BABBLING ABOUT BOOKS, AND MORE!

Four Self Published Kindle Books Reviews (Free and .99 cents)

2012-01-28T12:27:00.000-05:00

When I bought new phone this past winter, I decided to buy an iPhone because of the great deal at the time. I also found out the wonders of free apps and one of these free apps was the Kindle app. I downloaded the Kindle app and a whole new world opened for me in regards to the massive amount of books I could download. I’ve gone a little crazy, downloading close to 25 books in the past 2 weeks. I think I have an addiction to downloading free Kindle books! Most of the books I’ve downloaded have been free or priced at.99 cents. This is how I read Susan Ee’s amazing post-apocalyptic fallen angel YA book, Angelfall that’s quite a steal for .99 cents. It’s one of the best self-published books I’ve ever read and if it was double the price I would have still bought it. I urge you to buy Angelfall because it’s so good. Kmont from Lurve Ala Mode and I will soon post our discussion review about Angelfall. We both loved it and can’t wait for the next book in what will be a five book series.

I check out the top 100 free books offered on Amazon almost every day. The genres I search the most are romance, erotic, horror and children’s books (which also has young adult books). I end up downloading the free ones the most, which the majority is self-published. I’ll also buy some .99 cent ones. I admit, I’m cheap when it comes to the books I buy. I refuse to buy an ebook that’s $9.99 and won’t go higher than $5.99 unless the book has amazing reviews not only on Amazon but on Goodreads. This enables me to find new authors, as well as familiar ones that have published their backlist at an affordable price.

I’ve decided to post about some of the books I’ve downloaded and give mini reviews because like I said before I’m always on the lookout for something new and different. Out of the 25 Kindle books I have downloaded, 90% of them were DNFs or made me roll my eyes in disgust because if it wasn’t the writing I had issues with, it was the overall story.

Scary Mary by S.A. Hunter was a free young adult book about Mary who can see and hear ghosts. Mary’s a loner who lives with her fortune teller grandmother and wears all black, broods and is bullied. No one at her school likes her except for her quirky friend, Rachel. There’s a new boy, Cy, who seems to like Mary for no reason that’s explained and soon the popular cheerleader, Vicky tries to catch Cy’s attention. But Cy wants to be friends with Mary and one night he invites her over to his house (his parents are conveniently MIA throughout the entire story) and through the Ouija board they contact an evil spirit who used to live in the Cy’s house and ended up killing his wife. Cy assumes Mary is playing a cruel trick on him and turns his back on her. Now Mary has to exorcise the evil spirit before it can harm Cy.

Scary Mary has a horrible cover and the overall tone isn’t scary at all. This was a weakly written book, relying on too may lame tropes we’ve seen before in past young adult novels. Mary was annoying and the way Cy went from hot to cold with her didn’t make any sense. The whole story fell very flat even with the evil spirit plot. Mary’s off putting personality because of how she was treated by her classmates didn’t endear me to her at all and I want to smack her when all was said and done. Overall. Scary Mary was a lacking, one dimensional reading experience.

Final Grade: C

Gossamer Gate by Wendy Callahan was also free and is more of a “new adult” read with the heroine in her early 20’s. This is straight up Labyrinth fan fiction and even with the adult language, adult situations and the sexual promiscuity of the heroine, Khiara, who’s juggling four different men at once, I DNFed this half way through because of the blatant fan fiction style. Even when Khiara enters the Otherworld fae realm and the prince, Ronan stalks her and his brother, Liam comes along to help her, including her human best friend and her crush, Sean tries to save her, there’s barely any real action to keep this story moving along. Gossamer Gate isn’t magical or spectacular and again because it’s blatant Labyrinth fan fiction trying to be original fiction, I cannot recommend this or the $2.99 price it’s now being sold as.

Final Grade: DNF

I’ve never read a transgender romance before and Marlene Sexton has one available for free called High School Reunion. Jerry isn’t happy about attending his high school reunion because his wife left him for another man and he feels he’s a loser. But then he meets Denise and they connect, so much so they go back to her place. Jerry thinks he’s going to get lucky and is amazed this beautiful woman wants him. But then Denise tells him he used to be Dennis and has been living as a woman. But Jerry is attracted to Denise and gives into his passions even though Denise still has all his working parts as a man.

High School Reunion was a hot erotic story and Marlene can write great sex scenes, but with this one you have to suspend your disbelief because Jerry isn’t attracted to men (he’s definitely straight) and because he thinks at first Denise is a woman, he’s attracted to her. But then he’s all for having sex with Denise even though Denise is fully male. I had some difficulty getting passed this, including how both men say, “I love you” right after they had sex with one another. Even with my issues, High School Reunion is well written and a great sexy short and something different.

Final Grade: B

His Indecent Proposal by Lynda Chance is .99 cents. It’s a short, Harlequin Presents type romance where the hero is this uber-alpha male who wants his way and won’t take no for an answer. The set up is somewhat ridiculous where David needs to marry quickly so he can keep control of company he’s already running. He finds the wife he needs in the accounting department where Jenna works. Jenna is barely making ends meet because she has $100,000 in college loans to pay off, but she makes everyone believe she never went to college because she needed the job and is overqualified. If Jenna agrees to marry him, he’ll give her $100,000, which will solve her money issues. Jenna thinks they’ll only be married for a short time, but then David gets a taste of Jenny’s luscious body and he decides divorce is no longer an option.

His Indecent Proposal could have been so much better if it was longer. It’s only 21,000 words, and even though the chemistry between David and Jenna is great and the love scenes excellent (even with the annoying head jumping back and forth between the two main characters) things come to a close too quickly and everything is resolved in a very unrealistic manner. I felt unsatisfied because the ending is so sudden and swift.

Final Grade: C+

Would you like me to review more of the self-published Kindle books read? Is this something that would interest you? If so, I plan on reviewing 3-4 of them each week if I can, and hopefully find some treasures to recommend, as well as some duds to stay away from even if they’re free or for the low price of .99 cents.

Latest WTFckery: Book Bloggers Must Sign Contact to Review

2012-01-27T14:05:00.001-05:00

I'm really starting to think 2012 may just be the year the world does end based on the drama (llama) in the first month of the year alone from the opinions of some authors and their stance on how book reviews should be written. Now a publisher is sending out a contract to book review bloggers they must sign in order to receive and review a book. Insane Hussein has all the information in her post titled, O RLY: A “Contract” for Book Reviews?

I would love to know who at the publishing house's bright idea this was and if the author was aware about this agreement and thought it was a good idea:

Publishers, book bloggers are not here to serve you. We appreciate you think of us and offer us an author's book, and in some cases many books that makes us think of our birthdays when we come home and find over 20 packages or more waiting to be opened. But just because you send us a $8 paperback or a $25 hardcover + shipping and handling doesn't mean we are beholden to you. The book blogger does not work for you or the author. The book blogger reviews or promotes the author and their work because they have enjoyed what they have read by the author. They do it for the love and don't expect anything in return.

If the day ever comes where I'll have to sign a contract to review a book, that's when I turn my back on the publishers. I rather spend my own money on a book and review it with the freedom to discuss the good and bad in an unbiased way because I want to and not because I'm trying to impress a publisher or/an author for some reason.

Just because a book blogger gets free books from a publisher and/or an author doesn't mean the book blogger should bend over backward to please the publisher or author. Why does it seem over the course of the last year or so, publishers and/or authors are expecting more from book bloggers? Oh, I think I know why! Because book bloggers don't charge for the FREE promotion they give an author and their publisher that normally would costs if not hundreds, but thousands of dollars if they look elsewhere for promo.

Also, a blog isn't meant to get freebies such as books and a blogger shouldn't think that or start a blog for that reason. When I started my blog here over three years ago, I didn't do it because I wanted to get free books. I wanted to create a platform, a way to interact with others. And since I love books and reading, that was the perfect way for me to do just that. Yes, it was nice to have a publisher or an author send me a book, and I'll be the first to admit it boosted my ego. But obsessing over reading and writing a review for a book in a timely manner and making the publisher and/or author happy is to much of a hassle for me.

I work for myself and I blog for myself. I'd like to think most book bloggers feel the same.

Maybe book review bloggers should come together and create their own Publishing/Author Reviewing Agreement we can send out when approached for a review?

Guest Author Post: Marlene Sexton and the Possibilities of Lesbian Fiction

2012-01-27T07:14:00.000-05:00

Continuing the appreciation for Lesbian fiction...

I’ve always loved lesbian erotica. My mom remarried when I was in my teens and my uncle gave her and my step dad a couple of porn magazines as a joke. Of course, I was curious and I hunted the house high and low looking for them. I finally found them and in one of them, the May 1981 copy of Penthouse, had a beautiful lesbian pictorial. Two Victorian women having a picnic, their husbands oblivious to their needs. The lounged around nude, read poetry to each other and made love.

I was hooked! In the years after that, I discovered Lipstick Video on VHS with such titles as “Girls and Their Toys” and Three Beauties and a Maid”. I routinely rented videos from that production company. Real women having real sex! Fantastic! I was officially a connoisseur of lesbian erotica. I read, watched and looked at everything I could find that had anything to do with lesbians. I even wrote lesbian erotica of my own, though not very well done back in those days.

I’ve often wondered what it is about lesbians that is so fascinating. I’m still not sure what it is exactly. One thing I’m sure of is that the idea of two women making love has wide appeal. As the saying goes, there are two types of people. Those that like seeing two girls having sex and those that lie about it. It’s just hot and the fact so many people find it arousing leads me to believe it’s natural.

Nature, God, whatever, intended for women to have sex with other women. And why not? Women are amazing creatures. Why wouldn’t they find each other attractive? Still, there is more to it than that. Lesbians themselves are fascinating, and when I say lesbian I mean that in the loosest sense. I guess I mean women in general, for in lesbian erotica even straight women are fodder for us writers.

Tthat’s why lesbian erotica has so much potential. The wide spectrum of possibilities. Not only do you have just about any kink or fetish available to any erotica writer, you have the wide variety of women themselves. Straight women being seduced, bi-curious women trying lesbian sex for the first time, bisexual women having a good time and true lesbians falling in love. Add in some kink, toys, strap-ons, a sexy t-girl here and there and God knows what else and the possibilities are nearly endless.

Beyond that, lesbians can range anywhere from soft and sweet to raunchy and kinky and everything in between. Is there anything sweeter than a lesbian romance? Is there anything hotter than two girls getting nasty in bed? I don’t think so. Combine the two and wow! Still one thing trumps all that for me. Lesbians are in many ways still the forbidden fruit.

Even today, lesbians are a taboo subject. Look and see how they are treated on TV and in movies. Just the hint of lesbian sex is enough to get the masses into a tizzy, like a teenage boy catching a forbidden glimpse of thigh or cleavage. Even those movies that have a full on girl/girl sex scene never go too far. They rarely explore the wilder possibilities.

Lesbian erotica can, however! We don’t have to satisfy the expectation of the masses or satisfy some censor. We are free to show whatever side of lesbian love we choose. Whether it’s something as mundane as a lonely housewife turning to a female friend or something as bizarre as, well, use your imagination, we can write it. The possibilities are endless and I think that as this new ebook medium hits its stride, we’ll get to read about lesbian sex few of us have even thought of. I can’t wait!

Bio:
Marlene Sexton is just a normal gal with a dirty, dirty mind. She loves writing about her fantasies and has been doing it for years. Now, she's decided to go professional and publish her stories. Marlene enjoys stories about married couples, lesbians, female domination, BDSM and transsexuals. Marlene is currently working hard on more stories.

You can find Marlene's books at:

Amazon Kindle Store
All Romance eBooks
Barnes & Noble
Apple iBooks
Smashwords

Her latest, High School Reunion (a short transgender romance) is available now at Amazon.

Synopsis: Jerry's life hadn't turned out like he thought it would. His wife left him for another man and took everything in the divorce. Now his friend, Rob, was making him go to his high school reunion. Jerry didn't want to go and face his classmates. But as he sat alone getting drunk, a woman approached and sat next to him.

Denise was a classmate but Jerry couldn't remember her. They hit it off and decided to go somewhere alone and talk. One thing leads to another and Jerry finds himself at Denise's house and she make a confession. He doesn't remember her because she was a he in high school. Jerry can hardly believe it, but after the year he's had, he isn't going to let a beautiful woman like Denise slip through his fingers just because she's got something special between her legs. But as the night progresses, Jerry finds out what a woman like Denise can do to please a man and he loved every minute of it!

Guest Author Post: Introducing Historical Romance Author Genevieve Graham

2012-01-26T07:10:00.001-05:00

Me? A Historical Romance Author? Huh.

I imagine if I were to toss out the name “Diana Gabaldon”, I might see a crowd of readers leaning forward, wanting to see what I was going on about. What if I threw in the title, “Outlander”? Ah, there you are! Hi!

I’m not here to direct readers to Diana’s books (as if she needs any help!), but without her I most likely wouldn’t be here, in the literal sense. After years of barely having time to read more than two words (I was a disorganized mom of two young, energetic daughters), my mom introduced me to Outlander. I’ve read each book four times, and listened to the audio series just as many times. I love the love story, sticky with delicious emotions and believable scenarios despite the fantasy of it all, but most of all I love the gritty adventure. Her characters are human and real, scarred, weak, angry, sneaky … never stereotypical. Ms Gabaldon is gifted at using historical facts effectively. Sadly, her in-depth research means we wait at least three years between installments.

So, lonely without Jamie Fraser, I wrote my own book, filling the pages with adventures, journeys, battles, tragedies, and more. Not much kissing, but lots of longing and all that. Long story short, after five years of writing/editing/querying, Berkley Sensation, a division of Penguin US, picked up my first novel, offering a contract as long as I agreed to write a companion novel. “Sound of the Heart”, another adventure from the 18th century Highlands of Scotland, will be out May 1, 2012.

I was a published author! Of … Historical Romance?

I hadn’t considered my book to be “romance”, because my experience with reading romance had mostly included “regency” or “chicklit”. I enjoy them both, but mine is neither. I wanted to dig into 18th century life but not focus on the well-to-do. I wanted to write a story that involved more than just two people in love. I stuck my heroine in the middle of nowhere, with nothing. I dropped my hero in to a doomed battlefield. Then I said, “Find each other. Good luck,” and left them to it. Not very romantic, was it?

Then again, as I’ve tried to explain to my daughters, “romance” isn’t just about love affairs. Thesaurus.com likens romance to: “adventure, flight of fancy”, which sounds right. I’d just never thought of this story as a romance. I’m proud that “Under the Same Sky” evolved into what I would call a Historical Adventure while still enthralling romance readers.

When Berkley took me on board, they introduced me to some incredible Historical Romance authors, including Kaki Warner and Joanna Bourne. No quiet, frilly, kissy-face books, those. I became pretty darn excited about being called a Romance author. When I attended my first RWA conference last June, Ms Gabaldon declared she wasn’t a Romance author. Regardless, there she stood, surrounded by thousands of romance readers who adore her work. So I’m proud to be a Historical Romance author.

Do you have a favourite kind of romance? Do you like them soft and mushy? Silly? Erotic? Or are you like me, a fan of wild, historical adventure?

Available now from Berkley Trade

Synopsis: The year is 1746. A young woman from South Carolina and a Scottish Highlander share an intimacy and devotion beyond their understanding. They have had visions of each other their entire lives. And yet they have never met.

Now, with their lives torn asunder, Maggie Johnson and Andrew MacDonnell's quest to find each other is guided only by their dreams—and by the belief in the true love they share.

On the Carolina frontier Maggie Johnson’s family struggles to survive. Maggie’s gift of “the sight” and her visions show her a presence she calls Wolf. She watches him grow from a boy her age to a man even as she goes from child to woman.

Andrew MacDonald has always wondered about the girl he sees in his dreams. He is able to talk to her through their thoughts and vows that even if he must cross an ocean he will find her. They are thrust into different situations: Andrew fights for the doomed Jacobite cause and Maggie is captured by slavers, then rescued and brought into a kind, loving Native American tribe. They each believe in destiny and the power of the love they have shared forever.

Book Spotlight: The L World by Taryn Rose

2012-01-25T14:07:00.000-05:00

Say hello to debut author, Taryn Rose, who is now writing a new lesbian romance series for Ravenous Romance! The book is called the, L World and is now available for $4.99 (click here to purchase).

The first book deals with a recently divorced lawyer on the hunt for some excitement. She gets it in the form of a sexy gay stylist who is one of fice lesbian friends who hang out at the L WORLD bar.

Synopsis: Blake Sanders, a partner at a top Manhattan law firm and newly minted divorcee, is shocked to find herself lusting after her sexy female hairstylist. But when her trendy tufts are not at all what she imagined, Blake's fiery temper takes over and she stiffs the hottie who fashioned them.

After her new look causes a splash at work, Blake has a change of heart and returns to the salon with a generous tip for Janie, the sexy stylist, only to find her cozying up with another woman on her way out. Intrigued, she follows the pair downtown to a Greenwich Village bar called "L World".

When Blake discovers that her fantasy girl is an out and proud gay chick, her attraction to Janie becomes very real. She pursues her, setting in motion a torrid affair that turns both women's lives upside down, and leaving a trail of damage behind!

Click here for excerpt

You can find Taryn on twitter: @TarynRose1

Murder, Mayhem and Mama by Christie Craig

2012-01-25T07:22:00.000-05:00

I've always been a fan of Christie Craig's books and her latest, Murder, Mayhem and Mama looks like another fun one! Christie has decided to self-publish this one...

Now available at Barnes and Noble for $4.99 (click here to purchase)

Coming to Amazon on February 10th.

Synopsis: BEING A MAMA IS HARD. BUT THE JOB’S EVEN TOUGHER WHEN YOU’RE DEAD…

Cali McKay’s mama isn’t ready to pass over to the “other side” yet. Her unlucky-in-love daughter needs her now more than ever. Before Mama can chain-smoke her way to heaven, she’s gotta make sure Cali’s ex deadbeat boyfriend doesn’t get her daughter killed.

GRIEF SUCKS. LOVE HEALS…

Cali lost her mom to cancer. Detective Brit Lowell, lost his partner to murder. Now he’s in the mood to take down some dirtbags and Cali’s ex just happens to be a dirtbag leaving a trail of dead bodies behind him. Can Brit trust this beautiful woman to help take down her ex? Can Cali look past this sexy cop’s hard exterior to trust him with her heart? Can life get any crazier when Mama starts meddling from the grave? Only one thing is for sure–none of it will matter, unless they catch a killer before the killer catches them.

Thirteen things you’ll learn from reading Murder, Mayhem and Mama:

1) Grief sucks. Love heals.
2) Believe it or not, sometimes mama does know best. Even when she’s dead.
3) Painting your toenails is equivalent to a happy pill.
4) Sometimes there’s a hell of lot more to our dreams than we think.
5) When a tough guy resorts to sniffing a girl’s sweater that she left behind, he might as well give up the bachelor pad, he’s on the road to falling in love.
6) A guy who offers you a shoulder during a meltdown and doesn’t try to cop a feel, just may be a keeper.
7) When a guy says all he wants to do is sleep with you, he might not be talking sex, you might just be his answer to insomnia. Then again, he’ll probably want sex when he’s had some sleep.
8) When all else fells, try saying the magic words: please and thank you. It’s a manner thing.
9) Be leery of opening your boyfriends medicine cabinet, it’s not just what you might find, but what might fall out and bounce right into the toilet. Explaining how his 36 pack of condoms got wet could be embarrassing.
10) While being a better bitch isn’t something we should aspire to, learning to stand up for oneself is definitely goal worthy.
11) Sharing food off each other’s plate could lead to sharing a toothbrush. And after that, all bets, and possibly the clothes, are coming off.
12) Bad habits die hard. Then again, the sergeant general doesn’t say anything about smoking after you’re dead. Just ask Mama.
13) Take a man’s favorite leather jacket, and he might offer you his heart to get it back.

Murder, Mayhem and Mama book trailer:

KB Pimpin' Future New Releases

2012-01-24T10:08:00.000-05:00

Future book releases to keep on your radar...

Some waxed, man chesty here. Miss Hillary Schools a Scoundrel by Samantha Grace (Sourcebooks, February 1st).

Synopsis: Love 'em and leave 'em Lord Andrew Forest receives a dose of his own medicine when jaded heiress Lana Hillary beds him then disappears without so much as a by-your-leave.

Tossed aside like an old hat by the only woman to capture his heart, Drew is determined to intercept Lana before she reaches London and convince her to marry him. He'll teach the little vixen a thing or two about how to love a man.

Tooth and Nail by Jennifer Safrey (Night Shade Books, February 7th).

Synopsis: Gemma Fae Cross, a tough-girl amateur boxer whose fiance is running for congress, has just made a startling discovery about herself. She is half faerie - and not just any faerie, but a tooth faerie! A hybrid of fae and human, Gemma is destined to defend the Olde Way and protect the fae - who are incapable of committing violence - from threats to their peaceful and idyllic way of life, which must be maintained by distilling innocence collected from children''s baby teeth. But when a threat to the fae mission emerges, Gemma is called upon to protect her heritage, and become a legendary fae warrior... even if it means sacrificing everything she knows about being human!

Bewitching (Kendra Chronicles) by Alex Flinn (HarperTeen, February 14th).

Synopsis: Kendra Hilferty, the witch who curses Kyle Kingsbury in Beastly, tells about her immortal existence-how she discovered she was a witch and the various ways she has used her powers to help people throughout the centuries. (Unfortunately her attempts have often backfired.) As it turns out, Kendra has actually had a hand in "Hansel and Gretel," "The Princess and the Pea," and "The Little Mermaid"-but these are not the fairy tales you think you know! Kendra's reminiscences are wrapped around a real-time version of "Cinderella," except the "ugly" stepsister is the good guy. With dark twists, hilarious turns, and unexpected endings, Bewitching is a contemporary read for fairy-tale lovers, fantasy fans, and anyone looking for more Alex Flinn.

Victorian paranormal. The Seduction of Phaeton Black (Paranormal Investigator #1) by Jillian Stone (Brava, March 27th).

Synopsis: In the gaslit streets of Victorian London, phantoms rule the night, demons dance till dawn, and one supernatural detective dares to be seduced by the greatest power of all. . .

A master of deduction, seduction and other midnight maneuvers, Phaeton Black is Scotland Yard's secret weapon against things that go bump in the night. His prodigious gifts as a paranormal investigator are as legendary as his skills as a lover, his weakness for wicked women as notorious as his affection for absinthe. But when he's asked to hunt down a fanged femme fatale who drains her victims of blood, he walks right into the arms of the most dangerous woman he's ever known. . .

Pressing a knife to his throat--and demanding he make love to her--Miss America Jones uses Phaeton as a willing shield against the gang of pirates chasing her. As deadly as she is, with a derringer tucked in her garter, Miss Jones is not the vampiric killer he's been staking out--but she may be just what Phaeton needs to crack the case. As the daughter of a Cajun witch, she possesses uncanny powers. As a fearless fighter, she can handle anything from Egyptian mummies to Jack the Ripper. But when an ancient evil is unleashed on the world, she could be his only salvation. . .or ultimate sacrifice.

Hot BDSM loving? The Principal's Office by Jasmine Haynes (Berkley, April 3rd).

Synopsis: Desire is in session.

Rachel Delaney, divorced mother with two boys, isn't complaining. Her life is fine. Really. There is one thing that could make it better, though: a strong, warm, male body to help her make it through the occasional lonely night. No strings, and no relationship, thanks. Just a little fun with a perfect stranger. And there's no more perfect a stranger than Rand.

He's tall, blond, unattached, smokin' hot, and looking for the same thing Rachel is: wild, abandoned sex with no limits, no last names, and no complications-until Rachel's eldest son gets in trouble in class.

Only then does Rachel discover that her down-and-dirty, dangerously sexy mystery lover is also the new school principal. They're not exactly the ideal role models for a troubled student acting out his own frustrations. With Rachel's life turned upside down, Rand's the only one who can make it right-by maybe taking their hot-bodied hook-ups into a warm-hearted new direction...

Beguiling the Beauty (Fitzhugh Trilogy #1) by Sherry Thomas (Berkley, May 1st).

Synopsis: When the Duke of Lexington meets the mysterious Baroness von Seidlitz-Hardenberg aboard a transatlantic ocean liner, he is fascinated. She is exactly what he has been searching for—a beautiful woman who interests and entices him. He falls hard and fast—and soon proposes marriage.

And then she disappears without a trace…

For in reality, the “baroness” is Venetia Easterbrook—a proper young widow who had her own vengeful reasons for instigating an affair with the duke. But the plan has backfired. Venetia has fallen in love with the man she despised—and there’s no telling what might happen when she is finally unmasked.

Teen male protagonist in a world of dark, nasty vampires sounds like something different. The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda (St. Martin's, May 8th).

Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Gene struggles to survive in a society where humans have been eaten to near extinction by the general population. When Gene is chosen to participate in the government-sponsored hunt for the remaining humans, he must learn the art of the hunt but also elude his fellow hunters whose suspicions about his true human nature are growing.

Awesome cover! I want the dress. The Girl in the Clockwork Collar (Steampunk Chronicles #2) by Kady Cross (Harlequin, May 22nd).

Synopsis: In New York City, 1897, life has never been more thrilling - or dangerous.

Sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne and her "straynge band of mysfits" have journeyed from London to America to rescue their friend Jasper, hauled off by bounty hunters. But Jasper is in the clutches of a devious former friend demanding a trade-the dangerous device Jasper stole from him...for the life of the girl Jasper loves.

One false move from Jasper and the strange clockwork collar around Mei's neck tightens. And tightens.

Darkness Before Dawn by J.A. London (HarperTeen, May 29th).

Synopsis: This electrifying new trilogy blends the best of paranormal and dystopian storytelling in a world where the war is over. And the vampires won.

Humans huddle in their walled cities, supplying blood in exchange for safety. But not even that is guaranteed. Dawn has lost her entire family and now reluctantly serves as the delegate to Lord Valentine, the most powerful vampire for miles. It isn’t until she meets Victor, Valentine’s son, that she realizes not all vampires are monsters....

Looks like an emotional read. Keep Holding On by Susane Colasanti (Viking, June 14th).

Synopsis: Between Noelle’s difficult home life and the bullying she endures at school, all she wants is to get out of her small town. Noelle would give anything to be with Julian Porter. But staying with her emotionally distant boyfriend is safer. When things heat up between Noelle and Julian, she has to decide whether she can be her true self with him.

Instead of Bad Author Drama Llama, How About Some Giraffe Tongue?

2012-01-23T15:08:00.007-05:00

And the drama llama keeps on coming!

This latest is in regards to the "F" review Jane (Litte not LittLe as some think) gave Koko Brown's, self-published book, Player's Ultimatum. Click here to read.

The comments have gone off the rails due to some supporters of Kiko's, like Sandy who believes:

"Rule number 1 of any Reviewer’s code is to NOT attack punctuation and grammar. Do you know how many “Best Seller” books I have read that contain grammatical errors? Sure, my OCD mind jumps all over it, but I refrain from the personal attacks. Maybe you missed the “Personal & Professional Ethics” memo."

As a reviewer, I missed this memo.

And then Koko decided to post a blog in response to Jane's review of Player's Ultimatum called, Dear Author: A Bad Review or Retaliation.

Koko states in her post (a few excerpts):

"Dear Author ~~never~~ rarely reviews Interracial/Multicultural romances..."

"Of course being the outspoken person that I am, I made sure ~~the snitch coward~~ fellow author in the confidential Yahoo! Group knew that I didn’t appreciate them trying to throw me under the bus for their gain especially to a review site, who I’ve always looked at as the Perez Hilton of the publishing industry and straight out bullies.

I guess ~~the snitch coward~~ fellow author didn’t take it too kindly that I called them on the carpet. And I’m sure Jane didn’t like being called a bully. Who knows, but it sure does make you wonder if her review of Player’s Ultimatum was really just a review of a book “she stumbled upon” or simply retaliation.

Personally, I hope this is the beginning of a brand new era at ~~Perez Hilton~~ Dear Author where they review more multicultural/interracial romances because little do they know we do have an audience."

And what does a giraffe tongue have to do with any of this? The hero's skill at reaching the heroine's G-spot is because of his giraffe like tongue.

"Paolo pitched his tongue inside her and up in an effort to hit her G-spot. Finding the general area, he stroked and stroked."

A visual I can't get out of my mind now.

Even more eye rolling WTFckery reaction from an author who shouldn't comment about negative reviews their books receives. It always ends poorly with some poor sap (meaning me) googling a giraffe's long, honking black tongue and flinching, imagining the hero using it on the heroine in not so sexy ways.

Lothaire Book Review Kresley Cole

2012-01-23T07:10:00.000-05:00

There are only a few select authors I consider to be like crack with their series. JR Ward is my #1 crack. Kresley Cole comes in a very close second. Kresley’s Immortals after Dark series is very addicting and she writes characters who walk a very fine line in regards to morals. Her heroes and heroine are fierce warriors who will fight to the death to survive or get what they feel they. The majority of these supernatural characters are close to losing their minds because they've been alive for so long and must constantly be on their toes in case they’re decapitated or tortured horribly by their adversaries.

Lothaire is one character who Kresley’s fans had been anxious for to be the star of his own book. He made quite the splash in the last book, Dreams of a Dark Warrior and almost took over the story. Now Lothaire is the only character who not only has been given hard cover status (at $25.00 a pop) but the only title as the character’s name in this entire series. I recommend you go back and read all prior books before this one because you'll understand the world and why Lothaire acts the way he does. You also may end up hating Lothaire for what he does to the heroine, human, Elizabeth “Ellie” Peirce during the course of this story.

Lothaire is a very complicated character. You will either love him or hate him. The majority of the time I couldn’t stand him. He reminded me so much of another egotistical, cruel and harsh immortal man I fondly call Le Douche concerning Karen Marie Moning’s Jerricho Barrons from her immensely popular Fever series. I despise Barrons le Douche with everything I have inside of me. Lothaire for most of this book was channeling Le Douche and Kresley barely made him redeemable by the end. But Kresley is a very sly wench of an author and does something amazing based on her epilogues.

The epilogue to Lothaire is the best one she has written in all her IAD books. She gives us insight on the main character before they become this heartless, and in most cases, ruthless killer. The start of Lothaire shows Lothaire at eight years old and not yet a vampire. Lothaire will become a vampire by the time he’s in his early thirties, but as an eight year old he’s a typical boy who enjoys puzzles and adores his puppy. His mother is a proud queen of the Daci race, another type of vampire, and Lothaire is meant to take over the crown there and become the Daci king. Unfortunately his father is a cruel bastard who throws Lothaire and his mother, Ivana out into the snow.

And based on this small excerpt about the fate of Lothaire’s puppy, I teared up. This is something I never done while reading an epilogue. *shakes fist at Kresley*

“Lothaire’s puppy had followed him, wide-eyed and tripping over its own paws, panicked to catch up with him. While Lothaire stared in disbelief, Stefanovich (Lothaire’s father) had seized the dog by is scruff, snapping its back.”

This description stuck with me throughout the entire novel, showing what horrors Lothaire went through from his mother being raped and killed, to him being buried underground for 600 years, to being left alone and transforming into a vindictive, vengeful killer. Based on Lothaire’s love for his puppy and revenge for this mother, I kept that in back of mine and excused most of his behavior. And since Lothaire is thousands of years old, the way he reacts to things can be excused to a certain point.

Lothaire wants to rule every kingdom he can get his hand on in the Lore, as well as Dacia. In order to do that he needs an immortal bride. Her name is Saroya, a goddess who has been cursed and takes over human bodies. Lothaire meets Saroya, while in the body of the teenage, Ellie Peirce, who is poor white trash and lives with her family in the Appalachian Mountains. From that moment on, Lothaire comes to the conclusion that Saroya is his bride because of the way his body reacts to her. He will free Saroya from her mortal bonds and they’ll rule together. In order to do this, Lothaire must find a special ring that grants wishes. Until then, Lothaire wants Saroya to remain safe and treat the body she’s in as a temple. This is unfortunate for Ellie, who blacks out thanks to Saroya and ends up on death row because Saroya goes on a bloody rampage. Ellie is stuck in prison for five years, hoping she's given the needle because she feels her life has been destroyed. But Lothaire saves her right when she’s about to die by lethal injection and imprisons her in his penthouse in New York City.

Lothaire is cruel to Ellie because he thinks Saroya is his mate and only worthy of him. Ellie doesn’t cower in fear and refuses to be a victim, knowing she has less than a month until Lothaire is able to unlock the solution to breaking Saroya’s curse. Ellie is ready to go down in flames, but wants to enjoy herself before she's snuffed out by Lothaire. She drives him up the wall, by seducing him with her virgin, redneck temptress body Lothaire wants to eat up. Lothaire hasn’t had sex in thousands of years and since he’s mighty fine to look at, Ellie will use him and hopefully make him like her so he will forget Saroya.

It’s a battle of wills between Lothaire and Ellie and soon Lothaire is confused and annoyed because Ellie has broken through his defenses. She questions his reason for things, such as his endgame he’s obsessed in accomplishing. But after he does complete his endgame, he has nothing else to look forward to. And the times Saroya appears, he grows annoyed with her because he’s failing for Ellie. So is Ellie his bride or is Saroya? And if Ellie is his true bride, he loses everything because his oracle and his advisory and sometimes friend, the loopy and close to deranged Valkerie Nix, says he can only be king if he has Saroya as his bride.

Lothaire is an intense, character driven book about a battle of wits between two people who have nothing to lose. Ellie should be rocking a corner and twitching from everything she has endured. But her mind never breaks. She may just be my favorite Kresley heroine up to this point because she takes on Lothaire, the bad ass vampire king of old and is willing to get burned because it feels so good.

Watching Lothaire fall for Ellie is a riot. Lothaire comes across as adorable more than a few times, along with being a douche. The adorable times outweighed his douchey times, especially when he watches Ellie while he’s invisible and expects her to start crying when she can’t escape his penthouse. She doesn’t and Lothaire’s very analytical mind is thrown off center because half the time he can’t figure out what Ellie is going to do next. She keeps him on his toes and the law and order he has created is now in chaos. Lothaire has a bad case of OCD and Ellie is the only medication that can keep him sane.

Readers may have a big issue because Lothaire never really grovels and begs for Ellie’s forgiveness. He’s one stubborn SOB you want to shake. He also acts immature at certain points, sending Ellie his heart (literally) in a box because of something she did that hurt him. Her response is a big awesome FU back to him that will make you stand up and applaud. Ellie has balls and she’s not afraid to use them.

The foreplay and sex here could melt an egg on the hot pavement. Some of the best love scenes Kresley have written are here and they're all very naughty and OMG give me more! I feel as if Lothaire is Kresley's own endgame of sorts. She’s closing more than a few open plot lines while introducing new ones. We gain some big insight on Lothaire and Nix’s relationship that's a very tender one, as well as a big spoiler about Lothaire’s family. When we’re introduced to Lothaire’s brother on the last page, it totes of awesome because he’s one character whose story I’ve been waiting for since the very beginning, including his heroine who has never appeared on any page, but is the most tortured of any characters in this series.

I’ve said I many times before, I bow down at the altar of Kresley Cole. Even though I wanted to smack Lothaire more than a few times and I wished Ellie would have cut off a certain part of his anatomy for being mean to her, I was lost in this book and hungry for more. Lothaire is the ultimate feast for any reader and had me begging for more scraps.

Thank you Kresley for writing another entertaining book that has me anxious for the next one. I even forgive you for the way Lothaire’s puppy was disregarded, while I both cursed you, as well as sighed over everything you’ve written. Lothaire engaged me in ways I never expected. (Gallery)

Final Grade: A-

A few other Lothaire reviews:
A Bookworm's Heaven
Badass Book Reviews
Under the Covers

2012 Lesbian Fiction Appreciation Event Overview

2012-01-22T18:00:00.005-05:00

Roundup of posts:

Author Radclyffe and Bold Strokes Books
Renee Rocco and Lyrical Press
Author Kelly Yeakle
Author Rebekah Weatherspoon
Author Catherine Lundoff
Author Lucy Felthouse
Author Kate Richards
Author Dawne Prochilo
Author Cheryl Dragon
Salem West of the Rainbow Reader blog
Author Olivia Starke
Author Heather Massey of the Galaxy Express blog
Author Isabella
Author Cathy Pegau
Author KS Augustin
Author R.E. Bradshaw
Storm Moon Press Lesbian Titles
Author Paisley Smith
Author Lori L. Lake
Danika from the Lesbrary blog
Author Barrett
Storm Moon Press Seeking Lesbian Submissions
Leah from Loving Venus- Loving Mars
Author Leigh Ellwood
Author Jean Roberta
Author Emily Cale
Lori Perkins and Ravenous Romance
Author Debra Hyde
Kelli Collins Editor-in-Chief of Ellora's Cave

Future Lesbian Appreciation posts scheduled:

Sunday 1/22: Author Catherine M. Wilson and Cass and Cress of the Good Lesbian Book blog
Friday 1/27: Author Marlene Sexton and the Possibilities of Lesbian Fiction
Monday 1/30: Pink Petal Books
Monday 2/6: Author Michelle Murrain
Monday 2/13: Author Alyssa Palmer
Friday 2/17: YA author, Sarah Dieter

The total number of traffic from Saturday, 1/7-Saturday 1/21 came to:

34,000 (Averaged to 2,400 people visiting each day)

Radclyffe and the Bold Stroke's Books post is the 5th most visited post in the history of my blog since October 2008.

2012 Lesbian Fiction Appreciation Event: Good Lesbian Books Blog

2012-01-22T14:59:00.000-05:00

Cat and Cress run the Good Lesbian Books site, which has been going for nearly a year. We review all kinds of fiction (and we'll probably get to nonfiction at some point!) and try and provide a good starting point for people who want to read lesbian books of any kind.

What I love about lesbian writing is that it's full of lesbians *runs from hail of tomatoes*.

But seriously. I love that it is focussed on at least one woman, and by default, they're usually a decent character. I love not having to wade through endless boring heterosexual romances. I enjoy the escapism. And I appreciate the higher than zero chance of girls actually kissing, flirting and ending up less than dressed together. I can actually identify with the character's attraction to a woman without worrying about whether the portrayal is misogynist. And - I may be highly biased here of course, but - the sex scenes are often better written (not always, of course, but instead of ranging from cringe to pretty good, they range from cringe to now I have to reread this scene four times before I can move on). Though I should point out that there are some splendid lesbian stories with no sex at all (L-J Baker's Adijaan and Her Genie is one of my favourite books this year).

I was playing Skyrim the other day (well, every day for the last three weeks actually) and it is delightfully gender neutral, and you have a wide range of potential wives or husbands to choose from. Anyway, the Priestess of Dibella had just finished flirting with my female character, and I realised that a game that doesn't offer that choice actually now feels incredibly limiting. And out-dated. And frustrating. And books are the same way - I want to be able to read across the whole spectrum of characters, societies and relationships, which means I need those lesbian books up one end. Because if they aren't there, then the otherwise well-written heterosexual (and gay men's) books start to feel limiting and excessively male focussed. Even if they really aren't, simply because I'm feeling this huge gaping hole where the femslashing lady love should be.

Oh, and fandom femslash. That's fun. But again. at some point you look around and realise that you don't want fake relationships that you have to put all the work into imagining, while ignoring all the contradictory stuff, or having to fill in all the gaps because the creators daren't actually show anything. And then you start looking for the real lesbian fiction and film.

I actually didn't really read many lesbian titles until fairly recently. I think it's mostly that it is so hard to find when starting from a mainstream position, and it never really occurred to me to go looking for it. And that it would necessarily be any good - because surely, if there were good lesbian books out there, I'd have heard about them by now? Or at least stumbled across them in the library? I used to read a lot of fantasy with gay male characters in (Mercedes Lackey and Tanya Huff, for example), and I enjoyed the lack of gender dynamics in them. Also, they were pretty much the only LGBT fantasy I could find. And then I found the Bending the Landscape Science fiction anthology and it was amazing. And it really hammered home that Queer Writing Can Be Good. And I started looking up the authors - but most of them had no other queer stuff, and there were hardly any lesbian authors. Except for the editor, Nicola Griffith, who has written some darn good lesbian scifi.... and that was it, I was hooked on the notion that out there, somewhere, good lesbian books were waiting for me. And then I gradually found more and more decent lesbian webcomics - which I also had to search for, as again, people only recommended the same few, or else random ones that just didn't have enough lesbian content to qualify (for me), or they were unfinished and on permanent hiatus (if you're looking for some yourself... start with Go Get A Roomie, Yu+Me, Flipside, Girly, Punch an' Pie, Gingerbread Girl, Mundane Nirvana, Penny & Aggie, angels2200, Flaky Pastry, Starcrossed and Blue) . And picked up Strangers in Paradise (which was in the library!) and read the whole series through about six times.

And when I went looking for more titles, I had terrible trouble finding many books in the genres I wanted to read. And a lot of the suggestions were books that barely scraped in as lesbian - Paksennarion, for instance, is often cited as lesbian but is actually asexual. Sure, she's a strong female lead in a fantastic epic fantasy who doesn't fall in love with a man, but that shouldn't be the criteria I'm reduced to if I want to read a 'lesbian' book.

And yes, there are a lot of so-called classics out there, but they all sounded a bit dreary. And I had a sneaking suspicion that many of them, like poor old Paks, featured characters that weren't actually lesbians (or even bisexual), or if they were, the authors didn't dare make it actually explicit. And that just puts them in the 'the fans have to do all the work' category that I was complaining about before. And as for the young adult books - did they ALL have to be angsty coming out stories? Wasn't there anything for adults? And for goodness sake, much as I love LGBTQ-friendly writers like Terry Pratchett and Lois McMaster Bujold, surely there must be some awesome fantasy or scifi that is actually mostly about lesbian characters?

And I looked a bit harder, and I actually found some titles that looked interesting, and I read them. And they were worth reviewing. And I started looking around for more, and I wanted to share what I'd found.

I decided to start reviewing lesbian books because... well, I wanted an excuse to read keep reading these books, because I wanted to help other people figure out what to read (yes, there are a lot of lesbian book blogs, but they often seem more established at 'experienced' readers of lesbian literature than people who have just discovered that lesbian fantasy novels exist!), because I wanted to provide reviews that actually told you if the book really was 'lesbian' or not, and if it was a good book, completely separately of its so-called sapphic content. And because I figured it might actually be fun, and I'd get to share some of the treasures I found along the way. After I'd been doing it awhile, I also discovered that it comes with occasional free books. So, completely worth it.

And as soon as I saw the site was off the ground, and I was likely to keep going (most blogs peter out after an average four months), I turned to Cress and said “I have delicious books. I will tell you what they are in exchange for for kind assistance running the site and many tasty reviews”.

And that is what I see in lesbian fiction, and how I started reviewing it. And why I still do so.

– Cat.

Before Cat invited me to join the Good Lesbian Books review project, my exposure to f/f literature was largely limited to yuri manga, fandom femslash and a handful of films. For various reasons, I had close to never gotten my hands on anything outside of that – none of the classics, no YA books, nothing contemporary. Then Good Lesbian Books happened, and I was introduced to all these books that I hadn't even considered looking for myself, and it was exciting. I was particularly pleased to realize that there are books depicting queer main characters and positive portrayals of lesbian relationships and positive endings (not necessarily happily ever after, but nonetheless ending on some uplifting note). They're something that's really good to see, and, at least speaking from a personal perspective, I think they're needed. Someone else out there might appreciate being able to come across that knowledge.

That's one reason why I want to review f/f literature and why I see it as important. Tastes vary, so I like the idea of contributing to a resource that does the work of finding what to read depending on the genres you're after (we hope!) and at the same time drawing attention to f/f writing (thereby hopefully encouraging it to grow and result in even more f/f writing). And so far it's been fun to get involved in, especially the reading, and rewarding to see the feedback.

-- Cress

2012 Lesbian Fiction Appreciation Event: Catherine M. Wilson: When Women Were Warriors

2012-01-22T09:34:00.000-05:00

When Women Were Warriors—the journey to publication and how the revolution in publishing will change the world...

Trying the “traditional” route

When I began querying agents early in 2007, I knew my book was going to be a tough sell—not because of the lesbian content, although that could have been an issue, but because of its length. The complete manuscript of When Women Were Warriors, at 315,000 words, would run close to 1000 pages as a trade paperback.

I consulted a person with long experience in traditional publishing about how best to approach agents and editors. She told me flat out that no publisher would publish a book that length by an unknown writer, so I made the decision before I started querying agents that I was willing to release the book as a trilogy, provided all three books were published at once. That, evidently, was a deal-breaker. I queried over 80 agents, and I was honest about the book length and my requirements. No one asked for a complete manuscript.

Plan B

While I was querying agents and awaiting their replies, a process that took up most of 2007, I read everything I could find about self-publishing. Reading Dan Poynter, the guru of self-publishing in the days before ebooks, convinced me to set myself up as a publishing company and print my books using print-on-demand (POD) technology through Lightning Source.

It took the first half of 2008 to learn the software I needed to produce my own books. I acquired the Adobe Creative Suite and learned InDesign, Photoshop, and Dreamweaver by taking online courses through my local community college. It took the second half of 2008 to format the books, create the covers, put up a website, and set up my publishing business, Shield Maiden Press. I took my own advice and published the book as a trilogy. All three books came out as trade paperbacks in October 2008.

In a fortunate bit of timing, Amazon released the first generation Kindle in November 2007. I bought one early in 2008 and became an instant convert to ebooks. As soon as the paperbacks were launched, I formatted the books for Kindle and had them on sale in the Kindle store in December 2008.

The old paradigm

Although that year of trying to publish the traditional way did not produce the result I was looking for, I do not regret having done it. I learned a great deal about how traditional publishing works. I learned, for example, that once you have a publishing contract, you lose a lot of control of your work. The publisher will choose the cover art and the retail price. The publisher can give the book a different title, if they aren’t happy with the one you came up with. They can even demand changes to the story itself.

By traditional publishing I mean mainstream publishing, not the niche publishers that publish lesbian fiction. I considered submitting my book to one of them, but at the time they were publishing romance almost exclusively, and while my book does contain a love story, it doesn’t belong in the romance genre. And I had another concern. I felt that my story had universal appeal, and I didn’t want to restrict it by choosing a publisher that markets exclusively to the lesbian community.

Now we’re “indies”

I have never regretted my decision to self-publish. In the three years since my books came out, there has been a revolution in publishing that will have consequences we are only beginning to foresee. The “self-published” label is no longer synonymous with dreadful. Now we call ourselves indies. And as independent publishers we have total control of our work—both its content and how it is formatted and marketed.

The ebook revolution has made it even easier for author/publishers to get their work into the hands of readers. It took me a year to create my trade paperbacks. It took me a week to format the books for Kindle. I now do ebook formatting for other people as well as typesetting paperbacks, and I recommend to my clients that they publish the ebook first. It might as well be out there earning money and creating buzz while we go through the tedious process of typesetting and waiting for a paper proof. Some authors have chosen to bypass paperbacks and publish only ebooks.

The new paradigm

The digital publishing revolution has enabled writers to make an end run around the “gatekeepers”—the agents and editors who used to be the only route to publication. It took me awhile to realize the profound implications of that fact. Communities of writers have always spent a great deal of time discussing the marketplace—what was selling well, what certain agents were looking for, what certain publishers were looking for. That means that quite a few writers were not writing what was close to their hearts. They were writing for the market. They were writing what they thought an agent would represent, what an editor would buy.

There’s nothing wrong with writing for the market. Industries that produce products for which there is no market will fail in short order. But writing is different. I believe there’s an audience for just about anything that a writer can come up with, and for a very long time, those audiences have been underserved. They have been offered more and more of what sells. Every so often a “maverick” book will come out and set a new trend, but squeaking through that very narrow gateway of what traditional publishing considers marketable is no longer required for an author to reach her audience.

Imagine what kind of work will be produced when writers don’t have to write for anyone but themselves and their readers. We are already seeing genre fiction that crosses over into more than one genre. We are seeing work that doesn’t fit neatly into any genre.

While some people bemoan the fact that just about anybody can publish just about anything nowadays, thus creating a “tsunami of crap” that will overwhelm good writing, many of us are celebrating the fact that, not only are we able to produce the kinds of books we want to write. We are also able to find the kinds of books we want to read.

Yes, there will be piles of crap produced. And there will also be wonderful stories that we could never have imagined into existence in the old days a few years ago.

Finally, we get to the “lesbian fiction” stuff

Lesbian fiction has changed a lot. It isn’t mostly romance anymore. Lesbians are writing stories that cross over into other genres. Lesbians are writing stories as varied as the work of mainstream writers.

I believe it’s just a matter of time before the wider world discovers us. My fan mail comes from both men and women, gay and straight. My reviews come from both men and women, gay and straight. My books are listed in the gay and lesbian fiction category and also in historical fiction as “alternative history.”

I market to both lesbian and mainstream readers. I have entered awards contests, both lesbian and mainstream. The award I won was the 2010 EPIC ebook award in the Mainstream category.

In October 2009 Red Adept reviewed Book I of the trilogy on her review blog. As a heterosexual reviewer, she felt a bit uncertain about reviewing something in the “lesbian fiction” genre. Which gave me the opportunity to respond:

People of all races will read Toni Morrison and Amy Tan, because most of us understand that stories about people who are racially different from us are still about our common humanity, about the basic human experience that we all share. We believe, or we hope that we believe, that race no longer divides us.

I hope that heterosexual people will read my books and books by other lesbian authors, because our stories, too, are about our common humanity, about the human experience of love, that the love we feel for our beloveds is no different from the love they feel for theirs.

I wrote my book about women whose most important relationships are with other women, but I didn’t write it just for lesbians. Love is love, and I think you will find that as Tamras matures, her ability to love is her hero gift, and her quest will be to learn what love is and what love isn’t, what it gives and what it demands.

Over the three years that my book has been out, I have seen a revolution in attitudes. Early in 2009, one of my straight reviewers on Amazon felt it necessary to add:

Note: Because of the imposed segregation of the women in this society of warriors, this story does have a couple of scenes of female sex.

Three years later a reviewer posted this:

I (a straight woman) somehow didn't realize this was in the LGBT section, and so went into it without the expectations, hopes or prejudices of others. I simply fell into a beautifully written book that deserves a wide, wide audience.

I hope that blogs like this one will help us cross over into the mainstream, because our stories belong there, just as we belong there.

Just as we encourage gay and lesbian people to come out, I believe it’s time we encouraged gay and lesbian fiction to come out, to dare the straight world to read our stories, to get to know us and our lives, perhaps to experience with us the alienation that so many of us have endured, and also to realize that we love as they do and that we want what most people want—a joyful, peaceful, and productive life.

Bio:
Catherine M Wilson has spent most of her working life as an engineer of one sort or another (broadcast engineer, software engineer) and people who know that side of her are surprised when they learn about the writing side. Catherine says, “I like science and engineering because I like to know how things work, and I like the arts because I like to know how people work.”

Catherine began writing her trilogy in 1996 and finished it in 2006. She really should have been working at a day job, because everyone knows that no one can make a living from writing, but in 2011 the revenue from her books made up more than half her income. Considering that she was living on the other half for much of the last 15 years, she feels that she is indeed making a living from her writing.

Websites:

Shield Maiden Press website:
http://www.shieldmaidenpress.com/

Catherine M Wilson’s website:
http://www.catherine-m-wilson.com/

When Women Were Warriors Book I: The Warrior’s Path is available as a FREE download in multiple ebook formats from the author’s website, and also on Amazon for the Kindle (for as long as Amazon will price-match the free Nook version), Barnes & Noble for the Nook, and on Smashwords in multiple formats.

Links to Book I:

Kindle:
http://www.amazon.com/When-Women-Were-Warriors-ebook/dp/B001MBU7EK

Nook:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/when-women-were-warriors-book-i-catherine-m-wilson/1009236079

Smashwords:
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/8413

2012 Lesbian Fiction Appreciation Event: Interview with Ellora's Cave Editor-In-Chief Kelli Collins

2012-01-21T16:06:00.000-05:00

This is was supposed to be last post in the Lesbian Fiction Appreciation Event that has spanned 2 weeks. I decided to extend the event one more day with two more posts tomorrow because of the overwhelming participation.

We've heard from authors, publisher and bloggers, all who write, publish and read Lesbian Fiction or for some, F/F. I hope you have enjoyed this event and reading the various guest posts. Tomorrow, I'll post a round up of each post and mention of the future ones scheduled for the remainder of January and February. You may be surprised how much traffic my blog has received during the two weeks, which wasn't in the thousands, but in the tens of thousands.

Because this was supposed to be the last day of the event, I saved an interview with Kelli Collins, Editor-in-Chief of Ellora's Cave, who is actively seeking lesbian romance submissions. Unfortunately she doesn't receive many, which surprised me, because based on the post here from authors who write and publish Lesbian fiction, there is a great need for more in this genre. Kelli was very open in her responses to my questions and I must thank her for taking the time to answer them and being a part of this event that has been an amazing success!

Thank you all who stopped by to comment or read. I hope you all have enjoyed yourself, opened your minds and have added more books to your to be read piles, or to be bought ones.

KT: Ellora’s Cave was one of the first epublishers that I know of that took publishing to a whole new level, by proving epublishing can take on traditional publishing and make a lot of money. Ellora’s Cave also gave many authors their start and made them superstars. Since Ellora’s Cave opened their doors in 2000, what changes have you seen not only in the epublishing world, but with publishing in general?

Kelli: That’s a pretty broad question, and my answer will be equally broad – the levels of legitimacy. From the authors and readers who thought epublishing was a last resort; from the print pubs who didn’t consider it a threat; from the brick-and-mortars who are now fighting to save their bottom lines. Though I’d like to note I didn’t consider us “taking on” print publishers back in the day, so much as just giving readers another, less costly option.

KT: Ellora’s Cave publishes a wide variety of romance genres. What are your top 3 bestselling genres and authors?

Kelli: Well, I won’t divulge an author’s numbers or royalty information, of course, though our longtime fans won’t be surprised to know Jaid Black and Lora Leigh are still extremely popular (actually, many authors who published with EC early in their careers are still among the most popular, many on the strength of their older backlist alone. Jory Strong, Lauren Dane, Shiloh Walker, Jaci Burton and several others). And we’re seriously happy for the success of Laurann Dohner, who just recently put EC on the New York Times bestseller list for the first time, with a book in her New Species series. As for genres, paranormal, SciFi and BDSM are always popular with our readers. Though in the last year, we’ve seen nice growth in our Spectrum (gay/lesbian), Lawless (western), Breathless (suspense) and Fusion (interracial) lines.

KT: I do believe because of epublishing, GLBT fiction has become a mainstream genre just like Hetero fiction. The M/M genre has become very successful not only for the authors who write it, but for their publishers. It seems when GLBT fiction/romance is talked about, it’s always M/M and F/F is ignored. From an editor’s standpoint why do you think F/F isn’t mentioned in the same capacity as M/M is?

Kelli: Because IMO, small pockets of readership aside, the industry attracts a massive straight female audience, and M/M is an extremely popular straight female fantasy. I’m no psychologist; I can’t explain the straight female attraction to M/M any better than I could explain the straight male attraction to F/F. And I know better than to question it. We like what we like. :)

KT: Has Ellora’s Cave always published F/F? If so, has it been a successful genre for Ellora’s Cave? If not, why do you think so? How many F/F tiles in total are available to purchase at Ellora’s Cave?

Kelli: We reviewed F/F submissions years ago, and our readership was very vocal with their opinions on the few we published (*not* well received; I point to question #3 if you must have a reason). It’s only in the last three years that we decided to give it another try; considering the explosion of the ebook audience, the time seemed right. But in the years between, small niche publishers have found some success with F/F, so we’ve actually been struggling to find both readers and authors. We currently have only 20 or so books with F/F, and most of those feature F/F scenes. Only a few feature two heroines as the main couple.

KT: There has been a recent surge, or rather, recognition, of F/F fiction/romance. I was so thrilled when you announced at NJRWA during the editors’ panel that you were actively seeking F/F submissions. What type of F/F stories do you want? When picking F/F stories to add to the Ellora’s Cave lineup, are you tougher on what you pick or do you treat F/F submissions the same as the M/M and Hetero submissions you receive?

Kelli: We’re looking for erotica and Romantica®, definitely. And I judge them the same as I would anything else. It doesn’t matter to me if the H/H are same gender or not, I still want vivid, detailed, intense love scenes; very realistic romantic development; and a richly built story that keeps me turning the pages.

KT: Do you receive emails from readers who want more F/F? If so, what exactly are these readers looking for in the F/F they want?

Kelli: The email we’ve received regarding F/F, at least recently, has been from men who expressed an interest in F/F in our EC for Men line. Like I said, popular male fantasy. :)

KT: What are some F/F titles and/or those authors who publish with Ellora’s Cave?

Kelli: The only EC author who’s currently writing F/F exclusively is Paisley Smith. Her stories are intelligent, interesting, realistic and insanely hot. :) Most of her stories featuring men as well, but her most interesting by far, IMHO, is Nurse Lovette, which features two heroines exploring a mutual medical fetish. Exceedingly well done.

KT: Do you think the F/F genre will become as popular as M/M or Hetero fiction/romance?

Kelli: Because of the main audience for romance (again, straight women), I don’t think it will happen anytime soon. But now that nearly every e-publisher offers their books via third-party vendors, the readership for F/F is growing slowly. Amazon and B&N alone have exposed these authors to millions of new readers. If the quality of the stories can be maintained, I can see the genre gaining some ground on M/M.

KT: There are many recognizable GLBT authors, but mainly under the M/M umbrella. Are there any F/F authors you can think of who write wonderful Lesbian Fiction/Romance? What F/F books would you recommend to readers who want to try F/F?

Kelli: I’m a fan of anything written or edited by Radclyffe, D.L. King and a few others. For first-timers, I’d recommend an anthology, to get a cross-section of different authors. There are some wonderful anthols out there. A recent favorite is Girls Who Bite: Lesbian Vampire Erotica, edited by Delilah Devlin (also an EC writer, who recently co-published Bitten in the Big Easy, with Paisley Smith, for EC. Also feature lesbian vamps. Lol!).

KT: Do you receive many F/F submissions? What would you say that percentage is compared to M/M or Hetero submissions?

Kelli: No, very few still. I think it’s a combination of having so very few on the site so far, a limited readership and perhaps seeking out authors in the wrong places. The percentages don’t really compare at all, at this point. But I have great hope for the future…

2012 Lesbian Fiction Appreciation Event: Debra Hyde: A Humble Manifesto

2012-01-21T12:02:00.000-05:00

Two-plus years ago, Lori Perkins stunned me by saying, “I want you to write a lesbian version of Story of O and we're gonna call it Story of L.” The idea of completely recasting an S/M classic and modernizing it floored me, but by the time I righted myself, I knew I'd write the book. The idea was irresistible.

Story of O is a seminal work. It won both public scorn and literary awards upon its release in 1950's France. It was, if I remember correctly a hit as a book club choice two decades later in America, placing it in nightstand drawers across the country. The late Susan Sontag even composed a essay arguing that O was as literary a novel as anything in the stuffy institutional literary cannon, raising eyebrows everywhere in either scowls or elucidation. (Harold Bloom be damned!)

Which told me this: I had to write Story of L as if it would become a legacy work. And Story of L had to reflect the queer leather world as contemporary to our here-and-now as O was in its time. It turned into a two-year challenge that I was determined to see right by.

Available for $4.99

Mid-2011: Story of L debuts at Ravenous Romance. Unlike other Ravenous lesbian tales and to my surprise, it wasn't a smash hit right out of the gate. I quickly realized it needed visibility and I instituted a multi-pronged publicity campaign. One facet in that plan: Securing reviews for the book.

To date, Story of L has earned solid and, at times, stellar reviews. But the majority of that critical acclaim hasn't come from websites spotlighting erotic romance. It's come from lesbian/bisexual reviews sites and erotica reviews sites. I've sent L (as we fondly call it here at Ravenous Romance) to every erotic romance site with a GLBT segment I could find.

The result? Punch that field-of-crickets sound effects, please. (Thank you, Fire Pages and Guilty Indulgence for being the exceptions.)

http://firepages.wordpress.com/tag/debra-hyde
http://guiltyindulgencebookclub.blogspot.com/2011/09/quite-story.html

I can't help but wonder that, if not for the historical tie-in to Story of O, would L have garnered even that much attention?

If it takes a village to raise a child, then maybe it takes a community to bolster genre books. And it may take more than one community to do so for smaller segments of the book industry. Yes, queer book blogs do a good job, taking care of their own. But I'm unconvinced that erotic romance book blogs are actively being as inclusive.

Keyword here: actively. And we all have a part to play in this, from review websites to readers to authors and publishers.

Review sites: If you have a GLBT designation at your site but your reviews are overwhelmingly for gay or M/M books, actively recruit about your review staff to stretch their review interests. Actively look for GLBT authors and invite them to review a book now and again for you. (Why not guest reviewers, I ask?) Heck, I'd love to review bisexual, pansexual, and transgendered book for a website, keeping lesbian titles at a distance only to avoid a conflict of interest.

Reviewers: Actively engage in reviewing beyond your default preferences. It's understandable that gay or M/M titles are popular, given its slash fiction origins that date back a good thirty years. (Spock/Kirk fanzines, anyone?) But if you claim to be a GLBT reviewer and you're only reading one segment of that acronym, you aren't serving all authors – or readers for that matter.

Readers: Read across gender and orientation lines. Be a rainbow of a reader! And let authors know how much you appreciate their work. We work in solitude and, even worse, self-perceived obscurity. Nothings makes us more productive and committed to our work than knowing we have appreciative fans! And be sure to visit places like Amazon and “like” the books you read and any accompanying review. It's a key action that will boost a book's visibility at those sites.

Editors and Publishers: Actively commit to furthering lesbian fiction in all its forms. Don't let it fall by the wayside if you aren't seeing good submissions. Keep on it. Agitate for review notice if you have good rapport with review websites because visibility is everything. As an acquiring editor for Ravenous Romance, I'm committed to building its lesbian line of titles and actively recruit authors at conferences around the country. I don't ignore my other obligations to Ravenous' product lines, but I've committed myself to bringing all voices to the publishing table.

Authors: Offer to blurb lesbian titles, regardless of what you write. A good story is a good story and deserves recognition. Offer yourself to websites as a guest reviewer and invite them to send you a GLBT title of their choice. Never forget to pay it forward. Just today I “liked” Logan Belle's Blue Angel and Fallen Angel books over at Amazon and the minute my editorial workload eases up, I'm leaving quick reviews there as well. Why? Because Logan's smart books entertained me. Especially with their many bisexual/lesbian sex scenes. Yum!

It may well be that the only way we can put the “lesbian books don't sell” argument to bed (pun optional) is to actively work to bring more visibility to lesbian titles. Maybe we are lost in the shuffle. But we don't have to be. Not if we each play some earnest karmic part in promoting GLBT work in all its rainbow colors.

Remember that keyword: actively.

Debra Hyde is an erotic romance author and editor, with most of her work at Ravenous Romance. Her current novel, Story of L, is currently a Lambda Literary Award nominee. Debra helps curate Ravenous Nights, a monthly NYC erotica/erotic romance reading series. She's a confirmed New Englander, erotic adventurer, and bibliophile who writes for everyone, across the gender & orientation spectra. Leave a comment and she'll reward one of you with epubs of all her Ravenous Romance titles!

Visit her at https://twitter.com/#!/debrahyde and http://www.facebook.com/debra.hyde while her website is undergoing reconstruction.

2012 Lesbian Fiction Appreciation Ravenous Romance: Lesbian Fiction for Female Readers From Lori Perkins

2012-01-21T07:43:00.000-05:00

When we started publishing erotic romance three years ago at Ravenous Romance, we were honestly a little amazed at how voracious our readers were about their passion for M/M romance. Some would buy two or three titles a week. One reader wrote in that he loved our books, but the only problem with them was that he had already read all 84 of our M/M’s. He wanted to let us know that we just weren’t publishing them fast enough.

So we wondered why there didn’t seem to be any one publishing F/F in this ever-expanding erotic romance market?

So we tried our first F/F, an anthology of first-time lesbian stories titled I Kissed a Girl and it sold like proverbial hotcakes. To this day, it is one of our all-time best-selling titles across every medium and format. And every romance reviewer, who gave it glowing praise, started the review with the phrase, “I don’t usually read lesbian fiction, but…”

So, we asked ourselves, why did this sell so well? Could we do it again and make a committed editorial statement.

Of course.

Now, we know there are wonderful, established lesbian publishers of romance, but we like to think that one of the things that sets Ravenous Romance apart is our pop culture sensibility, as well as our feminist erotic empowerment. We didn’t want to compete with what was out there; we wanted to offer something new.

So we came up with the editorial guideline that our books should be straight women’s erotic romance lesbian fantasies, and sales have consistently been strong. And we are filling a niche that has not really been explored.

Some people have asked what’s the difference between a straight woman’s lesbian fantasy and what’s been published. There’s always an alpha and a happy ending, both literally and figuratively.

Some of the stories we look at are popular hetero romances retold with two women, such as KT Grant’s The Princess’s Bride and Scandal in the Wind . Some are fairytales recast (look for a lesbian retelling of Cinderella coming soon). We’re also looking for novels about long lost loves found again (that college exploration rekindled) or being seduced by a lesbian celebrity. And we have even managed to retell the kinky classic The Story of O through a lesbian prism in Debra Hyde’s Story of L .

We believe this is a really rich and fertile field of story-telling that will grow as strong as the M/M market. So explore, enjoy and be creative!

Lori Perkins is the Editorial Director of Ravenousromance.com, and the founder of the L. Perkins Agency. She is the author of 4 books.

2012 Lesbian Fiction Appreciation Event: Emily Cale: Public Display of Affection

2012-01-20T14:30:00.000-05:00

When I originally started thinking about this blog post, I had all sorts of ideas about what I might write. Most of them involved my books, not sharing an extremely personal experience with a bunch of strangers. While thinking about it, I received a reply to another post I'd written from a Twitter follower who had some not-so-kind words for me about my lesbian characters. So I changed my mind and decided to tell you one of my experiences that shapes how I write.

I'm going to start by telling you that I'm not a lesbian. Do you care? Probably not, but I think it's important for people to know where I'm coming from. When I was in eighth grade, my best friend stopped speaking to me. By the end of the day, my entire middle school was passing around the rumor that I was a lesbian. To this day, I have no idea what prompted this story. I grew up in middle-of-nowhere, super-conservative Wyoming. Being different in any way got you treated like total crap. I was tortured by my classmates for the entire year. No one would change near me in the locker room, I ate lunch by myself, and generally had one friend (who did not have my lunch period or share any classes with me) the entire year. And, of course, not a single guy would date me. I was clinically depressed and extremely confused.

This experience shaped a large portion of my life. I hated going through it, but I know that the person I've become is partially based on this year. Twenty-something me knows this, but she'll never be able to explain it to the fourteen year old version of me. I tell you this because I think writers put a little of themselves into everything they write. No one character is based on me, but I can pick out my own experiences that I give to each of them. When I started writing, some of my story ideas manifested as f/f. I never thought twice about whether I'd be able to sell them or if I should change one of the characters to be a man. I'm writing romance. To me, that's two people (or more) who against all odds find love. Notice I said people. Whether it's two men, two women, a man and a woman, or any other combination

When I started writing Public Display of Affection, that's exactly how the characters came to me. Two damaged women looking to find love in an unlikely place. Sure, they both start out hoping for a night of great sex, but they find so much more.

Thanks so much for having me!

Available now from Decadent Publishing for $1.99

You can also purchase at:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Public-Display-Affection-Night-ebook/dp/B006ZIHUBS/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1327005499&sr=8-12

All Romance ebooks: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-publicdisplayofaffection-673179-144.html

Bookstrand: http://www.bookstrand.com/public-display-of-affection

Blurb: After a heartbreaking end to her relationship with her girlfriend, Lucy Stark is looking to try something more adventurous. She turns to Madame Eve’s 1Night Stand service to help her find the perfect woman to push her boundaries and introduce her to the more daring side of a sexual encounter.

Samantha Taylor’s helped more than one woman explore her sexuality, but Lucy’s the first to really get to her. Keeping her walls up and the women she dates from getting inside is a skill she’s managed to master. After one night of unbridled passion, she has to decide whether to give up her hard exterior or let the woman of her dreams slip away.

Excerpt:

“I’m Samantha, but you can call me Sam.” She paused, hoping for a response, then shrugged. “Can I come in?”

Lucy—assuming it was Lucy?—shook her head and blinked a few times, as though she’d been in a trance. “Of course.” She stood back, holding the door open.

“Seems like a nice enough room.” Nothing extraordinary, but it didn’t need to be with the scenery that surrounded it. No one came there to see the inside of a hotel room. Well, no one except for them, and they’d be doing very little of that. The king-sized bed decked out with a forest green and brown duvet and pillows took up a majority of the room. The whole set-up looked comfortable and inviting. Too bad the activities she had planned didn’t require a mattress. Setting her duffle bag next to the dresser, she turned back toward Lucy. “So what are you up for tonight?”

Like a deer in headlights, the brunette looked puzzled by the question. “Well, I’m not sure. I thought maybe you’d have an idea or two and we could go from there?”

As timid as Madame Eve had described in her email. She’d expected the woman to at least have a few ideas, an erotic act she’d found on the internet that intrigued her. Sam bit her tongue to keep from making a sarcastic comment. No judgment. This evening was to be an introduction to the more adventurous side of intimacy. Aside from that, she hoped to quell the sexual frustration that had been brewing deep inside her. “I have a few things worked out. After that, we can see where the night takes us.” She imagined it would have them in bed before late night TV even started. “Does that sound agreeable to you?” She half expected the wide-eyed woman in front of her to back out. From her expression, it was clear she contemplated her options.

“That sounds good.” Lucy played with the edge of her black, knee-length skirt.

Sam doubted the truthfulness of that statement, but decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. “Then I suggest we get started. We are on a tight schedule at the moment.” Crouching down, she pulled a small box from her overnight bag. “Why don’t you go put this on?”

Lucy took it and turned it over in her hands. “What is it?” The pink color of the paper matched her sweater, Sam noted with amusement.

“Open it and you’ll find out.”

Emily Cale is a writer of erotica and erotic romance. You can find her on her blog (http://www.emilycale.blogspot.com) or on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/emilycale).

2012 Lesbian Fiction Appreciation Event: Jean Roberta and Lesbiana

2012-01-20T07:18:00.000-05:00

There is so much to say about lesbian fiction that I’m not sure where to start!

I once made contact (via long-distance telephone call) with one of the mothers of modern lesbian fiction, Barbara Grier. In the 1960s, she was editor of The Ladder, an early lesbian magazine which began as the journal of the Daughters of Bilitis, a discreet lesbian organization in a time when most lesbians didn’t dare “come out” for fear of losing jobs, children, friends, and even their freedom. (Until 1973, “homosexuality” was officially classified as a mental illness.)

Barbara Grier and her lover/partner, Judith McBride, founded The Naiad Press in the 1980s, and it produced a stream of popular lesbian romances. They sold like hotcakes via mail-order from Tallahassee, Florida, after Grier & McBride settled there. The only store in my town in Saskatchewan, Canada, which openly displayed Naiad books was a collectively-run alternative bookstore. I was a collective member who worked full-time in the store on a six-month government grant. While discussing a book order directly with Grier, I mentioned her groundbreaking list of lesbian books, The Lesbian in Literature, originally compiled in the 1970s with Marion Zimmer Bradley. Barbara Grier said she was too busy to produce a new, expanded edition, and she hoped that someone would continue the important work of listing all the books in English that have lesbian content!

For awhile, I actually tried to do this. I kept book titles and brief descriptions on card catalogues. In 1988, I ran off photocopies of my own typed, unofficial version of the new Lesbian in Literature (I had no access to a computer) to hand out at a local gay/lesbian conference. By the 1990s, I realized that I couldn’t possibly keep up with all the new publications.

Eventually, The Naiad Press sold their backlist to Bella Books. Barbara Grier passed away from cancer in November 2011. As far as I know, no one else has ever tried to compile a comprehensive bibliography of lesbian literature in all genres, from all times.

By the time I gave up my dream of becoming the next great archivist of lesbian lit, I had written a collection of lesbian stories, Secrets of the Invisible World, which was published by a one-woman press, Lilith Publications of Montreal, in 1988. My stories weren’t sexually-explicit, but the publisher pulled out the most suggestive passage in the whole book and put it on the slick, hot-pink back cover as a teaser. OMG. I wondered if I would have to move to the sparsely-populated far north of Canada and wear a balaclava on my face at all times.

To my surprise, lesbian friends encouraged me to include more sex in my stories. This surprised me because of the Feminist Sex Wars, currently raging in all lesbian-feminist communities. All the women I knew who defined themselves as feminists took it for granted that “porn” (produced by and for men) was degrading to women in general. Presumably, every raunchy word and picture needed to be banned and burned. On the other hand, every lesbian I knew seemed hungry for reading-matter about the sex they were actually having (with luck), or wanted to have.

While promoting my book at the Third International Feminist Book Fair in Montreal in 1988, I saw a call-for-submissions for lesbian erotica. With sweaty palms, I wrote (in longhand, in pencil) three stories, typed them, mailed them off, and got an acknowledgement before the small press went bust and the planned erotic anthology was cancelled. When I tried calling the press long-distance, I reached a seafood restaurant. For a moment, I wondered if this was some sort of lesbian code. Being a lesbian writer far from any large coastal city felt like being a secret agent.

In 1998, my sweetie (my legal spouse since 2010, since same-sex marriage became legal in Canada in 2005) and I acquired our first computer. I found an on-line group, The Erotic Readers and Writers Association, which provided support and information for erotic writers. My Muse was seduced. After writing about sex between women, I tried writing about it in other flavours (women with men, men with men) to see if I could do this convincingly. I got encouraging feedback from other erotic writers of all genders, inclinations and levels of talent.

In 1999, my first erotic story, “Something Natural” (an ironic reference to a hand-carved dildo) was published in Batteries Not Included, an anthology about lesbians and sex toys, edited by Alison Tyler. When I recklessly showed my contributor’s copy to several friends, they asked if I had posed for the cover image: a hot babe with a naked butt. (No, I couldn’t claim that honour.)

By then, it seemed, the tide had turned in the Feminist Sex Wars. Lesbian writer, editor and sex educator Tristan Taormino edited the first edition of Best Lesbian Erotica for Cleis Press in 1995. As she has explained, she had to beg her writer friends to submit stories for that first volume, but the number of submissions has increased every year, and the series continues to sell well.

One of my original three stories of lesbian sex, “The Princess and the Outlaw” (a wishful-thinking story in which an heir to the throne and female outlaw find that lust conquers all), appeared in Best Lesbian Erotica 2000. After that, I had a string of stories in “BLE.” Three of them are told by Dr. Athena Chalkdust, an academic domme as a version of the ever-popular kick-ass heroine. She has much more fun in the Ivory Tower than I do.

Eventually, I had over eighty erotic stories in print anthologies alone, not including my stories which ran for one week each on the illustrated subscription site Ruthie’s Club (alas, now defunct). I found the artists very willing to work with me in producing images to go with my stories. One of them gave me full rights to re-use his illustration, included here, for my story, “A Bushy Tale” (also in Best Lesbian Erotica 2004).

Unfortunately, some of the best lesbian and/or erotic presses, magazines and websites have been short-lived. Eventually, an editor I know helped me to set up my own site, http://www.jeanroberta.com/, which still lists all my earlier publications, but too many of them are no longer in print or on line.

My interest in the politics of sex (and especially the conflicts on this subject that still erupt in lesbian communities and within lesbian minds, hearts and loins) inspired me to write a monthly column, “Sex Is All Metaphors” for the website of the Erotic Readers and Writers Association from 2008 to 2010. After the on-site columns were closed, the 25 column pieces became an e-book with a racy cover, sold by Coming Together, publisher of erotica to raise money for good causes.

I write one review per month for Erotica Revealed (http://www.eroticarevealed.com/), which posts honest, in-depth reviews of current erotic books. I also write reviews of lesbian/gay/bi/trans/queer material for The Gay and Lesbian Review (http://www.g&lr.com/) originally produced at Harvard University. This glossy magazine does not accept reviews of “genre” fiction, including erotica and romance. Erotica in general, and lesbian erotica in particular, is still kept out of certain clubs.

Probably the second big change in lesbian fiction has been the emergence of erotic romance, fiction which includes sex in a plot about a developing relationship between women, loosely speaking. At least one character in a current “lesbian romance” may be transgendered (FTM or MTF).

My longest story in this genre so far is “Madame Blanche,” a retelling of a French fairy tale of the 1600s about a shapeshifting cat and the prince who discovers her secret. In my version, the “prince” is every bit as bold but not as male as he is in the original. This story appears in a collection of lesbian fairy tales, Rumpled Silk Sheets: www.ravenousromance.com/lesbian/rumpled-silk-sheets-lesbian-fairy-tales.com

Trends in lesbian fiction seem to have changed immensely in a fairly short time. I will probably divide my writing time between fiction and non-fiction as long as my arthritic fingers enable me to. There is so much more to read now than when Barbara Grier started her first book-list!

You can find Each Has a Point, my second diverse collection of erotic stories here: http://www.loveyoudivine.com/ Check out this six-writer blog, Oh Get a Grip (http://www.ohgetagrip.blogspot.com/) , where I post something new every Thursday.

2012 Lesbian Fiction Appreciation Event: Leigh Ellwood and Writing F/F Erotica

2012-01-19T15:01:00.001-05:00

Hello, everybody! I am Leigh Ellwood, author of romance and erotica, and I'm pleased to have this time with you. When KT invited me to contribute to her Lesbian Fiction Appreciation Week I was flattered. Over the years, I've come to know a number of writers who either write F/F erotica exclusively or include some F/F stories (or stories with F/F elements) in their back lists. I had mentioned to KT that over the last year one of my biggest selling titles was a lesbian erotic book that has also received some critical acclaim. She Loves Me at one point was an Amazon.com bestseller under the Erotica Anthologies category (ranked among some great authors like Violet Blue and Rachel Kramer Bussell!), and it was also a finalist in the annual Golden Crown Literary Society Awards, or Goldies, which are awarded every year to exceptional lesbian fiction.

Has it been my intention to write F/F or lesbian erotica? Not exactly. As an author, I tend to write in the characters that are best suited to the situations I create. In some instances, a story best fits a heterosexual couple, in others I may work in a menage or exclusive same-sex pairing. Like many erotic romance authors, I wrote M/M stories to meet the rising demand for the genre, and at one point I noticed readers tended to prefer my M/M to my other works. However, I didn't necessarily promote myself as an M/M author as others do. Another author I know who writes a variety of stories calls herself an "everything eroticist," so I suppose that is what I am, too.

The first time I injected lesbian content into a story (aside from a very, very brief scene in my first novel, Truth or Dare) was probably the short story, Double Dare. This is actually a story focusing on two couples, but there is female interaction. Sales-wise, it has been well received, and I found I enjoyed writing about passion between two women. My first attempt at exclusively lesbian erotic, Share, started slowly but soon picked up. I'm not sure why sales have spike on this and other F/F titles I have available, but I have a few theories:

Emotion - I know many readers who love to read, and when an author can convincingly portray the emotion and passion between two characters, the gender doesn't necessarily matter. Show that the love and passion is real, and readers will enjoy it.

Story - Create a good story around the characters and you will attract readers. Create three-dimensional characters and readers will want to know more about them.

Cover Art - I think cover art is important in selling lesbian romance and erotica. We look at cover art and become stimulated by the hope of a hot story within the pages. I do not consider myself a lesbian or bisexual (though I often joke if Kate Winslet were to slip me her room key in a hotel bar, I wouldn't give it back), but when I am interested in something hot to read I like an equally sexy companion image for the story.

Appreciating the female form, or two females together, can lend to the enjoyment of such a story.

Since my F/F work did so well for me sales-wise in 2011, does this mean I will write more lesbian erotica in 2012? F/F was in my writing plan regardless of sales. As I've said earlier, when I write a story the characters often make themselves present. It stands to reason, therefore, that two women will want a romance told, and I'll be there. My goal for the new year, however, is to write a full-length F/F novel, as my current lesbian fiction efforts are shorts.

When it is written and published, I hope you'll check it out. :-)

Leigh Ellwood
http://www.leighellwood.com
Twitter - @LeighEllwood

2012 Lesbian Fiction Appreciation Event: Leah from Loving Venus- Loving Mars Shares Her Favorite Books and Movies

2012-01-19T07:14:00.000-05:00

I love that KB is doing this because I think there are many women who like or might like reading f/f but feel uncomfortable talking about it in a predominantly m/f, m/m reading romance community. I didn’t know I liked reading f/f until I actually came across it in erotica.

Just a quick introduction. I run (occasionally) a blog, Loving Venus- Loving Mars, that was set up several years ago to review and talk about f/f, f/f/m books. It was meant mainly to give the small group of straight and bi readers within the romance community who like reading f/f and lesbian a safe place to discuss it without the common judgments that were happening on the general blogs. We also wanted to give exposure to authors who were writing f/f to help support them writing more.

I love reading f/f because I find the idea of women, who are normally rather intimate in the way they relate anyway, taking it just a step further into the realm of love and sex more interesting and exciting to me. It’s like something I know and am very familiar with, yet it’s unexplored territory for me, so it’s an exciting mystery.

Katie asked if I talk about a few books and movies that I’ve enjoyed. I can’t say that I’ve read a whole lot of lesbian romance in which both characters are lesbian and not one is bi or curious. I’ve looked more for books with a bi slant or first time experience stories that would appeal more to the straight reader, but I’ll give it a shot.

Sci-fi:

Rulebreaker by Cathey Pegau. Cathy Pegau has a great voice. This story is unique and fun and it features a bi/lesbian romance in the sci-fi genre.

War Games by K.S. Augustin- What I liked about this book, outside of the excellent story-telling is that the main character can choose to be either gender. She can also choose to be heterosexual or gay. I love that for her, her favorite is to be a woman and in love with a woman.

The Gunfighter and the Gear Head by Cassandra Duffy – I loved this book. I think it’s fresh with a young feel to it and features an interesting blend of sci-fi, steampunk and western. The women are strong, sexy and independent, which is refreshing to me.

Fantasy/ YA:

The Dark Wife by Sarah Diemer. This book is gorgeously written and a great YA lesbian story. It’s a different take on the mythological characters Persephone and Hades. Sarah Diemer has written many books in the YA genre and gives a fresh, young voice to younger lesbians who want their own HEA.

Retro/Pulp:

Lois Lenz Lesbian Secretary- by Monica Nolan. This book is a hilarious spoof of 50’s lesbian pulp. There’s not much sex in this story, but plenty of double entendres and amusing moments with the story focused on a clueless young woman caught up in a lesbian world without realizing it.

Contemporary:

There are several authors of lesbian romance in the contemporary field. Any books by Radclyffe , Karin Kallmaker, Georgia Beers and Katherine Forrest (70’s-80’s iconic lesbian) are good to read. I haven’t read too many books by these authors but their books are a staple in the lesbian romance genre and the few I’ve read I’ve really liked.

Mystery/Thriller:

The Devil series by Ali Valli- She writes very intense and gripping thrillers in her Devil series. They are dark, fast paced with the characters acting in non-stereotypical ways.

Famous mystery writer Laurie King has a detective series with a lesbian character as the detective. It’s the Kate Martinelli series and they are really well written and don’t shy away from talking about Kate’s personal life. I think she’s one of the few mainstream authors who has a lesbian character as a regular.

Parnormal:

The Midnight Hunt by L.L. Rand- this is a dark shifter/vampire book. Very erotic with the definite fated/ “mine” story. Before this book I had only read m/f PRN, but I liked how it was written with two women as the fated partners.

Historical:

I haven’t read too many lesbian historicals. If you want to read some then the author Sarah Waters is a good way to go. I’ve only seen movies of her books but I know that her stories are lesbian centric and have become classic books that the straight community loves as well.

Movies I’ve watched with lesbian centric themes. There are quite a few good ones actually.

For the YA crowd I’d definitely recommend:

The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love- this is a very sweet and poignant coming of age story of two teenage girls from different backgrounds who fall in love.

Historical- two film adaptations of Sarah Waters books are a must see.

Tipping the Velvet and Fingersmith. Both movies are BBC made movies and easy to find on Netflix. I got them both from my library. While both films are lesbian centric, Tipping the Velvet shows more of the life of a lesbian and the gay scene during the Victorian Era. Fingersmith is more of a Gothic thriller/drama with lesbian understones. Both are excellent films.

The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister and Portrait of Marriage are both excellent films about the lives of real historical lesbian/ bi women.

Contemporaries:

Fire- a film from India about two married Indian women who fall in love. This movie is intense, poignant and gorgeous. It’s one of my most favorite films in with an f/f theme.

When Night is Falling- This is also a gorgeously aesthetic film about an engaged straight Christian woman who falls in love with a lesbian.

Saving Face- is a sweet and realistic Chinese American film that centers around two lesbians falling in love while trying to find their place in traditional Chinese and modern American cultural values.

French Twist- a French comedy that deals with a married woman who falls in love with a lesbian. It’s very funny and the romance between the women is rather sweet with some sparks.

For good bi f/f oriented books, I would suggest books by these authors:

Kirsten Saell
Michelle de Lully
Paisley Smith
Leigh Ellwood
Adriana Kraft

2012 Lesbian Fiction Appreciation Event: What Storm Moon Press Is Seeking

2012-01-18T07:16:00.000-05:00

Today, we'd like to discuss what Storm Moon Press is currently seeking in the way of lesbian erotic romances as well as offer a lucky commenter a PDF package containing all four of our currently available lesbian titles. We have several anthology calls for short stories (between 10,000 and 20,000 words) as well as some open lines we're seeking submissions of 20,000 words or more. While we're happy to take a look at short stories, we're really hoping to be sent novellas and novels that we can sink our teeth into. Across the board, we know that readers much prefer longer offerings over the shorter.

Open Lines
Our open lines are subject to our standard submission guidelines, and submissions must be no fewer than 20,000 words. Detailed information about royalties, contracts, and calls can be found at StormMoonPress.com.

22 Days of Yule
This line is specifically for holiday-themed submissions to come out from December 1st to December 25th. We're seeking submissions between 15,000 and 20,000 words with a holiday romance at the center. Deadline for these is October 15th, 2012, as this allows us time for editing and typesetting.

Head Games
Can you really trust anyone? Can you even trust your own senses? From a simple con to serious mental manipulation, some people just seem to get off on screwing with other people's minds. What drives that sort of person? Can anyone get the best of them, or is it all part of an even more elaborate game? This line is focused on mind games and the players that play them. A mystery/thriller setup is common for such a story, but we are open to any genre, from sci-fi and fantasy to steampunk and historical.

Sacred Desire
In this collection, we want to see stories that focus on characters considered to be amongst the religious elite. While you can choose any religion or ideology you like, we ask that you try to remain respectful of the religious beliefs in order to paint a realistic picture of your main characters' struggles. Feel free to touch on anything from a specific sect of Christianity all the way to Hinduism or Paganism. This is your chance to play around with priests or priestesses, monks, nuns, clerics, rabbis, gurus, or even shamans and tell their stories of romance and passion.

Twice Upon A Time
We've all heard the stories, damsels in distress being saved by knights in shining armor, little people the size of your thumb, a cloak-bedecked girl talking to a stranger, children finding a candy house in the woods. These days, most of the fairytales we were told as children have been remade several times, romanticized for what some may deem a more fragile generation. However, be it Grimm, H.C. Andersen, or local folktales, these stories linger, and in this line of releases, we're looking for fairytales retold with an erotic, GLBT twist.

Divinity
Greek, Roman, Celtic, Egyptian, Norse, Chinese, Japanese―the list of cultures with rich mythologies seems almost endless. In our Divinity line, we're seeking submissions that explore the key figures of those mythological stories: gods and goddesses. Zeus, Brighid, Mars, Daoji, Uzume, or any number of gods, goddesses, deities, and demigods have immense potential.

Willing Spirits
For this line, we're looking for stories that involve ghosts or haunted houses, things that go bump in the night and scare people shitless. The opportunities are endless here: a ghost hunter main character, patients falling for one another in a haunted asylum, even a medium falling in love with one of the spirits. While mystery, horror, or thriller settings are perfect for this kind of story, feel free to sell us on any other genre such as fantasy, sci-fi, or historical. This will be a Halloween released line, releases set throughout October. Deadline for these are August 15th, 2012, as this allows us time for editing and typesetting.

Worldpunk
The term 'cyberpunk' is now over 30 years old – old enough that the "future" settings of some early stories in the genre are now actually in the past. Still, the fascination with cyberpunk and its derivatives (like steampunk) continues to grow. Those historical and furturistic settings, gritty and fantastical, are what we're looking for with Worldpunk. This line is for -punk stories: steampunk, cyberpunk, dieselpunk, clockpunk, atompunk... even ironpunk or bronzepunk if you think you can pull it off. While we will accept the steampunk submissions, we're actually eager to see authors stretch themselves and attempt the other -punks out there! Submissions must be 20,000 words or more, have GLBT main characters, contain a great romance with steamy aspects, and have a satisfactory ending.

We also have a number of anthology calls out for 2012 for lesbian specific short stories. These have a different set of submission guidelines, so take a look there for all the particulars regarding payment, submissions, and detailed call information. All our anthology calls require word counts be between 10,000 and 20,000 words.

Strapped
Deadline: March 31st, 2012
Subject: Lesbian erotic-romantic short stories featuring strap-ons.

Inked
Deadline: June 30th, 2012
Subject: Women with tattoos, their inked marks the erotic focus of the story.

Milk & Cookies & Handcuffs
Deadline: August 31st, 2012
Subject: Holiday anthology, the focus BDSM and the holidays.

The First Time
Deadline: August 31st, 2012
Subject: Lesbian erotic romance focused on the loss of virginity.

Multiplicity
Deadline: October 26th, 2012
Subject: Polyamory, positive multiple partner relationships, bisexuality welcome.

Forever and a Day
Deadline: November 30th, 2012
Subject: All about women falling in love with women for the first time.

Big Damn Heroines
Deadline: December 28th, 2012
Subject: Plus sized, kick ass heroines will be the stars of this anthology.

Again, please take a look at our site for all the details and particulars. We're always happy to hear pitches for anthologies, and we'd love to see more novella and novel submissions head our way.

Now! The really fun stuff! A giveaway for readers here. Storm Moon Press is happy to offer one random commenter here a zip file of four PDFs: Blazing Star, Burn the Brightest, Daughters of Artemis, and Modern Mythology – all four of our current lesbian titles. Comment and be entered to win!

We'd like to thank KT Grant for having us on her blog both Monday and today, giving us the opportunity to showcase what we have and share what we're looking for. We hope to see some new name in our inbox!

S.L. Armstrong is the managing editor of Storm Moon Press and the co-author of Other Side of Night: Bastian & Riley and Catalyst. She can be found at http://www.slarmstrong.net/ or on Twitter @_slarmstrong.

2012 Lesbian Fiction Appreciation Event: Barrett: I Write Lesbian Fiction

2012-01-18T07:12:00.000-05:00

Hi, my name is Barrett and I write lesbian fiction.

I’m delighted to be part of the group stepping up to show my appreciation to the writers, editors, publishers, reviewers, and most of all the readers of this small genre known as lesbian fiction.

As usual, I’ve been a bit of a late bloomer. The joy of reading was never a reality until someone discovered I needed reading glasses and then… I embraced reading with both fists. I had no particular favorites, but read everything I could and like many of you, had entire walls filled with books.

It was only about 10 years ago that I happened on lesbian fiction… Well, except “Ruby Fruit Jungle” and I think everybody read that. And about that time over a lovely bottle of wine, a friend and I tossed around the idea of a medical mystery. Skip ahead. I started writing at that time and continued intermittently for 10 years. It was at that time that another friend introduced me to NaNoWriMo.

After wrangling 20 separate characters, half a dozen subplots, and an epic manuscript, I decided to take a break and write a simple romance with two characters. Ha! That was around 2009.

I wrote the book but those crafty little characters were not finished with me. I wrote book two… Not done. Book three came about and I was sure I was finished. Not so much. When I got through half of book four, I decided these characters needed to see the light of day.

Skip a head. A dozen beta readers, a wonderful Life Coach, a critique partner, and an editor helped me polish up the first book. I signed up for my first Golden Crown Literary Society Conference, tucked a dozen presentation packets under my arm, and headed off for Florida.

It was an incredible experience. I met scores of wonderful readers and writers; pitched my book to five different publishers, listened as two experienced writers critiqued my first five chapters, and receive love and support from dozens of women I had never met before.

Fairy tale Ending? Not quite. I received my requisite rejections and after each, went back to fine tune the book. It was discouraging but I kept working. In the wise words of someone from my local writer’s group, “Never Quit, Never Surrender.”

In April, 2011 I sold my first book to Affinity eBooks, NZ, Ltd. The eBook was released in July the print book in August and shortly thereafter, I signed a contract for the rest of the series.

I never cease to be amazed at the generosity of the women I have encountered along the way. Georgia Beers shared a quote once from Katherine V. Forrest, “We’re a sisterhood, we’re here to help each other.”

And it’s true.

Now for my shameless pitch…

If you’re not yet familiar with Damaged in Service, the cliff-notes version of the saga, reads like this…

Zeke Cabot is a seasoned and well-regarded special agent with the FBI’s Chicago Field office. Toward the end of her tour, she endured a grueling two-month undercover investigation to locate a serial killer. Events during that assignment affected her physically, mentally, and emotionally.

An extended medical leave/vacation finds her in the central mountains of New Mexico.

Anne Reynolds, a once sought after highly skilled surgical nurse, is now a shamed divorcee following a highly publicized scandal involving her husband and the city government.

The paths of these two women cross several times before either of them recognizes the underlying chemistry.
Once they connect, the inevitable questions, self-doubts, and teasing begins. They’re both mature enough to recognize the possibilities—both good and bad.

Just as they take the cautious first steps at romance, Zeke’s professional demons reappear, threatening not only their romance, but also their lives. Unanswered questions and a call to return to Chicago leave both women confused.

Book Two, Defying Gravity, begins in Chicago . . .
Someone wants something from Zeke, and is coming after her. Her only recourse is to review loose ends from her closed case in an effort to find whoever is after her and what they want.

On the romance front, both Zeke and Anne acknowledge their mutual attraction and ultimate desire to be together. So, when Zeke finally returns to New Mexico, she and Anne navigate the first steps of a shared life.

Of course, new love, new jobs, coming to terms with a new sexuality, emotional family crises, and the continued specter of danger throws Zeke and Anne off balance time and again.

Beyond that, the sometimes silent, always lurking reality of Zeke’s Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) keeps her physically and emotionally on quaking ground. Anne knows it. Zeke knows it. Yet, it remains the chain-smoking elephant in the room.

And yes, print and eBooks are available through http://affinityebooks.com, Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Thanks for inviting me to the party Katie and KT.

2012 Lesbian Fiction Appreciation Event: Danika from the Lesbrary Looking for Lesbian Fiction to Review

2012-01-17T14:53:00.000-05:00

Hello! I’m Danika, from The Lesbrary. I am, surprise surprise, a lesbian. And although I have a very supportive family and friends base, when I first came out, I didn’t really know any other lesbians. Like many other queer people, I had to find my queer family through media, and because I’ve always been a bookworm, books were the logical place to turn.

I managed to root out lots of lesbian books on my own, but what I really wanted was a lesbian book blog, like all the other book blogs I read. The problem was that the queer book blogs I followed were less queer than just gay men centred. It wasn’t uncommon to have 10 gay male books reviewed for every lesbian book, with the very occasional bisexual book, and usually no trans* books at all. When I couldn’t find any lesbian book blogs, I started my own (and then instantly found a bunch of lesbian book blogs. Ah, well).

I read lesbian fiction for the familiarity, but it’s not just that. As Emma Donoghue’s amazing book Inseparable: Desire Between Women in Literature says, in lesbian books, gender roles are “up for grabs”. There is no falling back on the “standard” gender roles, because there are none. We have no real parameters for how two women “should” behave in a relationship together, which makes the dynamics a lot more interesting. Also, to be perfectly obvious: lesbian books focus on women! Women are taught from a young age that “men are people and women are women”. We are taught to identify with men because they are the default. This means that most media is about men. There’s nothing wrong with stories about men, but when they’re all you see, it gets tiring.

But the thing I love about lesbian literature is that there is so much more of it then it’s given credit for! Inseparable details the rich history desire between women in literature has. Ovid, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Dickens, even the Bible has stories about desire between women! We’ve always been here, and we’ve always been written about, but lesbian literature has been suppressed. And it still is, obviously, which is why we’re having this discussion: M/M is hitting its stride, and F/F is still seen as the underdog. I can’t help but see some sexism in that. F/F is still, I suspect, seen as straight male porn or only applicable to lesbians, but M/M, because it’s written for straight women, somehow doesn’t have the porn stigma attached to it. There is so much sexism tied into this that it’s difficult to untangle all of it: men are seen as the default/more important, women may seek out M/M romance to avoid the misogyny in some straight romance, lesbianism is still seen as less legitimate of a sexuality because it doesn’t involve men, etc.

But setting aside my feminist rant, lesbian fiction has so much to offer. Ever since I started the Lesbrary, I’ve been exposed to more and more awesome F/F literature in every genre. Jeanette Winterson and Sarah Waters prove that you can have lesbian books that are literary and hugely popular (read Fingersmith and then tell me that lesbian fiction needs lower standards than other fiction). Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home is both the best graphic novel and the best memoir I’ve ever read. Ivan Coyote continues to break my heart every time I read anything she writes. There’s F/F sci fi, romance, mysteries (tons and tons of mysteries), YA, literature, nonfiction, steampunk cowgirl novels, Christmas stories, zombie books, memoirs, and so many more, and there’s stand-out, breathtaking things happening in all the genres. In fact, if I could give one piece of advice to people reading F/F it’s this: raise your expectations. Whatever F/F books you’re looking for, don’t settle for ones you think are so-so. I guarantee you there are amazing books for you out there, you just need to dig a little deeper to find them.

And to any F/F authors, reviewers, or publishers who want some extra publicity, I would be happy to help you out at the Lesbrary.

Happy reading!

2012 Lesbian Fiction Appreciation Event: Lori L. Lake: Giving New Life to Your Backlist and Unpublished Works

2012-01-17T07:08:00.000-05:00

Have you been writing for years and possess a “secret” drawer – or hard drive – full of unpublished manuscripts? Or did you publish some books, they went out of print, and now you have the rights back?

There’s never been a better time to resurrect old manuscripts and out-of-print books and convert them to digital/electronic books. In the last two years, e-books for e-readers have become extremely popular. It’s time for you to get with the new program!

Rights
You have to have the rights – if the book has been previously published – before you can go forward. If you had an agent, ask them to get that information. You can also contact your previous publisher. Your contract may specify the end date as well. Just make sure that nobody else has a license or rights to your book before you proceed.

Editing
If your book was never published, you already possess all the rights to do with it as you wish, so all you have to do is haul out your manuscript and either edit it yourself or engage an editor. Don’t scrimp on this step. Even a previously published book may need to be re-edited. Make sure that the book is in tiptop shape in every way, including plot, characterization, grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure.

Scanning
Older books that exist only in print form will need to be scanned and turned into digital files. You can do it yourself – scanners with optical character recognition (OCR) are cheap. There are also online sources that will do it for you such as:
www.pdfdocument.com
www.bookscanning.com
www.blueleaf-book-scanning.com

You send them the physical book, they take it apart and feed it into the scanner, and that will turn it into a digital format – usually Word.

Formatting
Once you have your book in digital form, it must be formatted. Two of the most widely known formats are ePub and Mobi/PRC. In order to upload your book to sales outlets (such as Bella Books, Rainbow eBooks, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, or the iBookstore), the book must be formatted so that people using various e-readers can make sense of it. This is a critical step and, besides editing and cover creation, may be the most expensive.

I know of two lesbian craftswomen who run formatting businesses:

• Catherine Wilson at www.raqoon-design.com
• Liz Gibson at www.lizardoebooks.shuttlepod.org

They will turn out a professionally formatted, beautiful version of your book for a reasonable price.

Covers
Your cover will help sell your book, so you need a very good one. It needs to “pop” and be laid out effectively because it may be as small as one-inch tall on the customer’s screen! The images must be clear, and the title and author name need to be much more prominent than what we usually see on print books.

I find cover images at places like iStockphoto.com, Shutterstock.com, or Dreamstime.com, then share those images with a cover designer who can use Photoshop or other tools to create the design. Like formatting and editing, this is another area that you don’t want to skimp on. I recently found a terrific “pre-made” site at http://bookgraphics.wordpress.com. There are scads of cover artists all over the internet who will create covers for reasonable prices.

Uploading
In order to make your book available at the various e-tailers, you will need to gather data to describe and promote it. That includes title, author, publisher, category, copyright dates, eISBN (if any), description, and any review quotes or blurbs that you have. All of that is part of the “metadata” that e-tailers post on their sale websites. You will also want to think about “keywords” that will market and promote your book. For instance: lesbian romance, uber, coming of age, YA, romantic intrigue, World War II, espionage, lesbian erotica, etc. All of those keywords can help describe your book and allow readers to find it more easily.

Pricing
The last step before going “live” is to price your book. We’re seeing a range in prices from 99 cents to about $14.99, with the vast majority of books between $2.99 and $9.99. The biggest reason for that range is that e-tailers like Amazon.com give the author the biggest split for pricing between $2.99 and $9.99. Amazon pays 70% of the sale price at that range, and Barnes & Noble pays 65%.

Most e-tailers have created uploading pages that are easy to update and change. So feel free to experiment with pricing to find the level that sells most and gives you the best results.

Finally…
You will want to let your friends, fans, and family know about your new book. Get the word out. And then be ready to post your next book. I’ve found that a new book sells the old book, so keep on writing!

© 2012 Lori L. Lake. Not for distribution or copying without the express permission of the author. Lori can be reached at Lori@LoriLLake.com and welcomes questions and comments.

Bio:
Lori L. Lake is the author of eight novels, two books of short stories, and editor of two anthologies. Her short work has been anthologized in “The Silence of the Loons,” “Once Upon A Crime,” and “Women of the Mean Streets.” She is a recipient of the Alice B. Reader Appreciation Award, a Lambda Literary Finalist in the anthology category, and winner of the Ann Bannon Award and a Golden Crown “Goldie” for Snow Moon Rising. Lori lived in Minnesota for 26 years, but re-located to Portland, Oregon, in 2009. When she's not writing, she’s at the local movie house or curled up in a chair reading. She’s currently working on another novel in the “Gun” series. For more information, see her website at www.lorillake.com.

2012 Lesbian Fiction Appreciation Event: Paisley Smith on Writing Lesbian Fiction

2012-01-16T15:40:00.000-05:00

When I first began querying publishers with my FF romance titles, editor after editor told me that FF doesn’t sell. I also got the argument that lesbians tended to choose print books over ebooks. I wondered how publishing houses knew if they had never really promoted the genre. As a reader, I found very little available. There are plenty of lesbian and bi-curious readers out there who are looking for something fresh to read that is tailored to them, including myself! The few books existing tended toward traditional MF romances with gratuitous FF scenes sprinkled in to titillate.

When Ellora’s Cave put out the call for FF submissions, I waded into the untested waters with Birthday Girl, http://paisley-smith.com/bookshelf-2/birthday-girl-by-paisley-smith a story about a husband who fulfills his wife’s bi-curious fantasies by enlisting the help of his wife’s woman-crush. The story sold surprisingly well and three years later, is still a steady seller on my backlist.

At the same time, Ellora’s Cave began publishing Naughty Nooners, short free reads designed to give readers a sample of an author’s style. I submitted a short, FF, First Taste, http://paisley-smith.com/freebies (did I mention it is FREE? Check it out!) which has consistently been in the TOP TEN erotic freebies on Amazon since its publication. Out of all the free reads, its high Amazon ranking led me to believe that FF could and would sell.

I added Beyond Curious http://paisley-smith.com/bookshelf-2/beyond-curious-by-paisley-smith to my growing list of FF titles and it too, has been a steady seller.

I’m still looking for my niche in the FF library. I’ve penned a historical, Beguiled, http://paisley-smith.com/bookshelf-2/coming-soon as well as a short sequel, Her Beguiling Bride, which will be released at Loose Id in March 2012. Beguiled has hovered on Amazon’s top 100 gay and lesbian erotica list since its publication in 2010, and has been recognized as a CAPA Best Historical nominee for 2011, among all historical books, not just in the FF category. That tells me FF books are becoming a more mainstream genre.

When Ellora’s Cave opened a Kink line, I jumped at the opportunity to submit a medical fetish story to that line. Nurse Lovette http://paisley-smith.com/bookshelf-2/nurse-lovette has climbed, especially on Amazon, where, in my opinion, there is a much wider audience for FF books than on individual publishers’ websites.
My short FF stories appear in three Cleis Press anthologies, Girls Who Bite, She Shifters, and Locker Room, but since I am only a contributor, I don’t have the sales info for these collections.

Thus far, I have been very pleased with the response to my FF titles and with their staying power. I will certainly continue to publish in the FF genre that I not only enjoy writing but reading as well.

About Paisley Smith...

I’m Paisley Smith! I am a full time freelance writer and can usually be found in front of my computer either writing, chatting, promoting or plotting. It’s a glamorous life…working in one’s pajamas.

I attended college in the Deep South where I obtained a slew of totally useless degrees and developed an unrelenting sense of humor.

My books can be found at Ellora’s Cave , Loose Id, and Cleis Press!

For more info about me and my books, visit my site at http://Paisley-Smith.com.

2012 Lesbian Fiction Appreciation Event: Lesbian Fiction at Storm Moon Press

2012-01-16T10:50:00.000-05:00

Storm Moon Press loves lesbian romances, and it's a never-ending topic of frustration at the lack of submissions, interest, and reviewers for them. Our belief is that there is a self-fulfilling prophecy where lesbian fiction is concerned: publishers don't think it sells well enough, calls don't go out, authors think there's no interest, and readers are left bereft of quality choices and move on to other titles when their small selection is exhausted, and thus, publishers are left believing lesbian fiction doesn't sell. Round and round we go.

To combat this, Storm Moon Press actively seeks and publishes lesbian erotic romances. We've been around for two years now (just celebrated our second anniversary!), and we're a small press with no intention of growing larger. We like the level of personal attention we can give authors and readers, and to get bigger, we feel, would compromise quality. In our two years, we've published a handful of wonderful fiction.

Burn the Brightest by Emily Moreton ($1.49 short story)
Edith is a woman who has been burned too many times to play the Fool again. That is, until she meets Jo, a naval communications officer, and finds herself questioning all of her assumptions about life and love. Edith's rule to never again date someone in the military first bends, and then breaks under the weight of her attraction to easy-going, confident Jo. But when duty and desire collide, Edith fears being left behind once again.

Blazing Star by Marie Carlson ($1.99 short story)
Bea is a mind reader, weary of battle, but still with the Star in her eyes. Her lover, Hope, returns to Bea's sanctuary in need of comfort and guidance, which Bea is only too happy to give. But the respite is short-lived when other Hunters show up at the sanctuary with news of an impending battle. Bea knows she must let Hope go, even though it may be for the last time.

Daughters of Artemis Anthology (6 short stories, $6.99)
Werewolf lore has long been dominated by tales of the strong alpha male, but what of the strong alpha females? The Storm Moon Press anthology Daughters of Artemis explores this mostly neglected aspect of the werewolf mythos, with an erotic twist. This anthology contains short stories by Marie Carlson, K. Piet, Erik Moore, S.L. Armstrong, Shashauna P. Thomas, and Della R. Buckland.

Modern Mythology by Penny K. Moss ($2.49 short story)
After years of studying the art and magic of runecrafting, Käde has returned to her family in the Southern Circle in time for the long, dark winter when the sun disappears for two months. While there, she has a chance to catch up with Räivä, a childhood friend she has not seen for many years. Just as new feelings between the two women begin to bloom, an accident with her hunting party leaves Räivä lost somewhere in the blizzard. Käde knows she has little time to find Räivä, but it will take more than just runecraft to rescue her, and Käde fears she doesn't have the strength.

The three lesbian titles we have coming out in February are single re-releases from Daughters of Artemis, and sadly, that's all we have in our queue! Our post on Wednesday here will discuss our current calls and what we're looking for, and I hope authors will stick around to see that. We're very eager to work with new and established authors, and we're always happy to see lesbian or bisexual submissions (F/F/M) of novella and novel lengths. So, poke back by on Wednesday for what we're looking for, our current calls and lines, and an awesome giveaway for a pack of all four current lesbian titles!

S.L. Armstrong is the managing editor of Storm Moon Press and the co-author of Other Side of Night: Bastian & Riley and Catalyst. She can be found at http://www.slarmstrong.net/ or on Twitter @_slarmstrong.