Release Day and Specials!

I'm happy to announce the release of my newest story, Assumption of Desire! It's only $2.99 direct from the publisher, All Romance Ebooks (where it already has a very nice reader review posted!), and (finally) Amazon.Com! Here's the blurb:

When Craig walks into the Cerulean Sphere looking for a one-night stand to enliven his business travel, he is definitely NOT looking for Jesse, a flaming twink sporting a pink feathered boa. But Craig finds himself surprised by the charmer, and is forced to reevaluate his initial impression of the young man, and to reconsider his prejudices. But when they meet again by surprise several years later, Craig puts his foot in it again, and Jesse won't hear a word of his apology. Will Craig be able to break through Jesse's hurt and finally say what he really means?

Intrigued? How about an excerpt?

"Hi! I'm Jesse!"

The pronouncement had come from Craig's right, issued from the full lips of a perky blond twink wearing eyeliner, a shirt so tight it might have been painted on, and -- God help him -- a pink feather boa. The twink was grinning at him, his wide blue eyes lingering on Craig's sculpted arms. "You're new."

Craig snorted. Craig had come into the Cerulean Sphere an hour earlier, following a stack of favorable online reviews and amusement at the name. In that time, he'd already been cruised by at least six men. One of them had been downright sleazy, two had been hoping for fresher meat, and the other three had failed to capture Craig's interest. He'd turned all of them away, but he thought he'd call any one of them back (well, except the sleaze) before he hooked up with this kid. "Know every queer in town, do you?"

"All of 'em that come here," Jesse answered. "So, are you new to town, or new to the scene?" For pity's sake, the boy actually had a slight affected lisp. He was a walking stereotype.

"Town," Craig admitted. "Here on business for a few weeks."

"Perfect," the twink said, running his fingers through his carefully-groomed, artfully-mussed, dirty-blond hair.

Craig turned pointedly back to the bar and his beer.

Jesse didn't get the message. He turned toward Craig and leaned against the bar, his lithe body bending in ways that Craig was pretty sure a spine was not meant to allow. One hand petted that ridiculous boa. In the mirror behind the bar, Craig watched Jesse checking him out. One of the few good things about spending a lot of time on the road was having plenty of time to work out in the hotel gym. Craig was no linebacker, but he was in pretty good shape. Once Jesse had looked his fill, he caught Craig's gaze in the mirror, Jesse's bright blue eyes striking sparks against Craig's dark hazel. "You wanna go in the back? You look like a man who could use a blow job."

Come on, you know you have to read it now!

And as if that wasn't enough, I'm included in this week's specials from Torquere! Of One Mind and Safe Harbor are both on sale for 20% off -- if you haven't read them yet, please take this opportunity to give them a try!

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Notes: Updated a couple of time to add links to All Romance Ebooks and Amazon.com.

Word Doodle

Hey there! I posted a little story over on my personal blog last night. I decided to post it there because it's a character sketch -- not even that robust, just a doodle, really. It contains neither romance nor erotica, and sort of half-handedly involves a character or two that some of my real-life friends (who all mostly follow that blog, but don't necessarily watch this one) would know.

Anyway, the Hubs really liked it, and he asked me to post it somewhere, so I did. Having made my decision that it didn't quite belong over here in the romance/erotica writing blog, I nevertheless invite you to check it out and let me know what you think.

And then don't forget to come back here and enter the contest! Five more days until "Assumption of Desire" is released!

Getting Hairy

So far, no one has entered the contest for a copy of Assumption of Desire, which will be released in one week! I got my copy last night and read through the story again to check for any remaining errors, and I'd forgotten how much I like this story. It was hot and sweet and funny. I'm honestly a little shocked that I wrote it. And all you have to do to enter the contest for your own copy is comment on this post or on my Facebook page!

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In other news... Well, no actual news yet, but I heard through the grapevine that the rejection notices had gone out for a military-themed anthology that I'd submitted a short to. Since I didn't get one, I'm guessing that I'm in... or at least on the short list to make it in. I'll be sure to let you know when I have something more definite!

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And finally... I've been bitten by a werewolf.

No, really. I was flipping through a few submission calls, looking for something short I could work on while I let everything else percolate, and I found myself looking at a call for shifter-masquerade stories for a Torquere anthology. Now, I don't generally do shifter stories -- they've been done about to death and it's so hard to come up with something that will both satisfy reader expectations and be unique.

But I turned the notion over in my head for a bit anyway, like you do. And I wondered, why would a shapeshifter even want to go to a masquerade? And I started thinking about the purpose of masks, both literal and figurative. And then this quiet, diffident, and very closeted werewolf moved into my head and started telling me his story.

It's been one of those charmed stories, honestly. My schedule has been crazy for the last week, but each time I've sat down to work on this story, I've dumped out at least 1500 words. I'm at 5500 words now, and just hitting the climax (erm, so to speak). Another couple of good writing sessions and it should be ready for the polish and scrub, and then I can submit it!

Which would make it yet another story in a genre I haven't played with much, before. Here's hoping it turns out well!

Cover Art and CONTEST!!

Check it out -- two posts in one day! I just got the cover art for "Assumption of Desire" and as my editor said, Ooh la la!

I love everything about this -- the linked hands, the feather boa (which I specifically requested -- you'll have to read the story to find out why!), even the font choices fill me with glee. (Seriously -- check out the way the 'f' in of manages to link the title's words and simulate the boa. I'm in love.)

There's a cover that does its job of making me want to read the story underneath... and I wrote the dang thing!

"Assumption of Desire" is scheduled for release from Torquere Press in two weeks. I think we should have a contest to celebrate, don't you?

Let's keep it simple: anyone who comments (on the blog, Livejournal, or Facebook fan page) between now and when "Assumption" is released will have a chance to win a copy of the story!

Now Departing

I'm pleased to announce that I've had a story accepted for an anthology from Cleis Press from editor D. L. King. I'm especially pleased because this will be my first honest-to-gosh print publication!

Cleis also published Lynn's debut story, "Golden Moment", in their Steamlust anthology, and her "Garden Variety" will feature in Lustfully Ever After, so clearly they know good writing, which makes me especially excited to be included.

The upcoming anthology will be titled Seductress: Tales of Immortal Desire and is a collection of stories about succubi. My story is "Succubus, Inc." and it's quite a departure from my other published work in several ways: first, it's (mostly) from a female point of view; second, the erotic component is (mostly) hetero; and third and most critically (to my mind), it is most definitely in no way a romance. (If you're curious about those "mostly"s, all I can say is, you'll need to read it!)

And if that doesn't tempt you, I defy you to check out this table of contents and not find at least three titles that intrigue you:

1. Harvest by Aurelia T. Evans
2. A Surprising Summons by Kaysee Renee Robichaud
3. Succubus, Inc. by Elizabeth Brooks
4. In the Service of Hell by Michael M. Jones
5. Before a Fall by Kannan Feng
6. Street Hustle by V. K. Foxe
7. Star Crossed by Evan Mora
8. Zach’s Last Ride by Sasha Bukova
9. Deliverance by Jay Lawrence
10. Minions Have Needs Too by Anya Richards
11. Sweet Tooth by Nan Andrews
12. The Girl on the Egyptian Escalator by NJ Streitberger
13. The Sorcerer’s Catch by Angela Caperton
14. The Chapel by J.S. Wayne
15. The Lonely Huntress by Mina Murray
16. Neither Love Nor Money by Giselle Renarde
17. Textual by Robin Tiergarten
18. Succumb by Cynthia Rayne
19. Moon Like a Sickle, Wind Like a Knife by Jean Roberta
20. Phone Hex by Elizabeth Thorne
21. Soaring by Kate Dominic

At least half of them have me curious and anxious to get the book in my hot little hands!

I don't have a cover yet, alas, or an official release date ("sometime in October" is all I can offer for now), but I'm sure both of those will come to me eventually, and when they do, I'll be sure to pass the news on to you!