Mary Burchell is the pseudonym of Ida Cook (1904-December 22, 1986). She may have also written under the name James Keene. As an author for the Harlequin Romance imprint, she published 73 romance novels. She wrote seven romance novels for the Harlequin Presents imprint.

Ida Cook was born at 37 Croft Avenue, Sunderland. Together with her sister (Mary) Louise Cook (1901-1991), she rescued Jews from Germany during the 1930s.

They had a great courage before the war in seeking out Jewish people in danger in Germany and managing to get them out of the country. They also smuggled out refugees' jewelry often at risk to themselves. On one occasion, a diamond brooch of great size was brought out by Ida wearing it quite openly on an inexpensive Marks & Spencer Jumper, thereby creating the impression that it was of no value, although its subsequent sale maintained its rightful owner for a difficult period before re­establishment in a new life.

It only emerged years later that she turned to writing romance stories to make money as she and her sister, who lived together, used all their wealth during War World II to help those refugees from Germany.

They continued their charitable work after the war was over, hence writing successful romances.

( Read more... )

Anthony Russo and his wife Angela offer their clients a full-range of graphic design services including book cover design, fine art and illustration, typography, and logo and package design.

Russo Art & Design has been producing original art work for over 30 years. Under the care and direction of professional artist, Anthony Russo, Russo Art & Design has developed a reputation for quality work and commitment to their clients. They work directly with you, one-on-one, to produce art work that commands attention and provides a high-impact, visual statement.



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All book covers are not created equal. The first moments in viewing a book cover are critical in capturing the imagination of a potential reader and creating an incentive to purchase. Russo Art & Design offers you everything you need to complete your project. They provide clients with advice and direction in all aspects of cover concept, design execution, and final mechanical. They are highly experienced in photography, illustration, and typography and they are dedicated to providing the highest quality professional work. They design all aspects of a book's cover including the face, spine, back cover and flaps (if a hard cover). If you don’t have a printer for your book, they will find a printer who can assist in determining the best and most economical means to produce your book. If you need special effects, and or foiling, they can also assist you.

http://russoartdesign.com/

I was expecting to read a romance, maybe even a bit on the sad tone like Brokeback Mountain, and instead I read an erotic romp. Mack and Justin, the two heroes seem almost like they are training to auction for a x-rated movie, and their recovery time is unbelievable.

Joke aside, there is a lot, lot of sex here, and if you like two men who can being emotional without being weak, who are able to cry while at the same time having hot and wild sex, Breaking the Devil is exactly what you are searching.

Mack and Justin were best buddy friend when they were teenagers; there was something between them, but they didn’t have the courage to acknowledge what it was. Then one blissful afternoon the passion was too much and they did break free of any boundaries. They were young and passionate and they vowed to love each other, only to find the day after Justin breaking Mack’s heart and going away.

Twelve years later Mack is still mourning his lost lover, and when Justin comes back in Mack’s life like he hadn’t even gone away, Mack’s mind and heart would like to kick him off, but Mack’s body has other idea, it welcomes Justin with all its passion and asks for more. The first encounter, with a triple performance from both men, led to another and to another one. There is even one moment when Justin would like to explain his reason to Mack, and maybe Mack would like to listen, but again, the bodies seem to overcome the minds, and with the voice Mack is saying that he is willing to listen, but with the hands he is already undressing Justin.

Between a sex scene and the other, the reader has the chance to understand that Justin and Mack love each other, that they are more or less on the same level, no one is really the top or the bottom, that maybe Mack is easier on explaining his feelings, and that Justin is easier to heat up like a firecracker, but in the end, both of them are romantic at heart. I even like Justin’s jealousy, quite unacceptable from a man who was away for 12 years, but it gave a romance taste to the very much erotic story.

There is a story there, with some points that I wouldn’t have minded to see developed, like, what Justin did in the past 12 years? Yes, we know that he enlisted in the Marines, but what was of his personal life? Problem is that this is a novella, and we catch up with Mack and Justin right in the moment they meet again after 12 years, and Mack is quite horny, so they haven’t much time to tell us their life, there are more important things to do. Maybe if we come back in a month or so, they will resurface to breath.

http://www.loose-id.com/Breaking-the-Devil.aspx

Amazon Kindle: Breaking the Devil

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle


Cover Art by Anne Cain

In Pure Sex, like often in D.J. Manly’s books, sex is approached almost like a recreational activity. I’m not saying it in a derogative way, the men in this book, and in all the previous I read by this author, enjoy sex, a lot, and they are quite open (no pun intended) about it. But probably the main difference from a lot of other similar books is that those men are also able to fall in love, and when it happens, they are like new-born child, sex becomes something completely different, like it was the first time they try it.

Lance is a high maintenance escort. There is no other way to describe him; he hires himself out to wealthy businessman to provide companionship and sex in exchange of the chance of living a live well above the average. But even if he has sex for money, Lance is almost naïve, he is not greedy and he really cares for the men he is with; in his two previous “contracts” Lance was lucky, both man cared back for him, and he was treated like a precious thing. To this kindness Lance gave back all of him other than one thing, his heart. Lance doesn’t believe in love, as an orphan he had nothing, and now he thinks that material things are the only important things in life, since they give him security and comfort, love is not something he needs. As I said, Lance is naïve, he didn’t realize that, even if he didn’t love those men, the men loved him and treated him well. And Lance is innocent, since he is plain and clear in his “contracts”, he is not selling love or illusions, he is selling only his body and time.

When it’s time for Lance to find a new patron, he sets his eyes on Jackson, a 40 something businessman. Jackson has no problem to accept the contract Lance is proposing, the problem is that Jackson has many of them on, his house is full a pretty boys he uses like playthings. One of them in particular, Tobias, is tired of that life, but he has money obligations he can’t afford without Jackson’s salary. Tobias should be happy to see Lance’s arrival, the pressure on him should diminish, but it’s not like that. After the first initial dislike, Tobias starts to understand that Lance has not understood the “prison” he is ended in, and this is the time that, if he doesn’t do something, Lance will loose forever that innocence he has preserved all those years.

It’s strange to talk of innocence and naïveté in a book where men are having sex in 2, 3 even 4, and everyone is doing everyone else, but that is sex, pure sex, and love is not involved. Both Lance and Tobias are innocent when it’s time to speak of love, and between a sex scene and another, this is a love story. Only that you have to search the love in the most unexpected places.

http://www.extasybooks.net/ebjmsite/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=ebook_flypage&product_id=6402&category_id=3&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=44

Amazon Kindle: Pure Sex

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

As often when dealing with the gods of Olympus, this story is not a romance but more an erotic escapades, like most of the myths where it seems that all actions and resolutions are driven by sex.

The story starts quite abruptly, Stephen is an archaeologist whose reputation was destroyed from the useless research of an artefact, the Aphrodite’s necklace. When Alex, one of his assistant, comes to his room claiming to have found the necklace, Stephen has nothing to loose to follow him to the ancient Minoan ruins. From that moment on, all worlds, up and under, break loose, and Stephen is not more in command of his mind and body.

When Stephen and Alex were in the “ordinary” world, I had the feeling that Stephen was the upper hand in their relationship; maybe since Alex was his assistant, maybe since I had the feeling that Alex was younger than Stephen. But when they are dragged in the underworld, Stephen immediately loses any appearance of independence, to become almost a sex toy. Everyone seems to want to use him for sex, various mythological figures enter the scene, and everyone wants a piece of Stephen.

In all of this Alex plays the role of supervisor, he is a bit jealous of Stephen, but not since he doesn’t want other men to have sex with him, but only since he wants to be there to direct the scene. If Stephen is willing, and ready, Alex has nothing against the idea to “borrow” him, even sometime to participate. Sex is the main event in this story, and the normal sexual boundaries of modern time are not applicable here. There is no knowledge of exclusivity or betrayal, at least not with a sexual meaning. There is neither actually a concept of straight, gay or even bisexual, sex is sex, in every possible pairs, or with as many partners at once.

There is even a plot, a mission to accomplish, but it’s not the most important event in the story. So no, if you want to read a romance, a love story, this is not your book. But if you want to read about mischievous gods or semi-gods and playful humans more than willing to amuse them, in this story Stephen finds out a side of himself, that he was not aware of, that being a sex toy could be at the same time dangerous and satisfying.

http://www.jasminejade.com/pm-7795-229-for-olympus-sake.aspx

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle


Cover Art by Dar Albert

Readers of Regency novels say that Elizabeth Mansfield was the heiress to the literary crown of Georgette Heyer, the high priestess of Regency novels. But Elizabeth only smiled at the appellation. After all, she was the writer who admitted, "I received a Master's degree in English lit, but I secretly read Georgette Heyer in the bathtub."

She believed that the love story has been with us ever since people began telling stories, and it will continue to be with us until the world ends.

"I was born and grew up in New York City," said the freshfaced blonde, who was born on March 13, between the years of the Depression and World War II. "I teach freshman students in a local community college one day a week. I used to teach full-time, but now I have too many deadlines to meet. At the moment I'm teaching Jewish-American literature of the twentieth century. Writing is so quiet; I need to teach to get me but of the house arid talking," she added with a grin.

Elizabeth Mansfield's happiest girlhood hours were spent sitting out on a fire escape in the Bronx, eating apples and reading. "I had to practice the piano an hour a day, but I kept a book in the piano bench in case my mother stepped out of the apartment."

She majored in English literature at Hunter. "But," she confessed, with a shake of her blonde curls (all Regency heroines have curls, you see!), "I guess those early romances remained in my blood even though I believed I'd grown out of them."

( Read more... )

Source: Love's Leading Ladies

So this week my Men Candy are not models but actors; actually one of them is a model tryig to become an actor, but he is young, he has time ;-) So, what linked them together? (did you notice that my triplet of men candy always have something in common?). Cillian, Steve and Colton played a gay role (in a movie or in an editorial) but they are not gay, better it doesn't matter to them if they are or they are not gay, probably they would prefer for people to judge them for being a good or a bad actor, not for who they sleep with. In particular, I thought a lot if posting Colton Haynes' pictures, truth be told I even wondered if they are real, he seems so much younger in them, but then I thought, if he did them, he probably had a reason. So enjoy!

Cillian Murphy (born 25 May 1976) is an Irish film and theatre actor. He is often noted by critics for his chameleonic performances in diverse roles and distinctive blue eyes.



( Cillian Murphy )

A native of Cork, Murphy began his performing career as a rock musician. After turning down a record deal, he made his professional acting debut in the play Disco Pigs in 1996. He went on to star in Irish and UK film and stage productions throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, first coming to international attention in 2003 as the hero in the post-apocalyptic film 28 Days Later. Murphy's best-known roles are as villains in two 2005 blockbusters: the Scarecrow in the superhero film Batman Begins, and Jackson Rippner in the thriller Red Eye. Next came two contrasting, widely acclaimed starring roles: his Golden Globe Award-nominated performance as transgender outcast "Kitten" in 2005's Breakfast on Pluto and a turn as a 1920s Irish revolutionary in the 2006 Palme d'Or winner, The Wind That Shakes the Barley. In 2009, Murphy stars in Perrier's Bounty, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

( Read more... )

@Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cillian_Murphy

Steve Sandvoss (born June 23, 1980 in New York City) is an American actor. Stephen James Sandvoss grew up in suburban New York City. He attended the Saint Thomas Choir School in Manhattan and The Taft School in Connecticut where he was a member of the rowing team. He went on to study at Harvard University and graduated, cum laude, in 2002.



( Steve Sandvoss )

At Harvard, he was active in the artistic community, pursuing amateur photography, studying poetry and American prose, and often choosing edgier roles in student-written plays as well as in such classics as Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar and Bertolt Brecht's Galileo and Ba'al.

( Read more... )

@Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Sandvoss

Colton Haynes, born in 1988 in Wichita Kansas, is an American actor and model, best known for his role as Brandon Fox on "CSI Miami." Haynes grew up in Kansas and moved around throughout his whole life. At the ripe age of 15, he got his start working as a model in New York. He quickly got his big break when renowned photographer Bruce Weber photographed him in major campaigns for "Abercrombie & Fitch" that put him on the map.



( Colton Haynes )

Soon after, Haynes landed campaigns for "Verizon Print", "Kira Plastinina", TV commercials for "Ralph Lauren/JC Pennys 'American Living'"' and appeared in several magazines including "Teen Vogue", "Vogue Homme International", "Seventeen Magazine", "Mens Health", "Arena Magazine” and "Elle Magazine" (with Gwen Stefani)."

( Read more... )

@Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colton_Haynes

Good to Know is a classical romance, also a bit old fashioned. Lonely and grumpy artist living in a isolated ranch finds himself guardian of a 10 years old orphan; lonely and tender-hearted teacher thinks to march arms in hand to the rescue of a little boy to then fall in love for the guardian. It’s probably the most classic love-story, what made it special was that both main characters are, for once, well past their young age: Jerry, the artist, is nearly 50 years old, and David, the teacher, is past 40 years old.

It’s quite obvious for everyone, reader, friends and family, that David and Jerry are fated to be together and to raise William in a loving family; the problem is for them to understand it. This is basically a romance, there are little obstacles for them to overcome, and probably it helps a lot that both of them are wealthy and independent men, working low salary jobs only for pleasure and not for necessity. There is also little doubt that Jerry will be William’s guardian, even if he is openly gay, Jerry is also the only living relative of the kid, and if you look to the cynical side of it, being also a wealthy man makes things even easier.

So no, the right of the two men to have William with them was never questioned, the little trouble they had was due to the fact that, even if in the more permissive Canada, they were having a homosexual relationship in front of an “impressionable” kid. This is the only trouble and angst element of the entire book, and to know how they dealt with it, I will let you read the story. A story that, unexpectedly, was pretty sexy.

I said unexpectedly since usually more the characters are older, less they seem interested in sex. And instead here sex was up front and probably the first thing that bonded David and Jerry. Jerry is basically a don juan; maybe now he is almost retired, but when he sees a man, an attractive man, the first thing in his mind is, bed him and then talk, and maybe you can even skip the talk part. So when he is faced with the prospective of being a father, Jerry doesn’t know what to do; it’s not that he doesn’t want the kid, it’s only that has never passed in his mind to have a kid. I have the feeling that Jerry himself hasn’t had a loving family from which learn how to raise a son, and so he is scared to try.

On the other side there is David. As Jerry, David probably didn’t have a good childhood, and he was disowned by his family when he came out, but David has imprinted in his genes how to be a good father. In every thing he does, even in his chosen career, David screams the desire to be a father. I think that, at first, his dislike of Jerry (truth be told, soon forgotten), was more due to the fact that he envied Jerry’s luck to have found William than anything else. David wants William with all his heart, and instead Jerry seems reluctant to take in the kid.

As I said, sex helped the two to find an agreement, and I think it’s a right perspective to read the story. Nor David or Jerry are young starry eyed men, if they are interested in someone else, they are self-confident enough to admit that it’s probably a physical thing, that they are attracted to the other man. Sex arrives quite soon, probably before love, but again, it’s probably a right choice for the story: the romantic development of the story probably would have suggested for them to be together for the well-being of William, maybe ignoring their personal differences. Instead, in a real world, David and Jerry have to test their relationship, to see if they can work together, and then, maybe, they can consider to involve William and try the “family” thing.

Good to Know is a sweet romance without being too much pink glasses perspective, it has the right dose of reality to not being too sugary, and the sex adds spicy to the mix.

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=55_179&products_id=1566

Amazon: Good to Know

Amazon Kindle: Good to Know

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle


Cover Art by Paul Richmond

Director: Glenn Gaylord

Writers: Phillip J. Bartell (written by)
Q. Allan Brocka (characters)

Date: 9 October 2009 ((Outfest Film Festival, USA)

Genre: Comedy

Plot: Casey (Daniel Skelton), is new to the gay scene, refreshingly cute, geeky, and extremely shy. When bombastic Tiffani (Rebekah Kochan) befriends Casey and takes him under her wings, his adventures have only just begun!

Casey accompanies Tiffani to the Hollywood GLBT Center where they meet Harry (Leslie Jordan), along with Casey’s mentor Zack (Chris Salvatore), and for Casey it’s love at first sight.

Tiffani persuades Casey to create a phony GaySpace page representing himself as her straight ex bf Ryan (Michael Walker) and Zack suddenly becomes smitten with his online relationship with Casey (who continues pretending he is really Straight hottie Ryan). However, when Zack discovers Casey’s deception, he immediately writes Casey out of his life for good.

Meanwhile, Casey’s Aunt Helen (Mink Stole) does her best to nurture Casey, and watch over him in his relocation to Hollywood.

Will Casey eventually convince Zack of his true and undying love, only “straight” Ryan unknowingly holds the key to a surprising solution!

@IMDb
@Amazon: Eating Out: All You Can Eat
@Netflix
@Wolfe Video

 

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Cast (in credits order)
Daniel Skelton ... Casey
Chris Salvatore ... Zack
Michael E.R. Walker ... Ryan
Rebekah Kochan ... Tiffani von der Sloot
John Stallings ... Lionel
Maximiliano Torandell ... Ernesto
Rick D'Agostino ... Shirtless Stud
Julia Cho ... Tandy
Mink Stole ... Helen
Leslie Jordan ... Harry
( rest of the cast )


Casey & Zack

( more pics )

( Eating Out: All You Can Eat Trailer - clean version )

( Eating Out: All You Can Eat - Official Trailer )

( Eating Out: All You Can Eat - Teaser )

Happy Ending is set in the same East Coast small town, Smithfield, like Gobsmacked, and has some traits in common with it, but it’s an independent story.

The feeling of a “familiar” story, the little town where everyone knows everyone else, the gay characters that yes, maybe have some trouble, but more or less are living like ordinary people among the small community, those are the traits in common. Other than that, David and Seth are two completely different characters from Tony and Mark.

Seth is a 36 years old business man, and truth be told, neither so nice. His sister Nikki died leaving him the sole relative of a six years old baby girl, Molly, and Seth is not sure what to do with her. Seth is used to deal with construction workers and budgets and due lines, not with barbies and little pony, all in shades of pink and purple. The new turn in his life also cost him his in live partner, Quinn, who packed and moved in Florida; I have the feeling that Seth misses more Quinn’s cooking abilities than the partner though.

From what I gathered, Seth is a creature of habit who doesn’t like change; for this simple reason it's never passed on his mind to cheat on Quinn, not since he loved the man, but since he was not interested in looking around. When Quinn is out of the picture Seth, after a short period of mourning, starts to notice again the dating world around him, and his eyes focus on David. Not that it’s so difficult, in a small town like Smithfield David works three jobs, and all of them are somewhat involved with Seth: he is a masseur in the spa where Seth goes once a week; he is a waiter in the pub Seth frequents more than once a week; and finally he is a young adult writer and Seth has a six years old girl who reads his books.

But David is not Seth’s type, or so he thinks. First he is way to younger, 10 years; second, he is not on the same level of Seth, he has no steady job, he is the picture on unsteadiness; third, with his long black hair, piercings and tattoo, he is not the man Seth would picture on his side, even less now that he is the parent of a child. But one thing is thinking it and another thing is to convince his body that he doesn’t like David. David on the other hand, after the initial usual misunderstanding, seems more than willing to deepen their acquaintance, and the sex is great, easy and without second thought regrets.

As before, the story is good, the drama and angst is there, but like the small town in which the story is set, also the drama is small, not so overtly imposing to overcome the romance. All in all, everything is near, even the solution and the answers to all the questions. Happy Ending, like Gobsmacked, is a little and nice story, with an homey flavour.

http://www.aspenmountainpress.com/romance/male-male-erotica/happy-ending/prod_230.html

Buy at 1 Romance Ebooks

Amazon Kindle: Happy Ending (Men of Smithfield)

Series: Men of Smithfield
1) Gobsmacked: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/657594.html
2) Happy Ending

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Just because, the cover of the coffee table photo book Tony Duran made from the shot he did for the Dieux du stade 2010 Calendar:



It took me at least two minutes to understand how many bodies were involved, and I'm still not sure ;-) The link to buy it is not yet available, meanwhile, if you are interested, you can buy the Calendar:

Amazon: Dieux du stade 2010

And since it's almost up to the theme, a link I found on kyellgold:

British Lions rugby legend Gareth Thomas: "It's ended my marriage and nearly driven me to suicide. Now it's time to tell the world the truth - I'm gay"

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1237035/British-Lions-rugby-legend-Gareth-Thomas-Its-ended-marriage-nearly-driven-suicide-Now-time-tell-world-truth--Im-gay.html

"Ex-Lion Gareth Thomas reveals he is gay"

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/welsh/8421956.stm

I have already said it before, I really like when J.M. Snyder plays with her boys, meaning that when her stories are about boys not yet men that are playing with life. This is the feeling I have of Carey’d Away, even if it’s not specifically said, I think all the characters in here are really young, probably young men just out of college or maybe even little more than teenagers.

The story is about a group of friends, a gay couple, Tyreese and Bill, a lesbian one, Shonda and Jan, and the black sheep, Carey. Carey is the only one who is still single, who plays the field every night, but lately the game is no more funny. Carey wants a boyfriend; oh no, he doesn’t want the serious thing, home, family and stability, he wants the cute thing, a boy to kiss, someone to play with, someone to fill his mind and flutter his stomach. Actually he is not even a likable character, he is lazy and bratty, maybe even careless, but he is so cute and full of life that the reader is willing to forget all his faults.

Pat is a shy guy, even a bit nerdy; he is the guy who no one looks in high school, for sure no one like Carey would. That is a feeling I had for all the novella, the feeling of reading an high school story, even if the characters are older and already out of school; but there was that innocence, that joy of life that usually you only find in a story about teenagers. Anyway Pat is both happy and scared when he realizes that Carey is interested in him, he is scared to not being up to Carey’s expectation. Carey is easy and free, Pat is careful and shy. Carey wears his gayness like a bow; Pat takes it hidden away from prying eyes. Even when they are among friendly company, Pat doesn’t feel comfortable, and if Carey wants to have his way with him, he has to find a way to make Pat forgets of the world around them.

This is only a night in their life, both characters are cute, and from the little details here and there, I can say that they are young and happy, but this is not they “life” story. We can’t say what will happen in a month, if Carey will loose interest or if Pat will realize that he is too different from Carey and his friends to be comfortable with them, but for now, they are young and happy, and that is enough.

http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/CareydAway.html

Amazon Kindle: Carey’d Away

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

The story caught me a bit unprepared since it plunged me in the middle of something happening between Brett and Shawn. They are not stranger, Shawn works for Brett, but now they are not at work, they are in a BDSM resort. They are not together, and the reader doesn’t know if Brett went there to stop Shawn to do a big mistake, or if he was there just by chance. What the reader knows is that Brett has his eyes on Shawn for months now, and he is not willing to let someone else snatch the boy from under his nose.

Brett is a dominant and he recognized in Shawn all the signs of a submissive; not only Shawn is little and pretty, he is also very willing to let someone else take the lead during lovemaking. But once the sex is finished, Shawn refuses to continue with the game, claiming that he is not a submissive. Actually I think that Shawn is for sure a submissive but he has not found the right dominant: Shawn is at the same time cute and bratty, he is like a kitten, ready to purr but easy to scratch the hand that is stroking him if he notices a lack of interest in the stroke. Shawn is not a submissive eager to please; he is a submissive eager to let someone else please him.

Shawn is exactly what you define an high-maintenance boy-toy, he is not for every man, only a very self-conscious dominant will be able to rein him. Only a dominant who doesn’t need to be reassured on his power can take in hand a submissive like Shawn, since Shawn will never reassure anyone, Shawn will ask, will pretend, but he will also surrender with grace.

I like the story, but I would have liked it more if it was not only a moment in time; I missed the preface, the little and continuous teasing of an unwilling Shawn (or maybe not so unwilling) during job hours, and I missed what it will be of them once they will leave the resort to go back to their everyday life. I wouldn’t have minded to have a bit of office affair romance spiced with naughtiness.

http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=507

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

I think jaye_valentine  will like this commercial, even if it could have been a bit more... naughty. Anyway I like the idea, even if I would have preferred for the male car driver to be a little more "pretty", but I read comment around of people who like the butch imaginery.

In a clever commercial about the uniqueness of identical twins, the ad shows the similarities of two young men as they get ready in the morning.



As if in the military, Erik and Derek get ready together in the morning, shaving and even showering together. They wear the same clothes and each makes his own music mix for their MiniDisc players. They both leave their apartment together and wait to be picked up.

One is picked up by a sexy woman in a slinky outfit, and the other is picked up by a rather unlikely, not-so-attractive (by idealistic advertising standards), goateed wrestler. The ad agency, which clearly intended for somewhat of a shock effect with the wrestler, purposely picked someone who does not reflect society's general view of "beauty" and absurdly put him in a wrestler's outfit.

Commercial Closet Association

Company: Sony Corp.
Brand: Sony MiniDisc
Ad Title: Twins
Business Category: Consumer Electronics
Media Outlets: Television
Country: Australia , New Zealand , Philippines
Region: Australia/New Zealand
Agency: Generator
Year: 1999
Target: Mainstream
Ad Spotter: Michelangelo Signorile

Just a note, the big pine tree you see was a very little and ugly christmas tree my aunt decided it was not fit to be in her house. My mom, when she saw it had the root, told her to not threw it away, and she put it in our garden... my mother always rescued everything alive, stray cats, dogs, plants...



( Read more... )

I remember with pleasure By Degrees, the previous romance by J.B. McDonald, and In the Rough is almost a sequel. Rick and Jay, the two men of this new story, were also in the previous book; Rick is Tim’s older “big brother”, the reference figure social services assigned to Tim when he was a troubled teenager. But Rick is not the perfect man that usually is assigned to this task; he himself was a runaway kid, escaping and abusive father when he was only 13 years old. Rick was only lucky to find Jay before any other potential danger found him, and Jay took him under his wing. Jay who at 16 years old was barely old enough to look after himself, who was already and hustler and a drug addicted, Jay tried to save Rick from all of it, since he was unable to save himself. And Rick obviously falls in love for Jay.

Now 20 years later, Rick is still in love with Jay, but he is also angry. Oh yes, to the reader Rick could seem the perfect balanced man, the mainstay for the unbalanced Jay, but for me Rick is only a very upset man; for almost 20 years he has waited for Jay to change, for finally stop behaving like a teenager and take in hand his life. After that, obviously, Jay would finally realize that Rick is the perfect man the readers already see, and he would fall in love back for him… yes, Rick is always supporting of Jay, he is always ready to help him, even now that he is trying to obtain his daughter’s custody, and he is always willing when Jay is in the mood for some buddy-sex without strings attached, but deep inside Rick is always hoping for more, he is always trying to change Jay, to fit him to the image of the perfect partner that he wants, someone completely different from his own father.

And instead Jay is avoiding all of it, he is avoiding having a serious relationship, he is avoiding having a family, he is avoiding settling down… he is trying to be as far as possible from how his father was. But when his daughter needs him, then Jay understands that it’s time to change his life, and even if not consciously, he is slowly arriving to the conclusion that, since Rick was always there for him, since he loves him and Rick loves him back, then why they couldn’t be a family? What I was probably expecting was that sooner or later one of them arrived to the logical conclusion that being together, and living together, would have solved their entire problem. Since Rick loves Jay, for me it was obvious that he should offer to Jay his heart and his home; since Jay loves Rick, for me it was obvious that he should accept Rick’s help for the well-being of his daughter… but what it was obvious for me, it wasn’t for them.

Sometime I had the feeling that Rick was willing to help Jay, but only so far; he was risking a lot, but not all of him, I had the impression that, in the end, he was not willing to risk his heart. It’s not that Rick is not a good man, it’s probably that he has some hung ups from his past that he has never realized to have: he can’t fully help Jay, risking his heart, since he himself needs to be comfortable with his own trouble. For all the novel, all the people around focused on Jay, and on making him change, to be a better man and a good father, but no one, if not sometime Tim, had the courage to bring aside Rick and tell him to grow. When they were young, Rick thought Jay to be the world; when they got older, Rick thought he overgrown Jay, and now Rick thinks to be better than him since he has a job and a place to stay. In the end, I think that instead Rick has never overgrown his best friend, and Jay still is the older and bigger of the two, who is still taking care of all the people he loves, while at the same time trying to destroy himself due to some bad placed guilty sense.

http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&manufacturers_id=261&products_id=2110

Amazon: In the Rough

Series:

1) By Degrees: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/584822.html
2) In the Rough

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Josh Aterovis was probably the first young adult author I read, and maybe one of the first mystery authors also. I found him thanks to the power of the net, I read a book by a new author (very new) and when I listed it on LibraryThing, Josh was one of the other libraries listing it. I browsed his profile, I was curious to know if maybe he had other books in his library I could be interested in, and instead I found out he was an author himself. I bought his books basically since I thought, if he likes the same books I like, maybe I will like to book he writes... so, more or less, it was like for one of my Inside Reader posts, only way before I started to post them ;-) So, welcome Josh!

Hello everyone! I have a couple points I need to make before jumping into my Top Ten. First off, these are not necessarily the ten best books I've ever read, or even my ten favorite books. These are the books that had some sort of impact on me personally, influenced me as a writer, and few that I just plain love. Also, they're not all gay-themed, although most are. Some are really about the entire series, but I've chosen a single title to represent the whole series. Without further ado, here's my Top 10 Books.

1) The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene (Nancy Drew Series). I stumbled across Nancy Drew in my elementary school library. I was in fourth grade and my family had just moved to a new town where I knew no one. I was an awkward, shy, gay boy, and books became my new best friends...and Nancy was my BFF. I started reading the 50's revised versions of the original series, and later moved on to the slightly racier updated series from the 80s and 90s. These later books probably had the most influence on my Killian Kendall series. In some respect, Killian is a gay Nancy Drew, except that he actually ages as opposed to being suspended in time. Nancy, on the other hand, will always be a teenager...and I'll always love her for that.

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 210 pages
Publisher: Applewood Books; Facsimile edition (September 1, 1991)
Publisher Link: http://www.awb.com/catalog/product_info.php?authors_id=1135&products_id=5
ISBN-10: 1557091552
ISBN-13: 978-1557091550
Amazon: The Secret of the Old Clock (Nancy Drew, Book 1)

In this first of the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, Nancy, unaided, seeks to find a missing will. Her search not only tests her keen mind but also leads her into a thrilling adventure. This volume presents the original, 1930 version of the story. In 1959 the story was rewritten and condensed and this original version went out of print.

( books from 2 to 10 )

About Josh Aterovis: Josh Aterovis has been writing fiction for over six years. His first two books, Bleeding Hearts and a spin-off mystery Reap the Whirlwind, were first published in 2001 and 2003 respectively. The first book, Bleeding Hearts, introduced gay teen sleuth Killian Kendall, and won several awards, including the 2002 Whodunit Award from the StoneWall Society. He followed up by winning the Whodunit Award again the following year for Reap the Whirlwind. In addition to novels, Aterovis also writes for AfterElton.com, an entertainment news website for and about gay and bisexual men, doing articles, interviews and reviews.

Aterovis was born and bred on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Aterovis is a Latin pseudonym meaning “black sheep”.

He has won numerous awards for his writing and for his website, which also features his well-received art gallery.

All Lost Things
Paperback: 328 pages
Publisher: P.D. Publishing, Inc. (September 27, 2009)
Publisher Link: http://www.pdpublishing.com/lostthingsendpage.html
ISBN-10: 1933720700
ISBN-13: 978-1933720708
Amazon: All Lost Things

Killian Kendall’s life is changing faster than he can keep up. He’s graduating from high school, breaking up with his boyfriend, and starting a new job with a private investigator. He’s barely settled at his new desk when his ex-boyfriend calls with a desperate plea for help. He wants Killian to prove his new boyfriend is innocent in the shockingly violent murder of his abusive father. Killian reluctantly agrees to take the case, little knowing how complicated — and dangerous — things will become before it’s over. On the home front, Killian’s surrogate parents decide to buy a historic mansion and turn it into a bed and breakfast. The house comes with a rich history... and maybe a ghost or two. Killian doesn’t want to believe in such things, but he’s quickly becoming convinced that something terrible happened to the home’s original owners. The century-old mystery both terrifies and tantalizes Killian. In the end, he may be the only one who can uncover the truth.

The Dickens With Love is a Christmas story that proves that also a library mouse can fall in love, and surprise surprise, for another mouse too! Yes, since the classical Cinderfella story, mixed with Christmas feelings, would suggest that our hero is being rescued from a cold and lonely Christmas day by a knight in shining armour, and instead, of shining, the other hero has only the horn-rimmed glasses.

James Winter is a book hunter, better he was a very good book hunter before losing his credibility when the antiquarian he was working for was found out with the hand in the jam, meaning that he was selling fake rare books. Just from that you have probably understood that James is not exactly Indiana Jones, the biggest adventures he probably had in his life was to find a rare book in the attic of some old lady, but James loves books and for him, even that was a fantastic adventure. Now he is deprived of all of that, he is forced to work in a department store selling cheap books to even cheaper buyers and he is dying inside. When an unscrupulous man asks him to deal in his name for a unpublished manuscript by Charles Dickens, even if James doesn’t like the man, the chance is too great to renounce.

The owner of the rare book, Sedgwick Crisparkle is an English professor who has some hidden reasons to auction the book far from England and in a as much as possible anonymous way. There is a bit of mystery here, probably Josh Lanyon is not able to write a novel without a bit of mystery, but actually it’s a really old fashioned and sweet mystery, very much in line with the entire story.

Anyway when James meets Sedge, the real reason behind the meeting is soon forgotten, and they are swept away in a whirlwind romance… with green and red flavoured condoms and posh hotels. It seems that Sedge is more interesting in tasting life (pun intended), in each possible way, and soon is better than later, almost essential. Sedge is like a child on a Christmas morning, eager to unwrap all the toys to then decide which toy will be the first to play with.

James is a bit disoriented, Sedge has the attitude of a stuffy English professor, and the grace of an elephant, but then suddenly he looks James with yearning eyes, demanding love… well not exactly love, he is demanding sex, but still with the eyes of a puppy, so that James is unable to resist. Problem is that Sedge is also impulsive and easy to come out with sharp words, and James is still quite sensible on some arguments. The two together seem to work only when they are not speaking and also when the alcohol helped them to loose a bit of their inhibition.

What probably I like most of both men is that they are so sweet and tender, they are not at all macho man, neither Sedge when he is trying to be gallant, he is more a kitten who is trying to growl like a lion. But then there is no need to knights in shining armours in this story, there are no real dangers and the only thing you can hurt are feelings. After all we are not speaking of deadly weapon, but of an old leather manuscript. Even the villain is not so dangerous and the worst thing that can happen is to go back home with a black eye.

http://samhainpublishing.com/romance/the-dickens-with-love

Amazon Kindle: The Dickens With Love

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

People around is making list on list, I have already done my share with the Rainbow Awards for books and covers ;-) so now I'd like to do something different, I will post the Top Posts of the Year, month by month

January:

Man Candy Day: Chris Fawcett: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/490563.html

Chris is for sure one of the best looking models I have ever featured. I love tall men, even if, maybe, he is still more a boy than a man, I feel like an old woman cradling the cuddle when I'm looking at him ;-) But he is for sure a very promising new face in the fashion industry and I'm glad to have seen him in more than an editorial in the past year.

February:

Pretty Man by Ryan Field: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/505641.html

At the time I didn't know but this was the beginning of a wonderful online friendship, that was also "tested" last September when I visited Ryan. Ryan is always supporting of me, and I now list him among those authors who trespass the definition of "authors" to become "friends", like William or Victor.

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I'm sure I forgot someone and something, and if so, forgive me. You can obviously point out something you liked, and I will update the post: in the end, without my friendlist, this year wouldn't have been the same!

Merry Christmas you all my friends, all over the world, and nearer than I believed last year.

A Christmas Carl is the retelling of the Dickens’ seasonal story A Christmas Carol, and so, yes, most of you already know what will happen to Carl during the Christmas’ night, he will be visited by three ghosts, of the Past, Present and Future Christmas, and he will learn from his own mistakes. But this is the “gay” version of the story, and so Carl is not an old a bitter man, he is a young and bitter gay man. Carl hates Christmas since 15 years before, on a Christmas night, he lost the love of his life, Victor. From that moment on, Carl has denied all his old self, closing his heart in a cold safe, and little by little changing in a man that Victor would not recognize.

The most interesting thing of the novel is to read of the little “gay” details the author manages to fit in the “classical” Christmas tale. Carl is fit and handsome, Able, his employee, is a young man who dresses well his low waist jeans, the Ghost of the Christmas Present has high heels red shoes, and the Ghost of the Christmas Future is Quentin Crisp. Moreover, Carl not only enjoys sex with his past lover Victor, but we also read of different other sexual encounters he has in the next future, that more or less serve to prove that Carl is slowly descending in the darkness of loneliness, but in one of them, he is with high knee black boots and black leather long coat… Carl could be descending in hell, but damn it if he is not doing it in full black leather style!

So the story is a mix of naughty and nice; all the Christmas feelings around, the bells ringing and the people doing good action is the nice part; the use of very graphic details to describe Carl’s sexual life and even his intimate body part, is the naughty one. And the “naughty” word has here the joyous connotation of Christmas time, since even if detailed, I always felt like the author was blinking his eye to the reader, he was never really “bad”, he was more like a child who was stealing a cake under his mom’s nose.

Basically the story is a romance, but again it’s not a romance with a too much pink clouded perspective. There was a moment in the story, while Carl was reliving his last Christmas with Victor, when he says that after Victor, there hasn’t been anyone else in his life. Me, as an obtuse romance reader (and yes, as a female obtuse romance reader, and yes, I’m joking... don’t take me too seriously…) promptly jumped to the idea that Carl had no one else in his life since Victor, that he was always faithful to his first and only love, that he spent his life alone mourning his lost lover… only to find in the next chapter Carl, with the above said black leather boots, cruising for anonymous sex! It made me think, really. I though on Carl’s words, “There hasn’t been anyone else since then”… for Carl they meant that no one else has been in his heart since Victor! For absurbo, me, the romance reader, was thinking to a trivial thing like sex, and instead Carl was speaking of something more deep and romantic, like his heart. Carl was really more romantic than the romance reader that was me.

Again the author manages to write a light romance that it’s not light at all, it has a lot of hidden layers and each reader will find the one he/she is more interested in.

http://www.ravenousromance.com/fantastica/a-christmas-carl.php

Amazon Kindle: A Christmas Carl

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

David Mendelsohn is a photographer based in southern New Hampshire (near Boston), yet working worldwide for design firms, ad agencies and corporations. There are very few airports he hasn't seen.

"All things must be considered. Harmonies must be present for the message to be fluent. It must come together symphonically. If there is too much noise, it is difficult to hear the melody." --Professional Photographer

Support

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As a former designer, his work is characterized by a unique and highly graphic style. David is hired by his clients for his ability to see things in a certain way, a talent to work with people on all levels and the experience to bring home the images, no matter what the circumstances.

"Though the pictures are composed with a studied desire for simplicity, I found my eye darting around the paper as though I was looking at a medieval, illuminated manuscript, trying to better penetrate the veil of the arcane, intentionally mystified vision." --ZOOM Magazine

"Within the frame, if I can say things in a simple vein, with the fewest possible distractions to the mind and eye, I am finally satisfied." --Communication Arts

Both his commercial and personal work have received innumerable national awards and honors. Additionally, his images are represented in many private and corporate collections and his prints have been exhibited in galleries as far away as Tokyo, Paris, Hamburg, Cologne and the Philippines. For information about obtaining any of the work in either of the portfolio sections, select prints. A selected client list is also available.

"I like to impart my work with a certain grace, some order and balance. If you don't prepare your canvas, the paint has nothing to adhere to." --Nikon Product Guide

"I have been fortunate enough to be involved with photography ever since my Dad passed me his weary Argus C-3. Although it became another one of my interests, it evolved into a passion while engaged as a graphic designer for UNH and discovered that I preferred being behind the camera rather than my straight edge. While tenured there, my work began getting published by serious venues such as Print Magazine, Communication Arts , received an NEA grant , collected by the likes of Polaroid and invited to join Magnum. At that point, I decided it was time to migrate, to change career directions and pursue photography on a dedicated basis. That was approximately 25 years ago.

Photography has allowed me to see the world and enjoy an entree to people, locations and enriched by encounters which would normally be inaccessible. It has also helped satisfy a certain wanderlust , which is still, and likely will always be, nipping at my heels.

I've never quite lost my design background and seems to manifest itself in my work. I am attracted to the crisp and clean and strive to eliminate any unnecessary information, intentionally distilling my work down to fairly basic elements. I am also a large fan of formal composition and compelled to keep a certain visual harmony within the frame.

In a sense I work in abstractions, condensing a fairly complex world into small, digestible portions. I gravitate toward what might be described as a visual economy and in the end, I am most content when a viewer is left with few distractions and little doubt about what they are looking at." David Mendelsohn

http://www.davidm.com/

Man to Man is probably the most traditional gay romance by G.A. Hauser I have read. There is still some of the elements that I usually find in one of her romances, like men who like sex for the pleasure of sex, and who are incredibly outrageous, but all in all, these two men are two romantic at heart.

Tanner, a lifeguard, is just out from a bad divorce and he doesn’t want to have a committed relationship any time soon. There is also the little problem that Tanner doesn’t want kids, that is the mainly reason for the failure of his marriage, and at 30 years old all the women who buzz around him seem primed for pregnancy. So basically Tanner is avoiding any relationship at all, and things work just fine at least till the day Josh enters his life.

Josh is 25 years old and in searching of a change in his life. A business degree on the shoulder and a year of work as white collar left him with a desire for something different. With the summer approaching, Josh decides to enlist to be a lifeguard and he is also very good at that. At first Tanner takes him under his wing thinking to have found a good work partner, but he doesn’t expect all the trouble Josh is bringing on.

Even if Josh behaves like an “easy” man, he is for real thirsty for love; all his previous relationships, three in totals, have always left him with a bitter taste in his mouth, and in the end, his partners have always taken advantage of him. Josh has never been the one in control, he was always the one who begged for love and only received sex. Just before meeting Tanner, Josh was considering the idea to try to have next a sex relationship instead of searching for love, and then here it’s Tanner, sexy and single. The little detail that Tanner is straight it’s not something Josh considers important, two of his three previous boyfriends pretended to be straight, and used Josh as hidden boy toy.

The problem is that Josh is totally unable to prevent to his heart to be involved and on the other side, Tanner is not a bad guy like his previous partners. Both men realize that they are venturing in dangerous waters, that their hearts are on stake, but the temptation is too much. There is a bit of "gay for you" in this novel, even if it doesn't bring along the usual angst; yes, Tanner is scared to "come out" as gay, he is still stuck with the definition of what is straight and what is gay, and he is maybe considering the option of bisexual, but all in all, he is not resisting so much or so strongly to the idea.

Usually I like the G.A. Hauser’s men since they are not likeable characters, they are whining, spoiled, vain… and they are adorable. Josh and Tanner have not the negative traits and all the positives, they are handsome, generous, devoted to their work and unable to have a relationship without commitment, even when they are both willing to have it. In a way they are so perfect that they should be unrealistic, but I was more in the mood to hug them, at least when they were not bad mouthing the women around them! Yes, that is another thing from the previous novels by G.A. Hauser that comes back again here, women don’t come out exactly in a positive way, even if, in the end, the author gave them a moment of redemption.

http://www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=Man+to+Man/exact_match=exact

Amazon Kindle: Man to Man

Reading List: http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Winter blows in with a chilling story aboard a Russian train by Tanith Lee. Loves lost and found (and sometimes lost again) are told in the evocative words of authors Chaz Brenchley, Robert Joseph Levy, and Rodello Santos. Then there's Icarus's usual assortment of artwork, gossip, and reviews... what better way for a fellow to spend his holidays than curling up by the fire with us?



http://magcloud.com/browse/Issue/50481

I’m not new to read a cop themed novel, and even if it’s not my preferred genre; some of them are very good. But there is a thing that usually let me a bit cold, when the cops are self-righteous perfect hero, maybe with a baggage of bad experiences in the past, but always so damned perfect. Truth be told, sometime, they are so perfect that they are also boring, sincerely I’m not for the big bang-come here baby type of men. In Personal Demons, James Buchanan managed to avoid all of above, without making the heroes losers.

Special Agent Chase Nozick lost his partner (work partner, not private partner) during the same mission in which he was badly injured. Now some years later, he has the chance to capture the man who did it, and so it’s quite understandable that he is eager to accomplish the task, but I think that, in any case, Chase faces the new job with big professionalism, yes, true, he has some personal reasons, but they are not distracting him from doing the job by the book. Chase seems to always behave by the book… almost. He is right there on the edge, he drinks a lot, but not enough to dim his judgement, he let his gut drive him, but not enough to take the wrong path, he is gay, but not “enough” for him to be kicked out of the FBI.

Chase has not trouble with his homosexuality, he knows what he wants, but he also knows that he can’t be an openly gay Special Agent, and so he simply doesn’t mix the two things: when he is on the job, he is asexual, and when he is out of the job, he prefers to hook up with strangers, so no strings attached to worry about.

Problem is that on the new job he is partnered with Enrique, a LAPD cop with a lot of connection with the Cuban society, among where their target is hiding. Enrique is the perfect man for the job, but he is also the perfect man for Chase: gay and like Chase, not flaunting it to avoid to be kicked out of the Police Department, Enrique is not against the idea to mix work with pleasure, at least for the time of their mission. Chase is not offering more, and Enrique is not asking. I like this attitude since no one of them is disillusioned or hurt. And even when the simple partners with benefits relationship moves to something more, the attitude is more or less the same: Enrique makes clear that he is interested in seeing where their relationship will go after, but it’s up to Chase to take a chance. Enrique is not hiding his feelings, and above all is not hiding that they are “feelings” and not simple desire, but he doesn’t play the guilty card: he asks, he suggests, but he doesn’t force Chase to take a decision. I can feel that Enrique is really involved, and I think that he makes it clear also to Chase, but Enrique’s way to face the relationship is new to me, no pressure, no forceful behaviour, no attitude like “I love you so you owe me something”. The way to face it is dry but not cold.

On the other side there is Chase, who pretends that he is not interested in a serious relationship, but who is also the first to behave as they were in one, and even if the word “love” is not speak between them, I think that Chase is the first to fall for Enrique.

As I said the novel is a classical cops themed one, but the love relationship always remain in centre stage, it is never overwhelmed by the mission; it’s the mission that helps Chase and Enrique to be near and near, which helps them to understand that they are perfect for each other, and so in the end, this is more a romance than a thriller novel.

There are some points that I’d like to see developed, but probably, if the author will decide to take in hand again these two heroes, it can be done in another book: Enrique is not a lone-wolf; he has a family, a family that is quite near and supporting, so I’d be interested how they deal with Chase. Then there was a hint on Enrique’s former partner, but it was not developed: again, it seemed an interesting story.

http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=PDEMONS1

Buy at 1 Romance Ebooks

Amazon: Personal Demons

Amazon Kindle: Personal Demons

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

The Book: Scarlet of Lysia is an honest peddler, a young merchant traveling the wild, undefended roads to support his aging parents. Liall, called the Wolf of Omara, is the handsome, world-weary chieftain of a tribe of bandits blocking a mountain road that Scarlet needs to cross. When Liall jokingly demands a carnal toll for the privilege, Scarlet refuses and an inventive battle of wills ensues, with disastrous results.

Scarlet is convinced that Liall is a worthless, immoral rogue, but when the hostile countryside explodes into violence and Liall unexpectedly fights to save the lives of Scarlet's family, Scarlet is forced to admit that the Wolf is not the worst ally he could have, but what price will proud Scarlet ultimately have to pay for Liall's friendship?

"Damn Kirby Crow. Now I've got another series of books to read that I won't be able to live without.

In the tradition of Jacqueline Carey, Crow has woven an amazing world out of whole cloth, peopled it with irresistable characters, spun up an fascinating examination of what makes us good, whole, people and what forces us to give up that which we love the most.

Scarlet is a peddlar, a rarity among his kind. He's not content with hearth and home, taking instead to the open road. When he returns to his homeland, he learns that a brand of brigands has taken control of the most profitable pass out of town.

Liall, leader of the bandits, has offered him passage -- for a price. And the price isn't great, really, except that it will cost Scarlet everything.

In a genre where a leads to b leads to c in an understandable fashion, Crow ensures that you'll never know what's going to come next. There are twists upon turns, mysteries hinted at, sub-plots starting to blossom…engaging, enthralling, and damnably short. Now we have to wait for another book. I'm not at all pleased about this, you know." --CB Potts

Amazon: Scarlet and the White Wolf

( Other Books in the List )


Cover Art by Analise Dubner

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The Author: Kirby Crow worked as an entertainment editor and ghostwriter for several years before happily giving it up to bake more brownies, read more yaoi, play more video games, and write her own novels.

Changing weather patterns, watering bans, and pesticides have unhappily forced her to give up growing roses, alas.

Her published novels are:

Prisoner of the Raven (historical romance, Torquere Press, 2005)
Scarlet and the White Wolf: The Pedlar and the Bandit King (fantasy romance, Torquere Press, 2006)
Scarlet and the White Wolf: Mariner's Luck (fantasy romance, Torquere Press, 2007)
Scarlet and the White Wolf: The Land of Night (fantasy romance, Torquere Press, 2007)
Angels of the Deep (paraormal/horror, MLR Press, 2009)

All are available in print and digital format from Torquere Books, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and most online book retailers.

http://kirbycrow.com/

Top 100 Gay Novels List (*)

External Link to the Top 100 Gay Novels List (simple - without photos)

External Link to the Top 100 Gay Novels List (wanted - with photos)

*only one title per author, only print books released after January 1, 2000.

Note: I remember to my friends that guest reviews of the above listed books (the top 100 Gay Novels) are welcome, just send them to me and I will post with full credits to the reviewer.

Other titles not in the top 100 list:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/top50MM

This is not a simple book to like; it goes too much against the ordinary rules to leave bland feelings on readers. I think that, in the end, you love or hate it, but you can’t be in the middle. One of the first reactions is probably to think that it’s not possible, that it’s not real, mainly since the good doesn’t win over the evil… but, truth be told, how many time does it happens in the real world? Actually it’s more fairy-tale like to think that there will be always a positive resolution of the story, since in reality that seldom happens.

What probably will create more trouble to the reader is the relationship between Brant and Wilber; at first the reader thinks that Brant is the victim of Wilber, and he is probably right. Brant was a 14 years old boy who offered himself in lieu of his father’s debts; the alternative was for one of his four sisters to do that, and the older of them was 12 years old. So no, that was not a choice, and in the end, protect your sisters is what a brother do. Wilber was the man to whom Brant offered himself, he was the man who raped him and videotaped it to sell it to the porn movie industry. That was enough reason for Wilber to be the villain and to make him the antithesis of the romance hero; but if the reader can overcome the issue of Brant’s age (and no, usually he can’t), and the non-con sex (and again, he can’t), there was a slight chance for Wilber to become a romance hero: in the pink glasses perspective of the romance reader, if Wilber took good care of Brant, making him his lover, well, maybe… and instead no, the first scene we read is about a now 24 years old Brant who is first sold to a customer more or less how you would sell a doll without soul, and then it’s raped again by Wilber. It was almost enough for me to stop the book right there, but there was a factor that kept me from it and pushed me to read more: Brant has an almost visceral attachment to Wilber, he considers Wilber all his world, and when he is near the moment when he can “gain” his freedom, he is put in front of a choice, continuing to be Wilber’s lover (no more a whore, now he will be Wilber’s boy toy) and so paying for all his sisters’ needs, or be free to go away. Again, the classical romance hero would probably choose the freedom, he would convince himself that he can provide for his sisters even without using his body, but I think that Brant’s decision to stay with Wilber is not only lead by his desire to provide for his sisters, but also from his fear to be alone, to break that bond with Wilber that now it’s his only security, the only thing he knows. Brant was subjected to an imprinting, when he was in that moment in life when usually young men learn how to be independent and how to recognize their sexuality, Brant instead knew only Wilber, and now everything is related to him.

Little by little the reader starts to see Wilber in two different ways: from Brant’s perspective, and so he sees the lover and that side of Wilber that makes him the focus of all Brant’s life, and from an outside perspective, that makes the reader realize that Wilber had no choice. In a twisted way, Wilber did the only thing he could to protect Brant. The author is so good that in the end, the reader starts to feel for Wilber, starts to understand this twisted world. And the author is little by little preparing the reader to accept the end of this novel, that is far from being ordinary, and that again pushes the boundaries of romance, to probably fit it more on reality. There is no Black and White perspective here, there is no right and wrong, it all depends on the perspective you are seeing things, and you can understand it only if you admit that there are shades of grey in between. Be aware of that you choose to try this book, and be aware of what I said before, you can love or hate it, both with all your heart.

http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/thats-what-brothers-do/2255859

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle


Cover Art by Rianti

José del Nido was born on May 29, 1959, in Comellà, just a few miles outside of Barcelona, Spain.

In 1976 he started his education at the art school of Comellà, which was run at that time by Raimon Llort i Gasset. It was there where he was exposed to his very first painting and drawing techniques.



( more pics )

In spote of his academic education most of his technique was self-taught. He put his first works on exhibition in small halls in Barcelona and the surrounding region exhibiting with other artists as well as alone.

Beginning in 1980 del Nido's first covers were published in various local fanzines, and he started creating illustrations for the advertising campaigns of local companies. Soon thereafter the Spanish publisher Norma Editorial began publishing his works as an illustrator, spreading his fame throughout Spain and beyond. For some years now, with encouragement from the extraordinary advertising illustrator, J. Ramòn Domingo, a good friend of his, del Nido has busied himself with digital art, cultivating the new technology for himself. In the field of digital art, del Nido works with various software programs, of which Painter stands out foremost. Painter makes it possible to use oil colors, acrylics, airbrush and digital colors as well as conventional colors.

At present del Nido has been working as an illustrator in advertising and for various publishers.

In the field of fantasy illustration he is still linked to Norma Editorial, who published his work on covers in several other European countries beside Spain, among them Germany and Italy.

He also created works for Argentina, Sweden and Portugal.

Del Nido created the covers for numerous series, among them are John Sinclair, Vampira, Proffessor Zamora, Torn, Grusel-Schocker (Bastei, Germany), Lanciostory, Skorpio (Euraeditoriale, Italy), Amor y Aventuras, Pesadillas, Fantasville (Ediciones B. Spain), Romàntica (Suma de Letras, Spain), Panic (Columna, Spain). He also worked for Editorial Planeta, Plaza y Janés, Ultramar and others.

Furthermore he designed advertising campaigns for various companies, e.g. for Nestlé, Frigo, Continente, Ferrys, Vileda and Eroski.

In cooperation with J. Ramòn Domingo he played his part on projects for Terra Mitica, Port Adventura, Enciclopedia Activa Informàtica and others.

Del Nido currently resides in Sant Joan Despi (Barcelona, Spain), where his studio is located.

http://www.josedelnido.com/

And these are the last two:

Searching castles and nature, if possible not under the rain...



http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1087466

Wandering around Romania with a snowstorm behind us and buried treasures in front...



http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1087875

As usual, the full preview is on ;-)

Bound and Determined pushed my comfort boundaries on the BDSM world, but strange is, not so much for me to not like it. In a way Owen, the dominant in this story, is similar to me, he thinks that a D/s relationship not necessarily means that the submissive has to loose his independency.

Sterling is not a virgin to gay sex, but he is a virgin to the BDSM world. He met Alex, a submissive, and since their relationship remained on a friends with benefits level, everything is all right, but when they tried to deepen it on an upper level, both Alex than Sterling realize that they are not right matched. At first they think it’s only a question of experience, and so Alex brings Sterling to a BDSM private club to give him an introduction on the world, but as soon as Sterling tastes that reality, he also understands that he doesn’t need to learn how to be a good Dom, he wants to be a submissive.

The author well explains Sterling’s reasons, he comes from a very difficult relationship with his father, a relationship that was always a challenge to prove that Sterling was not alike his own father due to the fact that his father wanted for him to be his own replica. Even if Sterling has never really done coming out, his father knows and obviously doesn’t approve; Sterling has opposing feelings on that, he doesn’t want so much his father’s approval to deny his own sexuality, but unconsciously he is trying to prove that he is man enough always playing the top in his relationship. But that is not Sterling’s true nature, he is unwillingly trying to follow his father’s step, and instead Sterling needs a strong hand to lead him.

Sterling is quite the bratty type, both in his public than private life. He is always challenging the people he meets, something that he is probably projecting from his own experience with his father. And more the person on the other side is an authoritative figure, and more Sterling challenges them. So it was with Owen, Sterling’s literature teacher when he was a freshman in college. Now Owen is no more Sterling’s teacher, but when they meet again in the club, Owen would like to not move their acquaintance on a deeper level. Owen well remembers Sterling, his bratty behaviour, his stubbornness… for any other Dom those would be faults, for Owen instead are reasons to be attracted by Sterling. Owen knows that, if he accepts to be Sterling’s Dom, he will not be able to remain detached, since Sterling represents the perfect “submissive” he is searching, ab absurbo a submissive who is not immediately ready to submit.

In a way Owen is a teacher both in College than in the Club: he likes to teach how to behave, in all the fields he plays on. And so Sterling is a temptation, since teaching to him how to behave is a very satisfying challenge. Problem is that Owen also understands that Sterling is searching a D/s relationship to fulfil a void he has on his relationship with his father, and of Sterling doesn’t understand that, he will not be ready to have a real relationship with Owen.

I like this story since it’s not simple a means to show a kinky way to have sex, the dynamics of the BDSM world are well explained, without going into too much to be worrisome for who is not into it, and the reasons behind it are clear and understandable. Both characters are well developed and I really like Sterling, bratty and pretty at the same time, but what I like most is that also Owen likes him like that, and for him involving Sterling in a D/s relationship doesn’t mean to deprive him of that side.

http://www.loose-id.com/Bound-and-Determined.aspx

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle


Cover Art by April Martinez

My travel from Los Angeles to San Francisco, always along the route 1. The piers were all ours (Alessandra and me), and we share any available spot with tourists and surfers, and sea lions and pelicans...



http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1086764

Again, the full preview is on, so enjoy it!

This week I decided to feature some Abercrombie & Fitch models. They are quite different, but all of them, sooner or later, were on one of the famous B&W catalogue of the firm. Again, the third one, CJ, is a new name on the fashion world, and I wish him all the best

Evandro Soldati (born April 17, 1985 in Brazil) is a Brazilian male supermodel. According to Forbes, he is the 7th most successful male model in the world. Evandro is of Italian ancestry.



( Evandro Soldati )

He started modelling in 2002 when his mother signed him up for a Ford contest in his native Brazil. He has since shot onto the current fashion scene by starring in recent campaigns for Louis Vuitton and Valentino. He has also done campaigns for Abercrombie & Fitch and Dolce & Gabbana. He is also the main male model in the Giorgio Armani ads during 2007 and the 2008 Armani Jeans ad.

In an interview with Globo Magazine, Evandro was quoted as saying that he enjoyed modeling because of its perks the job brought him. He said, "You get to travel the world, and it is always free. You get to know different places, and I have learned English and a bit of Italian as well."

In his spare time, Evandro enjoys playing the Brazilian martial art capoeira, and unsurprisingly, soccer.

Evandro claims that he has to watch what he eats at times, due to his strict training regimen.

With so many high-profile ad campaigns and editorials under his belt, Evandro Soldati has sort of become the male version of Adriana Lima.

@Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evandro_Soldati

Joseph Sayers (Born October 15, 1983) is a male fashion model best known for his nude centerfold for Abercrombie and Fitch Quarterly, shot by Bruce Weber, and also for the fact that, despite being only 5'6" tall (most male models are at least 5'11"), he has experienced great success as a fashion and commercial model.



( Joseph Sayers )

Joseph has also fronted notable campaigns for Polo Underwear photographed by Richard Phibbs, DSquared photographed by Steven Klein, and Macy's. He was memorably photographed by Steven Klein wrestling with Lucas Kerr for French Vogue, in addition to editorials in Gentlemen's Options (shot by David Byun), Artistic Tile (Joseph Oppedisano), Men's Journal (Aaron Goodman), Numero (Alexei Hay), Instinct, CosmoGirl, XY and Blue magazines. He has also been photographed by Randall Mesdon and Tony Duran to round out a stellar list of photographers, and appeared in a TV commercial for ESPN, an in-store video for Redken, and a music video for the Pet Shop Boys.

Sayers was originally discovered on the ModelLaunch website and was first scouted and signed by agent Adam Silver of Silver Model Management in New York City. Shortly afterward, Sayers also signed with agent Jason Kanner at Major Model Management for fashion modeling work.

Just prior to being discovered on ModelLaunch, it was reported that Sayers posed nude and performed autoerotic sexual acts in a photo shoot several days after his 18th birthday, which were then distributed on the Internet by the photographer, Ed Flores. The rights to those photos have since been bought by Sayers in an attempt to stop further distribution.

Joseph Sayers is one of the world's hottest and most lusted-after male models. He is back with some hot new pics from photographers Steven Gomillon & Dennis Leupold and Joe Oppedisano.

@Joseph Sayers: http://josephsayers.com/
@Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Sayers

CJ, a New Yorker who ended up in Alabama, is a new face at top agency Major Model Management. He's already shot for some well-known clients, including Abercrombie, and is sure to have continued success.



( Charles CJ Richards )

@Major Model Management: http://www.majormodelmanagement.com/details.asp?modelid=323536&subid=3961&Mainsubid=3961&curpage=2

A collection of photos I took in different county of South of Italy (Basilicata, Puglia, Marche, Umbria, Toscana) during three different weekend escapades.



http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1082539

The preview is on, so you can see all of it. Enjoy!

Director: Simon Pearce

Writers: Darren Flaxstone (written by)
Christian Martin (written by)

Release Date: 11 September 2009 (UK)
23 April 2009 (Torino Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Italy)
1 May 2009 (Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, USA)

Genre: Drama

Tagline: Worlds collide between three strangers divided by economics, social status, gender, race and sexuality

Plot: Though gang member Cal (Wayne Virgo) hides his sexuality, he secretly yearns for fellow thug Jonno (Tom Bott). But after Cal saves Olivier (Marc Laurent), the victim of a gay-bashing by the gang, he embarks on a tender romance with the gentle student. Now the gang's manipulative leader, Nessa (Alice Payne), is out for revenge. Simon Pearce makes his directorial debut with this gritty British drama.

"The most thrilling, terrifying coming-out story you’ll have seen in years" - Gay Times

"This is as exciting and urgent as street-level filmmaking gets" - Shadows on the Wall

"Compelling, excruciating, uncompromising, Shank is a beautiful, brutal film that portrays contemporary society in all its unlovely and lovely glory" - GaydarNation

Awards: 2009 Audience Award as Best Feature Film (Christian Martin, Darren Flaxstone, Simon Pearce), Barcelona International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
2009 Emerging Talent in Queer Cinema Award (Simon Pearce), Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival

@IMDb
@Amazon: Shank - Unrated Director Cut
@Netflix
@TLA Releasing
@Wolfe Video



( more pics )

Cast (in credits order)
Wayne Virgo ... Cal
Marc Laurent ... Olivier
Alice Payne ... Nessa
Tom Bott ... Jonno
Garry Summers ... Scott
Bernie Hodges ... Will
Christian Martin ... David
Louise Fearnside ... Dayna
Oliver Park ... Gang Member 1
Lee Nicholas Harris ... Gang Member


Cal & Olivier

( more pics )





( TLA Releasing Trailer )

I'm really liking this thing of "creating" a book! I didn't realize that I had all there, just ready, and so, here is my second baby:



http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1080985

This is my travel up and down the East Coast in September. The preview of the book is on, so if you want to look inside, you can.

I was teased by the cover of this book since I like some Silver Romance here and there, and also a good and nice May/December relationship. And so the story of the older businessman who enters an hairdresser saloon to have his grey hair touched up, and instead finds himself in bed with the young hairdresser was really a good teasing. After reading it, I can say that the story is good and nice, perfectly in theme with the season, but it’s not either a Silver Romance or a May/December one.

Geoff, the businessman, is barely 40 years old, so really to young to be a Silver Romance hero, and Abe, the hairdresser, is 30, so yes, maybe there is a slightly age difference, but Abe is not exactly the twink that usually is in the role for being the May side of the relationship. The impromptu of the story is both original and one that makes you think: when Geoff was in college he was in love with a fellow student, Jesse. For Geoff, a late bloomer, Jesse was the first love and someone he has never forgotten, even if Jesse not only dumped Geoff to marry a woman, but he also cheated him with that woman when they were together. So, to the majority of people, Jesse should be not an happy memory, but as usual, you can’t really forget your first love. Geoff ran away and married himself a woman, it’s not clear if that woman knew of Geoff’s homosexual experience or not, in any case the marriage was good but maybe a little cold, they were more best friends than lovers, and when it ended, with the woman really falling in love with another man, they divorced without drama. Now Geoff has heard from Jesse, divorced himself, and it’s planning a reunion for Christmas.

After all the years spent in a “comfortable” marriage, Geoff is not used to look to himself with a critic eye, and so he wants to change, he wants to look younger, young as he was the last time he met Jesse. It’s impossible, and Geoff probably doesn’t realize that he gained something with the age, an aura of success and independence that is like honey for bees. Abe not only decline to cover up the silver on Geoff’s hair, but he practically tricks Geoff in going out for dinner, and from that moment on, they were inseparable. What started as a Christmas fling, at least from Geoff’s side, but also from Abe, I didn’t have the idea that at first was nothing more for him, deepens in a good relationship with possibility, but Geoff’s meeting with Jesse is near, and it’s hard for Abe to fight with a 20 years long lasting memory.

As I said the story is nice, probably I felt like they were in bed and having sex a bit too soon, but on the other side Abe had to convince Geoff that he was making a mistake with Jesse, and he had only three days to do that. Another thing that made me wonder was Geoff’s role in bed: from what we know of him at the time of his relationship with Jesse, he didn’t struck me as a full top, more, I would have bet for him to be a bottom, the shy and geeky guy who looks upon to the jock who was Jesse. And instead with Abe he is always on top, like if with the age, he also gained another role in the sex play… maybe the reason is also that Abe comes out like a really emotional character, someone who can be easily hurt and who inspires protective feelings.

I don’t know, I think it could be interesting to see what it will be of this relationship, something of nice there is for sure, but I think both men have yet to really test it with life and time.

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=55_173&products_id=1618

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

I'm not still sure about this, but many of you asked me if I have any idea to ever publish my photos, and so I thought, why not? So I dabbled around with the photos of my last travel, Moscow, and I created a photo book:



http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1079913

I already bought my own copy but it isn't arrived yet, so I don't know how actually it's. I will create other books for my past travel and will post it here when they will be ready. I'm still quite embarassed to let my babies, my photos, go...

I need to thanks jan_irving for this day ad, I read on her livejournal that she saw this commercial plastered on the wall of her city in Canada. It's nice to know and the ad, even if not strictly for an holiday season, has a "merry" feeling ;-)



And this is the female version, more conservative, but all the same nice

( more pics )

And since this is usually a video appointment, here for you two commercials that prove Virgin has been interested in the gay market for some time. Virgin Atlantic Airways was the first airline to advertise in American gay media and the company also sponsored NY's annual dragfest, Wigstock, in 1998.

( Virgin Cola )

With a soap box that simply reads "Say Something" as the focus of the campaign for the American rollout of Virgin Cola, there are many variations of political statements and silly setups as people get on top to deliver a message. In this spot set on the California beach in Santa Monica, two middle-aged men, dressed in tuxes atop the box, are married by a woman from the Metropolitan Community Churches. As a male friend watches, she declares, "Michael and Steven, I pronounce that you are joined together in holy union. May you be blessed your whole lives long. Amen. You may kiss." The two men -- who are a real couple -- kiss, rice is thrown and people behind the camera cheer. This is the first commercial in the US where two men kiss. It aired only in New York, LA and San Francisco because Virgin Cola was rolled out in only those cities. Nonetheless, at least one station in each of those most-progressive of cities declined to run the commercial. Interestingly, another variation of the spot has the rabbi stating, "By the power vested in me..." but it was cut from the audio.

Commercial Closet Association

Company: Virgin Group
Brand: Virgin Cola
Ad Title: Gay Marriage
Business Category: Non-Alcoholic Beverages
Media Outlets: Television
Country: United States
Region: North America, US Regional
Agency: Ground Zero
Year: 1998
Target: Mainstream

( Virgin Vodka )

Set in the Edge bar with dance music playing, fast cut images show people having fun, dancing, men kissing, women kissing and Virgin Vodka being poured. British billionaire Richard Branson, founder of all things named Virgin (Virgin Records was the first), is known for being both gay friendly and PR happy. Branson is known for his PR stunts, including his repeated attempts to fly around the world in a hot air balloon, and donning a bride's wedding dress when he opened Virgin Bride in London.

Commercial Closet Association

Company: Virgin Group
Brand: Virgin Vodka
Ad Title: Edge Bar
Business Category: Alcoholic Beverages
Media Outlets: Television
Country: United Kingdom
Region: Europe
Agency: Arcadia Productions
Year: 1996
Target: Mainstream

It was a VERY LONG path to this day, sometime good (most of the time), sometime bad (not so much to ruin this experience). First of all a big thank to all the judges who helped me to arrive to this result:

Alan Chin, Aleksandr Voinov, Amie Love, Amos Lassen, Anna, Antonella, April, Arch, Benjamin, Bethann Korsmit, Bobby D. Whitney, Bobby Michaels, Brandi, Ciaran Llachlan Leavitt, Carey Parrish, Carol, Caroline, Cassandra Gold, Christopher, Craig Burke, Dakota Flint, Deanne, Debbie, Erotic Horizon, Eve, Eve Birch, Hayley, Heidi, Jane, Jay Hartman, Jem, Jenre, Jessica, Jessica Goeller, Joan Timberlake, Josh Aterovis, Josh Lanyon, Julie, Kayez, Kirsten, Kris, Lee Rowan, Lia, Lily, Lyne, Minami, Naijeria, Nem, Nicky, Pamela, Perpetua, Rbm00, Rose, Rosemary, Rosie, Ryan Field, Sandra, Shanghi, Sloan Parker, T.C. Blue, Tammy, Victor J. Banis, X.

And as always a big thank you to the Publishers which allow me and the judges to have all the books for the reading phase: Amber Quill Press, Aspen Mountain Press, Dancing Fools Press, Dreamspinner Press, Lethe Press, Loose Id, MLR Press, Noble Romance Publishing, P.D. Publishing, Phaze Books, Pink Petal Books, Prizm Books, QueerEdFiction, Samhain Publishing, Synergy Press, The Sofawolf Press, Torquere Books, Total-e-Bound, Zeitgeist Press, Zumaya Publications.



And now what all you are waiting, the winner of the 2009 Rainbow Awards. And the awards go to:

Best Overall Gay Novel: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/887512.html
1-tie) Out of Position by Kyell Gold, The Sofawolf Press
1-tie) Whistling in the Dark by Tamara Allen, Lethe Press
2-tie) A Strong and Sudden Thaw by R.W. Day, Lethe Press
2-tie) Conflict in Blood by Ariel Tachna, Dreamspinner Press
2-tie) L.A. Heat by P.A. Brown, MLR Press
3-tie) Aaron's Wait by Dorien Grey, Zumaya Publications
3-tie) Brushback by Jamie Scofield, Dancing Fools Press
3-tie) Collision Course by K.A. Mitchell, Samhain Publish

Best Overall Lesbian Novel: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/887085.html
1) Barking at the Moon by Nene Adams, P.D. Publishing
2) Queer Wolf edited by James EM Rasmussen, QueerEdFiction
3) Blood and Mint Chocolates by Adrianne Brennan, Freya's Bower

Best Overall Bisexual / Transgender Novel: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/886824.html
1) Holy Communion by Mykola Dementiuk, Synergy Press
2) Two Spirits by Walter L. Williams & Toby Johnson, Lethe Press
3) Complications by Cat Grant, Lyrical Press

Best Writing Style: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/886533.html
1) A Strong and Sudden Thaw by R.W. Day, Lethe Press
2) Whistling in the Dark by Tamara Allen, Lethe Press
3) Angels of the Deep by Kirby Crow, MLR Press

Best Characters: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/886480.html
1) A Strong and Sudden Thaw by R.W. Day, Lethe Press
2) Faith & Fidelity by Tere Michaels, Loose Id
3-tie) Conflict in Blood by Ariel Tachna, Dreamspinner Press
3-tie) L.A. Heat by P.A. Brown, MLR Press
3-tie) Out of Position by Kyell Gold, The Sofawolf Press
3-tie) Whistling in the Dark by Tamara Allen, Lethe Press

Best Setting: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/886127.html
1) False Colors by Alex Beecroft, Running Press
2) A Strong and Sudden Thaw by R.W. Day, Lethe Press
3) Out of Position by Kyell Gold, The Sofawolf Press

Best Non Fiction Book: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/885934.html
1) The First Risk by Charles Jensen, Lethe Press
2) A Report from Winter by Wayne Courtois, Lethe Press
3) The Underwater Hospital by Jan Steckel, Zeitgeist Press

Best Paranormal / Horror Novel: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/885752.html
1) Conflict in Blood by Ariel Tachna, Dreamspinner Press
2) The Rest of Our Lives by Dan Stone, Lethe Press
3) Immortality is the Suck by A.M. Riley, Loose Id

Best Mystery / Thriller Novel: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/885484.html
1) L.A. Heat by P.A. Brown, MLR Press
2-tie) Aaron's Wait by Dorien Grey, Zumaya Publications
2-tie) Brushback by Jamie Scofield, Dancing Fools Press
3) The Bones of Summer by Anne Brooke, Dreamspinner Press

Best Historical Novel: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/885163.html
1) Whistling in the Dark by Tamara Allen, Lethe Press
2) False Colors by Alex Beecroft, Running Press
3) Bee Among The Clover by Fae Sutherland & Marguerite Labbe, Dreamspinner Press

Best Futuristic Novel: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/884788.html
1) A Strong and Sudden Thaw by R.W. Day, Lethe Press
2) My Fair Captain by J.L. Langley, Samhain Publishing
3) Hell Cop by Astrid Amara, Nicole Kimberling & Ginn Hale, Loose Id

Best Fantasy Novel: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/884533.html
1) Out of Position by Kyell Gold, The Sofawolf Press
2) The Pauper’s Prize by Mark Alders, eXtasy Books
3) Northern Love by Nica Berry, Loose Id

Best Contemporary Novel: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/884434.html
1) Collision Course by K.A. Mitchell, Samhain Publishing
2) A Note in the Margin by Isabelle Rowan, Dreamspinner Press
3) That´s what brothers do by Derekica Snake, Lulu Press

Best Coming of Age / Young Adult Novel: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/883980.html
1) Josef Jaeger by Jere' M. Fishback, Prizm Books
2) Holy Communion by Mykola Dementiuk, Synergy Press
3) The Way You Say My Name by Sara Bell, P.D. Publishing

Best Overall Cover: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/883914.html
1) Hemovore by Jordan Castillo Price - Cover Art by Kanaxa
2) Warrior's Cross by Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux - Cover Art by Anne Cain
3) Flight by Nicki Bennett - Cover Art by Dan Skinner

ETA: the Best Characters, Best Setting and Best Writing Style awards were given computing the votes of those judges who decided to split the overall rating (from 1 to 30) in three different parameters. Not all the judges could or were able to do that, so that's maybe the reason you can't compare those categories with the others, they are not simple the splitting of the same ratings. And this is also the reason why those awards are also well deserved, they were given by judges who were very "hard" on their rates.

This week I will host another "special" inside reader: Jan Irving. I think Jan has a reading background quite similar to mine, I arrived to the Gay Romance world only three years ago, and so if you ask me what are my Top 10 list, probably among them there will be also het romance. So it's for Jan, whose list is not striclty LGBT, but it's all the same interesting to understand her as a reader and author. So welcome Jan!

Growing up in the seventies, there were very few images of women I could look up to and I was hungry for that, so most of my list features strong women characters. I also had a hunger for the unusual and enjoyed fresh twists.

1) Deerskin by Robin McKinley. A story of rage, nightmare, and true love. McKinley took a fairy tale and reinvented it in an accessible way. Her prose is beautiful and the story has several things that I always look for--a strong central female character and an atypical happy ending. The prince in this story is overweight and smells of dog, but he is a tender and protective man.

Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Ace Trade (May 3, 2005)
Publisher Link: http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780441012398,00.html?Deerskin_Robin_McKinley
ISBN-10: 0441012396
ISBN-13: 978-0441012398
Amazon: Deerskin

From the award-winning author of Sunshine comes a novel that "will involve readers from the first to the last page with its sheer beauty, its anguish, agony, horror, despair, and, ultimately, its joy" (Kliatt). As Princess Lissar reaches womanhood, it is clear to all the kingdom that in her breathtaking beauty she is the mirror image of her mother, the queen. But this seeming blessing forces her to flee for safety from her father's lust and madness. With her loyal dog Ash at her side, Lissar will unlock a door to a world of magic, where she will find the key to her survival-and an adventure beyond her wildest dreams.

( books from 2 to 10 )

About Jan Irving: Jan Irving has worked in all kinds of creative fields, from painting silk to making porcelain ceramics, to interior design, but writing was always her passion.

Visit Jan's blog at http://jan-revealed.livejournal.com

Wylde by Jan Irving
Release Date: 12/2009
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Buy Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=1665

Blurb: Noah Matthews brought his son Josh to the pristine woods of Washington State to make a fresh start. The first night in their new home, Noah meets Kell Farraday when the laconic police chief shows up on his doorstep searching for two people lost in the forest. It's the start of a sexy new friendship when Kell decides to pursue the shy but flirtatious Noah. But a new beginning won't be so easy. Noah's former boyfriend shows up to try to reclaim a place in his life, and worse, Josh is drawn to the growing mystery in the forest. People disappear and then one turns up dead. There's something haunting the forest. Something watching. And soft-spoken and confident Kell's reassurances can't ease Noah's fear when Josh goes into the woods alone.

The second appointment in the Horsfall series, about two twin horse shapeshifters and their human lover, is less “light” then how it could seem.

Apparently Oliver is having the time of his life having a relationship with two men like Bayard and Marshall; before meeting them, Oliver was quite the nerd guy, the one that no one looks twice. And so having two handsome and strong lovers at the same time it’s at the same time inebriating but also unbalancing: why they are so attracted to him, what they find in him that makes them so caring and affectionate? Those are the questions that continuously wander in Oliver’s mind, and plus there is also the little problem of the strange nature of their relationship… no, not the paranormal nature of his lovers, that is still a secret for the outside world, but the fact that Oliver is having a ménages with two men, and as a cherry on the top, the men are twin brothers. That is not exactly something he can share with the world, above all since Oliver is an independent professional consultant who relies on the trust his clients have on him.

If Oliver’s troubling thoughts were not enough, also Bayard and Marshall are questioning the relationship; there is not space in their mind for the idea that it will not work, but both of them have different troubles about it. Marshall was the twin Oliver chose as second, in the first book, it was Bayard who made the first move on the man, and Oliver only in a second time arrived to consider the possibility to have a relationship with both of them. And so I have the feeling that Marshall is a bit unsecure, he always fears that Oliver in the end will choose Bayard, and this lead Marshall to be quite “insistent” in his affection towards Oliver, but at the same time also a bit oppressive, always searching for reassurance. Bayard on the other hand gave me the feeling that he is taking back, like he is forcing himself to give space to his “little” brother. He is way more the stronger of all of them, and I think than in the long, that attitude will lead him to be frustrated and eager to claim his right on Oliver.

So yes, for a less than 50 pages novella, Taste Test has quite a lot on the fire.

http://www.changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=1204

Series: Horsfall
1) Tail of Two Brothers: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/760355.html
2) Taste Test

The Rainbow Awards: Third (and last!) Phase: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/850354.html

The collaboration of the four authors who write under the pen-name of Timothy James Beck built a strange “New York” series: all the spectrum of gay experiences and this time was the time of the young adult, self-discovery journey of a young gay man dealing with the traumatic experience of the after 9/11.

At the beginning of the novel, the reader, or at least me, has the impression that Nick is older than he really is. He has a job, he is no more a student, he lives alone, better he shares a two rooms apartment with other three roommates, and he seems to have a whole lot of experience behind his shoulders… but little by little we discover another reality, Nick is only 19 years old, a drop out from college, and he has just left the safe shelter of his uncle Blaine’s posh apartment in lower Manhattan (Blaine and Daniel are the main characters of other two novels by Timothy James Beck, and supporting characters of all the others too). Nick’s story is not displayed up front for the reader, but we rebuild it piece by piece during the length of the book.

When he was only 16 years old, Nick decided to leave his homeland little country town to go live in the Big City with wealth and gay Uncle Blaine. From Nick’s perspective, it was the only choice he had to escape a life of harassment, it’s was not a dream comes true, but more a punishment… for the reader’s perspective, and also for Nick’s relatives in Eau Claire, it was like winning a lottery, Nick was going to live an artsy life in one of the most challenging cities in the world. It can be sound strange, knowing how big New York City is, but Nick was searching for a safe shelter, for a place where to hide in security, a place where him being gay, and an artist, was not an oddity that made him being pointed out in the street. New York City gave him the anonymity he desired, but also a new family to look after him, Blaine and his lover Daniel as step-fathers, and Gwendy and Gretchen (his mother’s cousins) as step-mothers. Nick had to renounce to his real family, but he was happy all the same.

9/11 destroyed his security and his new-found make-up family. Two years later the New York City which was his safe shelter is now a place full of scaring things, Nick is scared by the subway, by the skyscrapers, but the fact that everyone around him was in someway affected by that tragic event. And Nick has only a solution for that: running away another time, leaving behind all the people who love him, searching another safe shelter in the anonymity.

Maybe since the previous novels I read by these authors were basically romances, I was expecting also for this one to be, and I was probably expecting that Nick’s solution to his troubles would have been to find love. And instead this is a classical self-discovery journey, and the solution is not to find the courage inside someone else, but inside you. And so yes, Nick has relationships, and some of them are also quite nice, made me wonder if it wouldn’t have been nice for them to developed in something more, but in the end, they were not the turning point of the story. Before being able to really fall in love, Nick has to learn that running away it’s not the way to resolve your trouble.

Amazon: When You Don't See Me

Amazon Kindle: When You Don't See Me

Series:
1) It Had to Be You: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/744800.html
2) He's the One: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/628689.html
3) I'm Your Man
4) Someone Like You
5) When You Don't See Me

The Rainbow Awards: Third (and last!) Phase: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/850354.html


Cover Art by Kristine Mills-Noble

"My work and photography can be summed up in a single word, ESCAPE.

Whether it is through black and white photographs of gardens, flowers, architecture, or through an enduring passion for male nudes, or even through reworking colour photos on the computer, I am looking for Evasion.



( more pics )

In my photography I am escaping, and everybody who sees my photos can also dream and escape.

Photography allows me the time, to look, to admire, to sublimate and communicate my passion and sometimes my fantasies." Daniel Nassoy

Début: Computer training
1992/1993: Evening classes in photography EFET, Paris
1997: Training P.A.O. at CFD, Paris
1998: Multimedia training at IESA, Paris
2001: Registering as graphic designer and photographer of art at the Maison des Artistes

http://www.danielnassoy.com/

Different Suits was a bit of a surprise since I didn’t expect the evolution of Angelo’s character. From what we learned about him in the previous books, Angelo gave me the impression of a very strong and independent man, other than a successful businessman. Now in his book it’s not that he comes out as weak, but he definitely plays the role of the submissive in the relationship with Moody, the big stud of police detective who helps him with his problems with a fanatic homophobic reverend. Little by little all those hints we had of Angelo as strong man, are instead read in a different way, they become little oddities that Angelo uses to prove to himself that he is for real out of his poor childhood: he is obsessed with expensive dresses, beautiful cars, with an impeccable house, but it’s not the behaviour of a control freak, but the natural evolution of a scared little boy who now clings to material things to search for security.

On the other side there is Moody, a latino police detective that, despite being able to come out from a childhood quite similar to Angelo taking the good path, has not cancelled that past. It’s strange since Moody and Angelo are both from a breed notorious to be “bloody” feeling, but Angelo suppressed that side of his character. Instead Moody (and his nickname is a proof of it) is still driven by his gut more than by his mind. I have a feeling that, the first time he saw Angelo, he thought to have found someone like him, and he was almost expecting to be able to deal with him on the same level; and instead Moody was surprise to crash against the cool exterior of Angelo, and now he is bent upon the task to find a way to go behind that chilling shield.

The relationship between Moody and Angelo is very much physical, the romance comes after the sex, but it’s probably in line with both men’s characters: they are not innocent or naïve, and in this case, the hot bothered nature of their genes matches perfectly in bed. And in bed is also where Angelo loses all his insecurities and becomes to one in lead; now don’t get me wrong, Angelo is almost always a bottom, but he is for sure the one who is more at ease with his body and his desires.

Different Suits is probably in contest to be one of the nicer book in the Poker Night series.

http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=599

Serie: Poker Night
1-2) Poker Night Vol 1: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/627020.html
3) Poker Pair: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/779960.html
4) Different Suits

The Rainbow Awards: Third (and last!) Phase: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/850354.html


Cover Art by April Martinez

Thank you for all the virtual snowflakes. I may be able to convince myself that it's too snowy to go to work and that means staying home and writing!!

We're running contests during the month of December over at Slash & Burn, so come on over. Today is my contest post. (Though if you've been to my house in December, you can't play in the second part!)

I hope your month is going well!

The Book: Bourbon Street Blues introduces Dick Dansoir, personal trainer and occasional go-go dancer at the boys' bars in the Big Easy. He is irresistible, especially for a guy whose real name is Milton "Scotty" Bradley. Of course, he keeps in shape, which helps as the book's wrong-man-in-the-wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time plot unfolds. A friend and client turns up shot, execution style, in front of his place. Add a mysterious computer disk found in his dancing boot, an attempted mugging, an eerily attractive stranger who claims to be FBI, and his home being trashed by a Molotov cocktail--and a gorgeous go-go boy just must get help. He turns to his attorney brother, Storm (his sister is Rain), for advice, then risks everything by assisting the Feds in preventing the destruction of New Orleans, a horror Scotty has foreseen in visions (forgot to tell you: he is "gifted" with sporadic psychic powers, too). Dashing Dick saves the day, natch, and who could ask for anything more? Thoroughly engaging in every way.

Amazon: Bourbon Street Blues

( Other Books in the List )

The Author: "I am the author of six mystery novels set in New Orleans: BOURBON STREET BLUES, JACKSON SQUARE JAZZ, MURDER IN THE RUE DAUPHINE, MURDER IN THE RUE ST. ANN , MARDI GRAS MAMBO and MURDER IN THE RUE CHARTRES, which was released in November 2007. I also work as senior editor for The Harrington Park Press, and have edited, to date, five anthologies currently in print. I also have a short story in the forthcoming NEW ORLEANS NOIR called "Annunciation Shotgun."" Greg Herren

Top 100 Gay Novels List (*)

External Link to the Top 100 Gay Novels List (simple - without photos)

External Link to the Top 100 Gay Novels List (wanted - with photos)

*only one title per author, only print books released after January 1, 2000.

Note: I remember to my friends that guest reviews of the above listed books (the top 100 Gay Novels) are welcome, just send them to me and I will post with full credits to the reviewer.

Other titles not in the top 100 list:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/top50MM

The story is about young men almost out of college, so I think, 20-21 years old, maybe more, but truth be told, the feeling is more of a story of younger men, they are so innocent and scared of the big bad world outside, or at least one of them is.

Perry, Zac and Bryce were roommates and best-friends. With other two students from the same Swim College Team, they rented an house for their sophomore year and everything seemed perfect till the day Zac and Perry made coming out during an interview for the College newspaper. From that moment on Bryce changed, and Perry and Zac did common front against him. But now Perry is out of college and Bryce and Zac are again alone, and maybe Zac is missing his best friend. So he finds the courage to face Bryce and asks him reasons on his past behaviour, but instead of the angry and homophobic man, he finds a scared child. Bryce is scared since he would have liked to be with Perry and Zac on that journal, he would have liked to have the courage to face his family, his father and brothers, and tell them that he is gay. Since Bryce was only a teenager, his relatives always threatened him of cutting him off the family if he ended to be gay. In the novel it’s not said, but probably Bryce was giving out some signs of his tendencies, since I can’t believe a family can say something like that out of the blue; and if it was like that, it served them right that in the end Bryce is really gay.

Actually, for how I read him, Bryce is more bisexual than gay, he has no problem to be with girls, but he has fallen in love with a guy, Zac. His reaction to Perry and Zac’s coming out, was not only due to the fear to be “forced” to do the same, sooner or later, but also from the realization that Perry and Zac had something in common that they were hiding from him, there was a bond between Perry and Zac that was deeper than any other bonds he could have with Zac. I think that, in a way, Bryce was jealous, and also scared to remain alone in the closet, that suddenly seemed darker than before.

When I said that the story is more about boys than men, it’s since I feel that Bryce is not yet fully developed as man. He has still a lot of trouble in seeing himself as an independent man, and he is still too bonded to his father’s recognition. He is still in that phase when pleasing your parents it’s your main purpose in life, he is still more a child, a son, than a man, a lover. Zac is maybe a little more grown up, but all in all, he is not much “older” than Bryce. In the end they are lucky that they are not living in a situation that could be really troubling for both of them, they are not really putting in danger all their lives, they will have maybe to finally fully front face their parents, but they have alternatives, they can take the risk.

The story, in the end, is more sweet than angst, and it’s more about the development of the sexual relationship between Zac and Bryce, than their emotional development; at the end of the story, Bryce has maybe gathered a bit of courage, but he is far from being emotionally independent. And Zac is still in that stage when he wants to please Bryce, he wants to make things easy for him, even if it means to put aside his own desires; this is not a situation that can last forever, sooner or later Zac will have to take his life in hand, and make clear his needs, both in life than in bed. For now, both of them are still wrapped up in the pink bubble of romance: there are a lot of “I love you”s, “I want you”s and being together is important like breathing… a proof more that, all in all, Zac and Bryce are young and in love, maybe for the first time.

http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2238

Amazon: Becoming Us

The Rainbow Awards: Third (and last!) Phase: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/850354.html