It's time for the hop!

Recently I went on a school field trip with my son out of state to Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown and Yorktown. It was a fast and furious two days but at one stop, as we were walking around, a couple of men passed us holding hands. They were older, in their sixties I would guess, very cute, and I did the same thing I do when I see any couple that still holds hands  and was all awwww. But there were other people, not from our school group, (we were on our own by this point), and there was some snickering and whispering and elbow jabbing that I could have lived without. My son, because he's at that age where everyone is just too tedious for words, announced, "they're married," with enough disgust at the folks being rude to shut them up.

Needless to say, I was very proud and told him so but was then surprised when he questioned me about why I was proud.
"You stuck up for gay marriage and equal rights there," I told him.
"They were married, they had rings on, didn't you see?"
"I did."
"People get married, who cares?"

So I had to explain that millions of Americans do care because it's not a right they simply have. Not everyone who falls in love can get married if they want to. And of course I got the squint because he doesn't get it because he's grown up with me and his father who have always been aboard the marriage equality train.
And it was sad a month ago when I was talking to him about it and its sad now that we are still having the debate about marriage in 2013.
I was trying to figure out what to post for the blog hop honoring the International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia (IDAHO)this year and I remembered back to last year when I was discussing marriage equality and it's so strange to still be doing it. I had to explain DOMA to my kids today and about how gay and lesbian couples in Canada can get married but here in the US there are only certain states where its legal.
"Are you sure you know what you're talking about?" My son.
"That can't be right." My daughter.
They don't believe me because it's so ridiculous. The good news is I know if (heaven forbid), the laws still haven't changed by the time they are old enough to vote, then they will, indeed, with the help of many other peoples' kids, change them. And that will be another awesome step in the acceptance for all.

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Okay so don't forget to click the HAHAT badge there to be redirected back to the home page and visit all the other wonderful people participating. The hop goes on until the 27th of May so you have plenty of time to visit everyone. As part of the hop, I'm giving away the winner's choice of an ebook from my backlist, including Still, to a randomly selected person who comments here. I'll announce the winner in a post on the 28th. Happy hopping everyone!

Release Day!

Sounds like I caught a lot of fish and....but no. Still is out today and I hope you all enjoy it. :)

Contest Time

The wonderful Chris at Stumbling Over Chaos is again running a contest giveaway for me and this time Still is up for grabs. Its out on May 15th and the contest went live today. So just click the button and head on over there. And while you're there check out Misadventures in Stock Photography. Its one of my favorite things. I have a book on one of the lists myself. :)

My fangirl moments at RT

I love this series.

My first fangirl moment was when I asked Tere Michaels to sign my three books that I had brought from home.The moment I saw here name on the program for RT, I wrapped the books in bubble-wrap and put them on top pf my swag so I wouldn't forget them. I first met Tere last year at BEA and sadly, I was no more professional this second time that I saw her. I did the squeeeeeeee and almost hyperventilated and it was so not grown-up in any way but I really couldn't help it. Amber Kell took time out when I was signing to come see me and I gushed all over her and Ethan Day gave me a signed copy of At Piper's Point (which I have wanted in paperback for forever) and I lost it. Again. JP Barnaby gave me a signed copy of Aaron which I put with the rest of my treasures to ship home. I'm just lucky that everyone knows I'm a big goober and doesn't seem to mind.

I had a wonderful time meeting people like Jessie Potts the HEA Blogger from USA Today and Mary Grzesik, also from the HEA blog, and Leigh and talking to many wonderful fans and meeting authors who I have read but have never had the opportunity to sit and talk to. A highpoint at the con was sitting with ZA Maxfield, Belinda McBride, Tara Lain, Ethan Day, Carole Lynne, Jessie Potts and Amy Lane for lunch and listening and talking. Being with my wonderful family at Dreamspinner (Elizabeth North, Nessa Warin, Connie Bailey, Nikki Bennet, Ariel Tachna and Tammy May) is always amazing, and hitting up Ariel to sign books for me is always fun since she's always a whirlwind of activity. 

Going to panels was fun, listening, learning, and even taking notes. I had the nicest people who I sat beside at both of my signings, first Jianne Carlo (Viking Warriors series) and second Kristen Callihan (Darkest London series). RT is a huge wild ride of activity that I'm not certain I will do again, but I'm so glad to have gone this year as it is an experience I won't soon forget.

My copy is signed!:)

Booyah Books And A Tribute To An Author Who Left This World Far Too Soon

Last month, a man was laid to rest, at the age of 41. Rick McGranahan passed away suddenly and unexpectedly of complications from diabetes, leaving behind a husband, family, dear friends, and mere acquaintances whose lives he’d touched either deliberately or incidentally through the sharing of his journey. I’m not going to pretend like I knew Rick well, though I can say I do know some of the most very intimate details of his short but amazing life.
Rick and I met online because I’d been given his book, Visiting the Ghost of Puppyboy, to read and review back in September of 2010. The book is a memoir of the years of a life spent as a club kid, Go-Go boy, stripper, drug addict; you name it and Rick had probably done it. He lived hard and loved harder, and though this isn’t a romanticized version of a gay man’s life and struggle to find love, it does end in a happily-ever-after. Sadly, however, the final chapter has been rewritten and The End came all too soon for this bright and wonderful man.
The following is an excerpt from my original review of “Puppyboy”. If you haven’t read this book yet, I encourage you to do so. And please note that Rick's memories are published exactly the way he lived his life: Fully Unedited.

Visiting the Ghost of Puppyboy is a story that highlights the reality that there is a very real difference between being alone and being lonely, that there is a difference between being loved and being worshiped, and that there is a vast difference being loved and being used for a night.
This book is neither for the judgmental nor the squeamish. It is a book that should be absorbed and appreciated for its candor and its value to the author, as well as to those whose lives he touched. I was profoundly moved by it and am immensely grateful for the opportunity to have shared the author’s memories.

Buy Visiting the Ghost of Puppyboy HERE


I have a new reviewer at The Novel Approach. Bruce is a husband, father of three children, a doctor, and a great reviewer too! He liked SJD Peterson’s latest book Pup so much that he’s thinking about a lifestyle makeover. Here’s what he had to say about the book:

Now as a gay man, I must admit that I have played “dress up” in leather and even have dabbled with “role play” on occasion with my sexy husband. I view these times as visits to Disneyland and though I may enjoy visiting on occasion, living in Disneyland has never had much of an attraction to me. So, when I saw SJD Peterson’s new book, Pup, I was intrigued but not too sure if it was the right book for me. I had never read a BDSM novel but I thought, “What the heck, this may not be my cup of tea but since BDSM seems to be relatively prevalent in the genre right now, I might as well give it a try.”
Oh my goodness, was I ever wrong about me not wanting to live in Disneyland! I am in current negotiations with my husband to negotiate our own BDSM contract!!! This book is HOT and had me enthralled from about chapter 2.
Trackett Austin is a Dom in his mid 40’s wondering what he’s doing with his life. He’s never had a long time commitment and seems to be wandering somewhat aimlessly. A young mid 20’s bartender the character of Micah has been pursuing Trackett wanting to become the Sub to his Dom. Their story and how they forge a relationship is what this novel is completely about.
As a reader of the m/m genre, I at times get tired of the endless sex scenes that get injected into stories that seem to have little purpose in spurring the story along. Now I recognize these as a necessary part of the genre, but often they are not what keep me engrossed in the story. However, with “Pup” all the sex scenes are very relevant to the story and I found myself more than once a little breathless at the end of said sex scenes. I was amazed at how loving a BDSM relationship could be portrayed and watching the love between the two characters develop in the context of a BDSM relationship was titillating, to put it mildly.
Now this book is not without its faults. I found the multiple third person points of view in the same chapter, and often the same scene, a bit confusing. I also had a hard time picturing what the characters looked like. Now I admit that may be my own fault, as I was devouring this read rather voraciously, but a little bit more physical description for the rabid reader would have truly amped up the volume for me in this great book.
Overall, this novel was a great read and I applaud Peterson for her ability to make me want to sell my house and go live at Disneyland.

Buy Pup HERE


Last but certainly never least is Jordan L. Hawk’s Master of Ghouls (SPECTR #2), the follow-up to the fantastic Hunter of Demons.
John, Caleb, and Gray are back and at it again, and by “it” I mean all the jinkies! and acks! that make me go EEP! in the night. This installment of the series is filled with some gut-clenching excitement amidst relationship tension, not to mention the ghastly bits and the parts that made me think, whoa, that Jordan L. Hawk’s imagination is kind of impressive in a very cool way. It’s an episode of twists and turns in which the hunter becomes the hunted in a game of avarice and mutiny, when the garden of good and evil becomes tangled with the thorny truths and prickly deceptions of betrayal and set-ups, when a former ally becomes the enemy because he covets, blurring the lines of whom the true monster is.
Jordan L. Hawk has done nothing but deliver another fresh and fantastic book to add to her repertoire. It’s filled with plenty of action and suspense, top notch storytelling, not to mention how very skillfully she baits the not-so-fast-dear-reader hook, offering just enough to lure you in and then leaving you dangling, and doing so happily.
Buy Master of Ghouls HERE

And that’s it for the April installment of Booyah Books! Until next month, happy reading.

RT here I come!

I am not going to bore everyone with recounting my trip to Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown with my smallest child and the rest of the fifth grade. It was good that we went, he learned a lot, but 11hours one way on a bus is just... long. Nothing else to say but that. So I got home, got back to editing Duncan, because I get sick if I read in a car, on a bus etc, and now I'm getting ready to go to RT next week.

I'm super excited and way intimidated by the size and scope of the event. I am so happy to have Amy Lane there to hold my hand and can't wait to see friends and fans. I have no way of knowing how much swag to take and will probably end up shlepping most of it back home but that's okay. If any of you are there, please come by the Dreamspinner Party (FAN-Tastic Day Party) Saturday May 4th. I will also be at the Giant Book Fair and the E-Book, Indie Publisher & Graphic Novel EXPO. I am excited to be attending some panels and getting to listen and take notes. Hope to see some of you there!