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.

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.

From the Lambda web site about the upcoming awards.

“ELIGIBILITY

In determining whether a book should be submitted for consideration, the Lambda Literary Awards are based principally on the LGBT content of the work. The sexual orientation of the author is secondary.
The book must be published and distributed (i.e. available in bookstores) in the United States during 2008.
Self-published books are eligible.
Reprints of previously published paperback, hardcover or electronic books are not eligible. Second (or later) editions of a book are not eligible for consideration. A book that has been republished by a different publisher after its initial publication is not eligible.
The book must be published in English. Translations from other languages into English are accepted, as long as the U.S. publication occurs during 2008.
E-books are not eligible.”

Take a look at that last one; if you’ve been published electronically only, your work is *not* eligble for the Lambda. FYI. This has apparently changed since last year when I specifically wrote the foundation, asking about e-books (I nominated Animal Attraction), and was told hard copies were required. I did so but this year I wouldn’t have that option.

Interesting. Thoughts? Comments?

http://rainbow-reviews.com/?p=88

This feels really nice. All the hard work and tweaking and back-and-forth with the authors gets a nice pat on the ass from Rainbow Reviews, a new GLBT review site. The reviewer clearly read all the stories and understood the premise of the theme: not hard-core erotica, romantic erotica.

Huzzah!

Progress report for August:
# of anthologies released: 1 (Animal Attraction from Torquere Press. But you knew that).
# of submissions: 5
# of rejections: 7
# of sales: 0
# of proofreading/copy edit projects completed: 11
# of proofreading/copy edit projects in queue: 3
# of edit projects assigned: 2
# of Developmental Edits: 2 completed, 1 in progress
# of Book Doctor projects: 1 completed
# of checks owed for writing: 1
# of checks received for writing: 2
# of anthologies in planning stage in cahoots with Shanna Germain: 1-2:)
# pair of riding boots purchased: 1

Some of the rejections were from mainstream markets, a couple were from erotica. Especially disappointing to me was the “no” from Richard LaBonte from BRG and BGE. But he did say he liked my writing and wanted me to submit to any future anthos he does, so that felt nice.

And alas, the “Hot and Delicious” antho that Shane Allison was pulling together, fell apart. He couldn’t find a publisher for it:(. Shane did the very hot “Hot Cops” antho so I was expecting muy caliente stuff from this book as well. I appreciate that he updated his authors right away and released the stories back to us. Anyone looking for a 3K-ish piece set in a meat locker?

Animal Attraction seems to be doing well. Folks were very kind to me at all the live and loop chats I did. Website hits increased by 60% this month and it was definitely a result of the AA promo. It was great fun to send out the gift baskets and chapbooks and author packages! Once I knew AA was a go, I began collecting animal-themed goodies, knowing that I’d want to do these promo type gifts. I had tiger striped paper, jungle print candles, cat decorations, leopard print stickers, all kinds of silly stuff.

And in other news, I’ve moved over to Wordpress for my web site and it’s live here:

http://www.vincentdiamond.com

This will allow me to update and add to pages on my own instead of waiting for my ever-expert but busy webguy to do it. Like, the Torquere Press anniversary Scavenger Hunt graphic. I did it All By Myself. I’ll also be posting more story excerpts, links, and pictures of hunks. Because it ain’t just all about the words!

It’s here! It’s beautiful! And I’m very very pleased to have such a great group of authors and a fabulous press to work with. Thanks to all of you!

http://www.torquerepress.com/cart/cart.php?m=product_list&c=7

I shan’t rave any more about it; you know how I feel.

One of the authors, Aaron Michaels, has a cover shot on his LJ. It’s big and it’s here:

http://aaron-michaels.livejournal.com/1484.html?#cutid1

Is it not lovely? Is Alessia Brio not brilliant? Can you resist buying it? I think not, my pretties!

Here’s the table of contents to give you a taste of some of the talent on the pages:

Make Me Beg ? Aaron Michaels

Brahmas and Pitbulls ? BA Tortuga

A Hound, A Bay Horse, and a Turtledove ? Elazarus Wills
White Mountain ? Sarah Black
Cold Iron ? KC Warwick
Gerbil Falls in Love ? Dianne Fox
Chasing Samson ? Kiernan Kelly
Bungalow Bill ? Ansley Vaughan
Canine Connection ? Neil Plakcy
Indigenous ? J.L. Jensen
Birds of a Feather ? CB Potts
Horseplay ? Sean Michael

Puppy Tax ? J. Rocci
What We Leave Behind ? Shanna Germain

Some of these authors are new to Torquere Press; some are Torquere favorites. They all came up with a great mix of characters–both human and animal. It releases August 8th. I can’t wait for folks to get their paws on this one!

And it’s beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! Cover artist Alessia Brio captured a great image–I think it’s really a stunning visual, don’t you? I’m using it as my Userpic, which is a tad cramped. Once Torquere gets it uploaded to their website, I’ll post a URL. And the authors will be getting the covers today as well. (On my list of Things to Do, which is rather long right now).

One of the authors, Aaron Michaels, has a shot on his LJ. It’s big and it’s here:

http://aaron-michaels.livejournal.com/1484.html?#cutid1

Animal Attraction will be released August 8th by Torquere Press and it’s an anthology to growl over. I asked for stories on the theme of, well, animal attraction and animals bringing people together. And I got some wonderful tales (tails) in response. I’ll be posting more details in the next couple of weeks but I’m a little giddy about the cover and had to share.

I think it’s so pweddy….

For June
# of submissions: 4 (Yes, I am still behind on my goal for the year)
# of rejections: 0 (which just means that editors haven’t made it through their Inboxes).
# of sales: 0
# of proofreading/copy edit projects completed: 6
# of proofreading/copy edit projects in queue: 7
# of Developmental Edits: 2
# of Book Doctor projects: 0
# of checks owed for writing: 6
# of anthologies in production at publisher: 1 (Animal Attraction is at Torquere).
# of dressage saddles purchased: 1

I’m looking forward to getting final cover art for Animal Attraction and moving forward with starting promo on the book. The writers who contributed have a great variety of voices and perspectives. From gerbils to elephants, there are stories in the book about all kinds of animals. I was tickled to see what the authors came up with.

And a belated report on a sale from last month: “Not to Forget” was accepted for the Coming Together for a Cure by Alessia Brio and Phaze. The really-short story was something I sent just as a possible change-of-pace type story and Alessia liked it enough to accept it. (Begin Sexual Content Warning: absolutely no one in this story has an orgasm. End Sexual Content Warning). The book is more about love than erotica and I figured a non-sexual love story might work for the charity antho.

And what is *your* news this month?

Torquere has officially okayed the stories for the anthology I’m editing for them. And the selections are, in no order whatsoever:

“Make Me Beg”, Aaron Michaels
“White Mountain”, Sarah Black
“What We Leave Behind”, Shanna Germain
“Canine Connection” Neil Plakcy
“Puppy Tax”, J. Rocci
“Cold Iron”, KC Warwick
“Bungalow Bill”, Ansley Vaughn
“Hound, Horse, & Turtledove”, Elazarus Wills
“Brahmas & Pitbulls”, BA Tortuga
“Birds of a Feather”, CB Potts
“Indengious”, JL Jensen
“Gerbils Fall in Love”, Dianne Fox
“Horseplay”, Sean Michael
“Chasing Samson”, Kiernan Kelly

I got a nice mix of stories that are light, serious, romantic, smutty, and all in-between. Some of the authors are new to Torquere; some are long-time reader favorites. And the animals! We have elephants, owls, cougars, cats and dogs (living together!), gerbils, horses, and even an elk.

One thing I’m going to do on my end is offer readers the chance to choose which charity 10% of my fee will be donated to. I’ll have a list of a few animal charities that need help–a horse retirement community, a big cat refuge, a wolf refuge, one for elephants, and probably a spay/neuter charity for domestic pets– and ask buyers to let me know, either here or by email, which fund they want to help out. It’ll be some bookkeeping work on my end but that’s fine. There are so many sad stories out there and animals who need our help that a little time adding up some numbers every month ain’t a big deal.

Updates on the editing process will follow in the weeks to come! Congratulations to the authors and I think readers will be tickled with the stories.

(And it’s only fair to point out, that on preview, I’d initially spelled Sean’s story as Horselay. I kid you not).