Here it is, ladies and gentleman. And rogues. And bitches who laugh at the word lady as if someone just let a roll of thunder rip from down under (incidentally, I fall in the latter category)…

My brand-spanky book cover!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ogle it, won’t you?

Hah!

Did I get ya? Come on, tell me I freakin’ got ya!

That’s my dirty Elf on the Shelf makin’ with the Living Dead ladies.

I’m such a shit. I know.  Here’s my real cover!

Oh, sweet mystery of life, at last I’ve found you! I love this Greg. I want to hug him and squeeze him and name him Greg.

I flippin’ love this book. Does that make things awkward between us, now?

Ah, fuck it.

Blurb:

Kyrie is an actor with a physical aversion to telling lies, a one-eyed cat, and horrible taste in men. His ex-brother-in-law and best friend, Greg, harbors a secret crush he can’t shake. After denying his feelings for Kyrie for too long, Greg finally gives in to desire one drunken night. Come the morning, the facts get twisted. Kyrie pretends he doesn’t remember a thing—a lie that eats him alive—and Greg can’t stop thinking about how he screwed up the best thing in his life.

Before they can clear the air, Kyrie follows his dreams to New York City, but could he also be running away?

A mistake from Kyrie’s past detonates their silence, and Greg is forced to confront the man he loves. Is their new truth strong enough to support a relationship, or are they doomed to crumble under old fears? Their friendship could evolve into something a million times stronger, but maybe Kyrie’s act is just too hard for Greg to follow.

Are you a blogger/reviewer who would like to jump on my book tour train? The kindly old conductor solemnly swears not to speed (too much), and there will, of course, be a drink car.

Join the Blog Tour!

And, finally, the giveaway! I’m throwing an e-freebie on release day to a lucky winner with a bonus $5 Amazon gift card—as if my free book wasn’t enough! Trust me. It is! But, hey, free dummy.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and Conditions for the giveaway:

“Giveaway ends August 17, 2014 at 11:59 PM EST. Open worldwide, however grand prize will be in US dollars to US Amazon. Prizes will be sent electronically. Winner will be selected by Random.org and be notified by email. Winner has 48 hours to respond before a new winner is selected. Please note that Kimber Vale is not responsible for orders made to Amazon. The product offered for the giveaway is free of charge, no purchase necessary. Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Google+, and any posting blogs/websites including Heroes and Heartbreakers are in no way affiliated with this giveaway. By providing your information in this form, you are providing your information to me and me alone. I do not share or sell information and will use any information only for the purpose of contacting the winner.”

Phew!

Okay, that’s all I’ve got for now. Tell your friends. Tell your mothers. Tell your friends’ mothers. Damn, now it’s awkward.

-Kimber

Pre-orders and The Trevor Project by Charley Descoteaux

First I’d like to thank Pride Promotions for arranging this tour, Kimber Vale for inviting me to visit her lovely space, and D.W. Skinner and Paul Richmond for my gorgeous cover!

I’ve been writing for a long time, but The Nesting Habits of Strange Birds is the first full-length novel I get to share with the world. During all the years I spent writing, and dreaming of the day when I could say I am a novelist, I also made plans.

I don’t set out to write political or message novels, but after growing up in the Bay Area in the 70s and spending my share of time in the trenches, it’s hard to separate the activist from the author. Like many other writers, I have trunk novels that will probably never see the light of day (you’re welcome ;)). Each of those trunk novels included a plan for giving a portion of any earnings to a relevant charity.

The two main characters in The Nesting Habits of Strange Birds, Phil and Lee, have both been touched by depression and suicide—and since The Trevor Project is one of my favorite national charities, it seemed like a good fit.

I’ll donate $1 for every pre-order of The Nesting Habits of Strange Birds to The Trevor Foundation, in support of their efforts to provide crisis intervention and suicide prevention for LGBTQ youth.

Visit my blog for a running tally of pre-orders. I’ll update the tally every few days, and post the final total on August 11.

Thank you all for helping me raise awareness, and a little cash, for this very worthwhile cause!

Pre-order The Nesting Habits of Strange Birds through Dreamspinner Press.

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=charley+descoteaux&osCsid=jp8e510bia8t96i35a221bpkj2&x=0&y=0

eBook: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5271
Paperback: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5272

Blurb:

All he ever wanted was to be a normal guy….

Phil Brask spends his days in the basement of his mentor’s Victorian home, converting legal documents into electronic format. When the pipe feeding the water heater bursts, Lee Redding arrives in the plumber’s truck and draws Phil away from the narrow focus of his computer and camera lens. Lee gives Phil hope for a life beyond the walls he’s constructed using the nesting habits of migratory birds and dense legal files, a guided tour through a world filled with romance and music…maybe even family. But there’s a reason Phil retreated behind those walls, why he panics at a simple touch.

Lee has a good life—working with his uncle and on his mother’s farm, playing bass in a horrible metal band, and hooking up when he pleases—but he’s always suspected something was missing. When he meets the hot photographer with the icy-blue eyes, he knows exactly what that something is. Phil isn’t like other guys, but neither is Lee beneath his carefree exterior. Maybe Lee’s the perfect guy to show Phil that everything doesn’t have to be done the hard way and “home” isn’t a four-letter word.

Excerpt:

“Your pictures, they’re amazing.” Lee said, his voice calm and steady and filled with sincere awe. “What’s this in her beak?”

Lee carefully scrolled forward, and Phil realized Lee had thumbed through all the pictures from that morning and some from last evening as well. He’d been out of it longer than he thought.

“It’s a spiderweb. Hummingbirds use them to build their nests.”

Two sentences. Phil couldn’t remember when he’d last gotten two sentences out just the way he’d intended. He smiled and raised his eyes to Lee’s. They seemed to mirror what he was feeling. Relief; happiness; desire. The next thing he knew, Lee’s lips brushed his lightly. Phil trembled but didn’t pull away.  Pride in his perfect speech along with the giddy feeling inspired by Lee’s smile allowed Phil to give in to desire, just for a moment, to take a chance it would end well. Lee leaned toward him, but not so their shoulders touched, and kissed him just a few seconds longer. He kept his mouth almost completely closed, but Phil tasted a hint of hot chocolate. Or maybe the heat came from Lee.

“Whoa,” Lee sighed as much as said.

Charley Descoteaux has always heard voices. She was relieved to learn they were fictional characters, and started writing when they insisted daydreaming just wasn’t good enough.  In exchange, they let her sleep once in a while. Home is Portland, Oregon, where the weather is like your favorite hard-case writing buddy who won’t let you get away with taking too many days off, and in some places you can be as weird as you are without fear.  As an out and proud bisexual and life-long weird-o, she thinks that last part is pretty cool.

Rafflecopter Code: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rafflecopter Prize: E-Copy of the book when it comes out

Rattle my cages, I’d love to hear from you!

Blog:  http://cdescoteauxwrites.com/blog/

Facebook Author Page:  http://www.facebook.com/CharleyDescoteauxAuthor

Dreamspinner Author Page: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=879

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/CharleyDescote

Goodreads: http://tinyurl.com/aqe7g7r

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/charleydescote/

e-mail: c.descoteauxwrites@gmail.com

Author Ravon Silvius sent me a quick interview for my 2014 Absolute Write Absolutely Erotic Hop stop. Ravon’s a prolific author with an impressive backlist of fantasy and sci-fi MM romance books.

I’m also giving away an e-copy of my novelette Bound by Ink to a random commenter, so be sure and tell Ravon what you think of her interview for a chance to win a short MM fantasy from my backlist. 🙂

1. Which of your main characters is your favorite and why?

I love all my main characters, but I will always have a soft spot for Aldric, the protagonist of Remembrance. The story of a soldier trying to find his place in a world, that the war he fought is destroyed, was really fun to write, and I find myself re-reading that story all the time. His quiet stoicism, too, is very attractive to me and his eventual self-discovery was very powerful.

2. Was there a scene (no spoilers) that you enjoyed writing most?

I like writing dramatic scenes a lot. My favorite scene of all? In the Enforcer’s series, any time Thorn interacts with Lady Victeni, Kenneth’s mother. There is always so much tension in those scenes, especially later on in the series. She doesn’t like him, he doesn’t like her but doesn’t have the power to show it, and Kenneth is in the middle…it’s a great social awkwardness to bring to a story. Plus, its fun to write something in a fantasy story that some can relate to (awkwardness with in-laws).

3. As an erotic author, how much do you enjoy writing sexy scenes?

It depends on the scene, of course, but I always enjoy every scene I write to some extent. My sex scenes have to add something to the story, and I don’t like them to be too long. But sex scenes spice up a book, and they are most fun to write when I’m in adding in a new element to a relationship between two characters. There’s the first time scenes, which are always fun, and then there are sex scenes which precede something dramatic, which are always fraught with emotion. Finally there are the times when characters want to experiment with something new—those are always the best to write.

4. Is it easier to write action, sex, or emotional scenes?

I think the easiest is to write emotional scenes, then sex, then action. Emotional scenes create a lot of tension and momentum, and its easy to be carried from the power of an emotional scene and follow the story from there. With a sex scene, you know the emotion you want to evoke in the reader, and it requires a bit of creativity to pick something fun and unique that will do that. It can’t always be insert slot A into slot B, you know what I mean? So it requires a bit more work. I have less experience with action scenes, but they require a lot of juggling—choreography, keeping the language fresh and riveting, and keeping the emotion in the scene so readers know and care about what happens. It’s a delicate balancing act. All three, though, are rewarding to write in their own way.

5. As a writer, do you prefer the aspects of paranormal, and its freedom to create, or do you prefer keeping it within bounds of the every day lives of contemporary characters?

Definitely paranormal. All of my work, even the relatively less fantasy-ish Freshmen Blues, has elements of fantasy or science fiction. I’ve always been bored by everyday life, and that extends to some degree to writing about the lives of contemporary characters. With fantasy and science fiction, I can introduce elements of my own creation, make entire worlds and their rulesets out of nothing, and explore intense themes that I couldn’t explore to the same extent within the confines of contemporary stories. I use writing as an escape from every day life, and when I escape to other worlds, I really escape to other worlds. 😛

6. Is there a story you want to write but feel the market is too crowded for?

I’ve noticed that many people seem to be quite done with vampires, which is too bad since I have one such book in development. I’m going to release it anyway, of course, but I do wish vampires would come around and be popular again.

7. What will readers most like about your books?

I hope readers will enjoy the worlds I’ve created in my books. I spend a lot of time worldbuilding, and I hope I have the right combination of interesting characters, sexy antics, and interesting fantasy and sci fi worldbuilding to keep readers interested.

8. How do you feel about fetishes?

I have a bit of a cyborg fetish, so I think fetishes are fun. 😛 Seriously though, I think fetishes are a good way to spice up a novel. If people who enjoy that fetish find that it hits their sweet spot and makes the book even more enjoyable, so much the better! Of course, some fetishes are easier to write to than others. If someone can figure out a way to write a 100 page epic about things like feet or ears, let me know.

Thanks so much for interviewing me!

You are so welcome, Ravon! Come back any time!

Check out my latest work in the Enforcer’s Series, Capture:

Blurb: Kenneth and Thorn have put a stop to Alder’s cruel experiments on Talentless, but their work as Enforcers is far from over. In the heart of the magi capital, they find out that Alder is part of a larger organization—and Alder has allies that are quite upset with Enforcers who think they can put a stop to their plans. Kenneth assumes Thorn, a talentless with no magic to defend himself, is the one who is most vulnerable—but when Kenneth is the one put in danger, Thorn will have to find a way to save his lover.

If you’d rather check out sci fi, I have a series of short, erotic stories featuring cyborgs. They start with “Come to Leave.”

Bio: Ravon Silvius is an author who enjoys writing fantasy and sci fi M/M novels, novellas and short stories. Right now, Ravon is working on the Enforcer’s series, a steampunk M/M series that is four books and counting.

For more of my backlist, check out my website at http://ravonsilvius.blogspot.com/

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And for a chance to win an e-copy of Bound by Ink, comment below! I’ll pick a winner via Random.org at the end of the hop (7/7/14).

Don’t forget to check out the other interviews and giveaways. Mine is up on Karenna Colcroft’s blog. If anyone is interested, I’ve finally divulged the name of my next release in the Shooting Stars series. 😉 Cover reveal coming soon!

Week One:

June 23 Azalea Moone  interviewing Anais Morgan.

June 24 Anais Morgan interviewing Emily Veinglory

June 25 Emily Veinglory interviewing Scarlet Day

June 26 Scarlet Day interviewing Zoe X. Rider

June 27 Zoe X. Rider interviewing Gail Bridges

June 28 Gail Bridges interviewing Crane Hana

June 29 Crane Hana interviewing Kate Lowell (that will be right here, link active that day)

Week 2

June 30 Kate Lowell interviewing Karenna Colcroft

July 01 Karenna Colcroft interviewing Kimber Vale

July 02 Kimber Vale interviewing Ravon Silvius

July 03 Ravon Silvius interviewing Tara Quan

July 04 Tara Quan interviewing Ana J. Phoenix

July 05 Ana J. Phoenix interviewing Evelyn Aster

July 06 Evelyn Aster interviewing Dee Tass

July 07 Dee Tass interviewing Azalea Moone