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Striker by KyAnn Waters

KyAnn_Waters | January 11th, 2012


Do you have a favorite sport? A favorite player? I do. I have a serious love for soccer…and soccer players. From MLS to our local neighborhood team, my family and I love soccer. Indoor is fast and aggressive and there is nothing better than a summer evening watching an MLS game. The crowds are loud and the excitement is addicting. And we haven’t even talked about those hard calves, long sinewy thighs, muscular arms, and corded abs. Forwards sprinting down the field, intricate footwork, scoring by the strikers and impossible saves by the keepers. Not sure what a striker, sweeper, stopper or keeper is? Here are the basics.

Striker – A team’s power scorer.

Forwards – Players who score goals – the power scorers are called Strikers

Midfielders – players between the forwards and the fullbacks

Stoppers – The stopper is good at stopping attacks. The stopper is strong and tough and helps defenders mark the opposing teams striker.

Fullbacks – defenders closest to their goal

Sweepers – Sweepers are aggressive defenders. The sweeper stops breakaways and “sweeps” the ball, clearing with long kicks.

Goalkeeper “keeper” – defends the goal

Now for the story. Hot soccer player meets up and coming sport’s writer and there is more than scoring on the field.

Blurb:

Sports writer Max Myers just discovered he lives next door to the hottest soccer player to hit the field. If he scores a coveted interview with the reclusive striker for the Denver Blaze, he could take himself from sports blogger to mainstream sports authority.

Riley Grayson has no interest in interviews or in outing his private life to the public. He wants to be known for the scoring he does on the field and not in the sack. But Max is a temptation he can’t resist. Taking a chance, Riley and Max discover they have more in common than passion for soccer and hot sex between the sheets.

Just as they begin to trust each other outside the bedroom, Max is put in a no-win situation: write an article about Riley exposing accusations of drug use, or risk destroying his own credibility. If he does, he’ll lose Riley. If he doesn’t, he’ll lose everything he’s worked hard to achieve.

Click here to read an excerpt

To Purchase Striker click here

Visit me at www.KyAnnWaters.com

on facebook at www.facebook.com/kyannwaters

or chat me up on www.groups.yahoo.com/group/eroticcravings

If you would like to win a copy of Striker, tell me about your favorite sport.

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Posted in Carina Press | 14 Comments »

Escape Velocity: Falling In Love All Over Again

Dianne Fox | January 4th, 2012

On the product page for Escape Velocity, beneath the blurb, is a short sentence in italicized type:

First published as Runaway Star, newly revised by the authors.

We first wrote Runaway Star in…probably 2006, and it was first published in January 2008. That was a long time ago, in e-publishing years. This business moves at the speed of light, bringing us new romances as fast as we can read, and we love it.

It was a long time ago in terms of character creation too. When we started talking about revising the novel, using what we’ve learned in the years since it was first written to make it better, we were both a little nervous about it.

It wasn’t the idea of putting all that work into an old manuscript that seemed daunting. No, what made us nervous was one question: Would we still love the characters?

We would be diving headfirst into another year of commitment to these characters, getting inside their heads, living their lives from the inside out, and we’d both grown and changed a lot as writers since 2006, so the question wasn’t an idle one. The most compelling reason we had to go back to the book was to share Elios and Sender with the world one more time. We had to fall in love with them all over again if we were going to write their story.

At first, we decided to read through the old manuscript independently, and we’d report back our findings—Was the old work still good enough to rework? Were the old characters still interesting?

Not a week later and we had our answer: a resounding YES. We were both excited to start, to jump in and get to work on the story. We had so many ideas, and most importantly, we still loved Elios and Sender as much as we ever had. While we gave their story new spark and excitement, we didn’t have to change a thing about our heroes.

We hope you love them too—so much that we’re giving them away to launch them back into the world again!

One commenter to this blog post will receive a copy of Escape Velocity.

And, to spread the love, another commenter will receive a copy of our previous Carina Press book, One Real Thing.

—Anah Crow & Dianne Fox

Websites: www.anahcrow.com & www.foxwrites.com
Twitter: @anahcrow & @diannefox

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Posted in Authors, Books, Contest/Giveaway | 14 Comments »

Men Under the Mistletoe – Christmas Yet To Come

Josh_Lanyon | December 7th, 2011

If you’ve already read the stories in Men Under the Mistletoe, you know that there are happy endings ahead for some lovely lads this year. But what about next year? Will the magic of Christmas last or will it melt away with the spring and the return to regular life? We thought it would be fun to take a peek at what our characters are doing come next holiday season.


Harper Fox:
It’s great to be part of Carina’s M/M holiday anthology again this year, and I loved writing my contribution, Winter Knights. My first topic for today’s blog – where will your heroes be this time next year – is an interesting one for me, because it sends me deep into “what happens after happy-ever-after” territory, and I really like that. It kills me to part with my protags at the end of a novel, and I welcome the chance of a speculative return visit! And I’ve got a little competition challenge for you too, details at the end of this post.

Gavin and Piers got their HEA after a short but very intense struggle. They’d been together for three years at the opening of Winter Knights. Gavin had created a world in his head where everything was okay in their relationship, and it took the shock of Piers breaking up with him to make him re-evaluate. So I left them at the end of the story passionately reconciled, but with a whole world of loving work to do. They were definitely just at the end of their beginning.

Christmas 2012 sees Gavin and Piers again in the snow up near Hadrian’s Wall. They won’t be staying in the dreadful backpacker’s hostel this time – no need for that; Gavin’s new theories in Arthurian folklore will be selling his latest book like hot cakes, and as for Piers, his compassionate nature and struggles with his own religious beliefs will have led him to a counselling post at a Catholic seminary. So materially they’re flourishing, and as far as their romance goes, they’re about as close as two such wildly different men can get. I reckon they’ll have spent a whole year arguing, adoring one another, having hot sex with and without the aid of love beads, and sitting up all night in ferocious debate about all those issues they kept locked up for their first three years. So they’ll have taken a room in a really nice Northumbrian hotel, and I’m not at all sure I’d want the room next door.

This year they’re doing the full romantic thing, and it’s Piers who’s fearlessly booked the double room and given stare for bold stare to the desk clerk who might have liked to make something of it. (You’d think there’d be no need in this day and age, but sadly around here you’d still get the odd surprise.) It’s an important anniversary for him and Gav. They’re getting everything right they got wrong before, and Gavin is on a pilgrimage. Last year at this time something extraordinary happened to him up here among these hills. He found out the benefits of having a man of faith as a partner when Piers believed unquestioningly in him, but all through this past year he’s thought about his encounter with the ghosts of Hallow Hill. And Piers has suggested that they walk up onto Sewingshields Crag late at night on Christmas Eve, just to see what will happen.

Nothing does, of course. They’re a bit shamefaced, wandering about through the snowdrifts, looking for an entrance into a magical cavern in the earth. But at least they’re together this time, and properly equipped with food and a nice hipflask. They find a sheltered spot among the rocks and one thing leads to another, as it generally does with these two extended honeymooners. They curl up together and talk for hours, about everything they’ve been through, Gavin’s fears about a recurrence of illness, the prospect of maybe one day adopting a kid. It’s a magical night, but only in a very earthly, human way, and Gavin is certain that the double set of hoof prints he sees freshly made in the snow on the way back to their hotel is probably only a pair of riders out to enjoy the Christmas dawn. Probably…

So, about this competition! Gavin didn’t do too well with his Christmas gift to Piers in Winter Knights. An engagement ring and a sex toy sent mixed messages, I would say. Do you reckon he did any better the year after? What do you think the long-suffering, lovely Piers should get in 2012? It would be my pleasure to send an ebook from my backlist – Life After Joe, Driftwood, The Salisbury Key, Nine Lights Over Edinburgh, Last Line, A Midwinter Prince or Winter Knights – to anyone who comes up with the best idea, and these will be judged on… er… the one I like best. Whichever makes me smile most, or touches me, or makes me snort with laughter. Further, I faithfully promise that if I ever write a sequel to Winter Knights, and I’d love to do it, I will include your suggestion!

I’m sure you’ll love reading about what the guys from Josh, Ava and KA’s books will be up to this time next year, so check out our other great Men Under The Mistletoe holiday anthology blogs, and all the best for a wonderful festive season to you all.

KA Mitchell:

“A Really Late Epiphany”

A cup of Kona coffee steamed on the table on the balcony, the rising sun turned the waves into a million diamonds, and Bryce’s arms slid around my waist as he rested his chin on my shoulder. It was a perfect morning. Beautiful. My schedule for the day consisted of tanning, brunch, a surfing lesson and a Catamaran cruise. And my stomach had more knots than a third grader’s attempt at a macramé snowman because it was so horribly wrong it was for December twenty-third.

“So. Your first Christmas off. What do you think?” Bryce stepped away, slurping his own coffee.

A year ago, I would have sworn I’d give anything to find myself somewhere but the tiny Pennsylvania valley that held my family’s tree farm. In fact, last year I’d had my whole escape to St. Thomas planned out. But I couldn’t seem to get in the spirit of Mele Kalikimaka, despite the battery operated Christmas lights Bryce had hung on the headboard in our suite at the Kahala Resort. It was just wrong.

I turned away from the sparkling ocean and sand, thinking of the frozen slush I’d be facing at home and pasted on a smile. “It’s amazing. Thank you.”

Bryce smiled back, then stared like he was reading the thought bubble he always claimed popped up over my head. He sighed, shaking his head. “I’ll call the airline and get us a flight back. You realize we’ll probably end up snowed in in Chicago.”

“I love you, too.”


Josh Lanyon:
When we last left Web and Mitch in Lone Star, Mitch had a decision to make regarding the guest artist role with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. Web isn’t sure they can survive a long distance relationship. It’s never an easy situation, and to compound matters, Mitch is both highly ambitious and at the peak of his career. It’s a lot to ask someone to give up everything they’ve worked for.

Mitch admits he’s not sure a long distance relationship is a great idea either, but he badly wants the role of the Swan in Bourne’s Swan Lake. In any case, he can’t just up and quit, he has a contract with American Ballet Theater and he doesn’t want to jeopardize his entire future in ballet — nor does Web want him to. They’re both trying to be very logical but, having lost ten years, the idea of further separation is excruciating. They go back and forth, but in the end Mitch decides to take the guest artist role in Canada and he flies back to New York on New Year’s Day.

But this time it’s different. They’re not boys, they’re men and they’ve both learned the hard way that a healthy relationship takes work. Work as in patience, understanding, and commitment. They talk every night on the phone, no matter how late. And when spring comes and Mitch is dancing with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, Web takes his vacation and spends his two weeks in Montreal.

By the time December rolls around again, Mitch has packed up his New York brownstone, and negotiated his way out of his ABT contract. He’s agreed to act as lead instructor and liaison for the summer training course held by ABT in conjunction with the University of Texas in Austin. And he’s joined Austin Ballet Company as a principle dancer. He dances in the Nutcracker all season to great acclaim and sold out audiences. There’s something to be said for being a big fish in a little pond.

Meanwhile Web has moved out of the family homestead and into the Evans’ ranch and when he’s not working, he’s overseeing the renovations he and Mitchell have planned which include a dance studio for Mitch.

There are no performances scheduled on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Mitch and Web spend Christmas Eve with Web’s folks, but Christmas Day is spent together on their own. They sleep late, have breakfast in bed, sleep some more, and then finally **open presents beside their first Christmas tree. Later they prepare their Christmas feast together and both eat until they’re ready to explode. In the evening they take a long walk beneath the frosty bright stars, and when the wind rustles the brush, Web reminds Mitchell about the reindeer he thought he saw the previous year. Their laughter turns to kisses and they return to the house, holding hands and still smiling.

(**In the comment section tell me what presents Mitch and Web gave each other Christmas morning, and whoever I pick as coming up with my absolute favorite choice may pick any ebook from my backlist.)

Ava March:

With My True Love Gave to Me, it feels rather odd to think of a Christmas yet-to-come. Thomas and Alexander’s next Christmas is almost two hundred years ago, but to them, 1823 is ‘next Christmas’. Since it’s the past for us, I can tell you exactly how they spent their holiday as it’s already happened (the space-time continuum aside, I can also impart this little bit of info because, well, I’m their author and therefore their next Christmas went exactly how I say it went…or will go, depending on how you look at it).

Last Christmas, Thomas replaced Alexander’s dark memories of the holidays with a new one filled with hope and love. And next Christmas Eve, they go back to the place where the pain and heartbreak began, back to Alexander’s father’s hunting lodge in the country. A night together, a morning together, and a simple Christmas dinner. Just the two of them. And Christmas becomes Alexander’s favorite time of year.

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Posted in Authors, Behind the Scenes, Books, Carina Press, Contest/Giveaway | 18 Comments »

The Visions of Sugar Plums Cookie Exchange

Josh_Lanyon | December 7th, 2011

Hello there!

K.A, Harper, Ava, and Josh here. We wanted to wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season. Of course we’re staking out Carina real estate today to promote the Men Under the Mistletoe anthology, but since the season is already ringing with sales calls and marketing messages, we thought maybe we’d take this opportunity simply to say thank you to all of you who’ve bought the book or plan to, or even just popped by the blog out of curiosity.

To that end, we’re sharing our favorite holiday cookie recipes, and if you’d like to chime in with your own favorite holiday cookie recipe, we’ll put your name in the Santa hat for a $20 gift certificate to Stahl’s Famous Original Bakery. Remember to leave your recipe in the comment section before Midnight EST on December 8th.
Harper’s Favourite Holiday Cookie Recipe – Yule Log Cinnamon and Orange Crisps

Well, here it is, and I can tell you it’s Harper’s favourite because she never makes it herself. That would spoil it – for Harper and for everyone else, but in the hands of the talented SO it’s divine, and she’s kindly agreed to share the recipe. She assures me it’s so easy that even my Winter Knights Gavin could learn it as part of his campaign to fatten up his lean and hungry Piers. And it’s clever and Christmassey because you roll the dough into a log before slicing it up to make about cookies! The cinnamon is warming and the orange zesty and fresh.

So, here we go. This makes about 30.

You need:-

225g/8oz butter, softened
200g/7oz caster sugar
grated rind of one orange
4 tsps orange juice
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
280g/10 oz plain flour
2 tsps ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
2 baking sheets
Roll of baking parchment

And this is how you do it:

Put the butter, 140g/5 oz of the sugar and the orange rind into a bowl and mix well, then beat in the egg yolk and tsps of the orange juice. Sift the flour and salt into the mixture, then add the rest of the sugar and stir that in too. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap in clingfilm and chill for half an hour to an hour. (You can use this valuable time to reflect on your culinary genius. I’d be in awe of myself for getting this far.)

Roll out the dough between the sheets of baking parchment into a 12-inch-ish square. Brush with the rest of the orange juice and sprinkle with the cinnamon. Give it all a light roll with a rolling pin and roll up the dough like a Swiss roll. Now it’s back in the clingfilm, I’m afraid – the roll, not you – and you fridge it for another half hour.

Fire up your oven to 190C, 375F or Gas Mark 5. Line your two baking sheets with baking parchment. Now (this is the fun part) get a good sharp knife and cut your roll into thin slices. You’re getting about 30 out of the roll so they should be fairly skinny, to make little crispy biccies rather than wodges.  Put them on the baking sheets, spacing them well apart, and bake for 10-12 minutes. Leave to cool on the sheets for 10 mins more, then use a palette knife to transfer them onto wire racks to cool completely. Well, actually, I recommend snitching a couple while they’re still warm, if you don’t mind getting your hands slapped by the cook.

Happy holidays, and enjoy! I’d be delighted to hear about any favourite festive cookies you like to bake, buy or steal around this time of year, so do leave a comment and tell me all about them.

Ava’s No Muss, No Fuss, No Baking Holiday Mints

There are those who are blessed with talent in the kitchen and those that are not. I fall into the latter group. About a month ago, I would have said my favorite holiday cookie recipe involved a box of Pillsbury cookies, the ones available in the refrigerator section of the grocery store and that only involve opening the package, turning the oven on and popping them in. They come in Santa, reindeer or tree varieties. But after a little incident involving charred-to-the-point-of-smoking jack-o-lantern Halloween cookies and a burnt cookie pan, my favorite holiday yummies recipe no longer involve an oven.

Holiday Mints:
1 tsp peppermint
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1 ¾ cups powdered sugar
¼ cup butter
½ tsp salt
Green and red food coloring

Mix corn syrup, butter, peppermint, salt and sugar until smooth. Divide into thirds. Knead 1 drop of red or green food coloring into each third. Shape into small balls. Flatten on waxed paper. Let dry several hours. Then enjoy the minty, no-risk-of-charring goodness.

Josh’s Instant-Family-Tradition Rugelach (Filled Cream Cheese Cookies)

Confession time. I’ve never tried this recipe, although this might be the year. Usually I’m rushing from deadline to deadline and Toll House chocolate chip cookies are as exotic as I get. But my Irish granny used to bake these every holiday season. She believed the recipe was Italian, but it turns out Rugelach has Jewish Ashkenazic (Polish) origins. The name means “little twists.”

Ingredients:

Dough:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
6 ounces chilled cream cheese, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Filling:
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
12 tablespoons cherry preserves
8 tablespoons dried tart cherries
8 tablespoons miniature semisweet chocolate chips
8 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts
1/3 cup (about) whipping cream

Preparation For dough:
Blend first 3 ingredients in processor. Add butter and cream cheese and cut in using on/off turns until dough begins to clump together. Gather dough into ball. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces; flatten into disks. Wrap each in plastic and refrigerate 2 hours. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated. Let soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.)

For filling:
Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix sugar and cinnamon in small bowl. Roll out 1 dough disk on floured surface to 9-inch round. Spread 3 tablespoons cherry preserves over dough, leaving 1-inch border. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons dried cherries, then 2 tablespoons chocolate chips, 2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar and 2 tablespoons walnuts. Press filling firmly to adhere to dough.

Cut dough round into 8 equal wedges. Starting at wide end of each wedge, roll up tightly. Arrange cookies, tip side down, on prepared baking sheet, spacing 1 1/2 inches apart and bending slightly to form crescents. Repeat 3 more times with remaining dough disks, preserves, dried cherries, chocolate chips, cinnamon sugar and walnuts. Place baking sheet in freezer 30 minutes.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Brush cookies lightly with whipping cream. Bake frozen cookies until golden brown, about 40 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and cool completely. (Can be made ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week or freeze up to 1 month.)

Makes about 32 cookies
Helpful hint: Freezing the rugelach before baking helps the cookies maintain their shape.

K.A.’s Chocolatey, Christmas Crumble

Though neither Mel nor Bryce is particularly useful in a kitchen, this has become a holiday favorite at my house.

**Note from Josh** If this recipe is half as good as K.A. closely guarded ginger snap recipe, these will be a surefire hit at any holiday gathering!

CRUST

1 1/2 c graham cracker crumbs
1 TBS sugar
6 TBS unsalted butter melted

Heat oven to 350.  Combine ingredients and press into a buttered  9″ glass
pie pan. Bake about 5 min.  Cool on rack.  Maintain oven temp.

(You know, they sell those already made at the grocery store, too. Just saying. Chocolate crumb crusts, too.)
FUDGE LAYER

6 TBS flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 c unsalted butter (cut in pieces)
4 oz  semisweet choc. chopped
1 oz unsweetened choc. chopped
1/2 cup sugar
1 lg egg
1 lg egg yolk
1 tps vanilla extract

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into medium bowl.  Combine butter and
chocolates in a double boiler and stir until melted and smooth.  Cool
slightly.  Using an electric mixer beat sugar, egg and egg yolk in a
medium bowl until slightly thickened.  Add vanilla and cooled chocolate
mixture and mix until well blended.  Add dry ingredients and mix until just
combined.  Pour into crust and bake until almost set ( about 17 min.)  Cool
on rack for 10 min.

(Yes, you can totally lick the bowl. In fact, have a few spoonfuls. There’s plenty.)

Cut up about 8 1/2 oz Snickers bars and place on fudge layer. (Hey, go ahead and press them in a little so you can jam on a few more.)

CREAM CHEESE LAYER

10 oz cream cheese, room temp.
1/3 c sugar
1 lg egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

With an electric mixer, combine cheese and sugar, add egg and vanilla and
beat until smooth.  Spread mixture over Snickers and bake for about 15
min. or until set.  Cool on rack.

(If you’re not getting a little queasy by now, you’re not sampling enough. Go back in there and lick the beaters.)

Melt 2 oz milk chocolate and 2 TBS whipping cream to drizzle on top.  Ref.
and serve chilled.

(Or, develop firm biceps just by doing curls with the pie as a free weight. Can also be eaten directly out of the pie pan. Just pass out forks.)

Thanks again, everyone! And enjoy!

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Posted in Authors, Books, Carina Press, Contest/Giveaway | 41 Comments »

The Girl Who Loves Wish Lists

Tara Stevens | November 28th, 2011

by Tara Stevens, Carina Press acquisitions team

With Christmas upon us and a good chunk of my shopping for other people done, I finally have time to revel in a recent addiction of mine: wish lists. I don’t know about you, but with so many fabulous books popping up every day all over creation, it’s hard to keep track of everything I want to devour in words.

Wish lists were probably invented by a Virgo, but sometimes Virgos invent useful things, especially if they’re also geeks. Having your heart’s desires at the ready is especially handy when your parents or partner want a gift idea that doesn’t involve stone-cold cash or a frying pan. I mean, they may know you’re generally a literary type who likes losing herself in other people’s stories, but they don’t necessarily know what particular book you’re craving at the moment. So why not help them (and yourself) out?

Besides being the more prepared way to go, I also think wish lists are a more polite approach to consumerism. (Maybe they were invented by a Canadian Virgo?) In light of recent “competitive shopping” incidents involving pepper spray south of the border, taking the civilized route not only nets you better karma (important at this time of year), but also increases your chances of actually getting what you want without landing yourself in prison.

The good and bad thing about wish lists (specifically book-related ones) is that they can be constantly updated and have the tendency to grow wildly out of control (like your bevvy consumption in December after one too many holiday parties).

Another neat thing about wish lists is that they’re so easy to set up online. With the advent of the interwebs, you just browse, pick and click to your heart’s content. The best part is that you can share your consumerist longings with those closest to you with a few taps on your keyboard. In my experience, you’ll quickly find out that some people know how to follow directions (i.e., keep you happy), while others don’t like being told what to do and go rogue with the nearest catalogue.

While most of my wish list this Christmas is populated by actual books (Blue Nights by Joan Didion, Then Again by Diane Keaton, The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler, anything I haven’t gobbled up by Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb), there are some other book-related things I also covet.

As part of the Carina Press acquisitions team, I’d love to see more male/male and witty contemporary romance submissions in my stocking this year. It would also be cool to get more connected editorial in 2012, so that when I find a story or character I love, I know there’s more guaranteed awesome to be had in the same vein coming my way soon.

But enough about me and what I want. What’s on your Christmas wish list (books or otherwise) this year?

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Posted in Books, Carina Press, Random conversation, submissions | 16 Comments »

Exploring the “Dark Edge of Honor”

Rhianon_Etzweiler | August 17th, 2011

Mike and Sergei, in 'Dark Edge of Honor'Sergei Stolkov is a faithful officer, though his deepest desires go against the Doctrine. A captain with the invading Coalition forces, he believes that self-sacrifice is the most heroic act and his own needs are only valid if they serve the state.

Mike, an operative planted within Cirokko’s rebels, has been ordered to seduce Sergei and pry from him the Coalition’s military secrets. His mission is a success, but as he captures Sergei’s heart, Mike is tempted by his own charade and falls in love.

When the hostile natives of the planet Cirokko make their move, all seems lost. Can Mike and Sergei survive when the Coalition’s internal affairs division takes an interest in what happened in the dusty mountains of Zasidka Pass…?

The premise behind the romance in Dark Edge of Honor isn’t new—falling in love with an enemy soldier is one thing, as a civilian. It’s another entirely as a soldier. Exploring the dynamic of loyalties and ethics between two well-honed professionals takes the reader on an intense roller coaster ride of a journey. It gives the characters common ground and mutual understanding, but it also leaves the door wide open for tension and conflict. Never a dull moment, certainly.

Far from being “just” lovers, Sergei and Mike are seemingly up against impossible odds. Not only does their romance begin as seduction and mutual attraction – the mutual desire has to mature quickly to have any chance of survival against those who’d consider Sergei a traitor and execute Mike as an enemy infiltrator. But both men battle even bigger demons; their background, their lives, their whole past is on the line. Everything that defines them and everything they fought for.

This full-length military science fiction novel began its life in July of 2010 on the internet. Google Docs, to be precise. Rhi and Aleks did tandem writing sessions three to five days a week, churning out between three and five thousand words a session.
Rhi found it difficult to get inside Mike’s head, at first. His character was inspired by a number of various military personnel, none of which were known for their intimately engaging demeanors. She ended up writing a number of stream-of-conscious vignettes, digging around in his past, before things clicked into place. Those pieces are now available as free content on her website.

Aleks kept remembering all the rules of romance writing – and one of them is that the heroes need to have admirable qualities. Neither a spy nor a traitor is really “admirable”. They deceive people, often with disastrous consequences. In a military context, people die. Part of what Aleks wanted to explore was – under which circumstances is treason forgivable. Is love enough? Can suffering pay the debt? What are these things that define us as traitors or heroes?

That, really, is the “dark edge” in the idea of “honor”. Share the journey with Mike and Sergei. Get your copy here.

About the Authors:
Aleksandr Voinov is an emigrant German author living near London. Originally, he studied medieval history with a focus on military history, but he then moved to London, where he works as a financial journalist, dealing daily with the feudal lords of the modern age. His professor would be proud—or horrified—if he knew.
His genres range from horror, science fiction, cyberpunk and fantasy to contemporary, thriller and historical erotic gay novels. In his spare time, he goes weight lifting, explores historical sites or meets other writers. He single-handedly sustains three London bookstores with his ever-changing research projects and interests. His current interests include bonsai, tailored suits, chess competitions, World War II, Afghan history, Roman emperors and Russian oligarchs. He loves traveling, action movies, spy novels and ponders taking up boxing.
Visit Aleksandr’s website at http://www.aleksandrvoinov.com and his blog at aleksandrvoinov.blogspot.com.

Rhianon Etzweiler spent her formative years seeped in military culture, and many of her writing inspirations bear that mark – with a definitive twist. Her main genres are science fiction and fantasy, but she enjoys spicing things up with a speculative mixture that sometimes defies an easy label.
Next to Elizabeth Moon and Meredith Ann Pierce, she still counts Jane’s Defense and Popular Science among her influences. “I read articles about cutting edge technology and science, and wondered what impact it would have on society and culture. How we would change, evolve as a species, as a result.”
Visit Rhianon’s website at http://www.rhianonetzweiler.com for links to her blogs and other content.

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Posted in Authors, Books, Carina Press, Marketing | 2 Comments »

Male/Male and Me

Tara Stevens | July 7th, 2011

Tara Stevensby Tara Stevens, Carina Press acquisitions team

I’ve always thought of myself as a one-man woman. Boy, was I wrong! Well, at least when it comes to my reading tastes.  If you had asked me a year ago, I’d have said that the male/male niche just wasn’t my cup of coffee or type of thing. I certainly wouldn’t have had a clue what “vanilla gay sex” meant.

That all changed last September when I volunteered to read a manuscript called Muffled Drum for the Carina Press acquisitions team. I confess I didn’t know what to expect, but what I got was a compelling and engrossing historical romance that just happened to feature two heroes in the starring roles.

Two hot men in uniform, transporting you to a different time – what’s not to love?

Since then I’ve become a m/m go-to girl of sorts, and have read not only gay historical romance with Gothic and paranormal elements, but contemporary gay fiction with no trace of romance at all. It doesn’t matter if it’s a novella or a full-length novel, either – if it’s m/m, I snap it up!

Now that I know what all the fuss is about, I have to admit that my discovery makes me feel more adventurous as a reader. I’m not going to get all Freudian on you and try to explain why an increasing number of women are devouring stories about two men getting it on. I will tell you the thing I like best about m/m books: the characters are not automatically lumped into the traditional male/female roles dictated by gender. The heroes start off on more equal footing, and sometimes being gay isn’t even a major issue or big deal – just an accepted reality.

I’m lucky to live in a country where same-sex marriage has been legal for quite some time. We also just finished up another fabulous Pride Week here in Toronto. Homosexuality doesn’t equal shame or silence or stigma. For me, reading stories featuring two men is my little way of understanding and celebrating our diverse sexual and gender identities.

Of course, the smokin’-hot sex doesn’t hurt. :) Having said that, gay “stroke” books with just a bunch of sex scenes strung together are not for me. It can’t be all about the nookie or feel like porn with a superficial plot line. There has to be heart and heat. The story and voice of the manuscript are more important than the sex contained within it.

As a relatively new m/m disciple, I’m happy to see that the market for these books doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon, if the number of submissions and recommended books we see on the acquisitions team are any indication.

My favourite m/m books are those with substance, believable conflict and strong character development. Balancing the romantic/emotional aspects of the relationship with the sexual tension makes for a more well-rounded story.

But enough about me – what intrigues you most about m/m books? Have you tried them yet?

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Posted in Books, Carina Press, Marketing, Random conversation, Writing/Submissions Advice | 30 Comments »

Does size matter?

Tara Stevens | March 31st, 2011

My conversion to the “dark side” of digital sometimes makes me wonder if the 1, 000-page printed tome is already on its way out. Recently one of my colleagues here at Love Central left a big fat fantasy book on his desk on full display. Being a naturally nosy, open-plan office, we immediately descended on it en masse and fawned over it as if it were a dinosaur artifact. “How can you read that?” someone asked. “It’s soooo long!”

Last year I read one of the best (and biggest) books I’ve read in a long time – Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts – about a convicted Australian bank robber and heroin addict who escapes prison and flees to India. It was unlike anything I’d read before, it made me cry, and I was truly sorry when it ended, but I knew while I was immersed in it that it was going to take a full­-time reading commitment. Since I feel bad when I cheat on books with other books, I cast aside other tempting shorter works and was faithful to Mr. Roberts.

The thing is, though, we live in a society where leisure time is incredibly fragmented and rare.  We steal moments of entertainment for ourselves wherever and however we can. Usually this means an hour of TV here, a couple hours at the movies there, 5 mins on the interwebs at work, or too much time playing Angry Birds on the commute home.

I don’t think I’m alone in considering word length or book size as one of the key factors for or against deciding to read a book. To me, there’s just something about a shorter story that’s innately appealing in our time-deprived, short-attention-span lives.

Although I’m still known as the Romantic Suspense Go-To Girl around these parts, lately I’ve been branching out and reading new-to-me niches like male/male. “Devoured” is about the closest word I can find to describe how I inhaled the two male/male novellas that were assigned to me over the past few months.  What struck me most is that they were the perfect length to introduce me to something outside my usual reading comfort zone. Getting a taste of the niche has definitely made me crave more man-on-man editorial in the future!

Now I’m not suggesting that there isn’t a place for books with a 100, 000 word count. On the contrary! When I’m fully immersed in a genre or waiting for one of my favourite authors’ new releases to come out (that means you, J.D. Robb), my philosophy is “the bigger the better,” because I don’t want to leave the world they’ve created or say goodbye to the characters I’ve fallen in love with. So, a lower word count isn’t necessarily better, but it is something to consider in the electronic age.

For me, a book doesn’t have to be dense to be developed. At the same time, I’m not going to read a novella if the characters aren’t compelling and the plot is skimpy on believability. I think one of the reasons the novella market is growing is because you get straight to the story and get to sink your teeth into the action. It also doesn’t feel as daunting to start a novella as it does to begin a mammoth book.

So what are your thoughts on book size/word length? Does it matter to you at all?

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Posted in Books, Carina Press | 41 Comments »

Home for the Holidays: Josh Lanyon

Josh_Lanyon | December 9th, 2010

I never wanted to be married, but I did — being romantic by nature (no matter what anybody says) always want to have that certain special someone of my own. As it turned out, it took me quite a while to find that someone and by then I was just a little bit set in my ways. Granted, I was set in my ways — and rather eccentric ways they are — from the time I was about twelve, so learning to be part of a couple…well, let’s just say I had a learning curve. And in fact, I’m still driving that long and winding road. But I haven’t lost a passenger yet, so maybe that’s a point in my favor.

What I do remember keenly from that long period of time when I flying solo, was how lonely the holidays are when you’re not in a relationship. Sometimes even when you are in a relationship, if it’s the wrong relationship. Forget Valentine’s Day. I think the run up from Thanksgiving to New Year’s is the hardest on singletons. It was for me, anyway.

I think it partly ties into the fact that the winter holidays are such a nostalgic time. We tend to make the effort to get together with family and friends as we don’t during the rest of the year, and there’s often a lot of reminiscing. We find ourselves confronting many of our unrealized dreams, past and future. We find ourselves comparing the way things were with how they are today — and let’s face it, for most of us, today is a lot more complicated and stressful than yesterday. Let alone yesteryear when our biggest worry was whether Santa would override our parents and bring that pony we so desperately needed.

Nor does it help that we’re bombarded with advertising featuring happy couples buying each other romantic and expensive presents as proof of undying devotion. It is, after all, the Season of Love. Love in all its facets, including romantic love. There’s no getting around it.

And we’ve all pretty much been there. We’ve all had our turn at being (what feels like) the only one of our friends not happily paired up, the only sibling that can’t seem to settle down, the one on the phone getting the busy signal when we call late on Christmas Eve hoping for a word…

And the songs! It’s either walking in a winter wonderland or slicing open your wrists with a cookie cutter.

Yeesh. Like Sam the Snowman says in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, “Tell me when it’s over!”

Anyway, now days I have someone to roust out of bed on Christmas morning and drag along to see the nieces and nephews open their gifties. Afterwards we go see a movie (we’re thinking True Grit this year), and then it’s back home to open our own presents to each other, then back to the folks for the traditional feast. We’re building our own holiday traditions. And it is…well, it’s nice. It’s not like the Hallmark commercials, but it’s pretty darned good.  And there’s no better time of year to count your blessings.

When I write a Christmas story like Icecapade, I deliberately draw on those old dark feelings — the loneliness, the restlessness, that desire to have someone to share the good stuff — and the bad — and the uneasy conviction that you’re just not meant to be with anyone, that you’re not one of the lucky ones. I re-explore those feelings and I complicate things, and make life difficult for everyone, and then I give my characters the happy holiday, the happy ending — no, the happy beginning of a life shared with another.  I can’t give the real thing to all my readers, but I can give stories that reaffirm my own feeling that love is there if you’re willing to work for it — and that the holidays are a magical time of year.

Thanks for reading along. Today I’m giving away 2 downloads of the His for the Holidays me, LB, Harper, and ZAM randomly selected from those commenters who manage to guess who picked which songs for the album. If no one guesses, we’ll just go with those guessed closest!iTunes imixes put together by

We also have a special “grand” prize, which I’ll leave the lovely LB Gregg to tell you about.

LB Gregg-The grand prize winner of the Nutcracker Ornament, chosen by Random dot Org, is **Marie Wolf!** Thanks for commenting on each of our posts–and for supporting Carina Press and the His for the Holidays anthology. Email me at noseinabook AT live DOT com to claim your prize!

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Posted in Authors, Books, Carina Press, Contest/Giveaway | 28 Comments »

The Challenges of Writing Romance in First Person

Christine_Danse | November 30th, 2010

PhotobucketIsland of Icarus, my steampunk romance, is told completely from the perspective of Jonathan Orms, a professor of biology from 19th century London. Although I wouldn’t have written Icarus in any other way, when I look back now I realize, “You know, writing romance in the first person…can be pretty challenging.” A lot of tension in love stories is built around experiencing both characters’ feelings—giggling as the characters dance around each other.

Her: He must find me hideous, because he is so much more beautiful than I am! Let me avoid eye contact.

Him: Oh, she wants nothing to do with me. She doesn’t even look at me.

Her: God, his hand is so warm on mine. Can he feel my pulse quicken?

Him: I can feel her body stiffen. Why does she hate my touch?

Interactions like these have me clutching the book and mentally screaming, “Come on, guys! Get with the program! You two are DROOLING over each other!” Unfortunately, this kind of interplay is lost in first person narratives. There was at least one scene in Icarus that I had to alter because the narrator would not have noticed a significant look that his new friend gave him…but I wanted the reader to!

Writing a first person romance in a Victorian voice was an even greater challenge. While I don’t mind 19th century writing, it’s easy for it to turn into a train wreck. I think my editor would roll up my manuscript and whack me on the head with it if I tried to write a paragraph-long sentence with six semicolons. Trying to maintain my narrator’s prim Victorian voice but not lose the integrity of my own writing style was a balancing act. It was also a lot of fun.

Despite the challenges, I was completely set on writing Island of Icarus in the first person. Maybe it’s because I’m crazy, or maybe it’s because I prefer the first person. Heck, maybe I prefer the first person because I’m crazy. Really, I love seeing the world through someone else’s eyes and speaking with his voice. I think it makes the narrative more convincing; I’m not an author telling a made-up story, I’m the character sharing my experiences!

There is also a story-specific reason I chose first person for Island of Icarus. Icarus was inspired in part by The Island of Dr. Moreau, a Victorian novel written in the first person. I wanted to preserve the same personal element of adventure and discovery in Icarus.

Of course, there are tricks to write romance in first person—like alternating the narrative. I think Maggie Stiefvater (author of Shiver) and the other two Merry Sisters of Fate do this best, as in this story. I tried this in my short romance, Fear of Darkness, to a lesser extent (but most of it is still told from one character’s point of view).

By telling Icarus solely from Jon’s point of view, I do regret one thing—not being able to explore my other hero, Marcus, in greater depth. Marcus is an interesting character—a talented surgeon and engineer who just can’t sit still. He always has to explore, to tinker, to build. He is sociable and charismatic, yet he lives alone on a deserted tropical island. I wanted to know what it was like to be inside his mind—especially when he first meets Jon!—so I decided to write a “deleted scene” just for him. It takes place near the beginning of Icarus, so you don’t need to worry about spoilers. I invite you to read it at my website!

Enjoy!

Love, fangs, and fur ^_^

–Christine, who is oh-so-enjoying a freak South Florida cool front

www.christinedanse.com

@dansedesirable at Twitter

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Posted in Authors, Books, Carina Press | 8 Comments »

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