And the newest title is...

All right, so here's the news.

The short story I was working on is a sequel to Pulling Away and is called Pulling Apart.

For those of you are fans of the original story (Devon, lol), this should be good news. Hopefully if you weren't a huge fan of the original you will still give Pulling Apart a chance. Basically, as the name implies things are not going swimmingly for Noah and Charlie.

The release date is January 23, 2011, so there you have my first release for 2011. I don't have a cover yet, but will post it when the time comes.

If you are curious how this came about, it was Noah's fault. In my free summer story with Kevin and Michael , Noah, of course made an appearance and there was a hint that not all was well. He kept bugging me about it, and before I knew it, I finally gave in.

For those of you who are Kevin lovers, he does make a few brief appearances in the story, but it IS Noah and Charlie's so don't expect too much of him.

So, that's the news. I'm back to working full steam ahead on The Impersonator. That's my Elvis Impersonator/Masquerade themed story if anyone is paying attention. LOL

Saturday Updates

I'm at the stage now where I am reviewing the galleys for Beyond the Norm so that is pretty exciting. Book comes out in less than two weeks now as it comes out on September 03. I will be doing a giveaway of a copy of course. I'll probably post about the giveaway next week.

I know I mentioned my submission of my Christmas story, The Best Gift, but the deadline for the Christmas stories has been extended so I will be waiting a few more weeks for the decision than I originally thought. So, some time in September I should know.

And speaking of Christmas stories, I'll be posting more about this as the holidays approach but look for some free Christmas stories on here featuring Kevin and Michael from Car Wash and Noah and Charlie from Pulling Away. These will be sexy stories, I promise.

Just recently, one of my publishers showed us some covers up for grabs for possible inspiration of a story for them. Though many of them were very tempting, I am trying to resist. I really have too many stories I must write now. Really. So I am remaining strong.

Jane Austen, M/M Romance, & Opposites Attract…

(by Ava March – official moocher of Shawn’s blog)

…three of my favorite things. I love Jane Austen. My favorite book of hers is Pride and Prejudice (which some of you may have picked up on already). I love M/M romances, and I love Opposites Attract story lines. And yes, all three things actually go together.

When I read Austen’s books, I can’t help but think that some of her heroes would be better suited to each other, than to their heroines. Not just my favorites, Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy, but also Mr. Knightley and Frank Churchill (Emma), and Edward Ferrars and John Willoughby (Sense and Sensibility). Of course, this could be because I tend to have M/M romances on the brain - I do write them and spend a lot of time mulling over new plots and characters. But Austen’s works are also prime ground for my overactive imagination because she tended to write one reserved/pragmatic hero and one playboy/easy-going hero. My personal opinion (and I’m no literary scholar) is that Austen used the two types of heroes to play off each other and drive the primary heroine to her ultimate hero.

I personally love to write gay heroes who appear as opposites but actually go together perfectly. I find the dynamics of such a pairing quite interesting. Letting the heroes smack into each other and bouncing back rather like the ends of a magnet, until they snap together like puzzle pieces. And no, not just in the physical sense. *g* But that moment when they realize how well they complement each others’ strengths and weakness, making each stronger when they are together.

That’s pretty much the underlying theme of a novella I just finished. In Convincing Arthur, one hero is the ultimate rakehell, just seeped in vice and debauchery, while the other is the workaholic solicitor. Shawn also uses opposites in a number of her books. The Other Side is a prime example, along with At Long Last, The Squire and Pulling Away, to name a few. And I also happen to know that Car Wash, which will be out in June, features a yummy pair of opposites. I love Kevin!!! He's so darn cute. *squee*

OK. Fan girl moment over, back to the post. Opposites and Austen. My personal favorite pair that never was is Bingley and Darcy. Darcy is so stuffy and reserved, and he’s not much of a social butterfly, to the point where he’s a bit intimidated to attend a country dance. But easy-going, sociable Bingley would be perfect for him, tempering Darcy’s rigid exterior. Darcy’s so aware of social standing whereas Bingley is so unassuming he doesn’t even realize he’s the object of every match-making mama. Plus, Bingley's the type to fall in love at first sight whereas Darcy has to analyze everything. The two men are the best of friends in the book, which emphasizes my belief that they’d be well suited to each other.

And Frank Churchill doesn’t really want Jane Fairfax. He’d be better suited to Knightley.

(and please excuse Frank’s hair – I don’t know what the stylists were thinking. Poor Ewan McGregor.)

My second favorite pair that never was is actually Edward and Willoughby.

All right, so that’s a rather brooding picture of Willoughby, but I think it’s hot so I included it. Perhaps this one suits the post better -

See...so happy. The devil-may-care playboy who takes Marianne for fast carriage rides about the countryside. And I think Edward would be a total missionary-man if left to his own devices (or if left with Elinor), so he needs someone like Willoughby to spice him up. *g*

So there you have it – why Jane Austen’s works inspire me to pen M/M erotic romances. Who is your favorite Austen pair that never was? Do you like Opposites Attract storylines, or do you have a different favorite? And what movies/books inspire you?

Thanks!!!

-Ava

Bound to Him, Loose Id

Object of His Desire, Samhain

Convincing Arthur, Loose Id/July 2009

www.avamarch.com

Why Some Books Resonate More Than Others

I’ve been thinking about this lately. So far, my latest release, Trust, has had a great response from readers. I’m thrilled, of course, when readers enjoy my stories. I’m not naïve enough to believe everyone will like it, but still I’ve had a fantastic response thus far. I loved my characters in Trust, in particular Brad (I do love Justin, too), and it seems many of my readers have fallen for Brad, too. I never would have guessed when I set out to write Trust last summer how well it would do. I just wanted to create a character who made a mistake (dare I say forgivable) and make him worthy of being loved again.

On the other hand, I’ve had a very mixed reaction to my March release of Jake’s Regret. I’ve received some lovely emails from readers who enjoyed the story, but I’ve also had readers who thought Jake was weak and unsympathetic. Just as I hadn’t expected such a great response to Trust I was equally surprised at the displeasure with Jake’s character. As his creator I never saw him to be unsympathetic. I just wanted to create a character who was the product of his upbringing by a hateful parent and so therefore found it difficult to accept himself for what he was.

So this brings the point. Some books resonate better than others with readers. I find even with the authors I read over and over some stories I like better than others. I don’t know why this is either.

As a writer I want all my books to be well-received by everyone but I know that isn’t possible. I treasure the times when a reader has been moved in some way by my books and hope to grow and improve when they are not.

Speaking of stories that got a mostly positive reaction (recently I've had some very lovely reviews pop up, too) time for a little bit of self-promotion. My story, Pulling Away, which as I’ve noted on the blog before was a spur of the moment story I wrote in less than a week when one of my publishers needed stories to fill in gaps, was pretty well received by most readers. So those readers might be interested to know that my June release, Car Wash, is Kevin’s story. Kevin was Noah’s friend in Pulling Away. While you do not need to have read Pulling Away to read Car Wash and vice versa, I would love it if readers read both, of course. Anyway, I don't recall now if I mentioned the connection prior to this.

I will be doing another giveaway, this time of Car Wash, when it gets closer to the release date.