DRINKER CLASS X

It is available for preorder! About two weeks until it drops, so you've got that long to snag it for 15% off. ^__^ I'm quite fond of it and it's lovely ridiculousness. It focuses on Laurence Wickes, a newly turned drinker (a.k.a., vampire, but no one calls them that anymore b/c it's soooo outdated), and his psychiatrist, Dr. Ira Ashdown. Laurence was a hunter, in charge of keeping drinkers in line, right up until he was bitten on the job. To keep that job--which he does want--he has to convince his government-mandated psych he's not a danger to society and get the right certification. He expects a stuffy old man and instead gets Ira, who's pretty much the opposite of stuffy old man. Everything seems to be going well for Laurence and Ira, until Ira's (secret, mysterious) past comes back to haunt them...

You can check it out here, complete with excerpt and Megan's (better than mine) summary. :3



----

Audiobooks! LT3 has gotten the first of many audiobooks back from Red Planet Audiobooks. We opted for Megan's Prisoner first, b/c that seemed to be most in demand. ^__^ I did a quality check (a.k.a., listened to the whole thing). It's AWESOME. Seriously, I can't even with how awesome it is. Links will go up on LT3 soon to where you can buy it, but also go visit M's blog for a chance to win a free copy. ^__^

----

What am I doing now? Working on my next serial (it's a Snow White rewrite that I'm already inordinately fond of) and working on my auction peeps' commissions. ^__^ Will hopefully have something to show for those soon. Also, the ongoing website update, which fell to the wayside with Proud to Be a Vampire and travel taking up ALL of my time lately. Both are about wrapped for now, so I'm hoping to really dig in and finish that up.

That's all I got for now. ^__^ Hope ya'll are having a lovely October.

Commissions for a Cause

All right peeps, here is the deal. One of LT3's authors, the fantastic Jaidon Wells (author of Dandy, which is equally fantastic and you should all check it out) is running a fundraiser to gather the money to pay for surgery to keep him walking.

It's an IndieGoGo thing, which if ya'll are unfamiliar, means you give money and pick out prizes. Prizes for the different donation tiers are stories and/or artwork by a handful of peeps, including me (hence the title).

I'll get to what I'm offering in a moment, but here are some more details:

» This post has details on what authors/artists are offering

» This tumblr will keep you apprised of how it's going

» This is the IndieGoGo page (my details are being added soon, so don't fret if you don't see them. You can still donate and claim a prize from me even if I'm unlisted). The cool thing about IndieGoGo is that any donations will be passed on, even if the goal isn't reached.

Okay, as to what I am offering (this is on the details page I linked above):

Commission nets the commissioner one story dedicated to them and based on a prompt from them. Prompts can include characters from an existing ‘verse of mine or something original, but I won’t write something that interferes with (1) sequel or WIP plans or (2) canon for existing stories. Commissioners can offer multiple prompts, in which case I'll try to incorporate as many as possible or pick from the offered prompts. I write all genres and across the LGBTQ spectrum, but do not write dub/non-con, character torture and I do not guarantee any sexually explicit content. Stories will be delivered within a year of the commission drive ending (and probably much sooner, but this is to cover my ass in case I turn out to be extremely popular).

Slots for 10K, 15K and 20K stories are limited to five so I don't go insane. Pricing is as follows:

$10 for 1,000 words
$20 for 2,500 words
$30 for 5,000 words
$45 for 10,000 words
$65 for 15,000 words
$90 for 20,000 words

Misc and sundry

I think I update like, once a month now? It's quite ridiculous. Also ridiculous is the way I start every post talking about how often I post. ;3

In any case, Seattle! In two weeks, Sam, Megan, and I will be flying out to Seattle for Gay Romance Northwest, which looks to be all kinds of awesome and fun (and short! a two-day affair, it's quite refreshing!). If you are attending, say hi! Megan's doing a reading and a panel, Sam is doing a panel, and I'm there for decoration. ;3 Regardless of whether you're attending, you should definitely check out the GRNW goodreads group. It's a public group, so anyone can join, and they've got all sorts of awesome stuff, including author interviews and this secret story thing (wherein a bunch of the GRNW attending authors anonymously wrote stories, posted exclusively in the group). I can neither confirm nor deny that I wrote one (secret), but you should check them out regardless. ^__^

Elsewise, I'm working on writing and editing and web stuff. It's all Big Project stuff right now, so it seems like I'm doing nothing when in reality I'm slowly getting there. The new LT3 Book Market is going to have some pretty neat features, so I'm really excited about that ... but with all the travel and other projects, it's (and the new web design) are probably a few months out still. x__X;;

That's all I got for now. Hope ya'll had a good August, and have a bodacious September.

Dear Author Giveaway

I'm in the middle of NYS with a slow-ass hotel internet connection, but I wanted to do a quick drive-by post to let ya'll know you can throw your name in the hat for a signed copy of any of my paperbacks. Check it out here! It looks like it's open for 1 day 9 hours more, which I think (if I can math) means it closes tomorrow, August 3 at midnight Eastern Time. ^__^

Giveaways, travel, more travel, and Drinker Class X

I am really failing at the "posting more when I have no day job" thing. >_>;; Ah well, in any case, I come bearing news!

First up, I'm participating in Dear Author's August giveaway extravaganza. ^__^ You can see the calendar of giveaways here (it shows the current month, so if we're still in July when you click that link, you'll have to change the month, which I'm only saying because it took me forever to realize that was why it wasn't working for me >__>;;).

Anyway, I am scheduled for a giveaway on August 2, in which I'm giving away a signed paperback from my backlist, international winners included. Megan's post is the following day -- she's giving away copies of Dance, and LT3 has its own giveaway on the 18th, so keep an eye out for that as well. ^__^ I'll try to post a link to it directly when my giveaway is live but...

Travel! I'm dragging Megan up to New York for family stuff. We're visiting my parents for a few days, and then heading over to my sister's (about 4 hours away) for wedding shenanigans. Should be good times, but we'll be on the road and out of touch a lot, so uh, replies and posting of giveaway links may be delayed (at least on my part, I am terrible at remembering things when I'm not in front of a computer).

The More Travel bit comes in with Authors After Dark, which LT3 will be hitting up in a few weeks. Me, Megan, and Sam will all be there. It's our first time at AAD, but should be good times. ^__^ We're renting an SUV to haul all the crap we're bringing, which should be fun. ^__^

In non-travel news, I've spent most of July working on three things (1) HR stuff for LT3 (which you probably don't care about ;3), (2) website stuff for LT3 (still in progress, but definitely getting there on the rehaul!), and (3) writing, mostly on my Proud to be a Vampire story, which is titled Drinker Class X and mostly deals with how I feel government would bureaucratize the hell out of vampires. :3

For the interested, an excerpt...

Remedies and other misc

So as ya'll are probably aware, Beach Remedy and Herbal Remedy are now out and about. If you've had a chance to read, I hope you enjoyed! <333


 


If you haven't had a chance to read, and want to throw your name in the pot for a chance at a free matched set, there are two giveaways going on as part of our haphazard blog tour. You can stop by Babes in Boyland or The Armchair Reader (both awesome sites, by the by, in case you were looking for places to follow ;3). The giveaways there include a copy of Beach and a copy of Herbal, and both giveaways close on Tuesday whenever I remember to go pick a winner (so probably mid-afternoon or early evening Eastern time. :3)

------

Randomly, because I've seen it asked, I am planning to jump feet first into the sequel to Stolen Hearts: Book 2 once I clear off some of the other projects (anthologies!) on my plate. ^__^ Other writing plans include (1) a fairy tale rewrite of Snow White, (2) a follow-up to Living Words, and (3) a vampire story for the vamps anthology (so, so late on that), and stories to catch up on all of LT3's active anthology calls.

If there's anything you're specifically looking for outside of the above, let me know! I'm always curious to see what peeps want to see. ^__^

------

So right now, Sam and Kathrin are visiting, so the house is kind of full and we're running around doing awesome things. So far, Sam and Brandie have gotten new tattoos (Megan and I are slated for Wednesday this week), we've gone to the Battleship North Carolina, hit up a bar downtown called Hell's Kitchen (no relation to the show), seen Man of Steel (my review: meh), and celebrated LT3's full-time situation at The Melting Pot (so, so good).

Not sure what else we'll be getting up to before Sam and K go home on Thursday, but Friday, M and I are driving over to Georgia to hit up the Neil Gaiman signing in Decatur. Should be fun.

Also other boring life shit: (1) monitor and report any further issues with the internet, (2) call M's insurance for busting up her car's bumper on a blown-out 18-wheeler's tire, (3) bridesmaid stuff for my sister's wedding, (4) uhhh, all the LT3 things? IDK. LOTS TO DO. GOING TO GO WORK ON STUFF NOW.

Catch up post!

Okay, so this is going to be a huge ass long ass post, so you are forewarned.

First up! M and I sort of kind of collab'ed a few months back to write a matched set of stories featuring a pair of hedge witch brothers. Beach Remedy and Herbal Remedy are set in the same 'verse as my story Quality Control, in That Famous Happy End anthology and also M's story The Werewolf of Grey Lake Inn in the Bad Moon Rising anthology.

Basically, Quinn is one of the main chars in Quality Control; M stole his brother Astor for Grey Lake Inn. Lee, the MC of Beach Remedy, is Astor's cousin, and he ends up with Jayden, whose brother Jordan is featured in M's Herbal Remedy. :3 Confused yet? :3

You can preorder them for another week and then buy them thereafter. ^__^ Also, I reaaaally like the covers.

 


Second up. I no longer have a day job! I am working LT3 full time, though my mind hasn't quite wrapped around that yet and I keep telling myself I have to go to bed to get up for work in the morning despite not having to get up until I want to. :3

Some of my major projects include setting up HR stuff (401k, health insurance, etc.) for us, doing a complete rehaul of the LT3 website (upgrade software, webhost, other software, look and feel, etc.), and ALL of the writing (anthology story catchup, Stolen Hearts book 2, a snow white fairy tale rewrite, and more). Should be funtimes. ^__^

Oh, and if anyone has anything they'd like on LT3 with the site overhaul, let me know and I will see what I can do. <3



Third up, this is going to be a busy summer/fall season for travelling. o_O;;

June 22 - M and I are gallivanting off to Georgia for a stop on Neil Gaiman's last U.S. signing tour.
July is pretty quiet
August 2-4: My sister is having her bachelorette party and bridal shower, which will necessitate a trip to NY
August 7: Goo Goo Dolls and Matchbox 20 concert in NC
August 15-18: Authors After Dark convention
Sept 14: NW Gay Romance Meetup in Seattle
October 12: Sister's wedding in NY

Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia

Transphobia and homophobia are major issues IRL, but I rarely, if ever, include them in my stories. My portrayals of homosexuality in the context of my fictional societies are idealized, I won't front. (I can't speak to trans* characters because I haven't written any(1), but I can tell you that I'd probably do something similar.)

I've heard it said more than once that excluding transphobia or homophobia from fiction isn't realistic, even in fantasy (which is my first and true love; coffee, I'm sorry, you're taking a backseat) and other non-contemporary genres.

I think that's horseshit. (I'd say pardon my language, but fuck that noise. ;3) To say that a world cannot be realistic unless there's some segment of society that rails against LGBTQ persons in vicious and often violent ways is absolute horseshit. I write my worlds without transphobia and homophobia because I believe that's something to aspire to, that's something societies can be capable of, be they fantasy or contemporary.

When I was younger, I was teased a lot (not viciously, but normal kid stuff). I was shy and introverted, and my escape was my books. I loved seeing new worlds where silly things like weight and clothing and that sort of thing didn't matter. It's important to have books that deal with transphobia and homophobia, but I feel it's equally important to have books that show places and times where it's not an issue.

Books that normalize LGBTQ characters, that show them as primarily a king, primarily a mage, primarily an accountant, and oh yeah, they're trans*/lesbian /bi/etc. are, to me, just as important as those that deal with the wrongs of society. That's what LT3 is aiming for, and that's why I write what I write.

(1) Footnote! I'd love to write a trans character, but quite frankly, I don't have the guts. I'm entirely and thoroughly cis-gender and I'm not sure I could do a trans* character justice. Maybe one day I'll have the courage and ability to make it work. In the meantime, I'm going to search harder to find and support the awesome work that's already out there.

 

Definitely go and check out the rest of the Hop posts; they're sure to be poignant and much better written than my little, non-scholarly thing. ^__^

Okay, so, giveaway. I'm offering up (1) a $50 donation in your name to The Point Foundation, an LGBTQ scholarship foundation that provides financial support to at-risk gay and lesbian students and (2) an ebook from my backlist, in the format of your choosing, anthologies included.

Winner will be picked at the conclusion of the hop using random.org. If you're reading this on my LJ, please hop over to my website to post a comment, as I'll only be picking from the website comments. To enter, please include your email address and what your absolute favorite LGBTQ story is. (You can leave multiple comments, FYI, on the off chance you forget something, but I'll only count you once. ^__^)

Third Party Vendors (An Informational Post)

I was told there'd be no math! :3 (Stealing that line shamelessly from LT3's CFO. ;3) Before I get started on this topic, I'm meaning this to be informational. A lot of peeps know third-party vendors take a cut, and I'm putting solid numbers out there for those who are curious about the exactitudes of that cut. ^__^

Okay, so LT3 supplies our books to eight or so third-party vendors. Third-party vendors get us more exposure and make people more inclined to buy our books while they're doing their other shopping (typically for books from other publishers). Sort of like the way WalMart and other stores picked up the super center model with groceries, general merch, and pharmacy and the like.

A rundown of LT3's third party vendors:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
iTunes
Kobo
AllRomance Ebooks
Rainbow Ebooks
Bookstrand

(We also do Smashwords, but their system is extra special complicated so for simplicity I'm skipping that one.)

Let's start with Amazon. If the book is priced between $2.99 and $9.99, they'll give you 70% of the list price. If it's less or more, you get 35%. But wait! Amazon distributes to a bunch of different countries (think Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.com.br, etc.) If you don't exclusively distribute with Amazon (the KDP Select program), you can only get 35% of the price in India, Japan, and Brazil. There's no 70% option there.

Barnes & Noble has a similar tier setting. If your book is between $2.99 and $9.99, they'll give you 65% of the list price. Anything else, you get 40%. No ifs, ands, buts here, just two simple tiers.

iTunes is simple and complicated. They give us 70% for all books, regardless of price. However! You have to match their price tiers. This is pretty easy for USD prices, as their price tiers pretty evenly match ours (everything must end in .99), but gets trickier when you start to do conversions to Euros, GBP, etc. >_<

Kobo also does tiered percentages. If you're between $1.99 and $12.99, you get 70%. Everything else gets 45%.

AllRomance and Rainbow Ebooks both take a solid 40%, giving us 60%, and Bookstrand splits it 50-50.

So what does this mean? Well, LT3 gives our authors 40% of the price from books sold through LT3, and 35% of the gross we get from third party sales. Here's what that looks like (math!):



(Apologies for the size of that image, but no way was I coding that table by hand. x__X;;)

There you have it. ^__^ If you've got any questions, drop 'em, though I may have to ping Sam to answer any tough ones.

Writing shenanigans!

The lovely Kay Berrisford interviewed me on her blog (ETA: here! I fail at all the linking today, yikes)! Kay's good peeps, writes awesome and sexy fantasy stories, and you should check her out if you have not yet. (Prisoner of the Mountain Watch is her new short freebie, if you want to dip your toes in before jumping into the deep end with one of her novels. :3 Link is to ARe, but it's available most retailers for free.)

... distracted. Uh, but if you're inclined, stop by and check out the interview, and toss your name in the hat for the giveaway (backlist book or serial time!). 

Also, M and I totally collab'ed in a mutual 'verse sort of way to bring you the following short stories, due out in June. They're all vampires and witches and shenanigans, oh my. :3 Will be up with official blurbs at some point tonight, but I'm impatient and posting them now (even though I'm in charge of posting them to LT3, yes, I know, but logic and I never get along).