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!

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

http://www.watermarkonline.com/index.php/lgbt-arts-culture/books/3208-The-secret-life-gay-erotica-scribe.html

I think Watermark is looking to expand their coverage of books so this is a welcome start. Yes, gay and lesbians do read stuff that’s not online; it’s true. And many are interested in romance and love stories beyond porn so publishers who can access that market have a definite clientele. It’s the accessing part of that equation that can get tricky at times.

http://alanchinwriter.blogspot.com/2009/06/interview-with-vincent-diamond.html

And he reviewed Animal Attraction 2 here, giving it 3 of 5 stars:
http://alanchinwriter.blogspot.com/2009/06/book-review-animal-attraction-ii-edited.html

The interview was fun, and it’s lovely to have the coverage and review.

http://www.drafthorserescue.org/

In fact, I just heard from Laura DiFranco, their Director of Marketing, and Gentle Giants recently got in six new rescues, very thin and diseased horses who need even more than the regular medical attention. They have severe rain rot, are underweight, and need corrective hoof care. I know the economy is tough on everyone, and every penny counts. If you have even a dollar or two to spare, it could certainly help these animals out.

Once I get a royalty check from Lethe, I’ll also be sending the Audubon Birds of Prey Center in Maitland, Florida part of my proceeds. They do rescue and rehab of raptors, the birds of prey. Visit them here:

http://www.audubonofflorida.org/who_centers_CBOP.html

http://cboy-junkie.livejournal.com/6807.html

It always surprises and pleases me when folks do a granular reading of my stories. Readers who take the time to notice the details, the ones who appreciate the little turns of phrase that I worked so hard to get *just right*, the readers who come to care about the characters.

It’s a challenge when writing romance and erotica. As a writer, you could just assume that people are skipping around, rushing through to get to the “good parts”, but there are some readers who read for nuance, for romance, and for that emotional connection between characters and *with* the characters that’s incredibly gratifying.

It makes all the hard work and worry and revising and tweaking worth it.

Really, really worth it.

http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1867

It looks beautiful, the stories are hot and intriguing and hot and well-written, and did I mention, um, hot?

Alessia Brio, the Brilliant, did another stellar cover. How does that girl keep up with herself?

Torquere has also put AA1 on sale. Woo hoo!

Enjoy!

I’ll be on the Torquere Social LJ tomorrow posting excerpts and talking about the *fabulous* authors who contributed to this book. Thank you Jane Davitt, Aaron Michaels, Sean Michael, (no, they’re not related), CB Potts, Julia Talbot, and Kiernan Kelly. Some of them may even get to stop by and say “hi!” as well.

Check in tomorrow!

To check out “Slide into Desire” in all its luscious, smutty entirety, click on the site’s left hand column on A Free Gay Story and you can read the PDF version of the piece. They’ve also got work from Craig Laurance Gidney and his collection, Sea, Swallow Me, Lynne Jamneck and Catherine Lundoff, if you like lesbian stories.

So, if you’re in the mood for a romantically smutty yet-strangely-tasteful story (well, it is about a blowjob), click on the link and have at it. Feedback welcome, of course.

Most of the reason for my near-radio silence the past few months is that I’ve been dealing with lots of back-and-forthing to the doctors and ultrasounds and CT scans and blood work and blah blah blah disease fishcakes. After some odd bloodwork in July, getting dicked around by a Huge Health Conglomerate Who Shall Remain Nameless, an ultrasound in October showed iffy spots on my liver that needed to be checked out. But lo (and behold!) they’re apparently only hemangiomas (don’t ask me to pronounce that please) and benign and therefore harmless and all the sleep I’ve lost and worry and generalized anxiety was for naught.

Some of you know that I had surgery and treatment for thyroid cancer in ’06. It’s a weird disease because thyroid cancer (unless it has spread) isn’t treated with traditional radiation and chemo, it’s treated with surgery and radioactive iodine. And I did all that. And I did follow-up tests this year in September that showed I’m clear so that’s good news as well. Thyroid cancer itself is rare (like 2% of all cancers), the type I had is even more rare (like 20% of thyroid cancers), and it’s very survivable. So, I should be done right, and feeling A-OK?

But here’s the thing, and if you’ve ever been diagnosed with cancer you know how this feels, once you’ve had it, the thought of it never really goes away. for lengthiness and angsting and rampant me-monkeyism)

Every little symptom is worrisome. That scrape on my knee where the horse ran me into the fence in July: gee, does that look funny? Why isn’t it healing faster? That pain up under my rib; is that lung cancer? (Hurthle cell carcinoma, my particular little rarity of a cancer does tend to spread to lungs.) That pressure-y feeling in my belly; is that Something Bad? I mean, it just never lets up.

Before the Fucking Cancer, I was the proverbial healthy-as-a-horse type. Really. No surgeries. No children. No car accidents. Except for a broken arm when I was twelve I have NEVER been in a hospital overnight. (The emergency room visit after being bucked off a horse wasn’t Scary; I knew exactly what the fuck was wrong. I got bucked off a horse, damn it.)

So this whole patient/sick/medicine/surgery thing really whacked me out. I don’t want to be one of Those People, you know, the ones who make their lives ALL About their disease. I don’t want to be one of Those People who talk all about their medical issues at a simple “Hi, how are you?” And I don’t think, for the most part, I am one of Those People. I try not to be. I don’t like medical procedures, I do not get positive reinforcement for being a patient, and I’d just really rather not do this any more.

So, here I am at year end with a clean bill of health, a high deductible to pay off (I am seriously going to look into an HSA for next year), and lots of projects to look forward to for ’09. I’ve got several publisher clients to work for; I’ve got two anthologies to produce for Torquere and Lethe respectively; I’ve got trips slated for the Romantic Times convention in Orlando, and Saints & Sinners in New Orleans. Lots going on and lots to look forward to! Raise a glass with me to greet the new year!