I am sick of reading about dudes busting down doors, waving around semi-automatics, bragging about their three-thousand-dollar Ralph Lauren Black Label jackets— while the females in the story simpered and shook like a wet chihuahua and waited for the loud-mouth braggart hero to save her. The theme of this month’s contest? Two words: Kickass. Heroine. You want FIFTY AMAZON BUX!! (USD)? Here’s what you gotta do. In 400 words or less, write me a short little scene (or story) featuring a harsh, uncompromising, kickass female (think Gina Torres in Firefly or Angelina Jolie in Mr and Mrs. Smith) saving the precious, taut hiney of your male love interest. Make it funny, make it scary, make it hot… as long as the heroine is kickass. FIFTY AMAZON BUX, yo! Deadline is October 15,October 19 11 PM PST. I’ll post the 3 or 4 finalists, we vote for the winners, and I’ll announce the winner on Friday, October 26th. Good luck, babies, and have fun with it!

And the contest is now OVER! Wow, we had some great entries this month. Lots of new blood. Yummy. Runner-ups announced tomorrow. Suckas.

Our friend QB is looking for an author… who’s gone missing? Someone call Jessica Fletcher!

Hey Bamster!

Are you interested in another mystery to solve? I just read this book… Forever Crossed by A. Leigh Jones. I’ve had it on my Constant Cravings list for awhile and can’t remember who recommended it to me. So last week, I finally ordered it in print from Amazon, but it was originally released through Imajinn Books in 2004. This was a damn good Urban Fantasy and appears to be the start of a series.

So here’s the mystery… I can’t find any more books by this author. I’ve checked Amazon, Imajinn Books, RT, AAR, and I’ve googled the author’s name. Zip. Nada. Zilch. Released 3 years ago, Forever Crossed is apparently the only book released by someone with that name. However, I just HAVE to believe that she may have taken this series to another publisher using a different pen name. Since your readers include a huge amount of authors currently releasing through epubs, I was hoping you might post a plea to find A. Leigh Jones.

Here’s the Amazon link for it.

And here’s the Imajinn link.

BTW, don’t let those blurbs fool you– this was NOT an Anita Blake knock-off!

Thanks,
Bev

So where are you, A. Leigh Jones? Come by and say hello! Let us know what you’re up to!

Oh, and speaking of e-books… uh… Skin to Skin received 4 Angels from Fallen Angel Reviews. Kickass.

P.S. If you like free books, stop by at Jackie Kessler’s blog. She’s giving away 10 free copies of her upcoming book, The Road to Hell.

[Give it up for Anne Cain and Barbara Sheridan!]

Thank you, Bam, for letting us crash for the day – I can’t believe Barb and I the first m/m authors you’ve had stir up some trouble on your blog! The genre is growing everyday, with tons of readers, writers and artists catching the Fever. For a long time, at least here in the States, gay romance was thought to be mostly a form of entertainment exclusively for the GBLT community. Now it’s clear that plenty of heterosexual women are crazy about the idea of relationships without boundaries, and that’s a beautiful idea: that love can be enjoyed by anyone, where things like race, age or sex don’t matter. (Well, of course the sex matters, but you know what I mean…;) ) Recently, there’s even been some buzz about a NY Times best-selling author giving the spotlight to her two openly gay characters in an upcoming romance novel [Ed. note: Really?]. Cheers, Suzanne Brockmann!

For readers just getting their feet wet in m/m fiction, there’s as much variety the stories as there are in traditional romances. There are books with paranormal themes, drama, BDSM, mystery/suspense, etc—something to appeal to everyone’s taste. Also, there are different approaches writers can take to m/m books: Slash fiction, which tends to be a more realistic portrayal of gay life; and Yaoi fiction, a romanticized, totally aesthetic take on the lifestyle. That’s my personal fave as a reader and an author, where anything goes and it’s easier to suspend belief over some situations. For example, do you think it’s unlikely for a college student to find himself in a dorm building chock full of other guys who are all suddenly-absolutely-madly in love with him? Well, in the world of yaoi no plot is too over the top, which adds to the fun!

Barb and I started writing together in 2005, and we’ve had a wonderful time bringing our characters to life. We’ve been influenced by so many things, including our love of Asian pop culture and sexy celebrities such as these cuties:

MmmMmmMmm…see why it’s so easy to keep writing m/m with delicious eye candy like this to fuel the imagination?

Speaking of influences and inspiration, these are some of my current faves in books, movies and manga (aka Japanese graphic novels). The new m/m fan might also be interested in checking some of these out:

Books: The Line of Beauty

I only recently discovered this author, but he’s become one of my favorites—hands down. Set in early 1980s England, The Line of Beauty follows the story of a young gay man who becomes a-not-so-temporary houseguest with an upper-class family in London. The cast is full of interesting characters, Alan Hollinghurst’s prose is just…amazing…and the story itself stays with you a long time after the last page is read. The book is laced with so much love and sexuality, but at the same time it’s not overly erotic. With that in mind, I hope readers who don’t normally go out of their way for an m/m book give Line of Beauty a try because it’s truly, truly a great read. (There’s also a BBC miniseries based on the book, btw.)

Movie: Bad Education (La Mala Educacion)

Brokeback Mountain tends to be a favorite film about gays, but there are actually a lot of other more excellently made GLBT films, IMO, including Mysterious Skin, Bishounen, My Beautiful Launderette and Gone, But Not Forgotten. The one that most recently had me glued to my seat for two back-to-back viewings is Bad Education—a film by the über talented director of Volver, Pedro Almodóvar. It’s a story about love, deception and the choices people make for the sake of their art. I don’t want to give away too much of the plot, but the twist near the ending blew me away and the chemistry between the two leads is fantastic.

Manga: Gerard & Jacques

Of course I have to mention manga, the core of any yaoi fan’s library! It’s hard to pick just one favorite because there are so many enjoyable reads out there: Affair by Shiuko Kano is a collection of excellent stories with some graphic sex, and the Finder series by Ayano Yamane has gorgeous artwork not to mention a great storyline. My favorite yaoi manga happens to be one of the less erotic ones out there, though the storyline is too full of mature situations to be anything less than for adults only: Gerard & Jacques, by Fumi Yoshinaga. The French Revolution serves as the story’s setting, where Gerard is an aristocrat-hating author who rescues Jacques, a young man indentured to a brothel. The series has its moments of political intrigue, drama, humor and tenderness as the two men realize their love for each other is more than platonic. The art is simple, expressive and compliments the story beautifully…and for those of you worried about such things, the sex scenes are not too graphic.

Art & Photography: Timeless

I had to slip this in as an artist since so many talented individuals have inspired my work. Artists like John Picacio, Julie Bell, Luis Royo and Ben Templesmith are some of my heroes, and for help with poses, I turn to David Vance’s stunning book of male photography, Timeless.

If some of those titles above have piqued your interest, then Barb and I have a treat for one lucky reader. Everyone who posts a comment will be entered to win a signed copy of our print release, Soul of the Night, plus a $20 Amazon gift certificate. Please drop us a line with a shout out, your thoughts, or questions. Thanks for being with us here today and happy reading (or viewing, or drooling, etc.)!

To learn more about our books, stop by at Dragon’s Disciple or email us. Here’s Barb’s personal website and here’s Anne’s.

Grade: A

Bam,

Let’s face it: I’m going to be perpetually late with reviews. Authors may want to kill me (or be thanking their lucky stars if I didn’t like the book) and I know you would love to light my hair on fire and put it out with a hammer, but I gotta be honest: I seem to be jammed up with life, work and whatnot. My love of romance hasn’t diminished (hey, I read four books this week…all romance in some form or another), but my ability to write a quality review has been seriously restricted by constraints on my time. Hopefully things will calm down soon, because I love books and want to spread that love. Wow…how ‘60s Haight-Ashbury of me. Truth be told, I’m not like that at all, but you knew that already.

You know I adore the Psy-Changeling world that Nalini has created. She keeps it rich and complex without turning each book into a simple repeat of the prior one; however (you knew this was coming), I’m concerned that those who haven’t read the two previous books will be stepping in over their heads by simply picking up Caressed By Ice, the third book in the series. I hate to admit this but it’s hard for me to say whether that would be the case, especially since I think each of the stories has not only evolved from the prior ones, but Nalini’s writing has gotten stronger with each book. My advice would be to read both Slave to Sensation and Visions of Heat before getting into Caressed by Ice. You’ll be happy to know that the first two books will definitely not disappoint (I think you gave Slave to Sensation an A- and I know I gave Visions of Heat and A-) and will make the reading of CBI that much more enjoyable.
(more…)

Lemme spell it out to ya like I’m hooked on phonics and shit… I owe my homie Shuzluva— my sista from another mother— like, five thousand words by tomorrow, ya feel me? But I peep in the box o’ mail and shit, and guess what I found? My very own copy of Lover Unbound. Well, daaaayum. What’s a homegirl to do now? I’m in a bind here, kids. Help a bitch out!

P.S. I shit you not, as soon as I opened up the package from Amazon, my iPod started blaring “Pimp of the Year” by Dru Down. How creepy is that?

Mack playas ballas grindas.
Yeah I’m the real true pimp of the year.
Will ya feel me.
Ha ha pimp of the mutha’ fuckin’ year.

Give it up give it up a-give it to me. A big mack capitalized double D.
see. And it’s on so I’m a get sick wit it a-give me drank da bomb
and let me get wit it. Yee-yah ’cause I’m gonna be the biggest pimp of
the year goin’ around doin’ shit like this here. ‘Cause a nigga is
strong, and way too long when it comes to my ding dong…