Shira Anthony's Blog - Posts Tagged "lbgt"

My free MM Goodreads Group "Love is Always Write" story is up! "Kiss and Makeup" is a fun, sexy, short story about a Hollywood makeup artist and an action hero. http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/8...

Lots of other great free gay romance stories for the reading, too! Check them out.

Fire Tango


Today, my guest is fellow Dreamspinner Press author Hayley B. James! The second book in Hayley's Elemental Attraction series was just released this week, and although I haven't had a chance to read it yet, I read the first book in the series, "Water Waltz," and loved it. You can read my review here. The series is set in an alternate universe of demons, angels, humans, and lots of other supernatural creatures. All these creatures live in different countries that share borders and, as with most neighbors, engage in conflict and create alliances, in spite of and because of their differences.

So I'll step back and have Hayley tell you a bit about her new book and about the series, in general. Don't forget to comment here to be entered to win a copy of Hayley's new book! And welcome, Hayley! -Shira

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In celebration of Fire Tango’s release, I’m having a little event party until Sunday, November 11th. Any comment made on my blog posts on my blog or this post on Shira’s site puts your name into a drawing to win prizes. So be sure to comment!

Thank you for hosting me today, Shira!

I love reading a book and coming across French. All those letters together are just as beautiful written as they are spoken. In high school I took four years of French and made national honors. I graduated and promptly forgot everything.

My love for the language remained even when my memory failed. I can’t tell you the difference between potato and cheese today, but I can use a beta reader to correct what Google translate breaks.

When I decided to name a few angel characters in my Elemental Attraction series using French words, I asked my beta reader for help. I knew Triste needed to be triste for “sad,” but I couldn’t find the perfect word for a bitter character. (Amer was not originally the silly angel he turned into.) My beta reader helped me pick a name, and I had the idea of Amer speaking both English and French. I really do love how the language reads and looks, so the idea just had to become reality.

I’m lucky enough to have a beta read who speaks and teaches French, and was willing to work with me to get the French parts right. While online services are quick and easy, I rely on my beta to create better sentence structure. She’s a doll!

Fire Tango doesn’t have new angels, but it does have the return of Amer and Sucre. Sucre is the driver for Leandre, but their relationship is not the usual between master and servant. Leandre and Sucre tease each other like good friends. Sucre’s sarcastic tongue and dry wit made writing his parts extra fun for both me and my translator. Luckily, the context makes Sucre’s French parts easy to understand so all readers can enjoy his humor.

Amer and Sucre were both introduced in Water Waltz. They return for the second book and get their own scene together. It wasn’t necessary for the overall plot, but certainly icing on the cake for any fan of the two angels.

Is there one language above others you like to read in your literary adventures?

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Excerpt from Fire Tango, by Hayley B. James

Blurb: Devil Fremont’s unwillingness to divulge even the smallest details of his past makes building a relationship with his lover, Leandre, a struggle. Doubt and frustration tear at the couple and put their bond to the test when Fremont’s secrets find him after his ten years in exile and force him home to Spezia to face serious charges.

Whatever mysteries Fremont has buried, Leandre does not believe murder is one of them—though his waiting fiancé is a surprise. As Fremont trusts his lover with his past, a second murder throws him deeper into the law’s hands.

Desperate to save Fremont, Leandre searches for the truth. But the conspiracy he uncovers goes deeper than he ever imagined. With Fremont’s time running out, Leandre must act quickly to reveal the true culprit before he loses his bond mate for good.

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Sucre pinched his nose closed, frowning at the horses and waving a hand in front of his face. It did little to alleviate the dust floating around. “This is ghastly, sir.”

Fremont rolled his eyes at the driver. “You’re behaving as if the smell is unbearable.”

“Imagine how I feel,” Fitzgerald said from beside Sucre. The angel looked down at the faerie and offered an apologetic frown.

“Can’t you fly, mon petit? Rise out of the stench.”

“Faeries can’t fly like angels.” Fitzgerald shrugged. “I can’t stay up.”

“He’s like a chicken.” Fremont pulled himself up and into a saddle. The horse shifted, snorted, and relaxed. Fremont patted the animal’s neck. “Chickens can fly, but they’re no sparrow.”

“I’m not a chicken, I’m not,” Fitzgerald muttered.

“Did you need to get some place, Fremont? I can drive you. You don’t need to take such a….” Sucre paused, searching for the right word. “Such an odd method of transportation.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Sucre.”

“Finer points of a country life, it is.” Fitzgerald smiled at Sucre’s amazement.

“What is? Riding such a beast?” Sucre pointed an incredulous finger at the horse. “Quelle horreur! Why would that be a desired activity?”

Fremont pulled the reins and turned the horse toward the stable doors. “You’re a peculiar one, Sucre.”

“You’re the strange one.”

“Wait for my return, Fitz.”

“Aye, Monty!”

Fremont gripped the reins close to the neck in one hand and dug his heels into the animal’s flank. The horse tore out of the barn, kicking up dirt and dust in its wake. Sucre jumped to the side and took cover behind the now empty stall, causing Fitzgerald to fall over in a fit of laughter.

When Sucre poked his head out, Fitzgerald was dusting off his trousers with his attention focused on the stable’s entrance.

“Kestrel, my lord.” Fitzgerald bowed. “And Leandre. You two just missed Fremont.”

“We saw him leave,” Kestrel said. “He’s testing the new mare’s speed, I see.”

“Expected from him, ain’t it?”

Leandre studied the horse stable in awe and spotted Sucre. The driver gave a small smile and went back behind the stall. Leandre turned to Fitzgerald. “Fremont is a rider?”

“Finer life points, sir,” Sucre said from behind his cover, without concerning himself over how his sarcasm would sound to the prince.

“I see.” Leandre frowned, confused by the new fact. Fremont hadn’t mentioned it, and he couldn’t see a reason why.

Without warning, Kestrel jumped forward, climbed over the nearest stall wall, and mounted a black horse. He used the mane as reins and took off, galloping out of the stable before Fitzgerald could complain about proper riding procedure.

“Your saddle!” Fitzgerald yelled after Kestrel as he frantically waved two hands in front of his face against the assault of dust kicked up by the horse. “Be careful with Rin!” His voice was lost to the air behind Kestrel’s speedy departure.

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Hayley can be found on Twitter and Facebook

 

 

I'm chatting today, Saturday 12/29, from 3 - 6 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on the Dreamspinner Press Facebook page. Please join me for giveaways, excerpts, and general silliness. I'll also be posting links to my favorite opera bromance, "The Pearl Fishers," so you all get to see just how sexy opera singers can be. Stop by and comment to win goodies in honor of my brand new release, Aria (Blue Notes #3).

Over the next few weeks, I'll be running more giveaways and blogging about the Blue Notes Series of classical music themed gay romances, so be sure to check back for more fun! Oh, and by the way, the Blue Notes books are all 20% off throught 12/31 (all Dreamspinner Press's series are!), so now's a great time to purchase all three books, if you haven't already read them.

Much love and happiness to everyone in 2013! For my part, I've already got 2 books on the Dreamspinner Press schedule: "Lighting the Way Home," co-authored with E.M. Lynley, and "Prelude (Blue Notes #4)," co-authored with Venona Keyes. Both books are tentatively set for March/April 2013 releases. Also coming in 2013, the first installment in my new pirate shifter series, "Stealing the Wind" and "Encore (Blue Notes #5). I can't wait! -Shira

So, opera. Yeah. For those of you who might not be familiar with it, it can be pretty intimidating. I say that because that was me when I started college: totally intimidated. Worse, I was totally uninterested. I knew nothing about opera except that it was usually sung in foreign languages. Sure, I’d played classical violin for 15 years or so, but I’d never really listened to opera. Never been interested in listening, either. So at age 19, I listened to my first opera recording after someone suggested I had the kind of voice needed to sing opera. It was a recording of Bizet’s “Carmen,” a super-sexy opera about a woman who works in a cigarette factory in Spain and seduces a naïve young military man.

That’s when I figured out that operas, for the most part, were really like the soap operas that were named after them. They’re over the top romances and dramas, many with not so happy endings, with larger than life characters. Go see an opera today, and you’ll likely either hear it in English or you’ll have supertitles or even subtitles in the back of the seat in front of you. Opera singers more than not look the parts now. The “it’s not over until the fat lady sings” is pretty much dead.

Don’t believe me? Check out this short and sexy clip from Bizet’s “The Pearlfishers” (which, btw, Aiden sings in “Aria” ). True opera bromance: That would be Aiden on the right (the baritone). Yummy! No fat opera singers in sight, and oh, those abs! What are they singing about? You'll laugh. Classic opera angst. Both men love the same woman. They start off by singing about her, then swear to each other than she won't come between their friendship. Right. Then the tenor gets together with the woman (so much for swearing eternal brotherhood), and the baritone (Aiden) must step in to save both the tenor and soprano's lives. The baritone dies in the effort, but he does save them. My thoughts: they should have just dumped the chick and had their own HEA. But hey, I write gay romance, so that's the way my brain works.

Want to hear what I sounded like when I was singing? Here’s a clip of me singing "Tosca", in case you're interested. You can purchase a copy of Aria and the other books in the Blue Notes Series books at Dreamspinner Press.

Ten days and counting until the release of Prelude! A few days ago, my good friend Thea Nishimori commented on my David Somers blog post and asked me to set out the chronological order of the Blue Notes Series books. While I have to admit timelines are not my forte (just ask my Prelude co-author, Venona, to tell you how many times we revised the timeline in that book!), I thought it'd be a good challenge.

For those of you who have read the series, this may help to put together the puzzle pieces. For those of you new to the series, this may be another way for you to decide which series novel to begin with. And it's also a great way for me to introduce my current WIP, Encore, which will be book five in the series.

So, here's the list in chronological order. Remember, each book is meant to be read as a standalone and in any order. These are NOT sequels, although secondary characters often show up as main characters in later books:

1) Encore - This is the story of Alex Bishop's teacher, Roger Nelson, and David Somers's mentor and former music director of the Chicago Symphony, John Fuchs. The story, the oldest in the series, begins in the early 1970s and spans 40+ years.

2) Prelude - Alex Bishop and David Somers's story (Alex and David appear in all of the Blue Notes books, including Encore). Keep your eyes out for a scene toward the beginning of the book where you will meet Roger and John from Encore. That same scene appears in Encore, but from a completely different perspective (and with a twist that got me all verklempt!).

3) Blue Notes - Jules Bardon and Jason Greene's story. We learn in Blue Notes that Jason was roommates with David Somers at the University of Michigan.

4) Aria - Aiden Lind and Sam Ryan's story. Cellist Cary Redding from The Melody Thief makes an appearance in this one as Aiden's best friend.

5) The Melody Thief - Cary Redding and Antonio Bianchi's story. There's a scene in Thief with Cary and Aiden where Cary teases Aiden for being too happy with Sam. There's also a mention that David Somers tried to fix Cary and Aiden up at one point, but that the two men became best friends instead.

What's next for the series? I'm arguing with my muse. I have several stories started, including a story featuring Jules Bardon's little brother, Guy, and a story featuring Cameron, the cheating ex-boyfriend from Aria. I've also got a chamber music group (trio or quartet) in the still-in-my-imagination stage.

Do you have a particular character from the series you'd like me to write about? Or do you have a particular instrument you'd like to see featured in a Blue Notes Series story? I'm definitely open to suggestions! Leave me a comment or shoot me an email at shiraanthony@hotmail.com and my muse and I will duke it out. -Shira

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You can find all of the Blue Notes Series books at Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, AllRomanceEbooks, and other outlets.

Prelude is now available for pre-order from Dreamspinner Press! Release day is Monday, May 6th.

Want to read an excerpt from one or all of the books? Click on the "My Books" link and then on the "More" tab. Then just scroll down to the "Excerpt" tab. You'll also find the playlists for the Blue Notes books there!

Welcome everyone to the When Sparks Fly Fourth of July Blog Hop! I'm one of a whole slew of romance writers participating in the hop that begins July 4th and ends on Monday, July 8th. You can find a listing of all the participants by clicking here or on the hop graphic to the left. Everyone has giveaways going for the hop, so be sure to comment on my blog and on the other blogs to be entered to win!

For my part, I'm offering up winner's choice of an ebook of one of my Dreamspinner Press releases or some Blue Notes Series swag (a collection of a Blue Notes t-shirt with the cover of your choice, pens, a mousepad, and some other Blue Notes goodies). All you need to do to enter is to comment on this post! I'll draw a winner after midnight on July 8th!

Of course, if you're talking romance, "sparks" usually take the form of sexual tension or just sex. Fireworks of a different variety than those you might watch with the 1812 Overture playing in the background. Much as I love fireworks, I prefer the sexual kind. So I'm sharing a bit of fireworks from my upcoming Dreamspinner Press release, Stealing the Wind . And believe me, this one's a scorcher--a long excerpt of an MMM threesome from the beginning of the story (although the story itself is an MM pairing).

Stealing the Wind is an adventure on the high seas with of pirates and merman shifters, as is the first in a series of mermen shifter novels (Mermen of Ea Series). This scene takes place after Taren, a young slave, is kidnapped by pirates and finds himself aboard the Sea Witch. The captain offers Taren his freedom in exchange for three years aboard the ship and in the captain and his first mate's bed. Taren, who is powerfully attracted to the captain, quickly agrees.

You can read the excerpt here. Keep an eye out for the book, which will be released on August 12th by Dreamspinner Press. Happy Fourth of July! Don't forget to comment to be entered into the drawing! -Shira

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Blurb: Taren Laxley has never known anything but life as a slave. When a lusty pirate kidnaps him and holds him prisoner on his ship, Taren embraces the chance to realize his dream of a seagoing life. Not only does the pirate captain offer him freedom in exchange for three years of labor and sexual servitude, but the pleasures Taren finds when he joins the captain and first mate in bed far surpass his greatest fantasies.

Then, during a storm, Taren dives overboard to save another sailor and is lost at sea. He’s rescued by Ian Dunaidh, the enigmatic and seemingly ageless captain of a rival ship, the Phantom, and Taren feels an overwhelming attraction to Ian that Ian appears to share. Soon Taren learns a secret that will change his life forever: Ian and his people are Ea, shape-shifting merfolk… and Taren is one of them too. Bound to each other by a fierce passion neither can explain or deny, Taren and Ian are soon embroiled in a war and forced to fight for a future—not only for themselves but for all their kind.