November and December Updates

Next up in re-releases for me is A Knight For All (Cover is on this site). Right now you can get it for just $1.59. I  must admit, I had mixed feelings about releasing this into the word again because I don't really write MMF, only I did once. And I know there were some that enjoyed this story. So it's being offered again through JMS Books.

In December you can expected The Other Side to be available for $1 during their dollar deals. I don't yet know the date, but please keep that in mind if you are looking to pick that one up.

For Christmas this year I have coming out on December 23, 2017 the re-release of The Best Gift with a shiny new and sexy cover.

That's it for me for 2017. I should have a few more re-releases out next year and maybe even all new material if I can kick my own ass.

Happy Holidays to you and yours.

 

October Updates

I didn't get my Christmas story done in time to submit anywhere so I have nothing new coming out for the rest of 2017. Bummer.

I hope to be able to change that for 2018.

In the meantime, I do have The Best Gift, a Christmas short story I had out years ago with Amber Quill, coming sometime in December. Don't yet have a release date.

Likewise two more short stories will come in January and February 2018.

I am working on some republishing of other stories as well so we shall see what happens there.

Obviously I'd like to see some new stuff coming out as well and if I have any readers left, I am sure you would too.

Happy Halloween.

 

And So...

Today is the last day to enter to win a copy of Still the One. Check back here Saturday to learn if you are the winner.

Still the One is short. I think it comes in at 11,000 words and I'll be honest and tell you it's just a sweet little story. No that doesn't mean no sex (if you read the official excerpt you'll know that isn't the case). But I think you will find the story can be read fast, it doesn't have much angst, and I hope will leave you with at least a half smile on your face when finished.

I wrote it to be short and sweet. I had volunteered to be part of the Amber Quill Pax about best friends known as From This Moment On. At the time I volunteered I had intended to use another work in progress, Never the One (notice the similarity in titles though they have NOTHING in common, lol). As the deadline approached, though, I realized Never the One was going to be longer and more complicated than I could devote the time to as I was in full swing on the Only Forever series.

I had vague ideas of maybe one day writing a sequel for Dusty and Malcolm from The Best Gift but never gave it a huge amount of thought until I realized my planned story wouldn't fly for the Pax. Thus, inbetween writing Only For Him and Only His Heart, I squeezed in Still the One.

So, it's not a complicated story (Neither was The Best Gift), but I think you will enjoy reading it.

If you don't win though, I think Amber Quill has started something new and the first week of release their books are like 35% discount. I think this makes Still the One under three bucks for its first week.

Tomorrow’s excerpt is going to be rather unusual in that it’s the beginning of a story I’m not sure I’ll write. I guess if I get a decent reaction I will consider it. If not…well, I won’t. LOL

If There is a Worse Day Than Monday...It's Tuesday

I am not fond of Tuesdays. It's too far from the weekend on both ends. And since I feel like crap and had to work anyway, this Tuesday is particularly cruel. Therefore, I had to have Ash.



Well after what I thought was a slow start on Still the One, I actually managed to get about 1,200 words done yesterday. Considering my sick state of mind (I know how is that different from usual) I'm not sure it makes a ton of sense, but it's progress.

To make the Pax it has to be at least an Extended Amber Kiss which is 11,000-17,000 words. The Best Gift was actually only an Amber Kiss at 10,000 words so this story has to be longer than the original. I'm thinking this story will be on the lower end of the Extended Amber Kiss word count but we will see.

I am behind my fellow authors of the pax too. As far as I know only one other of the five of us hasn't turned in their story already. And the other author has 8,000 words done to my 1,200.

I'm not terribly worried. As most of you know I'm a pretty fast writer. See backlist of 4 day books, Pulling Away and Stone of Wrath. I'm pretty sure without even looking I wrote Only His Heart in less than a month. The Only books have been admittedly easy because none of them have complicated plots. They are just relationship stories. No outside forces are trying to rip the guys apart or any of that. Still the One is likewise a relationship story.

The nice thing about Malcolm and Dusty having been together for 5 years is I was able to have their first sex scene of this book in the first chapter. I thought I'd get it in right away and believe me the boys did not mind.

And So It Is Monday Again

I've gone and got myself a chest cold. I'd blame Shayne, but my dear bff can't get me sick from the other side of the country. I called in sick at the EDJ. I can't afford to be out much though so I hope taking today off helps because I will need to be back there tomorrow.

I took the weekend off from writing (did some edits on Only For Him), but I need to get cracking on Still the One.

For those who don't recall or are new to visiting me, Still the One is a sequel to The Best Gift. It's a peek into the lives of best friends turned lovers, Malcolm and Dusty, five years later. It is due March 01, 2010 and that is a real deadline as it is part of the best friends pax, From This Moment On, releasing in April.

I hope everyone has a good week.

Only For Him is Finished

Couldn't resist posting this one.


Only For Him is finished! Yeah! I've already sent it off and I have a release date of April 18, 2010.


The third only book starring Calvin, Barnaby's brother, has to wait just a little longer. I think you'll like Calvin too as he looks very similar to Barnaby but a little older and a lot more stuffy. But not to worry his hero, Matt, will definitely be a great match for him.


First up though is Still the One the sequel to The Best Gift. It's a look into Malcolm and Dusty's life five years later (probably out in June as part of a Best Friends Amber Pax).


Once that is done I will be returning to Calvin and Matt.
As soon as Only For Him has a cover, I'll let you know.

Progress Update and Only For Him Teaser

Barnaby's making progress and getting it on with Nathan right now. I hit the 10,000 word mark. I really have no clue what the word length will end up at for Only For Him. I'm thinking novella which starts at 18,000 but it might end up under that and make it to Extended Amber Kiss which is what Only In His Dreams was. This one will be just a smidge angsty but hopefully in the end you will all feel that Barnaby and Nathan deserve their Happily Ever After.

I still intend to keep my self-imposed deadline of having it done January 23/24. Wish me luck!

Before I get to Calvin and Matt's story, which will be the third "Only" book, I will then be working on the sequel to The Best Gift with Dusty and Malcolm five years later. That one will be called Still the One and should be part of a best friends/lovers Amber Quill sort of anthology (called Pax) in early summer.

Here is a teaser for you. The opening pages of Only For Him.


Barnaby Lassiter thought perhaps if he squinted his left eye and tilted his head a bit to the right the guy leering at him from the other end of the bar could pass for him. The man at the other end had dark hair and glasses like him. Maybe if he had another drink or two or three he could pretend.

The man, apparently feeling encouraged by Barnaby looking at him, got up and made his way toward him. Barnaby shook his head and took a sip of his chocolate martini. Nope, not even close to looking like Nathan.

“Hey, gorgeous,” the man said as he reached Barnaby. His hand smoothed over Barnaby’s jean covered knee. “Can I buy you another one?”

Barnaby smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry, I’m meeting someone here.” Which was not a lie, actually. And he was glad of that.

The guy’s smile turned brittle. “Sure, whatever.” He moved away, but not before digging his fingers painfully in Barnaby’s leg.

Dickhead.

He sighed and glanced at his digital watch. Calvin was already thirty minutes late. Stood up by his older brother had to be the height of patheticness. Um…that probably wasn’t even a damn word.

The bell above the door jangled and Barnaby once more turned to look hopefully.

At last.

Calvin Lassiter, his older brother by seven years, was an emergency room doctor. Barnaby had dyed his hair bleached blond whereas Calvin’s was still milk chocolate brown. His brother, dressed in dress slacks, shirt and a tie, was the picture of conservative. No hair out of place, no earrings, no nose stud.

All more than he could say for himself of course. He had gone home from his work as an admin assistant at the Law Offices of Anderson, Llewellyn, and Stevens, and changed into jeans and a blue tank top, and a leather jacket. He had three diamond studs in his left ear and another one in his left nostril. He’d also applied eyeliner, mauve blush, and mauve lip gloss.

Calvin noticed him at the bar and walked over. He was already frowning. Not a good sign. His brother slid onto the stool next to him.

“Hey, I was beginning to think you weren’t coming.”

“I’m busy, Barnaby. I had a meeting at the hospital this afternoon and it ran late.” Calvin ordered a red wine from the bartender and then turned to Barnaby. “Did we have to meet at a gay bar?”

“You’re gay, too.”

“I don’t hang out at bars,” Calvin said, with that note of superiority he usually had when speaking to Barnaby. “And neither should you.”

“I feel comfortable here.”

Calvin glanced around the bar. “I don’t see why. All that these guys want is to get laid. None of them are looking for anything serious. And you have no idea if they have diseases or are serial killers.”

Barnaby felt the muscle in his jaw tick but he said nothing and took another sip of his drink.

“If you’re looking for someone, why don’t you try one of those online dating services?”

“Oh, yeah, right.”

“They have some for gay men, you know.” Calvin looked at him critically. “I can see how some of them might find you attractive.”

“Gee, thanks.”

Calvin sighed. “I just don’t like you in places like this. You aren’t careful, Barnaby.”

He drummed his fingers on the bar. “Look, I didn’t ask you to meet me to get a lecture on how I am going to be murdered by a serial killer.”

Amber Quill December Best Sellers List

Made December's Best Seller's List twice. # 2 for Ticket to Ride and #5 for The Best Gift. Thanks to you!

What's Hot? December 2009 Best Sellers!
1. Wanting - M. L. Rhodes (Gay / Contemporary)
2. Ticket To Ride - Shawn Lane (Gay / Suspense)
3. No Good Deed - Lynn Lorenz (Gay / Mystery)
4. Tango In The Night - KC Kendricks (Gay / Contemporary)
5. The Best Gift - Shawn Lane (Gay / Contemporary)
6. Sins Of Omission - India Harper (Gay / Suspense)
7. Your Cheatin' Heart - Mimi Riser (Gay / Werewolf)
8. Dead Man's Curve - Vivien Dean (Gay / Contemporary)
9. The Devil Went Down To Georgia - Pepper Espinoza (Gay / Dark Fantasy)
10. Cy Gets A Sex Demon - Angela Fiddler (Gay / Paranormal)

New Release...

Malcolm Rowland’s nearly year-old relationship ends just before Christmas when he learns his boyfriend has been cheating on him. Unfortunately, the breakup leaves Malcolm with no place to live and no job.

His best friend, Dustin Jones, who has stood by him for years, takes him in and is determined to show Malcolm not only a great Christmas, but that love between the two of them can be the best gift of all...

The Six Winners...

I went with the top five people that Randomizer thing picked. All five of you get a free copy of The Best Gift this weekend. I'll send pdfs unless you indicate otherwise in the email you send to me with your email address so you can receive your book. Email me at authorshawnlane@gmail.com.

I wish I could afford to give out a copy to all of you. Thank you for entering. And remember it's on sale this month at AQ for just $2.25!

1. Sidda Lee
2. Nick
3. Kathy K
4. Andi
5. Anna

And because I found out Eyre had a birthday this week, she gets a copy of The Best Gift too.

Just One to Go...

Thanks to everyone for the great response to Ticket to Ride so far. Once I got who the characters needed to be for that story (thanks to Nelson, lol) it flowed fairly easily for me. Darn thing has been done since August so I was very ready for it to come out.

It's funny, a friend said to me, now that you have a book with the Beatles title, Ticket to Ride, are you going to make it a series with other Beatles song titles like Eight Days a Week or Paperback Writer or You've Got to Hide Your Love Away.

Um, I admit, my stupid brain sort of perked up at the notion. "Hmm, I could write a mystery series starring Chad and Jack. Or a new couple every book," the brain said. Hmm...fortunately, I turned off the brain and said no to it.

In other news, I am on the last chapter of Only in His Dreams. Go me! I should get it done today and off to where it needs to go. Huge sigh of relief. I'll post a release date, etc, when I know.

Since I am about done with that, I should be able to post part two of the Christmas story sometime Wednesday night or Thursday morning.

Speaking of those whose names are in for winning this weekend's release, The Best Gift are:

Anna
Shayne
Andi
Kara
Drew
Brent
Josh
Lindsay
Eyre
Ivan
Kathy K
mishkismom
Sharon
Martha W
Rachel
Jack
Nick
Sidda Lee
Spring

Please, if I have missed anyone, let me know. Sometimes my eyes skip over names.

The Best Gift is short, being under 10,000 words and it will fly by as you read it, promise. I went the opposite in that Chad and Jack are older heroes. In The Best Gift, Malcolm and Dusty are in their 20s.

The Best Gift Contest Continues

See that beautiful picture there to the right? You can enter all this week. The winner/s will be chosen Friday.

Here is the blurb if you are undecided:

Malcolm Rowland’s nearly year-old relationship ends just before Christmas when he learns his boyfriend has been cheating on him. Unfortunately, the breakup leaves Malcolm with no place to live and no job.

His best friend, Dustin Jones, who has stood by him for years, takes him in and is determined to show Malcolm not only a great Christmas, but that love between the two of them can be the best gift of all...

And Excerpt:

...Dusty had taken the artificial tree from the box and set it up. He’d set the four-and-a-half-foot tree on a small square table in front of the window. He was now preparing to string lights over it. As he bent this way and that working on the tree, his jeans tightened across his ass. Oh, God, Malcolm needed to get a serious grip.

“Need some help?” Malcolm forced himself to ask.

“Yeah, why not start opening the ornament packages?” Dustin didn’t turn around.

Malcolm bit his lip. He hated the awkwardness between them. And damn it, he wasn’t the only one who’d gotten hard when they hugged. “Dustin, can I talk to you?”

Dusty stiffened. “Um, okay, but can it wait until after the tree is decorated?”

“No. I—look, I’m sorry I freaked you out earlier.”

“I didn’t freak out.”

“Dusty, will you stop that for a minute and look at me?”

Dusty finally let go of the string of lights and turned to face him. His cheeks were stained red and his baby blue eyes were suspiciously watery. Malcolm’s stomach dropped.

“Dusty, what is it?” He took the several steps to his friend and couldn’t stop himself from resting his hand on Dustin’s chest. The man shook.

"Malcolm, please.” Dusty sounded pained, tortured.

“What’s wrong?”

“I-I just want you, okay, I want you and—”

Malcolm stopped Dusty’s words with his lips, standing on tiptoe to crush his mouth to the other man’s.

Dusty tore away his lips and stared down at him, his jaw slack. “Malcolm?”

“I want you, too. Kiss me.” He fisted Dusty’s shirt, urging his friend to dip his head down to kissing distance.

Dusty moaned low and cupped Malcolm’s ass, lifting him up so their lips crashed together. Malcolm’s feet came up off the floor.

“The bed,” he gasped, even as Dusty devoured his mouth.

In the few seconds it took Malcolm to get them into his bedroom, Dusty didn’t tear his lips away. He slammed Malcolm and himself onto the double bed, their teeth clacking together.

Barely able to catch his breath, Malcolm pushed his hands under Dusty’s shirt, touching hot silken skin. He dug in his fingertips, wanting to brand Dusty in some small way as his.

Dusty flipped them over so Malcolm was now on top and he ripped out the band Malcolm used to bind his hair. His hair fanned out over Dusty’s fingers.

“Clothes off,” Dusty whispered.

Malcolm needed no further urging and he shoved Dustin’s shirt up to his armpits. His soon-to-be lover slipped it off the rest of the way. His own shirt was practically torn from his body and discarded.

He took a moment to admire his friend’s beautiful ivory skin and rosy nipples. He grazed Dusty’s muscular arms with the tips of his fingers, smiling at the goose bumps developing in their wake.
“Malcolm?”

Reluctantly, he tore his gaze from the perfect chest and met Dusty’s stare. His breath caught in his throat at the bare love and lust he detected in the man’s eyes.

“Take me, Dusty. Make me yours.”

Dusty groaned and grabbed strands of Malcolm’s hair, melding their mouths together...

Blog at Amber Quill

I've blogged at Amber Quill's blog about The Best Gift and Ticket to Ride and included Excerpts if you'd like to check them out:

http://www.aqpauthors.blogspot.com/

The Best Gift Giveawy

Really simple, if you would like the opportunity to win a copy of The Best Gift merely leave your name on the comments of this post and I will randomly choose a winner by December 20, 2009 when it releases. And yes, you can enter both contests. Here is the blurb:

Malcolm Rowland’s nearly year old relationship ends just before Christmas when he learns his boyfriend has been cheating on him. Malcolm has no place to live and no job. His best friend, Dustin Jones, who has stood by him for years, is determined to show Malcolm not only a great Christmas, but that love between the two of them can be the best gift.

Noticed Something Interesting

So today, while on the site, Goodreads, I noticed that someone had rated The Best Gift 4 stars.

Now, normally, I would be fairly pleased with this rating as according to the site that means "really liked it". But as anyone who has been following me knows, The Best Gift does not come out until December 20, 2009.

I wonder how this reader got into my computer to read the story.

Ah, well, perhaps she is rating the cover.

New Cover Alert

Here is my cover for The Best Gift, my Christmas story, coming from Amber Allure December 20, 2009. Cute, huh?

Friday Updates

I'm not sure I know anymore than I did before what story to work on next but I definitely appreciate everyone's participation. You gave me something to think about.

I'm going to say that Barbara, Amy and the Falconer have all earned themselves a free ebook of mine of their choice. Ava has read everything being my CP and Devon has won before.

So the three of you, please email me and tell me which of my books you would like to receive. It can be a future book if you so desire but keep in mind you might have to remind me when the book you have chosen comes out.

Now, that brings me to a new announcement. My little Christmas story featuring new characters, Malcolm and Dustin, titled The Best Gift, has found a home and will be released from Amber Allure in December. Woo hoo! This will mean two releases from me in December.

Changing Gears On a Story

So I was reading a fellow writer's blog this morning (http://devonrhodes.blogspot.com) where she mentioned that she is changing the characters/direction of a story she had started for submission for a holiday themed story. In fact, Devon instant messaged me last night while I was on line to ask me what I thought.

Originally, she had thought to make this holiday story the romance of one of her secondary characters from her soon-to-be published story, Remarkable Restraint. But as she got into writing it and the character (Andy) she decided Andy deserved more to his story then the short little holiday romance she was writing. Ultimately, as I read in her blog today, she has decided to take Andy out of the holiday story and make it two other new characters so she can give them their cute little tale and concentrate more fully on Andy's HEA in the future.

I had a similar experience recently. When I began The Best Gift (my own holiday themed story), it was NOT a holiday themed story. Dustin and Malcolm were supposed to be the heroes in Ticket to Ride (my song-titled themed story for Amber Quill). But as I was beginning their story it simply didn't feel right for the characters. What I had happening to Malcolm was not working in my opinion.

And then, I saw the Nelson Brothers (Ricky's sons) at the airport and got an idea for Chad Storm, a singer of a formerly famous rock band, and the murder of his ex-boyfriend, and the cop, Jack, who catches the case. They seemed much better for Ticket to Ride and so I wrote their story for that title (and am getting SO close to having it finished).

But this left poor Dustin and Malcolm out in the cold. My dear CP, Ava March, liked this couple and encouraged me to come up with something new for them, not just abandon them to the trash bin, and thus The Best Gift, my holiday story, was born.

So, I am a firm believer, as writers, we should write what feels like it fits to us. I could have forced Dusty and Malcolm into Ticket to Ride but I think it would have sucked.

If something isn't working, ask yourself why. Is there something you could do to make it work? Change the story? Change the characters? Change the Point of View in the scene? Change the setting? Change your characters from a hero and heroine to a hero and a hero (like I will be soon)? Don't abandon all hope when something isn't quite working.