Sloan Parker

Once a week I post a quote I love. It may be related to writing, inspiration, lgbt issues, my own life, or anything else that interests me. So here’s this week’s Quote I Love…

I’ve been working on revisions for my current work-in-progress, Breathe. Part of the goal of this last round of edits was to increase the romantic tension and build up the emotion in every scene.

Focusing on the love and desire in my work puts me in a romantic mood, so today I’m sharing some of my favorite quotes about love and passion.

Hope you enjoy these.

“And sometimes when we touch
The honesty’s too much
And I have to close my eyes and hide
I wanna hold you til I die
Til we both break down and cry
I wanna hold you till the fear in me subsides”
– Dan Hill

…

“You’re nothing short of my everything.”
– Ralph Block

…

“We are each of us angels with only one wing.
And we can only fly while embracing each other.”
– Lucian de Croszonza

…

“We lie in each other’s arms
eyes shut and fingers open and
all the colors of the world
pass through our bodies like strings of fire.”
– Marge Piercy

…

“Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.”
– Aristotle

…

“You were made perfectly to be loved – and surely I have loved you, in the idea of you, my whole life long.”
– Elizabeth Barrett Browning

…

“I love you not only for what you are,
But for what I am when I’m with you.”
– Elizabeth Barrett Browning

…

“What the heart has once owned and had, it shall never lose.”
– Henry Ward Beecher

…

“Where there is smoke, there’s fire. Where there’s you, there’s desire.”
– Unknown

…

“Passion… it can hurt so much sometimes, we can hardly stand it. Without passion, maybe we could all have some sort of peace in this life… but then, we’d be hollow. Without passion, we would be dead.”
– Unknown

Aren’t they lovely? Hope you enjoyed them.

Sloan Parker

This video is a teaser for an online soap opera-style series called Venice. Venice follows the life of a gay female interior designer. I just started watching the show this weekend.

I love this song. Not sure why, but it puts me in a gushy, romantic mood every time I hear it.

(video embedded below)

You can read more about Venice here: www.venicetheseries.com. Has anyone watched it yet? What did you think?

Thanks for stopping by,
Sloan Parker

Once a week I post about something I’m loving (tv, movies, books, art, photos, romances, authors, or anything else). So here is this week’s For the Love of…

I love intense drama in the fiction I read and write. I love emotional and physical conflict. I love when characters suffer. I like to “watch” them squirm (both in and out of the bedroom). Yeah, I’m evil like that. ;-)

I want to experience their journey as they build themselves back up, stronger than ever. I like a love story where the characters help each other find peace and happiness–help each other become who each is meant to be.

And in the end? I want the happy ending. I want to go along for the ride on their emotional journey and feel that peace myself. To be reminded that even when the world around us can really suck, those moments of love and happiness make the journey worth living.

Yep, I’m a sap. How about you? Do you only read love stories with happy endings?

Sloan Parker

Once a week, I post a quote that I’ve read/heard recently. So here’s this week’s Quote I Love…

I’m in a romantic mood this week, so here’s one of my favorite quotes about love.

“Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.”
Aristotle

I hope you all have or find the other half of your soul.
Sloan Parker

Once a week, I post a quote that I’ve read/heard recently. So here’s this week’s Quote I Love…

“For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.”

Judy Garland
Actress

Thanks for stopping by,
Sloan Parker

Today I have some lovely romance eye candy. It’s a montage of several love stories from TV and the movie Shelter. The boys included are:

Kevin & Scotty from Brothers and Sisters
Luke & Noah from As the World Turns
Zach & Shawn from Shelter
Kyle & Eric from General Hospital: Night Shift
Darren & Todd from Grey’s Anatomy – episode titled “The Becoming”

I must admit, I haven’t watched all of these yet, but this beautiful montage has me putting them on my list.

(embedded video below)

Nice, huh? Anyone watch any of these shows? All of them?

I’ve been following the story of Luke and Noah on As the World Turns to show my support of gay stories on US daytime TV. It was recently announced that the show has been canceled. I might have to check out One Life to Live. Anyone watch Oliver and Kyle? Maybe I can catch up on YouTube.

Thanks for taking a look.
Sloan Parker
www.sloanparker.com

Once a week, I post a quote that I’ve read/heard recently. So here’s this week’s Quote I love …

I saw this quote and wanted to share. It can be interpreted in a number of ways, but when I first read it, the line reminded me of Luke Moore, the main character from my debut novel. Luke has forced himself to live a life he never really wanted in order to avoid getting hurt, and it isn’t until he lets himself love again that he finds himself and the life he always wanted.

“Love is but the discovery of ourselves in others, and the delight in the recognition.”

Alexander Smith
Scottish Poet

So do you have any favorite quotes about love? Comment or send me an email. I’d love to hear from you.

Cheers,
Sloan Parker

Once a week, I post about something I’m loving (tv, movies, books, art, photos, romances, authors, or anything else) that I’ve seen or read about recently. So here’s this week’s For the love of …

Due to my hectic multiple days of holiday fun this year (yes, I had three days of Thanksgiving), I don’t have a long post for today, but I do have some pictures of lovely couples to share. They are some of my faves from flickr. I hope you enjoy these beautiful, romantic images.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sloan Parker
www.sloanparker.com

I was tagged by Devon Rhodes to complete this m/m meme. Thanks for including me. Devon! These are some good questions. And thanks to Kris at Kris ‘n’ Good Books who started it all.

Rules:

1. Answer all the questions below in either the comments here or post it on your own site. If you post it on your own site you have to come back and give the link here so I/Kris can mosey on over and see if you have a sticky beak.

2. You have to tag two other people once you’re done and pester them relentlessly until they do the meme too.

3. Instead of a meme image thing you have to post a cookie, preferably a twofer. It is an m/m meme after all. ;)

Questions:

1. How long have you been reading GLBTQ fiction?
Two years this past October. Not sure I had read any romances with main characters who were GLBTQ before that.

2. What was the first book you read in this genre?
Lee Rowan’s Ransom

3. Are you ‘out’ as a reader?
Oh yeah. I’m out all over the place. As a writer too. Of course my dad wants to know how come I can’t leave the “sex stuff” up to the reader’s imagination. He’s so cute.

4. Ebooks, print or both?
Mostly ebooks, but I will buy my favs in paperback or some that are not available in ebook format.

5. Do you buy direct from publishers or from secondary sellers?
I buy from both. I’ve been trying to make an effort to buy more direct, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out (due to pricing and discounts or format)

6. Prove you’re a Book Slut. How many books would you say you buy a week?
That varies. I’ll buy a ton at one time then go a couple weeks or even a month without buying anything. It averages out to maybe 10-20 a month. Sometimes more if there’s a huge sale.

7. Are you a cover, blurb or excerpt buyer?
A nice cover can pull me in. But I always read the blurb before buying (if it’s an author I love). For new-to-me authors, I read an excerpt to see if I like the writing style.

8. Yeah, you read reviews, but do you actually take notice of them?
I do. I have a database of all the books I own/want to read. Sometimes I’ll add links to reviews with the book’s entry in the DB, especially if the review made it sound like something I’d like to buy.

9. Who’s your fave publisher?
Loose Id (Was I supposed to say anything else? They’re publishing my debut novel hehehe. Seriously, they’ve been great to work with)

10. What about authors? Your top two only!!
Oh man. Only two. That’s tough. Okay, off the top of my head, Josh Lanyon and JL Langley and WA Hoffman and Tere Michaels and Jordan Castillo Price and…uh, I can’t stop.

11. Is there a sub-genre you particularly dis/like?
I don’t read much fantasy, but will if I’ve heard enough good things about a book. It’s hard for me to get into the story and characters when I’m trying to figure out the world.

12. Short or long?? *rolls eyes* And, no, I’m not talking about cocks.
Usually long. I want the read to last a few days, and I want to really get into the characters’ heads. Some authors can pull off short fiction with great characterizations, but a lot of the time, I’m just left feeling like I wanted more.

13. Anything turn you off about m/m or is all just glorious smut to you?
I can’t think of anything I’ve actually read that was a turn-off in terms of the sex. Maybe too much of the same sex over and over. I”ll probably think of something later that creeped me out. I don’t like cheating, but if the author is really good and redeems the story/characters with huge emotional payoffs, then I can keep reading (and yes, that includes Jake Riordan. He’s on his way, and I’m hoping he sees the light and gets out of other people’s beds in book 5).

14. Finish this sentence. You know it’s m/m twu wuv when…
They get a tattoo or piercing together

15. What trope or theme are you heartily sick of in m/m romance?
Not sure. If an author is really good at his/her craft, I’ll read any trope/theme again. It’s all in how well they build the characters within the plot.

16. If you could choose any 3 characters for a m/m/m who would they be?
It’s probably so wrong to say this, but I’d pick Luke, Richard, and Matthew, the three guys from my book More, an m/m/m tentatively due out in March from Loose Id.  :)

17. What new GLBTQ release are you most hanging out for right now?
I’m looking forward to The Dark Tide by Josh Lanyon and Matt’s story from JL Langley. Oh, and the final Raised by Wolves from WA Hoffman.

18. What GLBTQ book has completely blown you away this year?
The Adrien English books by Josh Lanyon (they were new to me this year) and Faith & Fidelity by Tere Michaels.

19. What do you think we’ll see more of in m/m romance in 2010?
Vampires. And more short stories and novellas rather than novel length.

20. Don’t you agree that author Josh Lanyon should kill off arsehole character Jake Riordan?
Not kill. I want him to tell Adrien what we all know he feels for him (and grovel…A LOT!). I’m a sappy romantic. I want them to have their happy ending.

Tag, you’re it:

Kathy Kozakewich

SJ Frost

Once a week, I post a quote that I’ve read/heard recently. So here’s this week’s Quote I love …

I’m a romantic. I admit it. I believe in love.

Falling in love is one of the most healthy, wonderful things a person can experience…for the soul, the heart, the body, the mind. It’s the falling out of love that often destroys us. Or never letting ourselves love in the first place (just ask Jonathan Moore, the antagonist from my book More.) And the hardest part for some is when he or she still loves someone and that love isn’t returned. But even though I know too many people who have been burned by love, it’s still something I believe in. I live it every day. It does exist.

Here’s a quote I saw this week that speaks to those beliefs.

“I would prove to men how wrong they are to think that they stop falling in love when they grow old, without knowing you grow old when you stop falling in love.”

Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist

What do you think? Am I a big ol’ sap? Or do you believe in love? Comment on this post or send me an email. I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks for stopping by,
Sloan Parker