Are you seeking Redemption? Seek it the Swithin way...

Crimm was once part of a politic plot to overthrow the Swithin King. Now he’s the king’s captive. Worse, he’s made to work for a woman and as every Kita man knows, women exist to please men and bear children.

Tihea was Crimm’s woman. She pleasured him because that was what all Kita women trained to do. Now she’s experiencing a different way of life. She’s helping people. They are thanking her rather than merely giving her orders. Swithin women have freedom and the idea intrigues her.

She also finds the sight of Crimm in chains rather stimulating. The tables have turned and quite unexpectedly the first time she gives him an order, it sends a thrill through her that is almost erotic. Tihea is looking to seek her own pleasure, and with Crimm in chains and at her disposal, she may yet slip her bonds. The question is which one of them will enjoy this new kind of freedom.

Having always believed her sole purpose in life was to pleasure a man, Tihea now has the man who gave her orders chained and at her disposal. It’s time they learned that true pleasure is best shared.

Out today at Aspen Mountain Press (click below or on the book cover):

http://www.aspenmountainpress.com/new-releases/redemption/prod_261.html

Click here to read an excerpt, and you can also read an excerpt on the publisher's site.

NOTE: This is a m/f romance set in the Swithin world, and therefore part of a series but it can be read entirely as a separate book.

Are you seeking Redemption?

You can find it soon at Aspen Mountain Press.

Fire

I was away for a week and I’ve been quiet for this one but although my RSI got a nice rest while I was out and about, it wasn’t enough. On top of that, I had something I wanted to write that was bugging me to finish it, so in between some more resting I’ve been bashing the keyboard. Then I had a bit of confusion over edits but that’s apparently been sorted and I now have them, so you know what I’ll be doing this Bank Holiday Monday.

I’ve also been considering future options and what I want to do writing wise. I can’t say I’ve made any clear decisions but there are a few things I do know. I enjoy what I’m doing but the sexual content of some of the markets bother me a little. I don’t mean the sex scenes bother me because they don’t (I’m no prude), but I’m only happy to write them if the story calls for it. If it doesn’t fit the story then I refuse to put one in for the sake of it. Still, I like what I’m doing and I won’t be turning my back on that so all my readers can breathe a sigh of relief. I do want some het titles out there as well as gay books, but I don’t see myself writing more lesbian love stories. That’s not because of any personal feelings — as the point of my lesbian love story sums up: Love is Love — but I feel I struggle with the topic and don’t do it justice. It’s also to date the poorest selling market. I’m not writing for money (which is a good thing my family, friends, and bank manager are probably all crying out) but it’s always welcome. Some of the things I’ve been looking at and reading have made me realise I want to indulge myself in some really good story telling. I always try to do that, of course, but a story doesn’t always need sex to be absorbing.

Now I have edits, things can get moving once more. I’ll be doing some personal edits to sub more manuscripts, and in the meantime organising some of my older drafts for some non-romance projects. I also want to get back to subbing to small press. With that in mind I subbed a small flash piece to Pygmy Giant not long ago, which they accepted, remarking it was through-provoking and moving. I hope you find it as interesting. Pop along to read my piece entitled “Fire” in their August posts: http://thepygmygiant.wordpress.com/

No, you may not sell, lend, or give away my work...

If you're a reader, please pop along to my website to read my blog as to why.

If you're an author, please pop along to add your voice.

GLBT Bookshelf is ready and waiting!

GLBT BOOKSHELF

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sara Lansing

Press Secretary

GLBT Bookshelf

Email: saralansing762(at)gmail(dot)com

GLBT writers and readers

launch revolutionary online community

Gay Indie Literature Industry Unites

Adelaide, South Australia – June 25, 2009 Bestselling gay author Mel Keegan has masterminded a web-based cohesive organization combining the skills of writers, publishers, editors, agents, reviewers and artists in the GLBT community to provide an unprecedented public access portal to independent- and small-publisher titles. GLBT Bookshelf is an online resource designed to counter the perceived discriminatory practices of major players in the book retail scene.

Frustrated by the infamous “AmazonFail” fiasco of early 2009, in which the online retail giant was suspected of attempting to deny GLBT literature the benefits of its promotional systems, Keegan conceived of an online community in which all such systems were circumvented -- replaced by “community promotion” with direct links to authors’ and publishers’ pages.

Keegan is highly motivated toward the success of this venture. “Nothing convinces you to act like being forced to the margins of an already marginalized community. In a way the AmazonFail business was a desperately-needed kick in the pants. Now we have a public contact venue and direct sales channel which is not dependant on the big boys, their promotional tools, their advertising -- not even their search engines.”

In creating GLBT Bookshelf, Keegan set out to answer the needs of most GLBT writers and artists: Create a place for their works to be cataloged, described and sampled, linked to their publishers and independent sales pages -- and promoted by joint funding amounting to peppercorn contributions from community members. In this way, all writers benefit from wide media exposure while no individual foots the advertising bill.

The site takes the form of a “wiki,” where users sign up (free) and a pilot page is created for them. They then use editing tools to flesh out their pages with text, graphics and video. They develop their own virtual website within the wiki, which is built on the EditMe engine, operated by EditMe.com.

Visitors find authors, titles and publishers via multiple, categorized contents lists, as well as the fully-featured Search function. The site features user forums, book reviews, author pages, and directories for publishers and cover artists. A free PDF user’s manual is available, and the public launch is underway.

After just one month GLBT Bookshelf boasts around 200 “authors and others” online. Writers are booking low-cost advertising in high-traffic page locations, months ahead. More than 1000 user-pages have been created, and 500+ books are currently cataloged. Projected growth rates suggest this is the tip of the iceberg.

Find GLBT Bookshelf at www.glbtbookshelf.com, and watch for developments in the months ahead. While it remains early days, Mel Keegan is highly optimistic. “We could be seeing a quiet revolution in GLBT book marketing, in which the community takes its fortunes into its own hands. Technology has freed us from the restrictive practices of the traditional industry -- the Bookshelf is the joint venture of a lifetime. We must evolve new ways of thinking to take full advantage of our opportunities.”

Mel Keegan lives with an eccentric family in South Australia and is the author of more than 25 books. “The Deceivers” won the Stonewall Fact and Fable Award in 2003, while “Death’s Head” was nominated for the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 1992. GLBT Bookshelf is the culmination of Keegan’s creative vision.

A new look at Cosmic and another Bookshelf

Well, according to my little statistics bar I'm over 60% for my planned length for my next m/m contemporary work. Of course this is just the rough draft. For me, the real work begins when I do my own personal edit rounds before submission because that usually requires me to set the work aside between rounds. I know I take much longer than many of the romance writers out there but I like to polish my work as much as possible. Usually as work overlaps this works out okay, but life has got in the way lately. I am hoping that within a very few short weeks things will ease up -- it should do, unless something untoward happens so that's the plan anyway. The good news is that I've a feeling that the rough draft of the book will be finished very shortly. I've time today to knuckle down to it as soon as I've popped around and made a few announcements.

One of those announcements is that I finally joined and completed my pages at the GBLT Bookshelf. Do drop by. It's a community for...well everyone who writes, publishes, reads any GBLT titles. It's for artists too. For anyone who has flicked through my website, my page will look very similar but that's because I took most of the info from here. It's a good project though and a good place for me to be.

I also found a little time (don't ask me how -- well, by watching the TV with one eye, actually) to make a little promo video for Cosmic. I'm never sure if these are a good idea or not but some readers like them and they can be a rather fun to make. I also wanted to try out iMovie on the Macbook. Not sure it was easier than the last system I used to make a small 'vid' but it worked, which is the main thing. I'm seriously considering just paying someone else if I can manage to make myself let go of some artistic control. LOL. I love the music on this one. I think it sets the whole tone.

Walk with Fragrance

I'm blogging about something close to my heart today over at Britwriters: http://wulfwaru.wordpress.com/

Amazingly, for once, it has nothing to do with writing or books.

Do drop by to read up on camomile lawns. I've also posted a couple of garden photos.