. Well, I've been submersing myself in the fictional world the last few days as a way to avoid dealing with the real world (healthier than crack and vodka I suppose), but I came across a few pics of Pride Parades around the world really so thought I'd post some that caught my eye.

Gay partners Mike McDonald (L) and Joey Infante (R) during the New York City gay pride march. The New York state legislature voted June 24 to become the sixth state in the US to legalize same-sex marriage. The New York city couple have been together for 31 years

A storm trooper supports gay rights during the 2011 Gay Pride Parade in Manhattan. (Love it)

OMG. So cute. In a little baby carrier. LOL

 A massive rainbow fro in NY.

A participant runs under a rainbow flag during a gay pride parade in central Istanbul June 26, 2011.

Christopher Goeken, left, his partner Glenn Magpantay, right, and their son Malcolm Magpantay, 4, from the Queens borough of New York, smile before the start of the Gay Pride Parade, Sunday, June 26, 2011, in New York. Goeken and Magpantay have been together for 18 years.

Revellers take part in a gay pride parade in San Salvador June 25, 2011.

Revellers pose for a photograph during a gay pride parade in Mexico City June 25, 2011. Thousands of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) rights activists participated in the annual parade.

San Francisco 2011. Seriously tie-dye chaps. How cool is that?

San Francisco again.

People carry a rainbow flag during the 15th Gay Pride Parade in Avenida Paulista in Sao Paulo June 26, 2011. More than 3 million LGBTs (lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders) took part in the annual Sao Paulo Gay Pride Parade, making it the world's largest gay pride march, according to Brazilian tourism authorities. (3 million! Ack!)

Men kiss in the Place de la Bastille in Paris as they attend the 10th Gay Pride parade in Paris June 25, 2011.

The Windy City Cowboys perform on Halsted Street during the annual Gay Pride Parade in Lakeview. (Chicago)

 

 

Armand Collins and Rich White, from left, both of South Bend, carry a flag with members of American Veterans for Equal Rights on Halsted Street during the annual Gay Pride Parade in Lakeview.

 

 

Demonstrators attend the Europride gay rights march in Rome, Saturday, June 11, 2011. The Europride parade, held every year in a different European city, ends Saturday evening in Circus Maximus, a grassy field where ancient Romans would gather for entertainment, where Lady Gaga is expected to sing "Born This Way".

 

Looks very cool to see the rainbow flags in front of something as ancient as the Colliseum.



Gay rights supporters take part in the Gay Pride Parade in New Delhi.

Many Canadian celebrations are later in the summer. Although Toronto is this coming weekend. My city has it at the end of August and I know Montreal and Vancouver celebrate in July. I believe London is this coming weekend as well.

For those of you who attended your parades, hope you had fun. I'm looking forward to ours later in the summer.

Celebratory Saturday!

 

So last night was a very special night for many of my friends. NY State passed the same sex marriage bill, and now ANYONE can get married (if they are crazy enough ;-) I kid, I kid. It's great that it's an option for anyone who wants it. Choices are always good. Congrats to those of you who fought so hard, getting the word out, phoning your senators and bringing world-wide attention to the fight. Y'all did great and I'm proud of you. May other states follow in NY's foot steps.

Oh and I believe Sweet Corn also got voted official state vegetable. Big shout out to corn on the cob!

Except for the good news about NY, I've been kind of blah. Feeling down. Ick. Work is not going well these days, and I'm feeling a bit under-appreciated. It will get better I know but for right now it kind of sucks and means sleep issues. Plus the pouring rain the last couple of days haven't helped. I did get some reading done though.

Unchaste by Mia Watts (68 pages)
Resplendence Publishing

Flynn is a native American shifter who feels compelled to check out wood henge which was supposedly built by his ancient ancestors. While there, something weird happens and he wakes to find himself the captive of two native warriors. At first he thinks it's a gag, but soon realizes he has gone back in time and that he's in a society ruled by a high priest who is a shifter. They two men talk about "testing" him, and it becomes clear that the high priest must be gay and there is a test to see if he can be aroused by women, and the current high priest in training is a bad guy who gets off on creating tension and blood shed. Both Koda and Amara were childhood friends who are now in conflict over power, however both believe it's their task by the jobs to keep Flynn chaste before the test. Little do they realize he's as gay as they come and this is right up his alley and he soon realizes that it's up theirs as well, although their culture doesn't allow for gay warriors. After the big show-down with the bad guy, Flynn decides to defy convention and take the two men as his spouses rather than the bevy of twinks that are usually reserved for priests. This is kind of a wild twist on time travel and shifters and menage. It's very sexy and each character was quite distinct. I found Amara a bit of an ass, but he came around, especially once he accepted his desire for Koda and Flynn. If you're in the mood for something sexy and a bit different a good choice.

Telling the Truth by Lee Brazil (72 pages)
Breathless Press

This is book two in the Truth or Dare series. While I enjoyed much of Keeping House, the insta-love kind of ruined the ending for me. This book does not suffer that. And oh, lookey here, me and menage again ... wheee. Dex and Trick, twin friends of Mischa from book 1, have caught the eye of older brother Terry. He's recently admitted he's gay, but is far too shy to act on his attraction to the two whom he sees often at Mischa's house, but when Mischa recommends he find a gay bar and check out the action, he ends up running into them, and it seems the twins have been hot for him as well. They have a great night and are thrilled that Terry wants them both, however when leaving in the morning are confronted by older brother Brandon who tells them to get out, and threatens to reveal their secret. Even though Terry tried to contact them, they decide it's best to just stay away causing much distress on all sides as Trick falls into a depression due to the threats. This is twincest, although they don't "do it" all the way. I know that's not everyone's cup of tea, but I did like both guys even if there was the typically fragile optimistic twin with his more jaded brother watching over him, and I was glad that Terry gave his brother hell for what he said. You also find out about the child Mischa and his BF adopted and that he's older and has special needs, which makes the all too sweet ending in book 1, much more palatable. So while I know this book won't be for everyone, I still enjoyed the author's style, a bit of humour and the fact that Terry had known the twins for 6 months before they got together made the fact that they moved quickly after that seem more acceptable.

Wednesday again?

Yeah, I'm feeling kind of blahbitty. Nothing in particular, just kind of blech. I can't seem to focus much. Read 5 pages, check twitter, read 3 pages, post something. I think it's my usual up and down slump I tend to hit with regularity.

On the upside. Thanks to everyone who said such nice things about Winterlude. I really appreciate it and you made my first release pain-free. When I get my first 1-star review I'll come back and cry. :-)

I took my daughter driving for the first time ever on Sunday. We went to the big arena parking lot which was blessedly empty and she just kind of drove around. We had a bit of whiplash to begin, as she adjusted to the brake, and I'm glad there were no cars she was going past, but she did okay. The hardest thing was trying to describe going in reverse. For the life of me I couldn't use words to describe which way you turn the wheel when you want to go left or right. It was weird. I can do it, I just can't tell you how to do it. LOL She's not ready for the road yet, but we'll head out a few more times before she tries out quiet neighborhood. I only had the urge to press my foot to the floor a couple of times, so not too bad.

I did read a couple of things on the weekend.

Elderflower: Let's Get Familiar by Amylea Lyn (75 pages)
Torquere Press

This cute short starts with Brian taking his boyfriend of 6 months to meet his mother and sister. However it all goes to hell, again, when his family who are witches (Brian is a null with no power) scare him off claiming it's for his own good because he's not right. He was number 7 they've done that too. Later that night during a storm he takes in a stray cat and after drowning his sorrows in beer and whining to the cat, he decides on a whim to try one of his grandmother's spells to find a mate. When he wakes up in the morning, he's in bed with a very sexy guy ... with a tail and ears. There were things I loved in this story, Tom, the cat-man was perfect. He was aggressive in the bedroom, but a typical cat outside, curling up in the sun to sleep, watching the birds out the windows, eating tuna, very sweet. I liked Brian when wasn't around his family, I hated his family. It was a classic case of "we can do whatever we want and get away with it, as long was we say 'it's because we love you'". Somehow that makes any disrespectful treatment acceptable. And he got sucked into it. He couldn't be angry with them because "they loved him". *bangs head on wall* That's a personal thing for me and most people probably found it endearing or even funny. It makes me buggy. However Tom was so cute and cuddly I could live with it, and his family did kind of fade out, or become less obnoxious, after the first bit, with the focus on Brian and Tom. So if that kind of interfering family doesn't bug you, you'll love this (stalker alert), but as I said, Tom made it worth it, even with my little hissy fit.

All Stirred Up by ZA Maxfield (173 pages)
MLR Press

This is a follow-up to Stirring Up Trouble with Brendan, the twin brother. Following his experience with a fatal car/pedestrian accident that killed some acquaintances and nearly his mother, Brendan is suffering from PTSD, although denies it. However his company tells him go and get yourself fixed or else and they hire a psychiatrist to accompany him to a rehab. He is not happy but eventually agrees he needs help. However within hours he and Dirk are tossed off the plane and having sex in an airport bathroom. Dirk quickly removes himself from the case but after a few panic attacks they decide to drive from Dallas to Santa Fe, leading to more adventures in a Walmart and a small town. Eventually they make it and Dirk leaves, leaving Brendan to his therapy. The therapy is a success and Brendan is warned off Dirk by Dirk's father (owner of the rehab) who wants him to marry a woman. Eventually his family prods him into finding Dirk. This was a bit over the top. Really, you had sex with your client within hours? I know it's all about "I don't normally do this but you obviously make me crazy" but come on. You were 28, not 18. I also wanted to know what had happened to Dirk while they were apart. Was he really back with his ex-GF as his father said? It was never addressed again. It was an entertaining read, although I found Brendan's coping with the PTSD and the accident itself more intriguing than the romance, although it was hot sex.

Release Day!

Ack. Panic attack. Panic attack. Pass the xanax. I'm never going to Good Reads again. 0_o

Anyway, panic attack, and need of good drugs aside, today is the day my Torquere Sip Winterlude is released. I am over at the TQ Livejournal site off and on all day, so stop by and say hi, and you too could win a free copy. :-) Hopefully you'll learn some more about me (most of you here probably know EVERYTHING already) and about the background to the story and maybe there'll be some eye candy later in the day. Because no release day is complete without cookies.

Blurb:

Eric hates the cold weather and his broken down car, which means venturing out on foot into the sub-zero temperatures. Navigating the icy sidewalks, he runs into Omar, literally. An impromptu hot coffee on the cold day finds that tattooed and pierced Eric, and government IT guy Omar, might have more in common than they expected. When Omar is called away, before he can get his number, Eric believes it may only have been a pleasant winterlude to temporarily distract him from the cold, or is there a possibility his winter will get a lot warmer?

Finally Friday

Boy it seemed like a long week, even though I was off work Wed. afternoon. Why was I off work? Because I had to take the kidlet to the DMV to write her driver's test. Ack! My baby is old enough to drive. It's a rather long process of hurry up and wait there, but she passed with 100%. Now we have to find a very large empty parking lot for her to try driving. She's never driven ever so I think we better start somewhere with no people or cars. LOL She's not allowed to drive without someone in the car for at least a year. It's a very strict system here, learner permit at 16 for one year, license with restrictions for one year and then another test for a regular license. It's kind of weird.

Oh and why do so many people at the DMV smell bad? And why do they always seem to sit next to me?

What else? My friend Nathan and his sister came and stayed with us for a few days. I spent Sun. evening with them but they were busy the other days with friends and family so I didn't really see them. To say thanks he went all the way to the gay bookstore to buy me a book because he knows what I read. He had no clue what he was, buying so he saw something with a sexy cowboy on it and picked it up. Later when they were looking at the book with friends, they discovered he somehow managed to grab the only book in the entire gay bookstore that is m/f. LOL It's a Samhain book called Cowboy Fever. Why on earth they had an m/f book in there I have no clue. Anyway, today after work I'll head over and see if I can exchange it. It was too funny.

That's about it for the week. I only read one long book, and I've had it in my TBR for about 2 years. Sheesh. Blah, still no work on the job front but some options kicking around. Same old same old. Have a great weekend.

Warrior's Cross by Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux (302 pages)
Dreamspinner Press

Cameron has the same client every Tuesday at his restaurant. He's crushing but the guy doesn't even talk, until one night, after work they hook up and before long they have a semi-regular thing, however Cameron has no idea what Julian does. It's all mysterious and people are afraid of him. We know Julian kills people, but we don't know why or for whom. Eventually it comes out that Cameron could be in danger because of his relationship with Julian and finally Cameron says it's too much, not knowing if Julian will come back or not. Eventually after breaking up, a man shows up looking for Julian and when he threatens Cameron, basically Julian lets himself get into a show-down, leading to his death. Or is he? When the bad guy comes after Cameron six months later, the truth comes out. Well, half-assed truth. It was an okay story, I liked it and yet I  had issues. Cameron NEVER asks what the hell Julian does. Who pays him, why he kills people, etc. And Cameron feel soooooo guilty because he told Julian to take a hike. Umm, the guy lied to you about EVERYTHING, you wouldn't be in danger if he hadn't hooked up with you, he let you think he was dead for 6 months and would have forever if you hadn't been kidnapped. WTF? YOU feel guilty? And you forgive him after one punch and an "I'm sorry"? Uh no. So I'm torn because as I said, I liked it, but I was left really mystified how any sane person would just accept all the "trust me, I can't tell you" when you know the guy lied his ass off to you, and you feel guilty when calling him on the bullshit. Twisted.

Author Fan Letter Blog Crawl

It's my turn to gush today. Thanks to Amy over at My Friend Amy who had a great letter yesterday, and I hope you'll follow me to Fiction Vixen's place tomorrow to see who her letter it addressed to.  Also a big thanks to Kassa for organizing this whole experience.


Dear Ms. Huff,

I first discovered your books about four years ago, when I switched from reading almost exclusively detective fiction, to reading paranormal romances. Your Blood Books came up on a forum I was on at Amazon, and as I was just getting my feet wet in the whole shifter/vampire world, I was taking recommendations, and picked them up and loved every minute of them.

When I discovered your Smoke series I may have squeed out loud, or at the very least in my head. And when I found out Tony and Henry were in a relationship, I probably swooned slightly. This was before I had discovered m/m romance, but I knew it was how it should be for those two. Even though their relationship didn’t last, I was so totally in love with Tony at that point, I was okay with that, especially when he set his sights on Lee.

I couldn’t put the books down. I was caught laughing out loud on airplane - to my daughter’s total embarrassment - and I was rather sad when I got the end of the third book, and there was no more to follow. I would definitely love to see Tony and Lee move forward. (Any chance begging would help me see that?) I also came to love the secondary characters who all had their own personalities that leapt off the page.

Those books were the first time I became seriously invested in fictional characters, and remain so years later. I may have written you, in total outrage, when I read a production company was going to turn Tony into a girl, and “ruin” my favourite books. How could they DO that to me? You so kindly replied, and explained how it all works, and while totally selfish, I’m happy to see it hasn’t happened yet.

Your use of humour in your work, without turning it into a slapstick comedy, it something I would aspire to in my own writing, and to this day, those three books still rank up there with my favourite stories of all time. I am also immensely proud to claim to be a fellow-Canadian, and your Canadian settings just bring those books even closer to my heart. So thank you, for introducing me to such amazing characters, and making me care about fictional people, in a way that still slightly freaks me out. :-)

Tam

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