~waving madly~

Still here. Sort of. Book blogging has almost completely taken over my online live and a good chunk of my real life too.

This is suppose to be the blog of an author of erotica. And this is where the book blogging seems to come it. . . I'm spending too much time reading and reviewing to write. So much so that when I hauled a bunch of books to storage, I sent my WIPs too. I told myself it was so they wouldn't get tossed but dang. . . I don't even remember what I was writing about!

Not sure when I'll be back but the dream of writing is alive and well.

The m/m Romance Challenge

Oh goody ;-D Several family members, including MIL & nieces, have my book blog address but I LOVE to read m/m romance. I'm glad there is a challenge because of all the books that aren't counted on my book blog, most will fit here!

The M/M Romance Challenge

TIMELINE: January 1st to December 31st 2010

RULES: Read five(5) or more m/m romances in 2010

There are 5 reading levels to choose from:
- Read 5 M/M Romances
- Read 10 M/M Romances
- Read 15 M/M Romances
- Read 20 M/M Romances
- Read 20+ M/M Romances

DETAILS:

This challenge is for those who enjoy reading gay romances (also known as m/m or male/male romances) or those who are interested in starting. If you aren’t familiar with this genre, it consists of novels and stories where the main focus is the romantic relationship between the male protagonists.

• You must be 18 years old or older to join.

• You don’t have to select your books ahead of time. Even if you do, you can change your books as you go. Your books can crossover with other challenges.

• You don’t need a blog to participate. You can comment on this post if you’d like to share a book list or reading pool.

• Please create a post on your blog where you’ll be keeping track of your challenge reads and link back to this post so others can join in on the fun. If you use a “Current Challenges” page, or something similar, you can link back from that page instead of creating an individual post.

• You can use the large banner I’m using at the top of this post or you can use the smaller buttons I’ve provided below. Just copy the code provided. There’s no need to save the smaller buttons to your own server. (I have another large banner you can use here, if you’d like.)

• You can join at anytime between now and the latter part of 2010. Just give yourself enough time to read your chosen amount of books.

• Books chosen can be any length, sub-genre, or format. eBooks, paperbacks, young adult books, audio books, and re-reads are all okay.

• Once the challenge starts, I’ll create a page for everyone to post their reviews. Reviews are encouraged, but are entirely optional.

PRIZES:

Everyone who signs up for the challenge between now and January 31st will be eligible to win $15 in eBook Bucks from All Romance Ebooks!

I love to read m/m romance and since re-reads and any length count, I'm going for....20+...although I'm wondering: is it cheating to count Sips?

Title links go to publisher/shopping page

1. Man of Honor by Maria Albert- Jan 3
2. Closeted Secret by Carol McKenzie - Jan 3
3. Safe Word by Alex Morgan - Jan 3
4. An Improper Holiday by K.A. Mitchell - Jan 3
5. Eliot's Hero by Bryn Colvin - Jan 5
6. His Convenient Husband by J.L. Langley - Jan 5
7. Tabloid Star by T.A. Chase - Jan 5
8. With the Ring by T.A. Chase - Jan 5
9. Photo Shoot by Addision Albright - Jan 9
10. Submission Times Two by Claire Thompson - Jan 10
11. A Little Something for Santa by J.M. Snyder - Jan 10
12. Cowboys' Christmas by - Jan 10
13. Shell Shocked by - Jan 10
14. Somebody to Love - Jan 11
15. Love, Always - Jan 11
16. Impossible Dream - Jan 11
17. The Finest Thing by Lily Sawyer - Jan 11
18. My Heros Have Always Been Cowboys - Jan 11
19. Colliding in Freefall - Jan 12
20. Rock Bottom by Celia Kyle - Jan 12
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.



F*ck the Foreplay by J.M. Snyder

Stroke of Midnight by Jordan Castillo Price

Thaw by Jordan Castillo Price

Foreplay by J.M. Synder

The m/m meme

This isn't finished, I'm too tired, but if I draft it, I'll forget to update. See you later!


Found on Moonlight to Twilight blog who has invited anyone to swipe it, post it and then go back and link it. Since my MIL and nieces have my book blog address, it's over here where I'm a little more naughty ;-)



The M/M Meme

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 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? 2006?.

2. What was the first book you read in this genre? Do you really expect me to remember that long ago?

3. Are you ‘out’ as a reader? not to everyone

4. Ebooks, print or both? ebooks mostly, I've been disappointed with the print books I've picked up

5. Do you buy direct from publishers or from secondary sellers? yes

6. Prove you’re a Book Slut. How many books would you say you buy a week? I go in cycles but maybe average 3 a week.

7. Are you a cover, blurb or excerpt buyer? yes. title & recurring characters too

8. Yeah, you read reviews, but do you actually take notice of them? If it's a new author

9. Who’s your fave publisher? Torquere Press. No, Total-e-Bound. Wait, Samhain, Amber Quill.....

10. What about authors? Your top two only!! Just two? Sean Michaels, T.A. Chase

11. Is there a sub-genre you particularly dis/like? love twincest and some D/s

12. Short or long?? *rolls eyes* And, no, I’m not talking about cocks. yes but like the character development in the longer stories.

13. Anything turn you off about m/m or is all just glorious smut to you? Not happy with some of the cruder language (an ass is NOT a boy pussy, thank you!)

14. Finish this sentence. You know it’s m/m twu wuv when… true love? when a man says he's sorry

15. What trope or theme are you heartily sick of in m/m romance?

16. If you could choose any 3 characters for an m/m/m who would they be?
Well, Taylor as Jacob comes to mind now that's he's so buff





17. What new GLBTQ release are you most hanging out for right now? David and Conner by Bobby Michaels

18. What GLBTQ book has completely blown you away this year?

19. What do you think we’ll see more of in m/m romance in 2010?

20. Don’t you agree that author Josh Lanyon should kill off arsehole character Jake Riordan? Haven't read these.





Hmm... now I have to tag two people... I know several people have already done this meme, so I am going to leave it for anyone who has not yet done the meme to please swipe it from my blog and leave a comment letting us know you will be posting this meme on your blog soon.

GLBT Reading Challenge ~2010~

The Challenge that Dare Not Speak its Name... has it's own blog!

Here's a quick run-down but check out the blog and sign-up. I'm going for the Rainbow level.

Rules/Guidelines:

The basic idea of this challenge is to read books about GLBT topics and/or by GLBT authors.

The challenge runs year-round, and there will be three levels of participation:

Lambda Level: Read 4 books.
Pink Triangle Level: Read 8 books.
Rainbow Level: Read 12 or more books.

You don't need to choose your books right away, and they can change at any time. Overlaps with other challenges are fine.

Now I realize that the purpose is to read mainstream books with glbt characters or by a glbt author but I'm heavy into m/m erotica. So, while I will be branching out for some mainstream, most of my reading will be erotica.


Out of the Pocket by Bill Konigsberg (mainstream (YA?), hardcover. I own this one, I'll just have to wait for 2010 to read it)

I'm hoping that re-read work because I'd love to read Mercedes Lackey's Magic trilogy again: Magic's Pawn, Magic's Promise, Magic's Price.

Review posted

I'm really excited to be part of the Dark Diva Reviews team. My first review is up, check it out.

I've also reviewed Highway Patrol and Wes & Toren but I just turned them in.

Bonds of the Maleri'

Bonds of the Maleri'
Kate Steele

Changeling Press
2008
283 pages (trade size paperback)
Paranormal Romance, Sci-fi
(originally released as 5 ebooks)


This is an anthology. One author, one "world", five stories. I won this book in a contest and it is fabulous. You learn the background in book one and there isn't a lot of backtracking between books.

Erotica, paranormal, romance, sci-fi, m/m. 4.5 stars, a very enjoyable read.

On the faraway planet of Belthola exists a group of extraordinary men. Born with empathic powers, they devote themselves to the service of their planet as mediators, diplomats, doctors, lawmen and scholars. Where help is needed by any planet or people, they generously provide it. But even those with powers have their weaknesses. For the Maleri', the use of their gift can eventually cause madness, even death. The one thing that can prevent such as ill fated end is the taking of a mate. One with whom they can join-mind, body and soul.

Book 1: Mate Hunt
Coltas Oldarie is a healer in need of a mate. He's blacking out and can no longer use his gift. Off to Earth, where many have found their Mates before, he too, finds his. Only there is an older brother protecting what Col wants most.

Book 2: Double or Nothing
spoiler The brother Eric comes with when Col and his mate head back to Belthola. He's like a fish out of water and is kidnapped. Why?

Book 3: Between Love and Law
Head of planet security, Chase has a lonely job. With every promotion, he's let his job become his life. Worried a slip may cause harm to one of his guys. What happens when his mate arrives in the employee of Delmon, a sleazeball mob-like kind of guy? His job? To steal the Blaze of Belthola!

Book 4: Ride 'Em Cowboy
Zeb is sent to Wyoming to learn all he can about cattle ranching only to find his mate. A mate who can not leave the ranch, while Zeb's job is back on Belthola. This isn't looking good for either of them.

Book 5: Redemption
Kicked out of the Brotherhood for taking sides, Jor wanders the Galaxy. He's unmated and the blackouts and pain are worsening. Dane trained at John Hopkins but is on a backwater planet trying to escape the memories of his first mate, Tel. Can true love cure all? Is Redemption possible?

M/M Romance Challenge extra options

I've already gone past 10 books, maybe I should follow the options....


If you’d like to spice things up a bit, feel free to use the following suggestions when choosing what books you want to read. You can use as many as you want, depending on how many books you’ll be reading for the challenge. Feel free to expand on this list if you’d like.

- Read an anthology.
- Read an historical.
- Read a new release.
- Read a new-to-you author.
- Read the first book in a series.
- Read a book with a sports/athletics theme.
- Read a book outside your comfort level or from a genre you don’t normally read.
- Read a book where the shapeshifter isn’t a werewolf.
- Read a book that’s been in your TBR pile for longer than 2 months.
- Read any title by one of the first m/m authors you ever read.

M/M Romance Challenge

The M/M Romance Challenge
March 20, 2009 to August 31, 2009

Rules/Guidelines

1. Choose your sports euphemism (lol!):
- 1st Base – Read 4 M/M romances
- 2nd Base – Read 5 M/M romances
- 3rd Base – Read 6 M/M romances
- Go All The Way – Read 10 (or more) M/M romances

2. All genres are allowed.
- They can be a part of a series or stand-alones.
- They can be long or short.
- Some re-reads are allowed, but try to have at least 2 new-to-you books.
- Overlapping with other challenges is fine, even encouraged.

3. You can join at any time, but remember there is a deadline (August 31, 2009) so keep that in mind when you choose how many books you’d like to read.

4. You don’t have to list your books ahead of time. If you decide to list them, you can change them as you go. Feel free to remove or add titles as needed.

5. You do NOT have to have a blog to participate.
- You can post a mini review or feedback in comments on the review post.
- Just remember to include your book title and author.

6. You do NOT have to review your books to participate.

7. You MUST be 18 years old or older to participate.

~*~

#1 - I'm going to "Go All The Way" and shouldn't this be "homerun?"
#2 - I like the 'short' and 'reread' parts.
#3 - Not only am I joining late, I'm joining too late for prizes!
#4 - I'll just list what I've read so far....
#5 - I think I'll do a mini review as a comment
#6 - I do have a blog.... but my MIL has my book blog address! So do nieces!
#7 - yes, I am over 18.

~*~

1. An Inconvenient Hankering by Sienna Bishop
at Dreamspinner Press, read 3-21

2. A Note in the Margin by Isabelle Rowan
at Dreamspinner Press, read 3-23

3. Heat.Seeking.Missle

4. An Agreement Among Gentlemen by Chris Owen
at Torquere Press, read 3-29

5. Affair in Paradise by Matthew Haldeman-Time
at Torquere Press, read 3-30

6. Perfect Formation by K.B. Alan
at Ellora's Cave, read 3-30

7. Broken Boundaries by Evangeline Anderson
at Ellora's Cave, read 3-30

8. Behind the Lens

8. By Degrees by MB MacDonald
at Torquere Press, read 3-31

9. The One That Got Away by TC Blue
at Torquere Press, read 4-2

10. Chew Toy by Julia Talbot
at Torquere Press, read 4-6

11. The Obsolete Man by Peper Espinoza
at Amber Quill Press, read 4-6

12. Special Delivery by Dierde O'Dare
Amber Quill Press, read 4-6

13. Jake's Reqret by Shawn Lane
Amber Quill Press, read 4-6

14. Allergies by T.A. Chase
Amber Quill Press, read 4-6

15. Taboo Desires by Amanda Young
at Samhain Publishing, read 4-6

16. A Soldier's Choice by D.L. Warner
at Sybaritic Press, read 4-7

17. Gaydar by Kim Dare
at Total-e-Bound, read 4-9

18. Turquoise & Leather by
at , read 4-9

19. Secret Service by
at , read 4-9

20. The Last Bouquet by Carol Lynne
at Total-e-Bound, read 4-10

21. Sunshine, Sex & Sunflowers by
at , read 4-12

22. Summer Bliss by
at , read 4-12

23. Gemini by Chris Owen
at Torquere Press, read 4-13

24. Possessor & Possessed by Sean Michael
at Torquere Press, read 4-14

25. Not Sir by Syd McGinley
at Torquere Press, read 4-14

26. Between Us by AKM Miles
at Torquere Press, read 4-14

27. Drawing Closer by Jane Davitt
at Torquere Press, read 4-14

28. ISP by CB Potts
at Torquere Press, read 4-14

29. Subic Surrender - Michael's story
nifty.org by RimPig

30. A Soldier's Choice by D.L. Warner
at Sybaritic Press, read 4-22

31. ..... will find list & fill in other info later!




??. Bonds of the Maleri' by Kate Steele
at Changeling Press, read 6-21
print of all 5 ebooks, reviewed

Where I purchase erotica

Most of my erotica is electronic. I read Harlequin's Blaze but when I want SEX, mostly I go electronic. Online publishers and clearing houses, erotica and mainstream. There are many more out there, even some that are free, it's just that this is were I seem to wind up. No specific order, not even "favorite first", just listed as bookmarked :)

Torquere Press is strictly same sex or triads, but the others are heavy on hetro. Amber Quill has their mainstream, erotica and same-sex titles separate but on the same site whereas Ellora's Cave has their mainstream titles on a separate site.

Torquere Press also has a subscription service, A Turn of the Screw, where you get several stories a month but only one chapter at a time. When the story is complete you can download the whole thing before it goes on sale.

If you enjoy M/M romance/sex and like the idea of a chapter at a time, check out In This Land. You can read several short stories and the first three chapters for free. It is a subscription (by month) but over 130 posts are available right away.

Bareback Angels, part of Torquere Press

Torquere Press

Liquid Silver Books

Total-e-Bound

Ellora's Cave

Amber Quill

Samhain Publishing

Loose Id

Aspen Mountain Press

Changeling Press

Lyrical Press

Sybaritic Press

Extasy Books

This one says Jasmine Jade Enterprises but the link is a different layout of Ellora's Cave

Dreamspinner Press

Phaze and her sister site Mundania Press

Linden Bay Romance

Red Rose Publishing

Whispers Publishing

Whiskey Creek Press

The Wild Rose Press and their sister-site
for a wilder rose. Also, White Rose Publishing for inspirational romance

Shadowfire Press

GirleBooks free ebooks by the gals (I haven't used this one yet)



disclaimer: links worked when first posted & just because the sites are compatible with my equipment doesn't mean they are compatible with yours. Purchas small amounts to try them out. (I would purchase a short story, maybe $2, and see if formatting was compatible before making a bigger purchase) Ebooks are NOT returnable!

so far behind...

I enjoy reading so when I found out about Book Challenges, I was thrilled. The thing is that not everyone appreciates a good romp in their books and some of the challenge leaders had specific postings or comments that were religious. So to error on the side of caution, my erotic books are here, and the rest are here.

The problem is that it's May and I haven't even listed my January read, let alone links to publishers or reviews. I'm a bad, bad girl. ;)

I hope to do better but until then....

May 1
TQP Chaser: Used, Rare and Custom Jobs 1: Bid by Chris Owen
TQP Chaser: Used, Rare and Custom Jobs 2: Proposal by Chris Owen
(great, now I have to wait for part 3!)

Erotica Challenge

To sign up for the Erotica Challenge, visit J. Kay's Book Blog

"As a way to celebrate publishers like X Libris, Avon Red, Ellora's Cave, Samhain, Siren, etc, this challenge will focus only on erotica fiction.

Guidelines:

1. You can join anytime as long as you don’t start reading to your books prior to 2009.

2. Read 10 erotica in 2009.

3. Overlaps with other challenges are fine.

4. When you sign up under Mr. Linky, list the direct link to your post where your reading list will be posted. If you list just your blog’s URL, it will be removed.

If you’ll be posting your challenges on your sidebar, then please put the button up and link before signing up.

If you don’t have a blog, leave the URL blank.

5. You do not have to list your books ahead of time. If you decide to, you can change them as you go.

6. You must be 18 years or older to join."

I love that someone thought to do this. I'm only listing books that are close to or over 100 pages. (I read a LOT of shorts) Nothing is reviewed, yet.... now that my list is written down - it's mostly m/m and the one story that has a girl is m/m/f! I know I read m/f erotica, I just haven't done it so far this year.


1. mm: Beautiful Disaster by J.M. Snyder (Amber Quill)

2. mm: Falling by M.L. Rhodes (Amber Quill)

3. mmf: Corporate Passion by Carol Lynne (Total-e-Bound)

4. mm: Gone Surfin' by Carol Lynne (Total-e-Bound)

5. mm: The Elf and Shoemaker by M.L. Rhodes (Amber Quill)

6. mm: Father of Dragons by Emily Veinglory (Samhain)

7. mm: High Line by T.A. Chase (Samhain)

8. mm: A Hidden Beauty by Jamie Crain (Samhain)

9. mm: Harvest Heat by Carol Lynne (Ellora's Cave)

10. mm: A Helping Hand by Shayla Kersten (Ellora's Cave)

11. mmm: Falling in Controlled Circumstances by Pepper Espinosa (Samhain)

12. mmm: Polar Reaction by Claire Thompson (Samhain)

13. mm: A Promise Kept by Stormy Glenn (Torquere Press)

14. mm: Drawn Together by Z.A. Maxfielf (Loose Id)

15. mm: A Note in the Margin by Isabelle Rowan (Dreamspinner Press)

16. mm: Broken Boundaries by Evangeline Anderson (Ellora's Cave)
~This one is Sci-fi and mostly foreplay but there is dubious consent at one point and an attempted rape

17. mm: By Degrees by JB macDonald (Torquere Press)

18. mmm: Agreement Among Gentlemen by Chris Owen (Torquere Press)
~This one has elements of BDSM. London, recency period?

19. mm: Allergies by T.A. Chase (AmberQuill)
~shifters

20. mm: A Soldier's Choice by D.L. Warner (Sybaritic Press)

Book Challenges

An interesting thing happened the other day. I discovered (or rediscovered at the best possible time) the book reading challenge. Imagine, people post a list of requirements on their blog (read 20 books this year) and people visit the blog and sign up to do it. There's a whole community out there blogging about books and I just fell into it. So what did I do? Started a new blog and joined a few challenges then to make makes worse - I'm hosting two!

Why am I telling you this? Well, I have many blogs but they are so varied or personal that I started one just for books (dang, no pretty pictures). This was working great until I joined the Erotica Challenge. Most of my family and friends don't know this side of me so I can't tell them about my book blog. In order to fix that, I'll post the challenge over here and everything else over there. After all, people who read erotica shouldn't have a problem with what's posted here ;)

towel boy?

This gives the phrase "towel boy" a whole new meaning!

thought you'd like to know

*****Permission to repost or forward granted*****

It's our birthday and we're celebrating by giving you a present!

All Romance eBooks will be celebrating our second birthday on November 1, 2008 and we couldn't think of a better way to mark the occasion than by passing on the gift of an eBook to as many readers, publishers, and authors as possible.

On November 1st all registered customers will receive a code good for one* free download! The customer picks the book, we purchase it, and authors and publishers earn their royalties. It's as simple as that.

And, not only is it simple now, it's simple every day to shop at All Romance eBooks. Simple category searches, simple checkout process, and a simple buy-ten-get-one-free reward program.

Help us sp! read the word to those that read eBooks and to anyone you think might like to try one. We have All the romance you need from all the publishers you love—and now we're giving it away!

Lori James and Barbara Perfetti
All Romance eBooks

*one click buys and bundles excluded

just trying something out

well, that didn't work!

My PDA is dying

so I've been considering what to do. Cybook? Sony? Kindle? Palm?

sony doesn't support Mac. Cybook was at the top of the list with Kindle. Palm? Well, I already have several palm books, it has a calendar, address book and other features I've been using.

Amazon has a 30 day return policy. It was expected to arrive on Wednesday - yes, was expected tomorrow. I went to "track orders" just for fun to see where it was and it was already here!

We'll miss you

A church friend died this weekend. Just to show that life goes on, it was the same day my niece got married. Josie was a lovely lady but I didn't know her well. She was always happy when I saw her and cheered my day. Her favorite group was Van Halen. Isn't that a kick? Her daughter is almost as old as I am! This was on the cover of the funeral program.


May the sun bring you new energy by day,
May the moon softly restore you by night,
May the rain wash away your worries,
May the breeze blow new strength into your being,
May you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life.

~ Apache blessing

Good-bye Josie, it will be a while before I stop looking for you at church. Wish I'd known you better.

Sexy Comments & Profile Graphics

only 100 things?

Time magazine had an interesting article. The idea was to clear up your clutter by paring everything down to 100 things. Here's the guy's blog.

One lady was quoted as keeping categories, such as "shoes", so she kept most of her shoes and counted it as ONE of her 100 things. That's what I'd have to do with my books. There's no way I'd be able to pare down my collection to less than 100 books. It would be work to pare it down to 100 authors!

Let's make categories: clothing, shoes, accessories, reading material (that includes text/technical books), housewares, music, movies, computer related, hobbies.

So check out the link and come back to comment. Can you think of other categories? Do you have something that demands that you count all of them as one? You may not do this, but do you think you could?

I read, sew, quilt, cross-stitch, do yarn work and scrapbook. In addition to all my books, I have two sewing machines, a serger, countless needles & thread spools, scrapbook tools & papers and skeins of yarn. And fabric. Oh, man, do I have fabric. Really, this one is almost as bad as my books.



I've been reading the comments on the link. I think some of these people just don't get it. Just because the list says "Undergarments" instead of "underwear", the post asked if the guy was going to go commando. Duh!

The paring down is only for personal items. If you live alone, that may be easier. Married? don't touch their stuff or you may not be for long. I don't understand...

plates - though apparently not silverware...

How can silverware not be a shared item in a family setting?

I have never lived by myself. I was with my parents, roommates at college (shared bedroom), then with my husband. We started in a one bedroom/no garage unit. Moved to three bedrooms/carport unit. Now we're in a four bedrooms/2-car garage unit and our stuff has expanded to fit each larger home. Well, we also went from two people to four but I am a...stasher? I know I have too much stuff but we aren't living in wall-to-wall stacks.

Towel Day

That's right, I said TOWEL DAY. Started in 2001, in honor of Douglas Adams, author of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, people have been asked to wear their towel on the 42nd day of the year. This year it's Sunday, May 25. I guess the date only changes during Leap Year but just remember the 42nd day and you'll be fine.

I've read his books & seen the movie several times but I'm not a hard-core fan. I'll still be taking my towel to church with me.