The story is setting in Cornwall of 1808. Jack is a miner and he lives a miserable life since his lover Clem, drowned inside the mine. Trying to rescue his lover, Jack cried out to the man his love and now all the town knows that Jack is a sodomite, and he survives waiting the day when someone will be tired of him and will end his existence.Then one day a ship wrecks near the shore and while all the men tries to steal as much as possible, Jack instead saves a man, Nehemiah; Jack knows that, if the other men see the injured stranger, they will kill him, and saving him Jack has a bit of relief for not having saved Clem. Jack thinks the man an English sailor, and instead Nehemiah is an American citizen, forced to join up the English army when he arrived with a merchant ship months before.
In the loneliness of Jack's cottage, Nehemiah and Jack discover that they have a lot in common and Nehemiah convinces Jack to find the freedom with him outside the small town where he lives. But their life is not simple, a stranger and a sodomite alone against the world.
The story is pretty short, less than 35 pages, but it's very good. Again the author tries to involve the reader using Cornish words in the middle of the sentences, and also when she uses plain English, the grammar construction is very particular. There is a lot of reference to specific customs of the period and to the political relationship between America and England, but also on the way English government treated simple peasant like Jack. All in all, it seems that for a so short story, the author made a very good work.
http://www.torquerebooks.com/zencart/ind
Waiting Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bott
---
September is in a matter of days now. My daughter will be turning 17 on the third. It's hard to believe. We're supposed to be getting a tattoo together for her birthday, but we'll have to see if the funds are available.
I attended the cub scouts sign up meeting last night and there were loads of people. Some I knew from the previous years and some just joining. I don't FEEL any older than most of the parents, but I was standing in line to turn in the paper work, the gals next to me both had much younger oldest children... both nine. I couldn't help but feel the weight of my years just hop right up on my shoulders. Damn.
But I refuse to let that bother me... I am not THAT old! I mean, come on! My mom is 20 years older and she still goes out there and does stuff. I don't think of her as old at all. Hell, my in laws are in their 70s and still are quite active. Me old? Nah. But watching your babies grow up can make you really feel like it sometimes.
---
I'm very much looking forward to this coming Saturday. One of the guys who works at Guyer, (my hubby's employer), is having his twice annual unofficial company cookout. Everyone at the company is invited. This is the first time we're able to attend. Free food, free booze and free company... I'm very, very excited to go, as some may know I don't get out much and I'm surprised I'm not socially dysfunctional. Anyway, one of hubby's good friends will be there with his wife, (whom I secretly have the hots for lol). She is usually good at getting me pretty hammered, so it should be a good time.
---
This may not seem like a huge deal to most people, but it's been two or three? months now and I've kept up with the dishes. hahaha I amaze myself!! I detest washing dishes, but once I got in the habit and I can't stand to see even one side of the sink full. LOL
Also since school has started, my boys have done a good job at keeping their crap picked up. We cleaned and moved the furniture around on Sunday and four days later, it still looks tidy. Yay! A messy house really wears a person's state of mind down to nothing. It was getting so bad, I could feel the depression stalking me. Now all is better and I'm so happy. It helps a zillion that I finally convinced hubby to move the (five!) bikes out of the front room office area to the back utility room. >> The curse of having no garage or storage shed. ugh I can probably dance the waltz in the space I have behind me now. I'm loving that!
---
I learned a new exercise for my triceps last night. I have those granny wing things going on... we all know how gross that is! So I'm trying, trying, trying to tighten them up. I don't know at this point if I'll ever be able to wear those cute cropped sleeve tees or not, but I'll be damned if I don't try! So now I'm doing three different types of weight exercises for my triceps. Two of them with the heavy weights and the new one with the medium weights. (I tried it with the heavy weights and couldn't even do it!! lol) I'm doing one set of twenty of each at least five times a week. I don't know if that's enough to really do anything, but I figure it has to help. My biceps, shoulders and chest areas are getting pretty ripped, so if I can just get rid of these flapping wings, I'll be peachy. :)
If anyone has any advice on triceps exercises or if I'm even doing them often enough, etc., please comment.
- Mood:
a bit chilly
This is a news that could be interesting for a lot of authors in my FriendsList I believe.In Italy is born a new publisher leased to Gay Literature. The name is "Playground Libri" and the website is:
http://www.playgroundlibri.it/
As you can see the site is only in Italian but I can try to give you some more info: in this moment the publisher has three lines
1) Main Series:
Hotel de Dream (same title) by Edmund White
Ce qui reste (Quel che resta) by Rachid O.
Between Mom and Jo (Tra mamma e Jo) by Julie Anne Peters
A visitation of spirits (Una visita degli spiriti) by Randall Kenan
Wild Dogs (Cani selvaggi) by Helen Humphreys
Unholy Ghosts (Il sognatore di fantasmi) by Richard Zimler
Mother of Sorrows (La madre di tutti i dolori) by Richard McCann
My lives (same title) by Edmund White
Plusieurs vies (Tante vite) by Rachid O.
Mysterious Skin (same title) by Scott Heim
La Douceur (La dolcezza) by Christophe Honorè
Bitter Eden (Paradiso amaro) by Tatamkhulu Afrika
L'Enfant ebloui (Il bambino incantato) by Rachid O.
La contessa sanguinaria by Alejandra Pizarnik
The Black Man (Il negro) by Adolfo Caminha
Ragazzo di zucchero by Ken Harvey
E' dolcissimo non appartenerti più by Sando Campani
Chocolat chaud (Cioccolata calda) by Rachid O.
All ears (Tutt'orecchi) by Dennis Cooper
Un chilogrammo di esplosivo e un vagono di cocaina by Vadim Kalinin
Morrissey (same title) by Pat Reid
Fou de Vincent (Pazzo di Vincent) by Herve Guibert
Bessie Smith (same title) by Jackie Kay
2) Series Mio Nonno Renzo (My grandfather Renzo):
Tu Cher dalle stelle by Matteo B. Bianchi
Il Principe volante by Barbara Alberti
3) Series High School:
A tale of two summers (Un'estate per due) by Brian Sloan
The Order of the Poison Oak (L'ordine della quercia velenosa) by Brent Hartinger
The God Box (Carlos e Sal) by Alex Sanchez
49 goal spettacolari by Davide Martini
Totally Joe (Joe e basta) by James Howe
Rainbow Road (same title) by Alex Sanchez
Geography Club (same title) by Brent Hartinger
Rainbow High (same title) by Alex Sanchez
Rainbow Boys (same title) by Alex Sanchez
Contacts:
info@playgroundlibri.it Info and Newsletter
ufficiostampa.playground@gmail Press
Address:
Playground Libri
Via Napoleone III, 86, 00185 Roma
Italy
Phone/Fax: 06.45421639
The Book: "Everybody says you and Colin were kissing."
"What? That's ridiculous!"
"For heaven's sake, Joe, if you and Colin want to kiss, you have every right to."
"We did not kiss," I told her.
Addie shrugged. "Whatever."
What was it with my friends?
From the creator of The Misfits, the book that inspired NATIONAL NO NAME-CALLING WEEK, comes the story of Joe Bunch....
Gr. 6-9. Joe, one of the characters in The Misfits (2001), has his say, in a voice uniquely his own. Twelve-year-old Joe knows he is gay. He played with Barbies as a young child, prefers cooking to sports, and has a crush on a male classmate. Written in the form of an assignment--an "alphabiography"--the story takes readers through the school year, one letter at a time: G is for the Gang of Five, Joe's misfit friends, who are utterly loyal when he falls for Colin. But Colin is less secure about his sexuality than Joe is, and when the rumor goes around that the boys have been seen kissing, he quashes the relationship. Joe survives the crush, and the book has an upbeat ending. Actually, despite a few worries, the whole book is cheerful and optimistic. Joe's family is supportive, and the kids from the nasty (Christian) family that wants to stop the Gay-Straight Alliance are removed to a different school. In other words, there's nothing terribly realistic about the scenario; in many ways, the book is reminiscent of David Levithan's Boy Meets Boy (2003), which was for a slightly older audience. Obviously, the novel will be problematic for some--not only because of the gay theme and Joe's age but also the stereotypic portrayal of the bullying Christian family. Joe himself often comes off as a cross between Niles Crane and Harvey Fierstein. But he also reacts like a kid, and readers in his situation will wish for the love and support he receives from friends and family, as well as the happy life he so clearly envisions. (Ilene Cooper)
"A character that lives and breathes with all the inconsistencies, fears, and longings of your normal, average seventh-grade homosexual." -- Kirkus Reviews
http://www.amazon.com/Totally-Joe-James-H
The Author: James Howe (born August 2, 1946, Oneida, New York) is the American author of several juvenile and young adult books, including the Bunnicula series, about a vampire-bunny that sucks the juice out of vegetables.
At the age of nine or ten, Howe wrote a play based on the "Blondie" comic strip as well as a variety of short stories and self-published newspapers, his favorite being "the Gory Gazette," made for a self-founded club: Vampire Legion.
Howe would continue to write plays during his theater studies at Boston University, and eventually move to New York City to pursue a career as an actor and model while directing plays and working as a literary agent.
In the mid-70s, Howe's wife, Deborah, encouraged him to create a children's story based on the Dracula movies of the 70s. With his wife, he created Bunnicula: A Rabbit Tale of Mystery, about a pet rabbit suspected of being a vampire. The book would go on to win more than ten Children's Choice awards, including the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award and the Nene Award, and eventually evolve into a series. Shortly after Bunnicula was published Deborah fell victim to cancer and died, inspiring the creation of The Hospital Book.
In 1981 Howe began writing full-time. In addition to the Bunnicula series, Howe has written picture books, children's novels, nonfiction, adaptations of classic stories, and screenplays for movies and television. Recently he published his first two young adult novels, The Watcher and The Misfits. The Misfits was the inspiration behind GLSEN's annual No Name-Calling Week. After the death of his first wife, Howe remarried and fathered a daughter, Zoey, but eventually divorced and came out as gay. He is currently in a committed relationship with lawyer Mark Davis.
In 2007, James Howe was the recipient of The E.B. White Read Aloud Award for Picture Books for his book Houndsley and Catina, illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay, and published by Candlewick Press. (From Wikipedia)
Top 50 Gay Romance List (*)
1) At Swim, Two Boys by Jamie O'Neill
Profile: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/31889
2) Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan
Profile: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/35441
3) Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez
Profile: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/35891
4) Geography Club by Brent Hartinger
Profile: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/36279
5) Call Me by Your Name by Andre Aciman
Profile: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/32344
6) Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You by Peter Cameron
Profile: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/36575
7) All Through the Night by Suzanne Brockmann
Profile: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/32912
8) Totally Joe by James Howe
Profile: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/36977
9) The World of Normal Boys by K. M. Soehnlein
Profile: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/33271
10) Almost Like Being in Love by Steve Kluger
Profile: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/33850
11) The Coming Storm by Paul Russell
12) Comfort and Joy by Jim Grimsley
Profile: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/34393
13) Leave Myself Behind by Bart Yates
Profile: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/34993
14) The Year of Ice by Brian Malloy
15) The Back Passage by James Lear
16) A Son Called Gabriel by Damian McNicholl
--) The Abomination by Paul Golding
18) Looking For It by Michael Thomas Ford
19) A Strong and Sudden Thaw by R. W. Day
--) Vampire Vow by Michael Schiefelbein
21) Clay's Way by Blair Mastbaum
22) The Tin Star by J. L. Langley
23) Brethren: Raised By Wolves by W. A. Hoffman
--) Tale of Two Summers by Brian Sloan
25) Wicked Gentlemen by Ginn Hale
26) Boy Girl Boy by Ron Koertge
27) Vintage: A Ghost Story by Steve Berman
--) The God Eaters by Jesse Hajicek
29) The Phoenix by Ruth Sims
30) A Bit of Rough by Laura Baumbach
--) Standish by Erastes
--) Half-Life by Aaron Krach
--) Bareback by Chris Owen
34) The Trouble Boy by Tom Dolby
--) Where The Boys Are by William J. Mann
36) Ransom by Lee Rowan
--) The Price of Temptation by M. J. Pearson
38) Bourbon Street Blues by Greg Herren
39) Saints of Augustine by P.E. Ryan
--) He's the One by Timothy James Beck
41) Latter Days by C. Jay Cox
--) Metes and Bounds by Jay Quinn
43) A Secret Edge by Robin Reardon
--) Fatal Shadows by Josh Lanyon
45) Lawnboy by Paul Lisicky
--) My Best Man by Andy Schell
47) The Straight Road to Kylie by Nico Medina
48) Tricks of the Trade by Ben Tyler
--) Someone Killed His Boyfriend by David Stukas
50) Can't Buy My Love by Chris Kenry
--) Desert Sons by Mark Kendrick
*only one title per author
Other titles not in the top 50 list:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/top5
Listmania on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Top-M-M-Romance/lm/R
L.A. Heat by P.A. Brown
In L.A. Heat, a serial killer is on the loose in Los Angeles and he's targeting gay men. LAPD Detective David Laine--himself gay but deeply closeted--is assigned to the case with his homophobic partner, Martinez Diego. The nature of the crimes and the brutalization of the victims bring disturbing emotions to the surface for David. Laine and his partner have a suspect: Christopher Bellamere--an openly gay California "golden boy" who crossed paths with two of the victims before their deaths. But when cop and suspect meet, an immediate attraction complicates the case and David Laine's very private life. As David works to find the killer--and Chris works to clear his name--they both seek to understand the complex feelings that are growing between them.
I've just read L.A. Heat and it's like reading the daily newspaper. I read it then I put it away, it didn't make me feel that I've wasted my time reading it, but it also didn't give me any good feeling.
I feel that the book has no substance, the mystery is kind of loose and not gripping at all. The twist in the end looks like it was added later because the author found out that the story has become so predictable, rather than being woven intricately along the story. The book is more like a romance novel with the mystery added as an excuxe to make the main characters get together. Sadly, the romance is also lukewarm.
The characters can be interesting if only the author explored and used all their characteristics and abilities more to add to the plot, instead of just dangling them as accessories. I also feel that for a book with this length, it's surprisingly lacking in details.
All in all, this is the kind of book you read at the airport or terminal just because it's better to read something rather than doing nothing in a long wait.
- Mood:
indescribable
Due to some RL issues, I'm unable to run the newsletter any longer. It's a combination of time management, internet connection problems, and shifting priorities in the face of a family crisis.
I don't want the Skinny to go under, so I'm hoping one of you guys will be able to step up to the plate. Let me know.
Sorry!
_Morgan_
- Mood:
hopeful
Okay, so mid-week update...
Breakdown 3 is now in the editor's hands, I'm sending off the second novella I edited (this one for Phaze) for production tomorrow, and Necessary Evil is going well.
Shayne's hit a nasty snag with the Muse, so we tried writing a new fantasy adventure to see if that helped. We managed around 1k before Shayne had to log. Hopefully we can work through the bump in the road. Lord knows I've been there.
I'll be working on Necessary Evil and Inferi Brotherhood tomorrow, plus my mmf novella for Beth's BDSM antho.
Let's see... Outside of that...I think that's it. LOL
This is quite a strange book that I still have trouble to classify. First of all the main hero, Brock, was straight for two/third of the book and then he didn't fall in love physically for the other hero Carey, but rather he decided that Carey is a good man, better than all the other people around, and so he wanted to stay with him. On the other hand, Carey was the same, he didn't fall for Brock as a man, but rather as the image the man is for him.Brock is a poster boy of the past; in his early twenties his career is just finished, burnt like thousands of others in the modeling world. He is broken and without a place to stay, and he has no friend to turn for help... and maybe he doesn't want to neither. Then he meets Carey, a 32 years old independent wealthy man; Carey is strange, but he is gentle and caring, and he offers to help Brock for nothing. Neither Brock or Carey are gay, and Carey's offer raises not from a sexual interested, but more from an esthetically point of view: Carey is a wanna-be photographer, and he really likes Brock's easiness in front of the camera. So from their bargain, both of them will have what they want, Brock a place to stay and Carey a free model.
When I say that I found strange this book, is due to the fact that for most of the book, Brock is regretting his lost sweetheart from high school or remembering his sexual experiences with women; never he lusts for Carey in a sexual way, if not with a light comment on Carey's muscular body after their exercised together, like a buddy friend could do in a gym.
Also Carey is not easy to understand. I believe he helped Brock out of a need for company, he is lonely and without a real interest in life, and play the role of the Good Samaritan with Brock could give him a sense for his life.
The book is rather short, less than 80 pages, in fact it's a novella, not a novel. But as I said I find it puzzling but not without interest. So puzzling that pushes me to browse the net to find info on the author, Dan Skinner, and I found a Dan Skinner who is a romance cover artist (like Carey) and who started his career helping a buddy friend with his modeling career (like Brock)...
https://dreamspinnerpress.3dcartstores.c
Waiting Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bott
Peck of Pickles is a little story of seduction. Linc is a true farm boy in deep North Dakota. Not a place to be gay like him. And so Linc mostly dreams and sometime goes to the near town to scratch an itch. His dreamlover is Pol, blond hair and blue eyes like him, but where Linc is big and clumsy, Pol is lean and handsome.And today he has the chance to be with Pol alone, using the tools in Pol's office to turn the cucumbers in pickles. But Pol has other idea, and like him his college friend, and lover, Marc: they want to include Linc in their game, and Marc will be the middle in a sandwich of blond farm boy.
A short story in the Hot Flashes series, a serial of little erotic scenes. Like this one, where all turn around the final sex scene, and the plot is only a supporting tool for it.
The most interesting thing in these 27 pages is the funny tone of all the story with the slow seduction of Pol and Marc of big Linc, like he was a virgin waiting for his beau.
http://www.changelingpress.com/product.p
Waiting Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bott
Ali Smith works extensively in the publishing field, shooting book covers for clients including HarperCollins, Simon and Schuster, Random House, Scholastic, Little Brown and many more. She's also shot advertising jobs for A&E Television, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Blue Man Group, Easy Spirit Shoes and Jordache Jeans.
Her first book of photography, Laws of the Bandit Queens, was released by Random House and has been referred to as "..this generation's quintessential homage to the numerous strong, smart, groundbreaking women whose actions have helped bring about positive change and a revolution in thought." A second book of portraiture is currently in the works, and Sophie's Bar, a self published chronicle of her years as a bartender on New York's Lower East Side, is available at various art bookstores in New York City and through this website
In the summer of 2007, Bust Magazine published an article that Ali wrote and photographed on the Bedford Hills maximum security prison for women. 
( more pics )
http://www.alismith.com/alismith/index.h
I appreciated in the past Vivien Dean's originality, when she gave a twist on an unusual vampire romance. Now she creates another terrific (or horrific...) novel about an former priest who sees demons...Calvin is back on his hometown near Chicago for his father's funeral. But Calvin is not mourning the loss of his father, since the man was an homophobic who kicked him out when he found his son was gay. But Calvin managed to build a good life in New York as an appreciated artist. Actually he doesn't know why he bothers to come back, since no one in the small town seems to understand his detached behavior. And then during the funeral a sniper killed a man and Calvin sees him perfectly. Matthew is a very handsome man with a brooding behavior and tormented eyes. The artist in Calvin is immediately attracted by this perfect image, and the man in Calvin is attracted by the handsome man.
In an usual romance, you would expected that Calvin is horrified by Matthew's action, but like Calvin is detached by his father's death, he seems to be detached by all the little world around the man. Calvin doesn't know the man Matthew killed, and he is more interesting in Matthew, than in the act he did. Probably Calvin closed something in his soul when his father kicked him out, he hid in the safe of his heart all the emotions, and now he has like a shield around him. A shield that protects him from the demons.
The demons prey on the mourning souls, and this is the reason why Matthew was at the funeral of Calvin's father. Matthew is only a man, not an hero. He is not thrilled by the idea to have the skill to see demons, and if possible, he avoids the crowd, so he has less chance to see demons. But here and there, Matthew's conscience nags him and he needs to do something to stop the demons. So he goes to funeral, the likely place to find mourning soul. But this time is not a relative of the dead who is mourning: Calvin doesn't regret his father's death, and so he is not the target for the demon.
The book is not very long, less than 90 pages, but it's very well plotted. It mixes very well the demon's matter with the erotic part, and the two erotic scenes in the book are really good and arousing. Calvin's character is a bit more developed than Matthew, even if probably Matthew is the most intriguing. All in all another very good book by Vivien Dean.
http://www.samhainpublishing.com/romance/w
Waiting Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bott
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Which sci-fi crew would you best fit in with? (pics) created with QuizFarm.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| You scored as Serenity (Firefly) You like to live your own way and don't enjoy when anyone but a friend tries to tell you should do different. Now if only the Reavers would quit trying to skin you.
|
Kinda messes up California's whole sanctity of a union between one male and one female argument, no?
Fortunately, not all Mormons are happy about it.
- Mood:
irritated
This is what I have so far:
Ailith hates breeches with a passion, so she is going to be kitted out as a sailor. She needs a waistcoat and short jacket. Rose needs another petticoat and a short gown, stays and cap. Then I need shift, two petticoats, shortgown and cap and Andrew needs breeches, shirt, waistcoat and coat. But first of all I need to teach myself how to make a short jacket when I have no pattern and wouldn't understand it if I did. It's an interesting challenge! However, previous to this I had never made anything that had to be pleated onto a waistband, or buttonholes or trousers with flies, so I'm making progress.
Other attempts to be industrious include writing a blog post reviewing 'Albion: The Origins of the English Imagination' by Peter Ackroyd here
and another one on The Past as a Series of Blobs on the Macaronis blog here.
http://darkdivareviews.blogspot.com/2008/0
Truth be told the interview is a bit old, since when I made it, almost all the ebooks I read were bought by me. Now some epubs have kinded listed me on their official reviewers list.
Author: Vivien Dean
Genre: Horror/paranormal
URL: Samhain Publishing
Price: US $3.50
Other Information/warnings: Violence, m/m
Summary [from the publisher]:
As an artist in New York City, Calvin Shumacher finally has the life he’s always wanted. In fact, only one thing can get him to come back to Illinois—his father’s funeral. All he wants is to bury his dad [...]
Author: Jules Jones
Genre: Contemporary romance
URL: Loose ID
Price: US 5.99
Other Information/warnings: explicit m/m
Summary [from the publisher]:
It was just an office affair, with wonderful sex. Young scientist Mark Paulson liked older men, especially tall, dark, and very handsome men like his new boss. Self-made millionaire Steven Frost had no trouble [...]
Essie Summers wrote 55 romance novels, selling more than 19 million copies in 105 countries and published in 25 languages. Her novels focused on romance and family life with touches of adventure and humour and her winning formula earned her the loyalty of millions of readers. Essie was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, to Edwin and Ethel Summers on July 24, 1912. She died in Taradale, Hawkes Bay on the August 27, 1998, at the age of 86.
Her travels around New Zealand, and later the world, provided Essie with settings and plot ideas and many of her readers have travelled to New Zealand to see for themselves the places she describes. In the tourist season it was a regular occurrence that someone would turn up wanting to meet her and this could put great demands on her time. Nevertheless she loved that her books brought people to her homeland and enjoyed meeting her readers.
Essie usually wrote two books a year - her publisher would have taken three but she felt that both her work and marriage would suffer. She wrote fifty two novels for Mills and Boon until High Country Governess in 1987. Mills and Boon were beginning to look for steamier stories and Essie had long wanted to write down her family’s stories.
Essie believed in romance, but she didn't like mushiness. She used humour to lighten her romances. It was her style to leave her heroines at the bedroom door: her novels are not as steamy as more modern romances and they tend to be longer with more characters than is currently the trend. Her heroines usually have careers of some sort, either by choice or necessity, and the stories often involve adventure.
To read more:
http://rosaromance.splinder.com/post/181

