Hey guys! Who loves free...? Of course, we all do! You can get a copy of my scifi short story, Married to the Enemy during the MM Romance Valentine's Giveaway just by signing up to get the LGBT Romance Deals newsletter in your inbox... that's right! You get a free book just for asking for great deals and offers (plus monthly contests!) to appear in your inbox. I've found several eBooks since the newsletter started.
If you're already a subscriber to the LGBT Romance Deals newsletter, not to w
Are you a fan of some of our Classic Authors? Want to help me out in a way that takes only minutes of your time but could revive some of the oldie but goodie stories on the site? Then I need your help!
I'm sure many of you have seen the monthly Signature Author features where we promote one of their stories with a few copied reviews in the site blog in one post and then an excerpt in another, and I also create an ad that runs on the site for a month plus a graphic that members/authors can pu
Okay, so not really a surprise for those following the comments, but I'm already plotting things out for the longer story and figuring all the details out that weren't needed for a 1200 word short story but must be cemented to make the paranormal world come alive, so I hope everyone will enjoy it!
Thank you to everyone for voting!
I'm not inspired lately, but I'm constantly asked about expanding older stories by readers, so I thought I'd give everyone a chance to weigh in on what I should write for my next Wednesday Briefers flash story now that No Flash is over. Tell me what you think between these options:
1. Mine: A werekin tale wrought with darkness.
2. Picking Up Strays: A post-apoc tale of mutation and corruption.
3. First Contact: A sci-fi story about the loss of humanity.
4. Blinding Light: ??? Sen
Recognize that name?! Yes, Anyta Sunday was once a very active author on GA, and now she's a successful eBook author. I recently had the chance to read her latest fantasy title and wanted to share my review here as well!
My Review
So it's been quite a few years since I was heavy into fantasy. I enjoy it, but my convoluted plot reading skills have rusted. I had a hard time getting into Locked in the beginning, switching from what read as contemporary to fantasy to some mix o
I don't search for a lot of inspiration and motivation in my day to day life as I write. I just try to do the best job I can to tell a story that will make others feel what the characters and story have to say. As I was taking a break to enjoy a snack before striving to finally finish my latest contemporary novella, I was struck by the perfect quote to what I want this story, and all my writing, to embody. This is the epitome of what I'm trying to do... and it was right there on the lid of my yo
For those who enjoyed my A Maze for Three anthology series, I released it as an eBook with about 12,000 more words in edited and extra scenes, like a new ending!
Miah’s always had something to prove—to himself, his family, and all the people who thought he’d fail. It doesn’t matter that he has to do it all alone, he won’t give up on his dream. On the cusp of a new beginning that could mean the difference between success and failure, he decides to finally enjoy a night out at a city
http://thewritelife.com/self-editing-tips/
This is a great post for all authors! I'd also recommend poking about the rest of the site, especially if you have a goal of becoming published.
So I'm part of a group of authors and readers on Facebook called "Queer Sci Fi". They had their 2nd annual Flash Fiction Contest, just 300 words in a speculative fiction theme incorporating the subject: discovery. Last year in the contest I took 2nd place. This year, I didn't place in the written contest, but the group is putting out the submissions in an eBook so they also ran a cover contest. Out of the 10 covers submitted, I took 2nd. I do get a $20 cash prize, but they won't be using my cove
How much time on a weekly basis, or even monthly, do you spend--not just your actual writing---but on the mechanics of writing? Just browsing a writing website or style guide can be fun if you're a geek like me, and I often reference them when I have a rule I'm not sure of when I'm editing. But the rules of writing aren't the only things to think about; there are all sorts of ways to refine your writing that have nothing to do with proper nouns or proper use of possessive punctuation/formats!
This guest article on Writer's Digest's blog is absolutely wonderful! I can't say enough about how I agree with every single point made!
The Highlights:
1. Your words are your tools; make sure they are in working order.
2. Check for inconsistencies.
3. Avoid overwriting.
4. Avoid underwriting.
5. Make sure your characters are more than a name.
6. Show, don't tell.
7. Sharpen that dialogue...
8. ...And expose that subtext.
9. Drive the plot toward your reader's AHA moment.
10. Bu
I like to share tips, and free tip books, whenever possible. Not everything might apply to you, but even if you don't publish, knowing how to brand yourself as an author and use social media can be helpful! Bookbaby is offering another free eBook, Self-Publishing Book Camp by Carla King, as a download now. Get your copy!!
Bookbaby Download Page
Some authors--and apparently teachers--are assholes. Yep, I said assholes. I've seen the ego on small-time so-called "professional" authors get large enough to capsize a cruise ship, and apparently Ryan Boudinot (who I have no personal connection to, but could not believe what he posted) is not only an author, but supposedly a teacher whose job it was to guide others. His article exposes a blowhard whose personal views beat them all. Out of every single thing he said, I can agree with only one c
My rating:
4 of 5 stars
Today I'm featuring Chris T. Kat's newest release, Bratty Angel. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Okay, I don't have much to say about this book... except go buy it now! It's a great fantasy, with a mythological twist I really enjoyed. Good and evil aren't quite so clear cut in this tale. Nope, no siree. You find that out when you learn a hellhound and angel are hanging out. And the angel's harassing someone for some pleasure.
Reading this
Britain approved 3 person IVF.
In this process they'd remove "faulty" mitochondrial DNA from a cell and replace it with mitochondrial DNA from a donor female egg to help reduce genetic diseases before implantation. Examples of "curable" mitochondrial genetic diseases: Diabetes mellitus and deafness, blindness, multiple sclerosis-type diseases, some epilepsy, liver disease, heart disease... The mitochondrial DNA doesn't affect genetic information like hair and eye color, personality
Okay, this is funny because I am posting the third story in what has been called my 'Space Vampires' trilogy. That, and it's just soooo true at times!
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Post by Jena Gregoire.
Let it Go by Sid Love
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
For me, Let it Go, ranks 3.75 stars. The writing is generally smooth, and the slang terms were kept separate for the different nationalities, which I know is tricky when you're writing a foreign character. There were some typos and a pretty big character oops when one of the two main characters, Virat, says his wife doesn't speak good English--and then she comes right out fluent as can be later in the story. I was able to overlook most of the is
No, I'm not sharing my own advice for writing--I'm sharing one of the sources I use to explore and research various aspects of the business from figuring out those pesky grammar and punctuation rules to questions about publishing you might not know you need to ask.
Writer's Digest.
Seriously, if you're an author, but you're not hooked up with this site and getting their free newsletters via email--you're missing out on a valuable free resource you should be using! Today, they've put o
Let it Ride by L.C. Chase My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I read Let it Ride... and then let it ride. It's hard to write this review without spoiling the story. My first impressions of Bridge were of a big, affable cowboy whose everyone's friend on the surface. Under that, he has a great big heart that's set on Eric. Eric is cautious, and with his past, slow to trust.
Watching their dance play out as they go from the private 'I want him, does he want me?' moments to the end was great. At no tim
It's Complicated by L.A. Witt My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Okay, so I had the hardest time rating this eBook. I thought 2.5 stars for the plot. It's annoying--basically. Passive aggressive relationship stories drive me bonkers. I thought we'd see more of them working through their problems, not have new ones dumped on top that ramped up the angst factor to "Seriously?" factors for me. Which this did. I don't want to spoil the story... but read the story blurb and it's pretty much already done for
Bonded by Rosalie Tarr My rating: 4 of 5 stars
3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 because I did snicker quite a bit in the story. Delivery can only make up for the plot so far, though, and I felt that Bonded took the gay for you a bit far with 2 'straight' characters. I have to admit to having issues with fact that the insta-love element didn't just apply to the character's newly met relationship but to the sexual desire element as well.
There's a line there when it comes to attraction going fr
Straight Shooter by Heidi Belleau
It's out! I thought I'd share this review today, though I read Straight Shooter a bit back as an ARC. What can I say? I never pass up a chance to get a Heidi Belleau story. At first, I was pretty leery after I read the description. For all my open-mindedness about kinks, humiliation just doesn't do it for me. It makes me pretty uncomfortable, actually, because the shades of denigration usually feel more damaging than anything else. Plus, I somehow get embar
Strain by Amelia C. Gormley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
*COMING SOON*
Feb. 17th!
Many, many times I search for dystopian stories only to fail to find one that captures my attention. I want the sense of 'the world has ended' drama, the gritty and often dark reality that the comfortable has disappeared and survival takes a level of guts and bravery not everyone has.
Strain fulfilled every single one of those dystopian desires. We have governmental mishandling, virus-releasing,
I began this story as a flash piece with my blog group, The Wednesday Briefers. With a lot of polish, and over 14k in new content... it's now Protecting Bear. Today only, January 10th, you could win a copy on my off-site blog! Just comment, include your email, and you could win! Contest ends at 10 PM, PST. All comments also count toward my $10 Amazon gift card contest ending on my blog, January 20th.
Visit my blog contest Protecting Bear is also available for purchase for only $2.99