Review: Khyber Run

Khyber Run by Amber Green
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Khyber Run is a very interesting war novel and definitely kept my attention from beginning to end but it’s very oddly published with Loose Id. The story is absolutely not a romance, there is no discernable evidence of romance anywhere, and there are a few explicit sex scenes based on situations rather than emotion. Instead, this is a very absorbing read about the war in Afghanistan and the personal affect on one family and in particular one person. His quest to avenge his brother is the main theme and if anything this is merely a fictional story about war. Maybe if you squint it could be called gay fiction due to the few quickie rough sex scenes but that’s still a stretch in my opinion. If you’re looking for a very intricately detailed war story from a personal level, this may work for you.

Review: Hairy, Horny, and Over Here

Hairy, Horny, and Over Here by J.L. Merrow
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I got this one because it was by JL Merrow and I’ve yet to find a book of hers that I don’t laugh out loud while reading. Well I didn’t exactly laugh out loud at this one but I adore the ending and the story is cute and fun. It’s a throwaway in that it’s not one I’d remember exactly and there isn’t much to the story but it’s fun, easy to read, and enjoyable so worth the few bucks.

GRL .. stick a fork in it

So this is my GRL post (yes, I’m sure you’re happy) but this one is a guest post for the beautiful Janna. So head on over to her blog HERE to see what I have to say about whether meeting authors changes how I can review their work. I apologize for the glaring typos. Oops. This is why I’m not a writer.

Also thank you all for the wonderful birthday wishes! I’m not too proud to shamelessly solicit wishes and I had a great birthday, “wisdom signs” and all.

Here’s a cute ass just to say thanks. Yummy.

Happy Birthday

This morning as I was getting ready, trying to look nice on my birthday when I just want to sleep, my loving, caring boy mentions I have a smudge under my eye. I run to the bathroom to check thinking my makeup had smudged but no.. it was just a wrinkle. Thanks. No worries, I’m  just getting old.

Meeting the authors..

So here is where the second part of meeting people came with a double edged sword… while meeting and hanging out with the girls was amazing and wonderful and all those great adjectives, we were there to also meet the authors. So let me run down a few of the interactions, both good and bad. I think the other girls had a bit more luck but I’m used to random, strange, and bizarre things happening to me.

Swag – the good and the sadly recycled

Moving along to my rather extensive discussion of GRL, let’s talk swag today.

Swag is defined as promotional items given away at conventions or trade shows. This is pretty accurate for the stuff we were given but unfortunately most of it was recycled. I say that with the full knowledge and sadness that authors and publishers spent a ton of money on these items. I brought home about 20% (or less maybe) of everything I was given. Even then I feel I brought home too much but most of what I did keep was signed so hopefully I can tuck those into print books and call it a day.

Here you go.. pictures!

So I still have a few more GRL posts (I believe in beating a dead horse) – these include a Meeting the Authors post and a Swag post.

But for your viewing pleasure here are some fun pics. Not surprisingly you may see similar ones on other sites.. we all whip out our cameras to the same things. I took something crazy like 100 pictures but here are just a few highlights. I mostly have a ton of pictures of us drunk at gay bars and then touristy street pictures. I’m thinking you want to see the gay bar ones more so enjoy this small sampling.

I can’t seem to embed a movie into WordPress and I’m too lazy to go figure out why, so click on this lovely link and it’ll take you to the slideshow of pictures. (Yes, another click!)

GRL – reality vs fantasy

The GRL retreat was and still remains an excellent idea. Judging by the number of people who went and wanted to go but couldn’t, it’s a great opportunity to mix with like minded individuals all with the same interest. The organizers made a pretty unwieldy schedule work as best they could and it went decently on time. A lot of readers want to meet and mingle with their favorite authors and have conversations about a genre they love or books in general. Specializing one of the massive conferences to just M/M and having it in a small, more intimate setting is really ingenious. I definitely tip my hat to whoever came up with this idea.

Unfortunately I think the execution never quite matched up to the idea.

Review: Tonight or Else

Tonight or Else by M. King
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Tonight or Else is a fantasy story with an unusual ending. It’s exactly the kind of story I expect from King, mythical with a lot of exaggerated details and a compelling narrator. I like how King’s stories are always different with a darker tone than most in this genre and although there is rarely a happy ending, the characters emerge strong and vibrant at the end.

Roll onto your side so you don’t suffocate when you vomit…

That’s the advice I was given after a drunken night of debauchery.  As Leotine said so perfectly “last week was touristy stuff, you guys are the party.” I think we certainly did the bar and retreat proud with our celebrations. In fact hanging out with the girls and going around New Orleans was definitely the highlight of the trip.

I had considered blogging our trip day by day but let’s face it, I’m just not that kind of blogger. Not to mention I’m pretty sure the other girls will give play by plays since they are those kind of bloggers and well, I’ll leave that kind of work up to them. Also I can snag their great pictures that way too. I was kind of lazy with the camera on the trip.