For the Mistletoe/Prairie Dog blog tour, I did an interview with Eclectic Passions. They're also have a giveaway of "Blame It On The Mistletoe".
Check it out here:
http://eclecticpassionsbc.blogspot.com/2013/12/giveaway-interview-with-blame-it-on.html
Eli
This book is truly amazing. Matty is a competitive figure skater who failed in the last Olympics and has dreams of coming back and winning gold at the next one. He's flamboyant and fabulous, very gay and proud of it. He takes a ranch-sitting job in Montana for six months from a skating patron because it's easy money and he can focus on his skating without the distractions of friends and the big city. Enter the next door neighbor, Rob, a gorgeous Montana rancher who is openly gay and who falls at first sight for Matty (of course, who wouldn't).
There's so much to love and admire about this story. I loved the descriptions of the beautiful Montana scenery. I loved that, despite being a fish out of water, there was no plot wasted here on homophobia and hate. People in the town of Whitefish were very curious about Matty, and there might have been some distant sneers, but there was also Rob, an out rancher, and his friend Bill, who ran the local gay club. This book wasn't about small town narrow-mindedness and thank God.
I loved Matty's strength and beauty (as Rob puts it). I take it he's loosely based on Johnny Weir, who is just adorable. And Rob, the rancher, was a nice surprise. He wasn't stereotypical at all. He had a lot of depth and maturity. His "toppiness", his ability to understand Matty, and give him what he needed, was intelligent and exciting.
I loved the imagery of a major world figure skater skating on a little iced over pond on a Montana ranch. It's very "Ice Castles" and you can feel the impact that Matty has on Rob's life and heart, as if a beautiful bird landed on the window of a prison cell. (OK, that may be taking it a bit far, but you get the analogy). Rob is not really happy ranching, he's rather stuck maintaining the family farm. Having a glorious creature like Matty show up next door is just too good to be true. For Matty, having the studly hot next door rancher, "Montana personified", turn out to be gay is like every sex fantasy made real. Only Rob turns out to be much more than that.
These two are wonderful together and they fall so deeply in love. The author does a wonderful job of building their relationship and she takes the time to do so. And it's not only Matty and Rob's relationship, but Matty's relationship with Rob's son, Ben, and Rob and Ben's with Matty's family. These are built scene by scene until you are totally invested in Matty and Rob as a couple as the only possibly sane way for reality to go on.
The book gets very angsty when it's time for Matty to go home and go back to the world of figure skating. And he doesn't have an easy time of it either. As Rob says, Matty's boyfriend Figure Skating fucks him in the ass without lube. Repeatedly. There was a point at maybe 80% where I thought I couldn't really take it anymore. But finally we get an HEA and it was worth it.
Besides being a lovely romance, I admired the examination of Matty's fear of failure on the ice and how Rob helps him overcome it with BDSM. Though this is not really a BDSM book, nor do I really like BDSM, there were scenes in here in which their sex play goes in that direction, but it's for a very good, real, emotional reason and it totally worked for me.
Highly recommended.
I'm doing a week long blog tour for my two Christmas Stories "Blame It On The Mistletoe" and "A Prairie Dog's Love Song".
12/5 -- First stop is a brief interview with Sarah Madison about holidays and cowboys. You can read it here.
12/7 -- We Love King
12/7 -- Eclectic Passions
12/8 -- Dawn's Reading Nook
12/10 -- Iyana's Rainbow
12/13 -- Sinfully Sexy Books
12/13 - Foxlutely Book Reviews
"A Prairie Dog's Love Song" released today as part of Dreamspinner's advent calendar. It's a contemporary Christmas novella with a cowboy theme.
BLURB:
Ben Rivers always was a showman. He won awards in 4-H and rodeo competitions from the time he could walk, and he’s happiest in the spotlight. So when he got the chance to be a star—in porn—he took it. He still loves Montana and everything about being a cowboy, but when news of his alternate identity leaks out, he figures he’s lost the town’s goodwill forever. Clyde’s Corner would never accept an openly gay cowboy, even a hometown boy born and bred.
Joshua Braintree always had the notion that he and his best friend’s kid brother, Ben, would end up together. Ben’s always been a diehard cowboy, just like him: they need the land and its freedom as much as they need air. So when Joshua learns Ben moved away from their small Montana town to be a porn star in Vegas, he can hardly believe it. He’s determined to finally declare himself and bring Ben home.
Despite his longtime crush on Joshua, Ben won’t be as easy to tame as Joshua’s “lost cause” horses. It will take a lot of heart and holiday spirit for Joshua to convince Ben that even old prairie dogs can learn new tricks in the name of love.
BUY LINK:
From Dreamspinner: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4491
DESKTOP:
Here are some images that I had up on my computer desktop to inspire me as I wrote this story back in June, when there was nary a spring of holly to be found.
I
Is this Joshua? I dunno, but he sure is inspirational!
This is definitely Ben, and he ended up on the cover.
Townsend, Montana, a model for Clyde's Corner.
Ben's apartment building in Vegas.
The rest of these are for mood and a sense of place....
I loved writing in this world. Maybe there's a sequel here somewhere? I hope you enjoy visiting Clyde's Corner with Joshua and Ben this Christmas.
Eli
This is amazing! "Blame It On The Mistletoe", which I self-pubbed on Nov 17th, has been dancing around the 2-4 slots on Amazon for about a week. Thanksgiving morning I wake up to find it #1! What an amazing feeling.
I've been publishing m/m romance since April 2013 and this is my first 'hit' like this. I guess when a writer has that happen you wonder -- Why was this one different? And more importantly, how can I do it again? Was it the fabulous cover by Reese Dante? The fact that it's a holiday story? The nerd/jock thing? Was the book really written better?
Questions for the for the coming weeks, perhaps. For now it's Thanksgiving day and I just want to be excited and grateful. I've written in other genres before, but I love writing m/m romance and I'm so happy that it seems like I'm doing okay here. We'll see what 2014 brings.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Here're some recent reviews on Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18776908-blame-it-on-the-mistletoe
Here's a link to Amazon's gay romance bestseller list, in case you want to follow it in the future:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/14044691/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_b_1_5_last
Eli
Hearts On Fire interviewed me about "Blame It On The Mistletoe" and they're giving away a free copy of it if you leave a comment. Check it out! http://heartsonfirereviews.com/?p=24057
Eli
Mid-November through December is a big period for me. I have three stories hitting. Nov 17 -- Blame It On the Mistletoe
This is a Christmas novella featuring uber nerd Fielding Monroe and jock Mick Colman and Fielding's desire to learn how to kiss. It's been getting good reviews on goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18776908-blame-it-on-the-mistletoe
Dec 1 (as part of the Dreamspinner advent) -- A Prairie Dog's Love Song
This is a cowboy Christmas story about a rancher, Joshua, who is in the closet and has long been in love with his best friend's younger brother, Ben. When Ben leaves their small Montana town to make a career in gay-for-pay porn, Joshua decides to go after him and prove to him that old prairie dogs can learn new tricks.
Dec 19 -- The Enlightenment of Daniel (Sex in Seattle #2)
Business tycoon Daniel Deronda has always lived for his work until his dying father makes Daniel realize how short life is. Startling revelations follow--like the fact that he's gay and is in love with his business partner Nick. Unfortunately, Nick is in a loveless marriage for the sake of his kids. Can Daniel's awakening change all their lives for the better?
FAMINE:
My next release won't be out until around April 2014. Coming in 2014:
* Stitch (gothika #1) -- an anthology of 4 novellas with a Frankenstein theme with Jamie Fessenden, Sue Brown, and Kim Fielding (around April)
* The Mating of Michael (Sex in Seattle #3) (probably May or June)
That's all that's on the dock for now, though I'm sure more will appear. 2013 was a big year of releases for me, but 2014 will likely be bigger books and less of them.
Have a wonderful end of 2013!
Eli
Blame It On The Mistletoe, my Christmas novella, is now available for purchase! The price is $2.99. There are 125 pages/24K words in this novella.
AMAZON:
http://www.amazon.com/Blame-Mistletoe-Eli-Easton-ebook/dp/B00GQHCBI0/
ARE:
https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-blameitonthemistletoe-1350118-149.html
And here's the first review, from Hearts On Fire:
http://heartsonfirereviews.com/?p=23893
BLURB:
When physics grad student Fielding Monroe and skirt-chaser and football player Mick Colman become college housemates, they’re both in for a whole new education. Mick looks out for the absent-minded genius, and he helps Fielding clean up his appearance and discover all the silly pleasures his strict upbringing as a child prodigy denied him. They become best friends.
It’s all well and good until they run into a cheerleader who calls Mick the ‘best kisser on campus.’ Fielding has never been kissed, and he decides Mick and only Mick can teach him how it’s done. After all, the physics department’s Christmas party is coming up with its dreaded mistletoe. Fielding wants to impress his peers and look cool for once in his life. The thing about Fielding is, once he locks onto an idea, it’s almost impossible to get him to change his mind. And he just doesn't understand why his straight best friend would have a problem providing a little demonstration.
Mick knows kissing is a dangerous game. If he gives in, it would take a miracle for the thing not to turn into a disaster. Then again, if the kissing lessons get out of hand they can always blame it on the mistletoe.
Eli
Here's the cover for my upcoming novella "Blame It On The Mistletoe"! The cover artist is Reese Dante. I love the colors she used.
I have two Christmas novellas this year. One, "A Prairie Dog's Love Song" is a cowboy story and it will be published as part of Dreamspinner's advent calendar. The other is "Blame It On The Mistletoe" and I am self-pubbing it. It will be available on ARE (epub, mobi) and on Amazon (mobi/kindle). I'm shooting to have it out between Nov 24-28th.
"Blame It On The Mistletoe" blurb:
When physics grad student Fielding Monroe and skirt-chaser and ex-football player Mick Colman become college housemates, they’re both in for a whole new education. Mick is good at looking out for the absent-minded genius, and he helps Fielding clean up his appearance and discover all the silly pleasures his strict upbringing as a child prodigy denied him. They become best friends.
It’s all well and good until they run into a cheerleader who calls Mick the ‘best kisser on campus.’ Fielding has never been kissed, and he decides Mick and only Mick can teach him how it’s done. After all, the physics department’s Christmas party is coming up with its dreaded mistletoe, and a girl in Fielding’s class has threatened to nail him at the party. Fielding wants to impress his peers and look cool for once in his life. The thing about Fielding is, once he locks onto an idea, it's almost impossible to get him to change his mind.
Mick knows kissing is a dangerous game. If he gives in, it would take a miracle for the thing not to turn into a disaster. Then again, if the kissing lessons get out of hand they can always blame it on the mistletoe.
Just got a cover for "The Enlightenment of Daniel". This is the second in the Sex in Seattle series, though it's not necessary to read the first one to enjoy this one. This book is due from Dreamspinner in mid December.
Here's the blurb:
Business tycoon Daniel Derenzo lives for his work until his dying father reminds him life is short. When Daniel starts to reevaluate his world he experiences a startling revelation—he’s attracted to his business partner and best friend, Nick, even though Daniel always believed himself to be straight. In typical type A fashion, Daniel dissects his newfound desires with the help of the experts at the Expanded Horizons sex clinic. He goes after Nick with the fierce determination that’s won him many a business deal.
Nick Ross was in love with Daniel years ago, when they were roommates in college. But Daniel was straight and Nick patched his broken heart by marrying Marcia. Two kids and fourteen years later, they go through the motions of their marriage like ships passing in the night. But Nick’s kids mean the world to him, and he’s afraid he’d never get joint custody if they divorced. If he can trust his heart to an awakening Daniel, they all might find their way to a happily ever after.
The recently released "Steamed Up" anthology from Dreamspinner is on sale today for 25% off! The code is SteamedUp. You can buy it here: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4267
I have a story in the anthology called "Caress". You can read an excerpt here.
Also, I'm posting on the Dreamspinner blog today along with other authors in the anthology. Drop by and say hi! Feel free to ask me any questions you have about Caress or my other stories.
http://dreamspinnerpress.com/blog/
Eli
Today is the release day for "Steamed Up", a Dreamspinner steampunk anthology. My story "Caress" is in the anthology as well as stories by Kim Fielding, Amy Rae Durreson, Augusta Li, Layla M. Wier, and more. Check it out:
Dreamspinner site:
Amazon:
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18518473-steamed-up
Eli
"A Prairie Dog's Love Song" is going to be published in Dec 2013 as part of Dreamspinner's Christmas advent calendar. Buy the entire advent 'calendar' and receive a new m/m romance ebook in the mail each day in December. You can preorder this year's event here.
I've bought the past few years and really enjoyed them, so I'm thrilled to be in this year's advent calendar. I'm not sure which day in Dec this story will appear, but I do know that at 22K words, it will be one of the longer stories in the advent.
This is the cover that was just done for it. You can read more about the story, including an excerpt, here.
Eli
It's release day for "Puzzle Me This!" About "Puzzle Me This"
"Puzzle Me This" was written in December 2012 and it was the first original m/m story I ever wrote. I wrote it for submission to the Dreamspinner Daily Dose for 2013 which had a sports theme. I thought writing about a couple of game/puzzle designers would be unique. But it turned out crossword puzzles were not "sporty" enough for the anthology theme. (That's what I get for thinking too far outside the box!) Fortunately, Dreamspinner liked the story and offered to publish it as a stand-alone novella. "Puzzle Me This" is 20K words.
BLURB:
Luke Schumaker designs computer games, working from his home. Every day he walks his dog in the woods nearby, never suspecting that someone who is completely smitten is watching.
The watcher is Alex Shaw, and he too works from home, designing logic and crossword puzzles. Alex’s options are limited: he’s too shy to approach Luke and his wheelchair won’t let him follow into the woods. His solution? Secret messages for Luke in the crosswords he writes for the local paper.
When Luke decodes them, romance begins, but then they face greater puzzles, like Alex’s interfering sister and what commitment to a man in a wheelchair really takes. And, most puzzling of all, how do you know if love is real?
Here are some of my inspirational desktop images. I googled these and don't own any of them. If anyone has an issue with their being posted here, please email me at eli@elieaston.com
LUKE
Luke Schumaker is a computer game designer who used to live in San Francisco but now lives in State College, Pennsylvania where he works from home. I pictured Luke as a bit geeky but very cute. Luke's pride and joy is his stick-straight, long blond hair. This was the closest image I could find for Luke on my web search:
ALEX
Alex Shaw is a crossword puzzle designer. Born with a birth defect (spina bifida) that paralyzed his legs from mid thigh down, Alex lives an independent life thanks to his handicap-accessible apartment and his wheelchair. He's shy and smart, and he falls for Luke when he sees Luke walking his dog every morning in their shared apartment complex. This is a perfect picture of the Alex that's in my head.
OTHER IMAGES
Trevor, Luke's dog on the hiking trail up Henneman Hill
The rails trail where Luke and Alex go for their first date
Chumley's, the gay bar in State College PA where Luke goes looking for his secret admirer
Alex's sportier wheelchair that he uses on the rails trails hike
And here's the cover by Reese Dante, which is absolutely perfect!
I hope you all enjoy this rather sweet/romantic/nerdy love story!
Eli
Dreamspinner's "Steamed Up" anthology of steampunk, m/m romance stories, is now available for pre-order! My short story "Caress" is in this anthology.
Here's the pre-order link:
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4267
You can read more about "Caress", including an excerpt, here:
http://elieaston.com/books-by-eli-easton/caress/
Eli
Dreamspinner's having a 30% off sale. You can pre-order my upcoming release "Puzzle Me This" on sale or grab a copy of "The Trouble with Tony". http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=820
"Puzzle Me This" has been added to the Dreamspinner website and can now be pre-ordered! So look for it the next time there's a Dreamspinner sale. Here's the link:
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4232
RELEASE DATE IS OCT 2!
Need a smile today? Charlie Cochet allowed me to guest post on her blog. The post is about humor in romance novels and includes funny quotes from some of my favorite books. This blog post celebrates the release of "The Trouble With Tony".
Here's the link http://purpleroseteahouse.charliecochet.com/guest-author-eli-easton-har-dee-hot-har-humor-in-romance/
Thanks for having me, Charlie!
Eli
I'm guest blogging today on Kim Fielding's blog. The topic is my favorite 5 scenes in "The Trouble with Tony". Read it here: http://kfieldingwrites.blogspot.com/2013/08/please-welcome-eli-easton.html
Thanks for hosting me, Kim!
Grab "The Trouble with Tony" or "Superhero" cheap -- only for the next half hour: TONY:
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4081&cPath=820
SUPERHERO:
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4081
