JULY 2010 M/M ROMANCE NEWSLETTER

Welcome to our newsletter. We hope the content on this page is both informative and entertaining. We welcome feedback; you can send it to the Newsletter Editor. On another outreach note: The Dreamspinner Press blog is now open for business. Follow the blog to see author posts, book excerpts, contests, and other news from the press about M/M romance. Enjoy!

Lynn West, Editor in Chief, Dreamspinner Press

AUTHOR INTERVIEW
    

Five Questions for
Andrew Grey

Why did you decide to write romance stories?

I grew up during the AIDS era when all gay fiction was depressing and a happy ending was nonexistent. For years I gave up on all gay fiction of any type and read other things. I discovered romantic fiction purely by accident and found that I like reading it. After reading a great deal, I decided to try my hand at writing it. I told no one until the novel was nearly completed. I kept waiting for it to fall apart, but it didn't. I actually finished it and revised, revised, revised. Then I submitted it and revised some more. Before I got my first acceptance letter, I'd written another story and started a third.

Why choose an Amish man as a main character?

The character of Eli was inspired by a visit to an Amish bakery almost thirty years ago. It was at that visit that I saw the young man who inspired Eli. In making Eli a main character, I really wanted to explore the clash of worlds. The Amish are generally quite insular, particularly in their relationships, and I wanted to create a situation where one character had to give up everything for love. And that's what Eli does in Love Means... No Shame. In order for him to be with Geoff, he must give up everything he knows: his family, his way of life. Geoff's world and Eli's Amish world won't mix, and Eli has to choose.

How were you introduced to M/M fiction?

Being a gay man and not wanted to get as big as a house, about six years ago, I decided I needed to get in shape and began going to the gym. I needed something to read on the treadmill, and I happened upon a few books at Pridefest. I picked them up, and I could only read them on the treadmill. (I lost thirty pounds in three months because I wouldn't get off until I'd finished the books.) I devoured them and have continued reading M/M fiction ever since.

What are five of your favorite books/series?

In no particular order: 1) Rhianne Alie's Cursed and Betrayed set of novels. 2) Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt adventures. 3) Anne Perry's Pitt and Monk mysteries. 4) J.L. Langley's Ranch series 5) Clare London's True Colors

Why did you decide to try to publish your stories?

For me, I'd always wanted to write, and I had tried a few decades ago but gave it up. I was working too much and just couldn't get it together. When I started writing again, I hoped it was good enough for publication. I can still remember getting my first e-mail from a reader I didn't know. That alone made all the effort worthwhile.

Andrew Grey grew up in western Michigan with a father who loved to tell stories and a mother who loved to read them. Since then he has lived throughout the country and traveled throughout the world. He has a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and works in information systems for a large corporation. Andrew's hobbies include collecting antiques, gardening, and leaving his dirty dishes anywhere but in the sink (particularly when writing). He considers himself blessed with an accepting family, fantastic friends, and the world’s most supportive and loving partner. Andrew currently lives in beautiful historic Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Visit Andrew's web site and blog. You can also e-mail Andrew.

MONTHLY CONTEST

Win an eBook copy of your choice of one of this author's works. Clues are available in author bios on our web site.

This author's first story was a Winnie-the-Pooh/Shakespeare crossover that won the grand prize in her elementary school's fiction contest. She now writes stories about redemption, the paranormal, and love at first sight.

E-mail the Newsletter Editor with your answer. A winner will be chosen randomly from the correct answers. Contest ends the last day of the month.

The correct answers to last month's question: An author who specializes in pratfalls and sarcasm, her novels run the gamut from light romance to suspense thrillers, including an epic novel that is Dreamspinner Press's longest paperback publication to date. Who is the author? Abigail Roux.

A QUICKIE

What we call our despair is often only the painful eagerness of unfed hope.—George Eliot

The rope twisted slowly around the metal ring in the ceiling. "Just a little more." His lover's voice rasped in his ear, breath hot and sweet, similar to the delicate balance being sought. Once the pulleys locked into place, there would be strength enough to hold his weight. Yet if he stretched, he could just touch the balls of his feet to the cool tile beneath him, leaving his arms extended overhead and bound to bear his weight. Emotionally freed by the physical restraint, the feelings swept over him in a rush.

Liberation.

Gravity. Not just a concept anymore. It pulled at him, the drag heavy in his armpits and shoulder joints. His back lengthened downward, spiraling toward the earth, his intercostal muscles opening with each expansive breath. The sensation was amazing; joyous.

He trembled from the sting as sweat rolled down his straining arms and back, sliding gently into the welts and burning with a purity he had waited his lifetime for. He gasped when his lover's lips began to trace the path of one of the salty drops, the soft tongue lapping delicately at crimson pearls that welled and then, diluted, rolled down his hips to stain the rice paper carefully positioned on the floor below to record the moment.

Recognition.

Their mirrored reflections wavered with each flicker of the candles' flames.

"Do you see me, love?" His lover whispered hauntingly against his ragged flesh. "I can see you now. I can see all of you."

A calloused hand caressed his skin as it danced around his waist and took ownership of his cock. Clever fingers, strong and hot on aching flesh.

He moaned his appreciation, their images burning into his soul. God, how he loved this man.

"You are so beautiful," his lover whispered into his ear. "I want to see more. Show me all of you."

He whimpered with gratitude, his toes scrambling for purchase before he stopped himself with a deep exhalation. All that he needed would be given; his only purpose was simply to be.

Acceptance.

"I know you now." Pleased, his lover increased the tightness of his grip, possessing the swollen length with long, slow strokes. "I know all of you."

He groaned, responding to the words with a clenching deep inside, a visceral reaction to that which was most sacred and most profane. His hips jerked, causing him to sway on the rope, the disruption in balance forcing the tension on his arms to increase.

He knew the feeling. He had waited for it, hoped for it, despaired of ever finding it.

Intensity.

It was a word with meaning he had learned early in life. The first time he'd heard it used in his regard had been from his family. Needy was actually the term used back then. It didn't matter, all he needed was to show as much if not more affection than he received.

His parents found him difficult to deal with. He took too much time, too much energy, too much of whatever it was his parents didn't have enough of for themselves. That was the beginning. That was when he first learned to hold back.

Later the word would crop back up in relationships. He gave too much, he overwhelmed. He was too inappropriate in his expression and expectation of love. He tried but couldn't manage the casual relationships that were so common of the time. Was he the only one who desired to really know someone else and then be known in return?

He began to hold back even more: pushing away his instincts, struggling to blend in. He learned to hide the parts that caused such confusion in those around him. It made things easier for a time. But eventually each empty moment only reinforced his feeling that there should be something more. Something true. Yet, every time he reached out, every time he dared to uncover that which he hid within, he heard the same refrain. In the end, he felt only shame. So he pushed more away from the surface until there was only the dark cavern within his soul he thought would never be filled, a gaping wound, hollow and empty. Eventually, he hid so much from the world that he no longer recognized himself.

Knowledge.

Then his lover found him. Instinctively able to sense the man beneath the mask and circling like a predator smelling blood, trying for an opening before seizing his prey. It hadn't been easy. He was too reluctant now to risk. He had lost his hope, lost his desire, lost his very self.

To uncover what he had worked so hard to keep buried, his lover had to push him in a different way. He didn't trust the pain at first, being too numb to let it saturate his being. Unwilling to give up, his lover had to push him farther than he'd ever gone before.

Rebirth.

He could remember the first time he understood that this would be different, that they were going to continue until he was strong enough to lay bare his truth before his lover. And in return, his lover would not only prove strong enough to accept it, but he would need it in order to complete himself.

The breakthrough had been difficult, his finest hour. Joyous, painful, and long in coming. The realization, the moment when he was able to find security in his physical sensation surpassed everything else. To finally let go of his fear, his shame, and his anger and release his emotional binding had been blinding.

Safety.

He was panting now, breathless with the desire to please, all his attention focused on containing the white-hot glow his lover created within. The muscles of his ass clenched with effort as the tempo of the strokes increased. Eagerly he waited for the command.

"Come for me now."

All that he was, all that he ever could be flowed out of him and into the hands of the one who knew him best.

Hope is a waking dream.—Aristotle

RECOMMENDED READS

Can't Hurry Love
By M. Jules Aedin

"The author's writing style is engaging, the quick pace of the storyline and the wonderfully written characters grabbed me from page one and didn't let go until the end."
Rainbow Reviews




The Memoirs of Colonel Gérard Vreilhac
By Anel Viz

"A genuine tour de force. Anel Viz has managed at one and the same time to create a brilliant and literary (in the best sense of the word) historical novel and a piece of erotic fiction worthy to share the shelf with the classics of the genre."
Victor J. Banis



Finding Zach
By Rowan Speedwell

"...a well written and thought provoking story of rescue, redemption and hope."
Literary Nymphs Reviews




Dragon Streets
By Jeff Pearce

"A wonderful and exciting paranormal adventure and love story that will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout."
Reviews by Jessewave





The Letter Z
By Marie Sexton

"...an extraordinary contemporary working-out-the-kinks-in-our-relationship romance."
Dark Diva Reviews




Everything Under the Sun
By Rachel West

"If you like a sweet contemporary romance with a good amount of sex, this book's for you!"
The Dancing Dove
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CALLS FOR SUBMISSIONS

Dreamspinner Press is accepting submissions for Myths and Magic: Legends of Love.

Lose yourself in tales of yore, in myths, fairy tales, and legends shrouded in the mists of time. These are stories of beasts and men from ancient tomes, of gods, sorcerers, and ancient heroes, of fairies and elves, centaurs and satyrs, dragons and unicorns, almost anything you might dream. Let your imagination take the reins and experience the power of the timeless past as men in many different forms undertake the highest of quests: the search for a love of the ages.

Editor Anne Regan will be reviewing manuscripts of 3,500 to 12,000 words in length. Manuscripts shorter or longer will be considered but will have to be extraordinary. The submission deadline is Aug. 6, 2010. You must follow general submission guidelines for short stories for proper consideration. Please list "Myths and Magic" in the subject line of your submission.

Calls for Submissions coming soon: the 2010 Dreamspinner Press Advent Calendar: Naughty or Nice, edited by Lynn West; and Riding Double, an anthology of Westerns, edited by Anne Regan.

NEWS
  • Don't miss the Dreamspinner Press Summer Blowout Sale! Each week of the month of July, different genres will be 20% off!
      July 1-7: Fantasy/Paranormal, Science Fiction, Fairy Tales
      July 8-14: BDSM, M/M/M and More, Humor
      July 15-21: Historical, Timeless Dreams, Western
      July 22-28: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense, Transgender
      July 29-31: Holiday

  • Truth in the Dark by Amy Lane was named a Book of the Week at MANtastic Fiction.

  • Andrea Speed gave an interview at Comixtreme upon release of her new novel, Infected: Prey.

  • D.W. Marchwell, author of Good to Know, wrote a guest blog entry entitled What M/M Romance Novels Have Taught Me at Book Wenches.

  • Mickie B. Ashling gave an interview at Shae Connor upon release of her new novel, Loving Edits.


  • Her Two Dads by Ariel Tachna is a Dreamspinner Makes a Difference title. Five percent of all profits from this title will be donated to the Family Equality Council and COLAGE. Both of these organizations work to advance full social and legal equality for LGBT families.

  • Dreamspinner Press authors are re-interpreting classic fairy tales in a new line of eBooks. Check out the new Fairy Tales genre listing for titles. The first two releases are:


    Truth in the Dark by Amy Lane, a retelling of Beauty and the Beast,


    Sweet Son by Heidi Cullinan, a take on Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.
    • ASK THE EDITOR

    Are your eBooks protected by digital rights management (DRM)?

    We choose not to DRM our eBook titles as a part of our desire to provide superior customer service. DRM doesn’t stop thieves and causes endless headaches for the customer. We have two major problems with DRM: functionality and privacy. Books (even eBooks) should be read again and again and kept for as long as they provide enjoyment. The technology that supports them is ever changing, and the eBooks need to stay functional across devices. To compound this issue, most DRM systems and proprietary formats require the reader to register to access the books they have purchased. Many deposit a tracking module that documents activity (downloads sites and titles read) without adequately informing the customer or giving them an option to opt out. With the prevalence of discrimination against people for sexual orientation, a choice to read anonymously is not just a convenience, but a necessity, at least in our genre. Ultimately happy customers buy more books and the type of reader that seeks out free pirated titles isn't going to buy them in the first place.

    What kind of stories are most likely to be accepted right now?

    At this time, submissions of light contemporary romance and Westerns have the best chance of being accepted. Lowest chance: Fantasy/Paranormal and BDSM/Kink.

    Ask the Editor in an e-mail to the Newsletter Editor.
    DREAMSPINNER PRESS
    Launched in May 2007, Dreamspinner Press offers quiet romance, supernatural passion, out-of-this-world lovers, kinky explorations, and heated dreams--a little taste to whet your appetite for romantic homoerotica. We hope you take a little time to be enchanted, romanced, and loved by enjoying the publications of Dreamspinner Press.

    We appreciate your patronage! If you have feedback, please e-mail to contact@dreamspinnerpress.com or mail to Dreamspinner Press, 4760 Preston Road, Suite 244-149, Frisco, TX 75034, USA. Thank you!

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