For the second stop on my blog tour, I’m over at Mama Kitty Reviews talking about why I wrote Moral Authority, my latest release from Wilde City Press. It’s amazing what can inspire you to create an entire new world, and that’s just what I did. If you’re interested, click here to be whooshed away to Mama Kitty’s site. Don’t forget to leave a comment. Those who do are automatically entered to win a free copy of Moral Authority. I hope to see you there.

Today is release day for Moral Authority, and I’m kicking off my blog tour over at 

It was great to be back with Jay and all her pals. I talk about what makes Moral Authority gay mainstream fiction instead of a gay romance. I also set the scene for the dystopian America that I have created in the novel. If you’d like to stop by, please click here. Also, if you leave a comment, you’ll be entered to win a free copy.

I hope to see you there!

Round 2 of the “Choose My Inspiration” Contest was just awesome. Once you guys put one of these studs in the lead, he stays there. Here is the winner from Round 2:

Round 2 Winner: Stud #7

Stud # 7 advances to the FINAL ROUND in a few weeks along with our Round 1 winner–Stud #5.

Round 1 Winner: Stud #5

Now, it’s time for Round 3!

In case you’re just joining the contest, click here for the rules and the winner selection process that will take place during the FINAL ROUND.

Last week, I discussed that the new series I’m working on, the one which you readers will be choosing my inspiration, will be a set of three novellas. Today, I want to let you know that like the Provincetown Series I’m currently working on, this new series will also be a destination series. But where will that be? Well, you’ll just have to keep coming back to find out! I’m such a tease, aren’t I?

But enough of that. I know you’re chomping at the bit to see the latest studs in my stable, right? Well, here are the five new hotties who want you to vote for them. The theme for this week is COWBOYS! Who’s ready to ride?

Don’t forget to click on the pic to see bigger…images. Additionally, please remember that in order for your vote to count, you must click on the radio button corresponding to your hunk below the images and then click on the vote button. Only votes cast in this manner will count toward choosing my inspiration.

Mark Bryan

Hi, everyone. My name’s Mark Bryan. Have you noticed how seriously fu–, um, fouled up our country is right now? Yikes! I almost messed up on that one. We’ve all gotta watch our language, you know? I don’t know about you, but I’m not looking to violate the moral code of purity with profanity. Who needs a moral violation right now? I sure don’t! I’ve got enough on my plate with trying to finish grad school and working. I don’t need the moral foot patrol complicating my day. I just want to be left alone. That’s why I do my best to fly under the Moral Authority’s radar and be the perfect little citizen Uncle Sam is always telling us to be. Speaking of Uncle Sam, what’s with all these new moral awareness posters going up everywhere? It’s getting to where you can’t even walk down the street without Uncle Sam’s beady eyes following you. If I have to stare down that bony, accusatory finger of his one more time, I don’t know what I’d do. Maybe join those “domestic terrorists” in the Human Rights Campaign. Yeah, right. Like that’ll ever happen. I’m no one special, but I hope to be someday. I want to make a difference. Change this country. But attacking it like the HRC isn’t going to get me anywhere but killed. I have to be smarter than that. We all do. If we want to stay alive. And I don’t know about you, but that’s exactly what I intend to do.

Isaac Montoya

Hello. I’m Isaac Montoya. Lots of people these days are saying that America might be in trouble. That our golden moral age is being threatened by the HRC and their terrorist attacks against moral law. What do I think? I think change is coming. It’s an eventuality. Speaking like this could get me arrested for breaking the moral code of loyalty, but it’s time for different voices to be heard. Not just the voice the government thinks they give us. At the same time, though, we have to be careful. Being too brash leads to a stay in moral prison. Or worse. Like those containment camps I’ve been hearing about. I definitely don’t want to wind up there! That’s why it’s important to work within the system. Or at least appear that way. That’s all that really matters in America now anyway. As long as you appear to follow the rules, you’re left alone. And when I’m left alone to my own devices, well, lots of things can be accomplished.

Samuel Pleasant

I bid each and every one of you a good day. I am Samuel Pleasant, the Supreme High Chancellor of the Moral Authority, the august branch of government responsible with the moral direction of our great country and its citizens. I’ve heard many rumblings in recent weeks, if not months, about this Human Rights Campaign. They attack moral law, so they claim, to bring true freedom back to America. To silence the voice of moral law that they feel is a faceless, oppressive tyrant. That couldn’t be further from the truth. I, and the other High Chancellors, stand before you, unmasked. You know us. And our families. Like any other public official, we have nothing to hide. The HRC does. They operate in the shadows. Using fear and chaos as weapons. Against truth and morality, their tactics will not work. I know many Americans fear that change is coming. But do not fear the change. I ask you to embrace it. For change is coming. It’s just not what the Human Rights Campaign thinks it will be.

Follow Mark, Isaac, and Samuel into the pages of Moral Authority on sale May 22, 2013 from Wilde City Press.

When I first started as an author, I had a naive view of the industry. I expected the long hours in front of the computer, slaving away at the keyboard, and I was ready. I had my comfy chair in the living room set, my trusty laptop ready to go, and plenty of snacks (often cookies, sometimes chips. Okay, perhaps even a Snickers bar or three) to give me sustenance when I needed it.

I was a man with a

Or so I thought.

What was that plan again?

It turns out I really had no plan at all. Oh, sure I had tons of stories to tell and endless characters just ready to be set loose in those worlds, but that wasn’t a plan. That was my product.

Yep, that’s me. The Homer Simpson of the author world

I had no direction for my career.

That’s when I had to ask myself the big question:

Just what was my writing goal?

That might seem like a silly question for an author to ask him/herself, but it isn’t really. How can we know if we’ve accomplished something if we’ve never set a goal to be met?

I think many writers tend to look in the here-and-now and not in the future. I know that’s what I did. I had my head buried in my computer and in the stories I wanted to tell that I wasn’t cultivating my career in the way that I should have. After all, I was an author not a business person. Writing was my craft. I didn’t need to focus on anything else.

But I was

Just like any other profession, I had to take stock of where I was and where I wanted to be. After all, the only way to get where you want to go is by charting a path.

So, just what was my writing goal? Well, I want to be a full-time author. No big surprise. Writing is what I enjoy doing the most.

What I had just done for myself though was give myself a goal, an end product to be reached. Now that I had that goal in mind, I could now plot a course to get there. I couldn’t just magically arrive at a self-sustaining writing career. There’s no genie in a magic lamp for that!

Sorry Barbara Eden, I’ve got to do this one myself

I had to lay the ground work to get there. That involved more than just writing books, lessons I learned by talking to other authors and attending the Dreamspinner Conference in Chicago, where I attended a very enlightening session led by fellow (and prolific) author Andrew Grey.

Apparently, writing books was only a fraction of what I had to do. If I wanted to play in the big leagues, I had to bring my big league game.

Setting Goals and Meeting Them

But didn’t I already do that when I said I wanted to be a full-time author? Yes, but that was my end goal. What I had to do now was figure out how I was going to get there.

Just what is that puzzle piece?

In order to be a self-sustaining author, I realized I needed to write more books than I was currently publishing. I had to take stock of my full time job and family commitments and come up with a plan for the year that would help get me there.

So I have planned to write 240,000 words before the next Dreamspinner conference in 2014. That translates into roughly four books. Whether that’s a lot or not doesn’t matter. The goal fits in my life, which is important, but more importantly it moves me forward on my ultimate goal to being a self-supporting author. Additionally, the goal gives me motivation to meet it and perhaps even surpass it.

If I can write four books, great! But what if I end up writing 300,000 and produce five books. Then, I’ve exceeded my goal and gotten myself even closer to my end goal.

Now that’s a win!

So, now I strive to write 1,000 words a day, and I force myself to keep track of my progress. When I exceed my daily goal, I reward myself with a cookie, or chips, or a Snickers bar. If I don’t meet it, I drown my sorrows with a cookie, or chips, or a Snickers bar. But the important thing beyond the rewards or punishments is that I’m holding myself accountable.

That is a great place to start.

Round One of the “Choose My Inspiration” contest started with a blast. Though the competition was tough, here is the winner from Round 1!

Round 1 Winner: Stud #5

Stud # 5 captured the hearts and, um, inspirations of the majority of the voters. Although Stud #2 got close, our Stud #5 never once lost the lead.  He will now proceed to the final round in a few weeks.

Now, it is time for Round 2.

For those of you unfamiliar with the rules for this contest, click here. You’ll learn all you need to know about the process and how a winner will be chosen.

Also, as most of you know from last week, readers are choosing the inspiration for one of the main characters of an upcoming series currently being developed. While I’m still not ready to divulge too much information about the new series, I will tell you this. This new set of three books will be novellas.

Okay, enough of my rambling. Let’s get to the brand new set of five studs vying for your votes this week. Don’t forget to click on the pic to see bigger…images. Additionally, please remember that in order for your vote to count, you must click on the radio button corresponding to your hunk below the images and then click on the vote button. Only votes cast in this manner will count toward choosing my inspiration.

From the Washington Post, March 5, 2050

The Fourth Branch of US Government, the Moral Authority, Turns 35 Next Month

Sarah Palin after her 2008 presidential election win

Washington D.C., March 4 (AP)—Plans are being finalized in our nation’s capitol as the country prepares to celebrate the anniversary of the newest branch of American government, the Moral Authority. Thirty-five years ago next month, the 44^th President of the United States, Sarah Palin, made history for more than being the first woman to occupy the Oval Office. Former President Palin, and the constitutional amendment she helped push through Congress, added a moral branch to the executive, legislative, and judicial branches that helped found our nation.

Though a very vocal minority publicly opposed the creation of a moral branch of US government, the Moral Authority has been heralded a success by a majority of American citizens today.

“The Moral Authority is the best thing that happened to this nation,” says Ruth Monroe, 86, who plans on attending the celebrations that begin on April 6. “Before the Moral Authority, you couldn’t even watch television without seeing something scandalous or inappropriate. I don’t have to worry about what my grandchildren are watching anymore.”

In fact, thanks to the Moral Authority, media violence and pornography have ceased to be issues of contention between concerned citizens and First Amendment advocates. The American Moral Code of Conduct has made such hotly debated issues moot.

“I respect what the Moral Authority has been able to accomplish in such a relatively short span of time,” says President John Ellis Bush, Jr. “Due to their pioneering efforts in moral law, some of the most terrible offenses in human society, such as murder, rape, and assault are virtually nonexistent.”

The Moral Authority’s success, however, extends beyond its effect on violent crime. With strict adherence to the moral code of care, the Moral Authority, through a series of lifestyle legislation, has freed the country from unhealthy lifestyle choices, such as obesity, smoking, alcoholism, and homosexuality. As a result, there has been a sharp decline in diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer. Additionally, with the abolishment of homosexuality coupled with the AIDS cure discovered in the last decade, STD’s have been virtually eliminated as a social disease.

Recent HRC attack on NYC Moral Police Department

It is because of all these successes that the country is excited about the month long celebration. However, there are those in the nation who feel differently. The Human Rights Campaign, who have been dubbed as domestic terrorists by most media outlets and government officials, vehemently oppose the Moral Authority. Recently, the HRC has been linked to several smoke bombings of moral police departments as well as a rash of breakouts from moral prisons around the nation.

Supreme High Chancellor of the Moral Authority, Samuel Pleasant, plans to address the nation next month as part of the festivities but also in part to answer the recent concerns being raised about the HRC. Speculation abounds that as part of his speech S.H.C. Pleasant plans to unveil further legislation aimed specifically with dealing with the HRC. However, when asked, S.H.C. Pleasant had this to say: “Although I am not able to provide specifics at this moment, American citizens should rest assured that the Moral Authority has this situation well under control.”

Follow the rest of the headlines on May 22 in

I thought it would be fun to start a regular series of posts about things that I love. This would not only give me a forum to share those things in life I truly enjoy, but also give my readers some further insight into the man behind the computer screen and the novels. It’s my way of trying to bridge the gap between us since most of us only see each other once a year at GRL or other conferences.

So, today, for the premiere post of the “Why I Love…” series, I will be talking about Provincetown, Massachusetts.

Where is Provincetown?

Provincetown is at the tip of Cape Cod, which is the arm like appendage that juts out from the state and into the Atlantic Ocean.

See? Looks like a flexed arm, doesn’t it?

It is also the actual site of the Pilgrim’s first landing. It wasn’t Plymouth like many people believe. The Pilgrims, after charting a rather interesting path all around the Cape (which often makes me wonder if someone was steering under the influence), landed in Provincetown but didn’t stay. The soil was not suitable for crops, so they got back on the boat, turned the wheel back over to Captain Drunky McDrunkerson, and then they headed to Plymouth.

Look at the path they took! Someone was D-R-U-N-K!

What’s so great about Provincetown? The Pilgrims Didn’t Want it!

While the Pilgrims may not have found Provincetown sutiable for their needs, there are many reasons why it is one of the best places on this planet. It’s because of the:

• People
• Commercial Street
• Beaches
• And Parties

The People

The people who reside in Provincetown are perhaps some of the best people I’ve ever met. And it’s not just the year-round residents, who are called Townies, but it’s also the people who visit there every year.

You see, P-town, as those who know her well call her, is a place that knows no stranger. She welcomes you with open arms upon arrival. You truly feel accepted by the men and women who live and visit the tip of the Cape. These people are friends just waiting to be made, and my husband and I have made many life long friends upon her sandy shores. We have been returning to P-town every year for the past seven years, and we were even married there in 2010. Each year, we not only meet up with friends who have become like family, but we also meet new people who join that ever-growing number of friends.

Commercial Street

Commercial Street is always a bevy of activity. There are shops, art galleries, clothing stores, and restaurants. You can spend an entire day just walking up and down this one street, peeking into every store. You can purchase a new wardrobe, a new centerpiece for your table, or a great meal. And at all of these places, you are guaranteed to make at least one friend at each stop. The waiter and shop owners typically remember you and will stop and say hi the next time you run into each other. And, on Commercial Street, you will run into the same people for your entire visit. It makes you feel less like a visitor and more like a Townie.

A view of Commercial Street

The Beaches

Herring Cove and Race Point are spectacular. Herring Cove has a gentle surf, where you might even spot whales from the beach. Beautiful, rolling dunes surround the beach, and if you walk far enough, you can even find a quiet spot just for you and your loved one. It can be quite romantic.

Families typically gather at Race Point, where the waves are just right for surfing. There’s even a lighthouse, which makes it a great place to sun and picnic on a warm New England day.

The Parties

The biggest and best party is called Tea Dance or just “tea.” They do not serve tea here, well, you could get a Long Island Ice Tea, but if you ask for a cup of tea and some cake, people will look at you as if you are strange.

It’s called tea dance because of the time the dance occurs. It takes place during what is traditionally tea time in England, between the hours of 4-7 p.m. So, there are no tea kettles or finger sandwiches. You will, however, find the pool deck jam packed with half-dressed, hot guys who are all drinking, dancing, and thoroughly enjoying the heck out of each other. Mobs of people usually crowd the Boatslip, where tea is held, and though it can get crowded, it’s rarely that type of crowd that you want to avoid.

Tea Dance at the Boatslip

You won’t really find obnoxious people at tea. Sure, there’s some drunk person who might get sick or pass out in one of the bathroom stalls. Yuck, I know. But beyond that, it’s all about dancing and socializing. When tea is done, there’s usually the After Tea dance. And after After Tea, there are the clubs. Some people, like my husband, demand food at some point, so usually after a light dinner, there’s a power nap before it’s club time!

There are so many parties and so many clubs to choose from: the underwear party at Club Purgatory, the Red Party at A-House, the Vault at Large at the Crown and Anchor, or any number other of events occurring at any of the other spots. Here, you don’t run out of things to do. You run out of time to do them all.

So as you can see, Provincetown is not only a place where you make friends, but it’s a place where you can be yourself and enjoy yourself.

Who doesn’t love that?

Okay, so here’s what I’m thinking. My Provincetown Series for Dreamspinner is plotted and planned out. Well, for the most part. The first book When Love Takes Over comes out August/September, and a novella spinoff of the P-town series Chasing the Sun comes out October/November of this year. The last two books of the series will be out at the beginning of 2014. So like I said the P-town series is pretty much locked and loaded.

But it’s time to plan my new series, which I won’t go into too much detail about. Just yet. However, while I was looking for inspiration for my new MCs, I had an idea.

Why not let the readers be a part of the process? That’s when I came up with the idea for this contest.

The Process

Every week during the month of May, I will do a post where I share pictures of five hot guys who have, um, sparked inspiration for me. All of you will be given the chance to vote for your favorite picture. The voting will stay open for one week.

I will tally up the votes and announce the winner of the previous poll when I open up the following week’s poll, which will contain, you guessed it, five more sinsperational pictures.

During the first week of June, I will then do a post with the four lucky winners from the previous weeks. That’s when the bloodbath shall begin. Readers will vote for the guy they think should be my muse for my next book, and the picture with the most votes will win!

How much fun will that be?

But that’s not all. With every contest, there must be a winner! That winner will be determined during the FINAL ROUND.

The Winner

During the final round, while the final four hotties are battling it out for your votes, all you need to do to enter is leave a comment on the FINAL ROUND post. From those commenters, a winner will be chosen, and that winner will get to name one of the main characters of the new series.

Not only do you lovely readers get to help choose my inspiration, but one of you will get the chance to name a character and see that name used in a book.

So, without further ado, let round one begin! (Click on the thumbnails to see each man in all his glory)

Many of you know that I teach college English, and this week is finals week. Cue the fanfare and confetti because in just a few short days, I will be on summer vacation and pounding my computer keyboard as if it were hot, sweaty man flesh. It will definitely be time to

But as I sit here today, I can’t help but think of an important final exam that occurred a couple of years ago.

While my students were taking their final and I was updating Facebook (because that’s what I do while they are taking their two-and-a-half-hour final!) I started thinking, and as Gaston says in Beauty and the Beast, that’s

Lost of things were happening in our country at that time. I was extremely worried about the direction we were headed. I’m not going to get all political on you, so don’t worry. But I started thinking: what would happen if the “moral majority” took power and got everything they wanted?

So, I started a little writing exercise. You see, I hadn’t written in years. I had abandoned writing for my career in higher education and to focus on my family.

But at that moment inspiration struck.

Inspiration strikes me with rainbow stars

I had to do something with it or I was going to explode right there in front of my students. So while they worked on analyzing poetry, I imagined a nation where morality became prescribed. Because basically, that’s what I felt some people wanted. They wanted everyone to share their values and their beliefs whether they did or not.

Who decides which one is which?

I then drafted The Moral Amendments of the Constitution of the United States of America.

In that document, I created a fourth branch of government, one that was responsible for overseeing the moral character of its citizens. That fourth branch of government became known as the Moral Authority.

Once that new branch of government had been created, I made the Moral Authority get to work.

A year after the amendment that created them, the Moral Authority helped pass another constitutional amendment known as The Definition of Marriage, which stated: a marriage between one man and one woman was the only legal domestic relationship that would be valid in the country.

Naturally, that started a political firestorm in the America of my imagining. States that had previously allowed gay marriage were forced to abide by the law of the land. This created such a backlash among the gay community. The country was then forced to deal with angry Americans rioting against the new law. Therefore, a new amendment was passed two years later, where homosexuality was abolished. Being gay was now a criminal offense just like drinking alcohol had once been during Prohibition.

What? No more rainbows too?

This created an uproar in my future America. Citizens started to revolt, claiming that the Moral Authority was overstepping its boundaries, so the Moral Authority enacted another amendment two years after abolishing homosexuality to quell the rising tide of unpopularity that threatened to remove their power. They established a Moral Code for all citizens. Everyone was expected to do as the government dictated by following prescribed standards of care, fairness, loyalty, respect, and purity in their relationships with others and within their daily lives. A new moral law force was created to uphold moral code, and a new armed forces division was created to serve as a moral army. They were dubbed the K3, and their purpose was to deal with domestic moral terrorists, who sought anarchy through breaking moral law.

The fist of moral order

Needless to say, I was exhausted after creating this new America, and my students still hadn’t finished their exam. Now, however, I needed to do something with that new America. I couldn’t just let it sit there. I needed to populate it to show what could happen if individual rights were continually stripped away by government interference.

And during that final, approximately three years ago, I once again reclaimed my passion for writing, which turned into my novel Moral Authority.

So as I prepare for finals this year, I think back on that momentous day in my life. I have come a long way since I started scribbling out a dystopian America. I now have two published books under my belt and three more set to be published this year, one of those is the second edition of Moral Authority.

I can’t wait to see what I come up with next during these final exams. Stay tuned!