I was tagged by Lisabea over at Nose in a Book for this M/M themed meme, created by Kris at Kris ‘n’ Good Books.

Lisabea must’ve known I’m a sucker for a good meme, so here it goes!

Rules:

1. Answer all the questions below in either the comments here or post it on your own site. If you post it on your own site you have to come back and give the link here so I/Kris can mosey on over and see if you answered correctly have a sticky beak.
2. You have to tag two other people once your done and pester them relentlessly until they do the meme too.
3. Instead of a meme image thing you have to post a cookie, preferably a twofer. It is an m/m meme after all.

This isn’t necessarily a cookie, so much as my own wishful casting of Adrien English and Jake Riordan (I always did have a hard time following rules.):

Montgomery Clift as Adrien English

Karl Urban as Jake Riordan (KU carried off blonde hair well in Two Towers.)

Well, it works for me.

Questions:

1. How long have you been reading GLBTQ fiction?

IDK if books with gay or bi protags count like Tanya Huff’s Smoke series, Elizabeth Bear’s New Amsterdam or A Compaion to Wolves, Diana Gabaldon’s Lord John series or Sarah Monette’s Doctrine of Labyrinths, but specifically m/m genre fic, I’d say a little more than a year.

2. What was the first book you read in this genre?

J. L. Langley’s With Caution (With or Without series) which I had won over at DIK.

3. Are you ‘out’ as a reader?

To a select few.

4. Ebooks, print or both?

E-books mostly.

5. Do you buy direct from publishers or from secondary sellers?

Both.

6. Prove you’re a Book Slut. How many books would you say you buy a week?

I’m currently on a diet. I’ve only bought 3 books this month, so far.

7. Are you a cover, blurb or excerpt buyer?

Excerpt if there is one. Blurb, otherwise.

8. Yeah, you read reviews, but do you actually take notice of them?

Sometimes. It depends on the reviewer, the author, my mood, the weather.

9. Who’s your fave publisher?

I’m loving the spec fiction over at Blind Eye Books, right now.

10. What about authors? Your top two only!!

Josh Lanyon and JL Langley.

11. Is there a sub-genre you particularly dis/like?

I usually don’t dig GFY.

12. Short or long?? *rolls eyes* And, no, I’m not talking about cocks.

The longer the better. Book. Rather than short story. (stop that!)

13. Anything turn you off about m/m or is all just glorious smut to you?

No sniffing of athletic equipment, plz.

14. Finish this sentence. You know it’s m/m twu wuv when…

They get to meet the parents. Or, the one that’s in the closet comes out. Whichever comes first.

15. What trope or theme are you heartily sick of in m/m romance?

Insta luv.

16. If you could choose any 3 characters for a m/m/m who would they be?

David Cooke (LB Gregg’s Happy Ending)/Adrien English (Josh Lanyon’s Adrien English series)/René DuBois (Samantha Kane’s Islands)

17. What new GLBTQ release are you most hanging out for right now?

The Dark Tide (AE book 5) by Josh Lanyon. Though I just got Strange Fortune in the mail a couple of days ago. ::squee!::

18. What GLBTQ book has completely blown you away this year?

Wicked Gentlemen by Ginn Hale. I also really loved Hemovore by Jordan Castillo Price.

19. What do you think we’ll see more of in m/m romance in 2010?

Lanyon. Who has to be the busiest author in the genre.

20. Don’t you agree that author Josh Lanyon should kill off arsehole character Jake Riordan?

No, but I want lots of good nice-nice with Adrien to make up for what Jake put him through.

I tag for this M(e)/M(e):

Hilcia

Mandi

Stop by The Thrillionth Page for the exciting conclusion to Carolyn’s and my discussion of the Charlaine Harris’ Harper Connelly series.

In part 2 of my discussion with Carolyn, we take on:  An Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris, and the Harper Connelly/Grave series in general. With cameo appearances of our other favorites: Kat Richardson’s Greywalker/Harper Blaine books and Harris’s Southern Vampire (SV) series.

Head on over for the fun!

. . . in which Carolyn, (The Thrillionth Page) and I have much fun discussing  An Ice Cold Grave, the third installment of Charlaine Harris’ (other!) series, contrast it with two other favorite series of ours, and get ready for the series conclusion, Grave Secret, released last month.

Here’s why we think you would like the Harper Connelly series as much as we do!

A little about An Ice Cold Grave:

Hired to find a boy gone missing in Doraville, North Carolina, Harper Connelly and her brother Tolliver head there, only to discover that the boy was the only one left of several who had disappeared over the previous five years. All of them teenagers. All unlikely runaways. All calling for Harper. Harper soon finds them—eight victims, buried in the half-frozen ground, all come to an unspeakable end. Afterward, what she most wants to do is collect her fee and get out of town ahead of the media storm that’s soon to descend. But when she’s attacked and prevented from leaving, she reluctantly becomes a part of the investigation as she learns more than she cares to about the dark mysteries and long-hidden secrets of Doraville—knowledge that makes her the next person likely to rest in an ice-cold grave.

Carolyn: So Renee, how do you characterize the difference between the Sookie series and this one?

Renee: There are actually quite a few differences between the series, but I guess I’ll start with the difference of genre. While the Southern Vampire series always has that element of mystery, the Harper Connelly is much more of a traditional mystery, though still with a bit of a paranormal element.

Each book so far has started with a case on which Harper has been asked to consult, and use her abilities to find and communicate with the dead about their cause of death. The mystery really drives the action, and over the course of each book, we learn a little bit more about Harper and Tolliver, her stepbrother. Really, Harper’s kind of abilities are the only paranormal elements in the story. No weres, fae or vamps in this series!

Carolyn: I never thought about that, but yes, she is the only one in this world with any sort of paranormal ability. I was going to say that for me, a lot of the fun—and the darkness—comes from the mystery as well as from Harper’s interaction with the rest of the world. People want her help, but they resent and mistrust her.

I can’t think of any other series where a paranormal person is so isolated, or where the story comes from human/paranormal friction, instead of paranormal/paranormal friction. What about you?  You’ve read way more UF and paranormal than I have.

Renee: You know, I think you’re right. I actually went through my lists of books I read this year and last to check but no one really stood out as being so unique in their abilities.

As far as the human/paranormal tension, the series that comes closest, actually, is the Southern Vampire series, also by Charlaine Harris. Until Sookie meets Barry the Bellboy, she’s the only one with her abilities, and it’s only recently that she’s discovered why she has them.

However, in that series there are racial elements (the human race vs the paranormal races) where with Harper it is much more of a personal/individual issue people have with her. Even the only other people with paranormal abilities, Xylda and her grandson, Manfred are often written off (at least by the “normal” people) as complete shams.

Another difference I see from the Sookie series is the much darker tone. Sookie’s voice is so upbeat most of the time, and her self deprecating sense of humor as well as the quirky characters in Bon Temps really make for a light read, even when murders, vampire coups and bombings are happening. (Of course, Dead and Gone really did take a much darker turn, but that was the exception in the series.)

What do you think about the mood in this series, and in An Ice Cold Grave, in particular?

Carolyn: I find it darker, but in a good way. I wonder if you could say the worldview of this series, regarding whether humans overall are essentially good or bad, makes it that way. I mean, when you look at the Southern Vampire (SV) series, everyday humans are generally good, but just quirky, unless you count the ones in those anti-paranormal churches. But in AICG, everyday humans are generally less good, less trustworthy. I actually love that dark worldview—I find it challenging and juicy, and it makes more underdoggy characters.

And in An Ice Cold Grave, because one of the humans is a heinous murderer, it seemed like Harper and Tolliver were always in great unseen danger from any human at any time. I had a number of suspects in mind for the murder. And Harper and Tolliver would stay over in that isolated lake house, and I’d be like, get away from the lake house!

Renee: There does often seem to be a serious element of personal threat against Harper and Tolliver.

I think for the Southern Vampire series, the humans are just as capable of violence as the supernaturals (the Fellowship of the Sun, the human anti-vampire group is just as likely to be violent as the vamps or weres.) But, in the Harper Connolly series, the humans are always the source of the violent deaths that Harper investigates. And, in An Ice Cold Grave in particular, the murders are especially gruesome . . .

Stay tuned for part 2 of this discussion of An Ice Cold Grave, in which Carolyn observes, “How did it take us this long to come around to the sex?”

Drop by The Thrillionth Page tomorrow!

Also, you can check out our other Sleeper Series discussion, Carolyn and Renee chat about . . . The Bride of Casa Dracula.

Well, actually I didn’t just finish either of these books. However, this is another post I’ve been dying to finish now that I’m able to type again!

Cover Me (Men of Smithfield series, book 3) by LB Gregg

Here is the book description:

Lax. That was the initial conclusion enigmatic security specialist Max Douglas had drawn of Michael “Finn” Finnegan—Dalton Prep’s beloved English teacher. When Max arrives at Smithfield’s exclusive boarding school to protect a high profile student against a mysterious stalker, he’s hell bent on enforcing his style of leadership on students and teachers alike. Warring tempers turn to passionate lovemaking between the former marine and the easy going drama coach. But danger is closer than either man expects and all too quickly violence rocks the homey campus—putting both men at risk.

Because it had been a while between reading and writing this review, I decided to re-read it this past weekend, and I really enjoyed it for a second time.

The Men of Smithfield is a fun, smart series and Cover Me has the best story, so far. There is much more of an emphasis on the mystery/suspense element, and while the “whodunit” wasn’t hard to guess, the “how” made for an absorbing read.

Though, in the end it is the romance in the romantic suspense that make the book. I loved the outgoing, but slightly insecure Finn. He’s a bit of a smart-ass, but I always have a soft spot for the guy whose wisecracks and quick mind sometimes get him into trouble. I had a bit of a harder time warming up to Max, who used his job as a security consultant as a shield between himself and Finn. Sometimes, I just wanted to smack him! lol

However, when Max finally does unbend, and allows himself to show Finn how much he cares about him, it’s all worth it.

Actually, my favorite part of the book (aside from Finn) was the setting. LB does such a great job evoking autumn in New England, as well as prep school culture. I loved getting those glimpses into a place that is so different from my workaday life.

While David from Happy Ending is still my favorite guy in Smithfield and his story my sentimental favorite, I really enjoyed Cover Me. I can’t wait for Men of Smithfield 4, which will be out early 2010.

If anyone doesn’t already know, LB is aka Lisabea from Nose in a Book , and an honorary So Cal Blogger.

• LB Gregg’s site.
• Cover Me excerpt.
• More posts on the Men of Smithfield series: Cover Me release day post; Just finished reading . . . Happy Ending post; Just finished reading . . . Gobsmacked post

His Convenient Husband (Innamorati series, book 1) by JL Langley

Here is the book description:

When I heard that JL Langley had written this book in the style of a category romance, I was really intrigued. I find the idea of an m/m romance using some of those well loved tropes a wonderful way to interpret the category genre.

Also, books with a “marriage of convenience” plot are one of my favorite guilty pleasures.

JLL’s strong suit is creating characters that touch the reader on an emotional level, and make her care about what happens to them. With Micah, she does just that. He’s vulnerable and honorable, trying to do the best he can for his adopted family.

The story itself was sort of a mixed bag for me. It was hard for me to understand exactly why Tucker felt he had to cut himself off so completely from both Micah and his family once he and Micah spent their night together. Also, the rationale for the marriage was confusing for me. I kept wondering things like: was the book’s “world” written so that they could get married in Texas? did they have to go somewhere out of state to get married? would a Texas court acknowledge their marriage based on the will’s terms? I found that these questions kept pulling me out of the book.

This is sort of nitpick-y, but . . . the phrase “convenient husband” popped up more than once, and its insertion felt a little too heavy handed. I wouldn’t have minded seeing it once or twice in the story, but when it showed up at least 4 times in the 76 page novella, it was a bit of overkill.

However, there was enough in the story that ultimately I enjoyed it, and will read more of the Innamorati series. The family ties between all the men on the ranch was really touching. I also really loved the plot twist at the end of the book, which left me with a smile on my face.

The next book in the series, The Greek Tycoon’s Paramour, doesn’t yet have a release date, but I will be keeping my eye out for it. I can’t wait to see what JL will do with this category romance plotline.

• JL Langley’s site.
• His Convenient Husband excerpt.

I’ve had this post in the works for weeks, and with my accident, it (along with a few other posts) has languished in my drafts pile. Luckily, I did most of the formatting a couple of weeks ago, so at least most of the heavy lifting was already taken care of.

I’ve been a big mystery reader for years—I actually worked my way through Agatha Christie’s enormous backlist when I was in junior high and high school— and while I don’t read as much as I used to, there are still some great series that I really enjoy.

I don’t read much by way of stand alone mysteries. It’s all about the series for me. I love really getting to know a character over many books, and with mysteries there is always the bits and pieces revealed about the protagonist that I love discovering.

Mysteries also appeal to my love of structure. There is an architecture in mystery writing, necessary so that the event/crime, clues, and reveal can evolve in a believable way.

It was really hard for me to leave a few books off this list, so I’m going to fudge a little, but including a couple of honorable mentions:

• The Richard Jury series by Martha Grimes
• Hercule Poirot series and the Tommy & Tuppence books by Agatha Christie
• The Adam Dagliesh series by PD James

I also just listened to The Wine of Angels (Merrily Watkins series, book 1) by Phil Rickman, an excellent psychological mystery that was very dark, had paranormal/horror overtones, and features a female Anglican priest. (Not exactly the typical cozy mystery one would expect, given the protagonist.) I highly recommend it.

Check out my other Top 5s in the sidebar on the right.

What are your top 5 mysteries?

This is my first post completely written post-arm-fracture. I’m trying out typing without my splint (I’ve been told I can start removing it occasionally), and if things go well (no swelling or pain) I’m hoping to resume regular blogging activity! ::fingers crossed::

There’s a lot written about “comfort reads”, and while I’m not a big re-reader, I do have one or two— Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion are the ones that immediately come to mind.
However, I actually turn more often to audiobooks for “comfort listens” and I actually have more of them than comfort reads.  I will turn to these audiobooks when I want something that I can really relax to while listening. And, often, it’s not just the story that makes me return to these audiobooks: it can also be the reader, or even the way the words flowing over me make me feel.
These books aren’t even necessarily my Top 5 audiobooks. This is mostly due to the fact that more than a few of my Top 5 audiobooks are epic stories, like the series: Outlander, Harry Potter, and Temeraire. For comfort, I tend turn more to the personal stories with which I can deeply identify (paranormal elements notwithstanding ).

Here are a few of my comfort listens:

Sugar Daddy (Travis family series, book 1) by Lisa Kleypas

I’m an unabashed Kleypas fan-girl. And, while many of her books have made my Top 5 lists (and even more would make it into my Top 10s) Liberty Jones story just makes me feel good when I give it a listen. I’ve heard complaints about Jeannie Stith’s Texan accent, but honestly since I can’t tell if it’s authentic, it works for me. She also does a great job weaving this very intimate feeling between Liberty and the listener. It really feels as if Liberty is sitting down telling her story to a friend. Sometimes, when I need a little pick-me-up, I won’t even listen to the whole book. Just a few minutes of listening in to Liberty’s up-beat attitude lifts my spirits.

The Southern Vampire series by Charlaine Harris

This is actually one that’s on my Top 5 audiobook list as well as my Top 5 urban fantasy list. Johanna Parker’s narration takes it to the next level for me. Again, I’m no expert in regional accents, so I can’t really vouch for JP’s authenticity when it comes to Sookie’s northern Louisiana accent, but she really does capture Sookie’s self-deprecating charm and sense of humor way more than Anna Paquin ever has in the True Blood tv series. She also does a wonderful job with Eric’s deadpan (no pun intended) outrageous comments and Pam’s droll observations. After repeatedly listening to the first hour or so of Dead Until Dark whenever the mood hit, I finally decided to work my way through the entire series in audio format. Currently, I’m about to start my “audio re-read” of book 6, Definitely Dead.

Bitten by (Otherworld series, book 1) Kelley Armstrong

The Bitten audiobook is such a great blend of Kelley Armstrong’s incredible writing talent and Aasne Vigesaa’s moody, atmospheric reading. Unlike the Southern Vampire series, I first came across this book in audio format (in audiocassetes, no less!) So, in a lot of ways, AV’s voice really is Elena to me. Honestly, I’d read the phonebook is Kelley Armstrong wrote it, but not only is Bitten one of my favorite Kelley Armstrong novels, but one of my favortie novels, period. Fortunately, the audiobook version does it justice.

Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

NBC is a new addition to my comfort listens. Again, I originally listened to this book rather than reading it, and I’m sure that has a lot to do with why this is going to be a regular visitor on my iPod. The late, incredibly talented Anna Fields has a lot to do with my enjoyment in listening to the story. I’ve been feeling the need to revisit Blue Bailey and Dean Robillard, especially after AnimeJune’s great review, and will probably load it up very soon.

Something I notice is that while only 1 of these audiobooks made my Top 5, they all are at the top of my genre lists for contemporary romance or urban fantasy, as the case may be.

You know, it’s funny, but until I was writing this post I didn’t realize how greatly the readers of these audiobooks impact the fact that they are my comfort listens. I guess when it comes down to it, a book isn’t going to even be considered for an audio re-visit if the story isn’t compelling to me, but it’s my ability to truly connect with the characters that take these stories to that next level of comfort listens. To me, the narrator is the facilitator of that deeper connection.

It’s been a lot longer than I thought between audio posts, but I’m really excited about this one. Mostly, because I’ve been playing with my Mac’s Garage Band podcast app, and this one can either be played through the audio player below, or saved (by right clicking on the link below) and imported into iTunes. The iTunes version will include images I’ve added to the post. For some reason (I’m still on a learning curve with this thing) I wasn’t able to add links for the images, so I’ve included them below.

Be sure to turn the volume way up or use headphones, as it unfortunately seemed to record at a low volume. After much hair pulling (and importing the audiofile six different ways from Monday) I have given up trying to fix it. I will make sure the next post is louder.

Here’s the audio link:

RBA post 10-26-9

Here are the podcast links:

New and Recycled Romances bookstore

The Spare by Carolyn Jewel

Book Rack in La Verne, CA

The Untamed Bride by Stephanie Laurens

Blaze of Memory by Nalini Singh

The Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff

Indiscreet by Carolyn Jewel

Cover Me by LB Gregg

Montana Creeds: Tyler by Linda Lael Miller

Not Quite a Husband by Sherry Thomas

The Thrillionth Page blog

Have a great week!

OK, so in an effort to keep blogging while I’m limited by “Big Blue” I’ve gone ahead and completed my first audio post!

Hope you enjoy it . . .

If you would prefer to download this mp3 to your own audio player, right click on this link: 10-5-9 post, and save it to your computer.

A couple of the books talked about in this post:

I’d love to hear from you, letting me know what you think about this format, and of course, what you think about these books!

Big Blue

So this is my new uninvited guest. “Big Blue” will be a part of my life for approx. 6 weeks. Believe it or not, I only have a very small fracture in one of the bones in my left forearm, but since it’s located at my wrist joint, they had to give me a full arm cast to immobilize my elbow as well. This totally bites.

The only good thing that I can say about this situation is that at least my ankle is only sprained, and seems to be recovering nicely.

Oh! And that I’ve gotten LOTS of reading done. In the last week and a half, I’ve read: Tempt Me at Twilight by Lias Kleypas, Cast in Silence by Michelle Sagara, Mine till Midnight by Lias Kleypas, Set the Dark on Fire by Jill Sorenson, His Convenient Husband by JL Langley, Out of Bounds by TA Chase, Cover Me by LB Gregg, On the Edge by Ilona Andrews, and Just the Sexiest Man Alive by Julie James. Phew!

Of course, I have lots to say about these books, but typing is really slow. So, I’ve been thinking . . .

A Question for You

I can make audio posts with not much more work than a written post would require. The mp3 could be embedded directly into the page with an audio player. Now, I’m not much of a public speaker nor do I have fancy recording equipment, so they definitely wouldn’t be “professional” quality. However, it could be a way I can alleviate some of my posting angst.

What do you think?

I’m briefly coming out of stealth mode, because I’m just so dang excited that
Cover Me by LB Gregg is now available (in ebook format) over at Aspen Mountain Press.

Lax. That was the initial conclusion enigmatic security specialist Max Douglas had drawn of Michael “Finn” Finnegan—Dalton Prep’s beloved English teacher. When Max arrives at Smithfield’s exclusive boarding school to protect a high profile student against a mysterious stalker, he’s hell bent on enforcing his style of leadership on students and teachers alike. Warring tempers turn to passionate lovemaking between the former marine and the easy going drama coach. But danger is closer than either man expects and all too quickly violence rocks the homey campus—putting both men at risk.

I love this smart, funny series which takes place in the rural New England town of Smithfield. LB’s men are hot (Tony from Gobsmacked, anyone?), some are off-beat (I LOVE David from Happy Ending,) and often do the unexpected (Mark’s opening scene in Gobsmacked is priceless.) Cover Me is book 3 in the Men of Smithfield series, but each book stands alone well.

::whispers::Did you know LB Gregg has a super sekrit hidden identity? She’s also known as Lisabea of Nose in a Book blog. Head on over to Nose to see the shennanigans she’s got going on over there to celebrate Cover Me’s release.

Here are my reviews of Gobsmacked and Happy Ending.

• LB Gregg’s site.
• Cover Me excerpt.

Now, I’m going to settle down with some tea and my copy of Cover Me, and relax while I wait for my (long overdue) appointment to get my cast on my wrist. ::ninja vanish::