Thursday, July 4, 2013

Equal Rights Blog Hop and Giveaway


Hey there, everyone! I've got a fun event going on here for the next few days. I'm taking part in the Equal Rights Blog Hop hosted by Queer Town Abbey. Several very talented authors are also taking part, so do be sure to visit Queer Town Abbey's site, see all the participating authors, and pay them a visit on their blogs.

For the theme of this hop, each participating author is to write what it means to be a part of the GLBT community, and also include a question at the end for everyone to answer. You can then take that answer to Queer Town Abbey's site and enter to win one of the Grand Prizes. The answer to my question will be in this post, so be on the lookout ;-) 

In addition, I'm also giving away a copy of one of my books, in ebook, winner's choice of title. Just leave a comment on this post (be sure to include your email address) to be entered in my giveaway.

So, what does it mean for me to be included in the GLBT community? Well, for me, I'm a heterosexual woman. I've never made any secret of that since becoming an author of gay romance. I hope it's not a surprise to anyone now! So while I may not be homosexual, bisexual, or transgender, I am a straight ally, and I do feel welcomed by the GLBT community because of that and my writing. Having that acceptance and support means more than I can ever adequately express.

I wrote my first gay erotic romance book, CONQUEST, back in 2005, and finally started submitting it to publishers in 2008. After all this time, it's still my favorite book out of all the stories I've written :-) I remember back when I wrote it, I didn't know about the M/M genre, which was much smaller then, so I submitted it to general romance publishers, because...well, the book was romance. It just happened to have two men falling in love rather than a man and a woman. 

I didn't think much of that difference, because in my eyes, love is love. I received quite the wake-up call that some of those romance publishers, at that time, didn't view it the same way. But those rejections only fueled my determination to get the story published. I felt it was even more important to put out a book featuring a strong, loving relationship between two men. That determination led me to find my current publisher, MLR Press, and my goal continues to be putting out positive stories featuring gay men.

I'm proud to support equal rights and write the stories that I do. It's about supporting all individuals, of all identities and sexualities, and working together to make the world a more positive and beautiful place.

Now for your question that you can take the answer of over to QTA's site and use for entering in the Grand Prize giveaway! What is my favorite book that I've written?

My thanks to everyone who's stopped by today, and to Queer Town Abbey for organizing the hop! Good luck to all in the giveaways!



46 comments:

  1. I have to say I think Conquest is my favourite of your stories as well, though I have the entire series and Love Love LOVE them all.

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    1. Thank you very much! I'm very happy you've enjoyed the series :D And yep, I can understand Conquest being your favorite, too. I do love all the stories I've written and all my guys, but Conquest and Jesse and Evan are just so special to me.

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  2. While I like Conquest, I prefer the Instincts series. I own all of both though, so I'm a big fan!

    skadlec1@yahoo.com

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    1. Thank you so very much! I'm thrilled to hear you like my vampires! Natural Instincts and Andreas and Titus are also incredibly special to me. That story was my first venture into writing vampires, and I've loved writing in that world. I actually just finished the 5th book in the series and will sending it off to my editor in a couple of days :D

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  3. I have to say I think Conquest is my favourite of your stories..i enjoyed it so much

    parisfan_ca@yahoo.com

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    1. Thank you! I'm happy to you enjoyed it, also :-) It still amazes me all that one story led to!

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  4. I'm a big Jesse and Evan fan, but my favorite book is Feeling the Rhythm.

    Will we get Tanner's story next year? I can't wait to read his book.

    Gabriella

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    1. Thank you much! I so loved writing Feeling the Rhythm. It felt like it was a long time coming bringing Brad his happily ever after, and he and Remmy were so sweet to write :-)

      I do think Tanner's story will release next year. I'm hoping to start writing it toward the end of this year. I'm gearing myself up to be able to handle him, lol!

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    2. LOL. I totally understand that. I also needed some time to handle (like) Tanner. But after all the re-reads I've done he's grown on me and I now like him. ;)
      Can't wait for next year and Tanner's story.

      Gabriella

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    3. I'm happy he's grown on you! I do know at first he can come on a bit...strong, we'll say ;-) I'm looking forward to seeing if I'll be able to help him mature a bit.

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  5. Love both series.
    cvsimpkins@msn.com

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    1. Thank you so much! That makes me very happy knowing you've enjoyed both series :D

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  6. Conquest is my favorite of your books.
    sstrode at scrtc dot com

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    1. Thank you! I'm happy to know you've liked it, also :-)

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  7. Don't forget the kilts! Love all these guys :)

    Kath.
    keywi247 at gmail.com

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    1. Definitely can't forget my guys in the kilts! I do love my Lions Rampant boys :-) I'm happy you liked them, too!

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  8. Thanks for taking part in the hop!!

    humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com

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    1. I'm happy to! Thank you very much for stopping by :-)

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  9. Conquest, of course!

    Hi Shannon!

    len.agrey.iam@gmail.com

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    1. Hey Lena! That's awesome Conquest is your favorite, too! Jesse and Evan, they do seem to leave an impression on folks :-)

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  10. Hi Shannon

    Love Jess and Evan also....but then again I love them all. Looking forward to reading Tanner's story.

    Have a great weekend.

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    1. Hi! Thank you very much about Jesse and Evan, and all my guys :D And thank you for looking forward to Tanner's story, too. I'm keeping my fingers crossed writing will go smooth when I start working with him!

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  11. Conquest is your favorite book.

    Wolphcall(at)bellsouth(dot)net

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  12. I completely agree with you - love is love and a romance novel is a romance novel. Thanks for a great post and for the chance to win.

    Antonia
    amaquilante(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. You're very welcome, and thank you for stopping by. It makes me happy knowing you feel the same :-) I hope very much all people will feel that way someday.

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  13. "Conquest" is my favourite book of yours. I love your Rock Stars!!!


    ShirleyAnn@speakman40.freeserve.co.uk

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    1. Thank you very much! I love that you love my rockers :D

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  14. Im am also hetrosexual male but i have a few friends and a brother that gay. It dont bother me i support their choices and lifestyle. I recently started reading some gay romance stories i loved them god bless you authers for writing romance novels for the gay community i have always felt they suld have all the same rights as us everyone deserves to be loved by somebody. I would be very humbled and pround of my child no matter if he/she was straight or gay their gods gift and miracles to us it just shows that they are capable of giving and receiving so much love. Life to short to fight over who we love or who we should marry,i just hope to see in my life where everyone is treated equal.

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    1. That's wonderful you're so supportive of your brother and your friends! And how awesome you've started reading gay romance, also! I couldn't agree more with you about children. Every child born is a precious gift to be cherished and loved.

      As you said, life is too short. I believe love is the most wonderful thing we can feel as human beings, and everyone should have the right to openly celebrate and show their love for another. I hope all people will someday share your beautiful beliefs that all people deserve equality!

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  15. Your favorite book that you've written is "Conquest." Thank you for your great blog post and for participating in the hop!
    -Marie

    awindandbooks at gmail dot com

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    1. My pleasure! Thank you for stopping by! Good luck in the giveaways!

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  16. Blog hops are meant to introduce readers to authors whose work they may not have read--right? I haven't read your books yet--but my to be read stack just keeps growing. Thanks for your post and for the giveaway.

    romanczuk at yahoo dot com

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    1. You're most welcome for the post and the giveaway. Thank you for coming by! And you're right, one of the purposes of hops is to bring you to new authors. I can relate on your TBR stack growing, because mine has, too! I discovered a couple new authors from this hop, also :-) I hope if you do give my books a read, that you'll enjoy them!

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  17. 'Conquest' is your favorite :)

    penumbrareads(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. Thanks for stopping over! Good luck in the giveaways!

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  18. I love the story of your first submission for Conquest. How wonderful that you had that outlook, and how sad that the publishers didn't see it that way. I look forward to the day when 'love is love' is true everywhere.

    Thank you for sharing with all of us!

    caroaz [at] ymail [dot] com

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    1. I'm glad you liked my story :-) I really didn't see the difference, and you know, I still don't. Love is love will always be my belief. And I look forward to that same day, when it's the belief everywhere.

      Thanks so much for stopping by!

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  19. Conquest! And I think it's awesome that you submitted it to general romance publishers because one day we'll be able to do that and no one will blink an eye.

    Still, the rise of genre publishing has brought M/M romance to a place in the sun, and that's the first step! akasarahmadison[at]gmail[dot]com

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    1. Hey, Sarah! I totally agree! I think someday general publishers will have that belief. Some have already started, and I hope that trend continues. And you couldn't be more right about the rise of M/M romance. It's amazing how its grown in such a short time! I think that alone speaks for a lot.

      Thank you for visiting!

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  20. Your favorite book is "Conquest." I really loved reading your journey to publication. One day, all romance will be treated equally. But until then all we can do is keep spreading awareness. Thanks for participating.

    Sophie
    SophieBonaste at gmail dot com

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    1. Thank you! I'm glad you liked my post. And I couldn't agree more about spreading awareness. That's how change happens!

      Good luck in the giveaways!

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  21. Loving all the new books I'm finding, but my budget isn't liking the increase in the wish list. :)
    Will have to check out Conquest.

    carolcobun @ yahoo.com

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    1. I know that feeling to the budget, lol! I hope you'll like Conquest if you give it a read. Thank you for swinging by!

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  22. My favorite book of yours is Natural Instincts. Thanks for participating!

    tiger-chick-1(at)hotmail(dot)com

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    1. Yay! I'm happy you've enjoyed Natural Instincts :D I've loved writing my vampires. I just sent the 5th book in the series, Refined Instincts, off to my editor this weekend. We're going to shoot for an October release on it.

      Thank you for stopping by here!

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