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Hello, Friday! And hello to all of you! This week, the lovely EJ Russell allows me to read from her new holiday short - and we get to learn a new word. :D (Or at least I do. Maybe you all knew it already.) If you'd like to know all about swants, start here :) How To Transform Woolly Sweaters Into Sassy Pants  A Swants Soiree
by EJ Russell Introverted software engineer Brent Levine struggles with the life part of work-life balance, but to hold on to his new job, he’ll have to embrace his employer’s dreaded “staff enrichment” events. This year’s annual ugly holiday sweater party will strain his ambition to remain inconspicuous: everyone has to wear sweaters converted into pants—aka “swants.” Brent’s an ace at coding, but when it comes to handcrafts, he’s definitely at the far left end of the bell curve. Luckily he encounters seriously cute theater costumer Jonathan at the Goodwill Outlet. Jonathan offers Brent both an acceptably ugly sweater and his expertise in swants conversion. Attraction sparks on Brent’s side, but can Jonathan be interested in a guy like him? A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2019 Advent Calendar "Homemade for the Holidays." Buy links: Amazon Universal Publisher About E.J. E.J. Russell—grace, mother of three, recovering actor—holds a BA and an MFA in theater, so naturally she’s spent the last three decades as a financial manager, database designer, and business intelligence consultant (as one does). She’s recently abandoned data wrangling, however, and spends her days wrestling words. Her paranormal romantic comedy, The Druid Next Door, was a 2018 RITA® finalist and the winner of the 2017 Rainbow Award for Best Gay Fantasy Romance. E.J. is married to Curmudgeonly Husband, a man who cares even less about sports than she does. Luckily, CH loves to cook, or all three of their children (Lovely Daughter and Darling Sons A and B) would have survived on nothing but Cheerios, beef jerky, and satsuma mandarins (the extent of E.J.’s culinary skill set). E.J. lives in rural Oregon, enjoys visits from her wonderful adult children, and indulges in good books, red wine, and the occasional hyperbole. Connect with E.J.: Newsletter: https://ejrussell.com/newsletter Facebook group (Reality Optional): https://www.facebook.com/groups/reality.optional Website: https://ejrussell.com Follow E.J. on: Facebook author page: https://facebook.com/E.J.Russell.author Twitter: @EJ_Russell Instagram: @ej_russell_author Bookbub: @EJ_Russell Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/author/ej_russell
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Updated info on this year's holiday stories! Three are already available with the next one releasing this coming Tuesday. Some are also available in paperback!   Tricks, Treats, and a Spider (11/19) by Kassandra Lea (m/m contemporary, Halloween) Manny's excitement over the first Halloween in their new house deflates after vandalism and theft point to targeted homophobia. Amazon Kobo Apple Barnes &Noble Mischief Corner Books  Stealing Gifts (11/26) by Mere Rain (m/m contemporary, Thanksgiving/Christmas) Guilt over the theft of a rare book prompts Jarrell to risk returning it to its owner – and accidentally wakes him. Mischief Corner Books Amazon Apple Barnes & Noble Kobo Paperback  Wind Me Up, One More Time (12/3) by Kari Trenten (f/f fantasy/steampunk, YA) Natalie and Grace move with their mother to the city for safety, but the wheels of industry grind steadily in Verity and all may not be as safe as it seems. Mischief Corner Books Amazon Kobo Barnes & Noble Apple Paperback coming soon!  Ghosts, Gangster and Garland (12/10) by Jana Denardo (f/f/m poly paranormal, Yule/Christmas) Three monster hunters on a relaxing vacation to a lovely, snowy B&B find ghosts and dangerous hauntings waiting instead. Amazon Barnes & Noble Kobo Apple  The Solstice Pudding (12/17) by Angel Martinez (f/f science fiction humor, Solstice)
Shandi Leavenworth, chief of small craft engineering, makes a series of Very Bad Decisions while trying to attract the interest of her long-time crush. Links coming soon! Hello and Happy Friday! We have something special today - an alternative universe, Native American-centric story set in 1847. Come have a listen. :)  Beware Mohawks Bearing Gifts by SA Collins Publisher: https://ninestarpress.com/product/beware-mohawks-bearing-gifts/ Amazon eBook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z6MGHWH Amazon Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/195105766X/ Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/beware-mohawks-bearing-gifts-sa-collins/1134117443 Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/986430 Book Blurb: It’s 1847, New York. William Matthias Hallett is a fashionable dandy of the Manhattan social set. His life is laid out before him: a world of soirees, riches and luxury. Yet all he wants to do is find an adventure so deliciously wicked that it would satiate his soul for an eternity. So, disguised in a lower-class manner, into the notorious Five Points he goes, seeking that spark of adventure. That is until it greets him in the form of his old schoolmates from Dartmouth College – a pair of Mohawk warriors who will up-end his world and all he knew it to be forever. Series Blurb: Set in an alternative Earth that deviates from our own known timeline, William Matthias Hallett, a Mohawk/British New York socialite and dandy, who wants very little to do with his upper-crust Manhattan set, sets out to the notorious Five Points, seeking an adventure so decidedly wicked to satiate him for a lifetime. He gets far more than he bargains for when he crosses paths with two Mohawk warriors from their days at Dartmouth college. Thrust into an unseen war that the Mohawks and the rest of the Haudenosuanee Confederacy has been fighting for over 600 years, William must come to terms with his maternal heritage that is pressing ever forward as their newly created sovereign nation rapidly expands, isolating the burgeoning United States along the eastern seaboard and now reaching a boiling point with the new Americans. Central to this sci-fi adventure is the creation story of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy where myth becomes reality in ways that William can scarcely imagine. SA “Baz” Collins hails from the San Francisco Bay Area where he lives with his husband and Zorro, a character of a cat. A classically trained singer/actor (under a different name), Baz knows a good yarn when he sees it.
Based on years of his work as an actor, Baz specializes in character study pieces. It is more important for him that the reader comes away with a greater understanding of the characters and the reasons they make the decisions they do, rather than the situations they are in. It is this deep dive into their manners, their experiences and how they process the world around them that make up the body of Mr. Collins’ work. You can find his works at sacollins.com, violetquillredux.com and as a co-host of the wrotepodcast.com series. Author Website: www.sacollins.com Author Facebook (Author Page): www.facebook.com/sacollinsauthor Author Twitter: @sacollinsauthor Author Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sacollins.author/ Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/11881481.S_A_Collins Author QueeRomance Ink: https://www.queeromanceink.com/mbm-book-author/sa-collins/ Author Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/SA-Collins/e/B00RQ93PXC The annual lesbian science fiction humor holiday story is a go! Off on beta stage now and to the editor as quickly as possible. The first one of these I did was on a ship, the second on a planet, so this year, it's on a space station. :D The Solstice Pudding (alternative title: Shandi Makes A Series Of Very Bad Decisions) comes out 12/17 - and I'll have links for you as soon as is humanly possible.  Chief Engineer Shandi Leavenworth has been crushing on Major Tyra Sur ever since she joined station staff, though the laconic customs officer doesn't give up personal information easily. A few scraps of information lead Shandi to the perfect Solstice present, until of course everything goes horribly wrong.
Major Sur took the job on Onwa Station for the stability, the quiet, and out of a need to be useful. It's been all of those things up until the moment the woman she's been quietly flirting with at the bar puts in a desperate call for help. There's no question they need to save the station, but Tyra's not so sure about saving their budding relationship.  Happy Friday, Everyone! The holidays have snuck up again and this week I have short excerpts from the MCB's first two holiday stories this year. Come have a listen!  Tricks, Treats and a Spider by Kassandra Lea Amazon Kobo Apple Barnes &Noble Mischief Corner Books For Manuel Aguilar, holidays often bring on depressive episodes. But this is his first Halloween in the beautiful Victorian that his lover, Brett, renovated for them. He finds himself eager to celebrate. With the help of the neighbor girl, Poppy, he gets the house all decked out, including Blackberry, the large black and purple spider Brett gave him. When the spider is stolen, Brett tries desperately to halt Manny’s spiral into depression even as the theft and vandalism disturb his own peace of mind. But whether it was a homophobic act or just a cruel prank, Brett and Poppy are determined to find Blackberry and save Halloween for Manny.  Stealing Gifts
by Mere Rain Amazon Apple Barnes & Noble Kobo Jarrell isn’t happy about being a thief, but sometimes it’s the only way he can make ends meet. Broke and alone at Thanksgiving, he breaks into an apartment in a wealthy neighborhood. He’s only looking for cash, but when he spots an unfamiliar book by his favorite author, he impulsively takes the book as well. Reading it, he finds a letter used as a bookmark and realizes the recipient hasn’t finished the book. He decides to return it and accidentally wakes the owner. Edmond is a shy editor with no family. He’s more excited to have someone to talk to about his favorite author than he is upset about being robbed. He has many more out-of-print books and is willing to lend them in exchange for company. Over a series of late-night discussions Jarrell and Edmond realize they have more in common than their shared love of obscure fantasy novels, including old griefs that they’re both ready to let go of now that they have someone to lean on. I may have mentioned (ok, I definitely mentioned) that I have a holiday story coming out 12/17. I'm on the last couple of scenes, honest. And I absolutely have to get this done, because Catherine Dair made this lovely cover for the story. For Mischief Corner Books 2019 collection "When Holidays Attack", I bring you the full wrap cover of The Solstice Pudding:  Chief Engineer Shandi Leavenworth has been crushing on Major Tyra Sur ever since she joined station staff, though the laconic customs officer doesn't give up personal information easily. A few scraps of information leads Shandi to the perfect Solstice present, until of course everything goes horribly wrong. Major Sur took the job on Onwa Station for the stability, the quiet, and out of a need to be useful. It's been all of those things up until the moment the woman she's been quietly flirting with at the bar puts in a desperate call for help. There's no question they need to save the station, but Tyra's not so sure about saving their budding relationship. All links point to the Mischief Corner Books store - but all stories are available on Amazon, B&N, Kobo, etc. etc. Back in 2014, the lovely folks at Mischief Corner Books said, "Hey! Let's do a holiday anthology!" Naturally, I grumbled that I didn't DO holiday stories, but the running gag pattern had been established by now: Angel grumbles about the anthology theme. Various people involved say "I bet you can't do a science fiction one." Which, of course, means I have to write a science fiction whatever it is. They know my weak spots, what can I say? The result was a little novella that was included in what became a rather hefty anthology, Chestnuts Roasting (all credit to our friend Hank Edwards for the name.) A Christmas Cactus for the General was my answer to "someone misplaced for the holidays finds love" holiday stories. And while General Teer is bipedal and can, more or less, pass for human with most parts covered, he's different enough that I needed action figures to help get one scene right. (Aforesaid figures may have been Ganandorf and Goliath, not saying.)  I missed a couple of years in there - issues with over-commitment and trying to rehome work - but in 2017, Mischief Corner Books did two things. 1. The next holiday call came up "A Holiday to Remember" and 2. There was some grumbling at MCB that all the submissions were m/m. Challenge accepted (even though no one directly challenged me.) I would write - just because I could - a lesbian science fiction holiday humor piece. Safety Protocols for Human Holidays (prompted by the lovely Tumblr posts about "Human Steve") is told entirely from the POV of the alien crew who are worried about changes in the behavior of their only human crew member. Shenanigans ensue.  Safety Protocols was so well-received, I promised I would do another in the same very specific sub-sub genre the following year. When MCB put up the call for "Escape from the Holidays," I knew the science fiction setting would have to be a story of an alien planet vacation gone horribly wrong. Because of course it would have to be. So the second annual lesbian science fiction holiday humor story, Yule Planet was born. :)  I'm working on the Third Annual Angel's lesbian science fiction humor holiday (tm) story this year, called, The Solstice Pudding. Since it's for this year's theme, When Holidays Attack, you'll already have a bit of a feel for it.
Cover coming so very soon. In the meantime, have a blurb! Chief Engineer Shandi Leavenworth has been crushing on Major Tyra Sur ever since she joined station staff, though the laconic customs officer doesn't give up personal information easily. A few scraps of information leads Shandi to the perfect Solstice present, until of course everything goes horribly wrong. Major Sur took the job on Onwa Station for the stability, the quiet, and out of a need to be useful. It's been all of those things up until the moment the woman she's been quietly flirting with at the bar puts in a desperate call for help. There's no question they need to save the station, but Tyra's not so sure about saving their budding relationship. Hello, everyone - you've made it to Friday! This week's reading is from a new holiday story from Z. Allora, full of BDSM-y goodness :D Come have a listen!  The Longest Night
by Z. Allora Release date 12/20/19 - up for pre-order now Amazon Dreamspinner The holiday season is lonely for construction worker Benjamin Morgan, a big muscular guy who just wants to submit, obey, and serve. But the men he’s attracted to usually don’t have a dominant bone in their bodies. He’s done seeking his BDSM dreams with someone who isn’t interested in putting him in his rightful place—on his knees at their feet. When a friend sets up a meeting with Foster Ridgeway at the BDSM club, Entiwned, Benjamin has his doubts. Of course he is attracted to bookish Foster, who works for the same construction company, but how will someone so small and delicate-looking master Benjamin? But when Foster--the tiny temple of dominance wielding a crop--heads toward Benjamin, he might get what he’s always wanted, just in time for Solstice. Hello, everyone! Quite a bit of news today, so hold on tight! All of the Brimstone series is now in paperback! Yaaay! The last three have joined the others for those of you who like to hold Shax in your hands. :)     Also in Brimstone news - The Hunt for Red Fluffy audio is out! Available now at Amazon and Audible (iTunes coming shortly) with all of Vance Bastian's wonderful character voicing! Amazon Audible  ALSO - because news always comes in clumps - we have a release date for The Solstice Pudding, my annual holiday lesbian science fiction humor story. :D Release date is scheduled for 12/17, in plenty of time to curl up by the fire for the holidays!
A short blurb just to give you an idea: Shandi's desire to impress Major Tyra Sur with the right Solstice present has disastrous results, endangering everyone on station. Now she needs Tyra's help to fix the problem and can only hope that she's still speaking to Shandi when the, um, present's contained. Hello all! It's Friday and time for a read! Today's excerpt is from the new paranormal suspense from A.M. Burns and A.T. Weaver - Visions of Rage. Mountain lion shifter meets wolf shifter with a killer to catch. :o Now only .99 until 11/12! Come have a listen:  Visions of Rage A.M. Burns and A.T. Weaver Amazon (KU) Blood runs deep in Jemez Springs. Psychic cougar shifter Connor McGriffin is used to his visions leading him around. For years, he’s followed them back and forth across the country to the people who need his help. When his comfortable vacation in the mountains is interrupted by a vision of a woman dying, he can’t see enough details to find the killer and stop him from striking again. Facing the most dangerous foe he’s ever dealt with, Connor needs all the help he can get. Small town deputy and wolf shifter, Danny Lupan is getting bored of chasing speeders and the occasional drug dealer. When the call comes that Sandoval County has its first murder in years, and it happened in his jurisdiction, he jumps at the chance to find the killer, no matter the danger involved. Little does he know, he might lose his heart, his life, or maybe both. When a cougar and a wolf join forces, the bad guys better watch out, because the fur’s going to fly, in more ways than one. Join Connor and Danny on their first adventure together in the start of the fast-paced, suspenseful thriller series Shifter Force. About the Authors:
A.M. Burns A.M. started writing fiction in high school…nearly forty years ago. It was how he passed the time between class assignments. It was particularly effective at making teachers think he was busy with class work. In later years he also used it to look busy during corporate jobs. he completed his first book in high school and have never stopped writing. He self-published his first public-ready book in 2010. “Perfect Love” is an LGBT Urban Fantasy novel. About the same time his first professionally published short story “Sticks and Stones” was published in the anthology “How the West was Wicked”. Since then he has published numerous books and short stories, both through traditional markets and indie, making him a true hybrid author. He currently tracks the sales of 130 different titles of various lengths, under several pen names, that he earns royalties on. He has assisted various co-authors in editing their works for publication, both trad and indie. He has been the editor on several anthologies for Out in Colorado Fiction Writers, and been co-editor on two anthologies for Colorado Springs Fiction Writers Group. He has been an active member of the Colorado Springs Fiction Writers Group for eight years, and learned the fine art of critiquing and editing for authors of all levels of skill. He’s interested in helping with the 2018 Whit and Whimsy anthology because he likes helping new authors grow their craft and getting good edits is a productive way to do that. A.T. Weaver A.T. is a 70+ great-grandmother who often thought about trying her hand at writing. Having been a prolific reader of romance novels all of her adult life, she was sure she could do it. Most of her working life was spent as an accountant and bookkeeper. Although she’d done some song writing back in her 30s and early 40s, it wasn’t until she was 60 that a friend said he’d “like to read a book where the boy gets the boy and they ride off into the sunset together.” She was unemployed at the time and decided to give it a try. The result was Acceptance: One Man’s Quest. Since then, she’s self-published about a dozen titles, mostly with gay characters, in various genres: contemporary and urban fantasy, (such as time travel, shifters, and witches) all with a hint of romance. A.M. and A.T. started as Facebook friends doing beta reads for each other nearly ten years ago. She’s one of the ‘new’ authors he has taken under his wing. Their first joint effort was a dragon-shifter, police drama called “The Black Fin Case”. During National Novel Writing Month a few years ago, she came up with the idea of a psychic mountain-lion shifter partnered with a wolf shifter chasing a serial killer through New Mexico. When A.M. did the beta on what she had written, he thought that with some additions, it would make a good series. Thus, Shifter Force was born. |
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About Angel
Angel writes (mostly) Science Fiction and Fantasy centered around queer heroes. Currently living part time in the hectic sprawl of northern Delaware and full time inside her head, she has one husband, one son, two cats, a love of all things beautiful and a terrible addiction to the consumption of both knowledge and chocolate. |
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