Here's how it works:
1. Read and respond to the questions from the author below (just put your answers in the comment section).
2. Leave a way to contact you should you win a FREE book.
That's it! This week m/m romance author Keta Diablo is offering a free ebook copy of her steamy erotica romance, Hot and Sticky. Just answer the questions below and Keta will pick a winner on Tuesday, July 13.
Keta says:
Welcome readers! We're so happy you're here and participating in Rick's wonderful idea to pick your brain. So here's what I'd like to know:
1. When you go book shopping what influences you the most, i.e., cover, jacket blurb, author name or something else? Please tell us.
2. How do you feel about graphic sex scenes in a book? Would you like to see them toned down? Beefed up or do you prefer lots and lts of sex scenes in your male/male romance?
3. Do you like a book for the plot, likable characters or steamy sex scenes? What is the most important to you to put that book on your keeper shelf?
4. Will you buy a book based on the author's name or do you buy from certain publishers only?
5. What is your favorite genre and tell us why?
Keta writes for Amber Quill Press, Ravenous Romance, Noble Romance, Phaze Publishing and Decadent Press.
Please follow her Gay Fiction blog, The Stuff of Myth and Men, http://thestuffofmythandmen.
Her Erotic Romance blog: Keta's Keep, http://ketaskeep.blogspot.com
Sign up for her monthly newsletter here where she gives away THREE books every month, all year long, Keta's Haunt, http://www.ketadiablo.com
The cover some,What it says some,Some times it is if it says new york best seller some times its has a great review from a author that i like...
ReplyDelete(2)I like graphic sex scenes but only a few of them in the book thay should not be what the hole storey is.
(3)The most important is a little bit of all three of those.But if you do not like the Characters then none of it will work for you.
(4)Know if i like them I will look every where to find what I want.
(5)Paranormal because you never know what thay will come up whit next and I grew up in a hunted house and my mom taking me to grave yard for fun I guess it's just what i like.I have alway believe that you can't know all that is out there in the world and to keep and open mind.
sasluvbooks(at)yahoo.com
Good morning Rick and Keta,
ReplyDelete1. First I have to say a combination of cover, Author and book blurb is what pulls me in and grabs my attention.
2. Graphic sex scenes won't bother me if they are part of the story.
3.If I don't connect with the characters the book is dead. I have feel a connection and the plot line is also really important.And as long as their is a spiritual connection as far as a soul bonding emotion sex is great in the book.
4.I read so many books a week and I never limit myself to where I'll buy them but Authors I know are a definite auto buy for ma when my book budget allows. :)
5. My favorite genre is anything to do with Scottish Highlanders because I love the image of such beautiful Alpha males in kilts and love all the History because of the research an Author has done.But it's really all about the Highlander lol
Carol L.
Lucky4750@aol.com
1.Some books I buy because I love the author and always buy their books. If it's a new to me author the cover my grab my attention but I buy it based on the blurb.
ReplyDelete2.If the graphic sex scenes are written in the right way and help the story along then I love them.
3.I think it's a combination of all of them if I don't like the characters a lot then I won't reread the book. I love for a book to have a good plot and I also love a fast paced story.
4.I buy lots of books based on a authors name. There are some authors that I buy everything that I can get my hands on and I'm always waiting for their next book. I buy books for a lot of different publishers I really don't care who publishes the books.
5.Paranormal is my favorite kind of books to read. I like to read them because in them all things are possible.
sstrode@scrtc.com
Keta, doing a spot of research are you? : )
ReplyDeleteI'd have to say when I so shopping, in a bookstore, the cover doesn't generally matter so much. I generally go by author name. I have a goal in mind when I go shopping. That said, if something else catchs my eye - be it by title or cover - then I will give a moment to read the blurb. Author doesn't generally matter so much in that case. When I am shopping online though, for e-books, cover matters some, as does author, since again, I am generally doing a targeted search. But a bad cover in an ebook can make me leery. Especially a really truly crappy one. Because it does bring to mind questions.
As for the sex ... I like graphi, but I also liked toned down. It depends on the book and the characters. I don't need sex for sex sake, but at the same time, erotic romance should have SOME sex take place. And it should have some detail to it.
I can like a book for any of those reasons. So long as something about it aptures my attention, it can fit moods. I have moods where I just want to read about characters I care about. Sometimes I just want the sex. And others, by goodness, I want to be drawn into the plot and I don't want the author to let go.
If I like an author, I will follow an author. One condition to that is I like the various publishers to offer the books via third party sellers. I know they take a heck of a chunk, and it is always better to buy from the pub. But some times, I just like doing my shopping in ONE place. I am a major fan of convenience.
My favorite genre ... futuristic. Maybe paranormal. Ok, it's a tie there. LOL
Michelle Houston
theeroticpen (at) yahoo (dot) com
1) Cover art & then the blurb.
ReplyDelete2) Sex scenes that are relevant to the plot. Sex is good, but if the plot doesn't develop somehow within the scene, it tends to get tedious.
3) Keep shelf is full of stories that I relate to or showcase someone I would like to strive to be in the future.
4) Will buy because of the author name, never buy just because of the publisher.
5) I love paranormal romance because it tends to catch my by surprise.
Thanks for the fun self-interview!
1. Shopping influences: Today's answer is very different from what it would have been a year ago. Today, I base my decision on author then genre. Unless there are glaringly horrible ratings, it’s a “sure thing.” When first exploring M/M, my decisions were based solely on recommendations. I learned by trial and error which authors I could trust to tell a good story and the genres I found intriguing.
ReplyDeleteThe only time I read a blurb is if the genre is unclear. Some blurbs give too much of the story away-I prefer to be surprised. Covers? Hmm. Some are lovely. I prefer to let my imagination create the character.
2. I like steamy sex, but it has to move the plot - sex for sex sake gets tedious.
3. I have two kinds of DIKs: 1. Plot driven: Stories with well written, highly charged, emotional plots, with or without sex and sometimes whether or not I love the characters, have wound up on that shelf. 2. Character driven. The characters don’t even have to be likeable but if they’re so well “fleshed” that I can see and hear them and feel what’s transpiring between them, and it moves me? I’m sold.
4. I often buy based solely on author name.
5. Fav m/m genre: Contemporary - any story that’s happening in the present that does not involve shape-shifting or fantasy. Although, I don’t mind a vamp or two.
maryrockwell(at)rocketmail(dot)com
1. Jacket blurb grabs me.
ReplyDelete2. I think the plot should dictate how graphic the sex scenes are.
3. I think the sex scenes should be compelling. If you want me to "experience" everything else in the story, why not that, too?
4. I frequently buy on author name alone.
5. Favorite genre...suspense.
Hi Keta and Rick,
ReplyDeleteHere are my answers:
1. I always read the blurb. The cover really has little to do with my decision.
2. I agree with Margie, in that the graphic nature of the sex scenes should be dictated by the plot and the natures of the characters.
3. The compelling nature of the characters is what will make me remember the story. If sex scenes are all that a book has to offer, it's not memorable.
4.I have to say I buy on the author's name. If they are new, I will read the blurb, excerpt, etc., but the publisher's name usually doesn't play into my purchasing decision.
5. My favorite genre is historical erotic, m/m at the moment. I pretty much stick to historical, but have lately ventured into military, paranormal and a couple of contemporaries, including Hot and Sticky!
1. Recommendations and authors I’ve already read. A hot cover will convince me to read the blurb on the back, but mostly recommendations influence my choices.
ReplyDelete2. Lots and lots, and steamy as *ahem*… as long as it moves the story forward. I’ve skimmed scenes that don’t do that, and I’ve reread the ones that do.
3. Yes, yes, yes, but most important is caring about the characters, likable or not. If an author makes me care about what happens to their characters, I’ll devour the book, recommend it afterwards, and seek out more by the same writer.
4. Definitely the author’s name.
5. I have no one favorite. I love variety. Currently it’s horror or darker paranormal, but I’ll take well-written over genre specific any day.
PiaVeleno (at) gmail
Thank you so much for stopping by, and thank you, Rich for hosting me. We had a lot of fun with these questions.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry I'm late -- would you believe I picked up the koobface worm today somewhere on the lovely net and Valerie Mann was kind enough to help me get rid of it. So sorry, I would have been here much sooner!
I'll be back in the morning to select a winner, and thanks so much for all the answers. It's so interesting to see what draws everyone!
Have a great week, Best, Keta
You're all WINNERS in my book! Thanks for stopping by and posting your lengthy, insightful comments.
ReplyDeleteEveryone who posted wins a book! Please go here and choose from among my male/male books below that have been released in the last two months: http://www.ketadiablo.com. While you're there sign up for my newsletter to be eligible to win more books every month!~
Choose from these: Hot and Sticky, The Devil's Heel, Blood Oath, Crossroads: Shadowland, Magnolia Heat.
And then e-mail me here: ketadiablo@yahoo.com and put in the subject line: Adorable Rick's Blog Winner! That way it won't go to my spam folder.
My humble thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful week!
Namaste, Keta
Isn't Keta a peach? Talk about adorable!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting such an enlightening and fun blog. Readers: enjoy your prizes!
That's very generous and very pleasing :) Thanks to you both for the opportunity.
ReplyDeleteCarol L.
Thank you so much! :D
ReplyDelete