Friskbiskit

Here Comes 2010!

Went to a lovely party last night, an "Old Year" party, which is a wonderful idea.  Lots of interesting people and of course I wound up blathering on about digital publishing, as usual.  Fortunately most of those in my impact zone seemed interested.  And my pal Hank Edwards was there.  A year ago I turned Hank on to Loose Id at a different party hosted by one of the hosts of last night's party.  Hank's been happy with his experiences at LI and this morning I got a lovely note from him thanking me for being generous and sharing information.  Made me all "aw shucks," but really, when you think of it, why on earth wouldn't I help another writer?  This business is so rough sometimes, and what goes around comes around.  You never know when you might stand to benefit from someone else's generosity, so I see helping out as part of a cycle. And readers read so much faster than most authors can write.  We're not so much in competition with each other as we are with all the many other forms of entertainment that can be produced faster and more cheaply.

As some of you may know, my agent Jenny Rappaport announced at the beginning of the month that she's leaving the business.  This is a great disappointment to me, as I like Jenny on a personal level and we worked well together. She was the first agent I ever had who made me feel like I actually had an agent, someone in my corner who was accessible and accepting of my artistic focus. Not sure what I'm going to do now. For epublishing, I don't need an agent, and my experience with agents in the past hasn't been all that great.  I've found that they can run interference with me as much as they do with publishers and that was a very frustrating experience. Then again, the universe is full of surprises, so who knows.  For now, it's full steam ahead with epublishing.

Speaking of which, I'm madly trying to whip Amaranth & Ash into a shape I won't be utterly humiliated to turn in to Loose Id.  The story's great, it's just rather sizeable, and toward the end, I think I have the right events in place, but the wrong scenes set to show them.  Thank god for editors. I feel like a little kid with a new toy she can't quite figure out how to assemble, shoving it at the nearest adult.  "Waaaah! Fix this!"

Did you know that tonight is a blue moon (second full moon in a calendar month) and a lunar eclipse? Whoo boy!  Be careful everyone, and have a wonderful evening and may 2010 bring you health, happiness, and prosperity!

Author Spotlight: Lee Rowan

Please welcome historical m/m author Lee Rowan. I loved Lee's book Ransom, so I was thrilled to learn that one of the new Running Press titles, Tangled Web, was penned by her.  Running Press, by the way, is a print publisher who has launched a line of historical m/m novels aimed at the romance market. It's a project I'm excited about and I hope you'll support it as well.

Here's a blurb for Tangled Web.  And don't miss the link to an excerpt a the bottom of the post.

England 1816:

Brendan Townsend fell for Tony Hillyard's seductive ways when they were college roommates, but out in the real world Brendan is dismayed to find Tony's youthful indiscretion has turned to dangerous recklessness.  When Tony's thrill-seeking behavior at a private club for gentlemen of unusual inclinations puts them both at risk for sexual blackmail, or worse, Brendan can't confide in his family. His only hope is his brother's old commanding officer Major Carlisle, who has a near-legendary reputation for solving impossible problems.  But Brendan finds himself in even deeper trouble when he is smitten by the handsome older man the moment he lays eyes on him.

Society ladies with eligible daughters lament that the widowed Philip Carlisle buried his heart with his wife.  Carlisle lives what appears to be a quiet life, but unknown to Society, he is actively assisting the authorities in solving a case of smuggling and murder in a sleepy Kentish village. His knight-errant instincts are touched by Brendan's dilemma, and he soon discovers the appealing young man is useful to have at his back in a tight spot. Neither of them expected to find love in a tangle of blackmail, smuggling, and murder.. and neither can be sure where the deadliest danger lies.  

What gave you the idea for this story?

I really enjoy Georgette Heyer's Regency romances (though I don't like all of her heroes), and I've wanted to try writing a Regency for some time. I was at the Queer Lit festival in Toronto a couple of years ago, and many of the gentlemen who stopped at the booth asked if I had anything that wasn't about war, or any stories that featured older men.  So when Running Press asked if I'd like to submit a book proposal, I thought this might be a chance to do something a little different, and contrast the emotional extremes of a younger man versus the steadier, more realistic attitudes of a man who's had more life under his belt.   I've researched Britain's old Molly Houses, clandestine establishments of the day where men could meet other men, but since the only record we have of these places is mostly from prison records – those who were caught and couldn't evade prosecution – I speculated that there might have been the occasional very discreet, high-class establishment that passed unnoticed.  But anytime you have secrecy, you have the opportunity for blackmail… so enter the naïve Brendan  and his randy, idiotic boyfriend Tony, who doesn't understand the meaning of discretion and probably couldn't spell it if he tried.   

Who has inspired you, and how?

An elderly lady who used to be one of my massage clients.   She ran away from home to join the Army Air Force when she was 18, had a long, eventful life, a marriage that ended too soon when her husband died suddenly, and some horribly painful health problems – but she was always brave, interested in life, and funny.  I want to be like her when I get that old.  Lots of other people have inspired me, but she really stands out. Someday I'm going to fictionalize her life and give her a happier ending.

What do you like about m/m?

The equality.   I have never much liked gender roles – Man Is Brave, Woman Is Soft, etc…  I think we all have many qualities in different measure, and m/m lets the characters define themselves.

If there were one misconception about m/m that you could clear up forever, what would it be?

That every same-sex love story is automatically porn.  Or, even more basic, that there's something drastically different about same-sex love as opposed to opposite-sex.  There isn't—I know this from experience.  Love is love.

If you could change one thing about the publishing industry, what would it be?

The same thing I'd change about all business… the idea that every piece of creative work has to make enormous profits or it isn't worth doing.   Not every book can be a best-seller.  There's nothing wrong with modest, sustainable profit. 
 

Do you now write, or have you ever written, fanfic?  If so, what fandoms, pairings, etc?

I started writing Man from UNCLE fanfic at about 12, and have gone through many different fandoms .  Oddly, though, I wrote very little slash, or even het romance—just adventure stories, like unfilmed episodes.

What is your proudest moment as an author?

Winning the Eppie for Ransom, and being able to acknowledge how much my wife has done to help me – materially, as well as moral support and inspiration.

Kirk, or Spock?

Spock.  (Of course, Spock—I'm married to a mathematician!  And I don't think Kirk is very good spouse material.)   

Behind the link below is a lovely excerpt from Tangled Web.  Please note: this excerpt contains mature subject matter.  By clicking the link below, you certify that you are eighteen years of age or older.

The Prisoner

Just finished watching the remake of The Prisoner. I know I'm supposed to be slavishly attached to the original and contemptuous of any attempt at revisioning the story, but, you know, that's just not in my nature. 

Yeah, I really liked this version. It was accessible to me as a whole story, whereas as much as I enjoyed the mod absurdity of the original, the artifice of that always seemed to hold me at a distance.  I was always watching the program. I never related to it as if it were real.  This version I did, and while not perfect, I found the miniseries hung together well as a whole, and I came away from it witha  pretty good grasp of what had been going on.  I like that.

And it has the ridiculously beautiful Jamie Campbell Bower in it as Two's gay son!  OMG! Swoon! Can you believe I went into all that analyitical crap in the last paragraph, when I had this on hand?

I never know what to title posts like these

I'm busting ass to get Amaranth & Ash turned in before I go off to residency at the end of next week, and that means writing lots of sex scenes.  And writing lots of sex scenes means spending plenty of time on 4chan.  That's were I stumbled across these, though apparently they are from Warren Ellis. 

I really want to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie. It looks slasherific, an impression that's been confirmed for me by my friend JJ, who's seen it already and loved it. Another friend of mine hated it. She said it's nothing like the books. I don't care.

Man Candy Monday

Ganked from Dotty Pinhole.  Posted in conjunction with Erotica Cover Watch.

Literary Nymphs Holiday Chat

Literary Nymphs are hosting a week-long m/m chat on their loop, from Dec. 26 all the way through Jan. 1.  The LitNymphs chats are always a great time.  Tons of authors, tons of excerpts, and lots of fun topics too. It's a great way to sample a lot of new authors and build up that reading list so you can go spend all your gift money on more books!  So go check it out, and, if you're not a member of the loop yet, it's easy to join.

Merry Xmas!

Hope your holiday is happy!

New Novel Serialization: All the Colors of Love, or, Where it All Began

Just in time for Xmas, here's a new novel serialization for you.  All the Colors of Love was originally written under my real name, Anne Harris, and marketed as a YA science fiction novel.  This is the book that started my whole m/m fixation obsession interest. It began as a sequel to my first published novel, The Nature of Smoke.  I'd always been fond of the kid in that book, Antonin, and I got to wondering what he'd be like as a teenager.  And in that way that you know things about your characters that may or may not come into play in a given novel, I knew he was gay. The story spun out from there:

Antonin’s warm, quirky, criminal family are a revelation to Harry, who grew up on an isolated island with his abusive, wealthy father. For Antonin, accustomed to disbelief and scorn from his classmates, Harry’s unquestioning acceptance of his loved ones is a refreshing change. The two teenagers become friends and soon fall in love, but Harry’s father has plans to manipulate their relationship for his own gain.

This novel was a revelation to me.  I gave myself carte blanche to do whatever I wanted with it.  To write, essentially, my ideal book that I would want to read. The results were not what I expected. I was writing it for a good six months going, "so this is my authentic creative voice? Wierd." At that time, I knew nothing of slash, nothing of m/m, I had no terms like hurt-comfort or angst or schmoop to describe what I was doing.  All I knew was that writing had suddenly become the most fun thing ever, a sharp contrast to the way I had experienced my process in the past.

Then one fated eve, curious about when a new Kevin Smith movie was coming out, I Googled Jay and Silent Bob, discovered slash, and discovered that what I was writing was, essentially, a slash novel, only with original characters. The similarities were striking. Suddenly I had a vocabulary, and a community, and proof that I was not alone. 

Basically, from that point on, there's been no stopping me. And since I've embraced m/m, my trajectory has brought me to this place, where I am finally finding an audience (thanks guys!) and am finally writing and publishing at a rate that can sustain and grow that audience (you're welcome, too!), just at a time when economics and paradigm shift are making my career in print, if not a thing of the past, at the very least, a prestigious sideline.

So, since its Xmas, since its almost a new decade, since I'm just not going to wait any longer to share this book with readers, here are the first three chapters of All the Colors of Love to get you started.  New chapters will go up on a weekly basis. Enjoy, and may your holidays be happy and 2010 be the year you're hoping for.

All the Colors of Love: Prologue -- Ygrasil's Disease

All the Colors of Love: Chapter 1 -- Hairy Fits

All the Colors of Love: Chapter 2 -- Fights

P.S. I am typing this up as we are we are about to go to my sister's for Xmas.  This is quick and dirty posting, folks.  I'll add more bells and whistles when time permits.

Link Love: Seth Goodin on Digital Pricing

Here's a cool, short post by Seth Goodin with some creative ideas about pricing strategies for ebooks:

http://ow.ly/168lFD

Link Love: LA Weekly on M/M Romance

Here's an in depth article from LA Weekly on m/m romance featuring Jet Mykles, James Buchanan and many other notable authors.  I like this piece, because, apart from categorizing female m/m fans as universally straight, which is the rookie mistake everyone makes, for the most part, the article gets it right.  And it's supportive, not sneering or judgmental.  Overall, a win for our genre, I think.

http://www.laweekly.com/2009-12-17/art-books/man-on-man-the-new-gay-romance/1

Last Call for Amaranth & Ash

In accordance with the terms of my agreement with Loose Id, I have to take the rough draft of Amaranth & Ash down from Friskbiskit, so, if by chance you haven't read it yet and you want to, this is your last chance. I'll be removing all episodes the day after tomorrow: 12/23/9.

Amaranth & Ash Main Page

Man Candy Monday: Angels We Have Heard on High

Happy holidays everyone!

Ganked from Male Sumbission Art. Posted in conjunction with Erotica Cover Watch.

The Brothers Bloom

Friends brought the film The Brothers Bloom over tonight and OMG what a wonderfully slasheriffic h/c fest it was!  First of all, it stars Adrien Brody. I mean, that's almost enough right there.  But it stars Adrien Brody as the reluctant half of a con-man duo, brothers who grew up together getting bounced from one foster home to another and eventually winding up in the hands of "The Diamond Dog," a Russian Mafia Fagin-type figure. (Tortured childhood, anyone? Why yes, I don't mind if I do.) The film makes it clear that DD beat the boys, but in a very tense scene where DD gropes Adrien's thigh while A sits there and shakes sends a very strong hint that Adrien's character was sexually abused as well.

Then there's Rachel Weisz as the quirky millionaire mark who Bloom (Adrien) falls in love with.  She's perfect.  I barely even got into slashing the two brothers (though you totally could), because Rachel's character, with her multitude of odd hobbies, history of isolation and hunger to experience the world was such a great geek girl character. And they don't make a big deal out of her being beautiful.  AND, there are all these scenes where she's cupping Adrien's face, or stroking his hair as he lays with his head in her lap.  I'm telling you, this film taps right into the heart of the hurt-comfort motherlode and just keeps it coming.  Yummy angsty fun.  Recommended.

GLBT Bookshelf

I've been horribly remiss in not mentioning GLBT Bookshelf until now. It's a wiki community dedicated to GLBT books, authors, editors, publishers and readers.  Formed in the wake of AmazonFail, GLBT Bookshelf was created by Mel Keegan as a self-sustaining community where GLBT fiction can maintain an internet presence independent of the decisions of major corporations.

The wiki is chock full of information, book listings, author pages, publishers, communities and more. It's a good overview of the m/m community as a whole. (And I've got to get off my a** and put my page up.) They've even got a clever way you can order books from Amazon and earn a few dimes for GLBT Bookshelf in the process.

Amaranth & Ash: Coming soon from Loose Id!

I'm happy to report that Amaranth & Ash has been accepted by Loose Id.  No idea yet when the release date will be.  I have to finish the current draft, and then there will be revisions and so on, so it'll be a few months, I'm sure.  I'll keep you posted.  But I'm very pleased to be working with LI again, and with my editor Venessa, who did a great job on Rust Belt.