"An exciting, romantic tale anchored in a great sense of place." - Kirkus Reviews
My debut novel, BLOOD DIVINE, is now available in paperback! Get yours today and leave and honest review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Thanks!
PATH TO PUBLICATION UPDATE
/BLOOD DIVINE COVER REVEAL!
AVAILABLE AUGUST 24TH FROM WILDE CITY PRESS.
PATH TO PUBLICATION
/Yesterday I received both my galleys for BLOOD DIVINE from Wilde City Press and my editorial letter/notes for SOCIAL INTERCOURSE from Simon & Schuster. Exciting and a little intimidating!
WRITE NOW
/I recently completed my first young adult, m/m contemporary romance. I'm deep in that glorious process of querying agents which is not for the faint of heart. Actually, I have received very positive response to this manuscript from agents, but still trying to find the right match. It might be a tad too raunchy for some, but hey, its about high school boys!
The working title is SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN and it's set in Florence, SC where I lived from third grade through high school. The story is written in first person, present tense with a dual POV. The two main characters, Beckett Gaines and Jaxon Parker, couldn't be more different. Jaxon is the guarded star quarterback, president of the student body, and one of the most popular—and hottest—guys at school. Beckett, on the other hand is an out and proud choir nerd with an affinity for 80s television, especially The Golden Girls.
I'll share more about SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN and its journey to publication soon!
10 THINGS I LEARNED AT RAINBOW CON 2014
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Last week I attended Rainbow Con in Tampa, FL. This was my very first writer's conference and I found it very interesting, informative and friendly. I met some great people - authors, readers, publisher and reviewers - and two strippers young enough to be my sons. (Though we all felt compelled to contribute to their burgeoning college fund.) I actually learned a great deal about the writing process which will be extremely helpful as I continue to edit my first manuscript and prepare for the query process. Thanks so much to the folks at Dreamspinner Press for inviting me to send them my manuscript when I am finished. I am the only one they invited to do that right???
But, here is a short list of some of the other fun things I learned.
- I learned more about BDSM than I will ever need to know. (for the uninitiated, as I was, that's Bondage, Domination, and Sadomasochism). And whatever you don't know, Brenda Cothern is more than willing to demonstrate.
- Don’t assume your new sweetheart of a con wife from Alabama is as snarky and jaded as you are just because she writes tentacle porn. Find a snarky con husband to round out the trio. (Meet my ménage partners in crime at http://www.aideeladnier.com and http://www.gryphonandtiger.com)
- If you sit down in a panel or workshop and the moderator gives you a hand out, accept it, gracefully slip out and go to that other panel you really wanted to attend. Kill two birds, and all that.
- Stop staring at Brandon Shire. Yes, he’s very handsome and a fantastic writer, but now you’re just embarrassing yourself. Seriously. Stop staring.
- Male strippers dancing in Embassy Suites ballroom lighting. Really? There are no dimmers on any switch in this room? (see above image) #straightpeoplelighting
- It might be a good idea for the hotel manager to let the church group praying in the atrium know with whom they are sharing the floor. Oh – wait. That’s why they’re praying. (Poor things never thought about having to watch every one of us descend in the glass elevators - in all our prismatic glory - right into the middle of their prayer meeting).
- (My rookie mistake #1) - Printing the wrong twitter handle on your business card. Well that’s one way to go. (For the record, its @ghowardauthor)
- (My rookie mistake #2) - Putting a non-existent email address on your business card. (see above). It exists now, so email away.
- Shae Connor has lived a much gayer life than I have and I hate her for it. I'm talkin' dancing to all hours with gay porn stars, getting felt up in the gay bars by the breast appreciation brigade - just the tip of the iceberg, I am sure.
- Bottom shame – bad. Bossy twink bottoms – good. If you know, you know. If you don’t, I believe Kade Boehme will be doing some live tweeting on the subject soon.
I could go on and on, but suffice to say that we all had a great time. Kudos to all of the organizers on their first con!
Oh – one last thing. I would like to thank the DJ from the opening night event for being so thoughtful and inclusive with his playlist by including such sacred anthems as "Dancing Queen”, “YMCA” and “It’s Raining Men”, but next time can we please hear some Pharrell Williams, Jason Derulo, and Bruno Mars?
So there you have it. I am no longer a con virgin. And boy am I sore.
(check out @AideeLadnier for her feed of live tweets from the panels - you know, the real serious info)