Five Bestsellers in Eight Days

I know, it shocks me too. The first in the series, Hot Hands, is free and it ranks very highly in its categories (currently 5th in Romance), 1st in Romance > New Adult, and 23rd in Romance > Erotic Romance).

Yes, I'm talking about the College Fun and Gays series. Three titles sat in the Top 50 Bestsellers list on All Romance eBooks last Friday while four titles had earned their stars as a category bestseller. 

Cold Hands: Top 50 and category

The Walls Have Ears: Top 50 and category

Grade-A-Sex Deal: Top 50

Welcome, Brother: Category

Little Stalker: Category

Grade-A-Sex Deal is no longer in the Top 50, it was first to reach it and first to go, but Cold Hands and The Walls Have Ears are still there :) 

Cold Hands also reached the top 100 list on Amazon. The only screenshot I captured was the 16th place in Erotica, but I have no idea if it went higher (damn time differences). I don't know if the other titles reached the top 100 there, since you don't get a notification and I failed to check. When I checked on Cold Hands, they weren't in the top 100, so let's just assume they never made it. Most of the sales have gone through All Romance eBooks anyway ^.^

This is my first "OMIGOSH" post of this kind, so I hope you'll bear with me. I'm afraid this will come off as if I'm bragging, but I'm really just very excited about the success of these stories. It was so unexpected. Four of these titles are republished (five, if we include Hot Hands), and one is brand new. A Life Without You and Hot Hands earned their stars on All Romance eBooks last year, but I didn't know about it back then. It wasn't until much later that I discovered it. This is why you're currently seeing me with stars in my eyes and a huge grin on my face; this is my first real success report. 

But it's not about bragging. I'm thankful to everyone who bought one of these books (and my other books), and continue to be thankful. I'm also thankful to Douglas Black for editing the series, and Zathyn Priest who made these lickalicious covers. So, thank you, thank you, thank you, all, for unintentionally bringing a smile to my face. I hope you like the books ^.^

Excerpt: Cold Hands

The red, pink and blue lights of the wheel spin so fast you can hardly see the carts with people in it. Good luck to him. I don’t really like fast rides. Except if Cass wants to go.

Looking down at him, I relax at the reluctant expression on his face. He looks so gorgeous in his dark, grey woolen coat and thick blue scarf. Every time he exhales, little clouds of steam puff out of his mouth. He doesn't move away when I sneak my hand to the small of his back, guiding him to some of the funfair games. 

I let go of him and we walk side by side. 

“What do you wanna do?” I ask as we walk between the booths, our fingers brushing now and then, sending sparks through my system every time. 

“I don’t know,” he says, but then spots something interesting behind me. “Shoot ducks?”

He answers my big grin with a shy smile, walking ahead of me to the stand. It’s decorated like everything else in the park in red, white and green Christmas decorations. 

“Let’s play for something, all right?” I ask while we wait our turn.

“Like what?” he asks, a little gleam in his eyes I don’t see too often. It makes him look damn sexy. Not that he isn't sexy all the time.

“Like a kiss,” I murmur, leaning toward him with a wide smile. 

“Not here,” Cass whispers, pushing me back, but there’s a playful smirk on his face. 

“Okay.” I step up behind him to whisper in his ear. “If I win, you’ll make out with me on the Ferris wheel.”

“And if I win?” he asks, twisting his torso to look up at me.

“You can ask one thing of me.”

“One thing?”

“Yes.” I steal a touch by sliding my hands along the rough fabric on his coat, over his stomach. “Whatever you want, and I’ll try my best to make it happen.”

“Deal,” he says, still looking up at me, still with that playful gleam in his eyes. 

For a moment we just stand like that, gazing at each other. I’d just have to bend down a bit to kiss him. It looks like he wants me to, but he asked me not to earlier. Does he want to now? I lower my head a little, just to test the waters. He tilts his head up in return.

“Hey!” I jump back at the loud yell from the booth, taking in the middle-aged guy with a black beard. “You guys are up.”

We step away from each other and Cass picks up a riffle. 

“You’re gonna lose,” he mutters, taking his aim as I hand the supervisor a ticket and let out a laugh.

“No way. Got a date to impress,” I say back, watching him as he waits with that little smile still on his lips.

The man flicks a switch and starts busying himself with arranging toys. A line of wooden ducks starts moving back and forth and Cass shoots the first one down. And another. And another. I gawk as he shoots them down one by one until none are left standing. He even has a shot to spare. Cass lowers the riffle with a shy grin.

“Wow,” says the bearded guy, raising the ducks and stopping their movement. “Pick a prize.” He points at the big stuffed animals lining the top shelf.

“Ummm…the zebra,” Cass says. He stuffs the huge animal under his arm, the four long legs dangling.

“Where the hell did you learn to shoot like that?” I ask.

“Joey’s dad runs a shooting range. Did I win already?”

“Not so fast,” I say with a laugh, picking up the riffle and taking my aim. The guy flicks the switch again, now a little more interested in the game. Just as I’m about to pull the trigger, Cass gently bumps into me. I jerk back and miss my target.

The beard guy shakes his head and continues arranging the stuffed toys.

I glance back at Cass who’s got his face half buried behind the zebra’s head, looking back at me all innocent. I chuckle and take another aim.

A black zebra hoof “accidentally” brushes against my face when I take my second shot, missing the duck by a foot.

“Casper?” I say, trying hard to keep the laughter out of my voice.

He looks all innocent again. “Oh, sorry.”

Shaking my head I go for the third shot, but then I feel this cool hand brush against the back of my jeans just as I pull the trigger. “So, it’s gonna be like that, huh?” I ask, barely holding in my laughter.

“Like what?” asks Cass from behind the zebra.

I end up winning a tiny pink dog key chain for shooting one duck—a duck next to the one I was aiming at. Cass breaks out in laughter every time he sees it.

$1.99 on Amazon and All Romance eBooks

New Release: Cold Hands (Gay, College, Bullying)

Finally! You've been waiting so long and so have I. Cold Hands is the sequel to Hot Hands and contains a BIG spoiler if read first. To make it easier on people, I've made Hot Hands FREE. 

Cold Hands:

“Hot-Hands” and Casper have been dating for a month, but their relationship is about as smooth as shattered glass. It doesn't help that Hot-Hands is racked with guilt over his high school bullying of Casper, or that Casper darts away whenever his boyfriend gets a little too frisky.

Desperate to hang onto Casper, Hot-Hands tries to earn back the trust he destroyed years ago, so they can face their disastrous past and have a chance at a happy future. 

Cold Hands focuses on high school bullying for being gay. 

$1.99 on Amazon and All Romance eBooks.

Re-release: Hot Hands (free)

I finally got Hot Hands out again and I'm working on the others. I decided to go the shelf-publishing route because I've been wanting to try it for a while. My editor for the College Fun and Gays series is Douglas Black and Zathyn Priest made the jaw-dropping covers.

The series can be read in any order, except for Hot Hands and Cold Hands (huge spoiler if you read Cold Hands first). Hot Hands will be free of charge, but I'll ask $0.99-$1.99 for the others, depending on length. 

You can download the new version of Hot Hands on All Romance eBooks. Hot Hands is up on Amazon, but it's going to take forever and a day for it to be free there, so if I make any money there for any of my free stories the money will go to an LGBT-related charity. If you have time, please help try to make it free :)

Here are the steps to make Hot Hands free on Amazon:

1. Click this link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DU26GSK

2. Scroll to Product Details

3  Click on "tell us about a lower price"

4. Choose "Website"

5. Put in this url: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-hothands-1228391-340.html

6. Put 0 in the price

7. Put 0 in shipping cost

8. Press the "Submit feedback" button

Thank you :)

Amazon Excludes Erotica

We're being censored (again). This time by Amazon (again). This article explains it better, but basically what they've done is remove all books marked as erotic from their search engine on the main page. You'll have to type in the exact name of the book to find it, or go into the Kindle section first and then type it in*.

Look, I get that parents don't want their kids to wander off on Amazon and discover erotic content, even though Amazon has already removed the most lewd titles and covers. I'm not even going to go into the whole 'parents are responsible for what their kids see on the internet' thing - we all know that teens will find it if they're looking for it even if the parents are watching (which makes what Amazon is doing pretty pointless). I'm just going to size up a couple of things:

Believe it or not, I used to read outside the m/m scope. I loved YA books - paranormal, mostly. I also read some adults books in the sense that they were non-erotic, but written for adults. One such book was Dexter. 

I loved Dexter on TV, so I thought I'd try the book. I wasn't disappointed. He was as lovingly psychotic as he is on TV. The only reason I didn't continue with the books was because I discovered m/m shortly thereafter. 

Point one: It's okay for kids to stumble upon books that describe murder as a glorious thing, but it's not okay for them to catch a glimpse of erotic titles.

Earlier this year, a friend convinced me to read a non-m/m YA book. It was a zombie book called Ashes. People who have read my blog know I love post-apoc books, so I was all for it. It was a good book and I was firmly immersed. However, the blood, gore, bone-gnawing, and horror made me shudder more than once. And this is supposed to be for teens!

Point two: It's okay for kids to read splatter books, but heaven forbid they see erotic titles on Amazon!

Come on now, Amazon. You can't just pick and choose!

Now, out of curiosity, I typed in "Grade-A-Sex" (for my story Grade-A-Sex Deal) from the main page and you know what I got? A bunch of sex-education books: What's the Big Secret?: Talking about Sex with Girls and Boys and How You Are Changing: For Boys Ages 10-12 and Parents (Learning About Sex), for example. Nice.

*Apparently this search engine restriction is only supposed to restrict the search from the main page. I tested this and here's what happened: I went under Kindle Store - Kindle ebooks and typed in "Grade-A-Sex". I got nothing. I then went under Kindle Store - Kindle eBooks - Fiction and typed in my search words and found my book on page 3 while all the titles listed before it didn't have all of those search words in their titles. I had to go all the way under Kindle Store - Kindle eBooks - Fiction - Erotica for Grade-A-Sex Deal to show up on the first page, but even then it's the beneath two other books that don't have "Grade" and "Sex" in their titles. Um, yeah, this censorship doesn't only apply to the main page.

One last thing, check out these covers: 

Oh yeah, those are fine by Amazon. They would've scared the crap out of me as a kid (still kind of do). But apparently it's socially acceptable for kids to stumble upon these covers but not on an artful nude.

Oh wait... Here are a couple of nudes that pop up on the first page on Kindle Store - Kindle eBooks "Nude":

Okay...but these are for some kind of art thing. But hey, what's this then on the same first page?

Amazon, you confuse me. Why does this get to go on the first page but not my Grade-A-Sex Deal?

Now that I'm checking, another one of mine that is marked as "erotic" (why-oh-why don't you have an "erotic romance" category?) called Hot Hands doesn't show up on the Kindle Store - Kindle eBooks first page either.

Oh, right, because those above are marked as "Arts and Photography" and not "Erotic"... 

Edited to add: I typed in "Fifty" on the Amazon main page and Fifty Shades of Grey popped up before I could type in more. I don't know if it was marked as erotica before and now they've changed it, but despite how it's listed now, it is definitely an erotica. Here's how it is on Amazon now:


Books > Literature & Fiction > Women's Fiction > Contemporary Women
Books > Romance > Contemporary

So whoever said that Fifty Shades of Grey couldn't be accessed from Amazon's main page after the changes was wrong (or they were right at the time).

On a side note, I'm seriously thinking about asking my publisher to remove the erotica label if it's okay to label Fifty Shades of Grey as a romance. All my stories are love stories and the sex scenes aren't more erotic than the ones in Fifty Shades (less flowery, perhaps) - you can read small lines and excerpts from Fifty Shades' sex scenes here, but here are a couple of lines:

"“You’re so deliciously wet. God, I want you.” He thrusts his finger inside me, and I cry out as he does it again and again. He palms my clitoris, and I cry out once more."

“I’m going to fuck you now, Miss Steele,” he murmurs as he positions the head of his erection at the entrance of my sex. “Hard,” he whispers, and he slams into me."

"“Aargh!” I cry as I feel a weird pinching sensation deep inside me as he rips through my virginity."

"“Open your mouth,” he commands and thrusts his thumb in my mouth. My eyes fly open, blinking wildly.
“See how you taste,” he breathes against my ear. “Suck me, baby.”"

 Highly erotic, wouldn't you say? ^.^ Even Anastasia thinks so:

"I taste the saltiness on his thumb and the faint metallic tang of blood. Holy fuck. This is wrong, but holy hell is it erotic."

I'm not writing this as an if-they-can-I-can-too. I'm just pointing out the hypocrisy and how publishers will start to falsely label books on Amazon now. Also,  if Amazon won't hide 50 Shades from their main page - it being a very popular book that's widely known for its eroticism - they're being even more hypocritical, discriminating against books with lesser profiles.

Edited to add links:
Amazon looks pathetic by excluding porn from its search engine (but still selling it) (The original article from where the excerpt posted in the link I provided at the top is).
Revisiting the Censorship of Erotica (General info throughout the years)

January 2012 Recap

I was going to post this in January, but it's February now! I'm officially one years old as an author. January 3rd was the official day of my one year - January 4th if we're talking about non-free fiction. In the monthly rundown, I'll be going over what happened in 2012 and linking to a few interesting posts from 2012.

January 2012:

I decided to gamble on a new publisher, No Boundaries Press, so they share my anniversary of one year. They kicked off by publishing a few free stories, including my In His Pocket, on January 3rd. In His Pocket has held the nr. 1 spot on the most downloaded titles on NBP since that day. 

The first ever non-free story published by NBP was Hot Hands, on January 4th. It has also been on their top 10 bestseller list since then and also became an ARe bestseller.

My first novel was released on January 13th through MLR Press, A Life Without You. It was well received, getting twelve 4+ reviews from book blogger sites (four of which were 5 stars), and became an ARe bestseller.

I spent rest of the month in revisions for my upcoming works, making beginner's mistake in marketing, and getting my m/m-only blog hop brainchild started. What an exciting month!

New Year's Winners

I used www.random.org to draw winners for the New Year's blog hop. These are:

Kassandra for A Life Without You

and

Jeanette for Hot Hands 

I'll contact you ladies shortly.

Thanks for playing, everyone!

Erica Pike: Survivor and Nominee

Image

I'm a Mayan Apocalypse survivor! Good thing I read all those post apoc books and had all these survivor skillz. Okay, you're probably sick of hearing that by now, but I really AM looking forward to 2015 since there'll be hover boards and self-drying clothes. Go McFly!

I didn't plan to just joke around all day (even though I'm technically a day late for that). I stopped by to announce that a bunch of my books have been nominated for the Goodreads M/M Romance Group's 2012 Member Choice Awards:

Best Short Story

Best Debut Book

Best Enemies to Lovers

Best Story that Should/Must have a Sequel

Best Sex Scene (When Casper and Hot Hands have sex in Casper's room)

Best Friends to Lovers

Best Coming Out Story

Best Gay/Out for You Story

Best Side/Supporting Character (Eric)

Best Tear Jerking Scene (When Adam broke down)

Best Book of the Year

Best Contemporary Story

Best Couple/MCs (Eric and Alex)

Best Sex Scene (Eric and Alex's first time)

Best Free Story

Best Humorous Story

The polls are open, if you want to go vote for your favorites. 

Loads of great books on those lists.

One last post apoc joke:

Image

Hehehe.

Ghosts are Sexy Too!

I'm blogging at the Long and Short Reviews today about sexy ghosts. I'm going to post the same thing here and then you have a chance to win a copy of Hot Hands. What you have to do is leave a comment to THIS post along with your email address. I will draw, contact and announce a winner on November 3rd.

Are ghosts real? Yes they are. I've been fed the “stories” (which were never told as “stories” here in Iceland but facts) since I was a kid and I've had firsthand experience with ghosts. I've blogged about that on my own blog this Halloween, so head on over if you’re curious.

But are ghosts sexy? I didn't used to think so when I was younger. Surely they’d be ugly fiends with axes sticking out of their heads. Surely they’d be corporal monsters that can strangle you in your sleep. Right? Wrong. What I've come to realize is that ghosts look the same as they did when they were alive. Maybe in their prime, or maybe as they were when they died, but if there are sexy people in our world (and boy, are there ever!), ghosts can be sexy, too.

I’m currently publishing and writing contemporary m/m erotic romance. However, I've always been tempted to write ghost stories, and I’m sure it won’t be long before I do. What could be more romantic than lovers who are stuck in separate world, only able to see each other but not touch? What could be sexier than not being about to touch but only see? I don’t know how I would iron out an ending here, but there are many possibilities. The meat - the middle - could be so rich with the ghost’s different era, his joys, his dreams. How did he die? Did he have a lover back then? Can he have a living lover now? How do they have sex? This topic has probably been written about a thousand times, but that’s the beauty about crafting stories with a common theme: you get to create new characters with unique tales and personalities. To make the story highly erotic would be a challenge since there can’t be any touching, but it is a challenge worth taking.

Since this story is still in the prison of my mind, I cannot offer a ghost themed book for a giveaway. However, I will offer up a copy of Hot Hands, which is a story where Casper (not the ghost!) is being goosed and groped at school and wants to identify the guy he’s dubbed “Hot Hands”. Hot Hands, however, doesn't want to be seen, so Casper has to rely on his other senses: ears, taste, smell, and touch to get to know his groper. Kind of like the opposite of the ghost story.

Now, I will probably be at the GayRomLit Retreat in Albuquerque with a bunch of other m/m authors when this post goes live, so I hope you’ll forgive that I won’t reply to everyone.

Before I go, I'm inviting you to follow me through my newsletter, Twitter, Facebook page and/or Goodreads. This is not necessary to take part in the contest.

Before I post the excerpts, if you want a free story of mine you can download Half-Baked Promises from here.

So, happy Halloween and remember that ghosts can be sexy, too!

Wicked After Dark Hop

I'm taking part in three blog hops or events over Halloween. This is the first one, the others will be on Oct 26 and 29. 

We don't celebrate Halloween in Iceland so I am absolutely thrilled to be in the USA on the 31st this year. My cousin and I will be in Vegas on the weekend before - the 27th - and we're going out clubbing in costumes. Can't miss the opportunity! Then on the 31st we'll be in Veil, looking like two creeps standing on a street corner to watch the kids trick or treat. I just hope the cops don't show up! We just want to see this thing in action ^.^

I'm supposed to offer up something wicked. All I can offer are erotic stories from my College Fun and Gays series. These are short stories that have been well received and there are even people waiting for the next in the series. All of them are standalone stories (with college as a theme), so you don't have to start with the first. If you're impatient to get one of these stories, they can be bought at No Boundaries Press and other retailers (Amazon, B&N, ARe etc.).

However! You can try to win a story. I'm choosing two winners. Each winner can choose from one of the following stories. To enter, please leave a comment and tell me which book and format you'd prefer (pdf, mobi or ePub). Please also leave me your email address. If you don't want your email address on the internet you can send me mail at eripike at gmail dot com with "Wicked Hop" in the subject line. I will randomly draw, contact and announce the winner as soon as I can after the hop (since I'll be on the road!).

I'm not going to force you to follow me or subscribe to anything of mine, but if you're interested I have several options. There's a follow button to the right for those who prefer that. I also have a newsletter, Twitter account and a Facebook page. You can even check me out on Goodreads. Again, this is not necessary to take part in the contest.

Before I post the excerpts, if you want a free story of mine you can download Half-Baked Promises from here.

For weeks, college student Casper has been the victim of sail-by goosing and groping. The problem is that Casper would very much like to get more than groped by those wonderful, big, hot hands. 

With a journal full of clues, he sets out to discover who his mystery groper is. However, he may be in serious trouble once he discovers the ominous identity, trouble that has nothing to do with the light bondage involved.

When College professor Daniel Corrigan was brutally kicked out of his home after revealing his true sexuality to his wife, he had to make a whole new life for himself. For the first time in two years Daniels main heartache isnt the none-existent relationship with his two kids, but the fact that the grade-A-sex deal with his student Troy Anderson is about to expire. After a whole semester of office fun, Troy has managed to squeeze his way into the core of Daniels soul. Daniel, however, is positive hes nothing more to Troy but a teacher who can modify a grade.

Short and scrawny college student Harley Santos has a strange relationship with the guy on the other side of his bedroom wall. For weeks, the two have been masturbating to each others voices, but they have never met in person.

When Harleys roommate (Ryan) is asked out on a date by one of his neighbors, Harley is devastated that his wall-mate mistook not-hot Harley for super-hot Ryan. Helping Harley through his heartache is Tasha Novokov, the other neighbor, who is tall, dark, and impossibly handsome.

NBP's Back to School Bash Winner

A day late! Sorry. However, I've drawn and contacted the winner already. Congratulations Anne ^.^ I hope you enjoy your copy of Hot Hands.

There's one more contest still running. It's not for a book by me, it's Geography Club by Brent Hartinger. It's an MG book (middle-grade) that has been banned from an American library and has been on the list of a group that wants it banned for years. I'm giving it away because I'm participating in the Banned Books Week. To participate, just leave a comment on any of the banned books I'm featuring this week and I'll draw the winner on October 6th.

Want a chance to win more of my books? Head over to Book-Tober Bash at Juniper Grove for a chance to win Hot Hands and other GLBT books (by other authors). I'm also taking part in the Sweet Spot Reader Appreciation Day next Saturday (it's a yahoo group). Then come back during Halloween when I'll be taking part in two giveaways ^.^

Oh, and psst, I hear that Grade-A-Sex Deal will be free for download next Saturday at the publisher's site ;)

GLBT Madness Winner

I have drawn and contacted the winner of the GLBT Madness Hop. Kaisquared won a pdf copy of Absolutely Eric. Hope you enjoy it ^.^

***

There are still two hops running. The NBP's Back to School Bash, and my own personal Banned Books Weeks giveaway of Geography Club, by Brent Hartinger (it's a MG/YA story). 

To take part in the NBP's Back to School Bash, for a chance to win a copy of Hot Hands, please click here. Winner will be drawn, contacted and announced tomorrow.

To take part in the Banned Books Week's giveaway, please comment on any of the banned books posts I make during this week (only one winner, no extra entries). Winner will be drawn, contacted and announced on the last day of Banned Books Week, October 6th.

Thanks for taking part!

Back to School Bash!

Sure, school started almost a month ago, but we like to throw a bash anyway! Welcome to the No Boundaries Press's Back to School Bash where I'll be offering an e-copy of one of my College Fun and Gays stories. If you already have it, you may choose from one of the other books in this series. 

I'm supposed to write about my best or worst back-to-school experience from when I was a young girl. I could write about when I insisted to wear make-up in first grade - got teased and never did it again; or when we were given a shot the first day back and I crawled under the table to hide - got teased about it and was first to offer my arm the next time; or when I was waiting to get into the classroom and got a basketball in my face (didn't get teased about that one, but the pain was bad enough). Hey, I like to write optimistic, fun stories, but sadly I don't have too many of those from school. I KNOW I had a good time, because I had friends, but the bad times so outweigh the good because of their severity that I'm having a hard time remembering the good ones.

So I'm writing about my boy-friend (not boyfriend). We used to walk to school together every day for the first few years. We were best friends and despite everything, the first day back to school was always exciting. But there was a dark shadow looming over every day walking to and from school - three or four dark shadows in the form of older boys who lived in the neighborhood. They'd ambush my friend, chase him to school and I'd stand back with galactic fear in my heart every time. I was scared as hell of them. It confused me. I knew he didn't like the beatings, but he laughed when they were chasing him. It wasn't until much later when I read up on bullying that I learned that his behavior is very common among bullied kids, to pretend that they're not afraid and that they're part of the "fun". They did catch him often - and they did on that first day back - beat him up and then gave him a hard time for crying (all three to four of them calling him a crybaby because he got beat up - idiots). This happened day after day for years, starting from the age of six.

I'm probably putting a huge damper on the hop with this story, but this is what pops into my mind when I think "school" in relation to my own childhood. These bullies not only hurt my friend in his past and future; they also hurt me in my past and future. In all my years of therapy, I've been trying to pinpoint the origin of my anxieties and depression. When did I become scared, insecure and anxious? When did I start to worry about people being hurt and people dying? When did start feeling so helpless, like the whole world was big and bad and there was nothing I could do about it? When did I start blaming myself for everything, and when did it start feeling so that everything I tried to do was never good enough? 

It's only recently that I've been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. There have been a number of events that have triggered the PTSD, but watching my friend being bullied by several older guys for years was the the first time I got PTSD, and the one that set my path for more anxiety and insecurity. I learned very early that people are dangerous and that I am but a teeny tiny person.

I've met four of those bullies in my grown-up years (they were six guys all together, but were usually only three-four at a time, always with the same two main bullies). Three of those I've met sent creepy crawlies down my back while I talked with the third (one of the two main bullies) and learned that he's actually a nice guy. He's the only one who doesn't scare me anymore, so I guess people can change.

Okay, onto lighter things. I'm giving away a copy of Hot Hands. Casper, the character in the story, faces his high school bullies in college, after two years away. Much of his internal struggle are feelings I've been dealing with (I was bullied too, by different kids). This is an erotic romance and it was an interesting challenge to write it that way. I also wanted to keep it light with humor so it wouldn't get too heavy with the serious matter of being bullied. Furthermore, I'm currently working on Cold Hands, the second part of the story. 

I will draw, contact and announce the winner on October 2nd. Please leave a comment on this blog post along with your email address.

For weeks, college student Casper has been the victim of sail-by goosing and groping. The problem is that Casper would very much like to get more than groped by those wonderful, big, hot hands. 

With a journal full of clues, he sets out to discover who his mystery groper is. However, he may be in serious trouble once he discovers the ominous identity.

Before we go, I'm inviting you to follow me on my blog (follow button to your right), facebook, Twitter, and newsletter. This is NOT mandatory to take part in the giveaway.

Want a free read? Half-Baked Promises is a free story I wrote for the M/M Romance Group on Goodreads. It can be downloaded in pdf, mobi and ePub :)

Happy hopping!

Wait... Are you looking for the GLBT Madness Hop? Scroll down, or click here. That's right, I'm doing TWO hops at the same time - different prizes. That should burn some calories :O You can take part in both contests, just comment on both posts :)

Please visit the other people taking part in the Back to School Bash:

A True Gem: Hot Hands

For those wondering about the winner of the Indulge Blog Hop, I'll be drawing, contacting and announcing tomorrow. I'm in the middle of moving houses and I can barely keep my eyes open. However! My eyes did pop open for a second when I was reading through my email. I'm a subscriber to the Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews newsletter and saw that they had a review on Hot Hands. What's more is that the reviewer marked it five stars and gave it a "A True Gem" stamp! That's a first for one of my books ^.^ 

Here's a quick quote: 

 "A shockingly entertaining read. This has to be one of the best short stories I have ever read." 

And here's the badge ^.^

Backlist Hop - Back When I Was a Baby.

It's time to dust and revive the oldies. Of course, my oldies are only eight months old, but they still feel ancient to me. Wow, I was such a newbie back in January.

Technically, I had three releases that month. The very first was a freebie, In His Pocket. It's a very short, very fast read just to give people a taste for my writing style. Me being an Icelander, the topic really didn't seem that off-putting, but I learned fast that it didn't go down well with everyone. "Daddy kink" someone called it, which I suppose it is, but I was just coming out of my yaoi era. However, it's a fast-paced little fic.

The second was my short story Hot Hands, published by No Boundaries Press. It was the first in what will be five short stories (maybe six). I got the idea for this one when I was walking to my seat in a theater and someone accidentally brushed against my bum. I figured, hey, that would be an interesting story, and so the story of Casper being goosed and groped without catching the groper was born. It's a fun, fast, and a bit achy story. Have you already read this and thought the ending was a bit abrupt? Well, I'm currently editing the sequel, Cold Hands!

The third, and my official debut novel, was A Life Without You, published by MLR Press (came out in print, too). It's the first in a series about a group of friends in Boston. Technically, these two characters aren't a part of the group until later, but a sort of a third wheel and the sun of the group, Eric, is introduced and he's the main character in the next book. This book (ALWY) is about a gay college boy, Adam, who falls in love with his straight roommate, Jesse. Of course, like with most of these stories, Jesse isn't all that straight, just ass-deep in denial. For those who have already read this, I have a sequel in mind for this couple. It'll probably be more of a novella, but I intend to write it for next year. If you like angst, you'll probably like A Life Without You.

So, what am I offering for this backlist hop? A choice between A Life Without You or Hot Hands. Please leave a comment with your email address and your preferred format: pdf, mobi, or ePub.

But wait! Before you go, there are more people taking part in this. You can go to the main site or you can click the links below.

Oh and hey, if I'm a new-to-you author, feel free to grab a copy of my other free read, Half-Baked Promises.

4th of July Blog Hop!

ANNOUNCEMENT: Because of the unexpected 50% off sale at ARe today (and today only - happy 4th!), I won't hold you to your choice in case you decide to use the opportunity to buy one or more of my titles. I'll email the winners tomorrow and they can decide if they want to change the title they want as a prize.

Ready for another treat? I'm taking part in the Celebrating Independence Blog Hop along with over 200 other authors. We're lucky this time because Dawn has marked off the m/m ones for us! (And the f/f, m/f etc.). So now you can scroll down the list (click the link above) and look for the m/m ones, if that's your only poison.

Free

Anyway! MY giveaway is a book of choice to two winners. Please leave me your email and which book and e-format (pdf, mobi, or ePub) you'd like to receive, if you win. These are the only conditions (though I can be forgiving if someone forgets to mention something), but if you'd like to follow my sometimes-senseless blogging, or my book updates, there's a follow button to the right. There's also a newsletter option, facebook, twitter, etc. None of this is mandatory to get your name into the hat (or random.org, which is what I'll use to pick a winner), just a friendly reminder :)

Now, if you want to sample my writing, a short story of mine was recently released: Half-Baked Promises (Castor Springs #1). If you'd like to download the free copy, please click the link. It's available in the three formats: pdf, mobi, and ePub.

If you win, which of these would you like:

A Life Without You:

Jesse's like a bar of soap: the tighter Adam holds on, the faster Jesse slips away. Or thats how it feels to Adam. It doesnt help that Jesse has a girlfriend back home and claims to be straight, but there's no way with all the sparks and physical intimacy flying between the two roommates.

When Adam believes he has reached his ultimate happiness, the bedroom walls come crashing down with a visit from Jesses girlfriend.

Now Jesse has to decide if he can come to terms with his sexuality, while Adam has to learn to accept that Jesse might never be able to crawl out of the closet.

Absolutely Eric:

Eric Wesley is short and snazzy, hot and happy. Or thats what he thought. After three years of living on the wild side hes tired of being a playboy and wants to find love.

Eric, however, has never been in love before and doesnt see that the guy whos been gazing at him all summer might be Mr. Right. Alexander Centauri isnt only style-less and clumsy, but also terribly awkward. After a miserable date, Eric plants Alex on another guys lap and goes after Mr. Wrong who looks so right.

When Eric realizes his mistake, it might be too late.

Hot Hands:

For weeks, college student Casper has been the victim of sail-by goosing and groping. The problem is that Casper would very much like to get more than groped by those wonderful, big, hot hands. 

With a journal full of clues, he sets out to discover who his mystery groper is. However, he may be in serious trouble once he discovers the ominous identity, trouble that has nothing to do with the light bondage involved.

Grade-A-Sex Deal:

When College professor Daniel Corrigan was brutally kicked out of his home after revealing his true sexuality to his wife, he had to make a whole new life for himself. For the first time in two years Daniels main heartache isnt the none-existent relationship with his two kids, but the fact that the grade-A-sex deal with his student Troy Anderson is about to expire. After a whole semester of office fun, Troy has managed to squeeze his way into the core of Daniels soul. Daniel, however, is positive hes nothing more to Troy but a teacher who can modify a grade.

The Walls Have Ears:

Short and scrawny college student Harley Santos has a strange relationship with the guy on the other side of his bedroom wall. For weeks, the two have been masturbating to each others voices, but they have never met in person.

When Harleys roommate (Ryan) is asked out on a date by one of his neighbors, Harley is devastated that his wall-mate mistook not-hot Harley for super-hot Ryan. Helping Harley through his heartache is Tasha Novokov, the other neighbor, who is tall, dark, and impossibly handsome.

As Harleys affections shift to Tasha, his heartache hits an all time high because with all the girls hanging around, Tasha has to be straight.

Have fun hopping and happy 4th of July!