I've been putting books back on Kindle Unlimited for fun. Seems that Amazon may have improved its fraud problem, so I've thrown Max, Kestrel's Talon, and Caged back into the program to see.
Click on the covers for the buy links :)
I'm honoured that Kestrel's Talon made it all the way to runner up in this year's 2016 Rainbow Awards under the category of Best Gay Erotic Romance & Erotica! How cool is that? Hoorah! (read the review here)
It makes me really happy to have written it and shared it. I can't wait to get to the sequel in the new year.
Thank you to Elisa Reviews and to everyone who volunteered their time and money! There was over $14 000 donated to LGBT charities.
Winners:
Runners Up:
We have a special guest visiting today to help celebrate our 5 Year Blogiversary. Author Bey Deckard couldn’t join us, but Max–have you met Max yet? Trust me, you’d remember if you had–has offered to take Bey’s place. And, there’s also a giveaway involved, so be sure to check out the details below.
Welcome, Max…
Check out Max's post here and enter to win an audiobook copy of the book!
An experienced team of UK-based bloggers and authors of M/M Romance
has arranged an Author Signing event for this genre.
Wouldn’t you like to be there?!
Authors – Places are limited, so book your place SOON.
Readers and bloggers –
We’d love to see you all there, buy your ticket and mark it in your diary!
Originally, I was going to publish Max later on in October, but the planets aligned and everything was ready quickly, so I sent it live early… and promptly got really fucking sick. cough sneeze
The stress of finishing a book (hey, it’s stressful) on top of all the stress I’ve been under concerning the pit bull ban in Montréal means I got hit harder than I normally would. Thankfully, I am on the mend. (Also, for those who haven’t heard yet, a judge from the Superior Court of Québec, at the SPCA’s behest, suspended the pit bull ban until the actual court hearing is held [which could be in a few months]. HOWEVER, the fucking mayor is now vowing to appeal. shakes head)
Anyhoo.
SO! Max quietly went live and I have to say that I’m really happy with how it turned out. It’s the first book I wrote that really covers some of my own stomping ground (The Complications of T was also set partially in Montréal but they never really went out heh) and that was incredibly fun. Almost all the locations are based on real ones, and I tried to convey a sense of Montréal-ness in the use of language and names of things throughout the book: French/English coexistence, crime syndicates, marchés, the metro, the fireworks over the water…
Hey, I love my city… :)
Is it a dark book? Some say yes, some no. It’s certainly twisted and covers dark themes overall. Don’t expect anything resembling a healthy relationship in it. Mostly it’s suspense… or a thriller. I think it’s a rollicking fun psycho romp. I had a good time throwing in references, both subtle and blatant, to my favourite movies and I put together a soundtrack that has some songs that I loved dancing to back in my goth club days.
I see angels, Mickey. They're comin' down for us from heaven. And I see you ridin' a big red horse, and you're driving them horses, whippin' 'em, and the're spitting and frothing all 'long the mouth, and the're coming right at us. And I see the future, and there's no death, 'cause you and I, we're angels...
Early seemed harmless. Primitive, but harmless. Of course the fact of the matter was he had killed his landlord less than an hour before we met him. He was even wearing the guy's ring. Who knows what he did with the finger?
I've no plans to call on you, Clarice. The world is more interesting with you in it.
Order from:
And there'll be a paperback available probably sooner.
Novella (49,000 words)
Genre(s): transgressive, psychopath, dark erotica, QUILTBAG
Fresh out of school, Dr. Crane takes on a new patient who both intrigues and unnerves him. Charming, manipulative, and amoral, Max has exactly the sort of mind Crane finds himself drawn to with fictional characters.
As Max weaves himself into Crane's life, Crane realizes that while fiction might be safe, Max certainly is not.
When the professional line between them thins, who gets to define where one man ends and the other begins?
Ok, so I did the thing. I couldn't see any reason why not to, especially that it frees me up to work on my other book... *coughdaddykinkcough*
See below for a chance to win a copy of The God of Jazz: Fugue, Concord
I had the extreme pleasure of reading your upcoming book, The God of Jazz: Fugue, Concord and I was curious to know what prompted you to write it. I remember you were working on something else entirely and you switched tack and were suddenly halfway through writing this book. What triggered that?
Hey Bey, thanks for having me over! Hi, Bey's readers! Waves hola.
Well, I've been working on the sequel to Trasmundo for about a year, and to be honest, it’s the most difficult book I've ever written. I keep thinking it's done, or almost done, but I know deep down it's not quite right yet. The Trasmundo series is also a deeply dark, painful story, in some ways—it's a really beautiful love story, but it also deals with civil war, ethnic cleansing, and exile—and being immersed in that world non-stop, month after month was taking a pretty heavy emotional toll on me (more so that I even realized, while I was in the thick of it).
Then back in May I was visiting my best friend for a week. This woman and I have been best buds since we were ten years old, and luckily she moved to Europe just a couple months after I did, so we still get together all the time. And inevitably, when I go stay with her, I get mentally roused and kind of fired up creatively because she's an incredibly clever, stimulating person, and also we just have our bestie dynamic—you know, joking around together, playing off each other's weird sense of humor and slightly warped brains. And out of that euphoric reprieve from my writing slump, I decided I wanted to write a FUN story. Sexy and sweet and playful. And I wanted to set it in Barcelona, since I've been living here for a couple years now and I'm madly in love with the city.
One of your two main protagonists goes through a period of adjustment when he first arrives in Barcelona. Were his observations inspired by your own experiences?
Absolutely. Certain things are so striking about European cities, if you're used to living on the west coast in the U.S. where I spent my whole life before moving abroad. Centuries of history are on display in the architecture. Once you get off the main boulevards and highways, you get into these mazes of incredibly narrow streets that were laid out when the biggest vehicle was a horse-drawn cart laden with commercial goods (I seriously don't know how truck drivers do it, here!).
And then there are the cultural differences, like how much more generationally-diverse public life is. In the U.S., it seemed like almost everything is so segregated by age. Here, extended families are much more integrated, and older people aren't so hidden away. Life is also lived much more publicly—in the plazas, in the back streets among the apartment buildings. It can get a bit boisterous at times, but it also feels more like a community. And then, of course, there's the casual disregard for swimming apparel at the local beaches. I'd heard all about women running around topless, but I wasn't expecting the full monty when I went for my first dip in the sea. But you won't hear me complain.
Jazz music features prominently in the story, and I remember feeling like I was right there in the club. Is jazz popular in Barcelona? and, is the setting inspired by a real place?
Yeah, jazz is pretty popular. There are quite a few dedicated jazz clubs, and then there are performances going on all the time in different bars and cafés, as well as plenty of little pop-up events in the plazas, at the beach, etcetera in the warmer months. All the venues I mention in the novel are real places that I frequent.
What was the most satisfying part about writing The God of Jazz?
It's funny, like I was saying, I set out to write something fun, almost fluffy. I was more focused on escaping the mental and emotional labor of my other work-in-progress than a story or idea that needed to be told. But as soon as I started, really from the very first page, the story felt so real and true to me. It surprised me how quickly and deeply I got invested in Godard, in the professional frustration he goes through, and then the heartbreak that leaves him wounded and adrift at the start of the novel. Pretty quickly I realized that instead of a fluffy little romp, The God of Jazz had turned into something deeply meaningful to me, personally. And not just for the love story. Actually, the parts that hit me the hardest were the ones dealing with Godard connecting with a new family of friends—finding the people who come together to take care of each other in moments of crisis, and who gather together to celebrate each other's joys and successes.
And finally... what five words would you use to describe the book?
Eesh, that's a tough one! Ummm...
Playful. Sexy. Sunny. Wet. Sultry.
Thanks so much for the chat, Bey and friends. Good luck to everyone on the giveaway!
Yes, those are definitely five good words to describe this book. Thanks Varian, always a pleasure.
Folks, I loved this book and I want you all to read it... and Varian's offering an ebook to one lucky person! All you have to do is comment below with either your favourite jazz song OR your favourite beach destination. :)
I'll pick a random winner at 10am EDT Monday, Sept. 26th - Good luck!
The 2016 Queer Sci Fi Flash Fiction anthology, "Flight", is here, and I have a story in it! It's a really cool concept:
A 300-word story should be easy, right? Many of our entrants say it’s the hardest thing they’ve ever written.
Queer Sci Fi's Annual Flash Fiction Contest challenges authors to write a complete LGBTQ speculative fiction micro-story on a specific theme. "Flight" leaves much for the authors to interpret—winged creatures, flight and space vehicles, or fleeing from dire circumstances.
Some astonishing stories were submitted—from horrific, bloodcurdling pieces to sweet, contemplative ones—and all LGBTQ speculative fiction. The stories in this anthology include AI’s and angels, winged lions and wayward aliens. Smart, snappy slice of life pieces written for entertainment or for social commentary. Join us for brief and often surprising trips into 110 speculative fiction authors’ minds.
The book us available in eBook form (4.99), and will soon be available in paperback with b/w illustrations inside (12.99) and in a special collector's edition with color illustrations (24.99).
Buy Links
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Wondering which retailer pays me the most?
#1 is Payhip. Not a retailer, but an online shop that I've set up myself. This is where I make the most return on my books.
Then after that it gets a little complicated, but these are the three best choices:
At Eden Books*, I make 70% royalties for all titles.
At Smashwords, I make 60% royalties for all titles.
At Amazon, for books OVER $2.99 (USD) I make 70% royalties and for books UNDER $2.99 I make 35%
So... if the book is under $2.99, buy from Eden Books or Smashwords.
If the books is over $2.99, buy from Eden Books or Amazon.
But best of all, buy from my Payhip store :)
Questions? Contact Me!
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