Sunday Brunch Blog 12/01/13

Hey Sunday Brunch lovers! Okay, so last week we learned what everyone is afraid of… Snakes, water, I’m surprised nobody mentioned clowns…or did they? We had a regular fear fest! Maybe talking about our greatest fears will ensure we don’t have to face them, huh?

Last week’s winner? Stacy!

This week my guests will share their answers with us, and you, gentle readers, can give your answer to my question in the comment section below. I’ll choose one random person from the comments and reward them with an ebook surprise, it’s that simple!

Tell me what your answer to today’s question would be in the comments, and you could win an e-book!

This weeks question is:

Do you have a “guilty pleasure” movie? (What is it?)

My guilty pleasure movie is Orange County (not to be confused with the TV show, The OC). It stars Colin Hanks (Tom Hanks’s son), Jack Black, and John Lithgow. It also features cameos by Lily Tomlin, Chevy Chase, and Ben Stiller. Orange County is about a high school senior named Shaun who wants to be a writer. He’s sure that the only way he’ll succeed is by going to Stanford, where his favorite author is a professor. But his high school counselor sends in the wrong transcripts, and his application to Stanford is denied. His girlfriend and his perpetually hung-over brother (Jack Black) come up with plans to save the day…

And Shaun’s day basically goes downhill from there.

Orange County is about the absurdity of high school, the inescapable insanity of family, and the inexplicable bonds that make us who we are, for better or for worse. It’s a bit juvenile, but also has some surprisingly insightful moments, and it never fails to make me laugh.

For what it’s worth, this is also the movie I watch when I’m having a Bad Writer Day. It helps me remember that a certain amount of craziness is just part of the whole author gig. –Author Marie Sexton

Find Orange County’s IMDB page HERE.

Find Never a Hero:  Amazon   B&N   ARE

~~~~~*****~~~~~

When it comes to movies I tend to go for the big bang. Action movies. Something that makes it worthwhile to have a blu ray player, HD, and surround sound. Iron Man, The Avengers, The Expendables, Red, White House Down, Star Trek. Anything with Jason Statham. So when ZAM asks me if I have a guilty pleasure movie, I squirm in my seat a little…because I do and it’s so far removed from action movies as to be a bit embarrassing for me. I have a secret love for The Wedding Date.

Yeah, that’s me, embarrassed to be found liking — owning— a chick flick.

It’s odd that I even tolerate this movie because I’ve never liked that redhead from Will & Grace. She irritates me. In this movie though, I actually sort of like her. Well, the character at least and the way she plays her doesn’t rub me entirely the wrong way. The movie has a couple of really winning points with me though. One is the British cousin “Hello, asshole” and her really funny cracks. The other is Dermot Mulroney. He’s warm and funny and oh my God so sexy. His naked ass causes my breath to stall in my chest. The way he plays the date for hire character, the escort, is so well done that you can’t help but fall in love with him. He completely commands the movie and not just because of his naked ass or the quirky little smile with the scar that clips his upper lip. Some of it can be laid at the door of his looks and some at the smoky voice that makes the hairs stand up on your forearms. But honestly, another reason is because of the script and the acting talent he brings to it. What woman who doesn’t see herself as attractive wouldn’t fall for a man who makes her believe in herself and her ability to attract him? And Dermot Mulroney makes you believe.  When he makes the heroine in the movie believe, he makes the rest of us watching believe that about ourselves too. Oddly, his birthday is the same as mine (Halloween) albeit three years after me. That just makes it all so much better.

So I guess I can’t be embarrassed now that ZAM’s wormed this dirty, guilty little secret pleasure out of me. I think it’s probably the only chick flick I’ve ever truly liked. I know it’s the only one I own. LOL Other than The Wedding Date, I’ll take Loki any day. — Author Lex Valentine. (EDITOR’s Note. I um…want Loki Too…)

Book: Fire Season (Audiobook): Buy at Audible

~~~~~*****~~~~~

I actually have three guilty pleasure movies. First one is Lake Placid. I love B horror movies, but Lake Placid, IMO, is one of the best. It’s got a great cast, and they’re giving it their all, despite the fact they’re making a movie about a giant crocodile terrorizing a small town. The dialogue is amusing, and the gore is shocking but not overdone. Betty White and her swearing was a complete and total bonus.

My second is Sahara. I don’t usually like Matthew McConaughey in anything, and I certainly never pictured him as Dirk Pitt. Steve Zahn was even further from the way I pictured Al Giordino, but holy crap, I thought they batted that one out of the park. Those two guys had great on screen chemistry and I loved the way they interacted with each other and the rest of the cast. Unfortunately, I guess Clive Cussler (and other moviegoers) disagreed, so my hopes of a franchise were smashed.

Finally, my third, and possibly most embarrassing guilty pleasure movie – Josie and the Pussycats. There is something about the campy, cotton candy, tongue-in-cheek humor that completely sucked me in. Hell, I even loved the music, which is really unusual for me since I’m very picky about music. It also had an awesome cast, including Paulo Costanzo (I like everything I’ve seen him do) and Alan Cumming, who is completely adorable.

So, there are my guilty pleasure movies. Feel free to mock me, because you wouldn’t be the first : ) — Author KC Burn

Purchase Pen Name Dr. Chicken:  Amazon   B&N   ARE

 

 

 

Sunday Brunch Blog 12/01/13

Grime Doesn't Pay - Happy Dance!

I’m happy to share today that Eddie and Andrew got a couple of really terrific reviews –

One came from Ami at the “Boys In Our Books” review site, who said:

“There is a sign that you are reading a good book … when you cannot put it down. I was not feeling well when I read this, I suffered from stomach flu and had been feeling weak for two days, couldn’t even had the energy to read. But when I received the ARC, once I started, I couldn’t put it down.” (you can read the rest of that review, HERE)

And another came from The Blog of Sid Love, who said:

“It put a smile on my face right at the beginning and I got sucked in to never turn back. We find Eddie fixing his hair, trying to look neat and impressive as he drops his neice off at her school. In Grime and Punishment, we have one of the briefest scenes with Eddie where the guys are giving him a hard time about how he dresses up every time he goes to that school, knowing that there had to be a teacher crush involved. So when I read that first scene with Eddie and his adorable neice, my mind soothed back into full concentration. I knew this was going to be the type of book which I’d read without a halt.” (You can read the rest of Sid’s review, HERE)

On top of that, I got notification that Grime Doesn’t Pay is also an All Romance Ebooks best seller, so I think I little happy dancing is in order!

The  Blog Grime Doesn’t Pay Blog Tour: HERE,  is ongoing and the prizes will be a $20 gift certificate for Loose Id (so you can buy a few nice books for holiday reading, and I’m also giving away 3 iTunes gift cards so readers can download the Grime Doesn’t Pay playlist, here:

 

So All that’s left, is the dancing!

Join me!

JOIN ME!

For the next few days I’ll be bouncing around the web, showing off the latest book in the ZAM-iverse — The Brothers Grime : Eddie, Grime Doesn’t Pay.

Today I’m spending my time at Boys In Our Books! There’s a review there by Ami, who says, “There is a sign that you are reading a good book … when you cannot put it down. I was not feeling well when I read this, I suffered from stomach flu and had been feeling weak for two days, couldn’t even had the energy to read. But when I received the ARC, once I started, I couldn’t put it down.”

(Thank you very much, wow!) And also I blogged about how I came up with the idea for the Grime series. What makes me write about men with jobs like that?

Don’t miss out on the fun, please join us, and get in on a chance to win either a $20.00 gift certificate from Loose Id, or one of three iTunes “Grime Doesn’t Pay” Playlists.

Find out what I was listening to when I wrote Grime Doesn’t Pay and stay TUNED! There will be a week-long celebration, blog posts, giveaways, and fun!

Join me!

Tuesday Teaser - special guest Lex Valentine!

Let’s have a GREAT BIG Tuesday Teaser welcome to my very good pal Lex Valentine! 

Like most authors, Lex has been writing ever since she could hold a pencil. A few years ago, when she posted snippets of her work on her personal blog Sunlight Sucks, multi-published author Jennifer Leeland encouraged her to submit her writing to publishers. That led to her first contract in October 2008.

Now an award winning, multi-published PAN author in her own right, Lex is a member of Romance Writers of America and active in several chapters including her local OCC chapter. Her publishers include: Ellora’s Cave, Loose Id, Jupiter Gardens (formerly Pink Petal Books), MLR Press, and Liquid Silver Books. She is published in both ebook and print.

Born and raised in Salinas, California, Lex moved to Southern California in 1992. She lives in a canyon on the edge of Orange County with her daughter Nikki (aka Motley of Socially Dead),  her long haired tattooed husband Rott (of RottNRoll), and a bunch of cats she calls “babies.” She loves loud rock and alternative music, builds her own computers, and has a propensity for having very weird vivid dreams about Nikki Sixx. Lex works full-time at a 100 year old cemetery as the network administrator, collects giraffes thanks to a character written by her friend Jen Morgan, adores supermodel Marcus Schenkenberg and loves hanging out with author-pal Z.A. Maxfield who never lets Lex be a wallflower.

See? This is us—–>

Last week’s winner: Janette!

Don’t Forget!

Your mission is to guess which Lex Valentine book this comes from, you know the drill. Email me at zamaxfield @ zamaxfield dot com and put Teaser Tuesdays in the subject line. Guess the name of the book and I’ll draw the winner before next Tuesday —— Here’s Lex’s excerpt:

 

“******, I’m sorry.”

The softly spoken words caused ****** to release his breath on a sigh. “I am too, ******.” He turned, his gaze caught and held by ******’s. A wave of emotion, mostly indefinable, rose within him, causing an ache in his chest.

****** swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

****** sensed ******’s discomfort, but stayed silent, waiting for him to finish. He gave the man points for holding his gaze when by rights he probably wanted to look anywhere else.

“I was angry and disappointed and confused. When *** came on to me in the bar…” ****** broke off and swallowed again. “I didn’t think you would care what I did, but that is no excuse. It’s just an explanation of my motivation. I know it was wrong of me to bring him back here on the day I found you. I’m so sorry.”

It had been a long time since ****** had met someone with the level of integrity that ****** had just shown. “I’m sorry too, ******,” he replied in a low voice. “This whole thing was such a shock. And I know that’s not an excuse for my behavior. It’s just an explanation.”

He smiled as he repeated ******’s words. The British man’s eyes lightened as a smile curved his lips. ****** caught a glimpse of brilliant white teeth as ******’s smile flashed out and he suddenly felt sucker punched, his gut twisting with emotion. The urge to reach out and touch ****** overwhelmed him, just like the man’s scent filled his senses, until all he could think about was asking him to repeat yesterday’s kiss.

******’s eyes flickered. “You realize that a lot of what you think and feel bleeds out to me now,” he murmured. “Despite your natural shielding.”

****** sucked in a breath. “If you know what I’m thinking then just do it, ******, ‘cause the gods know I can’t yet,” he said in a shaky voice, feeling his heart begin to race.

****** took the three steps needed to bring their bodies within inches of each other. ****** began to shake a little with fear and anticipation. The first kiss had been a surprise and filled with anger on both sides. This would be their first real kiss. They both acknowledged that they were mates, and that they felt some emotion pulling at them along with a steadily growing attraction. Regardless of the previous kiss, ****** didn’t know what to expect and when ******’s hand came up to wrap around the back of his neck, he stiffened a little at first. Then fire licked through his veins at the feel of ******’s warm palm on his bare skin. He shook harder.

“Don’t be afraid, ******. It’s just a kiss.”

******’s soft whisper accompanied the press of his thumb against the underside of ******’s jaw. Reflexively, he tilted his chin up and ******’s mouth came down on his. Lust swept through his body as ****** expertly parted his lips. ****** gasped a little opening his mouth wider as ******’s tongue glided easily against his own, the wet heat sending lightning bolts of desire shooting through him. This time when ******’s hips brushed his, he didn’t move, letting the man press his growing erection against him. His own cock started to respond, twitching inside his shorts.

Just as ****** was about to let go and kiss ****** back, the British man broke off the kiss on a long shuddering sigh. “I think we need to go downstairs before I forget that you’ve never been with a man before, ******,” he said in a shaken voice.

 

Tuesday Teaser - special guest Lex Valentine!

The Brothers Grime 2 - Big, Bad Blog Tour!

Hey ZAMMERS! The second book in my Brothers Grime series is coming out tomorrow, 11/26!

Tune in for details, I’ll be all over the map in the next few weeks. Tomorrow, we’ll kick off the blog tour for

Eddie: Grime Doesn’t Pay

Here’s a blurb for Eddie’s story -

Eddie and Andrew have dynamite chemistry. But Eddie is profoundly dyslexic, and Andrew lives to read. Andrew is pathologically disorganized, and Eddie likes things neat and clutter-free.

Andrew is desperately ashamed of his hoarder father, and Eddie is embarrassed by his lack of education – secrets that could pull them apart even as a friend’s tragedy brings them together.

When Andrew’s father’s condition deteriorates and he nearly dies because of his compulsion, Eddie and Andrew must learn compassion begins with loving one’s self in – Grime Doesn’t Pay.

Tune in tomorrow and I’ll let you know how to participate for a chance to win a $20 gift certificate for books from Loose Id! I’ll also be giving out my Grime Doesn’t Pay Playlist to three lucky winners! Stay with the tour and play along and one of those winners just might be you!

 

The Brothers Grime 2 - Big, Bad Blog Tour!

Sunday Brunch Blog - 12/24/13

Hey Sunday Brunch lovers! Okay, so last week we learned that everyone wants to go to Josh Lanyon’s Catalina Island Writer’s Retreat if he ever has one. We also know that islands figure big in a lot of people’s secret desires. So does solitude, autonomy, and the occasional mountain cabin where one can get away from the cares of the day!

Last week’s winner? Tawny!

This week my guests will share their answers with us, and you, gentle readers, can give your answer to my question in the comment section below. I’ll choose one random person from the comments and reward them with an ebook surprise, it’s that simple!

Tell me what your answer to today’s question would be in the comments, and you could win an e-book!

This weeks question is:

What is your greatest fear? 

As the author Carol Lynne - This will probably sound really crazy to people, but I’ve lived in the world of Cattle Valley for so many years that I sometimes find myself worrying about the residents. Ezra and Wyn aren’t getting any younger, and Erico has that heart condition. I know bad things can happen to good people, and the longer I continue to explore the residents of Cattle Valley, the more I fear something horrible will happen. The grandstand collapse a few years ago was devastating to the residents, and they are finally starting to heal.

No worries, I have no plans to kill off one of my beloved characters. That’s the crazy thing about this irrational fear. I have to remind myself that I have the control when it comes to the residents of Cattle Valley, but I’ve been living in their world for five years. They genuinely feel like friends, and I think it’s perfectly natural to worry about the people we love.

As Carol Lynne the mom -

I thought long and hard about this question. I hate snakes so much that I spotted one three years ago in my flower garden and haven’t planted a damn thing since. Still, I wouldn’t say that’s my greatest fear.

I’ve never been afraid of dying. I think it has a lot to do with my belief that there is life after death. However, the thought of dying without being able to say goodbye to my girls or help get them set up for life without me, terrifies me. I’m a forty-eight-year-old divorced woman with a twelve and thirteen year old. I started late in life, and I’m scared my procrastination is going to catch up with me.

It’s a fear most people don’t think about, but I’m not most people. So, instead of cluing my girls into my fear, there are a few things I slip in each day. I always, always tell them I love them at least three times a day, morning, afterschool and before bed. I also like to sprinkle my wisdom dust on them each morning as we drive to school. I used to wonder whether or not they were listening, but my oldest daughter’s actions lately proved they are. Both of my girls have good heads on their shoulders. They have a good set of values and the ability to open their minds and hearts to new things. The best thing about them is they make me proud each day. I can almost see the adults they’ll grow up to be.

My job with them isn’t near finished, but I have to admit that it gives me a bit of peace to know they’ll be fine should something happen to me. Still, I want to say goodbye. Some people want to go quickly when it’s their time, but I want to milk every second I am blessed to have them in my life.

(Carol, I put both your answers here because I liked them so much!)

Purchase C-7 Shifters: Seeger at   Amazon    ARE    B&N

What is my greatest fear? You mean I have to pick just one? A few years ago, I might have said failing at this whole writing gig, but I’ve now seen enough royalty checks in the single digits to realize, I’d do it anyway, big payout or not. So maybe…I still fear the same things I feared in grade school. Putting myself out there and having people point and laugh. I’d like to think, as I venture out into the adult world into a group of my peers, that this is something that I could feel confident no longer happens. We all know the truth, though. I’ve been on the outside for a long, long time, and the truth is, it never gets easier.

It’s just this sort of thing that bring Don and Griff together in Not as Easy as it Looks. Don needed a hero, and Griff was his. In fact, Howard needed a hero, too. And Griff came through for them both pretty definitively. Maybe we all want it to look like this; big and bold and in-your-face, but maybe, for most of us. it’s more subtle, like mine was, but either way, it’s nice have a champion. — Author Jaimie Samms

Buy the book: Dreamspinner

Okay– book story. My greatest fear used to be feeling penises in the dark, and then I really felt an actual live penis and that went away immediately! Then my biggest fear became snakes in water. Yup, you know, eels, or fish– touching something slimy, alive, muscular and visceral touching my body where I couldn’t see.

It was laughable, really, because I grew up around Folsom Lake and the American River, and I even learned to waterski in the Sacramento River, which had 1000 lb. sturgeon in it and everything.

I should have been okay with fish nibbling at my toes.

But I wasn’t, and so, in my first book, Vulnerable, I thought I’d exorcise that demon by having a vampire grab my heroine around the ankle after existing under water in wait for her. Oooh, I thought– that’ll get rid of that fear for good!

Uhm, no. Writing as therapy failure of the first water.

Now I freak out in water where I can see my feet. I will swim out (I’m a very strong swimmer) and frolic with the grace of a manatee (who are graceful in the water but not so much out) and as soon as a weed or a fish or an air bubble from a breathing turtle hits my toes–

I spaz out, flounder, and almost drown.

So, yeah. I could go deep here and tell you my most psychological fear, but, really, that’s too much like being naked. So I’m going to go with things touching me under water. Spazzes me the hell out, every single time! — Author Amy Lane

Come visit Amy at www.greenshill.com, at her FB Page Amy Lane Anonymous, and on Twitter under @amymaclane.

Purchase Triane’s Son Learning at Dreamspinner Press!

Sunday Brunch Blog - 12/24/13

Tuesday Teaser - S.J. Frost

Let’s have a GREAT BIG Tuesday Teaser welcome to S.J. Frost, author extraordinaire… 

Last week’s winner: Nikita!

Hello! I’m S.J. Frost, an author of sweet and sexy gay erotic romance stories. Rock stars, vampires, fantasy heroes…I enjoy stretching my writing muscles in many different themes, but there are a few consistent things with each story I write. They each contain love, passion, and romance between men. I’m currently published by MLR Press and Ellora’s Cave. For more info on my work, please feel welcomed to visit my website: http://www.sjfrost.com/

My thanks to ZAM for having me as a guest for Teaser Tuesday! Good luck to all on guessing which of my stories this snippet is from!

Don’t Forget!

Your mission is to guess which S.J. Frost book this comes from, you know the drill. Email me at zamaxfield @ zamaxfield dot com and put Teaser Tuesdays in the subject line. Guess the name of the book and I’ll draw the winner before next Tuesday ——

 

Excerpt:

****** walked further into the room, turning in a circle to fully take it in.  Electric guitars of numerous styles and brands hung on one wall with bass guitars and acoustics.  Of the electric, ****** guessed there had to be over thirty.  Against one wall, dark walnut shelves displayed several violins and violas with two cellos and a full-sized harp sitting close by.  On the other side of the room, shelves and wooden tables held still more instruments, though many of these were exotic, some of which ****** didn’t even know existed until that moment.  He moved across the room to them, his fingers all but twitching to touch.

**** could see on ******’s face how he battled for control to not finger the instruments.  “Go ahead.  You can touch them.  From the moment it’s created, an instrument’s only wish is to be held by a loving and skilled hand.”

****** gently laid his fingers on a zither near its strings and caressed the wood.  “It’s true, isn’t it?  Sometimes I think they’re almost living, the way each one has a unique voice.  ***** thinks I’m nuts.  He says, a Strat is a Strat.  But to me, every instrument has a subtle pitch difference that makes it its own, and when it gets held in the hands of someone who respects and understands it, the sound of that instrument becomes as individual as the soul of the person playing it.”  He looked over his shoulder at **** and smiled.  “You probably think I’m mental, too, for thinking like that, don’t you?”

“No, not at all,” **** said softly, in awe at the serene beauty that came over ******’s face when he was surrounded by instruments.

****** stopped before the violins, admiring each one.  “They’re so beautiful.  I’ve always wanted to learn to play, but I haven’t had the chance.”

**** headed over to him.  “I could teach you.  I’ve seen all the instruments you can play.  Picking up one more would be easy for you.”

****** turned a hopeful smile on him.  “You would do that?”

“I would love to.”

**** pulled down a violin case from the top shelf and set it on one of the lower ones.  He opened it, revealing a violin inside with a rich brownish-gold finish.  Though it lay silent, as the light in the room washed over it, ****** swore he could hear the echoes of the countless songs the instrument had known, and all the emotions its voice had evoked from its listeners, joy, sadness, hope, seemed to have become as much a part of it as its neck, body, or stain.

**** lifted the instrument from its case with the tenderness of a father lifting his child from its crib.  He set it against his left shoulder to check the tuning, placing a soft white cloth where his chin would go since the model didn’t have a chinrest, and when the final adjustments were made, he said, “It’s been a while since I’ve played, so don’t laugh at me if I screw up.”

****** shook his head and sat down on the stool for the harp.  “Never.”

**** raised the bow and closed his eyes, calling the song he wanted to play to his mind.  The music flowed through his mental ear, telling him the notes he needed.  He settled the bow on the strings and played the first gentle notes of Pachelbel’s Canon in D major.

******’s lips parted, the pure, divine sound of the violin stealing his breath to add to its essence.  Like a heavenly being residing in the mortal realm, **** wove the notes together with expert fingers and created a blanket of music that wrapped around them both.  Though the piece normally called for more violins, ****’s rendition and skill made it so the other instruments weren’t missed.  Enraptured, ****** stared at him, at his lips that looked so soft, at his fingers of such deft skill, and in that moment, the newly awoken part of himself became fully alert, and he knew then it was his very soul that **** had roused.  It responded to ****, called to him, and there’d be no silence within himself until **** was his.

Tuesday Teaser - S.J. Frost

Sunday Brunch Blog - 11/17/2013

Hey Sunday Brunch lovers! I can’t tell you how thrilled I was by how many of you actually spent time thinking about what Disneyland ride you’d want to live in! I thought I was the only one who wanted to live in the Haunted Mansion or Pirates of the Caribbean.

Coincidentally, my son went to Disneyland last night with his friends, and I had such a pang of envy. I guess I really am still kind of in love with Disneyland. I miss the days when I had an annual pass, and if I wanted to I could just go on a weekday afternoon and walk the kids around in a stroller, have a snack, watch a parade, and feel like a special part of a really unique fantasy world.

Last week’s winner? Jess1

Here’s how my Sunday Brunch Blog works:  I invite a couple of your favorite authors to my blog and ask them a question. Sometimes my questions are silly, sometimes they’re thought-provoking.

My guests will share their answers with me and you, gentle readers, can give your answer to my question in the comment section below. I’ll choose one random person from the comments and reward them with an ebook surprise, it’s that simple!

Tell me what your answer to today’s question would be in the comments, and you could win an e-book!

This weeks question is:

What is your deepest, darkest desire?

Cause I’ve got it right here

What is my deepest, darkest desire?

Sh… you have to promise not to tell. It’s evil, I tell you. Evil. The height of decadence. Enough unmitigated desire to make you queasy. I swear.

So, you guys remember The Brady Bunch?

You do?

Remember Alice, the Maid?

I want Alice. To come work for me. And clean my kitchen and my bathroom and cook my food and remind me when I have appointments and to live in the upstairs and have no life so she can help my house look beautiful and my kids have clean clothes and my husband to never have to come home and raid the snack corner because I haven’t gotten dinner ready either.

*nods vigorously * Yup! *shudders * A clean kitchen. That’s sexy enough to have sex on! Oh my God! *fans self * Uh-huh. The very thought of it makes me hot. I’m going to go have some private time…

And then I’m gonna start dinner! — Author Amy Lane

Pre-order Christmas Kitsch at Riptide!

My deepest darkest desire…

I want to move to Catalina Island.

I know. Probably not what you were expecting. In fact, kind of ordinary run-of-the-mill fantasy, right? Wanting to move to a desert island? But…it’s not for the Mai Tais and the balmy ocean breeze. Well, I don’t object to those things, but that’s not the main attraction.

The main attraction is specific to Catalina. Have you been there? It’s like a trip back in time, a trip back to the 40s and 50s. In some ways, it’s like a living museum. It’s small, it’s isolated, it’s well-preserved. Like me.  They have jazz festivals and film festivals and art festivals. They have buffalo and rain and oarfish.

The water around Catalina is some of the most polluted in the state.  And there may or may not be a problem with teenage gangs. It’s expensive to visit and it sounds even more expensive to try and live there.

I don’t think they have a real bookstore and the theater is only open one night a week. But it has that giant old casino. And lots of watering holes. And very few people for half the year.

You can hear the seals at night. And the ocean. You can see flying fish.

A tsunami is eventually going to wipe the whole place out.

I want to run an annual writing retreat there. I hope it doesn’t take place during a tsunami.

So why is my wish to live on Santa Catalina a “dark” desire? For the same reason everyone’s wish to move to a desert island is a bit dark. Because a large part of that wish is the desire to escape, to isolate oneself. Myself. Not just for a vacation. All the time. Maybe that’s partly the reaction to a job where inevitably I spend so much of my life on line and on stage. Maybe it’s the desire to escape from responsibilities and the demands of being an adult. Maybe it’s not so sinister, maybe I’m just longing to remove myself from the modern, busy world and slip into a slower pace, step back…and then back again. But there’s no denying I like the idea of being out of touch, hard to reach. I’m afraid JohnDonne had it right:

No man is an island,

Entire of itself,

Every man is a piece of the continent,

A part of the main.

And speaking of deep, dark desires, how about a jolly little story about recovering from addiction? Alcohol addiction in this case. — Author Josh Lanyon

Purchase The Parting Glass  AMAZON     B&N    ARE

Sunday Brunch Blog - 11/17/2013

Tuesday Teasers - Vicktor Alexander

Let’s Have A big Tuesday Teaser Welcome To my Guest Author, VICKTOR ALEXANDER

About Vicktor:

Hi all! I’m Vicktor Alexander but everyone calls me “Vic.” Southern gentleman by day, completely displaced and living in New York, and a writer and purveyor of steamy, sticky, hot man on man (sometimes on man on man on man on man on man) sex. I wrote my first story at the tender age of 10 about my youngest biological sister and her destruction of the world…with her breath. The stories didn’t stop there and it wasn’t long or much of a shock to those who knew me well, before I was writing interracial historical romances. I quickly realized that my heroes seemed much happier when they were hanging out with other guys (aren’t we all?) and that was when I discovered the M/M genre.

I now enjoy writing about shifters, humanoids, cowboys, firemen, rent boys, fairies, elves, dancers, doctors, Doms, Subs, and anything else that catches my fancy, all sexy men falling in love with each other and having lots of naughty, dirty, man-on-man sex. I am the author of the best-selling series, The Tate Pack (which still blows my mind) and am a huge fan of the “happily-ever-after” ending. But while all my characters all ride off into the proverbial sunset, all sexually satisfied and in love (because it’s the least I can do), they all bear the scars of fighting for that love, just like in real life. I am never satisfied with only one genre, and every book that I write tends to fall into more than one category and has each main character experiencing more than one orgasm.

Out and proud, I don’t believe that love only comes in one form, one race, one gender and that not only is gender fluid, by sexuality as well. I loves to make people laugh (and guys hot) and when I’m not writing, or rather, procrastinating in writing, I’m reading, playing the Sims 3, hanging out with my very supportive adopted family, talking to my adopted daughter whom I call Chipmunk, seeking the man or men who can handle my crazy, stressful, soap opera-esque life and being distracted from said writing by pictures of John Barrowman and Shemar Moore.

 And here’s his snippet: 

“I think we should paint this room before we move everything in,” ***** said with a smile as he looked over at ***.  The cowboy had been acting strange all afternoon.  First he’d taken everything and shoved it into the bedroom.  Then he’d rushed **** out of the house, telling her that ******** and *** had lunch for her at their house and that she could stay with them if she were planning to spend the night.  After **** had left, he’d leaned against the front door, crossed his arms and just grinned at *****.  ***** was slightly nervous by ***’s sudden mood shift and he found himself babbling to cover his nervousness.

“I think that’s a great idea,” *** agreed before pushing away from the door and walking over to the love seat against the wall. *****  followed him and with a shy smile helped him to lift the love seat and carry it into the kitchen.  They moved quickly but carefully and moved all of the furniture, paintings and electronics from the living room into the kitchen and the dining room before laying down huge pieces of blue tarp that *** brought in from the barn that he laid down over the beautiful cherry hardwood floors to protect them from paint splatters.  *****’s jaw dropped and his breath stuttered in his chest when *** removed his shirt before beginning to paint.  Adjusting his rapidly growing erection in his cut-off shorts, ***** fanned his suddenly flushed face with his red tank top and turned back to his wall to begin painting.

Both men painted steadily for five minutes before ***** growled in frustration.

“I need some music.  This is tedious and boring if I can’t listen to music,” he admitted and he heard *** chuckle behind him.]

“Well, why don’t you turn on some music then?” *** asked him before turning back to his wall to continue painting.

With a determined nod, ***** walked out of the room and returned shortly after with his iPod and his iPod Home system and after getting them both set up in the middle of the room, with the iPod home plugged into an extension cord leading into an outlet in the kitchen, he turned on his iPod listening device.  Scrolling through the songs he came across a song that he thought was perfect for what they were doing.  With a grin he pressed play and the throbbing beat of “Paint” by Travis Garland and **** began to play.

With a grin, ***** rolled his hips and danced back over to the wall and his paint tray.  He became so entranced by the song, which he had put on repeat, and what he was doing that he didn’t even notice that *** had walked up behind him and began to dance closely behind him.  ***** moaned and pressed his ass back into ***’s groin.  The two men continued to dance seductively with each other, the beat of the music matching the beats of their heart and the throbbing in their erections.  ***** felt so safe and treasured with ***’s arms wrapped around him from behind., the bigger man’s paint splattered hands rubbing across his chest, with his hardened nipples and his slim but muscled thighs.

When ***’s hands left paint streaks on his skin, ***** squealed and pushed away.  The desire darkening ***’s eyes gave him momentary pause but with effort he continued with his rant.

“***!  You got paint all over my clothes and my skin!” he stated in exasperation, his hands on his hips.  He expected *** to apologize profusely, he didn’t expect for the larger man to bend over and stick his two large hands in one of the paint buckets and to toss the paint directly at him.  The paint landed in his beautiful black hair, the dark red streaking his curly locks, and all over his torso, neck, legs and face.  With another squeal he raced over to another bucket of the dark red paint and stuck his own hands inside before tossing the paint back at ***.  It wasn’t long before the two of them were tossing paint all over each other, the walls, the fireplace, the front door and all over the tarp that covered the floor.

***** laughed breathlessly when *** scooped him up in his arms and pressed his face into the smaller man’s neck.

“Say you surrender,” *** growled.

“Never,” ***** giggled as *** tickled his sides before lifting him into the air.  Without thought ***** locked his legs around ***’s waist, his arms around the cowboy’s neck.

“Surrender,” *** demanded playfully again before nipping gently at *****’s earlobe.  ***** shuddered as lightening raced from his ear through his head, his chest and his legs before settling in his groin, his erection growing to full mast at the feeling.

“N-n-never,” ***** panted.  *** knelt on the floor and laid ***** down upon it before lifting up his shirt.  He pressed his lips against *****’s throbbing pulse in his neck.  He made his way down the smaller man’s chest, taking small bites and placing small kisses across the skin.  ***** shuddered when he felt the raspy touch of ***’s tongue upon his erect nipples.  *** licked around and around the nipple before sucking it deep into his mouth.  He then pulled at the erect nub with his teeth and pulled the flesh taut almost to the point of pain before releasing it.  ***** groaned, his hands coming up to clutch at and touch the firm, muscled flesh of this bigger man.

*** moved over to the neglected nipple, while his fingers came up to play with the wet nub he’d just left.  *****’s hips began to thrust up, seeking something firm to rub against, the desire had become an ache inside of him and he needed something to ease it.  He needed *** inside of him.

Your mission is to guess which Vicktor Alexander book this comes from, you know the drill. Email me at zamaxfield @ zamaxfield dot com and put Teaser Tuesdays in the subject line. Guess the name of the book and I’ll draw the winner before next Tuesday ——

 

Tuesday Teasers - Vicktor Alexander

Sunday Brunch Blog - shhh... pretend it's still 11/10/13

Hey Sunday Brunch lovers – Some of you may notice today is not Sunday. You are getting sleepy… Very sleepy… Today is Sunday… Today is Sunday…

I spent the weekend at Bent-Con in Los Angeles with one of the worst head colds I’ve ever had. I actually spent the weekend trying not to give my germs to my author friends Belinda McBride, James Buchanan, E.M. Lynley, Kimberly Hunter, Lou Harper, LE Franks, Sara York, Damon Suede, Shira Anthony, Rhys Ford and rest of the gang from Dreamspinner, who were also there AND the rest of the attendees. I bonked on scheduling this Sunday Brunch post correctly. Entirely my fault!

Here’s how my Sunday Brunch Blog works:  I invite a couple of your favorite authors to my blog and ask them a question. Sometimes my questions are silly, sometimes they’re thought-provoking.

My guests will share their answers with me and you, gentle readers, can give your answer to my question in the comment section below. I’ll choose one random person from the comments and reward them with an ebook surprise, it’s that simple!

Last Week’s winner? Barb! I’ll be getting in touch with you soon.

Tell me what your answer to today’s question would be in the comments, and you could win an e-book!

This weeks question is:

IF you could live on a ride at Disneyland, which one would it be?

Can I just live in the entire park? No, well okay. There are plenty of rides I could see myself living – The Haunted Mansion, Aerosmith’s Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster, the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, the Great Movie Ride. Disney has so many amazing rides in their parks, which is probably why so many people go to there. But I think if I had to choose only one to be my home, I’d have to go with the Tower of Terror in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

On one hand, you get to scare the living crap out of all the tourists. On the other hand, you get a lovely view of the park and surrounding area from the elevator, at least until it drops you to your death. Plus, it reminds me of getting stuck in the elevator at GRL 2013! (Which was quite amusing once we finally got out.)

Although, I’d much rather live in one of the Harry Potter rides over at Universal Studios…–Author William Cooper

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I have to admit, I haven’t been to Disneyland for a while and don’t remember a lot of the rides, but then, maybe it’s because every time my family visits a Disney property we have some sort of Traumatic Moment. Happiest place on earth, my day-glo white ass. So I’m reinterpreting the question as favorite ride, but even then I’m playing fast and loose with it. My favorite ride was a 1989 Dodge Minivan with fake wood paneling. Yeah, it’s all about the woody.

Classes at UC Davis always to start on a Thursday, at least for the fall quarter, so three friends and I hatched a plan. As soon as the last one of us got out of our last class on Friday, we were hitting the road. So my favorite ride at Disneyland? The Disneyland Expeditionary Force of 1990. One friend had been my best friend since seventh grade: we told everyone we were cousins so they’d stop accusing us of fucking while we were in high school; one friend was the first person I came out to; one of them is now dead.

While names and details have been changed to protect the innocent, Esmé, Margaret, Greg, and I piled into the minivan and hit the road that Friday afternoon with two ice chests and a cheap CD player (because the radio in the minivan was even cheaper) and hit the road. The drive south was unremarkable, and if you’ve ever drive south in I-5 through the Great Valley you know why. That it was dark helped immeasurably. That’s the kind of dumb thing you can do when you’re twenty—drive all night and check into a hotel in Anaheim after midnight. Anaheim looks better in the dark, too.

Greg and Margaret, renamed the Greg and Peg Show by my parents due Greg’s habit of turning summersaults on the furniture and Margaret’s—Peg’s—futile efforts to stop him, took one room because they were dating. Esmé and I took the other one because we weren’t and she knew she was safe as a kitten. More to the point, so did her boyfriend who was doing his year abroad. Once he found out I was gay, he became a big fan of her spending time with me.

Another advantage to doing dumb things when you’re twenty is we were there before the park opened, ready to run amok, and did we ever. Margaret ran varsity track, Greg played rugby, I swam, and Esmé just kept up with us. I’m sure Greg and I scared a number of people out of our way…I’m freakishly tall and Greg, while of average height, was built like refrigerator, and we wore mouse ears and maniacal grins.

I think the best part of the weekend was trying to let Margaret know I had something to tell her and then chickening out…over and over and over. When I finally came out to her at the Foster’s Freeze just north of the Grapevine she looked at me and yelled, “That’s it? I thought you were dying of cancer or something!” Then she slugged me. For such a short woman she had a really good arm.

But all good things, as they say. Margaret’s now a deputy state attorney general. Esmé is now a housewife in the OC and doing her best to subvert her son’s Boy Scout troupe with liberalism. It doesn’t seem to be an issue with her daughter’s Girl Scouts troupe, for some reason. And Greg? Greg’s dead. It’s been a few years, and it’s still a shock to the three of us.

In honor of Greg’s boisterous personality, I give you Tipping the Balance, because Brad Sundstrom, too, has such a personality. — Author Christopher Koehler.

Purchase Tipping The Balance   Amazon  ARE  B&N

Oh God, this is so embarrassing! If you’ve met me, take a guess what my answer will be.

Okay yeah. Sigh. It’s a Small World. Yep. That’s the home for me. I am just that ridiculously lame — and optimistic and sunny and all the crap that no writer of super sexy MM romance should be. I’ve lived and traveled all over the world. I started as an Army brat and just never quit. So that part of Small World makes sense.

I also decided as a very small child, that if there was a God, he/she loved us all the best. And if that wasn’t so — if there was “one way” to the truth of living — then I wanted nothing to do with any deity that was so screwed up. So yes, there is “just one moon and one golden sun” in my world and they shine on us all equally and with love. I believe in true love. No, more than believe. As Jung said, “I know.”

That’s what I write about. I feel amazingly lucky to get to share that experience. And, like A Small World, I hope I’m a catchy (slightly crazy-making) tune that never leaves your head.  LOL : ) — Author Tara Lain

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Sunday Brunch Blog - shhh... pretend it's still 11/10/13

Let’s Have A big Tuesday Teaser Welcome To my Guest Author, Jaime Samms! 

About Jaime:

I’ve been writing for various

publishers since the fall of 2008, although I’ve been writing for myself far longer. I’m often asked why men? What’s so fascinating about writing stories about men falling in love? It’s never been an easy question to answer. I just always have written stories about men, and as I reached the age where I started to fall in love (and that happened on a fairly regular basis, and not always with men, myself) my characters grew along with me. For a long time, I thought I was pretty odd. 

 

When I discovered the internet, in the form of text chat rooms in university, and that‘s as close an approximation on age as you’re going to get, I realized I was not the only one who had this fascination. There were other writers out there writing the stories I wanted to read, and reading the kind of stories I was writing. Sometime between then and now, an author was born.

 

When I’m not writing, I’m probably reading, and you can find all kinds of opinions (other people call them reviews, but let’s call a spade a spade and acknowledge that I like to spout my opinion) about what I read on Goodreads, at Kuriousity, a manga and yaoi review site, and on my website under the category of “Book Talk”.

 

And here’s her snippet:

Your mission is to guess which Jaime Samms book this comes from, you know the drill. Email me at zamaxfield @ zamaxfield dot com and put Teaser Tuesdays in the subject line. Guess the name of the book and I’ll draw the winner before next Tuesday ——

So?” ***** spun in front of the full-length mirror in ****’s cramped dorm room. “How do I look?”

“If I say fabulous—”

“Just don’t.” ***** stopped spinning and leaned closer to dab at a smear of eyeliner.

“You sure about the boots, though?” **** asked, still eyeing him.

“The boots, most of all.”

“There are so many buckles.”

“****, love, the buckles are precisely the point.”

“I’m just thinking of…you know…when we get home.”

***** grinned into the mirror, catching the other man’s focused blue gaze. “Relax. I can fuck you with my boots on, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Can and have,” **** acknowledged with a nod that sent his dishevelled blond locks into his eyes.

“And will again.” ***** turned from the mirror, a devil’s smile on his face. “So? Do I pass inspection?”

“Oh yeah.”

**** planted a serious kiss on him, taking over his *****’s senses with his power. He roved his big hands up *****’s legs, travelling over his leather pants, under the stiff pleats of the short,black leather kilt covering them, to dig them into his ass. ***** groaned, rocking his hips forward under the pressure of ****’s touch. His cock strained in the tight confines of his constricting clothing.

Teaser Tuesdays - Jaime Samms

Sunday Brunch Blog - 11/03/2013

Hey Sunday Brunch lovers – Today some of us had to turn our clocks back to end Daylight Savings Time, and I got to go out for a real Sunday Brunch with my good friend Lex Valentine (because Halloween was her birthday.) We headed to Lucille’s for a bit of barbecue today, so look for a delicious no-fuss barbecue beans recipe (From Jack Stack  via the Food Network in Kansas City) at the end of the post that you can try at home!

Here’s how my Sunday Brunch Blog works:  I invite a couple of your favorite authors to my blog and ask them a question. Sometimes my questions are silly, sometimes they’re thought-provoking.

My guests will share their answers with me and you, gentle readers, can give your answer to my question in the comment section below. I’ll choose one random person from the comments and reward them with an ebook surprise, it’s that simple!

Last Week’s winner? Shae! I’ll be getting in touch with you soon.

Tell me what your answer would be in the comments, and you could win an e-book!

This weeks question is:

If you could get away with one crime, what would you do?

If I could get away with one crime, it would be prostitution. Lord knows I’d love to able to say with complete confidence that I was good enough in the sack to actually charge for it. That isn’t actually the case, but hey…a boy can dream can’t he?  But if I did charge, I certainly wouldn’t want to be arrested for it!

For one, if I were a hooker, I’d totally be the heart-of-gold variety and people with hearts-of-gold shouldn’t get tossed into the pokey. I mean, really…how f’in rude!! I’d be giving the gift of orgasmy-goodness, people. I’m sorry, but that should not be something folks get arrested for.

So, if I were a horny hustler who sucked the creamy filling out of every Twinkie I could get my lips on in exchange for some coin, I’d prefer a key to the city as opposed to an extended stay at club fed. They may say it’s better to give than to receive, but I see no reason why can’t we have both. You give me some money and you receive a blow job. Hello…that’s like synergy right? Giving and receiving never sounded so good. : ) — Author Ethan Day  ** Editor’s note – SPLUTTER! **

Purchase Northern Star  AMAZON   ARE   B&N

I only get one? That hardly seems fair. And I’m guessing I can’t count my past misdeeds? I mean, ‘cause I’ve danced on the edge of shady a few times in my past. You think thishttp://www.fictionwithfriction.com/2009/10/31/sexy-devil-in-uniform/ got made up whole cloth? Of course, my little slice of that ended when the Doña Ana Sheriff’s Deputy walked out the door. My real life doesn’t usually equate to porn scripts…wait, uhm,

Yeah, so crime.

It wouldn’t be murder. That’s the nice thing about writing in the realm of suspense/mystery and fantasy – if I really dislike someone, I can kill them off. Repeatedly, if I wish, with much glee. I can pretty much guarantee you that if there is an “on screen” death in my books that, with one notable exception, those characters were drawn in some fashion from someone I knew who I couldn’t stand. It’s a hell of a lot cheaper than therapy.

I also couldn’t see getting my one pass at something small or petty. It’d have to be a BIG crime. A one in a million. A D.B. Cooper type heist**(N) Since I don’t get to be known for it, then the crime itself has to be grand and executed with panache. Something that will become a legend in itself. It must be something that feels “victimless” or at least where the victims are so generally reviled anyways that what I would do to them would be seen as justice.

I’m thinking, something that the American public would do a fist pump for.

So, I think, if I could pull it off, I would find a way to siphon off the bank accounts of the chief executives of some of the biggest banks in the country. You know, the guys who were giving themselves multi-million dollar bonuses while the country was drowning in the morass of the foreclosure crises they created. The problem is, it’s not terribly splashy, but it does hit the moral high ground of a well deserved “comeuppance.” I’d have to make large public threats and then carry them out in the most public manner possible. It would require a cadre of conspirators, ‘cause frankly, I have a hard enough time trying to clear a virus off my website. Hacking secure banking databases is way out of my league. Masterminding it, that would be my role.

Then I’d sit back in some foreign country, and every few years watch the latest news piece on who did it and how. — Author James Buchanan

**(N) In 1971, D.B. Cooper (an alias) extorted $200,000 from Northwest Orient Airlines when he hijacked and threatened to blow up one of their planes full of passengers. He then leaped, at night during a storm, from the airborne 727 over the North American wilderness. He wore a suit, dress shoes and had 21 pounds of $20 bills strapped to his torso. A little bit of the cash has been found, but DB’s body and the majority of the money have never been discovered. http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/scams/DB_Cooper/index.html

Purchase Laying Ghosts  AMAZON   ARE   B&N

Boy, does that open up a world of possibility! Revenge…profit…self-gratification…

I thought about swiping a yacht, plundering a museum or sneaking into Fort Knox. And needless to say, I thought about past crimes…like that time I snuck into the college swimming pool in the middle of the night.  Wild times, baby. Wild times…

That’s when it hit me. I’m a goody-two-shoes. I mean…seriously. I’ve never shoplifted, do my best to avoid speeding and when I lie, it literally keeps me awake at night. Now all this doesn’t mean I’m a paragon of virtue, I just have an overactive sense of self-preservation. And I also have a massive guilt complex. When I was a kid, I used to apologize for things I didn’t do…my sister gleefully took advantage of my tendency to confess to things I hadn’t done.

But still, there’s a lot of possibility here, getting away with a crime…any crime. I could steal from criminals or sneak into a lab and free all the research animals. I could actually help people by being bad! But again, for everything you do, there are bound to be repercussions.

So if I could commit a crime…any crime…and get away with it?

I’d probably sneak into the college pool, but this time I’d go skinny-dipping!

Purchase Blacque/Bleu  AMAZON   ARE    B&N

And on behalf of Belinda and ZAM, who ate at Jack Stack in Kansas City this year (BEST! BARBECUE! EVER!) Here’s a link to an easy peasy version of their recipe for barbecue beans via the Food Network:

JACK STACK BBQ BEANS

ENJOY!

 

Sunday Brunch Blog - 11/03/2013