Just felt like rhyming today! The good folks over at Liquid Silver were, thank goodness, keeping track of things while I was lost in the auction black hole last week and have been lost in back-pain hell and WIP catch-up this week. Specifically, they've been keeping track of developments on the Bastards and Pretty Boys front. So without further ado . . .
Big thanks to Jenre (over at Well Read and Reviews by Jessewave) for the time she took with this novella. Jen is truly one of the best reviewers in the business, even though it isn't abusiness for her -- which makes her investment of time even more impressive. And thanks to Lilyraines at NOR for the "Reviewer Top Pick" rating. I rather liked her summation of the book, which was:
"Bastards and Pretty Boys is a novella about good and bad relationships and the timing it takes to know when to get rid of the ballast and when to unfurl the sails and go forward. It is about trust and sharing and also knowing that, as bad as things can seem, they aren't that bad when there is the right person to share them with."
I'm even more grateful to dear Tam and Leah for offering their unsolicited feedback on this blog (in the comments section of previous posts), 'cause they were speaking only as appreciative readers. I can tell you from my heart, spontaneous kind words are better than a hottie dipped in gold!
I recently got an email from Elisa Rolle (not personal, but one of those mass mailings) re. the GLBTQ books published over a one-month period. She somehow finds the patience to track them all. And how many titles were on her list? I stopped counting at 100. In fact, there were probably close to 150. One hundred fifty! In one month! In one genre!
So it's understandable, or should be, why we authors who aren't on everybody-and-their-mother's perennial Top Ten list keep asking ourselves, "Whom do you have to fuck to get a review around here?" And thus my gratitude for the two reviews and whatever reader feedback each of my books usually garners. I may not get fifteen raves in a row accompanied by a chorus of reader-squee, but at least somebody's paying attention. Writers do write to be read, after all.
Love you guys.
12 comments:
150 books in one month? I assume that includes f/f, m/m/f (and every variation on the theme)? Holy crap. But then doesn't she read/review about 100/month? :-) I don't frequent her site but I remember in her interview that she is VERY polific.
Hope your back is feeling better.
I can sympathise with the back thing. Mine's been crappy all week too. I could hardly move yesterday but it's eased off again today. I blame the rubbish mattress on the beds in the Scarborough hotel.
I'm amazed too by the number of releases. I get to read about 25-30 novels/novellas/short stories a month and that's not even touching the surface of new releases. Plus a lot of my reading is 'catching up' on books which may have been released months or years ago which makes it even less likely that I'll get round to much of the new stuff. So take heart with that, many of the review sites have lots of reviewer on 'staff' and will get around to your cute book eventually.
Thanks for being nice. I'm sure you do it cos you know it makes me blush :).
I, too, assume that includes all GLBTQ subgenres, Tam. But still, 150? Every month? Wow.
Actually, Elisa doesn't review all that many books. At least that's my impression. She primarily covers works by newbies and popular veterans. As I recall, she tackled Looking for Some Touch and seemed a bit befuddled by it, and she hasn't come near my work since!
Amazing how a "disorder" as localized as back pain can affect one's life, isn't it, Jen? Argh! And the older a person gets, the harder it becomes to battle through these afflictions. (Double argh!) Gawd, I hate it.
Re. B&PB: I wouldn't describe the novella as "cute," which to me connotes a rather superficial, carefree story devoid of any problematic issues or character development. I see B&PB unfolding in a "quiet but determined" way.
My intention was to write a contemporary with a tight focus on a developing romance -- one that encountered stumbling blocks that would force some self-examination on the protags' part and test their ability to commit. It was all about the steps they were willing to take, no matter how seemingly insignificant. Or daunting.
Guess that's kind of my take on relationships in general. :-)
Oh dear, cute was obviously the wrong word to use there.
*Takes note to be more careful with adjectives when describing KZ's books in throwaway remarks*.
Yeah, I guess cute is one of my hot-button words! ;-) A good descriptor for a romantic comedy, maybe, but not for a story that involves sexual advantage-taking, jealousy, threats, stalking, and a physical attack.
That's all I meant. I'm sorry!
Not that I have much to add but your book is on my list (not that yanno you -care- just saying!). There's no real reason I haven't read it yet and it's on tap for this weekend after Ally Blue's new one. Or before .. or during. I know that's not much nor means anything but throwing that out there.
wow 100/month... all I can say is I'm shocked ppl get reviews at all then.
I will say that Liquid Silver is not a pub I routinely look at for books so they're usually not ones I get @ release but go there for specific authors when I see mention and remember.
Sucks hmm?
Kassa, you are so wrong, but in a good way. Yeah, I do care. A lot. I'm nowhere near that popularity point where an author might start taking things for granted--sales, praise, anything. I'm just sorry to hear you're in the reading doldrums, and I hope my book doesn't contribute to that too much! ;-)
Liquid Silver does have a long way to go when it comes to establishing a reputation as a publisher of good GLBTQ fiction. Putting out books by Lanyon and T.A. Chase has certainly helped, but the company really does need to make shopping for this genre easier. Queer fiction doesn't have a category of its own on the main page, which means readers have to troll through other broad categories to find, say, a m/m title. Not good.
The nice thing about LSB (for authors, anyway) is that they're not insistent on a story being saturated with explicit sex scenes. I've never been told to plug in more. And they accepted InDescent, which is a very quirky novel indeed. Not many pubs would've taken a chance on it.
(You know, you touched on this sexual content issue in one of your recent reviews of a title from another e-pub...and damned if it didn't sound exactly like something I've been through!)
Hey, KZ mega congratulations.
had some problems with my server the other day otherwise I'd have checked in sooner.
Yeah, LSB is working on the genre ID and hopefully will get it up and running soonest.
They do have more and more GLBT works, but it's even tough for authors to find!
Word veri:
dingl - too easy ;~D
Hiya, Jeanne! What LSB needs to work on next is their "lag time" from acceptance to publication. Six months plus ain't good for any e-pub, except maybe the ones that have substantial royalty payouts. What do you think?
*sigh* Unfortunately, I agree with you, re lag time.
It is such a shame because there really is so much bounce going on on their forum that shows potential involvement for readers.
And their workshops are really appreciated.
word veri: fortstat
A fortification where instant decisions are made
Yup. Books start looking pretty stale if they sit for five or six months on the "Coming Soon" page. There's no way to keep up reader interest for that length of time.
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