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!

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

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!

“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.

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!

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

Editor Vincent Kovar just updated the contributors’ on the book’s status, which is always a nice thing for an editor to do. It will be on Amazon in 10-15 days, and if you’re in the Seattle area, the publication party will be held at:

Bailey-Coy Books

414 Broadway E

Seattle, WA

Thurs. July 23rd, 2009

@ 7 P.M.

Anyone who is able to attend, please do post about it and let me know how it went!

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.