JOIN ME!

For the next few days I’ll be bouncing around the web, showing off the latest book in the ZAM-iverse — The Brothers Grime : Eddie, Grime Doesn’t Pay.

Today I’m spending my time at Boys In Our Books! There’s a review there by Ami, who says, “There is a sign that you are reading a good book … when you cannot put it down. I was not feeling well when I read this, I suffered from stomach flu and had been feeling weak for two days, couldn’t even had the energy to read. But when I received the ARC, once I started, I couldn’t put it down.”

(Thank you very much, wow!) And also I blogged about how I came up with the idea for the Grime series. What makes me write about men with jobs like that?

Don’t miss out on the fun, please join us, and get in on a chance to win either a $20.00 gift certificate from Loose Id, or one of three iTunes “Grime Doesn’t Pay” Playlists.

Find out what I was listening to when I wrote Grime Doesn’t Pay and stay TUNED! There will be a week-long celebration, blog posts, giveaways, and fun!

Let’s have a GREAT BIG Tuesday Teaser welcome to my very good pal Lex Valentine! 

Like most authors, Lex has been writing ever since she could hold a pencil. A few years ago, when she posted snippets of her work on her personal blog Sunlight Sucks, multi-published author Jennifer Leeland encouraged her to submit her writing to publishers. That led to her first contract in October 2008.

Now an award winning, multi-published PAN author in her own right, Lex is a member of Romance Writers of America and active in several chapters including her local OCC chapter. Her publishers include: Ellora’s Cave, Loose Id, Jupiter Gardens (formerly Pink Petal Books), MLR Press, and Liquid Silver Books. She is published in both ebook and print.

Born and raised in Salinas, California, Lex moved to Southern California in 1992. She lives in a canyon on the edge of Orange County with her daughter Nikki (aka Motley of Socially Dead),  her long haired tattooed husband Rott (of RottNRoll), and a bunch of cats she calls “babies.” She loves loud rock and alternative music, builds her own computers, and has a propensity for having very weird vivid dreams about Nikki Sixx. Lex works full-time at a 100 year old cemetery as the network administrator, collects giraffes thanks to a character written by her friend Jen Morgan, adores supermodel Marcus Schenkenberg and loves hanging out with author-pal Z.A. Maxfield who never lets Lex be a wallflower.

See? This is us—–>

Last week’s winner: Janette!

Don’t Forget!

“******, I’m sorry.”

The softly spoken words caused ****** to release his breath on a sigh. “I am too, ******.” He turned, his gaze caught and held by ******’s. A wave of emotion, mostly indefinable, rose within him, causing an ache in his chest.

****** swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

****** sensed ******’s discomfort, but stayed silent, waiting for him to finish. He gave the man points for holding his gaze when by rights he probably wanted to look anywhere else.

“I was angry and disappointed and confused. When *** came on to me in the bar…” ****** broke off and swallowed again. “I didn’t think you would care what I did, but that is no excuse. It’s just an explanation of my motivation. I know it was wrong of me to bring him back here on the day I found you. I’m so sorry.”

It had been a long time since ****** had met someone with the level of integrity that ****** had just shown. “I’m sorry too, ******,” he replied in a low voice. “This whole thing was such a shock. And I know that’s not an excuse for my behavior. It’s just an explanation.”

He smiled as he repeated ******’s words. The British man’s eyes lightened as a smile curved his lips. ****** caught a glimpse of brilliant white teeth as ******’s smile flashed out and he suddenly felt sucker punched, his gut twisting with emotion. The urge to reach out and touch ****** overwhelmed him, just like the man’s scent filled his senses, until all he could think about was asking him to repeat yesterday’s kiss.

******’s eyes flickered. “You realize that a lot of what you think and feel bleeds out to me now,” he murmured. “Despite your natural shielding.”

****** sucked in a breath. “If you know what I’m thinking then just do it, ******, ‘cause the gods know I can’t yet,” he said in a shaky voice, feeling his heart begin to race.

****** took the three steps needed to bring their bodies within inches of each other. ****** began to shake a little with fear and anticipation. The first kiss had been a surprise and filled with anger on both sides. This would be their first real kiss. They both acknowledged that they were mates, and that they felt some emotion pulling at them along with a steadily growing attraction. Regardless of the previous kiss, ****** didn’t know what to expect and when ******’s hand came up to wrap around the back of his neck, he stiffened a little at first. Then fire licked through his veins at the feel of ******’s warm palm on his bare skin. He shook harder.

“Don’t be afraid, ******. It’s just a kiss.”

******’s soft whisper accompanied the press of his thumb against the underside of ******’s jaw. Reflexively, he tilted his chin up and ******’s mouth came down on his. Lust swept through his body as ****** expertly parted his lips. ****** gasped a little opening his mouth wider as ******’s tongue glided easily against his own, the wet heat sending lightning bolts of desire shooting through him. This time when ******’s hips brushed his, he didn’t move, letting the man press his growing erection against him. His own cock started to respond, twitching inside his shorts.

Just as ****** was about to let go and kiss ****** back, the British man broke off the kiss on a long shuddering sigh. “I think we need to go downstairs before I forget that you’ve never been with a man before, ******,” he said in a shaken voice.

 

Hey Sunday Brunch lovers – Some of you may notice today is not Sunday. You are getting sleepy… Very sleepy… Today is Sunday… Today is Sunday…

I spent the weekend at Bent-Con in Los Angeles with one of the worst head colds I’ve ever had. I actually spent the weekend trying not to give my germs to my author friends Belinda McBride, James Buchanan, E.M. Lynley, Kimberly Hunter, Lou Harper, LE Franks, Sara York, Damon Suede, Shira Anthony, Rhys Ford and rest of the gang from Dreamspinner, who were also there AND the rest of the attendees. I bonked on scheduling this Sunday Brunch post correctly. Entirely my fault!

Here’s how my Sunday Brunch Blog works:  I invite a couple of your favorite authors to my blog and ask them a question. Sometimes my questions are silly, sometimes they’re thought-provoking.

My guests will share their answers with me and you, gentle readers, can give your answer to my question in the comment section below. I’ll choose one random person from the comments and reward them with an ebook surprise, it’s that simple!

Last Week’s winner? Barbra! I’ll be getting in touch with you soon.

Tell me what your answer to today’s question would be in the comments, and you could win an e-book!

This weeks question is:

IF you could live on a ride at Disneyland, which one would it be?

Can I just live in the entire park? No, well okay. There are plenty of rides I could see myself living – The Haunted Mansion, Aerosmith’s Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster, the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, the Great Movie Ride. Disney has so many amazing rides in their parks, which is probably why so many people go to there. But I think if I had to choose only one to be my home, I’d have to go with the Tower of Terror in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

On one hand, you get to scare the living crap out of all the tourists. On the other hand, you get a lovely view of the park and surrounding area from the elevator, at least until it drops you to your death. Plus, it reminds me of getting stuck in the elevator at GRL 2013! (Which was quite amusing once we finally got out.)

Although, I’d much rather live in one of the Harry Potter rides over at Universal Studios…–Author William Cooper

Purchase For His Love   Amazon    ARE    B&N

I have to admit, I haven’t been to Disneyland for a while and don’t remember a lot of the rides, but then, maybe it’s because every time my family visits a Disney property we have some sort of Traumatic Moment. Happiest place on earth, my day-glo white ass. So I’m reinterpreting the question as favorite ride, but even then I’m playing fast and loose with it. My favorite ride was a 1989 Dodge Minivan with fake wood paneling. Yeah, it’s all about the woody.

Classes at UC Davis always to start on a Thursday, at least for the fall quarter, so three friends and I hatched a plan. As soon as the last one of us got out of our last class on Friday, we were hitting the road. So my favorite ride at Disneyland? The Disneyland Expeditionary Force of 1990. One friend had been my best friend since seventh grade: we told everyone we were cousins so they’d stop accusing us of fucking while we were in high school; one friend was the first person I came out to; one of them is now dead.

While names and details have been changed to protect the innocent, Esmé, Margaret, Greg, and I piled into the minivan and hit the road that Friday afternoon with two ice chests and a cheap CD player (because the radio in the minivan was even cheaper) and hit the road. The drive south was unremarkable, and if you’ve ever drive south in I-5 through the Great Valley you know why. That it was dark helped immeasurably. That’s the kind of dumb thing you can do when you’re twenty—drive all night and check into a hotel in Anaheim after midnight. Anaheim looks better in the dark, too.

Greg and Margaret, renamed the Greg and Peg Show by my parents due Greg’s habit of turning summersaults on the furniture and Margaret’s—Peg’s—futile efforts to stop him, took one room because they were dating. Esmé and I took the other one because we weren’t and she knew she was safe as a kitten. More to the point, so did her boyfriend who was doing his year abroad. Once he found out I was gay, he became a big fan of her spending time with me.

Another advantage to doing dumb things when you’re twenty is we were there before the park opened, ready to run amok, and did we ever. Margaret ran varsity track, Greg played rugby, I swam, and Esmé just kept up with us. I’m sure Greg and I scared a number of people out of our way…I’m freakishly tall and Greg, while of average height, was built like refrigerator, and we wore mouse ears and maniacal grins.

I think the best part of the weekend was trying to let Margaret know I had something to tell her and then chickening out…over and over and over. When I finally came out to her at the Foster’s Freeze just north of the Grapevine she looked at me and yelled, “That’s it? I thought you were dying of cancer or something!” Then she slugged me. For such a short woman she had a really good arm.

But all good things, as they say. Margaret’s now a deputy state attorney general. Esmé is now a housewife in the OC and doing her best to subvert her son’s Boy Scout troupe with liberalism. It doesn’t seem to be an issue with her daughter’s Girl Scouts troupe, for some reason. And Greg? Greg’s dead. It’s been a few years, and it’s still a shock to the three of us.

In honor of Greg’s boisterous personality, I give you Tipping the Balance, because Brad Sundstrom, too, has such a personality. — Author Christopher Koehler.

Purchase Tipping The Balance   Amazon  ARE  B&N

Oh God, this is so embarrassing! If you’ve met me, take a guess what my answer will be.

Okay yeah. Sigh. It’s a Small World. Yep. That’s the home for me. I am just that ridiculously lame — and optimistic and sunny and all the crap that no writer of super sexy MM romance should be. I’ve lived and traveled all over the world. I started as an Army brat and just never quit. So that part of Small World makes sense.

I also decided as a very small child, that if there was a God, he/she loved us all the best. And if that wasn’t so — if there was “one way” to the truth of living — then I wanted nothing to do with any deity that was so screwed up. So yes, there is “just one moon and one golden sun” in my world and they shine on us all equally and with love. I believe in true love. No, more than believe. As Jung said, “I know.”

That’s what I write about. I feel amazingly lucky to get to share that experience. And, like A Small World, I hope I’m a catchy (slightly crazy-making) tune that never leaves your head.  LOL : ) — Author Tara Lain

Purchase F.A.S.T Balls   Amazon   ARE   B&N

 

 

 

 

I’ve always wanted to find a way to ask a few of my favorite authors over for a nice, leisurely Sunday brunch, and that became the idea for this blog.

Each week I plan to invite a couple friends to this blog so I can ask them a question. My friends will share their answers with me and you, gentle readers, can give your answer to my question in the comment section below. I’ll choose one random person from the comments and reward them with an ebook surprise, it’s that simple! Comments are moderated, so don’t despair if you’re not posted immediately! 

This weeks question is:

What kind of car are you?

Readers, comment below for a chance to win an ebook! We want to know what kind of car YOU would be!

So this week, Zam wants to know what kind of car we would be if we could…what? Be a car? Not sure why I would want to be a car (not having opposable thumbs seems like it might be a deal breaker) but hey, let’s have some fun, shall we?

(And totally as an aside, the writer in me dearly wants to know why my word processor is so dumb it doesn’t think ‘opposable’ is a word when it seems to know perfectly well that Jedi should be capitalized. There are other words I use as an erotic romance writer that it also didn’t think were words, but I’ve since educated it, and it’s much better now.)

So. On to what kind of car would I be. Based on my level of nerdiness just evidenced for you all? Probably a Volvo. And not the new, sleek kind, either. Oh no. We’re talking 80’s station wagon…beige.

Oh yes. That’s me. — Author Jamie Samms

Lace, available at:  Total E-Bound   Amazon

No doubt about it. If I were going to be a car, I’d be a Tesla.

Electric. Gorgeous. Fast. Mindblowing. And not a tailpipe on it. (That is sooo sexy!) Not burning fossil fuel never looked so good nor went so fast.

If I’m honest, I’m really all about being sleek and efficient. After all, I spend a shitton of money on WEN to keep my flyaway hair from looking like I stuck my finger in a light socket. I could buy regular hair products but nooooo. I have to go for the stuff that’s supposed to make my hair more shiny, more sleek, more awesome. I’m not all that sure it really works as well as it says it does but sometimes my hair is all those things so I guess it sort of works! As for efficient…I do this best at the day job, but in all my creative outlets I strive for it as well although I don’t achieve it as easily. I don’t sleep much, so I work. What could be more efficient? 😉

The Tesla is more than an electric car that hauls ass. At over $70K, it’s a statement. And it’s pretty much a work of art. Completely handmade and 100% head turning as it streaks down the road. It’s the perfect melding of technology and art.

That would be me. IT geek with a need for speed meets writer and artist with a need to create hot, sexy characters who make hot, sexy love.

And no tailpipe. (Did I mention how sexy that is?) It’s like the HEA at the end of every book I write. A statement of who I am and what I believe in. Hot sex. Endless love. That’s a Lex book in a nutshell…and that’s Lex, the Tesla of erotic romance! — Author Lex Valentine

Sunday’s Child, available at: Amazon   B&N   ARE

Flying Colors available at: Dreamspinner   ARE   Amazon  Amazon UK

 

I was thrilled to see My Cowboy Heart was on the list of Honorable Mentions for the Rainbow Awards! Check Elisa’s blog post HERE

I’ve been getting some really nice reviews as well:

From Dear Author, “My Cowboy Heart  is a very gentle romance, and sweet, notwithstanding the spicy sex scenes (on par with your average contemporary m/f).” Read HERE

From Fiction Vixen, “I absolutely adored My Cowboy Heart. From the reserved  foreman suddenly realizing his desires to the outgoing younger cowboy who takes the ranch by storm and changes the dynamics between everyone. I couldn’t help but love it. Watching love bloom is always sweet, but watching it unfold between two such unlikely characters just makes it seem all the sweeter.” Read HERE

From Under The Covers Book Blog, “I didn’t expect to love this book so much, but Maxfield really pens a believable gay-for-you story that doesn’t seem contrived or forced in any way. It’s done in a believable and fun way that made it so easy for me to devour.” Read HERE

From the blog of Sid Love, “The strength of the story lies in the author’s ability to make these two very different guys and their connection believable.” Read HERE

A great big thank you to all the readers who continue to take my cowboys into your hearts,

ZAM <3<3<3