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Archive for January, 2011
Sharing a collection of links today. Some interesting, some fun, and some more meaningful.
“Why” M/M? And Who Needs To Know?
An interesting post by Jordan Castillo Price.
I will admit, I do get asked the why question and find it so very difficult to put into a few words.
And another about woman writing m/m
The Power of Slash (includes a not-safe-for-work pic)
From Nigel Puerasch, a bi man writing m2m fiction
For the writers out there…
Kimberly Hunter talks about a common problem among writers:
WIPlash ~ Diagnosis & Treatment
And for fun, who would you believe…
A Great Lover
This picture illustrates the difference between marketing, public relations, advertising and branding. For books, a recommendation from a friend with similar tastes holds a lot of weight with me, but not sure if I want to hear from my friends about a potential lover.
Who can resist cute cats getting married…
The Gay Cat Marriage in Manhattan and
A Special Bond Recognized
And on a serious note…
Read about the brave and courageous author Patric Michael and the anthology in his honor at For Patric…Wishing on a Blue Star
And this will bring a tear to your eye…
Against All Odds, a Beautiful Life
“…a little boy dealt a seemingly impossible hand, the two gay men who decided to give him a home and a life, [and] the unlikely spell cast by the only horse in Montclair.”
Oh, and I’ve joined a group blog for my writer’s group. Today I’m blogging about my reading goals this year…
Sloan’s 2011 Reading Challenge
Do you like to set reading goals? Do you have a goal for this year? Or do you find a goal takes the fun out of reading? I’d love to hear what you think.
Recently I decided to enter my 2010 book releases in a few RWA (Romance Writers of America) contests, not only because I am proud of my work (who knows if my explicit love stories will have a shot, but it was fun to enter), but also to support the individual chapters of RWA since the contests are often a way for chapters to earn money.
But I wanted to give my support (and money) to those chapters who recognize ebooks, and not ebooks that are printed and bound as print books (some require you to submit bound books even when entering an ebook). When I’m done entering the contests on my list, I’ll post the names of the chapters to thank them for accepting ebook submissions, but for now, I have news…
Included in the ones I’ve entered so far were two cover art contests.
Well, one of the contests has posted its results, and I’m happy to say, the Loose Id cover for BREATHE (cover artist: Valerie Tibbs) is a finalist in the Dunes & Dreams Picture Perfect Cover Contest. CONGRATULATIONS Valerie!!!
This contest looks at both the cover and the blurb together. Not only do I love this cover and the story (obviously), but I wrote the blurb, with a few tweaks by Loose Id, so I’m really happy with this contest final for many reasons.
Thank you again to Valerie and Loose Id for such a beautiful cover.
Sloan
This story was making the rounds via email. A modern take on romance? Or just a sign of the times? (content is m/f)
He held me firmly but gently just above my elbow and guided me into a room. I had never been there but I knew this was his room. I knew what he was going to do to me, and I knew I was going to let him. The door closed quietly and we were alone.
He approached silently from behind and spoke in a low, reassuring voice close to my ear. “Just relax.”
Without warning, he reached down and I felt his strong, calloused hands start at my ankles, gently probing, and caressing upward along my tender calves slowly and steadily. My breath caught in my throat. I knew I should be afraid, but somehow I didn’t care. His touch was so experienced, so sure.
When his hands moved under my skirt to my thighs I gave a slight shudder and partly closed my eyes. My pulse was pounding. His knowing fingers continued upward across my abdomen, my ribcage. And then, as he cupped my firm, full breasts in his hands, I inhaled sharply. Probing, searching, knowing what he wanted, his teasing hands quickly moved to my shoulders and slid down my tingling spine. My entire body was throbbing when he discovered my pink, lace thong.
Although I knew nothing about this man, I felt oddly trusting and expectant. “This is a man,” I thought. A man used to taking charge. A man not used to taking “No” for an answer. A man who would tell me what he wanted. A man who would look into my soul and say…
“Okay all done. Here’s your purse, ma’am. Have a nice flight.”
Felt like posting something sexy today, and since I’m not ready to share my work-in-progress, here’s a quote from another author of gay romance, J. L. Langley. This is from the first kiss between Ethan and Jamie in the The Tin Star.
Ethan knew it was a bad idea, but he just had to taste that sensual mouth. He leaned forward, his lips lightly brushing Jamie’s. Jamie gasped, and before Ethan knew what hit him, Jamie had taken over, his mouth crushing his, tongue pushing for entrance. He grabbed Ethan’s face with both hands and urgently pressed his body against Ethan’s, or as near to it as he could get with them both still sitting. He was rough, aggressive, practically swallowing Ethan up as his tongue searched and caressed every bit of Ethan’s mouth. Finally, he calmed down a little, gentling the kiss, and Ethan had the chance to kiss him back at last. Jamie’s hands slid to his shoulders. Their tongues met and parried. It was like making slow and easy love. Jamie moaned.
It was one of the most erotic things Ethan had ever heard and made him even more painfully erect.
From The Tin Star by J. L. Langley.
You can find out more about Langley’s work at www.jllangley.com
Enjoy your Monday.
Sloan
BREATHE recently received three wonderful reviews. I try not to get too focused on reviews for fear both the good and bad will mess with my head, but I have to say, I was thrilled to see such lovely comments. (oh, and don’t get me wrong. I love to SEE reviews for my work. Just not sure authors like me should read his/her own if they are going to interrupt the writing. Reviews are for the readers.)
A Best Book by Tuberose at Whipped Cream Reviews
“This is one of the best books I’ve read since I started reading m/m books. Sloan Parker does it again with her sophomore release. Her characters, Lincoln and Jay, are so well written that you fall in love with them and are cheering them on towards their happily ever after despite the odds against them.”
A Recommended Read from Doug at Dark Divas Reviews
“…to place two characters who have such a major event tying them together and holding them apart at the same time…it was captivating. And without giving anything away, I’ll simply state that this talented author has delivered. She has managed to create both as sympathetic, sexual, and lovable. Their relationship becomes something you not only want but need to see succeed.”
A Top Pick from DH Starr at The Romance Reviews
“The characters, their issues, and the action was organic, flowing beautifully from one scene to the next. The fact Ms. Parker has managed this with a large cast of characters and fast-paced movement is nothing short of masterful writing.”
The Sloan-is-celebrating GIVEAWAY
In celebration of this good news, I’d like to give a little something back to the universe…so I’m giving away free ebooks today. Here’s how it works…
- Comment on my blog post to enter the giveaway stating which of my ebooks (MORE or BREATHE) you’d like to win.
- FIVE of the commenters will be randomly selected to win their choice.
- The ebooks are available in winner’s choice of these formats: PDF, EPUB, PRC, LIT, or HTML.
- Giveaway ends at 11:59 PM EST on Saturday, January 22, 2011.
- Please don’t put any links in your comment. Sometimes those get caught in the spam filter.
- Do include your email address in the Email form field.
I’ll contact (via email) the winning five on Sunday.
Good luck!
Sloan
Update – To all who’ve entered the giveaway:
First off, thank you to those of you who already purchased one or both of my ebooks. As I have more releases, I hope you have a chance to win a future contest.
Looks like there are 18 entries in the giveaway. Since this was a quick weekend contest and you were all good enough to stop by and share which book you are interested in (and since I’m still in such a great mood), I’m going to say “forget the five” and am sending everyone who entered one free book. Look for an email from me verifying which book you want and asking you for a preferred format. Congratulations to all. If you don’t get an email from me by Monday morning, feel free to contact me in case I missed you or the email got lost.
I hope you enjoy the story!
Sloan
Here’s one of my new favorite ways to enjoy a laugh: Damn You Auto Correct! If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s worth a little browsing time. My sweetie sends me a collection of them each week so I can have a laugh when I take a break from writing. I’m spoiled that way.
Here’s a sampling… Enjoy!
This week I’m working on a proposal for one of the stories I drafted last year. Which means I’m writing the dreaded (at least for me) synopsis. So today I wanted to share something light and fun.
Humor is one of life’s greatest joys, after all. Here’s an oldie but a goodie…
FROM A RETIRED HUSBAND …
After I retired, my wife insisted that I accompany her on her trips to Target. Unfortunately, like most men, I found shopping boring and preferred to get in and get out. Equally unfortunate, my wife is like most women – she loves to browse. Yesterday my dear wife received the following letter from the local Target:
Dear Mrs. Clifton
Over the past six months, your husband has caused quite a commotion in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior and have been forced to ban both of you from the store. Our complaints against your husband, Mr. Clifton, are listed below and are documented by our video surveillance cameras:
- June 15: He took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in other people’s carts when they weren’t looking.
- July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at 5-minute intervals.
- July 7: He made a trail from a jar of brown gravy on the floor leading to the both the ladies and men’s restrooms.
- July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official voice, ‘Code 3 in Housewares. Get on it right away’. This caused the employee to leave her assigned station and receive a reprimand from her Supervisor that in turn resulted with a union grievance, causing management to lose time and costing the company money.
- August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to put a bag of M&Ms on layaway.
- August 14: Moved a ‘CAUTION – WET FLOOR’ sign to a carpeted area.
- August 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told the children shoppers he’d invite them in if they would bring pillows and blankets from the bedding department to which twenty children obliged.
- August 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him he began crying and screamed, ‘Why can’t you people just leave me alone?’ EMTs were called.
- September 4: Looked right into the security camera and used it as a mirror while he picked his nose.
- September 10: While handling guns in the hunting department, he asked the clerk where the antidepressants were.
- October 3: Darted around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the ‘Mission Impossible’ theme.
- October 6: In the auto department, he practiced his ‘Madonna look’ by using different sizes of funnels.
- October 18: Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed through, yelled ‘PICK ME! PICK ME!’
- October 21: When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he assumed a fetal position and screamed ‘OH NO! IT’S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!’
And last, but not least:
- October 23: Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile, then yelled very loudly, ‘Hey! There’s no toilet paper in here.’ One of the clerks passed out.
Okay, back to the synopsis and edits. Hope you have a great week!
Sloan
Hope everyone is having a great weekend. I’m back online and very happy about it. Our cable modem died yesterday, so I wasn’t off-line for long, but it was still an annoyance. It’s amazing to me how much I use the damn internet in one day. From the dictionary to email to random questions where I want an immediate answer. I think maybe I’ll take a week off-line someday and see how long I can actually make it.
In more interesting news, I’ve got a few links to share.
Breathe is now available at…
All Romance eBooks
Amazon (US)
Amazon (UK)
Fictionwise
In related news…
Book Lovers Inc is celebrating its Blogoversary and they are having a giveaway, including a free copy of BREATHE. Happy Blogoversary, Book Lovers Inc!
And in other news…
This is cool: MORE has been nominated in the Preditors & Editors Readers’ Poll. All nominations are selected by readers. Voting is open until January 26.
Thank you all for your continued interest and support. Have a fab weekend!
Sloan
“LeAnn Rimes joined the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles to pay tribute to LGBT youth everywhere, honoring the memory of those who have taken their lives in desperation, those who struggle with anti-gay bullying and discrimination – and reminding everyone that It Gets Better!” (Source: YouTube)
For all my writer friends out there…
Share Your Wisdom, Inspiration & Experience With Other Writers
Rainbow Romance Writers (RRW), a chapter of Romance Writers of America, is looking for volunteers to submit brief quotes about writing to be featured in our newsletter, the Pot of Gold.
The newsletter is published quarterly for members of RRW, writers of LGBT romances at various stages of their writing careers (new writers working on their first story to multi-published authors, as well as a few publishers and editors).
If anyone is interested in submitting an original quote, we’d love for you to share your wisdom, experience, inspiration, humor, etc. about writing. Quotes will be selected based on their relevance to the current newsletter’s theme (New Year/New Beginnings). Topics could include motivation, setting goals, starting a new project, trying something new, or others. General quotes about writing and why you write are also welcome. Quotes submitted before January 17, 2011 will be considered for the upcoming edition and some may be saved for future editions.
Please use this form to submit a quote: http://bit.ly/gzZOFE
Feel free to pass along the link to anyone who may be interested.
Thank you,
Sloan Parker
RRW Newsletter Editor