Tag Archives: guest

#MusicMonday #bandslash blog tour – interview with Piper Vaughn & Mj O’shea

And now, for the #bandslash tour, I’m hosting Piper Vaughn & MJ O’Shea who’re talking about book 3 in the Lucky Moon series, Moonstruck.

(NOTE: I’ve included links to the YouTube videos in case the embedding doesn’t work).

 

Author links

Piper: http://pipervaughn.com

MJ: http://mjoshea.com

 

Five about the authors

1. Who are you, and where do you come from?

Piper Vaughn. I grew up in Chicago, IL and live in a suburb about 30 minutes outside of the city right now. My co-author, MJ O’Shea, is from Washington State.

 

2. What inspires you?

Everything. It sounds like a generic answer, but it’s true. Everything in my day to day life inspires my writing—music, movies, the news, other books, seeing something at the grocery store, overhearing a conversation. The list goes on and on. 🙂

 

3. Describe your writing style in three words:

Sexy. Sweet. Romantic. Continue reading #MusicMonday #bandslash blog tour – interview with Piper Vaughn & Mj O’shea

What I Learned about Writing from Jet by Tara Lain

Those who follow my site know that I don’t often have posts from other people. But I’ve heard from Tara Lain before and she’s got a her first book out today so I’ll happily make an exception. I remember all the authors who helped me when I was just starting out and I’m happy to return the favor for an author who seems to share a lot of my same sensibilities toward writing. Good Luck, Tara!!

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For years, people told me I should write a book, but I couldn’t imagine what I wanted to write about. Then I started reading Jet Mykles, and less than two years later, I’m a published author with my first book, Genetic Attraction, coming out from Loose Id this week and a second book under contract. Reading Jet’s books was better than all the fiction-writing classes (although I did those too), because through Jet I discovered my passion for passion. For the first time, I found something so fun and exciting it would write itself. (Jet can now put “muse” on her resume.)

Here’s what Jet taught me:

    It’s impossible for heroes to be too beautiful – Don’t tell me my hero, Roan Black, couldn’t exist in real life. Erotic romance fiction isn’t real life. The likes of Johnny in Heaven and Shasertai in Sursein Judgement are compelling to me and lots of other readers.
    Characters benefit from being a little (or a lot) over the top – Many writers concentrate on “real people”, but I find I best remember the ones that stand out from the crowd. Have you ever met anyone quite like Hell?
    It’s possible to write great conflict without unspeakable angst – When conflict gets too intense in books, I often feel like closing the cover and walking away. (I avoid the Russian authors and love Jane Austen) Jet makes her readers wonder how the characters will ever get out of their mess – while being totally confident that it will happen.
    Relationships between people are diverse, wondrous and mysterious — Jet’s books avoid labels and categories. She has straight men falling in love with other men , gay men falling in love with women, all  with a minimum of chest-pounding. Is this real life? Who cares? It’s great fiction.
    Once your characters grab a hold of you, they don’t let go – Jet’s book are almost always part of series. I never intended it, but I’ve written four books and three  are all in the same series. My people demanded that I tell their stories.

The bottom line is — thank you, Jet. You have always been generous with your help, and, above all, a huge inspiration to many writers like me. I’ve learned great lessons from your fiction and, hopefully, have put it to work in my books. Oh yes, I forgot to mention. We both love  Adam Lambert.

What have you learned from reading Jet’s books? Share.   :  )

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Buy Link for the bookhttp://www.loose-id.com/Genetic-Attraction.aspx

Tara’s contact info:

At a conservative Long Island University, renowned researcher, Dr. Emmaline Silvay, has two great loves — her life-saving work, and her younger research partner, Jake Martin. The romantic love is impossible. She’s his boss and he lives with his girlfriend. But his “girlfriend” is actually a boyfriend; the beautiful and infamous supermodel, Roan Black.

Resigned to a platonic relationship, Em accepts a weekend invitation to their home, but the men have a ménage on their minds. She can’t resist, doesn’t even want to. But their intentions go far beyond passion. They want her to “be a part of them.” Their three-way love defies propriety and the standards of the University that funds their work. The supermodel’s fame makes secrecy impossible. Their ménage threatens to crumble all she’s worked for. What will give way to make room for genetic attraction?

Guest Blogger – Katrina Strauss – Summer is hot, but volunteerism is hotter!

Off the Beaten Path by Katrina StraussGood day from Katrina Strauss! No, don’t adjust your monitors — you’re at the right place! Many thanks to Jet for inviting me to play at her blog today. There are some sizzling men to be found here at ComputErotika, so I thought I’d bring two hotties of my own! That’s Travis and Kyle to your left. They’re the stars of my next m/m release, Off the Beaten Path, coming this Tuesday, July 28th from Loose Id.

As you might guess from the cover, Off the Beaten Path centers on a camping trip. Well, okay, besides the double whammy of sexy man chest, it involves camping! To be more precise, Travis and Kyle are thrown together on what’s called a “volunteer vacation” at a wilderness state park. A volunteer vacation can be enjoyed in a variety of ways. Here are some opportunities begging to be taken advantage of:

** Constructing an inner city playground from recycled goods.
** Building or maintaining pedestrian and bike trails on former railroad beds.
** Wilderness trail maintenance at state and national parks.
** Working for a day at a local soup kitchen or food bank.
** Mentoring at-risk youth enrolled in summer programs.
** Planting trees with the Nature Conservancy.
** Building houses with Habitat for Humanity.

And that’s just a few! As you can see from the above list, volunteer vacations can range from day trip to out-of-town adventure, urban outing to wilderness escape. When volunteering at state and national parks, participants can receive a discount on guest fees with meals, housing, and/or camping equipment provided. (Volunteers are also often granted access to parts of the park that are closed to the public!) If you’re a high school student planning for college, or a college student seeking an internship, a volunteer vacation can count toward service points. Best of all, a volunteer vacation can be enjoyed by friends, families, youth organizations, church groups, etc, with crew size numbering from a few to several members depending on the task at hand.

Or as Kyle’s friend Mac explains to Travis, a volunteer vacation is “a nice alternative to the usual Vegas trip or overpriced ocean cruise, plus you do something that helps others.” If you’re looking to enjoy an affordable vacation that’s a little different, and serving a worthwhile purpose while you’re at it, you may want to consider one of the volunteer variety! Simply Google “volunteer vacation” to learn more!

Back to Travis and Kyle, I’ll leave you with the blurb and a teaser from their own excursion off the beaten path: Continue reading Guest Blogger – Katrina Strauss – Summer is hot, but volunteerism is hotter!