JMS Books releases “Holding the Reins” in print this week with seven stories, all horse-themed, all schmoopy love stories, all erotic. If you like men in love who love horses, then these stories are for you!

It debuted at the Rainbow Book Fair in New York, and it’s available here now:

http://www.jms-books.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=8&products_id=226&zenid=bjev9egorfgb1sqrthah5n7a16

JMS also has some of my other stories here. The page looks pretty darn impressive, if I do say so myself. JM has done a terrific job with giving me a themed look to the covers, and I appreciate that they have a similar feel. Check it out:
http://www.jms-books.com/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=16

I’m planning to bring some copies to Gay Days in Orlando the first week of June. If you’ll be there, please do stop by and say hello. I’ll be manning the Torquere Press table, and Kiernan Kelly will have some of my books to sell on her authors’ table for folks participating in the literary festival.

Torquere Press Celebrates 7^th Anniversary!

Seven years?! No, we can hardly believe it either. Seven years of bringing readers the best, the sexiest, the most romantic GLBT fiction. And to celebrate, we’re giving away prizes — great themed gift baskets, gift certificates for free books every day, and a scavenger hunt that will give readers a chance to collect a deck of cards that will win big – -a Nook from Barnes & Noble!

Readers will get the chance to “collect cards” by visiting each participating author’s website, blog, or Facebook page. By collecting all the cards and filling in the form, players have the chance to  win free books daily, a gift basket once each week, (including BDSM, werewolf and ménage themed baskets), and be entered in the grand prize drawing for the Nook.

 We’ll also be having random sales via our blog, GLBT Romance, Facebook, and Twitter: 

 http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=1182167880&ref=ts

http://twitter.com/Torquere

http://glbtromance.blogspot.com/

With bestselling GLBT romance authors like Chris Owen, Tory Temple, Kiernan Kelly, P.D.Singer, Sean Michael, and B.A. Tortuga, you’ll have a blast playing along. Just log onto Torquere Press website http://www.torquerepress.com/contest/index.html

Check out the contest page, and start hunting!

So, ya feel lucky, dude? Let’s play! And yes, there’s a card here on this site so start hunting.

Big cats, sexy men, and guns.

“Lions and Tigers and Snares” is available as a free read at Smashwords and 1Romance E-books. When undercover game officer Byron Reese tracks down a suspect in endangered species violations, he comes up against someone he didn’t expect: a sexy, soft-hearted, big cat handler who has secrets of his own. When a shipment of dangerous cats comes in, the two men face off against an enemy with fists flying and guns blazing. M/M, action adventure.

The links are: Smashwords version OR 1Romance Ebooks version.

Horse Tales along with Bruised/Back in the Saddle are also live on Amazon Kindle, Smashwords, and 1Romance. I’m considering doing a print version of Horse Tales for the upcoming Pride events in Roanoke and Durham. I’ve also got tons of goodies for the goodie bags, and I’ll be hanging out with J.M. Snyder, Beth Wylde, and of course, the fantabulous Amanda Young.

Roanoke Pride in the Park is Sunday, September 19th and the North Carolina Pride in Durham will be Saturday, September 25. Join us!

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

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 official blurb: Horse Tales collects the best of Vincent Diamond’s horse-themed stories, including the brand-new “Holding the Reins.” These characters are gay men with real-life problems, desires, and loves–for each other and for the horses that dapple their days. Seven stories that pulse with heat and color and passion, Horse Tales are truly diamond chips from an author known for stellar writing.

(38,000 words, priced at $3.95. Includes: Holding the Reins, Bruised, Back in the Saddle, Horsing Around, Tropical Daze, Horse Sense and Irish Cream.)

And it’s here! https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/4466

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

Watermark, the Florida-based GLBT weekly did an interview with Kayelle Allen, Kiernan Kelly, and I recently, and it posted today. The publisher spotted us at Gay Days (in the Gay Days wrap-up story we were described as looking as if we should be wearing aprons and selling brownies!), and had a follow-up story done for their “Secrets” issue. It’s here:

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.

The wonderfully generous Alan Chin recently posted an interview with moi, and it’s herein that I bitch about overpopulation, Premarin farms, horse slaughter, and, oh yeah, a little about writing. It’s not *all* bitching though:

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.

One of my favorite things to do is write checks to the charities I’ve picked for various book projects. And I got to do that this past week after getting a check from Torquere for Animal Attraction 2. I sent Gentle Giants and Florida Draft Horse Rescue some money, and you can reach them here should you be so inclined.
http://www.gentlegiantsdrafthorserescue.com/

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

Cowboy Junkie, who also hangs out at The Phade forums (http://z3.invisionfree.com/The_Phade/index.php?s=e7497dd982e0d735b3f5983a44737697&act=idx), a M/M dessert place oozing with juicy recs, discussion, and author threads, posted a very thorough and complimentary review of Rough Cut here:

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.