{"id":16037,"date":"2026-06-29T16:02:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T20:02:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/?p=16037"},"modified":"2026-06-29T16:02:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T20:02:16","slug":"helloooo-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/helloooo-summer\/","title":{"rendered":"Helloooo Summer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wow... it has been too long\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Where did I go?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First, there was heart surgery in early 2025 to fix a faulty mitral valve (and the subsequent recovery); then the utter glut of AI slop* that has taken over both the literary and artistic communities really screwed things up for me, business-and-mood-wise\u2026 and then there was the pancreatitis that landed me in the hospital yet again at the end of 2025 where I stayed for the better part of three months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Folks, that\u2019s two New Year\u2019s Eves in a row that I spent in a hospital bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>cue sad music<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But that\u2019s over now. I\u2019m healthier than I\u2019ve been for probably my entire adult life. Work is picking up. Writing is progressing. The sun is shining. My mood is fantastic. I see good things coming in the next few months. \ud83d\ude4c\ud83c\udffc<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">*this author is staunchly anti-GenAI!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>New: Smashwords (and PayHip) Summer Sale!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Starting July 1st at <a href=\"https:\/\/geni.us\/BeySW\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Smashwords<\/a>, you\u2019ll find <a href=\"https:\/\/geni.us\/BeySW\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">all my books<\/a> for <strong>50% off<\/strong> (making some of them free, I believe) Contemporary, sci-fi, fantasy, dark erotica, and a little bit of \ud83e\ude78 relation shenanigans\u2026 If you have been waiting to try a title of mine, isn\u2019t a sale the best time to do that? \ud83d\ude0f<br>ALSO if you\u2019d like to buy books directly from me, visit my <a href=\"https:\/\/geni.us\/BeyPH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">PayHip<\/a> store where I\u2019ve put everything on sale for <strong>50% off<\/strong>, starting TODAY, June 29th.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"48\" data-attachment-id=\"16040\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/helloooo-summer\/penisline\/#main\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/penisline.png?fit=1200%2C56&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1200,56\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"penisline\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/penisline.png?fit=1024%2C48&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/penisline.png?resize=1024%2C48&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16040\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/penisline.png?resize=1024%2C48&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/penisline.png?resize=300%2C14&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/penisline.png?resize=768%2C36&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/penisline.png?w=1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And if you like <strong>wholesome<\/strong> (*wink*) family fun (*snicker*), why not check out Knut Bonerman\u2019s work at <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/geni.us\/KnutSW\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Smashwords<\/a> or <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/geni.us\/KnutPH\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">PayHip<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(Knut\u2019s stuff is also on sale for all of July, but the PayHip sale starts today!)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wow&#8230; it has been too long\u2026 Where did I go? First, there was heart surgery in early 2025 to fix a faulty mitral valve (and the subsequent recovery); then the utter glut of AI slop* that has taken over both the literary and artistic communities really screwed things up for me, business-and-mood-wise\u2026 and then there was the pancreatitis that landed me in the hospital yet again at the end of 2025 where I stayed for the better part of three months. Folks, that\u2019s two New Year\u2019s Eves in a row that I spent in a hospital bed. cue sad music &#8230; <\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more-container\"><a title=\"Helloooo Summer\" class=\"read-more button\" href=\"https:\/\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/helloooo-summer\/#more-16037\" aria-label=\"Read more about Helloooo Summer\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16041,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5,200,823],"tags":[499,144,325,1057,48,116,296,1091,156,143,367],"class_list":["post-16037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-my-life","category-promo-2","category-sale","tag-50-off","tag-ds","tag-dark-erotica","tag-dark-romance","tag-erotica","tag-fantasy","tag-gay","tag-gay-erotica","tag-sale","tag-sci-fi","tag-taboo"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_0375-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1920&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4sexs-4aF","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15994,"url":"https:\/\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/%f0%9f%96%a4-dark-valentine-sale-%f0%9f%96%a4\/","url_meta":{"origin":16037,"position":0},"title":"\ud83d\udda4 Dark Valentine Sale \ud83d\udda4","author":"Bey","date":"February 13, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"From Feb 13-17, you can get my darker titles for 50%* off at Smashwords or through my web store using this coupon code at checkout: ZJPCF What's on sale? Max (SW | PH)Max, the Sequel (SW | PH)Toxic AF (SW | PH)Better the Devil You Know* (PH) *Unfortunately, Better the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Better the Devil You Know&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Better the Devil You Know","link":"https:\/\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/category\/book-updates\/better-the-devil-you-know\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/cuffs.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/cuffs.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/cuffs.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/cuffs.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/cuffs.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5058,"url":"https:\/\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/max-the-sequel-coming-feb-14-2023\/","url_meta":{"origin":16037,"position":1},"title":"Max, the Sequel &#8211; Coming Feb 14, 2023","author":"Bey","date":"February 3, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Novel (60,000 words)Tags\/CW: Consent ambiguity, toxic relationship, abuse (including mention of child abuse), cheating, lies, substance abuse, amputation, blood, bi-awakening, unreliable narrator, crime, age gap, doctor\/patient, dubcon\/rape, murder, mindfuck, dark erotica Buy Links - Preorder available now Amazon (kindle & KU) Add it to GoodreadsListen to the SoundtrackRead blog\/instagram reviews\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Book Updates&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Book Updates","link":"https:\/\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/category\/book-updates\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Max-the-Sequel-Kindle.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Max-the-Sequel-Kindle.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Max-the-Sequel-Kindle.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Max-the-Sequel-Kindle.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Max-the-Sequel-Kindle.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Max-the-Sequel-Kindle.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2362,"url":"https:\/\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/2016-rainbow-awards-kestrels-talon\/","url_meta":{"origin":16037,"position":2},"title":"2016 Rainbow Awards:  Kestrel&#8217;s Talon","author":"Bey","date":"December 9, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"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.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Announcements&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Announcements","link":"https:\/\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/category\/announcements\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Runner-UpLG-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2351,"url":"https:\/\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/cyber-monday-at-all-romance-ebooks-all-my-titles-50-off\/","url_meta":{"origin":16037,"position":3},"title":"Cyber Monday at All Romance eBooks &#8211; All my titles 50% off*","author":"Bey","date":"November 28, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"All my titles are 50% off for Cyber Monday!* If you've been waiting to purchase a non-mobi copy of Kestrel's Talon or Max, this is a great time. They'll both be going exclusive to Amazon for the next 90 days (and in KU) starting tomorrow :) *readers get store credit","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Better the Devil You Know&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Better the Devil You Know","link":"https:\/\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/category\/book-updates\/better-the-devil-you-know\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"unnamed1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/unnamed1-300x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4067,"url":"https:\/\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/max-free-this-weekend-feb-13-14-at-amazon\/","url_meta":{"origin":16037,"position":4},"title":"Max &#8211; FREE this weekend (Feb 13\/14) at Amazon","author":"Bey","date":"February 13, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Get it here this weekend for free -> http:\/\/geni.us\/MaxZon","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Max&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Max","link":"https:\/\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/category\/book-updates\/max-book-updates\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Max-Kindle.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Max-Kindle.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Max-Kindle.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Max-Kindle.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Max-Kindle.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Max-Kindle.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1372,"url":"https:\/\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/happy-birthday-sacrificed-50-off-sale\/","url_meta":{"origin":16037,"position":5},"title":"Happy Birthday, Sacrificed &#8211; 50% off sale","author":"Bey","date":"October 15, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Sacrificed: Heart Beyond the Spires is one year old today! To celebrate, I'm putting the Baal's Heart trilogy on 50% sale for the rest of the month at Smashwords. https:\/\/www.smashwords.com\/books\/byseries\/12012Just enter the following coupons at checkout:Caged: Love and Treachery on the High Seas: CZ46V Sacrificed: Heart Beyond the Spires: BN46V\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Announcements&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Announcements","link":"https:\/\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/category\/announcements\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/teaser-promo9.png?fit=650%2C336&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/teaser-promo9.png?fit=650%2C336&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/teaser-promo9.png?fit=650%2C336&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16037"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16037\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16042,"href":"https:\/\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16037\/revisions\/16042"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beydeckard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}