vincentdiamond.com

Okay, so I am hip deep in boxes and packing and Making Arrangements and running back and forth to storage units, and just generally starting to freak out a little. In two weeks, I’ll have the truck packed, my animals in carriers, and will be heading up the road (I-95) to Raleigh, North Carolina.

Who knows the area and can recommend any of the following please:
1- a good, independent bookstore
2- a good Thai restaurant
3- a good pizza place
4- a dressage barn for lessons
5- a barn that rents horses for trail rides (I already know about Dead Broke Farm; that’s not the kind of trail riding I’m interested in. I want flat straightaways where I can trot for more than 12.5 seconds.)
6- a serious writer’s group of published authors in the Raleigh area

Any other advice and suggestions welcomed, of course. Yes, I will still be editing for my various publishers, and yes, I will be in the market for a full-time Real Job, and yes, I’m excited and a little sad. The Ocala area was a place I moved to because I had to, and I will miss the horsiness of the rural locale, but it’s time to move on. It’s all a tad bittersweet; does that make sense?

Thanks for any info!

In the midst of packing for a move, I’ve found I have way, way, way too many books to either schlep along with me or pay to store so I’m taking a deep breath here and letting some things go. I’ve listed them on Amazon too, with varying prices, but for my LJ friends and colleagues, here’s a list of what’s available for a flat $10 each, plus 5 bucks postage.

Most of these are brand-new, either review copies or ‘trib copies that were duplicates. A few I’d bought to resell at Pride events so I do have several copies of Best Lesbian Erotica ‘08. Shoot me an email: vincent AT vincentdiamond dot com, and we’ll work out the whole paying/shipping thing. I’d prefer continental U.S. only but if you’re willing to pay shipping to Canada or overseas, I can box ‘em up for you. Here’s the list:

Best Gay Romance 2007
Hard Hats: Gay Erotic Stories
Hot Cops: Gay Erotic Stories (are ya seeing a theme here?)-2
Daddies: Gay Erotic Stories-2
Boys in Heat: Gay Erotic Stories
Best Lesbian Erotica 2008-4
Real Men Ride Horses
Spunky Sailor
Transgressions
False Colors
Ready to Serve: Arresting Gay Erotica
Love Sucks
Wilde Stories 2008
So Fey: Queer Fairy Fiction
Gay City: Volume 2
Riddle of the Sands

The awesome team over at Rainbow Reviews was kind enough to take a look-see at Horse Tales, and the review is here:

http://www.rainbow-reviews.com/?p=1997

I must thank the reviewer for noting the tense change issues in Horse Sense. It was written in present tense for its first publication, and I *thought* I’d revised it all to past tense. Hm, apparently not. Heh. Just goes to show, one cannot edit oneself.

A nice review, overall, and I’m pleased with it. I’ve also sent it to Dear Author so we’ll see what Team Slash ‘n Burn might make of it. Double heh.

Merry Monday!

Well, I finally did it. After some boots in the ass from Amanda Young and JM Snyder, I’ve taken the plunge into reader-direct fiction sales. I’ve put together a novella-length chapbook of my horse stories, and it leads off with the brand-new “Holding the Reins.”

“Holding the Reins” traces some of the history that Marcus and Philip shared. Philip was a professional show jumper, Marcus is the owner of a thoroughbred racing farm in Ocala, and the story details their first meeting at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa. It’s got some sexy parts, some poignant (I hope) parts, and some sad parts. It’s the sad parts that made me put off writing this story for a long time. It just touched a little too close to my own grieving about my father’s death last year.

But, it’s ready now, and so am I.

Holding the Reins is tucked in with six other stories: Bruised, Back in the Saddle, Horsing Around, Tropical Daze, Horse Sense, and Irish Cream, all of them horse-y stories where equines are a vital focus in the plotline. Some are also available in Rough Cut, and it’s my hope that folks will be willing to experiment with my writing for $3.95 instead of risking $18 for a print book. It’s available here:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/4466

And there’s a coupon exclusively for my LJ readers: use DQ97A for your coupon code and buy it for $2.99 ’til Halloween.

Well, it was a great trip. Roanoke Pride did amazingly well despite the fine drizzle that started the day. JM Snyder, Amanda Young, and I shared a booth while Beth Wylde and Alessia Brio were also onsite for the event. People were in good spirits, the entertainment seemed, well, entertaining from what we could hear of it, and we all sold some books. Note to self: lesbians read too! (I sold out of Best Lesbian Erotica 2009, a pleasant surprise.)

For the Durham Pride on Saturday, the days started out strong with sun and cool-ish weather. The parade set-up was right in front of our booth on the street so we got to see most of the marchers and groups. Llamas again this year, but no horses. Alas, a pretty steady drizzle started just after the parade and people began making an exodus out of the park. Alas. The event was supposed to end at 5, but many vendors began packing up shortly after 3, in the rain. We stayed ’til 4:30 then packed it in. Again, lesbian titles did well, and folks were tickled to meet Actual, Live Authors. Beth Wylde came down to share with Amanda and I, and she was a hoot and a half. Great company to have for a boothmate.

And my news is, I’ll be releasing a new story soon. Details to come in the next week or so. Woo hoo!

Title: Pride Event – authors Vincent Diamond & Amanda Young
Location: Duke East Campus, Durham, NC
Link out: Click here
Description: Saturday, September 26th, fiction author, Vincent Diamond, will be attending the Pride event in Durham, NC, sharing a booth with the ever-tasty Amanda Young, and her yummy selection of m/m romances. Events include a parade, food, music, vendors, and lots of fun. Please do stop by and say hello, and perhaps buy a book or two if you’re in the area!
Start Time: 10:00 am
Date: 2009-09-26
End Time: 17:00 pm

Sunday, September 20th and Saturday, September 26th, I’ll be attending the Pride events in Roanoke, VA and Durham, NC, sharing a booth with the ever-tasty Amanda Young, and her yummy selection of m/m romances. Both events include a parade, food, music, vendors, and lots of fun. Please do stop by and say hello, and perhaps buy a book or two if you’re in the area!

Sunday, September 20th and Saturday, September 26th, I’ll be attending the Pride events in Roanoka, VA and Durham, NC, sharing a booth with the ever-tasty Amanda Young, and her yummy selection of m/m romances. Both events include a parade, food, music, vendors, and lots of fun. Please do stop by and say hello, and perhaps buy a book or two if you’re in the area!

The newly-opened GLBT Bookshelf site is in full swing. Imagine my delight to see the Feathers cover on this banner ad. Woo hoo!

Ever since the Amazonfail, the GLBT publishing community has come to realize how vulnerable we are to someone else’s having control over access to our books. So this brainchild of Mel Keegan and crew has stepped in to offer a reliable source for all GLBT writers, editors, publishers, and reviewers. It’s a great resource, fun to browse through. Check it out here:

http://bookworld.editme.com