Festival, along the Woonasquatucket River

This past Saturday my son and his best friend (both 12) and I loaded up the wagon and headed southeast to Providence, RI for the city’s 36th annual Pride Festival. I had spent the days leading up to the even assembling bags of book swag to give away at our vendor booth.

I was delighted to have the greatest variety ever for an event like this, with goodies from
Elizabeth Brooks
JM Cartwright
Vincent Diamond
Rachel Haimowitz
DC Juris
Catherine Lundhoff
Belinda McBride
Syd McGinley
VS Morgan
Nora Olsen
Sloan Parker
J. Rocci
Marie Sexton
Andrea Speed
Damon Suede
and Eden Winters
(I hope I didn’t miss anyone!)I was excited to have I also had books more publishers than ever to display and to sell, so I felt like I had Shawn & Lorna from Torquere Press, Radclyffe of Bold Strokes Books, and Cecilia Tan from Circlet Press along for the event. Torquere even came through with a coupon code for RI Pride attendees and all proceeds from book sales going to It Gets Better!

When I started taking books to Pride events in 2008, I spent a lot of time talking up new media and ebooks. In those days, folks seemed to be still reeling from the erosion of GLBT bookstores and publishers and wanted to know where to find books — any books — that told stories along the GLBTQ spectrum.

This time around I found that folks were hip to ebooks and the new small presses. What they wanted to know about was new publishing models and how to find great books online. From a marketing perspective, that’s my takeaway from RI Pride:help your readers find books they’ll love by cutting through the thicket of the giant esellers and steering them toward more boutique etailers. This may be no news to some, of course.

Bear Pride

As always, I have great conversations at Pride, and this year my standout chat was with the charming ginger co-proprietor of Burlyshirts.comwho was not only super sweet (and so solidly in love that I wanted to bring every flighty young thing I’d met earlier in the day over to show them how it’s done) but really encouraging about ways small businesses within the GLBT community can support each other.

Nighttime parade

The parade in the evening is a nighttime affair, illuminated and uplifting. While my twelve-year-olds perched on a trashcan to see better, they got several supportive comments from passersby who thought they were boyfriends (they’re not). I stood beside a friendly stranger, a gay man about my age (no, not telling) and we cheered and wept and pointed out the creative touches on various floats (a pair of steel balls dangling from the trailer hitch of one pickup was my fave). I had to take my glasses off and wipe away tears when a huge and exuberant contingent of Youth Pride passed by. We’ve come so far, though not far enough, you know? I gave a watery smile to my new friend, who totally got it, and a reassuring thumbs-up to my kids, who — blessedly — didn’t.

Youth Pride

I love Pride!

NYC Marching Band — awesome!

Postapocalyptic gift ideas

Now we want to give it away!

We took over the Romance for the Rest of Us blog for a day. Commenters over there for the next week will have a chance to win the absolute necessities above (and more!).

I share a bit about my SERVANT OF THE SEASONS.

Syd McGinley tells us about the world of OUT OF THE WOODS and TWICE CAUGHT.

And CB Conwy let us in on the HIMIKO universe.

All commenters to Syd’s, CB’s, or my posts (linked above) from 1/30/12 (including this one) will be entered in next week’s random draw for the gift basket (one entry per commenter per post). Drawing will take place after 2/6/12 and will include everyone who comments by 11:59 p.m. EST on that date.

Cheers,
Lee xo

Most folks here in Massachusetts have their power back, and most of the snow has melted, but here is what took us by surprise last week:

In the past few weeks, I’ve offered two contests related to my Dragonwalker series. It’s past time to announce winners.

For the Flashback Friday feature on October 14, the winner by random draw, is Elaine G!

Elaine, please give me an email shout at leebenoit at charter dot net and we can discuss which stories you’d like as your prize.

For the ENDI’S CONSENT release day giveaway here, at my LJ and at Torquere’s Social Yahoo, the winner is Kathleen M. Thomas! Kathleen, please email me at leebenoit at charter dot net and let me know where to send your copy of ENDI’S CONSENT.

Thanks, friends, for your patience.

Cheers,
Lee xo

The story is called ENDI’S CONSENT and here’s a blurb:

Halloween night in Endicott is pretty much like Halloween night in other small towns. Except for the flying dogs, of course. Fire Chief Alex Burgess is on hand to help town Dragon Wrangler, Chief’s own sub Endi, host the fire house’s Halloween party and keep local kids safe.

But something’s not right with Chief. Lately, he’s been feeling even more bearish than he looks, and all that omnivorous attention is directed at Endi. Chief wants to take their Dominance and submission to the next level, but first he has to obtain Endi’s consent. What happens when a boy with the heart of a dragon submits to a Top with the soul of a bear?

Read an excerpt and then, maybe, treat yourself by buying Endi’s Consent!

WANT A CHANCE TO WIN A COPY OF ENDI’S CONSENT?

Just for fun, Endi and Chief answered one of those silly BDSM compatibility quizzes. Their answers are posted over at the Torquere Social Yahoo Group and at the bottom of this post. Comment there, here at my blog, or over on my LJ, and I’ll enter you into a drawing to win a free PDF of ENDI’S CONSENT! Random drawing will occur in 48 hours; one entry per commenter.

Endi and Chief are taking turns answering an online kink questionnaire.

Question 1: Dom, sub, switch?

Endi (snickering): Switch

Chief (swatting Endi’ s butt): In your dreams

Question 2: List your kinks.

Endi: Leather, spanking, bondage, oh, man! Motorcycles, older guys. Did I mention spanking?

Chief: Endi

Question 3: How did you discover you were kinky?

Endi: I met Chief. I mean, I’ve known Chief all my life, but I went away to school, learned a bunch of things, came back to Endicott, and saw Chief in a whole new light.

Chief: No comment.

Question 4: Any early experiences that, in retrospect, hint at your kinks?

Endi (cackling): Chief became a firefighter!

Chief: I seem to recall a lot of Endi’s Gram’s makeup going missing.

Endi: That’s not kinky!

Question 6: Describe your weirdest/most interesting sexual fantasy.

Chief: No

Endi: Me and Chief, on the back of a flying dragon dog.

Chief (snorting): There’s no dog in the world big enough!

Question 7: What’s your favorite toy?

Chief: Endi

Question 8: How do you dress for kink/BDSM play

Endi: I like all kinds of dressing up. Have you seen my work uniform? I designed it myself. And you should see Chief decked out for a ride!

Chief: As long as Endi gets naked at some point, the clothes don’t really matter.

Endi (snickering): Ask him how much he spends on motorcycle boots.

Question 9: Can you imagine leading a vanilla life?

Chief: Not without Endi.

Endi: Not without Chief.

Chief (swatting Endi’s butt): Tell the truth, brat.

Endi (submitting to a flurry of spanks): Okay, okay. Never! Not ever, okay?

Chief: That was the last question, right?

[fade out]

Commenters over there will be entered into a random drawing for either their choice of any or all of the Dragonwalker series or a $5 Torquere Press gift Certificate.

See you there!

L xo

Cheers,
Lee xo

You can start here with my review of KIL Kenny’s terrific “How Does Your Garden Grow?” and then work your way back to Kenny’s review of Kathryn Scannell’s “Salvage Operation” or forward to M. Durango’s very kind review of my “Last Dance.”

MY REVIEW of KIL Kenny’s “How Does Your Garden Grow?”

A rough-edged narrator, sparky humor, and a high-stakes take on the theme of “It Gets Better” combine to make KIL Kenny’s short story “How Does Your Garden Grow” a delightful read.

In this engaging ‘hail fellow ill met’ tale, Kaz and a group of friends from a Midwestern Pride organization rent plots in a community garden on a landmark farm. Excited but ill-prepared, Kaz soon finds himself locking horns with the green-thumbed tenant of the adjacent plot.

Devin has been through the wringer, and Kenny shows empathy and restraint when describing Devin’s recent past, injuries, healing, and heart. His prickliness is a highlight of the story, as is Kaz’s gruffly befuddled response to Devin’s attitude toward him. I especially appreciated that the injured Devin wasn’t a saint and that Kaz didn’t handle him with kid gloves. The very real emotions in this story definitely drew me in.

When the community garden is threatened by that age-old bully of farmers everywhere, the weather, Kaz and the Pride group rally to help Devin and the other gardeners protect their investment. It’s in the course of this external struggle that Kaz and especially Devin are finally convinced that with an open heart and a boon companion, things really can get better.

About the author: K.I.L. Kenny has tried her hand at everything from grocery clerk to corporate vice president — not always in the trajectory one might expect — and along the way has developed a stash of exceedingly various (and exceedingly superficial) knowledge wherewith to torment the hapless authors she edits. She indulges her most sadistic side by teaching English composition, and in mellower moods kicks back with salaryman yaoi. Her hairdresser calls her a people person, which just goes to show that “only her hairdresser knows for sure” is a load of bunkum. She lives in New York, but left half of her heart in Baltimore. Find her online at http://katie-kilkenny.livejournal.com/.

Kenny’s story is part of this year’s Charity Sip Blitz from Torquere Press. “How Does Your Garden Grow” and more than 30 other stories were donated by their authors and all proceeds will benefit the It Gets Better Project.

I’ll update here when I have a buy link from our sponsor, Rainbow eBooks, or you can check the Torquere website on Saturday, September 17, 2011 where there will be a special Charity Sips section.

I will always be grateful that Torquere was there for me as a reader back when I was just discovering ebooks, and that they have been there for me as I’ve developed my writing career.

Torquere is eight years old this month, and these folks throw a serious party. Read on for details about how to win a Kindle or one of many themed gift baskets. I’m one of the authors on the Kindle Scavenger Hunt list, so look at the end of this post for a hint…

Also, Syd McGinley, CB Conwy, and I got together to create a gift basket inspired by our most recent releases. The theme is “Surviving the Apocalypse” which is a lot more fun in fiction than in real life!

I pass the mic to the magnificent publishers:
The Eight Ball will help celebrate our eighth anniversary here at Torquere Press! Join us for the celebration!

We’re having a reader scavenger hunt with weekly gift basket prizes and a grand prize (this year, a brand-new 3G Kindle along with a CD of stories from each participating author), plus daily prizes of gift certificates to show our appreciation to you — our readers! Check our blog, ROMANCE FOR THE REST OF US, where we’ll have a number of our authors visiting the whole month. We’ll post excerpts, hang out to chat, and talk about our stories.

In addition to the grand prize of the Kindle, we’re giving away gift baskets every week! Some are silly, some are smutty, and all are fun. The themed ones are: m/m, ménage, BDSM, and lesbian plus our authors have chipped in with extra goodies.

Here’s how to play. Visit our contest page, and start scavenging for the Eight Ball answers. Visit the author pages and find the graphic somewhere on their site. An online form  is set up, and we’ll randomly choose a winner for the Kindle from all of the correct entries. Plus, every day, readers will have the chance to win a Torquere gift certificate and a gift basket.Help us celebrate our eighth anniversary and ask the Eight Ball your question… Like, will I win a prize from Torquere Press?

Thanks, and have fun playing.

OK, I’m grabbing the mic again: My latest release is SERVANT OF THE SEASONS, and if you search for more info about this dystopian fantasy, you will find a clue in the scavenger hunt! Click the cover…go on…one clicky….