Double your pleasure
News, Writing|My first pleasure was a very nice email this morning with the draft cover of my next book due out ’sometime’ this month. I’m a bit vague on the actual date because Loose-Id has been undergoing a site transformation. If anything isn’t working that should be working, don’t panic. It was such a major overhaul that the odd thing will likely need some tweaking. It has a much ‘cleaner’ look now. The submissions page is nice and clear and they’re starting to offer small advances (I currently only know of two epublishers doing this though possibly there are others). Personally, this doesn’t make a huge difference to me as a writer but Loose-Id seems to be growing and setting a certain standard that shows that genuine epublishers do exist. I’ll stop there or I’ll wander off on a tangent I really ought to address separately. I’ll just say that in my dealings with them, they’ve never been anything but professional. By that I mean from the writer’s point of view they’ve been organised and pay on time. LOL. No, there are other issues but there have been payment problems with some companies (thankfully none that have affected me personally) and writers tend to view such delays as warning bells. Whether my work continues to meet their criteria may one day be another matter but again that’s another topic. I’ve not subbed my last book to them yet by any means.
Indeed, my next book due out with them is the first of what I hope will be four Swithin Spins. These will be short books, all around the 50,000 words mark. The first is with the proofers as we speak. The second is sitting as a rough draft on my computer, and requires an edit before I even think of submitting. The third is what I’m currently working on and I admit I came up against the proverbial brick wall not that far into the story. Now, I can’t even think why. I just couldn’t write, and now, suddenly, I’m more than halfway through it. I’m a little wary of stopping, which is why the edit on book two is waiting. In the meantime, I have to say I think the cover for the first one is lovely. I hope I can reveal it in a couple of days.
The second pleasure is the lovely cover quotes for the “I Do” anthology. There’s no reason for you all not to pick up a copy — it’s for a good cause! And remember the print edition is out on the 21st. Don’t worry; if you forget I’ll be reminding you. LOL.
Double Your Pleasure
This is like the steak specials at my local market: buy one, get one free. When you buy this book, 100% of the proceeds go to the Lambda Legal fund, to help in their fight against California’s Proposition 8. That’s a good thing in itself, as I’m sure you will agree. But, not only are you making a donation to a cause we all care deeply about, you also get—this is the FREE part—a collection of 20 stories from an elite list of M/M and LGBT writers. How can you beat a deal like that?
And what a collection! There’s surely something here for every taste: man on man and woman on woman; fantasy and funny and sizzling and sweet. Swans and Snow Queens and salty sailors and slithering serpents, oh my! And Holy Macaroni, but you’re going to have to buy the book to figure that out. French Legionnaires do it in the mud; little girls grow up married from childhood, and first timers discover the magic. All of the myriad elements of love lost and found and refined and redefined. I could go on and on, too, but every story here is a treasure on its own; together, they make up one of those rare “read-over-and-over-and-keep-forever” books.
I recommend stocking up. Get some steaks while you’re at it, you’re going to be doing a lot of curling up.
Victor J. Banis
Author of The Man from C.A.M.P., Lola Dances and Deadly Nightshade
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Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue: twenty tales — funny, sweet, erotic, poignant — from some of the best and brightest writers in GLBT romance. Never has support for a good cause been more delicious, more delectable than in this generous helping of life — and love — affirming stories.
Josh Lanyon
Author of the Adrien English Mystery Series and Man, Oh Man! Writing M/M for Kinks and Ca$h
