BWHAHAHHA!

Give me candy...

Or porn, I'm good with either. Sensual, sticky treats that they are. A nice muscular guy, a little melted chocolate on his chest... so begs to be licked off. And why stop there? Trace every curve and cut, down and down and, ohhh...

I'm getting myself all bothered before I've had my coffee infusion.

What's your favorite costume to dress your favorite characters (your own or someone eleses) up in. Me... Manuel, just to tease Jess, would probably dress as a "cowboy" but the stripper kind, cut off jeans, flanel shirt with the sleaves ripped out and Jess' chaps. Although, he's not so sure about the whole costume thing... it's so not like los Dias De Los Muertos. Jess, Jess wouldn't be dressed in anything... not after he saw Manuel.

Come Together and WIN !!!

Download* your copy of Coming Together from either Phaze or FictionWise. Then, forward a copy of your e-mail receipt to me at alessia[at]eroticanthology.com to be entered into a drawing to receive your choice of Coming Together mug or tote bag from the Phazed & Enthused CafePress store!

* Deadine midnight (eastern time) 10/31/2006.

All in a rainy day's work

Since the inception of Coming Together, several of its participants have made the jump from "amateur" to "professional." My partner, Will Belegon, and I are just two examples. New Phaze author Victoria Blisse is another. (She penned the Introduction in the Special Hurricane Relief Edition and has stories in other volumes.) Elliot Mabeuse now has several titles published. Be on the lookout for Savannah Reardon and Harley Stone, whose work is in this volume, as well. There will be more, I assure you. Of those who aspire to such, it's only a matter of time. Their talent is not in question.

Thanks for blogging with me today. Please be sure to join the Phaze chat at NovelSpot at 9pm Eastern tonight for more about this release and many others!

If a picture's worth 1000 words,

what's a movie worth? Check out the promo trailer for the Special Hurricane Relief Edition of Coming Together:

The Rainy Day Stories

In the fall of 2004, a beloved colleague on the Author's Hangout (forum) proposed a writing challenge: that we each write an erotic short story in which the sex takes place in the rain. Little did we know that those stories would serve a far greater purpose when, barely a year later, we needed to come together quickly.

What better theme for the Special Hurricane Relief Edition of Coming Together than a big batch of storm inspired stories? Fifteen rain-soaked stories that arose from that challenge, in addition to several poems written in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, are included in this compilation. After reading it, you will never feel the same about rain. (Trust me on this one!)

From the Preface:

Death and sex. Disaster and sex. It seems that personal tragedy requires affirmation of life. What bigger affirmation do we poor people know that has the same intimacy, the same energy, the same shout-it-from-the-rooftops-we-are-here, as the act of physical love when faced with the apparently random acts and displays of unparalleled puissance and anonymous destruction?

We pour our love, our hot volatile need, our gentle but urgent persuasions towards, around and into our partner of the moment--wishing, hoping and anticipating our reward. That small, endless, titanic, momentary reward which leaves us less and increases us greatly. Knowing our variously voracious or inconsequently insipid appetites can never be filled, we nevertheless contrive to partake of it again.

In that act, that race towards orgasm, that outpouring of lust, we defy nature, scream at the stars, and challenge the cosmos to do its damnedest.

And so, be it by acts of sexual abandon, gentle love, or basic urges, we declaim to an uncaring universe: We are alive. We thrive. We will continue.

DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY NOW!

Let's Get Wet

Good morning! I'm taking over the blog today to shout about Phaze's digital release of the Special Hurricane Relief Edition of Coming Together.

First, though, let me share a little bit of history about Coming Together.

A couple years ago, some writer friends & I were tossing around ideas for bundling our short stories and poetry into a self-published print anthology. At the time, none of us were professionally published. We hammered out the details of a vetting system to screen the stories. Submissions had to receive a certain number of endorsements before being accepted for inclusion. We got bogged down, however, when the discussion turned to money and how to handle the distribution of the proceeds. Would it be an even split, or would longer stories get proportionally more? What about poetry and illustrations?

That's when the suggestion was made to donate the proceeds to charity. We realized that the sales income, once divided 15 or 20 ways, was never going to amount to much. But, if we came together, we could do some good AND get a wider audience for our work.

We chose our primary charity. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is a nonprofit group of passionate people-lawyers, technologists, volunteers, and visionaries-working to protect your digital rights.

The first volume of Coming Together hit the cyber-shelves of CafePress in June of 2005. (Incidentally, that was the same month I joined the Phaze family with a contract for fine flickering hungers, my single-author anthology.)

Three months later, a second volume followed. Then, Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast, and we decided that we needed to come together for another cause!

To be continued ...

3 new releases from Brenna Lyons and 1 special anthology!

Coming Together: An Erotic Cocktail edited by Alessia Brio
http://www.king-cart.com/cgi-bin/cart.cgi?store=Phaze&product=Coming+Together+by+Alessia+Brio,+ed.

With 15 rain-soaked stories and 7 storm-inspired poems, the Special Hurricane Relief Edition of the serial anthology Coming Together proves that water cannot put out some fires. All royalties from the sales of this volume will be donated to the American Red Cross for disaster relief efforts. Coming Together is "erotic altruism" at its finest!
For more information on other volumes of Coming Together, visit Alessia Brio at EroticAnthology.com.

**ALL PROCEEDS FROM SALES OF COMING TOGETHER WILL BENEFIT THE RED CROSS FOR HURRICANE RELIEF VICTIMS OF KATRINA, RITA, AND OTHER NATURAL DISASTERS.**













"Black Sail" by Brenna Lyons
http://www.king-cart.com/cgi-bin/cart.cgi?store=Phaze&product=Black+Sail+by+Brenna+Lyons

When a strange man washes up on the shores of her beloved Naxos, Ariadne longs to be his. Dionysis has no clue who Ari is or how she came to Naxos, but he won’t rest until he knows - and until she is his. Can a former princess with no faith in gods learn to love again?










"Mama's Tales" by Brenna Lyons
http://www.king-cart.com/cgi-bin/cart.cgi?store=Phaze&product=Mama%27s+Tales+by+Brenna+Lyons

Three of Mother Goose's are best brought to life, each with a sensual twist. Have you ever felt you were only seeing half the story? Why did the three bears never see Goldilocks again? How bad was the Little Girl with The Curl in the Middle of her Forehead? What happened to Georgie Porgy? Find out in this delighfully sexy mini-anthology of stories you won't hear in school.

Hi, is this thing on?

Someone mentioned word choice, and I think it deserves an entry all its own. Word choice makes a huge impact on the feel of a story. The wrong word in the wrong place can bump a reader right out of the universe you've created for them, and that's a Bad Thing. You've got to keep the mood; most likely your reader is a woman, reading about two men getting it on. She may be imagining she's watching, or one of the participants, or whatever; being shaken out of the story is a big let-down. Similar things can happen with spelling and grammar mistakes (and I've seen some hilarious ones, but maybe that's another entry yet), but using spell-check and a beta reader is a given. So is getting your anatomical facts straight (as it were). The best known site for this is http://www.squidge.org/~minotaur/classic/eroc.html

It is your friend. Really. Most of your female readers may not know if you're getting it wrong, but many will, and they'll find it amusing. As will any male readers you have. That doesn't mean you can't take some poetic license. You don't have to write it like a textbook, and you can certainly skim some of the details. This is romance, after all. But as long as *you* know what's possible, you won't make mistakes.

With that out of the way...

Besides choosing words that sound sexy, appealing, etc., you also have to keep in mind to choose words that make the action clear. That's a special challenge when both your characters are men. You have to use a delicate balance between names and pronouns. For example, something like, "John smiled at Paul. John slid John's fingers slowly over Paul's thigh under the table," would seem awkward, but so would, "He smiled at him. He slid his fingers slowly over his thigh under the table." You know who's touching who, but your reader can only read the words on the screen, not your mind. It's hard to know when you have the right balance, but leaving a story, then coming back to read it a few days later might help. Or having someone else read it.

Euphemisms, especially for the male anatomy, are countless. Some of them are good, and opinion varies on that. I find penis, dick, prick, etc, unpleasant, but not everyone does. Cock, arousal, erection, length... I feel these strike a nice balance between clinical and silly. Some of the euphemisms are giggle-inducing. Man-meat, rod, tool... the list goes on. You don't want to use the same word all the time, because when you are dealing with M/M, there are an awful lot of cocks to deal with. But there are plenty of alternatives.

In conclusion, the words you use will either pull a reader into your story, the world you've created, or not. The choice of words is up to you, and no two readers are alike. But if you find what you've written to be sexy, there is a much greater chance your reader will!

Jade
[www.jadefalconer.com]

Let's talk about...research!

Thought I was gonna say 'sex,' didn't ya? *grins*

So you want to write erotic m/m fiction, eh? Well, there's one word you need to remember, one key element: RESEARCH.

*insert whines and groans* Yeah, yeah...I know. Research can be a royal pain in the...well...you know. But research for writing m/m can be FUN! (As half of my 80gig hard drive can tell ya. *winks*)

There are many sites for researching - and/or helping with - erotic scenes. However, there are only a minute amount that help with writing m/m. So, why do you need to do your homework with this stuff? Isn't it just 'insert Tab A into Slot B'?

Well...no.

We've covered the issue of lubrication and what to do if there's no Wet readily available. Now we're gonna touch on the issue of the actual physical mechanics of men-on-men. Or, as it were, men-IN-men.

First, the best resource out there is Minotaur's Q & A: A Searchable Database of Sex Tips for Slash Writers. Extensive site, browseable and searchable, with the option to ask your own questions of the wonderful Minotaur. (And yes, Minotaur IS a guy. I met him at Con-Txt in Silver Spring, Maryland. LOL) Here's the link: http://www.squidge.org/~minotaur/mqa/index.html

Forums are also another place to find excellent help if you need it. The two best I'm active at are:

ERWF (Erotic Romance Writers' Forum) - not solely m/m authors, but we're rather prominent. This forum is extremely active and unbelievably helpful for anything you can imagine. I highly recommend stopping by.

Sticky Pen - this is a wonderful website/story database with a very active group on the forum. It's for posting (free) stories of m/m loving. LOTS of men here, so if you've got a question you can't find the answer for, chances are you can post your question in the forums and get a multitude of answers.

* * *

Now comes the fun part: the...*ahem*...research materials. Oh, come on...you can't write m/m without at least LOOKING at gay porn. Granted, the scripts suck eggs and the music leaves a LOT to be desired. But, hey, that's what the volume knob is for. *winks* Who cares what they're saying (which usually consists of grunts and groans and 'oh, yeah' and...you get the idea)? What you want to do is watch for positions and techniques. I'm serious here. *shushes the peanut gallery*

Pay close attention to the angles (of the bodies, not the camera), the looks on the men's faces when they come, the way the stomach muscles tighten just at the moment of.......umm.....yeah....*clears throat*

Anyway, you get the idea. Do your homework. If you've got questions, by all means, don't hesitate to ask a fellow m/m author (or a gay man!).

Now I'll open the floor for questions - about positions, about research, porn requests, you name it. ;)

~Mychael

Let's Talk About Sex - What to do when you have no Lube

There are times when you don't have what you need handy. There are times when it's just too much trouble to go through the whole nine yards - your characters just want a quickie. Sex is not always about somebody getting penetrated.

What other types of sex are there? Well, here are a few:

Slickleggng or Rubbing-Off: Basically the process of rubbing a cock either between the partner's legs or against their hip, thigh, or butt. Feels better with a little lubrication to fuel things. The Catholic girls I knew called it "Nun's sex" since there was no penetration.

Masturbation: You don't have to do a one handed dance by yourself. Men masturbate themselves at the same time, basically watching each other. They jerk off their partner either while they're being stroked or not. Sometimes one partner will take both cocks in his hand and jerk them simultaneously.

Fellatio: Good old blow jobs. You can either give or get or give and get at the same time. Two men can 69 just as easily as a male female pairing.

Docking: Okay, you can't have "sex" this way. However, I've heard of woefully misinformed slash authors writing scenes where one guy inserts his dick into the urethra of another man. For The Love of God NO! This misconception probably comes from the practice of Docking. Docking is where two uncircumcised men press the heads of their cocks together so that the foreskins form almost a seal. It's like a kiss with dicks. Nothing goes in anywhere. And while sounds and penile plugs may be pleasurable (after MUCH training and with someone who is really experienced in inserting them), putting something THAT big up there would rip a cock apart.

Let's Talk About Sex... Lubrication

Hmmm, this is the easiest and the hardest thing to deal with in M/M writing.

Easy because everyone has sex (okay... not everyone, but a REAL good percentage of the world). The emotions, whether you're male or female, and whether you're playing with someone of the same or opposite sex are generally the same. Fear of rejection, longing, lust, all of those are basic human emotions. Unless you're writing way out there space aliens those emotions will play a large part in your writing. If they don't, it will sound like a stroke piece from the Hustler letters page (which pay pretty good). But, what makes a romance a romance is the emotional roller coaster you put the characters on. If you write fairly well, you should be able to master the emotional aspect of M/M writing.

Hard, in more ways than one, because if you're not a gay man, you're really not familiar with the whole mechanics of the thing. Unless you've engaged in anal sex... then you've got the bottom half of the guy on guy act down (or if you're a open minded guy, who's okay with toys). But homosexual sex, like heterosexual sex, is not always an insert tab A into slot B proposition (we'll deal with that on a another day).

The one must have, in any story, LUBRICATION. Outside of the Yaoi Genre, men's asses do not self lubricate. Unless they are flat out drunk or really experienced (most likely a combination of both) you're characters are going to need some help. And even then, it may not be a pleasant experience for the inserting party -- the friction can be a little too harsh.

Examples of Lubrication:

Spit Pro: you always have it around; Con: there really just isn't enough

Cum Pro: fairly readily available; Con: Not such a good idea in the era of Aids

Baby Oil Pro: Cheap, readily available; Con: Not good with condoms (and if you're doing moderns you'll have to deal with the issue of condoms we'll take up making them sexy later), messy, hard to carry around with you.

commercial Lubes Pro: Not too expensive, good availability, comes in convenient individual sample sizes Con: you don't always have it on hand when you need it. And that leads us to another topic (we'll hit later) what can the guys do if they're out of glide?

Welcome to the M/M Workshop

Hola, good Sunday Morning to you all! How is everyone? I'm bloody exhausted. Just got back from up and back day to Yaoi Con. Thud!

We have a workshop for you. It's going on all this week. Everything you need to know about writing M/M romance & erotica. Myself, Mychael Black and Jade Falconer will be waxing prosaic on how to craft a good M/M story.

And that's the first tip. It's got to be a good story. All the basic rules of writing apply:

Strong Characters. People aren't going to want to read red hot manloveing if they can’t stand the characters. They have to be fully fleshed out, believable and sympatric.

A reasonable plot. The weaker the plot, the stronger the characters have got to be. Relationship stories are fine, but there still has to be a driving motivation for the characters. Fiction Factor has some good discussions about various topics like "Novel Templates," "Using Index Cards to Plot Your Novel," and the like.

Grammar, spelling, style count. They count in erotica/romance as much as anywhere. I usually recommend Jack Lynch as a decent reference… he's a professor of English at Rutgers University. He's got helpful tips on his own and a fairly good compendium of online resources.

Now I'll throw the floor open for some questions and we'll see if we can't help you.

2 new releases from L.E. Bryce and Courtney Bee

L.E. Bryce's Dead to the World

http://www.king-cart.com/cgi-bin/cart.cgi?store=Phaze&product=Dead+to+the+World+by+L.E.+Bryce

Servant and consort of the Lady of the Waters, a powerful sea goddess, Erred is captured by slave traders during a pilgrimage and borne across the desert to be sold. In the decadent city of Tajhaan, he is trained in the arts of love to become a pleasure slave and eventually a courtesan. But in the claustrophobic world of intrigue and brutality he inhabits, what place is there for hope, faith--or love?

Courtney Bee's "Mina"

http://www.king-cart.com/cgi-bin/cart.cgi?store=Phaze&product=Mina+by+Courtney+Bee

Beautiful, otherworldly Mina could have any man she wants. Why she chooses to be with shy, insecure Aron is anybody's guess...especially Aron's. Yet when these two colleagues grow closer it becomes clear that to Aron that the secret to attraction lies not only in outward appearance, but the beauty that comes from within.

L.E. Bryce's DEAD TO THE WORLD contest

Promotion for Dead to the World
Servant and consort of a powerful sea goddess, Erred is captured by slave traders during a pilgrimage and borne across the desert to be sold. In the decadent city of Tajhaan, he is trained in the arts of love to become a pleasure slave and eventually a courtesan. But in the claustrophobic world of intrigue and brutality Erred inhabits, what place is there for hope, faith--or love?

Publisher: Phaze
Genre: Homoerotica
Length: 182 pages
Price: $5.00

Description and Rules:
For the release of this book, there are two concurrent promotions running, each with different prizes.

Participants may enter one promotion or the other, but in order to ensure the widest possible range of winners, participants may not win both promotions.

Promotion #1: Scavenger Hunt:
The rules for this are quite simple. Read the book to find answers to the following series of questions. Be careful, though. Not all questions are as easy as they seem.

1. What was Dhabi's stated asking price for Erred, and how much of a bargain did Satu actually get?
2. What is Erred's eye color?
3. How far is Thanaj willing to go to appease Erred's desire for revenge? What keeps him from giving Erred everything he wants?
4. During the hunt, what does Thanaj say he is going to do with the pelt?
5. Why is Meren né Camoril not a good choice for a diplomatic mission?

Email your answers to: granamyr @yahoo.com. (no space)

The Scavenger Hunt prize is a gorgeous ruby and silver set of jewelry. Ruby Swarovski crystals, freshwater pearls and sterling silver settings make this an ensemble to envy.

The consolation prize is a pair of 14kt gold earrings set with 14kt gold beads, deep red Swarovski crystals and 14kt hooks. Note: a variation of these earrings can be ordered here.

Promotion #2: Be A Critic
For those who crave a different kind of challenge, this is your opportunity to emulate those high-priced critics. All you need to do is read the book and voice your opinion.

You don't even need to have liked the book in order to win.

Once again, however, this challenge isn't as easy as it seems. The winner will be determined by how articulate s/he is in expressing what s/he liked or disliked. Length isn't necessarily important, though try to write at least 10 sentences. Spelling and grammar don't have to be absolutely perfect. Constructive criticism is welcome.

Some Examples of What to Avoid:
1. "U r soo kewl!!111! Plz rite more!"
2. "Your writing sucks. I can't believe people actually pay to read this."

An Example of a Good Review:
"While I didn't much enjoy the violence, I really liked the lush descriptions and was particularly moved when...."

I think you get the idea. Just post your review here in the comments section. I will monitor the reviews and choose one after January 31, 2007.

The prize for the review is a gorgeous pearl, crystal and silver set of jewelry, including necklace, earrings and bracelet.

One person will also win a consolation prize of pearl, crystal and silver earrings, plus a matching necklace.

Deadline is January 31, 2007. Winners will be announced on my LiveJournal on February 1, 2007. At that point, the winners should contact me at granamyr @yahoo.com (no space) to provide shipping information. All shipping and handling charges will be assumed by the promoter.

And the winner is...

Just poppin' by to announce the winner of my little Kitten contest from my Blog Day! Congratulations, Shuck! :D

Thanks to everyone! :D

~Mychael

And for my final trick

Okay, so two things to round out the day. If your roaming about San Francisco this weekend and want to drop by Yaoi Con, I’ll be one of the panelists for Boys’ Love American Style. It should be fun. Our panel runs from 3-4 in the afternoon on Saturday, October 21, 2006, at the Clarion Airport (Milbrae) in the San Bruno Room. It should be fun.

And then my general info: You can find me on the web at James-Buchanan.com, Live Journal or click on my name for my blogger account. And look for my next book in February 2007. Lord Carabas is a full length M/M/F novel, set in an alternate 17th century where religion and politics exist side by side with fantasy.

Ya'll Run For The Hills

You're dealing with me now. BWHWHAHHAHA

Hey, well, today, in honor of my new Novella, let's talk about cowboys and sex... 'cause to me they just go together. Isn't he purdy?



Twice the Cowboy

Manuel Santos Fuentes was not the type of cowboy Jess Graff was used to. From the moment they met during the El Paso International Rodeo, Jess wanted the Charro. When Manuel is injured during El Paso de la Muerte, Jess seizes the opportunity to get his vaquero into bed. But cross-cultural misunderstandings and family feuds threaten to destroy their relationship before it really starts. Can two men from wildly different backgrounds overcome hatred and jealousy and learn to trust in each other?

Buy It Here

If you like purdy cowboys I'll send you off to these places for a romp 'round. One is Cowboy Frank's page, with odools and odools of hot rodeo guys, often shirtless, to drool over. He was gracious enough to let me use a few in the book trailer you can view here Twice The Cowboy Video.

The other is the very talented Rick Chris. You want some gorgeouw eyecandy... take a virtual walk through his gallery. And, some of 'tain't work safe.

Oh, yeah, it's all gay folks.

I'll swing by later and see how you all are doing. If you're around this evening I'll be one of the fetured authors at Realms of Love chat room. You have to register to access the chat, but registration is free.

A Call ... For the Cure

Phaze, the erotic imprint of Mundania Press, LLC, is NOW ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS for an anthology to benefit breast cancer research!

• TITLE: Coming Together: For the Cure


• EDITOR: Alessia Brio


• PUBLISHER: Phaze


• TENTATIVE RELEASE DATES:
  August 14, 2007 (eBook), October 2007 (print)


• SUBMISSIONS DUE: June 1, 2007

At some point, virtually everyone's life is touched in some way by breast cancer. Whether it's a friend or family member, or even yourself, the journey is one of courage and compassion. Phaze continues its tradition of fundraising for this cause with Coming Together: For the Cure, an anthology of erotic romance edited by Alessia Brio.

We invite you to participate in this philanthropic project by submitting a short story. Accepted authors will receive a one-time payment for inclusion and author copies in print (when available) and eBook formats. ALL net proceeds from this book will benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

Coming Together has never felt this good!

All pairings and sub-genres will be considered: M/F, M/M, F/F, interracial, BBW, contemporary, romantic comedy, historical, etc. Show us that love and passion know no arbitrary bounds. Stories need not deal with breast cancer or have a breast-related plot.

STORY LENGTH: We're looking for stories up to 15K words. Please visit the Phaze website at www.phaze.com for formatting guidelines, and send your submissions to submissions[at]phaze.com with FOR THE CURE STORY SUBMISSION in the subject header.

NO SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS FOR THIS ANTHOLOGY PLEASE! Reprints will be considered if you have complete control of the rights.

ABOUT ALESSIA BRIO
Alessia Brio is the author of fine flickering hungers, "Erotique," and, with her partner Will Belegon, "Switch," and "Amichu" -- erotic short stories and poetry published by Phaze. Alessia's work has earned her respect and kudos from both peers and readers. She resides in the mountains near Pittsburgh where she masquerades as a soccer mom. Visit her online at www.alessiabrio.com or www.eroticanthology.com

Thanks, y'all!

Thank you all for joining me today! I've had a fun time and can't wait to do it again. :D

Remember: Kitten comes out Monday, and in February 2007, The Cowboy and the Thief (another Mychael & Shayne novel) comes out from Phaze! I'll be posting the winner of the drawing on Monday morning!

If you want to hunt me down elsewhere, you can find more info at the following spots:

Mychael's Website: http://www.geocities.com/mychaelblack
Mychael & Shayne's Website: http://www.theprincesangel.com
Mychael's LJ: http://mychael-black2.livejournal.com
Mychael & Shayne's LJ: http://theprincesangel.livejournal.com
Mychael's Yahoo group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mychael_black

*waves* Thanks again for a great time! :D

~Mychael

Contest time!

So, who wants a free copy of Kitten? :D Let's play a little contest...

I have a quote on my website's main page. What part of Scripture (exact book, chapter, & verse) is the quote from?

http://www.geocities.com/mychaelblack/

Email your answer to: mychael_black@hotmail.com by Sunday at midnight (Eastern time), October 15th. I'll put all correct answers into a hat and draw ONE name. The winner will receive a free copy of Kitten!

So get those entries in!

A little excerpt from Kitten

Ashley took the food to the table, then crouched down on the balls of his feet before Shaun. "I do not take pets. Although I do have…unusual tendencies, I will not take a living creature as a pet without consent. Your place is at the table. I would be delighted if you would join me."

"But you have taken me as your pet." As far as Shaun was concerned, there was no other reason Ashley would have let him into his home. He was a were, nothing but a pet to humankind.

Ashley sighed and stood, pulling Shaun to his feet. "No, I have not. I brought you here because I could not bear to see you survive out there. I am a Master, Shaun, but not in the sense of owning a pet. Illian—my former lover—was my sub, my submissive lover. It was something we both consented to. I do not believe in owning a pet."

"You brought me to your home because you didn't want to leave me in the woods?"

"Call it a weakness if you will," Ashley said as he steered Shaun to the table. "Now eat. There is plenty here and if you are still hungry when this is gone, I will gladly fix something more for you." Ashley sat down in his own chair and looked at Shaun expectantly.

Bewildered, Shaun paused for a moment beside the chair before finally settling into it. Looking over at Ashley, he wasn't sure if he dare reach for the food or not. "I couldn't hunt in the park because people would have noticed."

Nodding to the plate full of food, Ashley said, "I imagine so. Now eat your fill. There is no reason to fear me, nor should you fear any repercussions for anything. Most people wouldn't allow even a family dog to sleep with them in their bed, yet I often requested Illian sleep however he wished, which was usually half or full-shifted."

Tilting his head, Shaun regarded Ashley with a good bit of curiosity. It was beyond unusual that any Master would give his pet such freedom. Returning his attention to the food set out before them, he carefully transferred one of the steaks and a couple pieces of shrimp to his plate. Unlike most pets, most of whom had been trained from a young age, he knew how to use such things as forks and knives.

"This Illian, he was like me. A cat?"

"No, no. Illian was a wolf in true form. Not a werewolf, who doesn't have a choice; but a shape shifter who chooses to shift back and forth. I rescued him from a pet hunter and fell in love immediately." Ashley's expression turned thoughtful for a moment before he continued. "Someone found out that I treated him as a lover and not a pet. I was reported and they came in while I was at work. I knew the moment it happened, like a stab to my heart. The scars on my back, and thus my back problems, came about as I tried to save him."

Shaun stopped in mid-bite to stare at Ashley in outright shock. When he found his voice, he asked in a whisper, "You risked your life to try to save a shifter?"

"I risked my life for what I believed in, for the one I loved more than life itself. And I would do it over again should the need ever arise."

Mornin', y'all!

The time is 8:33 am. The weather on the Delaware coast is sunny and slightly cool.

Today I'll be talkin' about werecreatures and the folks who love them. Or, more specifically, one particular sweet Kitten and the human who would break all the rules, even risking his own life, for him.

Kitten is a sweet, "unashamedly gay romance" by myself and Shayne Carmichael. In it, you are introduced to Shawn, a scared werecat escaping from the Institute, and Ashley, the human Master who claims him to keep him safe.

Unlike our other stories, this one is slower paced, where trust is paramount. Ashley wants Shawn as a lover, of that there is no doubt, but he wants Shawn to trust him above all other things, so takes his time and helps Shawn learn to trust him and deal with the reality of their situation. But things take a turn for the worst when Shawn is picked up by the Institute after attacking a human in Ashley's defense. Can they pick up the pieces of their lives, even when Shawn's training is brutally reinforced?

Here are a few advanced reviews for Kitten:

Two Lips Reviews - 5 Kisses!
"The subtle yet undeniable sensuality, the exploration of all the senses {beware, you chocolaholics!}, the feline nature, were-creatures, D/s and Master/slave potentials; this reviewer can’t think of much that isn’t included here, and done with excellence!" ~ Frost, reviewer, Two Lips Reviews

Read the FULL review!

***

Literary Nymphs - 4 Nymphs!
"Kitten is a touching story about a were-tiger, his Master, and the love that grows between them." ~ Water Nymph, reviewer, Literary Nymphs

Read the FULL review!

Meanwhile, back in Dareville

Okay, with the recent and coming Dareville releases, I don't want readers to get confused. I'd set up a Dareville page on the Phaze Wiki, but I'm going to post here for convenience. Funny, I never intended the series to go beyond four major stories, but I find it's so much fun to write splinter stories. More characters step up to the forefront and want to be heard, and I find I want to tell you all about them.

So here is listed the current reading order of the Dareville series. Some are out now, some coming soon, and some have yet to be written. Mind you, when all is said and done, there's probably another story in the works.

Truth or Dare - the story of mistaken identity, X-rated dessert, and teaching old dogs better tricks that started everything. Couple: Brady and Ellie
Dare Me - award-winning merriment, playing with food, and each other, in the woods, in the shower, on ledges... Couple: Cal and Sue
Double Dare - what happens in Vegas...should happen to me every day. Couples: Brady and Ellie, Cal and Sue
Daring Young Man - talking sex toys, mourning love and finding it again in Aisle Six...ty-nine. Couple: Jake and Lauren
Dare to Dream - yes, you can go home again, so be sure to come and come often. Couple: Claire and JJ IN PROGRESS
A Winter's Dare - the weather outside is frightful, but Dare House is quite delightful... Couple: Kate and Devon COMING IN DECEMBER

Dulce is Dareville, and it isn't. References to Dareville are made, but I don't consider it part of canon just yet, not until I get the main characters back to the US for a down home reunion. It does feature Chelsea, the jazz singer for whom Cal worked, and you never know she may get another story. The possibilities are endless.

Savor the Flavor of romance

...if you can call some things romance.

When I was writing TV reviews for SUITE magazine, I included in one of my columns my opinions of the first Flavor of Love series. Typical elimination reality fare, with Flavor Flav as the object of affection and 20 screaming chickies tearing out each other's hair to get a close-up of his grill. The show is deplorable, exploits women, and sets the feminist movement back to the Stone Age...so why can't I stop watching it? Why have I become so obsessed with a show about a D-list celebrity whose societal relevance faded in the mid-80s? Why is it that I can name the last seven finalists from season one (Hoopz, Goldie, Pumkin, New York, Hottie, Smiley, Sweetie) but I can't name any Supreme Court judges? Am I that entranced by the reflection of Flav's grill that I can't think straight?

Well, we're close to the end of the show now, and it's down to New York and Deelishious. My money's on New York, but I have a niggling feeling she will be shot down again. I didn't care much for her in the first show, but in retrospect she was probably the better choice over Hoopz. My guess is that if VH1 wants to perpetuate this bling-encrusted train wreck they'll encourage Flav in his decisions, have a season three, and maybe give New York her own show. Her ego can barely fit the mansion as is, and personally I think a show about her and her mother might make for good guilty indulgence TV. They'll have to drink lots of Republic of Tea products to keep their voices.

Yes, I do have a point coming here. Bear with me.

Somehow the subject of Flav came up in conversation, and we pondered the difficult question: what nickname would Flav give us if we were on that show? What moniker could we take to agencies and nightclubs, and maybe Match Game, for more work? What would we have etched into our tombstones? Me, I would go with Sicily. I'm of Sicilian descent, I have the look, and I'm good with knives. No-brainer.

What about you? What's your flavorite nickname?

Leigh's Daring Giveaway - HOT Tea

Okay, folks. The next post is about Flav, I promise. This post is about this week's giveaway - a gift from The Republic of Tea. One lucky winner will receive a tin of Sip For the Cure Tea to enjoy on a cool autumn night. The winner will be selected at random from the comments boxes of all my posts today, so give me a shout out and you're entered. That's it!

Many of you probably know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. You've seen promos for Race for the Cure, do this or that for the Cure, etc. The Susan G. Komen Foundation is one of my favorite charities, and I commend them for working as hard as they do to increase awareness of awareness of breast cancer and to encourage women to get their mammograms. In fact, Phaze is planning an anthology of fiction for next October with proceeds to benefit Komen.org, isn't that great? Alessia Brio is tapped to edit, and I can't wait to send her a story. It will definitely be a Dareville, tied into Daring Young Man, as the hero Jake is the widower of a woman who succumbed to breast cancer.

It's a subject very close to me, closer than the two attached, if you know what I mean. My mother is a seven-year Survivor, and participated in two 3-day walks in Chicago. She was even on the evening news there; we're trying to get her to upload it to YouTube! Unfortunately, her mother didn't last a year after her diagnosis in the mid 70s. I was only six but I do remember a lot about my grandmother, and I can't help but wonder, had she bothered to do something earlier, how much longer would we have had her around. I learned later that my grandmother was aware that there was a problem, but she was so frightened of doctors and so vain that she hid the lump until it became so obvious that she had to go. By then, it was too late for her.

But, it's not too late for you. If you see anything unusual in your gals, go to the doctor! Do your self-exams, learn your family's history, do everything you can to make sure you are a Survivor and stay one. My grandmother didn't live to see 60, and I believe had she taken some initiative she would have survived cancer. She might not have lived to see my books, but she'd have had a good shot of seeing me graduate high school or college, even get married. My mother took initiative, and she is still here. And it is possible to survive more than a few years after cancer, too, don't think it's a temporary thing. Did you know actress Ruby Dee is a 30-year breast cancer survivor? She is not alone, and neither or you. We can beat this!

Okay, I'm off the soapbox now. Let's have some fun. Post your comments, and on Friday I'll pick a winner.

FLAVOR FLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAV!

No this post isn't relevant to the Flav. The next one will be, though. This is your wake up call to a spontaneous, last-minute contest I'm holding for the release of Daring Young Man, Book 3 in Dareville. In Dareville, everybody knows what time it is!

Daring Young Man by Leigh Ellwood

Buy it now! Buy it at Fictionwise!
October, 2006
ISBN 1-59426-620-4

Book Three of the Dareville Series!

Having weathered a bad marriage, Lauren McKenna is ready for a meaningful, loving relationship. Not with just anybody, either...she's set her sights, and her heart, on Dareville's favorite grocer, Jake Marbury, a man nearly twice her age.

It's been a year since Jake lost his wife to cancer, and he is hardly interested in starting over with a new love. Despite pressure from family and friends to retire, Jake is happy running the store, and looking forward to expanding to a new location. The need for help inadvertantly leads him to Lauren, who takes the opportunity to win Jake.

Can Lauren convince the silver fox with the heart of gold that he's not too old to love again? Will Jake be able to find more to fill his heart than work?

Size: Comet
Rating: Nebula

Dareville readers be warned: this book is a slight different from other Dareville offerings. Oh, there's sex to be had and seen, but you will find the story takes on a different angle than Truth or Dare and Dare Me. This is a loving tale of finding love after loss, strengthening friendship, and just pure enjoyment. It touches on themes that are important to me, like loving beyond 40 and living after cancer. You'll see some of those themes become more apparent in the contest prize I'm giving away.

For now, though, enjoy the book. Be back soon with more great Leigh/Phaze news.

2 new releases from Jade Falconer and Leigh Ellwood!

Jade Falconer's Morningstar
http://www.king-cart.com/cgi-bin/cart.cgi?store=Phaze&product=Morningstar+by+Jade+Falconer

In a future where the human race struggles to survive, the only elite are the hunters laying their lives on the line every night to defend their own kind against the undead predators. But one man stands above them all. Morningstar. Can the most feared vampire hunter find solace and passion in the arms of his sworn enemy, one of the undead?

In an environment of oppressive laws, designed to help the human race survive a massive population collapse, the attraction between Daniel and Scott is blazing and instantaneous... and outlawed. But how will they overcome the obstacles they face, when one is sworn to kill the other?













Leigh Ellwood's DARING YOUNG MAN
http://www.king-cart.com/cgi-bin/cart.cgi?store=Phaze&product=Daring+Young+Man+by+Leigh+Ellwood

Book Three of the Dareville Series!

Having weathered a bad marriage, Lauren McKenna is ready for a meaningful, loving relationship. Not with just anybody, either...she's set her sights, and her heart, on Dareville's favorite grocer, Jake Marbury, a man nearly twice her age.

It's been a year since Jake lost his wife to cancer, and he is hardly interested in starting over with a new love. Despite pressure from family and friends to retire, Jake is happy running the store, and looking forward to expanding to a new location. The need for help inadvertantly leads him to Lauren, who takes the opportunity to win Jake.

Can Lauren convince the silver fox with the heart of gold that he's not too old to love again? Will Jake be able to find more to fill his heart than work?

Phaze Snuggler Authors Are Announced!

There are 14 of them in all! It's going to be a snuggly Christmas! Congratulate these authors whose stories are the new Phaze Snugglers, due out December 2006!

Fairy Tail - Courtney Bee
San Diego Sunset - Alessia Brio and Will Belegon
Midwinter's Night - Michael Barnette
Santa's Helper - Yvette Hines
The Ice Butterfly - Vivien Dean
Cold Hands, Warm... - Jade Falconer
A Winter's Dare - Leigh Ellwood
Melting the Ice Queen - Aurora Black
He Came Upon a Midnight Clear - Cat Johnson
S'mores - Jalena Burke
Snow Falling on Lovers - Adrianna Dane
Proving Santa Exists - Victoria Blisse
Halfpipe Romance - Kate Burns
Twas the Night After Christmas - Susan DiPlacido

Bridget Midway's contest...put your thinking caps on!

Just your caps. If you're taking advantage of the clothing-optional rule, you're still good.

Okay, for those of you who stuck around for my week-long gabfest, you're a leg up on everyone else. I'm going to be pulling questions from the different items that I posted about all week long. Now the good news is, even if you weren't involved in the chat, you still have a chance at winning. Join the Phaze Chatters group now at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PhazeChatters/ and go through the message list back to when I started my chat on Sunday, September 24th.

I'll ask 6 questions (would have been 7 but I'm not counting Saturday's chat). Post your answers in the Comments section on the blog. I don't trust Yahoo right now. I'm afraid any e-mails to me will be eaten. Be the first to answer all 6 questions correctly and you'll win a prize pack that I will MAIL to you! Yep, a nifty prize package with bookmarks, magnets, books on disks and other nifty items.

Here are the rules. Yep, gotta have those. Only one entry per person. You cannot be a current contracted Phaze author. Sorry, Anna. And no substitutions for any of the prizes. I ain't Burger King. You can't have it your way. Oh, and have fun!

Here are the questions! Good luck!

1. I went to a special event on Sunday. What did I learn? (Initials are acceptable).

2. I posted an exclusive excerpt of "Walls". What's the name of the doctor the protagonist has sex with at the hospital?

3. I posted an exclusive excerpt of "Suburbia". From where did the second call come when Helen and Jason were together for their special lunch date?

4. In my "Adam and E-V-E" excerpt, what's the statement Dr. Tuumlar had told E-V-E that E-V-E related to what was happening at the moment?

5. In my "C-A-I-N and A-B-E-L" excerpt, what does C-A-I-N use to prove that Candy wasn't all that she was cracked up to be?

6. What commerical from VeryFunnyAds.com can cheer me up whenever I watch it? I'll give you all a hint on this one. I posted this under the subject heading "Embarrassing Moments".

BridgeT
www.BridgetMidway.com

Running with scissors

You'd think after chatting you with you all week that I would be plain tuckered. Nope! I'm back for more! Whoo! Hoo! Welcome to my official Phaze blog day. You know my rules. Clothing optional, of course.

Thanks to the wonderful folks at Yahoo, you all missed most of my messages throughout the day. So I did not have a contest to giveaway a prize like I had planned. So I'll do it today and it may be better today than on Yahoo. Maybe your posts won't get eaten like they would on Yahoo.

But enough about them. Let's talk about me! Actually specifically, let's talk about my contest, which I'll put in another post. Yeah, I'm a bitch like that. Hee! Hee! Kidding aside. Phaze plans on combining my two science fiction erotic romances, "Adam and E-V-E" and "C-A-I-N and A-B-E-L" into one ultra-cool anthology. The name: ORIGINAL SIN. Ohhhh! Ahhhh! Actually my man came up with that name. I was shocked that he was good at other things besides, uh, never mind. He's a smart guy. We'll leave it at that. If you would like to see the cover it's on my Yahoo newsletter group. To join, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/midway_lowdown This is not a chat group! I just post newsletters and exclusive excerpts. I promise.

Okay, gotta hit Wally World (aka Wal-Mart) then I'll post my contest, the prize and the rules. Yeah, there has to be rules. Damn it!

In the meantime, I want to know more about you. What was your first kiss like? What's the strangest place you've had sex? Where would you like to have sex? Have you ever read to your partner in bed? Where do babies come from? (seeing if you were still reading) Who's your biggest fantasy crush?

Ciao babies!
BridgeT