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!