I'm going to be editing two GLBT anthologies for Ravenous for early summer publication. Here's the details of the first one. Please feel free to repost elsewhere or contact me with suggestions where to post.

GLBT Fairy Tales Anthology

Ravenous Romance has discovered how many readers are interested in quality GLBT romance, and have asked me to put together two anthologies for their Panamour section (same-sex romance) and I'm really excited about the opportunity.

The first one will be stories based on traditional fairy tales, but with a GLBT slant. All stories must have an erotic element, with an emphasis on romance over pure erotica. Here's your chance to spice up some favorite childhood tales in a way you've never seen before, but always wanted to tell the story! Feel free to use non-European tales as a base. Here are a couple of great resources for inspiration: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fairy_tales and http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/talesindex.html

Deadline May 31, 2009. You may submit anytime before then, but I may not have a decision on yours until closer to the deadline. I strongly suggest a query in advance (including a paragraph or two about your storyline) to avoid having 10 Little Red Riding Hood stories, though perhaps that could be an interesting anthology on its own.

Specifics: 3,500 to 10,000 words.  Please be sure your submission is free of typos and errors. Polish your story before sending it, please!  No rape, underage, incest or bestiality.If you have other content you feel might be questionable, email me for clarification.

Format: send in RTF or Word (no docx), double spaced with no headers or footers.
 
Terms  $10 per story advance against the royalties on ebook sales (and other non-exclusive subsidiary rights) for a period of three years. There is the possibility of an upfront payment rather than royalties, so email me if this is a deal-breaker for you to participate. Royalties are a pro rata share of the 35% on ebooks and 15% on audiobooks. If they sell additional subsidiary rights, additional payments will follow! More details of the rights here: http://ravenousromance.blogspot.com/2008/10/our-short-story-rights-and-contracts.html
 
To submit, please send an attached document to my gmail address: lynley.editor. Be sure Your Name & Pseudonym, Address, and Email and word count and a short summary of the story appear on the first page of your attached document (not only in your email). Also please include a 150-word bio suitable for publication with the story.

Feel free to email me with any questions.

Word Counts - Today: 0 | April: 10,000 | 2009: 78,046

Welcome to the very first M/M Romance Challenge!

In my attempt to gay up the internet, I'm passing along the information for this great reading challenge designed to introduce new readers to m/m romance, and for readers to share lists of what they're reading. It's being run by iheartpaperbacks, with full details here. I'm reposting the general information, but go to their site as well especially to find out more about the prizes!

They have links to lots of m/m romance publishers, so you can shop there, rather than Amazon! Check out other people's lists. I was excited to find one of my titles on Selah March's list!

March 20, 2009 to August 31, 2009

This challenge is for those who enjoy reading Male/Male romances or those who are interested in starting. If you aren’t familiar with M/M romances, they are novels and other books where the main focus of the story is the romantic relationship between the male protagonists. There are all types of genres and themes available: historicals, fantasy, sci-fi, mysteries, detective stories, paranormal romances, vampires, shapeshifters, erotica, ménage à trois, time travel, BDSM, cowboys, cops, romantic comedies, even regency-sci-fi! There’s a wealth of material out there just waiting to be read.

Rules/Guidelines

1. Choose your sports euphemism (lol!):
– 1st Base – Read 4 M/M romances
– 2nd Base – Read 5 M/M romances
– 3rd Base – Read 6 M/M romances
– Go All The Way – Read 10 (or more) M/M romances

2. All genres are allowed.
– They can be a part of a series or stand-alones.
– They can be long or short.
– Some re-reads are allowed, but try to have at least 2 new-to-you books.
– Overlapping with other challenges is fine, even encouraged.

3. You can join at any time, but remember there is a deadline (August 31, 2009) so keep that in mind when you choose how many books you’d like to read.

4. You don’t have to list your books ahead of time. If you decide to list them, you can change them as you go. Feel free to remove or add titles as needed.

5. You do NOT have to have a blog to participate.
– You can post a mini review or feedback in comments on the review post.
– Just remember to include your book title and author.

6. You do NOT have to review your books to participate.

7. You MUST be 18 years old or older to participate.

Extra Options

If you’d like to spice things up a bit, feel free to use the following suggestions when choosing what books you want to read. You can use as many as you want, depending on how many books you’ll be reading for the challenge. Feel free to expand on this list if you’d like.

- Read an anthology.
– Read an historical.
– Read a new release.
– Read a new-to-you author.
– Read the first book in a series.
– Read a book with a sports/athletics theme.
– Read a book outside your comfort level or from a genre you don’t normally read.
– Read a book where the shapeshifter isn’t a werewolf.
– Read a book that’s been in your TBR pile for longer than 2 months.
– Read any title by one of the first m/m authors you ever read.

Prizes/Awards

Everyone who signs up by April 31, 2009 will be eligible for a random drawing for the ebook of their choice by collaborating authors Barbara Sheridan and Anne Cain. Together they write male/male romances that are heavily influenced by yaoi. Anne has even done the cover art and inside illustrations for a number of their books.

Everyone who completes the challenge by the August 31st deadline will be eligible for a random drawing for $15 in eBook Bucks from All Romance Books.

The Phade message board is also hosting some fabulous prizes for this challenge. Their drawing is open to all Phade members who sign up for the M/M Romance Challenge and share their reading list in The Manhole on The Phade.

Sign Up or Check out Other Lists!

Enter your info into the Mr. Linky boxes below. Put your name or username in the first box. In the second, put a direct link to the post/page where your books will be listed. If you just list your blog’s URL, your link will be removed.

Word Counts - Today: 0 | April: 10,000 | 2009: 78,046

I just discovered Sex, Lies & Wedding Bells listed in an entirely unexpected place: an academic bibliography of  "The Image of the Gay Journalist in Popular Culture"!  see "Individual Novels" about halfway down this page. The list is compiled by the dean and journalism professor at the USC Annenberg School for Communication. I'm pretty excited about that.

My main character is a magazine columnist and his job is a major component of the story. I hadn't thought so much about it when I was writing it, but I do discuss ethics in journalism and the effect journalists can have on their readers, though this list mentions the romance aspect of the book instead. Regardless, It's very cool to have been listed here, with a lot of big names in GLBT writing and a lot of very well-known films and books.

Word Counts - Today: 0 | April: 10,000 | 2009: 78,046

I just found out that I've been named a Coffee Time Recommended Read!

This award recognizes outstanding writing styles in all book types and genres. Your book has received this award because I feel it is above and beyond a 5-Cup Rating.  –Lototy from Coffee Time
(read more )

"This is honestly one of the best M/M romance novels I have read, and EM Lynley has found herself one very happy new fan."  (full review )

SEX, LIES & WEDDING BELLS
by EM Lynley
from Ravenous Romance

m/m contemporary erotic romance
Link: http://www.ravenousromance.com/panamour/sex-lies-and-wedding-bells.php

ISBN:  978-1-60777-064-7

Also available from Fictionwise & ARe

Kieran Quinn is a Texas native transplanted to Manhattan and working as a columnist for a national magazine. He's famous for his snarky, sardonic columns, but deep down he's more interested in what makes people tick than his editor would like. He keeps his desire to find his own Mr. Right hidden under a sexy, carefree persona that favors champagne and underwear models of the male variety.

When Kieran goes to Texas to cover the latest wedding of a real-life "runaway bride," he falls hard for the gorgeous—and straight—groom. Jaxon Lang is the handsome, confident high school principal in a tiny Texas town, where he relocated from Dallas to pursue his relationship with a woman he thinks he wants to settle down with, despite the fact she's left three men at the altar before him.

Kieran's charm and unique attitudes about sex and attraction soon challenge Jaxon's concept of what–and who–he wants. Will anything change when Kieran discovers the bride's been keeping a shocking secret?

Read Chapter one online 
Read excerpts and reviews

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Word Counts - Today: 0 | April: 10,000 | 2009: 78,046

Hi folks!
I've been offline for a while, after spending more than a week sick in bed. I'm starting to feel better now, and am trying desperately to catch up on emails, which is probably going to take a while. If you contacted me since April 1 and you haven't heard back about something, please try again!

I managed to get my taxes done over the weekend and now am moving on to writing-related tasks. I'm still a bit disoriented and finding it hard to concentrate, but hopefully I can get back on track with the pieces I've been working on.

What did I miss in the meantime? Tell me some good news, please, if anyone has some. I have seen a lot of emails about the Amazon rankings thing, but I still can't tell if it is a permanent policy or just some mistake that they are going to fix.

Word Counts - Today: 0 | April: 10,000 | 2009: 78,046

I haven't been online for over a week! No computer access while I was in LA then some computer problems when I got back, but things seem to be stable for the moment.

I'm back now and I decided to give away a couple of books today.

I'm giving away a copy of Sex, Lies & Wedding Bells to 2 lucky winners, if you enter the contest by midnight EDT tonight! See below for how to enter!

SEX, LIES & WEDDING BELLS
by EM Lynley
from Ravenous Romance

ISBN:  978-1-60777-064-7

Info and excerpts

Kieran Quinn is a Texas native transplanted to Manhattan and working as a columnist for a national magazine. He's famous for his snarky, sardonic columns, but deep down he's more interested in what makes people tick than his editor would like. He keeps his desire to find his own Mr. Right hidden under a sexy, carefree persona that favors champagne and underwear models of the male variety.

When Kieran goes to Texas to cover the latest wedding of a real-life "runaway bride," he falls hard for the gorgeous—and straight—groom. Jaxon Lang is the handsome, confident high school principal in a tiny Texas town, where he relocated from Dallas to pursue his relationship with a woman he thinks he wants to settle down with, despite the fact she's left three men at the altar before him.

Kieran's charm and unique attitudes about sex and attraction soon challenge Jaxon's concept of what–and who–he wants. Will anything change when Kieran discovers the bride's been keeping a shocking secret?

How to enter

Word Counts - Today: 0 | April: 0 | 2009: 68,046