Had to share this one from my own life…
I went into the kitchen for a banana and my sweetie was standing there messing around with something on the counter. I poked her butt cheek with the tip of the banana as I was leaving. All she said was: “I bet you write m/m romance.”
I’m pleased to share that SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN is now available for purchase. This is my holiday story about two young homeless men who fall in love and search for a way to stay off the streets and build a life together.
Length: Short Novella, 17,500+ words
Cover Artist: Deana C. Jamroz
Publisher: MLR Press
You can pick up a copy at
Here’s the blurb
After running away from the hatred and abuse of their teen years, Sean and Gavin have been hustling to survive for too long now. When some extra cash lands them alone in a hotel room until Christmas, they can no longer deny their feelings for each other. Now neither one can imagine watching the other walk off with one more trick. Even with no money and no job prospects, Sean is determined to not just show Gavin what a real home and holiday is like, but to keep them off the streets for good and build a life together.
If you check it out, I hope you enjoy Sean and Gavin’s story. It’s a bit of an angsty one but very sweet as these two find their way to Something To Believe In.
Fortunately I was able to find the same stock photography for the boys so the cover has a similar look as the e-book version.
You can pick up a copy at Amazon.com, Amazon UK, or CreateSpace now. It’ll be added to Barnes and Noble and other stores as soon as they get it added to their catalogs (probably in a few weeks).
As a thank-you to my readers and all readers of m/m romances, I’m holding a giveaway for a free e-book copy of my upcoming novel HOW TO SAVE A LIFE (due out January 15, 2013 from Loose Id) and a $25 gift certificate (winner’s choice of Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or All Romance eBooks). Depending on the number of entries received, up to 6 total winners may be selected.
Contest closes at 11:59 pm EST Tuesday, January 1, 2013 or as soon as there are 250 entries (whichever comes first).
Instructions / Rules
- To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this blog post indicating that you’d like to enter and include the name of one m/m romance (not one of mine please) you’d recommend to a friend who hasn’t read any gay romances but would like to, and also share why you’d pick that book. This should give us all a list of great books to recommend to newcomers. I’ll post the full list of recommendations on my blog after the New Year (I’ll keep your recommendations anonymous on that post).
- Be sure to include a valid email address in the email form field in order to be entered in the drawing. Your email address is for my use only (in order to contact the winners). It will NOT be published on the blog or used for marketing/promotional purposes.
- If for any reason you cannot leave a comment, email me and I’ll post your comment for you, including your answer to the above question (that way everyone can see how many entries there are).
- One random winner will be selected from all who comment on this post. Additionally, for every 50 entries another winner will be selected (up to a maximum of 6 total winners).
- After the giveaway ends, I will contact the winners directly to ask them for their choice of gift certificate and which format they’d prefer for the e-book.
- One entry per person please.
- Contest closes at 11:59 pm EST Tuesday, January 1, 2013 or as soon as there are 250 entries (whichever comes first).
- Winners will be announced on the blog and privately emailed within 48 hours after the giveaway ends.
Feel free to share the link to this blog post. There’s also a direct link to the giveaway on my website.
Good luck and thank you again! I have the best readers and I really appreciate all the emails I’ve received telling me how much you’ve enjoyed my work and what certain stories have meant to you. Those individual reader contacts make the long hours writing, editing, and the other work that comes with this business so worth it. Thank you!
Much love and happiness,
Sloan
Reminder: To enter, leave a comment on this blog post indicating that you’d like to enter and include the name of one m/m romance (not one of mine) you’d recommend to a friend who hasn’t read any gay romances but would like to, and also share why you’d pick that book.
(c) istockphoto.com, pawel.gaul 2008
Thanks to the talented Harper Fox, I’ve been tagged in the Next Big Thing Blog Hop. This fun event spanning blogs all over the world gives authors a chance to talk about their current work-in-progress, answering ten questions, then tagging a few more authors to do the same in a week’s time. Thanks, Harper, for giving me a chance to share!
Now on to the questions.
1 What is the working title of your book?
HOW TO SAVE A LIFE. I decided to talk about this one since I’ve just begun working on MORE book 2 and wouldn’t have much to share yet, and I’m technically still working on HOW TO SAVE A LIFE as it goes through line edits and proofing.
2 Where did the idea come from for the book?
Walter Simon was originally featured as a secondary character in MORE. When I first sat down to work on his story, I knew a few things: 1) I wanted this book to include some element of suspense, 2) I wanted it to include the Haven (the club where we first met Walter…the pic above reminds me of the lounge in the Haven), and 3) I wanted him to fall for a much younger man to play off Walter’s insecurities of growing older and his feelings that his best days were behind him.
From there, I expanded on his backstory and did a character interview/sketch with both him and Kevin. I spent one long afternoon sitting in my dining room with note cards lying all over my dining room table as I brainstormed ideas about these two men and what they were trying to accomplish. Once I knew Kevin was a reporter going into the club undercover, the idea for the villain really took off and so did the fact that Kevin and Walter were on a desperate mission to save the lives of several missing gay men.
3 What is the genre of the book?
Gay erotic suspense. This might be my book with the most suspense. Or at least, the most intense suspense. However, there’s probably more character interaction between the heroes in this one than Breathe and Take Me Home.
4 Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Oh man, this is tough. If HOW TO SAVE A LIFE were really going to made into a movie, I’d be thrilled to see some undiscovered actors in the roles. I love those breakout performances that just pop off the screen and aren’t clouded in any way by the off-screen persona or the life of the actor. But if I were to think of more known actors: Let’s see…for Walter…maybe an athletic George Clooney, dark-haired with a dusting of gray. And for Kevin…Justin Timberlake with longer hair.
5 What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Passion ignites when a serious security expert and a klutzy reporter just accepting that he might be gay form an unlikely alliance to save the lives of several missing men.
6 Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency/publisher?
It will be published by Loose Id and is scheduled for release on January 15, 2013.
7 How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
The outline took about a month to put together. That included a scene-by-scene breakdown of the story and any high-level research. Then the first draft took several months to finalize, but that included several rounds of revisions to the first ten chapters (which I don’t always do that early in the process).
8 What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Hmmm, I really try hard not to compare my work with others, so I’m going to have to skip answering this question. When I’m reading m/m, I’m looking to enjoy the story, the characters, the world, and romance the author created. Sometimes I may try to find ways to learn from the author (what are they doing that really works for me as a reader, what about the plot and characters really moves me), but I don’t look at it in terms of a true comparison to my own stories. For me, I think that would take away any enjoyment from the act of reading, and I love to read gay romance too much to lose that.
9 Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Walter Simon. From the moment I finished writing MORE, I knew I wanted to write a story for Walter. I couldn’t leave him alone any longer. No matter how much he thought he liked his nice, quiet life, he needed someone like Kevin to come along and trip right over his feet, someone who would give him the spark of really living he’d been missing for a long time.
10 What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
HOW TO SAVE A LIFE is a May/December coming out romance that I hope will appeal to readers who enjoy stories about a man having his first sexual experience with another man, as well as those who like some intrigue along with the romance.
Now on to who I’m tagging: my friends and fellow M/M authors SJ Frost and Jambrea Jo Jones have agreed to share about their works-in-progress next. They will be answering these questions in one week, so be sure to check out their blogs next Saturday.