Shira Anthony's Blog - Posts Tagged "mm"

Just a little over a week until The Trust is released from Dreamspinner Press! You can win an ebook copy (your choice of format) of the novel by leaving a message here on my blog (WordPress or Goodreads) anytime until midnight EST on 6/18! Be sure to leave an email so I can let you know if you're the winner. You can also enter to win a paperback copy on Goodreads (ends 6/19).

The Trust is a gay romance/suspense thriller with bit of a sci fi twist (think gay James Bond with some really cool gizmos!). Oh, and a HEA, of course! And if you're looking to read an excerpt from the book, I have two on my blog, www.shiraanthonydotcom.wordpress.com (the first is an action scene, and the second is a bit hotter). I can't wait! -Shira

Here's the summary:

Eight years ago, Jake Anders was a college kid from the wrong side of the tracks. Then Trace Michelson recruited him into The Trust, a CIA-backed agency whose “executives” eliminate rogue biotechnology operations. Trace was everything Jake ever wanted in a man: powerful, brilliant, and gorgeous. But Jake never admitted his attraction to his mentor, and Trace always kept Jake at arm’s length.

Now Trace is dead and Jake is one of The Trust’s best operatives, highly skilled and loyal to the organization. But the secret agent has his own secret: six years ago, before he was assassinated, Trace designed a Sim chip containing his memories and experiences—and now that chip is part of Jake. It’s just data, designed to augment Jake’s knowledge, but when Sim becomes reality, Jake wonders if Trace is still alive or if Jake really is going crazy like everyone claims. He doesn’t know if he can trust himself, let alone anyone else.

To learn the truth about Trace and the chip, Jake embarks on a dangerous mission—except he’s not the only one looking for the information. Some of the answers are locked in his head, and unless he finds the key, he’ll be killed for the technology that’s become a part of him.

Now, more than ever, Jake wishes Trace were here to guide him. Too bad he’s dead... right?

All I Ever Learned About Romance I Learned from Reading Yaoi (Well, Almost!)

Stop by my blog today, June 22-24th to check out the Manga and Romance Blog Hop! Read about my introduction to gay romance through yaoi and leave a comment to win a free ebook copy of your choice of my Dreamspinner Press releases and check out the other participating blogs. There's also a grand prize link where you can sign up the BIG pot of goodies! http://www.shiraanthony.com

Have a great yaoi weekend! -Shira

For the last day of the Romance and Manga Blog Hop, I thought I’d share an excerpt from my upcoming release, “The Melody Thief (Blue Notes #2).” Release date is 8/24/12 from Dreamspinner Press. This is from Chapter Four. A little background – Antonio rescues Cary from a mugging on a Milan street and offers Cary spend the night at his place so there’s someone to watch him after he suffers a concussion. Cary wakes up the next morning to a little complication.

Don’t forget to leave a comment at www.shiraanthony.com to be entered to win a copy of one of my Dreamspinner Press titles (including “Blue Notes,” the first in the series). Also be sure to enter the grand prize drawing and check out all the other participating blogs at http://www.hayleybjames.com/2012/06/b...!

I'm headed on vacation soon, but a little birdie told me my free story for the MM Goodreads Romance Group's "Love is Always Write" event is coming very soon! Can't tell you exactly when, but keep an eye out for it here: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13...

"Kiss and Makeup" is a short story (about 10,000 words) about Ted Aaronson, a Hollywood makeup artist, and a Hollywood star/action hero, Len Golden. Ted has to turn Len into an alien commander for a big-budget sci fi movie. But once Ted sees Len in person, he realizes he'd much rather turn Len into his boyfriend. Which might present a bit of a problem, since Ted's pretty convinced Len's straight. Turns out, the two men met ten years before, doing summer stock.

A little less angsty than my usual books, this story is a fun summer romance with explicit sex and a HEA. I hope you enjoy it! -Shira

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.

Enter until 7/15 to win a paperback copy of my new release, "The Trust," from Dreamspinner Press! Here's the link to the giveaway: http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...

Theme/Genre: Gay romance, contemporary, mystery/suspense, sci fi

Contains: Graphic depictions of homosexual sex, James Bond type violence (think secret agents with guns) and, of course, a happy ending!

Blurb: Eight years ago, Jake Anders was a college kid from the wrong side of the tracks. Then Trace Michelson recruited him into The Trust, a CIA-backed agency whose “executives” eliminate rogue biotechnology operations. Trace was everything Jake ever wanted in a man: powerful, brilliant, and gorgeous. But Jake never admitted his attraction to his mentor, and Trace always kept Jake at arm’s length.

Now Trace is dead and Jake is one of The Trust’s best operatives, highly skilled and loyal to the organization. But the secret agent has his own secret: six years ago, before he was assassinated, Trace designed a Sim chip containing his memories and experiences—and now that chip is part of Jake. It’s just data, designed to augment Jake’s knowledge, but when Sim becomes reality, Jake wonders if Trace is still alive or if Jake really is going crazy like everyone claims. He doesn’t know if he can trust himself, let alone anyone else.

To learn the truth about Trace and the chip, Jake embarks on a dangerous mission—except he’s not the only one looking for the information. Some of the answers are locked in his head, and unless he finds the key, he’ll be killed for the technology that’s become a part of him.

Now, more than ever, Jake wishes Trace were here to guide him. Too bad he’s dead... right?

July has been a great month in so many ways! It started out with my submitting the third Blue Notes Series book to Dreamspinner Press and wonderful critical reviews of my latest DSP release, The Trust, which I co-authored with my old friend Venona Keyes. Jessewave called The Trust "science fiction at its best!" Not to mention the wonderful vacation with my husband of 20 years in the Caribbean where we both got open water certification in scuba diving.

Last week, I had the pleasure of spending time writing with my good friend and fellow DSP author, E.M. Lynley. We're working on an exciting joint project. Our week together ended with two new contracts from Dreamspinner - one for each of us! Oh, and yummy ginger martinis E.m. invented.

This week started with me receiving the final artwork for the cover of my upcoming release, The Melody Thief, the second in the Blue Notes series. Release date for Thief is August 24th, so check my website, http://www.shiraanthony.com, in the upcoming weeks for excerpts and contests.

Of course, I'm still working on several other projects, including the planned fourth book in the Blue Notes series, Prelude. It's always good to be busy, but it's great to sit back and just smile when the hard work pays off! -Shira

The winner of the t-shirt giveaway is Dianne! Congrats. I'll be contacting you by email. Don't forget that everyone who commented is still entered to win a copy of The Melody Thief in the ebook format of their choice. I'll be running another contest next week for more swag, so stay tuned! Don't forget you can also enter to win a copy (autographed, if you wish) of the paperback version of Melody Thief on Goodreads.

Thanks to everyone who entered and told me about their favorite music! I've got a few bands I'm going to be looking up. XD In the meantime, if you like classical, or are just curious, you can listen to some of the music from The Melody Thief by clicking here and scrolling down to the "Book Extras" tab and clicking on the link. You'll find links to free recordings there. -Shira

Happy weekend and welcome to the Rainbow Reviews Blog Hop! Oh, and welcome to release day (Friday 8/24) for my latest gay romance, “The Melody Thief!” Yep, two-for-one day, and definitely time to celebrate! As part of the hop (and release day), I’ll be giving away one eBook copy of “Blue Notes,” the original Blue Notes Series book from Dreamspinner Press (your choice of formats) and a Blue Notes Series t-shirt (your choice of covers). To enter, just leave a comment with your email address on my blog. And be sure to check out all the other wonderful blogs and giveaways (click on the hop logo above)!

“The Melody Thief”

For those of you who aren't familiar with the Blue Notes Series, each book is a standalone novel that takes place in the same classical music universe. What does a “classical music” universe look like? It’s a place where performers share connections and friendships through their music. Characters include performers, entertainment lawyers, agents, and the people they know and love. Stories are often set in places where performers congregate—large cities like Paris, New York, Milan, and Chicago feature prominently in the series.

The original book in the series, “Blue Notes,” features a jazz violinist and a former musician turned lawyer, and is set in Paris. This new installment, “The Melody Thief,” features a classical cellist with an international career and an entertainment lawyer, and is set in Milan.

“The Melody Thief” is the story of cellist Cary Redding, a former child prodigy and a budding superstar on the classical music scene. Cary’s career is skyrocketing, but his personal life is a disaster. He’s addicted to anonymous sex and flirts with alcohol addiction. Everything comes crashing down around Cary when he’s mugged on a deserted Milan street while coming home from a gay bar. Things look grim until he’s rescued by Antonio Bianchi, an Italian lawyer (for those of you who have read “Blue Notes,” you’ll recognize Antonio as Rosalie’s lawyer).

Cary doesn’t want a relationship, although he’d be happy to end up in bed with Antonio. Things get complicated because Cary lies about who he is and pretends to be an out of work composer. The last thing Cary expects is to fall for Antonio. There’s also another complication: Antonio has a five year old son, Massimo. But when Antonio adds a little romance to Cary’s life, Cary falls hard. Now if he could only come clean about who and what he is.

To read an excerpt from “The Melody Thief,” click on the link and scroll down to the “Excerpt” tab.

Now, on to the theme of the Rainbow Review Blog Hop:

“What does writing GLBTQ literature mean to me?”

In some ways, writing gay romance isn’t all that different than writing anything else: it’s an act of self-expression, something my creative brain urges me to do. Ironic then, isn’t it, that a straight woman could learn far more about herself writing gay relationships than she ever learned from writing heterosexual ones.

I grew up in the 70s. My mother was a professional musician, my dad a college professor. Open-minded, politically active parents with openly gay friends. I never even thought twice about homosexuality as being “wrong.” It just was. The majority of men who inhabited my career universe, opera, were gay. Plenty of the women too. My best friend is a gay man—one of the best men I know. Kind, strong, intelligent, funny. In grad school, we used to say (with some seriousness) that if I wasn’t married by age 35, we’d get married and have a family together.

So what did I read at night when I was a college student? Harlequin romances. And boy, oh boy, did I long for more!

My first published romance was a het one. Spunky heroine with big boobs falls head over heels for another slave on the pirate ship where she’s held captive. Loved the hero. Hated the heroine. She was just so... wimpy. So not me. I’m a product of the women’s liberation movement—my parents told me I could do anything I wanted to do. I sang opera, went to law school in my 30s, and started writing professionally in my 40s.

My “a-ha” moment? My epiphany? When a friend asked me to co-author a love story about two men. My first thought: why not? My second: will I enjoy this? I couldn’t answer the first question (I figured that was a good sign). Still, I was pretty sure the answer to the second question would be “probably not.” Oh, how I was wrong!

I have a hard time explaining why I find gay romances so downright hot. Someone asked me if it’s because I can imagine “converting” the men to heterosexuality. Definitely not. And I don’t want to just substitute a different set of “junk” and create a main character who’s really a woman beneath it all (well not unless I end up writing a transgender story at some point!). But that got me thinking. I love men. Always have. I love their bodies, I love that they can be strong, self-assured and nobody faults them for it. There are so many shades of men, each with unique strengths, flaws, and weaknesses.

Which just leads me to the next reason I love writing gay romance: I want people to know how I feel about homosexuality. I want them to know I celebrate it. I want to write my best friend his own happy ending because, dammit, he deserves one like I got with my husband. And yes, there are times when I preach a little. And because I try to write about real relationships, I don’t skip condom use (or lack thereof). I’m not afraid to write explicit sex scenes because, let’s face it, real men have sex. And it’s not the glossed-over sex I read in those Harlequins years ago (if they even had sex); it’s sex as in a real physical relationship between human beings.

In the end, though, writing gay romance isn’t all that different from writing romance. My stories are about human failings, human strengths, and human emotions. The appeal of a well-written romance is that it can reach out and touch a reader’s heart, maybe even help the reader to learn something about him/herself, just as gay romance has touched my own heart and helped me to understand more about myself. -Shira

 

 

There's nothing quite like the feeling you get when a book you've poured your heart and soul into is finally published. I don't think it matters how many books you've published, to me, each one is a piece of my heart that I send out into the big world and hope will fare well. So I can't even imagine the heartbreak of a writer who, just days after publication of a book, discovers that someone out there has stolen her work and is selling it and passing it off as her own. That's what happened to friend and fellow Dreamspinner Press author, Tali Spencer.

Just as I did when I was first testing the waters, trying to decide if I had it in me to publish my original fiction, Tali posted her book on a free fiction website. These websites are wonderful, both for writers and readers. Readers can discover new writers, and writers can get feedback on their works. They are, apparently, also a haven for thieves who take the stories published there and pass them off as their own. And, let's face it: this IS theft. Just as downloading "free" copies of published books on pirate websites is theft, pure and simple.

"Prince of Winds" is an amazing book. I have no doubt why the thief thought it was worth stealing. You can read my review here. I didn't need to know Tali held the copyright to know it was hers; her voice is unique and poetic, and I'd have recognized it in a heartbeat. I'd tell you all to buy the book just to support her and help her fight back against the thief, but I don't really need to--it's an amazing book you don't need an additional reason to buy. -Shira

***************

Stolen Books, by Tali Spencer

It happens all the time. A writer puts up a book, or a series of chapters that constitutes a first draft of a book, on a free site. The writer is seeking encouragement, connection with fans or readers, maybe advice. They don’t stop to consider—fully consider—that their work might be stolen by someone else and published. Most of the time, they never even bother to register copyright on their work. They know copyright is just a legality and think it doesn’t matter. After all, the work is theirs because they created it. Right?

Right. But there’s more at stake than who wrote it when someone else puts their name on it.

I found out this weekend that my book, The Prince of Winds, was stolen when it was up for a while on a free site. Many people enjoyed this story there and offered me encouragement. Fans said I should get it published. But I waited and posted more free material until I could believe in myself. Well, I guess I should have listened to my readers … because someone else took the book and published it before I did. Dreamspinner notified me Sunday morning (actually Saturday night, but I saw the email when I woke up Sunday) that a reader who had bought the book off their site complained that she already owned the book. I was asked to clarify the matter.

Did I write The Prince of Winds?

And so it began. This is how it played out. Saturday night the book was removed from all sales sites until the matter could be resolved. People looking for the book couldn’t find it and wrote to me asking what was going on. What did I tell them? The truth.

The book was published in March 2012 by a publisher called Forever Amber for a writer named Emily Wilcox. Check out this [HERE] to see the scoop on Forever Amber. Both I and my publisher have every reason to believe this publisher was in fact a single person using pseudonyms for the many plagiarized books the company published. My book was published as two books: “The Prince of Desire: Persian Prince Adventure” and “The King of Storms.” The thief put the books up on Goodreads, too, [HERE].

This is bad for me in several ways. It’s bad enough some readers out there might think I’m the plagiarist. I never even copied homework. But they don’t know me from a street sign in Toledo, so now I have to rebuild my credibility as an author. I also have to rebuild credibility for this book. I could just write it off, but I’m not willing to do that—and neither is my publisher. The Prince of Winds is a fine book and I’m proud to have written it! Dreamspinner believes in it, too, and is keeping the book in print.

The book is already back on the sales shelf. There’s one reason and one reason only we were able to resolve this issue so quickly: I had registered the book’s copyright in February 2011. That’s right. As soon as I put it online, I paid my $35 and got a certificate that establishes me as author of this book. I did the same for Captive Heart, by the way. So when Dreamspinner asked if I could clarify the matter, I had only to go to my file cabinet and send them the copyright number and information. A quick check and some consulting with their lawyer and we were good.

The Prince of Winds now carries a disclaimer that an unauthorized edition was published. It names the other title but not the author. Because I’m the author of both versions. The copyright notice in the book now carries my copyright registration number to prove I’m the copyright holder. Anyone who bought the book on its original release won’t have those notices. The blurb now also carries the same disclaimer.

How do I feel about that? I hate having that language attached to my blurb. I hate having that other title even buried in in the copyright notice where most people never look. It’s like having a scar. It will always be there, but I don’t have to like it. Good thing I have enough life experience—and scars—to be able to chalk this one up to a lesson learned.

If you put your work out online for free, for fun, because you like the ego strokes or want to do something nice for your fans—do it. Just realize that someone else could easily publish your work as their own. And if someone does that, it might create problems for you down the line. If you try to publish your work, it could come back to bite you in the ass. My ass this morning is so sore I need one of those hemorrhoid pillows.

As for copyright registration? It didn’t keep someone from stealing my work. I will probably never track down the now vanished publisher (the book itself is also long since off any sales sites) to sue for damages … though I have the legal standing to do so. It may never convince readers who already think I am the one who pilfered someone else’s book. But what it did do was enable me to rescue this book before it was irreparably crippled by a horrible launch. It allows me to ask Goodreads to remove that author and the offending books. Worth every cent of that $35 as far as I’m concerned. Only my Sunday was ruined, not my month.

Here’s my final say: I love my publisher. Dreamspinner was wonderful and supportive and believed in me all the way. I love my husband and friends. They listened to me vent and put up with me at my worst. I love my fans. When I told the ones who wrote to me about what was going on, they rallied like troopers.

And I still love writing. I’m writing the sequel, and I’m pretty damn sure the thief can’t do that.

 

Links.

Forever Amber link: http://www.eroticromancepublishers.com/2012/04/forever-amber.html

Goodreads link: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3316671.Emily_Wilcox