Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Free Books!

Guys. Guys.

September is Torquere Press' anniversary month, and this year, in honor of their tenth anniversary, instead of doing contests or drawings to celebrate, they've taken a simpler -- and more awesome -- approach.

They're giving it away.

Every day in September, for one hour each day, they will be making one of their most popular books completely free. The complete listing of books, and the date/time each will be available, is at: http://glbtromance.blogspot.com/2013/08/10-years-wow.html

Some notes:
  • Let me be clear, here -- these are not short stories, or the first few chapters of books. These are full-length novels.
  • Nothing I've written is in the list, alas, primarily because I don't have any full-length novels out (yet). But hey, when you're picking up the free book, there's no reason you can't also pick up something of mine!
  • You do have to get them directly from Torquere's website; it simply isn't possible to coordinate this kind of thing with all the distributors. But there are benefits to having an account with them anyway: Books you buy directly from Torquere come with all the available file formats, so you don't have to worry about losing them if you decide to switch from a Nook to a Kindle or whatever. Torquere is almost always running a sale of some sort for 15-20% off. And when you buy directly from Torquere, the authors get a bigger chunk of the royalties, which doesn't do much for you directly but certainly helps keep your favorite authors fed and able to keep writing!
  • The giveaway hour each day rotates, so whatever corner of the globe you're on, you're sure to be able to snag at least a couple of books while you're awake! (Of course, that means that whatever corner of the globe you're on, at least a couple will come up while you're asleep, too, so check the listing and see if you need to set any alarms!)
  • Note: All the listed times are CST. If you don't live in the CST timezone, adjust accordingly. Don't blame me if you set your clock wrong!
  • If you follow them on Twitter (https://twitter.com/torquere) or on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TorquerePressInc) they will be posting reminders and announcements shortly before each book is released, so you may want to follow/like them if you think that would be helpful. 
Thirty days of free books; how awesome is that? I know my TBR list is about to get a lot longer...

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Sampler

I didn't post last week. Bad author/editor -- ten lashes! (Yes, please!)

I've got no excuses, good or bad. I was working from home for the day so I could talk to the contractor who's working on my house, and I simply forgot.

And today I'm off quick to take my youngest to his kindergarten pre-screening tests, so how about a sampler of excerpts from the collection Lynn and I are putting together?

***

- from Crisis of Faith:

The cock churned in her and Faith made the noises the cock's owner expected, but in truth, she barely felt it. It couldn't touch the burning, couldn't slake the need.

She'd tried, God witness, she had. The burning had come on her late in her twelfth year, but she'd pushed it from her thoughts, concentrated on her crafts and skills and her lessons, and she'd held it off two full years before her oldest brother had caught her trading kisses with one of his cronies behind the gooseberry patch. She hadn't lied, not quite, but she'd let Thom and their parents think it had gone further than that, and before her fifteenth year was out she'd been wed to Nicholas.

The first weeks had been jolly, but then Nick had seemed to lose interest and Nick's mam had started ordering her about like a drudge, and the next few years had been a misery of scullion work and a burning that never left her, not even when Nick would get drunk enough to remember the wife that warmed his bed and come home from the pub to put his cock in her.

She'd tried to be good, but when Nick's da had died, Faith had taken her best dress and run away. She'd let the man who drove the haycart put his cock in her in exchange for a ride up to the city, and she cut the hem off her dress and took up with Singing Jenny, the two of them selling what they had to sell in the sidestreets and alleys.

***

- from As If It's Real:

A horse crossed the line. A heartbeat later, two more thundered across, and with a collective sigh, the crowd at the railing broke apart, its noise ebbing briefly and then swelling into another crescendo. Edward's posture relaxed somewhat, though aside from that minute shift in position, Edward did not move, either to seek out winnings or to place a fresh wager.

Davis pushed through the crowd until he drew up at Edward's side. "Here you are," he observed.

Edward looked down at Davis dispassionately. "Yes."

"Come on," Davis said, taking Edward's arm. "Let's go home."

Edward did not immediately move. His head tipped to the side, for all the world as if he was considering other options. "I want to stay."

Davis sighed. "Edward, you can't keep living your life as if it's real."

***

- from Surrender:

Mistress Masque removed the green and brown leather demi-mask, signaling that the evening's play was at an end. Red marks on her face mapped the territory where the disguise had once lain, pressed tight against her flesh. She sighed, rubbing absently at her temples.

Bradley lifted his head and rocked back on his heels, a graceful movement, much practiced. He didn't speak. Technically, she was no longer his mistress, only his friend and co-worker, but it was better to be safe than sorry. She would dismiss him soon enough – and too soon – and then he could ask questions, talk to her, and figure out just what the hell was wrong. And get his street clothes. Having a mistress was all good and well, but sometimes the outfits she put him in, meant to highlight all those desirable aspects of him, were a bit chilly.

"You should just go," she said. Said. Not commanded. Not demanded. Not even suggested. Just said. Her voice was flat, unemotional. Bradley blinked.

"Mistress -"

"I'm not your mistress!" Her temper flared, as hot angry as the red wigs she usually wore over her normal, sensible business haircut. In her suits, at work, she looked androgynous, even with the gray pencil skirts that showed her shapely legs. Tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over the elaborate makeup she wore, sending green glittery smears down her cheeks.

"Of course you are. Mistress." Bradly was openly shocked. Never had his mistress revealed any sort of vulnerability. He could not have been more unnerved if the sofa where she sat had stood up and walked away.

"Oh, knock it off," she said. She blotted the tears from her face, leaving her makeup job in tatters. A twist of emotion, lust, longing, wonder, desire, surged through Bradly's chest, a lightening bolt of agony. "You know as well as I do that she set her eyes on you, and you'll go. Submissives always go to her. You all flock to her. I can't compete. The best I can do now is turn you loose on my own, so she doesn't get the satisfaction of taking you from me."

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

I Haz A Happee

Awesome things that have happened to me this week, so far:

- I had a very productive day on Monday, editing-wise, dealing with a slew of admin tasks (both editing and for the Day Job), editing two stories, and doing some work on Foxfur's edits.

- I engaged in a fantastically fun email flirtation with one of my authors (to remain nameless, though she's welcome to out herself in the comments, of course):
Author: ...[Writing Partner]'s got me trained pretty well and I'm obedient, so we won't cause you too much trouble.

Me: ...bah; there needs to be SOME trouble, or I start feeling deprived. (If I had disposable income, I'd *totally* get a flogger made in the shape of a red pen to hang over my workdesk at home... The pun of it being something to make red marks with is just too delicious! And also, because an editor is nothing if not a switch, a pair of handcuffs made out of laminated printouts of painful slushpile entries...)

Author: ~blink~
MARRY ME!
My safeword is "Oxford comma". ;-)

(The more I make that joke, the more it lodges in my brain. I may end up with it being nothing more than the plain truth...)

- I found out that there is an honest-to-gosh real live creature that looks like a smiling Muppet squid: http://www.seathos.org/tag/banded-piglet-squid/ (via the Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/IFeakingLoveScience). How can that not immediately make your world a happier place to be?!

- Being the inveterate punster that I am, I discovered and then leapt upon this Woot sale (link will be dead after Aug 9th). I mean, I'm not the biggest Flash fan, but how could I pass up a FLASHDRIVE?! *flails with punny glee*

- I went to a friend's birthday dinner. I had some fun conversations and a delicious meal. And a slice of the most decadent chocolate and peanut butter cake evar.

-  I had the day off from the Day Job on Tuesday, which is an awesome thing all on its own. It was dark and rainy, so I went back to bed after I fed the cat and didn't get out of bed again until 8:30. (My kids are early risers, so trust me, sleeping as late as 7 is lovely, and any day I get to sleep past 7:30 is a red letter day!) And to crown that, I had a chiropractor adjustment in the morning and a relaxing massage in the afternoon. Blissout!

- And then I had a productive, writer-y sort of evening, sorting through the slush pile and then reading and making notes on the stories Lynn and I have collected for our project.