July Eye Candy

Lovely!

Ordinary Updates

First, I want to thank all those who so far have entered to receive the print anthology. I really appreciate it. Contest ends Friday and then Randomizer will choose a winner Saturday. I've caught all your entries even if I don't say so.

Second, I finished my short story for Christmas, The Best Gift. I am going to be sending to Dreamspinner Press in the very near future. It's quite short, under 10,000 words. I need to do some last minute polishing and a dreaded synopsis and then I can get it sent off. If Dreamspinner does not want it, I will probably offer it as a free story at Christmas time. I'll keep everyone posted.

I need to get back to Ticket to Ride, my m/m romantic suspense due September 01, but first I have received my edits for Sweet Reunion and since that book is already contracted it takes precedence. Hopefully I can get back to Ticket to Ride in about a week. That still gives me almost the entire month of August to complete it.

After that...it's any body's guess which story I will tackle next. Might possibly be the lord's son and butler story set in the Regency period, Undeniable. Several people have been bugging me about that one.

New Contest

After the success of the last contest I doubt I will get as many entries. I guess I should hope for at least one! LOL





Anyway, I am giving away a print book this time. Lawyers In Love. It is an anthology of three of my stories, At Long Last, Most Likely to Succeed, and Car Wash.





As the name implies all involve lawyers falling in love. Sorry folks I work in a law office and my sister is a lawyer. Gotta love them. Besides hot guys in suits!



Blurb: The trials of being an attorney can be stressful. But in between reviewing legal briefs, these lawyers find time to fall in love with the men of their dreams.

The winner can decide if they want it signed or not.





Contest will run between now and next Friday July 31, 2009.

And the Winner Is...

Okay, based on the Randomizer thing, Shellie (Daisiemae) is the winner of Until the End of Time

There were 17 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

Shellie
Host
Eva
Erotic Horizon
Catherine
Jennifer
Chris
Eyre
Shayne
Amy M
Barbara
D.L.
Stacey
Kara
The Falconer
Armenia
Aymless

Congratulations, Shellie. I will email the book to you this weekend. And thanks to everyone for entering I really appreciate it.

Entries Update

No worries those who arrived late to the giveaway. Late would be Saturday morning after it is over, therefore, you are right on time! LOL

There's still time until Friday night (pacific time) when the winner will be chosen randomly.


I am extremely glad to see all those who want to win Scott and Preston. Ha! Don't we wish? Their story anyway. For those of you who have not read the first one, I do recommend it before Until the End of Time although it's not entirely necessary. I just think you will care way more about Scott and Preston if you read about them in At Long Last First.


Okay so now we have the following entered:



Barbara, Stacey, Kara, The Faloner, Jennifer, Shayne, Aymless, Host, Amy M, Eyre, Erotic Horizon, Chris, Shellie, Catherine, Eva, D.L., and Armenia

Giveaway Update

Right Now I have Barbara, Stacey, Chris, Shellie, Kara, The Falconer (Cool name), Jennifer, and Erotic Horizon entering to win the free copy of Until the End of Time, being released this weekend.

There's still time to get in before Friday night (pacific time, of course)

Until The End of Time Giveaway

Since I am back from my trip, I am starting the giveaway. I am feeling rather lazy though, so I am not going to make you work for it. Hell, if I don't want to work, why should you?

Why did I decide to do a sequel to At Long Last?

While I was writing At Long Last I had thoughts of continuing the story by having Preston dealing with telling his family of his sexual orientation and his relationship, but at the time I was writing it I was coming up on a big deadline as originally the story was supposed to be part of an Amber Allure Pax. That didn't work out but I didn't know that at the time. Anyway, so I pushed that idea out of my mind, but it wouldn't go away entirely. So really in a way, Until the End of Time is really the true ending of At Long Last.

So, if you want to win, comment here between now and Friday night and I will choose a winner. The book will come on the weekend after I receive my author copies.

Beyond the Norm Cover and Blurb

After closing his bar one night, Dave Johnson rescues Kyle, who is on the run after witnessing the murder of a federal agent in San Francisco. Dave knows Kyle is trouble but can't help falling in love; Kyle loses his heart but fears he's bringing danger to Dave's doorstep. When Kyle's pursuers close in, the two men are at an impasse. They can either separate and live in safety and loneliness, or find a way to stay alive and together.

Coming in September 2009 from Dreamspinner Press

The Contest Begins Monday

On Monday, July 20, 2009, the contest to win Until the End of Time will begin. It will run through Friday, July 24, 2009 with the winner receiving their free copy either Saturday, July 25, or Sunday, July 26, depending on when I receive my copy.

I've debated making this contest one where you have to work for it. Not hard work, no worries there. Just make you answer a question that can be easily found. I haven't made up my mind on that yet.

In work in progress news I am working on a short Christmas-themed story. I have absolutely no title for it yet. Maybe I should have a name that story contest and give something away, lol.

I won't be around this weekend as I have noted I will be in Morro Bay, so I hope everyone has a fabulous time.

A Favorite Destination

Those of you familiar with At Long Last will know that Scott and Preston go to Morro Bay for a weekend. It is one of Scott's favorite places and he hopes to live there some day. Well, Scott feels this way because Shawn does. I want to live there some day. Alas, for now it is a mere dream. That lovely picture you see to the left is El Morro Rock in Morro Bay. It really is that beautiful.

I am going there this weekend. This is my re-charge place.

Amber Quill Second Quarter Best Sellers List

The list for best sellers at Amber Quill for the second quarter has been released and I am on there twice.

1) Allergies by T. A. Chase (Gay/Werewolf)
2) Lone by Rowan McBride (Gay/Werewolf)
3) Satisfaction by M. L. Rhodes (Gay/Contemporary)
4) Bottom's Up: Kinky Orgasm by Amanda Young (Gay/Contemporary)
5) Most Likely To Succeed by Shawn Lane (Gay/Contemporary)
6) David's Dilemma by Lynn Lorenz (Gay/Contemporary)
7) Bring The Heat by M. L. Rhodes (Gay/Contemporary)
8) Car Wash by Shawn Lane (Gay/Contemporary)
9) Carey'd Away by J. M. Snyder (Gay/Contemporary)
10) Betrayed by Cassie Stevens (Gay/Contemporary)

Shawn's Boring Life

Haven't had much to say as you can see. Just working on Ticket to Ride.

Hope to be able to post my cover for Beyond the Norm from Dreamspinner Press soon, but until then, I really am left with nothing to say.

Anyway, enjoy the eye candy and hope everyone else is having more excitement in their life.

Sweet Reunion Cover

I'm sure you will all agree with me that the cover Trace came up with for Sweet Reunion is divine! Love it. Hope you do too.

Sweet Reunion

I finished my work in progress (which means it is no longer in progress), Sweet Reunion, and I have a release date of September 20, 2009.

Here is the blurb in case anyone is interested:

Retired from the police force after a tragic shooting, Jason Sweet hasn’t been back to his hometown, Sutter’s Bay, for fifteen years. With his mother’s final days approaching, Jason returns to make peace with his mother and his past. Part of that past includes former best friend and lover, Danny Yarrow.

Danny’s satisfied with his life as a drama teacher at the local high school, but the one thing missing is the love of a good man. He’s only too happy to be reunited with Jason. They’ve both grown and changed since their broken teenaged relationship. Jason hasn’t had an easy time of it since leaving Sutter’s Bay, but Danny intends to convince his friend and lover their love is worth taking chances.

Once I get a cover, I will post it.

And now back to work on Ticket to Ride.

Also...

I also wanted to mention I got a lovely review for At Long Last from Barbara who runs a really lovely blog called Happily Forever After.

Check it out if you get the chance. http://booklover125.blogspot.com/

Rainbow Reviews 2009 Author Extravaganza

In the month of August, Rainbow Reviews will be celebrating their second anniversary. During the month a different author of the GLBT genre will be featured every day on their blog with a special treat for readers to have a chance to win a free copy of one of the author's books.

Here is a link with more information and the participating authors. Hope to see you there in August. It should be loads of fun.

http://rainbow-reviews.com/?page_id=1542

A Question About Love

(by Ava March, official moocher of Shawn's blog)

A romance is, by definition, a love affair. A romance novel is a love story. Happily ever after is truly wonderful, but unfortunately, happy characters living happy lives usually are not exciting enough to sustain a book. Therefore, most romance novels focus on the ‘falling in love’ portion of the romance. There are actually two different types of endings for romance books – the happily-ever-after and the happily-for-now. Problem is, when you start reading a book you usually don’t know what type of ending you’re getting until you reach the end.

I’ve been pondering the different types of endings for romance books lately, and decided to take over Shawn’s blog and find out what everyone thinks about love in m/m erotic romance books. Do you expect an ‘I love you’ by the end of a m/m erotic romance? If your answer is ‘it depends’, would your answer change if you knew the book was part of a series or a stand-alone? And not a 'maybe the author will do another book with these characters' type of series, but a definitive series where you know up front that you're starting with book#1. Does the subgenre make a difference? Contemporary, furturistic, historical, paranormal or suspense? Do you have different expectations for novels versus novellas? Personally, I expect the ‘I love you’ by the end of a romance novel – with 200+ pages to work with, I’d like to think the heroes can say those three little words to each other by the end or at least know in their hearts that the other hero does love them even if the other guy isn’t big into saying “I love you, man”.

Which leads me to something else. For a HEA ending, do the heroes have to say ‘I love you’, or is it enough that they each feel it inside and believe the other returns their feelings? And what if the book ends with a happily-for-now ending? What if the heroes are poised to fall in love, but are not actually in love by the end? Do you find that sort of ending satisfying, or does it leave you feeling kinda gypped out of the ‘I love you’? Of course, I’m assuming the guys are in a committed, monogamous relationship by the end of the book, or at least have committed to a monogamous relationship by the end of a happily-for-now book.

As an author, I’ll admit that it’s hard for me to get my characters to the HEA ending. If I’m dealing with two characters who know each other at the beginning of the book, then it’s a bit easier. But if the beginning includes the first meeting, then it’s much harder for me to get the guys to a believable HEA ending, complete with love. I’ve written both HEA and HFN endings. I tell myself that since I write novellas and have less pages to work with, that the HFN ending is a perfectly acceptable option. I even use the fact that I write historical m/m romances as another reason why HFN is just fine and dandy. But the more I think about, the more I wonder if that’s just a copout. That length really doesn’t matter – that a romance, even if erotic, should end with love. True-blue honest and heartfelt love. But then again, I guess it depends on what readers look for in a book. Is the journey enough, the getting there or maybe not really ‘there’ enough for the HEA, or is ‘there’ really the best part of a book?

So what do you think? How important is the ‘I love you’ in a m/m erotic romance?

Thanks!

-Ava

----------

Convincing Arthur - Loose Id/July 21, 2009

Object of His Desire - Samhain

AvaMarch

June Amber Quill Best Seller List

Good news, I am on here twice. Of course, I was released the same month as an M.L. Rhodes book and she always kicks everyone else's butt. Ah, well. Pretty cool, nevertheless.

What's Hot? June 2009 Best Sellers!

1. Bring The Heat - M. L. Rhodes (Gay / Contemporary)
2. Car Wash - Shawn Lane (Gay / Contemporary)
3. Seducing Light - KC Kendricks (Gay / Contemporary)
4. Forbidden Desire - Carolina Valdez (Gay / Contemporary)
5. Pottery Peter - Rick R. Reed (Gay / Contemporary)
6. Sins Of Arrogance - India Harper (Gay / Suspense)
7. Bottom's Up:Triplesex - Amanda Young (Gay / Contemporary)
8. Bottom's Up:A Kinky Orgasm - Amanda Young (Gay / Contemporary)
9. Playing The Field:Play On - J. M. Snyder (Gay / Contemporary)
10. Sorcerer's Lover II - Shawn Lane (Gay / Fantasy / Historical)