Showing posts with label GRL 2016. Show all posts

Welcome to GRL author: Hunter Frost

Hello everyone! My name is Hunter Frost and I’ll be your host today. That’s me and my crazy multi-colored hair J

First, let me thank the lovely RJ Scott for giving me the opportunity to talk to you all. She’s graciously given over the mic so that that I can tell you a little about me as well as what kind of stories I write. For that she deserves cookies. And lots of chocolate.

So let’s get to it!

I guess I should start with a short introduction. I stumbled upon M/M romance about four years ago. I was stuck in a rut after burning out on work and graduate school, so I turned to reading romance. As one does. Okay, let me back up and say I had already written a couple M/F romances, but couldn’t get motivated to take it further than the first draft. And honestly, I wasn’t sure where to turn for help in such a massive community. I mean, I had taken classes and studied my craft, yet something wasn’t clicking and I didn’t have the confidence to put myself out there.

Anyway, M/M romance blew my ever-loving mind. And after reading Charlie Cochet’s, The Auspicious Troubles of Chance, I knew THESE were the types of stories I wanted to write. I found the courage to email Charlie for advice. Guys, she is absolutely amazing! Indeed, the whole M/M romance community is wildly supportive, but I’ll always credit Charlie for inspiring me to pursue my dreams of writing romance full-time. With her kind words, a lot of sweat and tears, and the belief that I could really DO this, I submitted a short story to a publisher. And it was accepted! The rest is history, which is what I ended up getting my graduate degree in – btw :-P Since then I’ve published a total of seven short stories and novellas.

I’m also excited to announce that I’ve been contracted with Dreamspinner Press for a novella in their
States of Love series. My story, which takes place in New Orleans, Louisiana (I know, how awesome is that, right?) will release at the beginning of 2017. It’s a mystery with gothic elements and hot haunted tour guides. I so enjoyed writing in that world, and if Dreamspinner approves, I hope to continue with a few spin-offs involving the characters I’ve come to love. For your reference, here is my inspiration for Finn Murphy (one of those hot haunted tour guides). You’re welcome J

And speaking of exciting news, anyone else totally psyched for GRL?? I sure am! It’ll be my third time attending, but my first as a supporting author. Yikes! It’s wild to think that I’ll be sitting at the tables where I’ve met many of my favorite authors in person! I’m still a bit overwhelmed by it. However, I plan to have a blast and bring my A-game. Also, I’ll be giving away printed copies of that very first short story I mentioned above, revamped and freshened up with a new cover. Please come by pick one up and say hello!

Until we meet again…keep reading!


Hunter lost a bet at a blackjack table and begrudgingly traded temperate Southern California for the sweltering heat of Las Vegas. There she resides with an extremely tolerant boyfriend and two cats named after her favorite beverage, Latte and Java. When she’s not dreaming of returning to coastal living, Hunter works at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, from where she recently received her Master’s in British history. In order to appease her muse, she writes the kind of fiction that keeps her sane. She adores romance in all forms, but prefers her stories with two heroes that find their happily-ever-afters with each other. You can find her books or reach out to her via her website: www.hunterfrost.net





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Welcome to GRL author: Sarah Madison

Fool’s Gold 


Blurb: 

Eight years ago, Jake Stanford had it all: a spot on the U.S. Olympic Equestrian Team and the love of his life, Rich Evans. A tragic accident wipes out everything in the blink of an eye. Hard work and sacrifice get him another shot at Olympic Gold, but only if he puts his past behind him and agrees to work with Rich again.

Bound by secrets he cannot share, Rich was forced to give up Jake eight years ago. Now he has a second chance to help Jake realize his dreams. But the secrets that drove them apart haven’t changed, and Rich must face them or risk losing Jake forever.





Excerpt:


The image of Rich hoisting his uncooperative leg into the car seemed to be burned onto Jake’s retinas. Even with his eyes closed, he could see the difficulty Rich had getting into the car.

I got off lucky.

He wouldn’t think about the accident. He didn’t want to remember Mick’s blank stare or the pallor of Rich’s skin and the stench of blood as Jake begged him to hang on. It had seemed like hours before the rescue teams had freed him. He’d insisted they get Rich out first, and since he was unresponsive, they’d made Rich their first priority. Jake had been forced to wait until they could get to him, all the while listening to the groans of injured and dying horses. His horses.

No. I won’t think about that now.

These were thoughts he frequently had to force out of his mind. Less so these days, though he sometimes still had nightmares.

Cane aside, Rich looked good. He’d done well for himself, or as well as anyone can do in the horse business without major sponsors. Without his father’s support, Jake knew there’d be no riding career, no shot at the Olympics. And even if he’d never discovered horses, his father would have sent him to an Ivy League school and he’d have landed a cushy job in one of the family businesses. Luck, in the form of money, paved the way for more luck, whereas people like Rich just seemed to get one kick in the teeth after another. Jake was glad to see Rich had made something of himself as a trainer.

There was no use in crying over the fact he’d done it alone, though.

Most people who chose a career in horses struggled to make ends meet. If his clothing was anything to go by, Rich, at least, looked as though he was successful at his change in careers. In many ways, Rich looked better than he had eight years ago. Time had smoothed the sharp planes of his face and darkened his sun-bleached hair. He’d matured, in both feature and manner, even if he did look more like a sleek professional and less like the boy Jake had loved.

He had loved Rich. It was hard, even now, to admit that.

Why had Rich shut him out after the accident? Jake didn’t know. All Jake had known back then was that he had a broken collarbone and Puddle Jumper and Scotty were dead. PJ hadn’t just been his ticket to Beijing; he’d been the horse whose breeding he’d planned with his mother and whom he’d raised from a foal. PJ and the other horses had been family.

So had Mick. And Rich. The Moose was the only horse that survived the wreck. They were survivors together, him and The Moose.

Jake had gone to see Rich in the hospital as soon as they’d let him, only to meet a stranger. The young man lying in bed bore no resemblance to the Rich Evans he’d known.

AUTHOR BIO 


Sarah Madison is a writer with a little dog, a large dog, an even bigger horse, too many cats, and a very patient boyfriend. An amateur photographer and a former competitor in the horse sport known as eventing, when she's not out hiking with the dogs or down at the stables, she's at the laptop working on her next story. When she’s in the middle of a chapter, she relies on the smoke detector to tell her dinner is ready. She writes because it’s cheaper than therapy.

Sarah Madison was a finalist in the 2013 and 2015 Rainbow Awards. The Boys of Summer won Best M/M Romance in the 2013 PRG Reviewer’s Choice Awards. The Sixth Sense series was voted 2nd place in the 2014 PRG Reviewer’s Choice Awards for Best M/M Mystery series, and 3rd place in the 2105 PGR Reviewer’s Choice Awards for Best M/M Paranormal/Urban Fantasy series.

If you want to make her day, e-mail her and tell you how much you like her stories.

Website: http://www.sarahmadisonfiction.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SarahMadisonFic

Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Sarah-Madison-Author/106445646104338

E-mail: akasarahmadison@gmail.com



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I'm really sorry... on cancelling GRL, sales, the craft of writing, and embracing change

Hi guys,

I wanted to let you all know I won't be attending GRL this October.

I’m sure any of you that have seen Amber Kell's decision about GRL were probably expecting this from me, you all know that Amber and I are incredibly close and seeing her is a highlight of my visit (don't tell her that). We have a lot of fun together, and I think that comes over on panels, and meet ups, and in our joint writing on End Street.

Instead of simply saying I am not attending GRL this year and leaving it at that, I felt like I owed anyone that wants to know why, an explanation.

I want to be incredibly honest with you, and it’s a painful thing to write.

The writing world is hard at the moment, everyone can see that. With KU, more authors, authors who plagiarize, groups of authors writing under one name, price cutting, readers expecting low prices, writers selling at 99c, and everything else that I can’t even think to list, it needs a lot of hard work behind the scenes to sustain visibility and sales.

Midlisters are struggling, new authors aren’t even getting seen, and publishers are being hit hard. We’ve all seen that. Then there is this constant need in my little community to drag others down, to find things that cause controversy, and to make others so sad. I don't like that.

Now, I KNOW I am one of the lucky ones. I appear to be riding the storm, I keep my head down, my words up, write the stories I love, with strong men who make me happy, and I hope that my muse never leaves me and that this continues.

Sales for me haven’t dropped, if anything they are increasing (there are some benefits to other MM authors breaking the Amazon 100 to any other non KU author who can get seen in the top 20), and I love every single one of you that buys my stories. I know I am lucky.

I have been writing MM for six years now, with GRL being one of the highlights of three of those years (Atlanta, Chicago, San Diego). The cost of this event to us is balanced by meeting old friends, seeing the US, and generally having a fun time. GRL is a wonderful event, and I am not saying for one minute I won’t miss going, because I will. Any author in MM should attend, because seriously, networking, and laughing, and wine, is just the perfect combination.

But, and this is me being honest, at this point in my career I need to attend some of the other events out there, to work on my craft, to become better, to branch out, to learn. That is why I hope to attend RT in Atlanta next year, and add in some other craft focused events. At RT I will be a little fish in a big pond, and I ‘need’ that right now, to push myself, and to listen and learn. There are also other writing conventions in the North West, and that would mean I could visit Seattle!

I was attending GRL 16 for fear of letting people down, my friends, the organisers, my husband. Not a good state of affairs to get myself into.

I am horribly scared of posting it out on my Facebook and Blog, Brits hate to upset people, but I have to.


Hugs and kisses

RJ X

p.s. End Street book 6 will be with you, as planned, September 2016 :)





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GRL 2016, Kansas City, Book Ordering form

Hi. This was the page for book ordering for GRL. I'm sorry, but I won't be attending this year. For a full explanation please click here:

http://rjscottauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/im-really-sorry-on-cancelling-grl-sales.html

x
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