Guest Posting & Give-Away at Keira Andrews Today

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

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!

 

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

High Scores - The winner is ....

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?

 

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

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

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

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

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

 

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.