One of the best things about my writing career is all the wonderful friends I’ve made over the years. Many of my internet pals have become in-person friends. We share adventures in writing, and often we have the opportunity to meet up at conventions like Romantic Times Book Lovers’ convention or GayRomLit.

I always wanted to find a way to just ask a few over for branch, and this became the idea for this blog.

Each Sunday I’ll invite a couple friends over and ask a question. My friends will share their answers with me. 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! No comments last week? Commenters will be entered into a drawing, so don’t be SHY!

We’ve got some of your sizzling favorites authors, right here, talking about what they’d wish for, if they were ever granted a genie’s wish…

This week’s question:

A genie grants you one wish, what is it? (Not more wishes!)

A life of sexual adventures! Doesn’t that cover it all? If a person is happily satisfied within the bedroom, it will transfer into other areas of life. Great sex equates to a positive can-do-it attitude in other areas. Plus, it provides plenty of fodder to write about. (Ahem.)

Ever have magical hotel sex? You know, sparkling soft white comforter and sheets – the kind that would never last in a home – and all the cares and the worries of the world disappear. No responsibilities. You can languish and enjoy every single moment. It’s where the enchantment happens.

And when reality slows down to be less than? Well, I pull out my favorite books. — Author Louisa Bacio

Available via Ravenous Romance, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other eRetailers.

World peace…WAIT…no. That’s not it. It would be all well and good to have world peace, but that is not what I would wish. Nope. I wish–for just enough. I’ll elaborate. I wish for just enough of everything.

Can I do that?

I might have to spell it out more or who knows what I could end up with. I’ve watched those genie movies! So I want just enough money so I can be happy, but not outrageously rich. I could wish for riches beyond my imagination, but I don’t need that because money isn’t everything.

I know I wouldn’t wish for true love because that would just be false. You can’t wish for someone to love you, they have to do that on their own. Okay…now that I think about it…I take it back. I’ll wish for world peace. — Author Jambrea Jo Jones

True Colors, available at:
Amazon, ARE

If a genie was to grant me one wish (and not more wishes) I would want a machine that I could hook up to my brain. It would see the same crazy stuff that I do, the stuff that inspires my erotic m/m romances, and type it out for me (edited and proofread, of course).

When I see a scene for one of my books, I literally see it play out in my head like a movie. I can see the bright vivid colors, smell the fragrances that float on the breeze, and hear what people are saying, how they say it, what tone of voices they use, everything. I try to convey that in my writing so that the reader can see and feel what I do.

This “machine” that I would wish for would help with that sooo much. I could just work the scene out in my head until I  had it just right then say “print” and the machine would type it all out on my laptop…ready to be submitted.

Alas, until this wonderful writer’s aid is invented, I must do it the old fashioned way…nap! — Author Stormy Glenn

Heart of a Mate, Scent of a Mate, Available at Bookstrand, Here

 

This Tuesday Teaser is from my back list. Shall we play GUESS THE BOOK?

Okay! Try to guess the title of the Z.A. Maxfield book this teaser comes from get an ebook copy of the book in question or any other book from my backlist. Make your guesses by replying to me in an email, zamaxfield (at) zamaxfield (dot) com, because if I can’t find your guess, I can’t reward you! Be sure to leave a valid email address so I know where to send your ebook. The 8th person to email me with the correct title  WINS an ebook from my backlist!

Email me at zamaxfield @ zamaxfield (dot) com and put Tuesday Teasers in the subject line!

Whilst we’re at it, I’d like to invite you to subscribe to my newsletter, for free stories, exclusive contests, and all the news before anyone else gets it! Coming up, I have a cover reveal, a deleted scene, and more fun and games with cowboys!

WELL! How much fun was GRL???

I signed books, took pictures, participated in a panel discussion of Romantic Comedy with the fabulous Ethan Day, Amy Lane, and Barry Brennessel. I shopped, I schmoozed, I lay in bed at the end of the day panting from all the fun we had…

I did a reading from e-Pistols At Dawn and it was so much fun to hear the laughter of a live audience like that! That gave me an idea for something fun to do with my pals…Get ready for something entirely new from some of your favorite m/m authors starting next year.

Gayromlit was HUGE this year. Packed with cool people, delicious excitement, thrills, chills, and so much fun I could hardly keep myself from exploding. It was so good to catch up with all my friends again, A special shout-out to my pals Lynn Lorenz, Belinda McBride, Lex Valentine, Cat Grant, Tara Lain, Amy Lane, Christopher Koehler, Louisa Baccio, Ethan Day, Heidi Cullinan, Damon Suede, K-lee Klein, Ralph/William/NJ/Emily (You know if you’d just kept your own namebadge it might have been a little easier), James Buchanan, Laura Baumbach, Kris Jacen, Ally Blue, Jet Mykkles J.P Bowie, Carol Lynne…

OH, my gosh, there are too many great people to name. It was a pleasure making new friends, and BRANDI !!! Did you see what I just did there? I remembered your name. Seriously. I cannot believe that in five days I could not learn names better.

I’m sorry to all the folks I mixed up with other folks and to those whose names I just plain forgot or had to double check.

Yes, that was me in the fairy wings. Just in case you were wondering. And NO, thanks to Ralph my favorite book schlepping minion and erstwhile pool boy, I did NOT forget to take those off before we went into Old Town Albuquerque!

And YES! I did lure two men to my room with the promise of cupcakes.

(So now we all know that works, anyway.)

I DID drop my laptop at the airport. Or rather, I was having lunch with friends and when I stood up to throw my trash out, my chair went over with my backpack in it, and my laptop was in that. It froze right there and did not boot up again! Thanks to my husband’s friend Tom, I now have almost everything I thought I’d lost PLUS, and new system for storing information so it’s possible I’ll never lose anything again!

I’m back home and hard at work on a new novel, a cowboy story for Loose Id, so stay tuned, and be well!

I’ll be right here,

ZAM

 

 

 

Really Briefly!

Because today is not only the day before release day, it’s the day I move back into my house, (today we’re moving from the apartment, tomorrow they’re bringing back my stuff!) and tomorrow is also the first day of school, *pant, pant* I’m having a party over at my Goodreads Group, HERE

Several authors have joined me on the spur of the moment to add their own ebooks to the prize pile. There’s a giveaway thread — leave a to comment to win. I’ll be giving away three ebook copies of Gasp! as soon as I get them, and more lucky winners will be eligible to win prizes from other authors.

 

With anticip-p-p-ation.

Yes. I’m a wreck. There are few things more fraught than waiting until the day you can move back into your house after major re-construction. Add that to the fact that I have to replace everything (basically, anything soft like beds and bedding and window coverings or plastic like appliances and things that I stored food in) that might have absorbed the toxic smoke that flooded my house during the fire I’m a little bit overwrought.

And yes. That’s a first world problem, I know. I’m a woman who spends a lot of time on her knees being grateful that my life is good. It’s actually wonderful. I’ve been so lucky.

But I’m due to move home the weekend before my kids start back to school. Soccer season has already started, as has X-country. My four teenagers have all discovered a passion–an obsession–for Magic the Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons so it’s not at all uncommon to have six to eight teens in our apartment’s tiny combination family room/living room/kitchen shouting things like “Die, demon from the underworld!” at the top of their lungs.

The air conditioner works splendidly, thank heavens, as it’s been in the upper nineties here for weeks, and yet…one has to keep the windows closed all the time for it to function. See the above paragraph and then imagine the odor generated by eight over heated teens (and a labrador retriever) and you’ll know that keeping the windows closed has done nothing for the ambience around here. Still, I’m grateful we’re not living in our travel trailer.

I’m also grateful that we have this kind of abundance, and we’re not in a tent. I’m grateful we’re not living in a car. I’m not complaining as much as I’m full of nervous energy because I’m ready to dig in and roll up my sleeves and return my regularly scheduled life. It’s TIME to go back to normal. It’s past time.

But seriously, I’m an over fifty mother of four from a fairly conservative background, who writes gay romance novels. When was my life EVER normal???

On the work front, huzzah! I have finished all the housekeeping I needed to do. Here are the books I’ve re-released as Maxfield Books. These three are titles you may already have already read, but if you haven’t, they’ve been re-edited and updated.

      

You can find all those books through the usual channels: Amazon, All Romance Ebooks, B&N.

Family Unit is currently Available in print through Amazon, Createspace, and All Romance Ebooks (through off site vendor Createspace.) The Long Way Home will be available in print beginning the first of September. (or sooner, if I can get it done.)

SOME IMPORTANT HOUSEKEEPING!

Because I didn’t get my print version completed (until my daughter was able to format it for me, because I’m a typing monkey) Here is the winner of the Family Unit Print Version Contest from way back in APRIL. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. (Sorry for the interminable delay. Prize winners should never, ever have to wait this long!)

Congratulations to: Lisa Lisa! I’ve sent you an email.

The Erotic Romance Scavenger Hunt is a blog hop featuring nineteen authors, a ton of exclusive material and fantastic giveaways, and an amazing grand prize for one lucky scavenger hunter.

Just joined the hunt? Click here to start from the beginning.

RULES: Hidden within each post on the hunt will be a single letter that is red. Jot those letters down because they’re part of the following mystery phrase you’ll need to unscramble:

_ _ _ _ I _ _     _ _ _ _ _ _ _     _ _ R     _ _ _ _At the bottom of each post will be a link to your next stop on the hunt. Once you’ve completed the hunt, read all the fantastic exclusive material and entered all the individual giveaways, unscramble the letters you collected to reveal the mystery phrase. When you’ve uncovered the phrase, fill out the entry form in order to qualify for the grand prize. Grand prize is open internationally. You must be 18 or older to enter.

The hunt will only be open for 72 hours so play fast! Entries sent without the correct phrase or without contact information will not be considered. All entries must be received by May 28 at noon Central Time.

On with the hunt!

Today, I have the pleasure of hosting Katrina Strauss. Katrina was one of the first m/m authors I ever read and she remains a favorite to this day!

Katrina Strauss discovered her love of romance novels with childhood peeks at her grandmother’s paperbacks. As an author, she pays homage to the timeless genre with her own dark, daring twist. She currently lives with her family in Savannah, Georgia. When not writing, she watches entirely too much anime.

Find out more about Katrina on her WEBSITE or her BLOG.

NOW FOR KATRINA’S EXCLUSIVE MATERIAL!Greetings from Katrina Strauss! If you’ve read Blue Ruin 4: Need You Tonight, you’ll recognize the following scene as the car ride from chapter twenty-three. However, this version is written from the passenger’s point-of-view. It was a bit challenging, as Dusty is blind, so I really had to put myself in the character’s shoes. In fact, I wrote it three years ago as the opening chapter to Dusty’s spinoff book before other projects forced me to set it on the backburner. Maybe someday I’ll finish writing that particular book. In the meantime I thought I’d publicly share this chapter, for the first time ever, as a Blue Ruin outtake.

** Exclusive outtake from Blue Ruin 4: Need You Tonight — Dusty’s POV **

Dusty knew when they’d left the city. He could tell by the cooler breeze against his face, the fresh scents of pine and grass. Even the faint hint of manure proved a refreshing change. Born blind, he’d never seen colors, yet he associated these scents with the sound of the word “green” and the pure, clear chime of crystal. The city, on the other hand, had always struck him as being a drab-sounding brown or gray. He’d mentioned this impression earlier to his friend Blue, whose colorful name held its own special connotations, while they were stuck in a traffic jam. Blue had told him those colors perfectly described the smoggy haze that had laden the city that past summer. Dusty hadn’t known how to explain to Blue it was more than pollution bogging down the crowded metropolis and casting its hue on all that fell in its shadow.

Yes, it was cleaner here outside of the city, not only devoid of the stench of exhaust and fumes, but Dusty’s mind was cleaner, less cluttered by the constant buzz he picked up, like radio static, of too many souls packed in close proximity, their thought-streams often as congested as the city streets, the negative ones too often tainting the good. Yes, life in the city could prove unhealthy not only for the body but the mind and, especially, the soul. It was because of this that he’d accepted Blue’s offer to arrange a much-needed vacation in a smaller town, about two hours free of the tangled urban sprawl.

That, and Dusty was intrigued by the impressions he picked up whenever Blue mentioned his soon-to-be host, Cameron Carter. Although they’d never met, the mechanic had graciously agreed to let Dusty stay with him a few months, allowing Dusty time to recharge from the drain of the recent murder case he’d helped solve, one which had nearly cost him and Blue their lives. Dusty shuddered, remembering the sheer evil he’d felt as the killer’s soul had risen from the shell of its former host and whispered and slithered around him, one final taunt, before taking leave. Some souls were at peace once they left the mortal realm, but not that one — that one would be back, to wreak havoc and discord elsewhere, as would others, and so Dusty must regain his strength before he was called upon to help again.

A slight change in atmosphere charged the air. “We’re almost there,” Dusty said.

“Yeah,” Blue confirmed. “Just passed a sign that said Bethel Ridge, one mile.” When they’d first met, Blue’s tone had often rang of surprise at Dusty’s offhanded, accurate observations. Now, Blue seemed to accept such moments with bemused curiosity. “How’d you know?”

“I can feel the people.” Unlike the city they’d just left, however, the congregation of souls Dusty sensed down the road were fewer, quieter, more relaxed and at ease with life in their simpler surroundings. Yes, Bethel Ridge could prove a welcome break.

“I’ll call Cam and let him know we’re close.” Dusty heard the click of the cell phone being opened, the musical tones of keys being thumbed. “Hey, Cam. Yeah, we’re almost there. You said turn left past the McDonald’s on Wildflower Drive, fourth house on the left past the row of mailboxes.” Blue paused, and his voice softened. “Yeah, it’ll be nice to see you, too.”

Dusty never searched inside his friends’ thoughts without permission, but between plain old intuition, and the details he’d gleaned in conversation, Dusty knew that Blue trusted Cameron, although it had been a hard-earned trust, one which didn’t come lightly, and that knowledge was assurance enough that he’d find sanctuary in this stranger’s home.

Dusty also knew Blue had been intimate with Cameron and cared for him as more than a friend, but that he held those feelings at bay, even lying to himself, so as not to hurt Derek, the man who held the strings to Blue’s heart. Dusty himself had indulged in certain pleasures with both Blue and Derek, but he also understood that no matter how open their relationship, no one could touch what the couple shared. To bask in the love that burned between them, even for only a few passionate encounters, was privilege enough. Not to mention it had been the hottest sex Dusty had enjoyed in his life.

But now Cameron — Cameron had tried to come between them, and he’d failed. Dusty couldn’t help but speculate as to how this made the mechanic feel, to have been left out in the cold, to know he could have Blue on the side but would never be Blue’s first choice. It also left Dusty to suspect an ulterior motive on Blue’s part in bringing him to Bethel Ridge, but again, he wouldn’t pry into his friend’s mind. For a born psychic, surprises were few and far between, and sometimes Dusty liked to be surprised.

The car gradually slowed. Dusty knew the choppy puffs of wind paired with intermittent engine sounds meant they were passing buildings and being passed by cars. The tires rolled to a near stop, and he felt the bump of railroad tracks before Blue sped back up.

A familiar, welcome scent filled his nostrils, making his mouth water. “There’s the McDonald’s,” Dusty nodded in the direction of the smell.

“Okay, how the fuck did you know that?”

“I can smell the burgers. Can’t you?”

“Not from two blocks back, no,” Blue muttered. “And how do you know it’s not some other burger place?”

“They have their own unique aroma.” Dusty laughed and rubbed his stomach. “Mmm, McSmell.”

Blue laughed. The McSmell came and went, but Dusty’s hunger remained. He heard the rapid clicking of the turn signal, felt the car veer left. As he swung with it, the butterflies that had tickled his gut since leaving the city now hit full-force with mad flurry. His breath left him a moment, his head spun, and he knew, just as sure as his name was Dusty Sterling, that his life had veered in a new direction as well.

Ah, a surprise. Dusty smiled to himself, ready to embrace and explore whatever path had just opened before him.

***
Copyright 2009 by Katrina Strauss
Dark romance for daring readers
http://www.katrinastrauss.com

***

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!comment for a chance to be one of three lucky people win one of my backlist ebooks 

Ready to move on? The next stop on the Erotic Romance Scavenger Hunt is… Angel Martinez!

Good luck!