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.

Well, it was phabulous, as always. Folks are usually in good spirits, and even with the whole power-out-you-can’t-get-in-to-set-up kerfluffle on Thursday, Kiernan Kelly and Kayelle Allen and I managed to have fun. Oh, and sell some books.

This year, there seemed to be more interest in the novels than the short story anthos and collection. And several guys came in to do a sweep, grabbing 5, 6, 8 or more titles all at once. Which really makes we writer types very happy. With a bunch of different titles, genres, and heat levels to sell, I think all three of us were very pleased with the results. And, of course, meeting Actual, Live Fans is always a hoot. A lot of the guys remembered us from previous years and stopped by to chat and give us feedback on the stories they’d bought previously. Really, really nice of them.

My next book sales trip is slated for September, doing the Roanoke and Durham Prides again with Amanda Young. It’ll be a nice combo vacation/business trip, and the weather that time of year should be extremely pleasant. It’ll still be really freaking hot in Florida then so I’ll be ready to get out of Dodge for a bit and take a break.

For inexplicable reasons, “Bruised” and “Back in the Saddle”, my two-story download at Amazon Shorts (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000KHX8RA/?tag=vincentdiamon-20) is back at #1. Since this two-fer was released almost three years ago, I’m more than a little surprised that it still has some life in it.

It’s too bad Amazon seems to have let this program drift away, a lonely ice cube in the vast sea of e-publishing. Amazon Short was a *really cheap* way for people to try new authors. I mean, geez, for 49 cents, you’d try almost anything, right? Of course, it’s not an income-producing venue for authors, more of a marketing/promo strategy than anything else. I think I’ve earned thirty bucks or so from Amazon so not a way to get rich:).

But then, writing fiction in general is not a way to get rich. Ahem.

And in other Really Cool News, Richard Labonte emailed the authors who contributed to Best Gay Erotica 2009 to let us know that the antho won in the Best Gay Erotica category last night at the Lambdas! Woo hoo! Quite the compliment, and I’m please to see Richard and Cleis doing well.

Along with fellow m/m romance writers Kiernan Kelly and Kayelle Allen, I’ll be at Gay Days at Disney World this year, with books for sale, chapbooks to give away, promo items with pictures of yummy men (and beasts), and just generally enjoying the vibe of Gay Days. It’s always a scene, always fun, and always upbeat.

Selling romance to gay men can be a challenge sometimes. I remember one year a guy said, “Gay romance? It must be fiction.” Which made us laugh but then feel kinda sad. Everyone *wants* romance in their lives, and some of us only get it on paper it appears.

Along with Animal Attraction 2 and Rough Cut, I’ll have lots of titles from Cleis Press available including Best Gay Romance 2009, Surfer Boys, and a couple of the Best Lesbian Erotica series. After all, women want romance and sex too.

Please do stop by our booth and say hi if you’ll be there!

Got a lovely “yes” email today from Vincent, the editor of the Gay City Health Project charity anthology. They picked “Not to Forget” as one of the stories for the book, and it’s always a thrill to get an acceptance! Woo hoo!

The Gay City Health Project “is a multicultural gay men’s health organization and the premiere provider of HIV and STD testing in King County. Our mission is to promote gay and bisexual men’s health and prevent HIV transmission by building community, fostering communication and nurturing self-esteem.” The book is being sold to raise funds for this non-profit. They’re here: http://www.gaycity.org/

I’m looking forward to seeing the book and hope that it does well for the organization. From my limited experience, most folks are really kind about supporting books like this. The Coming Together series, spearheaded by Alessia Brio and Phaze, is a stellar example of the ways writers, editors, and artists donate their talents and resources to help all kinds of folks. Torquere Press has donated over $3,000 to the Lambda Legal Fund to help fight for gay marriage from their marriage Sips collections.

In other news, alas, I’m not going to be able to make it to Saints & Sinners. Trite to blame the economy I know, but it’s the truth; I just can’t justify the expense this year. In the face of publisher payment slowdowns and working around a part-time job, it’s not feasible. It’s a terrific conference though, and if you get the chance to attend, if only for one day of classes and panels, it’s worth it.

I am, however, definitely going to Gay Days at Disney next month with Kiernan Kelly and Kayelle Allen. That I’m also looking forward to. In fact, that reminds me, I need to put together some more chapbooks to give away…

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

The always-fabulous Elisa Rolle had nice things to say about the book here:
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/615637.html?mode=reply

She mentions that the book works as a whole even with the markedly different voices of the individual authors, and the variety of beasties that they wrote about. I’m very tickled to see their hard work acknowledged. The stories really are top-notch, with the whole subtext of action/adventure going on in each of them. That wasn’t intentional but it’s definitely they way the book turned out.

Woo hoo!

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.

From Torquere Press, the long-awaited anthology from some of the best authors Torquere has to offer: Jane Davitt, Kiernan Kelly, Sean Michael, Aaron Michaels, CB Potts, and Julia Talbot.

Like Animal Attraction 1, a portion of my editor’s proceeds are being donated to animal causes. This time, it’s Gentle Giants Draft Horse Rescue and Florida Draft Horse Rescue. 

Because of their size (and therefore value to the meat dealers  and the PMU trade), draft horses often end up in feedlots around the country. If you can find it in your heart to help them out–even a couple dollars will help–I’d be thrilled for you to do so.