Top Ten List Part Two

Today’s list is 5 favorite reads. These are tough to choose but I choose those that while could have made the top 10 list, were just edged out. However, they certainly deserve mentioning as these are the ones that I’ve re-read almost immediately after ending.

Top Ten List Part One

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

It’s almost impossible to pick a “Top Ten” list. Given that I’ve read over 500 GLBT fiction books and short stories in the past year, I ran into a wall trying to choose just ten. There are the comfort reads that I’ve already read numerous times, regardless of numerical star. Then there are the fabulous, gut wrenching books that are truly wonderful but I’m not likely to read again. There are the thought provoking literature reads, the mind bending spec fiction, fun romps, and the pure porn books.

In the sea of books, I did the best I could to come up with 10 books you should read if you haven’t. Then I threw in 5 series, and 5 favorites. Yea, I couldn’t stay with just 10. Sorry!

So today will be the 5 series you should read if you haven’t.

Lessons in Temptation by Charlie Cochrane

Lessons in Temptation by Charlie Cochrane

Blurb:

He thinks he has everything. Until someone tries to steal it.

Cambridge Fellows Mysteries, Book 5

For friends and lovers Orlando Coppersmith and Jonty Stewart, a visit to Bath starts out full of promise. While Orlando assesses the value of some old manuscripts, Jonty plans to finish his book of sonnets. Nothing exciting…until they are asked to investigate the mysterious death of a prostitute.

Then Orlando discovers that the famous curse of Macbeth extends far beyond the stage. It’s bad enough that Jonty gets drawn into a local theatre’s rehearsals of the play. The producer is none other than Jimmy Harding, a friend from Jonty’s university days who clearly finds his old pal irresistible. Worse, Jimmy makes sure Orlando knows it, posing the greatest threat so far to their happiness.

With Jonty involved in the play, Orlando must do his sleuthing alone. Meanwhile, Jonty finds himself sorely tempted by Jimmy’s undeniable allure. Even if Orlando solves the murder, his only reward could be burying his and Jonty’s love in an early grave…

Secret Santa winners

Thank you everyone for making the Secret Santa such a success!

We had more than I anticipated join in and most were incredibly generous. Although the rules asked that you gift one book, most secret santas went above and beyond and gave BOTH choices to their chosen person.  So thank you everyone for participating and with such generosity.

And the winners are… 

PDF copy of TLC 101 by Janey Chapel goes to Val.
PDF copy of Maritime Men by Janey Chapel goes to Orannia.

$10 Gift Certificate to All Romance eBooks goes to Jitterbug.
$10 Gift Certificate to All Romance eBooks goes to Nichem.

Thank you again for participating! I’ll send Ms. Chapel both email addresses for the books and the gift certificates should arrive in your mail today. 

If anyone has any problems or has problems with their secret santa (sometimes the publishers aren’t making it easy) please let me know. 

Happy Holidays!

Faewolf by D. M. Atkins & Chris Taylor

Faewolf by D. M. Atkins & Chris Taylor

Blurb:

Faewolves, like werewolves, can walk among men. What happens when Kiya White Cloud, a young gay college student in Santa Cruz, wants one of these men enough to risk his heart–and his life?

A Violin’s Cry by Joseph Cox

A Violin’s Cry by Joseph Cox

Blurb:

Three days before the anniversary of Julian Banner’s lover’s suicide, a terrifying sound unlike anything Julian has ever heard rips him from his sleep. Someone broke into Julian’s home to steal a single string from his dead boyfriend’s violin. After an unpredicted dinner out, Julian is more on his own than ever. That night when Julian wakes in a dream of smoke and fog, whispers of visions and a truth he was never supposed to realize become clear in the haze.

I love you or not?

Black Wade: The Wild Side of Love by Franze and Andärle

Black Wade: The Wild Side of Love by Franze and Andärle

Blurb:
The rough and merciless pirate Black Wade and his band are the scare of the seven seas. And just like his greed for gold is insatiable, his sexual craving knows no boundaries as well: When they board a British ship, Wade takes Lieutenant Jack Wilkins as a prisoner to satisfy his lust. At first Wilkins struggles with all his might, but soon he has to acknowledge that he actually has pleasure in the eager sexual encounters with the handsome pirate. In the meantime his fiancée Annabeth is waiting wistfully for the return of Jack, not knowing if he’s still alive. And on the pirate ship emotions are running high as well: Buccaneer Marak keeps a jealous watch over the prisoner Jack. He would love to polish Wade’s gun barrel himself. Due to the rising nervousness Wade realizes that he cannot allow himself the tender feelings he begins to have for Jack. To prove how merciless he is, he maroons Jack on a raft and relinquishes him to the forces of the wide ocean. But that’s nowhere near the end of the story…

Should publishers reign in authors?

By now the links have all made the rounds about the crazy Candance Sams who went off on a reviewer for daring to give a 1 star review of her book. For those that are new to the wankfest in Romancelandia, the link is HERE. It’s huge and continues on even 2 weeks later as the author just…won’t…shut…up. Even other authors jump in and tell her to chill but she continues to berate readers and reviewers for daring to disagree. The author even goes to considerable length blaming editors and saying authors have “scant” control over such things as scene placement and dialogue.

Yea, I thought that was called writing a book but whatever. This post isn’t about the craziness of one author. At this time I was talking with someone and wondered if Sams’ publisher knew what this author was doing.

So out of curiosity, I sent an email to the customer service at Love Spell. I basically gave them the link, asked if they were aware of the author’s actions and the ramifications it has on the publisher as a whole.

This is their reply:

Kassa,

Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. We always welcome the opportunity to listen to the comments, opinions and concerns of our readers, whether positive or negative.

As with most authors and publishers, Ms. Sams has opinions that may differ from our own. We have neither the time nor the manpower, nor quite frankly the right, to police these opinions. We like to think that comments posted online will be weighed with the merit they deserve. We appreciate the fact that readers may be wary of purchasing books by authors who engage in indecorous behavior in any forum. Please be assured that we neither solicit nor encourage any attack by our authors on readers or reviewers. We hope that you will judge each of our authors based on his or her own individual works.

Once again, thank you, Kassa, for taking the time to share your concerns. We value your opinion as a reader and appreciate your point of view.

Happy Reading and Happy Holidays!
Customer Service

I thought this was a really interesting reply, which brings me to the point and question of this post.

Should publishers keep their authors from such behavior or let them hang themselves?

I’m not talking about publishers policing every single comment an author makes or even every wankfest that occurs but something of this magnitude has to be more than a blip on their radar, right?

Thoughts?

Don’t forget to sign up for the secret santa! 2 more days!

Secret Santa

Don’t forget to sign up for the Secret Santa!

We’ve already had a good number sign up and the more that sign up, the more gift certificates thrown into the mix and the more fun we have .

Thanks to the incredible generosity of Janey Chapel, we’re throwing her books into the mix for random participants. She’s offered a copy of

and

I’ve waxed poetic on how great Maritime Men is so these are great gifts to 2 lucky participants!

So be sure to sign up – all the details in the post HERE! or on Kris’ Blog!