Sad News:

Well, it finally happened. My laptop breathed its last last weekend, and I'm sad. I know we live in the days of disposable technology, but I just don't work that way. I was on that laptop so often that it was almost an extension of my brain -- I didn't realize how much until I went through the process of trying to recover missing data!

I know it was time. It had worked long past its expected lifespan -- the laptop was a hand-me-down when I got it two years ago, and I had to attach an external storage device just to keep it going.

But I've done some good writing on that keyboard. I knew how many windows I could keep open before the system overloaded, my fingers knew exactly how hard I had to press on the "7" key to get it to work...

Oh, well. Onward and upward.

Happy News!

Loose Id has the cover of Gravitational Pull up on the "Coming Soon" page, so I guess it's okay to share it here, too! :-)

Isn't it beautiful! *sigh* I think it's my favorite so far.

I'll share an excerpt soon. Stay tuned!

Well, it's the sixth of the month -- a day late -- and I'm blogging over at Authors of Erotic Romance!

Today I'm talking about: "Muse in a Candle"

I am having a great day today, and I'll tell ya why:

I spent the morning at the new student orientation meeting at our elementary school. My kids are starting school tomorrow, including my youngest, who will be in kindergarten. That means that all three of them will be away at school all day.

I have to admit, I've been dreaming about this moment for years, but I hadn't imagined the sense of freedom it would bring. It's hard to put into words -- I adore my kids, but I've been home with them for almost nine years now. Anyway, I would feel guilty, but I know I'm not the only parent who's glad school is starting. (Remember that Staples commercial with the giddy parents buying school supplies? "It's the most won-der-ful tiiiime - of the yeeear!) I don't know how parents who home school make it through with their sanity intact.

And as if that wasn't enough to make me smile, my amazing and talented friend and critique partner, Maya Reynolds, has her first book out today!! I'm SO excited!

Maya and I have been working together for a couple of years now, and I have learned so much from her in that time. (Note to aspiring writers: Find a critique partner who is better than you -- it can only improve your writing!) She's talented, but she's also a uncompromising craftswoman -- and her dedication to her art is apparent in the final product.

Bad Girl is a really great book, and I am so, so proud of my friend.

So, of course, on the way back from school, I swung by Barnes & Noble to pick up a copy of her book. That first pic is Bad Girl on the shelves -- taken with my crappy cell phone camera. Too cool! Even my daughter was excited. :-)

The second picture is Bad Girl with a little more room to breathe...

If you like erotic romantic suspense, you are going to LOVE this book.

Bad Girl

by Maya Reynolds

ISBN: 980451222107, NAL Heat

Feeling a little naughty? You should.

It was shy social worker Sandy Davis's favorite after-dark hobby, and her only vice: spying on neighbors during their most uninhibited moments. Night after night, through each different window, into each anonymous bedroom came the stuff of Sandy's wildest fantasies. Peeping didn't hurt anyone. It was just a game. No one ever had to know. Then one night the phone rang...

"You've been a bad girl."

He calls himself Justice. He has a pastime too: watching Sandy watch others. He has the pictures to prove it. Now it's his turn to play -- by making Sandy pay the price in exchange for his holding on to her naughty little secret. As the sensual dance between two strangers begins, so does Sandy's fear that she's moving closer to the edge of extreme desire -- and inescapable danger.

***
The book is just as amazing as it sounds. Go get a copy today!

I promised myself to post at least once this month, and I made it -- by the skin of my teeth.

This summer has been surprisingly hectic. Things reached critical mass last weekend -- I had a few too many balls in the air (again!) -- but now I'm feeling much more on top of stuff. This week I've been getting back into a writing groove, and I'm trying something new involving scent memory. I hope it works -- I have a deadline at the end of September and, I need to be productive!

Some good news: I got to see the draft of the cover for Gravitational Pull -- it's gorgeous! As soon as I get the "okay", I'll share.

Coming Soon: I've read a couple good books I'm excited to talk about, and I'll be posting a sneak peak of Gravitational Pull.

Stay tuned!

I went to see the midnight showing of Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix last night. I don't see many movies in the theater anymore, but I was determined to see this one as soon as it was released. Rather surprising, considering how angry I was after reading the fifth book. I guess I've had time to recover from the death of my favorite character -- and Rowling is an amazingly gifted writer. I keep hoping that at some point they'll get one of these movies right.

See, I haven't been completely happy with the movie versions of the books in the past. I thought the first two (Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets) were junk. The third (Prisoner of Azkaban) was good -- but how could it not be with introduction of Serius Black? *wink* The fourth (Goblet of Fire) was decent, but relied too heavily on easy laughs and visual thrills. Like the first two films, it skimmed many of the deeper points of the story.

I thought this fifth installment was the most true to its book. It focused on Harry's emotional struggle and didn't distract us with crazy CGI -- although the scene in the Department of Mysteries was pretty cool.

If you're a fan of the series, I think you'll like it.

Now the wait for Book 7 (Deathly Hallows). I always get the book on CD, in addition to a hardback copy. I LOVE listening to Jim Dale read these stories. I would recommend the audio versions of the Harry Potter books over the movies, any day.

I woke up this morning to a nice surprise: I was one of ten winners in the Samhain First Line Contest! I'm so excited!

The contest started about a month ago, when Samhain invited people to post their best "first line" on the Samhain blog. Each week after that, the editors posted the list of entries to move on to the next round -- competitors added one sentence each week, five sentences in all. The prize was a chance to submit a story to one of the Samhain editors -- they are currently closed to submissions.

It sounded like such a fun idea that I decided to enter -- and I was in good company. Almost 300 people entered that first round. There were so many great lines! I have no idea how the editors made their decisions!

My first line was from a m/m contemporary I had been fooling around with. Going into the contest, I had now idea how hard it would be! When you only have one line to hook your reader, it's really tough. I was very fortunate in that I had my marvelous critique partners, Maya and Marie, to help me out.

The contest made me happy as a reader, because I know I have some great reading to look forward to once those entries are published! Congratulations, to all who entered!

I know some of you have had trouble getting a hold of me recently. My web hosting service decided to start rejecting email with hyperlinks, among other things! Needless to say, I'm going to be switching companies A.S.A.P. -- in the mean time, you can always reach me at jeannelaws@gmail.com.

It's the fifth of the month and that means I'm blogging over at Authors of Erotic Romance!

Today I'm talking about: "(More) Unrealistic Expectations and Other Insults to Romance Readers".

Racing the Moon and Steam and Sunshine

By: B.A. Tortuga

Publisher: Torquere Press

Genre: m/m, contemporary, action/adventure, erotic romance

ISBN: 1933389699 & 193416674X

Here's another recommendation for Kerrita -- it's possible she's read these books as many times as I have. Maybe.

B.A. Tortuga is one of my favorite m/m erotic romance writers, and before I read Steam and Sunshine I would have been hard pressed to pick a favorite. Now it’s a no brainer -- Tortuga's characters are always well-written but, for me, Sonny and MJ are head and shoulders above the rest.

Premise: In Racing the Moon, MJ is an explosives expert/eco-terrorist for hire, and Sonny is a ridge-runner. These two bad boys collide on a foggy hillside in North Carolina, and the story is a wild ride from there. In Steam & Sunshine, the guys are semi-retired, but decide to take one last job because the money is just too good to resist. The deal goes bad and, in the process, throws another couple into the mix.

What I Liked as A Reader: What's better than one bad boy? Two, of course. Sonny and MJ together are explosive. I'm a real fan of modern day pirate/outlaw stories and, because the "damsel in distress" model never worked for me, I loved that these two outlaws found happiness in each other's strength. Sonny and MJ are fun and flawed, and their relationship is intense and rough and beautiful -- it's impossible not to love them. As I mentioned above, Steam & Sunshine also introduces a new couple: Paddy and Neil. I really liked these two, especially the mind reader angle, but they couldn't compete with Sonny and MJ.

What I Liked as A Writer: These characters, especially MJ, are so rough as to border scary. Tortuga didn't pull her punches in writing them, didn't soften either of them to create the "opposites" that everyone is so comfortable with, and didn't try to "tame" them. They are unapologetic outlaws with, as Sonny says "a tiny bit of moral fiber" -- and that's a risk for a writer. It's possible that some readers won't like Sonny and MJ for all of those reasons, but I found them completely refreshing.

Steam & Sunshine ended with some unfinished business, so I'm pretty sure there will be at least one more installment . I'm waiting with baited breath.

Wow! June really got away from me, but I just posted an article called "Writers Groups" in the Advice for New Authors section of AOER.

I've also posted it on my website, so you can check it out here.

I promise to be better in July!

My friend and critique partner, Maya Reynolds, just sent me a link to the American Museum of Natural History's website. Last week they opened an exhibit called "Mythic Creatures", and it looks like SO much fun!

Here's a bit from the Introduction to the exhibit:

"The world is full of stories about brave heroes, magical events and fantastic beings. For thousands of years, humans everywhere—sometimes inspired by living animals or even fossils—have brought mythic creatures to life in stories, songs and works of art. Today these creatures, from the powerful dragon to the soaring phoenix, continue to thrill, terrify, entertain and inspire us.

We seem to catch glimpses of these creatures all around us: hiding beneath the ocean waves, running silently through the forest and soaring among the clouds. Some symbolize danger. Others, we think, can bring us luck or joy. Together mythic creatures give shape to humankind's greatest hopes, fears and most passionate dreams."

Gives me goosebumps. :-)

It's hard to tell from the website how well balanced it is, ethnically, but it looks like they did a decent job. Creatures from European and Asian mythology are well represented, of course, but I also caught mention of myths from Africa, Australia and South America.

A part of me is a little afraid that seeing the physical representations of the mythic creatures might make take away some of their "magic" -- but mostly I just think it would be cool. :-)

I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that this exhibit will travel -- It looks fun, but I don't think I could justify a plane ticket to New York...

The image above is from the "Creatures of the Deep" portion of the exhibit.

It's the fifth of the month and that means I'm blogging over at Authors of Erotic Romance!

Today I'm blogging about this question: "Can romance be queered?"

I had a nice little surprise today: My Book Cravings just reviewed A Good Man is Hard to Find!

Here's a little of what Nicole had to say:

"This was one of the sweetest, great love stories I have read. I have a passion for these types of books, and reading the male/male ones are new, but oh my God. Great book, especially for a historical. This male/male relationship story is one you have to read about from this author."

5 out of 5 Roses

Thanks, Nicole!! I'll be smiling all day.

[You can check out the complete review HERE, and more reviews of A Good Man is Hard to Find, HERE.]

The Loose ID authors have banded together for a June Bash ! Come join us for excerpts and prizes and fun on the Loose ID Community loop!

Starting the weekend of June 8th, the Loose ID authors will be stopping by the Loose ID Community Loop to post excerpts for current as well as past releases.

We're going to be talking about all Loose ID books!

There will be prizes! Every reader will have a chance to send an email to our prize email address for a chance to win. One $25, two $10 and two $5 Loose ID gift certificates will be given away each of the four weeks. At the end of the four weeks, one grand prize of a Loose ID VIP membership will also be given away.

Offical contest and themes are on the following weekends (yes, Fridays are included in the weekends):

• June 8-10 - All contemporary books
• June 15-17 - All non-contemporary books
• June 22-24 - All contemporary books
• June 29-30 & July 1 - all non-contemporary books

All other genres--i.e. BDSM, m/m, BBW, fantasy, paranormal, science fiction--will fall into the contemporary or non-contemporary themes as the author sees fit.

Official rules--including the prize email address and what needs to be included in the emails--will be posted before the contest weekends.

Come join us for some early summer fun!

Sometimes I hear a song lyric that just sticks with me.

I think that good music, like a good book, evokes emotions and makes you think -- and I've been thinking about this bit for a while: (From "Hoodoo" by Muse, on the Black Holes & Revelations cd)



I've had recurring nightmares
That I was loved for who I am
And missed the opportunity
To be a better man.

This probably loses something in translation -- it's really a beautiful song. I would actually recommend the whole cd -- but even on the flat computer screen, the words affect me.

I think it comes down to this: I'm a romance writer, but I've been a romance reader much longer. I like that stanza because it is the anti-romance.

In a romance novel -- no matter what internal or external conflicts the writer throws in their paths, no matter how dark the "black moment" -- the characters are always happier together than they were apart.

In a romance novel, we never wonder if the characters are sacrificing too much for the relationship; we never have to wonder if the characters would be better off alone.

In a romance novel, you can be assured that the answer to this equation is always the same: Main Character + Love Interest = HEA (Happily Ever After)

I read romances, in large part, because life is not a romance novel; I like those lyrics for the same reason.

A Bad Case of Loving You

BY: Laney Cairo

GENRE: contemporary erotic romance, m/m, D/s, medical, England

PUBLISHER: Torquere Press

ISBN: 1934166111

I took a pass on this one when it first came out. For me, the formula was: unfamiliar author + set in England + medical romance = No, thank you.

Last week however, when I was looking for something to read that would qualify as "research", and I came across this book again. It had a great recommendation from Shayne Carmichael, whom I have enjoyed, and there was a D/s element I hadn't noticed before. Now that definitely qualifies as research.

Premise: Andrew is an American doctor living in England. Matthew is one of the residents under his supervision. There are SO many reasons they shouldn't get involved -- but of course they do anyway, and their complicated -- and unexpectedly lovely -- romance is only a part of what's so great about this book.

What I liked as a reader: There was no getting around the medical romance aspect of this book, but Cairo avoided the rich, powerful doctor cliche that I find so icky. The characters felt real, and the alpha doctor model was nowhere to be found. In the end, Cairo's use of the medical element wasn't a gimmick, but truly added something significant to the story.

Andrew and Matthew were both so awesome. And they were messy. I like that -- does that make me weird? When everyone is perfect and tidy and drives a nice car it just sets my teeth on edge.

And I probably wouldn't recommend a romance that didn't have that mix of HOT + sweet that I love. After I finished it the first time, I actually went back to find one of the really sweet moments to read again. *sigh* (Usually it's the, um, other parts -- although I did go back and... Oh, never mind.)

What I liked as a writer: There was tons of medical jargon in this book. How did she manage to do that without bogging down the writing? Cairo put us in the head of a doctor (and resident) in a way I hadn't imagined before.

The D/s relationship she wrote was beautiful. (I appreciated it as both a reader and a writer.) No cliches or cheap tricks here, either -- just two people in a mutually satisfying relationship.

Too often these days, I finish books with a feeling of disappointment, sorry to have wasted my time and money. A Bad Case of Loving You just made me feel happy. Time well spent and a new author to add to my must buy list. You should check it out, too.

I've been tagged. Damn it.

It actually happened last week -- um, the first time... Anne got me on Wednesday, but I hate talking about myself. I tried to ignore it and make it go away, but Marie just got me again today.

So here we go. (I'll try to make it quick and painless for all involved.)

First, the rules:

1) Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.

2) People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.

3) At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.

4) Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.

Eight Things:

1) I'm a compulsive book buyer. Seriously. It's like an addiction. (Don't tell my husband.)

2) My grandfather was being groomed to be the next Clark Gable. He and my grandmother lived in LaLa Land in the 40's, and he was a pretty close match for the star.

3) I hate Gone With the Wind. The book, the movie, Scarlett, Rhett. Ick.

4) I've been a dog owner my whole life.

5) I'm allergic to cats.

6) Quick Change is the funniest movie I've ever seen. The first time I saw it, I actually fell out of my seat in the movie theater because I was laughing so hard.

7) I think Bill Murray is sexy.

8) I also think Clive Owen is sexy. He wasn't in Quick Change, but his face is staring at me from that Lancome ad so I just thought I'd mention it.

So there! Eight things. I'm going to tag Amanda, because Anne tagged her last week and she hasn't posted either! I don't think I know anyone who has actually managed to avoid being tagged.

That's it for me -- no more tagging!

Do you ever get the feeling that The Universe is trying to tell you something?

I do. My cynical side tells me it's just wishful thinking -- the need to believe in a "personal God", the desire to feel like someone (be it The Universe or a guardian angel) is watching out for me, specifically.

Well, call me delusional, but I think The Universe was sending me a message yesterday. Here's what happened:

I'm a mom and, every once in a while, my kids really drive me crazy. Yesterday was one of those days. One daughter was moaning and groaning about her stomach, but the pains conveniently went away when I suggested she either stop eating or playing to go lie down. The other daughter was nagging me incessantly for a new backpack -- it had to be black, she insisted -- even though we had just ordered her a new one in December.

I felt frustrated and disappointed. What had I done to deserve such ungrateful, whiny children!? Thoroughly annoyed, I took away some of their privileges and told them to straighten up.

That night, just when I was sure they were all asleep, I heard one of the girls crying. It was daughter #2, the ungrateful one. When I went in to see what was wrong, she sobbed that she really needed a black backpack -- tomorrow. Alarm bells began to sound in my head. After she had calmed down enough to talk, I asked her why. It turns out, a boy at school had threatened to bring a chainsaw and cut up her family if she didn't bring a black backpack to school the very next day.

Nice.

Riddled with Bad Mommy guilt, I let her sleep in the Big People Bed. But The Universe wasn't done with me yet.

In the middle of the night, I woke to the sounds of daughter #1, the whiny one, vomiting. In her sleep. All over herself and the bed.

After giving her a shower, I let her sleep in the Big People Bed too.

Was The Universe trying to send me a message? I choose to believe so. So, um, Universe, if you're listening: Message Received. And, thanks.

Dryads

Tree Spirits

Greek Mythology

I've been thinking about dryads recently. They popped up on my radar a few months ago when a character from my Gateway series informed me that she was a tree spirit. This was news to me, and though I didn't know much about the creatures, I vaguely remembered the dryads from Greek mythology. I dutifully jotted down as much of my tree spirit's story as I could, and vowed to do some research. But, as is often the case, there were several other projects I was working on, and I put it on the back burner.

Tree spirits resurfaced in my consciousness a month or so ago when I was brainstorming for a short-short story for the AOER website -- you can see the end result at Authors of Erotic Romance, in Under the Influence #5 -- and I realized it was past time I did some reading.

Dryads are wood nymphs (nature spirits from Greek mythology.) Their name comes from the Greek drys, which means oak. It is thought that they were associated with the oak tree specifically, though the word is often used to include wood nymphs in general.

Dryads are long-lived guardian spirits who will sometimes leave the trees they inhabite to dance in the forest. They are usually described as shy, and it is said to be unlucky to interact with them -- or even to see them at all. Dryads are associated with Artemis, the moon goddess, and Dionysus, the god of wine.

There are several other varieties of wood nymphs in Greek Mythology. For example, Meliai were the nymphs of ash trees, and Oreiades were the nymphs of mountain conifers. Hamadryads, unlike dryads, were said to be bound to their trees. If the tree died, they died too.

You can find more information about wood nymphs on the Theoi Project and Mythography.

In the process of researching dryads, I discovered a number of non-Greek tree spirits which I'll blog about another time. I have to say, I'm not sure my Gateway tree spirit is a dryad or not. I'm going to have to do some more reading...

Dryad Art: top left by AselClub;bottom right by Ulrike Kleinert

The matter I blogged about on Sunday has yet to be resolved, but my friend Maya Reynolds directed me to a segment on NPR (National Public Radio,) which detailed a happier moment in the struggle for gay rights.

Called "81 Words", the piece on This American Life documents the 1973 move by the APA (American Psychiatric Association) to take homosexuality out of the DSM (Diagnostics and Statistics Manual,) the official tome of the APA. Up until that point homosexuality had been officially classified as a mental disease.

It's fascinating, and you can listen to it here -- the segment is about an hour. We must never forget how far we have left to go, but it's good to remember how far we've come.

Well, the RT Booklovers Convention is over for 2007, and it sounds like most people had tons of fun. Unfortunately, m/m author Luara Baumbach's experience (here) is making me rethink my plan to attend in 2008. Close-mindedness and homophobia are nothing new -- I've had my own run-in with a local writer's group -- but I still find Laura's experience stunning.

American Gods

by Neil Gaiman

ISBN: 0380789035

It's been a while, but my good friend Kerrita reminded me that it was past time I got back to doing my "Recommended Reads". Though my reading tastes are wide and varied, I write romance novels, so most of my recommendations tend to fall into that category. The book I'm recommending today, however -- American Gods by Neil Gaiman -- would probably be classified as an urban fantasy (a magical story set in a contemporary, real-world, or urban setting.)

American Gods combines two of my greatest loves -- mythology and fantasy -- in a story that took my breath away. Weirdly, my hardback copy of the book has been sitting in my To Be Read Pile, neglected and unread, since 2001! (What other gems do I have languishing, waiting to be discovered?!) It actually took an article by Stephen King (here,) listing his ten favorite audio books, (American Gods was #10,) to drive me to dig it up -- and boy am I glad I did!

Premise: Hmm. This is one of those books where I can't say too much without giving the plot away. It begins as the main character, Shadow, is finishing up a three-year jail sentence for aggravated assault. News of the death of his wife leads to an early release, and the path his life takes from that point on is a journey of epic proportions.

What I Liked as a Reader: I will admit that I am keenly interested in mythology, so this aspect of the book may have been more compelling to me than to someone who is not. The story is dense -- definitely not a light read, but moved quickly, and was so gripping that I wanted to read it in one sitting -- not possible, let me warn you now. It made me think while I was reading it, and I like that a lot.

What I Liked as a Writer: This is the kind of book that truly inspires me as a writer. The meticulous plotting is evident in every character and plot element. Nothing is wasted. Nothing is extra. Masterfully done.

This story will stay with me for a long time. Even as I was reading it, I found myself unable to keep it out of everyday conversations. "That reminds me of this book I'm reading -- American Gods. There's this part..."

As I mentioned before, it came out five years ago, so I may be the only person on the planet who hadn't already discovered it. (It has won a few awards, by the way: the 2002 Hugo Award for Best Novel, the 2002 Nebula Award for Best Novel, and 2002 Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel.) But if, on the off chance, you haven't read it already, and you like stories that make you think, get yourself a copy today.

It's the fifth of the month, and that means I'm blogging over at Authors of Erotic Romance.

Today I'm talking about my newly discovered appreciation for men in kilts.

I just posted a new (FREE) story to the Authors of Erotic Romance page! In case you haven't been over there, here's the way it works: One of the contributing authors will post a graphic, and then we write a 1,000 word story "inspired by" the pic. They're posted in the "Under the Influence" section.

This one is #5, and I've included the picture to the left. When I first saw the man sitting on a rock with two dogs at a lake, I started working on a story about two friends camping. I actually really liked that story, but I couldn't shake the nagging feeling that this picture was about someone else. I decided to listen to that instinct, and the result is "Dead Wood," a short-short m/f paranormal.

I obviously wasn't the only one who thought there was some "magic" in the woods, because Kassie Burns' story had a similar feel. You can check out both stories at Authors of Erotic Romance.

Enjoy!

Well, I decided it was time I gave blogging a go. This won't be a daily chronicle, but I'll do my best to post once a week and to keep it interesting. Stay tuned!