2021 Calendar:
Just putting a big shrug up here for now.
Interlude Press
Luchador—along with a lot of great Interlude Press books—has been named one of Amazon’s Kindle Monthly Deals! For the month of November, get it for only $2.99 on Amazon and at the IP Web Store! (And the print edition’s on sale right now at Amazon, too!)
Holy smokes.
Foreword Reviews revealed its list of finalists for its annual INDIES Book of the Year awards today, and Luchador is named in three fiction categories: LGBT, Romance, and Multi-Cultural.
It's exciting for me on two levels, because Luchador is one of seven books and three of the dozen nominations for Interlude Press books. I'm so excited for authors Alysia Constantine (Sweet), Carrie Pack (In the Present Tense), Pene Henson (Into the Blue), Lynn Charles (Black Dust), Charlotte Ashe (The King & The Criminal), and Amy Stilgenbauer (Sideshow), who also received nominations.
Winners will be announced in Chicago this June at the annual convention of the American Library Association. This is not the Oscars—winners are announced during a slide show on the convention floor. There are no speeches (thank god) or statuettes. When Sotto Voce won this award (then known as "IndieFab") two years ago for LGBT fiction, I received three stickers to put on books on display at the IP booth. Eventually, we bought more.
What's the value for authors and small publishers, then? It's the ability to say that our books are recognized for their quality—which is at the heart of what Interlude Press is working to do. So thanks, Foreword. It is, as nominees say, "an honor just to be nominated".
A busy, busy, busy week at RT16, so I’m just catching up, including on a big announcement — the remainder of the IP 2016 calendar, which includes my next book, “Luchador”.
More details to come, but it’s one I’ve been tinkering with for a few years, and I’m excited to set it free: a story of identity, and a man’s coming of age as a gay exótico wrestler in Mexico City’s professional lucha libre leagues. It’s a fascinating world where sport, storytelling, performance art, and business collide. I can’t wait to share it.
I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at the RT Booklovers' Convention in Las Vegas in a couple of weeks! I won't be signing at the book fair this year (still a few months before the next book comes out), but I will be hanging out at the Interlude Press Publisher's Spotlight, the Small Press panel and around the convention in general. And if you haven't read Sotto Voce yet? IP will be giving away copies in the Goody Room and at its Publisher's Spotlight! Drop by, say hi, and I'll sign it for you!
I'm going to grant myself a moment of giddiness. Just a moment. I promise, it will be fleeting.
But a year ago, I never would have imagined this. And whatever happens with my future as an author, I will always be able to look back and know that this happened:
Interlude Press novels Forever Man and Sotto Voce are both featured in Publishers Weekly’s Starred Reviews Annual, a special edition featuring the trade magazine’s best reviewed books of the year. The edition, available as a free download, includes reviews of all 2014 books receiving PW starred reviews last year. Of the roughly 9,000 books reviewed by PW in 2014, only 1,011 received the PW Star, a coveted mark of distinction among the books reviewed by the magazine.
According to PW, “A star says many things: that the book is special in its subject matter; superior in execution, ambition, and bravery; that it’s highly readable; and that it convinces PW’s reviewers and editors that it should be singled out in its category.”
Since IP’s launch last July, five of our titles have been reviewed by PW: Forever Man, Sotto Voce, The Bones of You, Chef’s Table and Right Here Waiting.
One of the cornerstones of IP is to publish quality books that are both well-written and beautifully designed. Congratulations to all of the authors, and our thanks to PW for the recognition.
While the original review was published months ago, this is a reminder of a moment of great happiness, and a lengthy and heartfelt thank you to everyone who has purchased and read my little book on love and wine.
When I sat down to think about Sotto Voce as a novel instead of a work of fan fiction, I had to ask myself some tough questions about what worked and what didn't in this little story about love and wine. Things were destined to be cut. Other details needed to be added. Others simply needed a rewrite, stat.
Sotto Voce was never a story that followed canon, so it made decisions about the plot easy. I was satisfied with the story, and its structure. If you know the story from its fan origins, then you pretty much know the story of the novel.
What needed work? The characters.
From the day I finished writing the original draft of Sotto Voce, I knew I wanted to do better by the characters by giving them more detail and reason for their actions, and by removing some cringe-worthy cliches. There were a couple of secondary characters, in particular, that I wanted a second crack at. And for the lovers, Tom and Greg, it was a chance to write more detail about who and why they are who they are, from the little physical characteristics like freckles and chest hair to memories of sweaty summer childhood afternoons watching minor league baseball.
Every little detail should say something new about them, and it was a joy to go back and fill in the blanks.
So in the weeks leading up to (and past) Sotto Voce's launch, I'll be posting a series of little character sketches to help you get acquainted with the Tom, Greg, Carmen, Brooke, Diego, Tate and their respective worlds.
“Body hair changes in food scene also so good.”
People have very different reactions to editorial notes, but I've come to love them. Not only do they fix my occasionally creative spelling and grammar efforts, but they zero in on ideas, themes and questions that I hadn't always considered.
And then there are times like this, when they just make me laugh.
Interlude Press is hosting giveaways of print and eBook copies of Sotto Voce on Goodreads and Rafflecopter, and I'll be announcing a few giveaways of my own shortly. Hint: You need to be 21+ and be able to find your way to California. In vino veritas...
“It’s a book to be savored and enjoyed from the sweet, light beginning to the subtle middle notes, which culminate in a refreshing, delicious finish.”
Congratulations to Erin Finnegan for her starred review in in PW for Sotto Voce, coming October 21st from Interlude Press.
(via interludepress)
If you hadn’t seen the link below the wine glass last night… It wasn’t just the LA Phil I was celebrating last night. Very exciting and unexpected news!
FALL FOR INTERLUDE PRESS
Our fall titles include our first title and first episode series for Interlude’s new Consent imprint for erotic fiction, a trans-Atlantic romance and two novels that will leave you hungry (and thirsty) for more, including the first novel written exclusively for IP.
September: Load the Dice begins. A 10-episode, twice-monthly series from the Consent Imprint for erotica.
October: Sotto Voce
November: The Bones of You
December: Chef’s Table, an IP exclusive.
It’s great to have it announced!
That’s right, two books in one. To say thanks for your support, I’m throwing in a signed copy of one of the print editions of my upcoming book, along with the multi-format, DRM-free eBook we’re raffling off as part of the Interlude Press 24-hour Launch Party.
Entering the raffling is as easy as following me on Twitter, Tumblr, Goodreads or Facebook, all through one convenient link.
I’ll be announcing the winner during the Noon ET/9amPT panel on 2014 Fall titles on Interlude’s Google+ channel. I hope to see you there!
Join us on Google+ July 22 as we announce our remaining 2014 titles. #IP24
It hasn’t been announced yet … but it will be, soon… and you have a chance to win an eBook copy during the Interlude Press 24-Hour Launch Party. You can enter the raffle here.
Join me and the other Fall 2014 Ip authors in our Google+ Hangout On Air next Tuesday, July 22 at Noon ET/9am PT. We’ll announce the books winners (and maybe have a few more freebies to give away) during the live broadcast!
Snuggle into those pajamas, pour yourself a night cap and join us to celebrate the global launch of IP’s first books all day (and all night) July 22nd with our 24-Hour Launch Party!
Starting at midnight Eastern time, we will host chats with IP authors on our Google+ channel every two hours. We’ll also reveal the Fall 2014 releases and cover art, as well as a sneak peek into 2015. And every session will include giveaways and raffles for IP and fandom swag, items for readers and writers and lots of IP books.
GRAND PRIZE: One year of IP multi-format eBooks!
No purchase necessary. Panel participation subject to change.
Panels and Air Times ET/PT
Midnight/9pm (Live):
Welcome to IP – IP Staff
2am/11pm (Live):
Bleeding Heart/Platonic/Forever Man — Melissa Graves (missbeizy), Kate Paddington (doonarose) and AJ DeWall (iconicklaine).
4am/1am:
Pivot & Slip / Designs on You — Lilah Suzanne (alilactree) and Carrie Pack (randomactsofdouchebaggery)
6am/3am (Live):
Fan fiction, fan culture and fans-gone-pro — Mila McWarren (wordplaying), Jan da Costa (januarium) and Laura Stone (stoney321) .
8am/5am (Live):
Summer Love Anthology Contest – IP Staff
10am/7am (Live):
Two IP Firsts: Consent Imprint & Episodic Fiction – IP Staff, Moriah Gemel (lurkdusoleil)
Noon/9am (Live):
2014 Fall Book Reveals – Lynn Charles (dontbefanci), Erin Finnegan (girliesportsjunkie) and Laura Stone (stoney321)
2pm/11am (Live):
2015 Title Reveals – K.E. Belledonne (knittywriter), Kate Fierro (anxioussquirrel), Mimsy Hale (borogroves) and Lilah Suzanne (alilactree)
4pm/1pm (Live):
From Fic to Novel: Featuring 2015 authors, including Charlotte Ashe (chazzam), Mila McWarren (wordplaying), Lissa Reed (glitterdammerung) and Zane Riley (zavocado).
6pm/3pm(Live):
Writing Original Novels: Featuring 2015 authors, including Jan da Costa (januarium), Kate Fierro (anxioussquirrel), Courtney Lux (andercas), Jude Sierra (judearaya) and Mina Sloan (spinmybowtie), plus 2014 author Lynn Charles (dontbefanci).
8pm/5pm (Live):
Under the Covers: IP Art and New Cover Reveals – IP Art Director Becky Shepherd (buckeyegrrldesigns) and IP Staff
10pm/7pm (Live):
What’s Next? Where We’re Headed and Raffle Winners Announced – IP Staff
***
Want to win some prizes? Got a question you’d like answered on the broadcast? Submit a question that gets answered on air and you’ll qualify for prizes and IP swag.
Submit them LIVE on Google Hangouts On Air, or send them in advance to promotions@interludepress.com. We’ll also be monitoring the #IP24 Twitter tag for questions.
I’ll be giving away a copy of my book…stay tuned for details!
I’ve had a sneak peek at the cover of my book, and I may just swoon.
If you’re reading this, you’ve stumbled across my professional blog.
Maybe I should put that in quotation marks.
Nope. I’m going to own this thing. So “Professional Writerly Place” this is, and welcome!
My first novel will soon be published by Interlude Press, a new publisher of LGBTQ fiction dedicated to publishing original works by authors of fan fiction.
And though it will be a while yet before the book is announced, I will be using this blog to talk about it, and things that inspired it, and whatever other professional writerly things are worth sharing. As it gets closer to launch time, that will likely include Q and A’s and the distinct possibility of giveaways, so stay tuned.
Cheers!
