News from our sponsor

From JMS books:

This Labor Day weekend, we're having a HUGE sale on our site!

All e-books, all lengths, all formats, in all genres, are 40% off from now until midnight (EST) on September 3rd. Visit JMS Books or Queerteen Press to save on all our e-books TODAY!

You will still receive 10% in Reward Points on all purchases, which can be used toward a future order and do not expire, so the more you buy, the more you save! 

It seems now would be the perfect time to pick up a copy of Waiting for a Spark. 

Oops! I did it again...

Nope, I didn't play with your heart. Nor did I get lost in the game. And I'm certainly not that innocent.

But I did miss a release date.

My short story 'Waiting for a Spark' is now available from JMS Books. Actually it came out last week.

Blurb

Jerome’s life is humdrum, mundane even. Every day he catches the bus to work, listens to his best friend, Nav, rant on about the latest crisis in his life and tries to stop his attention from wandering to the gorgeous guy at the back of the bus too often. After all it would be embarrassing to get caught staring.

Friday morning had been no different. Except that the object of his blatant attention was definitely making eye contact, his Asian best friend had involved the entire bus in a racist rant against the East Europeans and Jerome appeared to have been struck dumb.

Now two days later Jerome’s run out of milk and all the local shops are shut except for the Polskie Delikatesy. Jerome’s hanging about on the pavement, studying adverts in the window which appear to be made up of far too many Zs & Ks, and wondering if he could do without milk for the evening. Stepping through the door brings Jerome face to face with the realisation that racism isn’t just about rants and rallies, but is inherent in thoughts and deeds, things said, or even in silence. That being a target for other people’s prejudice because of his sexuality, doesn’t mean he’s immune from false and pre-conceived notions. If he can come to terms with that and accept that everyone -- even a gay liberal trainee journalist -- might be just a little bit racist, then maybe, just maybe, he could be going home with more than a pint of milk.

This story originally appeared in the Lashings of Sauce anthology.

Lovers Entwined - Review and Giveaway

Lovers Entwined has been been reviewed over at The Armchair Reader today.

Cole has agreed to do a giveaway as well, so if you want to win a copy head over there and leave a comment.

Tangent Tuesday (by the skin of its teeth)

Comedy is subjective. What one person finds hysterical, wet your pants funny can leave the next man cold. On an international level that can be even more pronounced.

However I defy anyone not to find this funny, especially the geeky TV nerd types that I seem to hang about with on the internet.

Most people will have seen it I'm sure, if so remind yourself of its brilliance. If however you are a Death Star Canteen virgin that sit back, relax and enjoy yourself.

Eddie Izzard's Death Star Canteen acted out in Lego.




If Eddie floats your boat, as he does mine, then you can find his offical Youtube channel here.

Tom of Finland this is not - Tangent Tuesday

I umm'd and argh'd over whether to post this for Tangent Tuesday or Fiction Friday. After all, fiction isn't just about books. Comic strips count too...at least they do in my world.

I just wanted to share the love for my favourite comic strip on the web at the moment.

Tripping Over You

I've been reading for a couple of months but they've just gone back and posted a prologue, so now seems as good a time as any to rec it. 

Here's the link to the prologue. After that you will need to go back to the start. Alternatively you could just use the archive. You'll notice the change in drawing styles going from the more recently drawn prologue and then back to Chapter 1, but then I think it's quite interesting watching the drawing style develop.

I'm currently up to date, on Chapter 5 and eagerly awaiting each new development. Luckily posting is regular and at the moment quite frequent. 

Chapter 5 also contains the warning 'Contains Adult Themes', which should give you an indication of the heat level of this comic. Themes, not images. There is nothing that could be construed as NSFW about this comic. In fact I would consider it to be the comic version of YA fiction. 

A sweet tale of two young men discovering their sexuality, beautifully drawn. 

Which are your favourite comics with gay characters?

Cover reveal

(Waiting for a Spark originally appeared in the Lashings of Sauce anthology)

Author interview

I'm over at RJ Scott's blog today answering a few questions.

Pop over and see what I'm waffling on about.