What's Love Got to Do With It?

This morning, some friends and I were discussing the merits (or lack thereof) of the Twilight series, by Stephanie Myers. I'm not really going to go into the discussion now. I will save that post for another day. I just wanted to invite my friend, Nix Winter, over to share a thought she had in relation to teh discussion, becasue I thought it was such a wonderful, inspiring idea.

So, here she is, Nix, and her thoughts on what love has to do with us, our lives, how we live. IWith her permissipn, I've pulled this long quote from the loop on which it was first posted: Castlesintheskyflightsoffantasy)

I don't know.. but Bella must be something... when I think of a character
that's over a hundred years old, probably able to come into decent amounts of
money.. all the art and lovely exciting things in the world and .. what that
character wants most is to... go to high school and date this person who
probably hasn't finished forming her own opinions yet, let alone done anything
with her life. Yeah, cuz he missed out on high school when he was young.
Now, granted, I haven't read the things, nor seen the movie, but I think it
totally plays into the fantasy that people who may not be as confident in
themselves as they might be... about being loved for some magical something or
other hocum rather than being loved for who we are... because when we think
we're nothing, magical hocum is our best hope.

I had this friend once...

who wrote a story about a vampire falling in love with the books written by this
middle aged, physically fraile author... At the time I was kinda.. ewwww.. but
that was because I was younger and couldn't see anything other than m/m as being
attractive to me. Now, I see that if we write the main character/love interest
as someone we might actually be .. it says a lot about us.

If we really want to be Bella.. how long does that last in our lives? A year? Two? If those were the very best years of our lives, and I'm not going back to sodding high
school for nothing, then what does that say about how we see the world, what we
hope for in the word?

Maybe it's just me, growing closer to menopause than homeroom, raining on the parade of the magic mating ritual... I sound bitter and grumpy, but you know....
rather than this splendid idea of seeing someone and KNOWING they're your mate...
I rather like getting to know someone, being flawed on both sides, finding that person's company enthralling and validating, spending time with them without any commitments or promises, and sitting here at my computer, taking a deep breath and realizing how beautiful the world seems when I think of them. Love can seem so very fragile and I can understand the value of wanting this "YOU are my MATE!" kind of magic.. but really Isn't a crystal goblet more lovely than a concrete one? Love is precious because it is so beautiful, so fragile, so unrushable - it happens in
it's time, from full flush in a moment, to taking months or years to build
itself up - and because our lives are so dependent on that tender glow of
acceptance and need.

And you know... Twilight outsells the crap out of my books. So what do I know.
Nix

I think, dear Nix, you know a lot about how to follow your heart,
and that is an inspiration to me, every day. Thank you for letting me share
this little bit of what makes you so special to me with my friends.

Blogging News

Blogging News So, in the interst of expanding my horizons, I've taken an opportunity to blog at Sensual 'n Secret, the blog belonging to Jade Twilight and Tess McKall. And now, also the home of a few more of us ready to share a few secrets and offer up a bit of insight from our own experiences. Hope you'll drop by and have a read once in a while. There's never a dull post, I'll tell you that right now.

Here's my introductory post. First comes Lust

Interviewed!

Check out my interview with Jener over at her blog.

She really knows how to ask the insightful questions. leave a comment, or ask afew questions of your own. I'll answer them as best I can.

So, I've been busy lately, what with all the new goings on in the Dark Diva den, and trying to keep up with my writing and starting a full time job, but I still managed to get a book out there, and here's the info on it. Down at the bottom, you'll find a buy link. Thanks for your time
Jaime

Info
Title: Moving Day
Genre: m/m romance
Length: 30,000

Blurb
Mike Paloso has lost count of the number of times he's helped childhood friend Jay Charles move. Jay's never had much of a home to call his own, content to follow his boyfriends around, but each breakup means a new pad, until the next guy comes along. This time, it's different. There's been no breakup, and no new pad. Instead, there's one hell of a fixer-upper, and not just the house Jay's inherited from his latest, late, beau. This time, Mike has to find a way to repair Jay's broken dreams and mangled heart.
With every reno, there comes some demo, but Mike's not sure he's ready to dismantle his life to rebuild Jay's.

Excerpt
The room at the top of the stairs on the right was the largest of three bedrooms. The light fixture was missing, though, so I had taken up the trouble light and found a few candles. I had our sleeping bags spread out and pillows on the floor facing the television. There was no cable, so only three channels. Jay stood in the doorway with the plate of burgers in his hand.

“Cozy.”

I took the food from him and pointed down the hall to the bathroom. “Go get into dry clothes. I’ll get these ready.” I set the plate on top of some boxes and started dressing them as he went to change. I didn’t realize he had come back until he spoke.

“You can stay.”

I couldn’t quite hide my start. “I liked Darren you know, Jay.”

“Funny.” Jay came in and sat down beside me. “He didn’t much like you.”

“Why?”

Jay shrugged. “You were almost the only thing we ever fought about.” He took the plate I handed him and lifted the bun to see what I’d put on his burger, but he didn’t pick it up. “Then, at the end, he told me to keep you close. To be patient.”

I looked at him. Damp hair clung to the back of his neck and flopped down over his eyes. He had on a tank top and loose pyjama bottoms, and the warmth of the room after the cool rain flushed his cheeks. There had to be a mourning period my libido was completely ignoring. I took my plate and shuffled back to lean against the wall.

“Patient?” Close to him was something I definitely should not be when he looked like that and I had Brian’s voice in my head telling me I was full of shit. He was wrong. I could admit when I wanted something this badly. I wasn’t full of shit. I was just a shitty friend because me with my mind in his pants was definitely not what he needed right now.

“You alright, Mike?”

“Yeah. I’m…hungry.” I tore into my burger and concentrated on it, hoping it would help.



coming February 14 to Freya's Bower Click on the link to buy it!

Do you read M/M romance? Do you write it? Join me and fellow authors at the Latte Lounge tomorrow and talk the day away, or just drop in on your lunch and say hi.

Join Nix Winters, MJ King, and I and many other gay romance writers, like Clare London, Stevie Woods, Ava Marsh, and Josh Lanyon (and more, but I forget all the names).
We'll be talking about our work, how and why we write what we do. There will be contests and excerpts, and an all-round good time. Please come on over and join the fun.

Reviewers needed at the Diva Den

We're busier than ever over at the Diva Den, and we're looking for more reviewers. We want people who love to read, and who love to share. We look for people who can give honest, balanced and thoughtful reviews, and who can turn in one review a month. You can check out our website in the links below, and drop us a line if you think you might fir the bill. (And I'm sure AJ would love some company, guys!)

Do you like to read... a lot?

Dark Diva Reviews is looking for a few people who love to read to join our team.We're about giving frank and honest opinions of books. As well as helping authors get their names out there.We’re here to tell readers like it is.

Right now we only review erotic and romance e-books, but we'll take any genre within those. For example romantic suspense or erotic fantasy.We're a relaxed review company, who wants to give the best and most honest reviews we can.

Authors this is a great opportunity for promos. If you join you can use our yahoo group to promo your books and you'll get a small spot on our about the divas web page.

If you're interested in becoming a member of the Dark Diva team please send an email to darkdivareviews@gmail.com with "reviewer" or "would like to join" in the subject line.
Links-Website- http://www.darkdivareviews.webs.comMyspace- http://www.myspace.com/darkdivareviewsBlog- http://www.darkdivareviews.blogspot.comDDR Public Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DarkDivaReviews

-- The Dark DivasWe Make Reading Sexy

The Slayer's Apprentice by Zathyn Priest: Review

Okay, This was a tough one. It was difficult to get past the unremitting squee and give a coherent review. Lots of times, I read books I like, but the writer in me notices things, plot inconsistencies, character problems, technical difficulties, (this last one, most of all), Rarely, these days, do I get so lost in a book that the inner editor completely shuts down and I get to just read without interruption. This was one of those rare times, so thanks, Zath.

On to the review: The Slayer's Apprentice by Zathyn Priest