Sloan Parker Blog

Check out the new book I just got: The Baby Name Wizard: A Magical Method for Finding the Perfect Name for Your Baby

No, I’m not having a baby. I just get wickedly excited when I find a writing resource that’s a gem (at least for me).

Lately when it comes time to give my secondary characters their names, I’ve been drawing a blank, selecting the same ones over and over or not finding something that fits the character. For my current works in progress I had two secondary characters whom I affectionately called “Editor Friend” and “Prof Guy” for far too long. For a while I was afraid I’d get so dang used to “Editor Friend” and “Prof Guy” that I’d send it off to my editor like that. It was nice to finally pull out my baby name resources and search for actual names for these guys.

Lists that are organized or searchable in specific ways (by first letter, sounds like, meaning, popularity per year, etc.) are the most helpful. So far The Baby Name Wizard is the best naming book I’ve used, along with these websites:

BabyNames.com

Baby Names Finder

Baby Names World

Popular Baby Names

And for last names I almost always end up using a printed phone book.

For any writers who are interested, these links have also been added to my website on the Resources for Writers page.

I’m off to work on revisions for my next installment of More Than Just a Good Book. Hope you all have a great week!

Hi all. Hope everyone had a great week.

I’ll explain the title of this blog post in a moment, but first a brief writing update:

As I mentioned on Wednesday I finished a new short story and sent it off to my critique partner. Now that it’s done (or close to it) I realize I feel like I’ve spent months with those two guys, writing a novel, not a short story. Hopefully that means something good. I don’t know.

Since then I’ve been focused on TAKE ME HOME. Now that I have all the revisions in place I’m working on another read-through to polish the dialogue and descriptions. Today I read the first 5 chapters, and I think they are ready to go. I still need to do my final checklist of common mistakes and get my critique partner’s input, but other than that, I finally feel like this book is close to submission-ready.

Now on to review the next 20+ chapters again.

Before I get back to it, I wanted to share a link. This week I blogged at Loose Ends, the Loose Id author blog, where I talked about the importance of having someone else proofread a story. The blog is titled: “Arrr! Lick Me Nipples” Or the Importance of Another Set of Eyes. I’m curious how much errors bother readers. I’d love to hear what you think. Feel free to leave a comment here or at Loose Ends.

Hope you all have a great weekend. My little baby nephew is getting married tomorrow. I guess that means he’s not a baby anymore. When did that happen?

I only have a minute to post today, and I know I’ve posted on this topic before, but I wanted to give a shout of thanks out to everyone who has taken the time to write and let a romance author know when you’ve enjoyed one of their stories. Please know, authors really do appreciate the effort.

I’ve received some amazing emails lately, and no matter how often it happens, there is nothing sweeter and more rewarding than knowing when one of my stories was an enjoyable experience for someone. And even better is knowing that story touched the reader in a meaningful way. Your words of appreciation and encouragement mean more than I can say.

Thank you!
Sloan

Image Source

As I’ve posted before I’m a fan of the US version of Queer as Folk. Just read that Gale Harold (aka Brian Kinney) is set to be in a new show this fall. It’s called The Secret Circle, and in the US it will air on Thursday nights at 9 p.m. on the CW network.

Here’s a preview (Harold is in the beginning and again near the end)

Here’s more about the show

Looks like he’s not a nice man. Should be an interesting role for him. I may check it out if I can find the time, but just seeing that promo had me wanting to start QAF all over again. Time to bust out the DVDs.

If you haven’t checked out Goodreads or the M/M Romance group you should take a look.

What is Goodreads?
“Goodreads is the largest social network for readers in the world. We have more than 4,600,000 members who have added more than 130,000,000 books to their shelves. A place for casual readers and bona-fide bookworms alike, Goodreads members recommend books, compare what they are reading, keep track of what they’ve read and would like to read, form book clubs and much more.” (source: Goodreads)

What is the M/M Romance Group?
“The #1 resource on the internet for M/M Romance fans, this group has something for everyone.

• Book and Series Discussions
• Daily Updates on New Releases and Author News
• Book of the Month Group Reads
• Reading Challenges
• Author Info & Writing Discussions
• Erotic Photos
• Games, Contests & Quizes”

(source: M/M Romance group)

The group currently has 2700 members, and they estimate they’ll have 3000 by mid June. They are also the top 20th most popular group on Goodreads which totally kicks ass when you think about the fact that this group is based on such a small niche market. Definitely a sign that readership and love of the genre is growing.

As a reader of m/m romances, I only wish I had more time to hang out there. If you’re a reader of the genre, you should definitely think about checking out the M/M Romance group.

I joined tumblr the other day. Not that I needed another distraction from my writing, but this social networking site is not only a fun way to take a writing break, it also feeds the creative side of my brain with interesting visuals.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with tumblr, it’s a microblogging site where you can quickly share text, images, videos, links, quotes, and audio, as well as view the same from the people you follow. I became familiar with it from the lovely images shared by various people I follow on Twitter. I decided to join so I could share some of what inspires me and my writing. Please note: some of the images may be NSFW (not safe for work).

If you’re on tumblr, I’d love to see what you’re sharing. You can follow me at http://sloanparker.tumblr.com

A while back I posted about my research ride-along with a SWAT team. Well I just learned that one of the guys (the tall, quiet blond) was wounded in the leg during an exchange of gunfire with a suspect. Another had a bullet go through his clothing, wallet, and credit cards. Thankfully (and surprisingly) he was not injured.

I’m sure none of the SWAT guys are following my author blog, but I wanted to send my best wishes for a speedy recovery and again offer my thanks to all men and women in law enforcement for their continued service in the protection of the rest of us.

Now back to my fictional world where no one gets shot unless I say so.

All the best,
Sloan

Hello everyone! Hope you are all having a fab week. I have some fun news to share. Authors S.J. Frost, Johnny Miles, and I have launched a Yahoo group called The Sweet Spot for readers and writers of m/m romances. The group is open to join now and our official launch party will be April 16th when we will host a chat and give away books from the three of us.

We hope the group’s discussions will be casual and fun. I’d love for you to join us. Here’s the text from the group’s homepage with more details:

What is The Sweet Spot?
A Romance club for fans of the M/M genre. Brought to you by authors S.J. Frost, Johnny Miles and Sloan Parker. We’d love for The Sweet Spot to be a place where readers can hang out, chat with other readers of the genre, share recommendations, discuss their favorite books, or ask us any questions. We look forward to chatting with each of you.

Readers: We’d love for you to join us. Sign up and introduce yourself to the group. Let us know what it is you enjoy about M/M romance stories.

Authors: Feel free to share your new releases, special contests, or other news. We just ask that you not overdo it with too many promotional type messages. About once a month or so we’ll have special days set aside exclusively for that purpose so please save your excerpts for those days. More information to come on that in May.

Our “official” launch date for The Sweet Spot is April 16, 2011 when we will host a live chat, book giveaways from SJ, Johnny and Sloan, answer reader questions, and more. The live chat will be held from 6-9 pm EST on April 16, but you are welcome to come by any time during the day (starting at 8 am EST) to chat with other readers and to enter the giveaway to win free books. A giveaway thread will be re-posted throughout the day. Just respond at any time and you’ll be entered. Winners will be announced ASAP after the live chat. We hope you can join us!

Your friends at the Sweet Spot,
SJ, Johnny and Sloan

If you’re interested in joining, the address for the group is:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheSweetSpotMM/

Hope to see you there!
Sloan

Have you seen the new ARe cafe at All Romance eBooks? I’m still learning my way around, but it looks pretty neat. You can post a status, connect with friends, join groups with other readers, check out recommended reads, see what’s being reviewed, and integrate it with your Twitter and Facebook. There’s even an m/m group called Mmmm… M/M Romance. Here’s the groups description:

“Here is the place for lovers of m/m romance, from sweet to spicy, to discuss what’s hot now. Talk about your favorite manlove authors and recommend titles for readers new to M/M goodness!”

If anyone is a member of the cafe, I’d love to connect with you. Here’s a link to my profile. Feel free to send me a friend request.

It looks like a neat place for readers to hang out. Hope to see you there!

Sloan

Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope you all have or find someone to love who also loves and respects you.

Here are a few things I’m loving that I wanted to share.

1. Video of an 80 year old grandmother speaking about her gay son
   “My son is not an issue. He’s a person. Just like you.”

2. If you need some extra words when talking to your lover tonight check out these 47 words to call your lover
   
3. Looking for a gay Valentine or other e-card? Try Out Greetings (that’s where the picture above came from)
4. And lastly, check out what my honey made for my office. Isn’t it great?
   

Hope you have a great week!
Sloan