Rick R. Reed Reality

10 Confessions

2012-01-27T05:26:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine was passing this around via e-mail and I, always on the lookout for a good blog post, thought I'd share it with you. The idea is to share 10 very personal things about yourself. Mine are below (no snickering). If you're feeling adventurous or revealing, maybe you'll reveal your own ten confessions after mine.

1. Sometimes, when I'm just about to fall asleep or am particularly stressed, I still suck my thumb.
2. I am old enough to remember the Herman's Hermits and my older sister and cousin going to see them at Cobo Hall in Detroit.
3. My favorite show (and I was a fanatic) as a child was Dark Shadows.
4. The first time I ever had sex was my senior year of high school was with a girl in the front seat of her car in the parking lot of an elementary school (it was late at night).
5. For me, The Peoples Court and Judge Judy are guilty pleasures.
6. I'm not sure of the clinical definition of addictive personality, but I probably have one.
7. I believe I self hypnotize when I write.
8. I laugh in my sleep and often laugh so hard, I wake myself (and my partner) up.
9. I cry very easily. A Hallmark commercial can bring a tear to my eye.
10. I have never been to San Francisco.

The Myth About Being Liked on Facebook

2012-01-19T06:22:00.000-08:00

From marketing guru, Penny Sansevieri:

Feature Article: The Myth About Being Liked (on Facebook)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These days it seems everyone is after "social proof," that elusive number of Likes or Followers that will make you seem part of the "in crowd." Unfortunately getting someone to like you is only half the battle, you must now get them to stay "in like" with you.

Studies show that the expectation of content does vary by age, but the direction is still the same: it's more than just getting someone to "Like" your page, you now must learn how to keep them. With all the social media options out there it's critical to not just build numbers, but maintain them, too. In order to do this, it's important to know what users want and when they want to see you post new content.

As I pointed out earlier, content expectations vary by age. For example, Facebook users between the ages of 18-26 have the lowest expectations of receiving something in exchange for their "Like" endorsement. When you go up the next rung, ages 27 to 34, they are more likely to expect something solid delivered in a Facebook update. But the users with the highest expectations, and those you are likely serving, is the 35-51 age group. This is also the group most likely to unlike a brand if it fails to meet expectations.

But it's not only about having great content, it's also about creating great engagement. A study done by Roost.com evaluated 10,000 Facebook fans across 50 industries and found that certain posts leverage more engagement than others. Here are some of their findings:

* Photo posts get 50% more impressions than any other type of post
* Quotes get 22 percent more interactions
* Questions generate almost twice as many comments
* Ask questions to spark dialog (questions often see twice as many comments) and consider fill in the blank posts which tend to receive 9 times more comments than other posts

Now you have the content down, and you know about the types of posts that will get more play than others, is there more to posting than just content and post-type? You bet. There are also time-specific posts that often do better than others. Here are some quick tips on how to improve your Facebook Wall posts:

* Posts delivered between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. tend to receive 20% higher user engagement
* Best day for Fan engagement? Wednesday - up by 8%
* How many posts does it take to increase user engagement? If you're thinking more frequent posts you are wrong. Posting one to two times per day produces 71% higher user engagement.
* When it comes to Facebook more is not better, sometimes it's just more. Posting with 80 characters or less receives 66% higher engagement. Very concise posts, between one and 40 characters, generate the highest engagement.

Finally, users do vary. How can you really know if your fans are engaged with your content?

Understanding Facebook Content Interaction

Fan Pages now have a fabulous feature called Facebook Insights. Head on over there for some really interesting information and insightful (hence the name) data.

First, you can find Insights on the left side of your page. Once you're there you can see all sorts of data on the information you post.

1) Reach: This is the number of unique people who have seen the post for 28 days after publishing the post.
2) Engaged Users: These are people who have engaged with your post in some way: i.e. clicked the link.
3) Talking about this: This is an interesting number and you've no doubt seen this pop up right under your "Likes." These actions are: liking the post, commenting, sharing the post, responding to a question, or RSVPing to an event.
4) Virality: This is the number of people who have created a story from your page post.

Watch these numbers for some great insight into what fires up your fans and what leaves them cold.

It's not just about getting "Liked," it's about staying "Liked." Creating insightful, helpful, and engaging content is one piece to the puzzle, the other is timing and receptiveness of your fans. Though I've outlined 'general' user guidelines in this piece, be sure to check the Facebook Insights for key data that will help your fan base thrive!

Quick Ways to Promote your Facebook Fan Page
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* Put your Fan Page URL in your signature line
* Email your newsletter list
* Add a Facebook Fan widget to your blog and website
* Add your Fan Page URL to your biz cards
* Tweet the link to your followers
* Notify your "Friends" on your personal profile that you now have a Fan Page

Reprinted from "The Book Marketing Expert newsletter," a free ezine offering book promotion and publicity tips and techniques. http://www.amarketingexpert.com

RELEASES TODAY! I HEART BOSTON TERRIERS!

2012-01-15T07:14:00.000-08:00

I'm so pleased to announce the release of my latest love story, "I Heart Boston Terriers" as part of Amber Allure's pet-themed Heavy Petting PAX collection of romances.

I'm doubly excited because the cover model for this story is my very own Boston terrier, Lily. Although she'll never know it, the story is also dedicated to her.

Here's what "I Heart Boston Terriers" is about:

Love at first sight can work for dogs as well as humans.

When Aaron finds Mavis, an emaciated and timid Boston terrier, at a pet adoption fair, his heart goes out to her--irrevocably.

When Christian, who is manning the adoption fair for the Humane Society that fateful autumn Saturday, finds Aaron, his heart goes out to him--irrevocably.

I Heart Boston Terriers is all about embracing love, whether it's for someone who walks on four legs, or someone who walks on two. The Boston terrier Mavis' journey back to wholeness and finding her forever home runs parallel to the story of two men discovering one another at just that perfect moment--a moment that defies logic, propriety, and common sense.

But then when do the dictates of love follow a rational course?

Come along for a journey about a man and his dog and see how that journey teaches him the truth about love and making a caring connection that just might last a lifetime.

And here's a little taste:
...Christian returned to Mavis. "I want to see you make this your forever home, Mavis. It's a place where you can feel safer and safer with every passing day."

Aaron loved what he was telling the dog, whether she understood or not. Aaron believed any creature could pick up on the caring in Christian's voice; he certainly could. But he worried about Becca. She hadn't left the door open for second chances or a "forever home" and Aaron was doubtful this one visit from Christian could change things so much that she would allow Mavis to stay after all.

One of the last things she had said, before leaving for her Internet date, was, "I was going to wear those Jimmy Choos today, too. Damn it. Those shoes were mantraps, I tell you." She had laughed, but Aaron could hear the regret and longing in her voice. He would never understand how someone, his sister especially, could allow a pair of shoes to take precedence over a living thing.

Christian held Mavis up and out to Aaron. "Here. You try."

Awkwardly, as if he were taking a newborn from Christian, he took Mavis into his arms, cradling her and letting one arm support her along her soft and warm belly.

"Just talk to her," Christian said. "Just like I did--let her know you care, but make sure she understands you're in charge."

Aaron met Christian's expectant gaze.

"Go on," Christian encouraged.

Aaron didn't know if he was doing the right thing, continuing to build a bond with a dog his sister had insisted go back to the pound. But Mavis was looking up at him with appellate eyes, as if she too were waiting for him to make his move. Aaron doubted anyone could resist those eyes; they were perfectly round, a rich deep brown, and stared out of a face that was, all at once, wise, soulful, and a little melancholy.

He kind of let himself drift into the dog's deep gaze and almost forgot Christian was there. He certainly forgot about Becca's wishes as he began to speak, gently stroking Mavis' head all the while.

"You and me, kid. We're two of a kind. Alone. A bit unwanted, yes." He massaged her neck. "But you and me, we both have a lot to offer, don't we? So we're not gonna feel sorry for ourselves, are we? We're both survivors, too, and we're not gonna let this temporary setback get us down permanently. We're going to remember that life is a series of sunshine and rainy days--and no one escapes either. That's the thing we have to bear in mind: that the rain does stop falling, the sun does come out again. It happens for all of us.

"It's happening for you, little stinker. Right now. You've found someone who's decided to give you a home, someone who's made the most important decision a person can make--to love." He let himself feel the solidity of Mavis' compact body against his own and knew, right then, that come hell or high water, sisters or shoes, nothing was going to come between this man and his dog.

"And while you may not love me yet, I think you will. If you get no other sense from my words than this, remember: I am not going to let anything bad happen to you, ever. Not if I can help it."

He released Mavis, setting her gently down at his feet, where she promptly curled up, calmer than he had ever seen her.

Gradually, he came back to reality and realized he'd probably just made an ass of himself in front of Christian. What he had said to the dog was heartfelt, but what if Christian had seen them as nothing more than Hallmark platitudes? He was lifting his head to give the guy one of his patented sheepish grins, when he noticed Christian looking at him.

If he didn't know better, he would say the guy was touched. And not "touched in the head" either, although he might be that as well, but touched as in something really got through to him.

Christian slowly shook his head. He didn't say anything for a long while and then what he said next wasn't at all what Aaron expected.

"Can I kiss you?..."

Buy your copy here.

Bookwenches Reviews CAREGIVER

2012-01-10T08:48:00.000-08:00

And guess what? They liked it; they really liked it.

In part, reviewer, Bobby said:

"Caregiver is not what one might consider a “typical” m/m romance, but nothing written by Mr. Reed can truly be called “typical.” This is a story worth reading, however. It will touch you, perhaps sadden you, and make you think of the nature and meaning of love..."

Read the whole review here.
Buy Caregiver
In ebook.
In paperback
Kindle

Writing a Book is Like Making a Necklace

2012-01-04T09:27:00.000-08:00

People ask me if I am a "seat-of-the-panster" or a "plotter" when it comes to writing novels and I always tell them I'm the former.

But it occured to me that saying I work by the seat of the pants doesn't mean I don't have a plan. It simply means I listen to my instincts and that I follow my characters where they lead me. I am open to detours, changes in direction, and plot reversals that I would have never anticipated.

I work better this way. I think the writing and story that emerge are more spontaneous and more entertaining to me as a writer and hopefully you as a reader. I have tried planning things down to the last detail and what comes out is often stodgy, dry, and certainly not to my liking. And if I don't like it, why should I expect anyone else to?

So I was thinking about an analogy as I work on my current book-in-progress and how every chapter, every scene is like a bead or a pearl I'm threading onto a necklace. Like a jewelry designer creating a necklace, I know roughly what my end product will be and its general shape and form.

But not knowing exactly how the necklace will become a complete whole, nor what it will look like at the very end, is one of the true joys of creating a story.

Glimpses from My Life: Houseboat on Lake Union

2012-01-03T05:10:00.000-08:00

I have decided to make 2012 a year when I will give those of you who follow this blog a look into my life via photographs. Occasionally, I'll post something that caught my eye and that I snapped, probably using my phone.

I hope you enjoy this shot, taken on the afternoon of New Year's Day on a walk with my dog, Lily. This houseboat is on Seattle's Lake Union and is about a ten-minute walk from where I live. I just loved the color of the sky and the houseboat seemed like something I wanted to remember. Don't be surprised if it turns up in a story or a book someday.

Notable New Release: Big Business by Carey Parrish

2012-01-02T05:28:00.000-08:00

Carey Parrish brings back the residents of Number 56 Kensington Street, Holland Park, London in his new novel, Big Business.

Carey says: "I was very pleased that the characters in Marengo struck such a chord with readers that even almost two years later I was still receiving emails asking for more of them. Whenever I write, my only goal is to tell a good story that I hope readers will remember. So Big Business is the answer to all those requests I got for a continuation of the characters from Marengo. I hope the new novel is as satisfying as the first."

SYNOPSIS
Busybody landlady Mrs. Shugart, with her ally Mr. Humbolt at her side, has an empty flat for rent, but her tenant, upwardly mobile attorney Ms. Sandra Leverock, is anything but what she was hoping for. Especially when she discovers that Ms. Leverock is the niece of her oldest nemesis, Margaret Armstrong.

American journalists Rob Brent and Jeff Schrader are contemplating a life changing opportunity that promises them more angst than joy, and upstairs neighbor DJ Pack finds himself attracted to Ms. Leverock in spite of the fact that she's engaged to billionaire Edgar Allardice.

As the neighbors settle into their new circumstances, Mrs. Shugart finds herself grappling with a past that she thought was settled long ago. Ms. Leverock and DJ grow closer, while Margaret becomes embroiled in the mystery of who is trying to buy out her shares in her late husband's corporation, and she enlists Rob and Jeff to assist her in the quest. And Allardice, determined to see his empire expand by any mean necessary, is pulling the strings like a puppet master.

Murder, intrigue, and corporate ruthlessness combine to teach the residents of Number 56 Kensington Street just how dangerous the world of big business can be.

The sequel to Marengo, Big Business is Carey Parrish at his best.

BUY:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Love Romances Cafe "Best of 2011" Nominees

2012-01-01T05:34:00.000-08:00

2011 LRC's "Best of" Awards Nominee List

Best Book of 2011
TJ Klune-Bear, Otter and the Kid
Rick R. Reed-Caregiver
Kat Martin-Against the Storm
RJ Scott-Texas Winter
Cooper Mackenzie-Thanksgiving at Sanctuary
Rita Sawyer-Her Mr. Wrong
Lee Brazil-Keeping House
Marianne Stephens-Anything You Can Do
Kiru Taye-His Treasure
Kim Harrison-Pale Demon
Sherrilyn Kenyon-No Mercy
KA Mitchell_Bad Boyfriend
Kim Dare-Written Request
DJ Manly- Extreme Sports
Aleksandre Voinov-Dark Soul Vol 1
Sue Brown-Nothing Ever Happens

Best Paranormal/Fantasy Book
Andrea Speed-Pretty Monsters
Protect & Serve: Sex on a Hoof by Silvia Violet
Aurora Rose Lynn- Sweet as fire
Cynthia Sax-Fangs in the Frosting
Stephanie Burke-How not to date a fae
Desiree Holt-Silent Hunter
Lark LaTroy-Here Be Dragons
Alisha Rai-Hot as Hades
Brannan Black-Wolfman 5: Genesis
Stormy Glenn-Cat's Pride
Dakota Dawn-Desperate Fay King
Lynn Hagen-Tater's Bear
Cindy Spencer Pape-Motor City Witch
Marjorie M. Liu-The Wild Road
Sophie Jordan-Vanish
Rowen Speedwell-Bitterwood
L. Shannon- The Wish
Lynne Connolly-Griffin's Treasure

Best GBLT Book
Damon Suede-Hot Head
Laura Harner -Ty Hard
SJD Peterson-Quinn's Need
Margie Church-Hard as Teak
Amber Kell-Trials of Tam
TJ Klune-Bear, Otter & The Kid
Patricia Logan-Captive Lover
Brannan Black-Wolfman 4: Salvation
Laura Tolomei-Re-Scue
RJ Scott-Texas Winter
DC Juris-Orion's Way
LA Witt-Ex Equals
Cat Grant- Once a Marine

Best Contemporary Book
Debbie Macomber-1225 Christmas Tree Lane
Damon Suede-Hot Head
Andrew Grey- Love Means…Healing
Amber Kell-Taking Care of Charlie
Lily Harlem-Orchestrating Maneuvers
Johnny Miles-Learning to Samba
Desiree Holt-All Jacked Up
Sherryl Woods-Driftwood Cottage
Lee Brazil- Keeping House
G. A. Hauser-Down & Dirty
Rita Sawyer-Deliberately Brazen
Chris Quinton-Home and Hearth
Casey Crow-Can't Fake This
ZA Maxfield-The Book of Daniel
Lee Brazil- Telling the Truth
Dominique Eastwick-Hunting JC
Cat Johnson-Cole
Lena Matthews-Priceless
Grace Wen-The Imperfect Wife
Laura Tolomei- The Pirate's Seduction

Best Historical Romance Book
Gwen Masters-After all these years
Kay Berrisford-Bound for the Forest
Angela Claire-Mastering Lady Macalister
Cindy Spencer Pape-Steam and Sorcery
Erastes-Muffled Drum
Julie Moffett-Her Kilt Clad Rogue
Great Ceaser's Ghost by Cindi Myers
Lizzie T. Leaf-Making Christmas
Rain Chapman-Finding the One
Jianne Carlo-The Seducer

Best BDSM Book
Cherise Sinclair: To Command and Collar
Desiree Holt-Bite the bullet
Claire Thompson-Switch
Cooper McKenzie-Silken Bonds
Cassandra Carr-Caught
Sophie Oak-Siren in Waiting
Allyson Young-Wishes
Lila Munro-Three to Keep
DC Juris-Orion's Way
Jianne Carlo-Deviant Devil
Kim Dare-Orders Enclosed
Brita Addams-Romeo Club 1: Surprises
Kari Gregg-Collared

Best Mystery/Romantic Suspense/Thriller Book
Gwen Masters-After all these years
Desiree Holt-F-Stop
Wynter Daniels-Protective Custody
Josh Lanyon-Snowball in Hell
Ellery Adams-A Deadly Cliché
Destiny Blaine-Guarded Secrets
June Kramin-Double Mocha, Heavy on Your Phone Number
JD Robb-New York to Dallas
Derek Thompson-The Silent Hills
Michelle Levine-Never Moon a Werewolf
KC Kendrick- Double Deuce
Lynne Connolly-Learning to Trust
Carol Preflatish- Saved by the Sheriff

Best Author of 2011
Desiree Holt
Sandy Sullivan
Anya Bast
Shelby Morgan
Selena Illyria
Diana DeRicci
Dominique Eastwick
Cassandre Dayne
Damon Suede
Andrew Grey
Kat Martin
Kelley Armstrong
G. A. Hauser
Ethan Day
Johnny Miles
Hank Edwards
Lee Brazil
Marie Harte
Sherrilyn Kenyon
Beth Wylde
Tara Lain

Best GBLT Author 2011
Andrew Grey
SJD Peterson
Margie Church
Xavier Axelson
Amber Kell
Jambrea Jo Jones
Kim Dare
Serena Yates
Carol Lynne
Bailey Bradford
TJ Klune
Mary Calmes
Sue Brown
Lynn Hagen
Stormy Glenn
Joyee Flynn
Chris Quinton
Brannan Black
Johnny Miles
ZA Maxfield

Best Cover of 2011
Damon Suede-Hot Head
Laura Harner-Ty Hard
Andrew Grey: Work Me Out
Cherise Sinclair: Club Shadowlands 6: To Command and Collar
SJD Peterson-Quinn's Need
Silvia Violet-Paws on Me (Serve & Protect)
Serena Yates-Convincing Landon
Carol Lynne-Sunset Ridge
Desiree Holt-Bite the bullet
Johnny Miles-Learning to Samba
GA Hauser-Down and Dirty
Sandy Sullivan-Two for the price of one
Cari Quinn-Unwrapped
Lee Brazil-Loving Jacob
Sherrilyn Kenyon-No Mercy
JD Robb-New York to Dallas
Lacey Alexander-Hot for Santa
Ally Blue-Convergence
Damon Suede-Grown Men

Best Cover Artist
Reese Dante
Jinger Heaston
Posh Gosh
Kelly Shorten
Beth Walker
Dawné Dominique
Valerie Tibbs
Angela Knight
Anne Cain
Justin James
Scott Carpenter
Stella Price
Tuesday Dube
Croco Designs
Jet Mykles

Best e-Publisher 2011
Dreamspinner Press
Riptide Publishing
Silver Publishing
Samhain Publishing
Changeling Press
Secret Cravings Publishing
Loose Id Publishing
Liquid Silver Publishing
eXtasy Books
Champagne Books/Carnal Passions
Carina Press
Total E-Bound Publishing
Lyrical Press
Siren-Bookstrand Publishing
Evernight Publishing
Decadent Publishing

Best Science Fiction/Futuristic/Dystopian Book
Amber Kell-Soldier Mine
Lena Austin-Sex World: Bodyguard
Belinda McBride-Uncommon Whore 2: If I Fall
Berengaria Brown-Raw Want
Lauren Dane-Goddess with a Blade
Michael Merriam-Last Car to Annwn Station
Linda Mooney-Captive Surrender
Fae Sutherland & Marguaritte Labbe-The Gladiator's Master
Marie Harte-Journeyman's Ride
Brannan Black- Wolfman Salvation
Lynn Lorenz-Duty Bound
Stevie Woods-Cold Fear
L. Shannon- The Jade Prince
LA Witt-A Chip in his Shoulder

Best Western/Cowboys Book
Andrew Grey-A Troubled Range
SJD Peterson-Quinn's Need
Amber Kell-Tyler's Cowboy
Desiree Holt-Bite the bullet
Belinda McBride, Sierra Cartwright & Cherise Sinclair-Doms of Dark Haven 2: Western Night
Destiny Blaine-Roping in Forever
Sandy Sullivan-Two for the price of one
Stacey Espino-Hogtying the Cowgirl
Elle Saint James & Lara Santiago-Unbridled and Unbranded
Debra Kayn-Chantilly's Cowboys
Desiree Holt-Stark Naked
Lorilei James-Cowboy Casanova
Heidi Champa- The Right Wrong Turn
Sue Brown- Morning Report

Best Ménage Book (any combination as long as it's three or more people in the relationship)
Imari Jade-Rhapsody  Wendy Zwadiuk-Savin' Me
Cari Quinn-Unwrapped
Berengaria Brown-Untamable
Tonya Ramagos-Running from Angel
Gale Stanley-Spitfire
Lila Munro-Three to Keep
Caitlyn Willows-Cataphilia
Giselle Renarde-Painting with Brushes
Lillith Grey-At His Throat, A Promise
Jennifer Labelle-Spice It Up
Sandy Sullivan- Love Me Once, Love me Twice

Best Anthology Book
Chasing the Dream
Christmas Advent Series (DSP)
Subspace (TEB)
Doms of Dark Haven 2: Western Night (Loose id)
Holiday Kisses (Carina)
Men Under the Mistletoe (Carina)
Story Orgy Vol 1 (Breathless Press)

Best Series All Around
Serve & Protect Series Multi-Author Series
Gym Series by Andrew Grey
Larson Legacy Series by Amber Kell
Supernatural Mates series by Amber Kell
Blood Slave: Nibirui Vampire Warriors by DJ Manly and AJ Llewellyn
Phoenix Agency by Desiree Holt
How Not to…by Stephanie Burke
Wolfman series by Brannan Black
Badlands Series by Marteeka Karland and Shara Azod
Whispering Pines Ranch Series by SJD Peterson
Marie Harte's Dawn Endevour Series
Genetic Attraction Series by Tara Lain
Lady Blue Crew by Stormy Glenn, Lynn Hagen
Cowboy Boots Series by Natalie Acres
Sherman Series by Dominique Eastwick
Truth or Dare Series by Lee Brazil
Dark/Dream Hunters by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Hollow Series by Kim Harrison
In Death Series by JD Robb

My Boston is the Cover Model for My New Book!

2011-12-27T08:34:00.000-08:00

When my e-book story, "I Heart Boston Terriers" comes out next month from Amber Allure, I will be especially excited because the cover model is none other than my own Boston Terrier, Lily. The photo at the bottom of the cover was taken in a sleepy moment on our bed by my partner, Bruce Moynagh.

I think it's adorable.

And here's what the book is about:

Love at first sight can work for dogs as well as humans.

When Aaron finds Mavis, an emaciated and timid Boston terrier, at a pet adoption fair, his heart goes out to her—irrevocably.

When Christian, who is manning the adoption fair for the Humane Society that fateful autumn Saturday, finds Aaron, his heart goes out to him—irrevocably.

“I Heart Boston Terriers” is all about embracing love, whether it’s for someone who walks on four legs, or someone who walks on two. The Boston terrier Mavis’ journey back to wholeness and finding her forever home runs parallel to the story of two men discovering one another at just that perfect moment—a moment that defies logic, propriety, and common sense.

But then when do the dictates of love follow a rational course?

Come along for a journey about a man and his dog and see how that journey teaches him the truth about love and making a caring connection that just might last a lifetime.
I hope you'll come along for the ride when the book debuts in January as apart of the "Heavy Petting" series.

New Rave for CAREGIVER

2011-12-26T06:36:00.000-08:00

Very stoked by this review from a site I had yet to hear of, "Butterfly-o-Meter Books" (thank you Google Alerts!). The reviewer gave CAREGIVER five butterflies and said:

"I cannot begin to tell you how beautiful this novel is, it's stupendous, you just have to read it or you'll be missing out big time. Don't shy away from the difficult points it raises, be brave and read it, feel it, live it in your heart, I'm sure you will love it just as much as I did..."

Read the whole review here.

Buy CAREGIVER: In ebook In paperback
For Kindle

SYNOPSIS
It’s 1991, and Dan Calzolaio has just moved to Florida with his lover, Mark, having fled Chicago and Mark’s addictions to begin a new life on the Gulf Coast. Volunteering for the Tampa AIDS Alliance is just one part of that new beginning, and that’s how Dan meets his new buddy, Adam.

Adam Schmidt is not at all what Dan expected. The guy is an original—witty, wry, and sarcastic with a fondness for a smart black dress, Barbra Streisand, and a good mai tai. Adam doesn’t let his imminent death get him down, even through a downward spiral that sees him thrown in jail.

Each step of Adam’s journey teaches Dan new lessons about strength and resilience, but it’s Adam’s lover, Sullivan, to whom Dan feels an almost irresistible pull. Dan knows the attraction isn’t right, even after he dumps his cheating, drug-abusing boyfriend. But then Adam passes away, and it leaves Sullivan and Dan both alone to see if they can turn their love for Adam into something whole and real for each other.

Bring LGBT Couples Home for the Holidays

2011-12-20T05:23:00.000-08:00

Earlier this month, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered an incredible speech to the United Nations, affirming that LGBT rights are human rights, and the international community should extend more freedoms to LGBT folks.

Of course, the U.S. still has a lot of work to do on LGBT rights.

Right now, my son Nicholas Reed is among the thousands of LGBT Americans living in exile across the globe because he happened to fall in love with a non-American -- and he's had to choose between love and country. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano could actually solve that problem *tomorrow* by issuing the partners of LGBT Americans humanitarian parole -- and we're petitioning her to do just that!

Will you join my son and me in signing the petition right now?

http://bit.ly/tbsWPs

Thank you!

Kindle Giving

2011-12-18T09:49:00.000-08:00

Every day it seems there's a new innovation in e-books - and here's another. If your friend, relative, or loved one reads e-books, you can purchase a specific one just for them. Both B&N and Amazon.com have "BUY AS A GIFT" options.

For instance, click here http://amzn.to/tw8UEv and you can see in the right upper corner a button for "GIVE AS A GIFT." This works on any e-book in their systems.

Just an idea for all those scrambling for last minute presents!

Three Dollar Bill Reviews Likes CAREGIVER

2011-12-13T05:22:00.000-08:00

It's not often you get just as excited about a positive review as you do about the quality of the review. Not only does reviewer Indigene give CAREGIVER a very positive thumbs-up, her reviewing, writing, and analytical skills are all top-notch.

In part, Indigene said:

"...Some readers may shy away from this novel because of the subject matter of HIV/AIDS. I encourage them to not do so because they will be missing out on a beautiful story. I recommend Caregiver without hesitation as one of Mr. Reed’s most heartfelt novels and at the same time one of his most life-embracing stories."

Read the whole review here.

Buy the book: Publisher (print and ebook), All Romance eBooks, Amazon (print and ebook)

Just in time for the holidays! MATCHES releases today.

2011-12-07T04:30:00.000-08:00

I've always loved the darkly beautiful fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen. "Matches" is my gay take on "The Little Match Girl".

SYNOPSIS
Christmas Eve should be a night filled with magic and love. But for Anderson, down on his luck and homeless in Chicago's frigid chill, it's a fight for survival. Whether he's sleeping on the el, or holed up in an abandoned car, all he really has are his memories to keep him warm-memories of a time when he loved a man named Welk and the world was perfect. When Anderson finds a book of discarded matches on the sidewalk, he pockets them. Later, trying to keep the cold at bay hunkered down in a church entryway, Anderson discovers the matches are the key to bringing his memories of Welk, happiness, and security to life. Within their flames, visions dance-and perhaps a reunion with the man he loved most.

EXCERPT
Anderson made his way down the stairs into the Grand Avenue subway station, the mildew smell of the station rising up as he descended. A rush of commuters passed him going up; a train must have just discharged them. People edged by, giving him as wide a berth as possible. Just as he neared the bottom, a young woman with short black hair, wearing a down coat trimmed in fur, stumbled on the concrete stairs. She dropped her purse and its contents spilled out. Anderson paused and spotted the makeup, the few dollar bills-and a CTA transit card. A part of him told him to grab it and run, that she could well afford another one. If there was enough money stored on the card, it could get him through a good part of the winter.

But no matter how cold it got, no matter how much snow fell, no matter how well the woman could afford to buy another card, Anderson couldn't do it. He just didn't have it in him to steal.

He reached down to help her gather her things and she recoiled, gasping at the sight of him and scooting back and away. "That's okay!" she said, quickly lowering her gaze to hurriedly pick up the things she had dropped.

It hurt Anderson to see the fear and disgust in her eyes.

In the station, Anderson didn't know what to do. To access the platform, you had to have a card. Sure, he could jump the turnstiles and risk getting arrested; he had seen it done. Some got away with it, more didn't.

Like stealing the woman on the stair's transit pass, it simply wasn't within Anderson to do something criminal.

Among the straggling commuters, Anderson spied an old woman who looked kindly. Perhaps she would take pity on him. With her upsweep of gray hair, her sensible wool coat, rubber boots, and hand-crocheted scarf, she appeared kindly, reminding Anderson of his own late grandmother. There was something lively and warm in her pale blue eyes.

Anderson stepped in front of her and smiled. "Excuse me, ma'am."

The woman stopped, regarding him.

"I hate to ask, but I need to get on the train and, honestly, I don't have a dime to my name." Anderson thought for a moment and came up with a small white lie. "I need to get to the south side, where my family is." He smiled again. "It's Christmas."

The woman didn't say anything.

"Do you think you could spare a couple dollars so I could ride?" Anderson gnawed at his lower lip, hating the position circumstance and the economy had put him in.

"Get the hell out of my way," the woman said quietly, edging by him. She called over her shoulder, "Get a job, why don't you?"

Anderson was taken aback by the coldness and the almost-hatred in her voice. It was so unexpected and so unnecessarily cruel.

Anderson felt the bright sting of tears at the corner of his eyes. His shoulders slumped. He was about to turn and leave the station when a young guy, about his own age, came up to him. Once upon a time, Anderson would have thought he was cute, and if he had opened the door a little, Anderson might have flirted with him. But now his only reaction was-what now?

"What a bitch," the man said, his gaze roaming over to where the old woman was mounting the stairs. He reached into the pocket of his worn denim jacket that looked too thin for the weather and pulled out a transit card. He held it out to Anderson. "Take it. There's only one ride left on there. I wish I could give you more, but I'm pretty strapped myself."

Tentatively, Anderson reached for the card. "Are you sure you can spare this?"

"I wouldn't have offered it to you if I couldn't." He wiggled the hand holding the card. "Go on."

Anderson took it, wondering if some guardian angel, or even Welk, was looking out for him.

"Thank you."

"It's nothin'. Merry Christmas."

Anderson swallowed hard, feeling a lump in his throat. "Merry Christmas to you too."

The guy turned and headed up the stairs, out into the snow.

And Anderson moved toward the turnstiles.

The card worked.

BUY From MLR Press
Kindle version coming soon!

Coming this Wednesday, December 7, from MLR Press

2011-12-05T05:58:00.001-08:00

Christmas Eve should be a night filled with magic and love. But for Anderson, down on his luck and homeless in Chicago's frigid chill, it's a fight for survival. Whether he's sleeping on the el, or holed up in an abandoned car, all he really has are his memories to keep him warm-memories of a time when he loved a man named Welk and the world was perfect. When Anderson finds a book of discarded matches on the sidewalk, he pockets them. Later, trying to keep the cold at bay hunkered down in a church entryway, Anderson discovers the matches are the key to bringing his memories of Welk, happiness, and security to life. Within their flames, visions dance-and perhaps a reunion with the man he loved most.

Scheduled Release Date: 12/07/2011

5 Stars from MM Reviews for CAREGIVER

2011-11-29T06:29:00.000-08:00

I'm pleased to share a wonderful five-star review for CAREGIVER from MM Reviews with you. The reviewer, Pixie, said, in part:

"Rick R. Reed, you do not get to do this to me. You do not get to write a book that is caring, beautiful, touching and wonderful. You do not get to write a book that even now has me trying to stifle the tears as I write this review… You’re supposed to write horror stories and if you change style it should be rubbish not this incredible piece of writing...This story gives you a range of emotions to experience, love, betrayal, sadness, happiness, guilt and hope, the love-making is wonderful, this is a true love story that is not to be missed so I recommend this to everyone and I hope you love it as much as I did.

Read the whole review here.

Buy from
Dreamspinner
Amazon Kindle

CAREGIVER Gets a Rave Review from Amos Lassen

2011-11-22T05:02:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to share with you a wonderful review I just got for CAREGIVER from veteran GLBT reviewer, Amos Lassen. In part, he said:

"Reed has written this book as a tribute to those who are gone and I am certain that each person who has been touched by loss because of AIDS will find a lot to identify with here.

"I have read so much about AIDS that I was not sure I could handle another book so I approached Reed’s novel with trepidation and knowing that I would be affected by it from the moment I opened the covers. Once I began, I was pulled into the story and I could not stop reading. There were moments that I wept as I read and I really went through a catharsis by the time I finished the book."

Read the full review here.

BUY from Dreamspinner Press
In ebook.
In paperback.

Kindle

NEW RELEASE! Win a FREE Copy of My Vampire Love Story, BLOOD SACRIFICE

2011-11-20T08:31:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: Thank you all for entering! Through a random selection process, we have a winner: Erica Pike. Congratulations, Erica! Untreed Reads will be in touch with you to get you your copy soon.

Finally, thanks to the good folks at Untreed Reads Publishing, my terrifying, erotic, suspenseful and richly romantic vampire tale, In the Blood, comes to new digital life as Blood Sacrifice. The new e-book version contains exclusive restored material not included in the print edition.

To win a free copy of Blood Sacrifice, simply:

1. Leave a comment below. 
2. Be sure to leave an e-mail address so I can get in touch if you're a winner. 
3. Bonus points for reposting news of this contest/release on your Facebook, Twitter, group, blog, or other social network.
4. Even more bonus points if you click on the link at the right to subscribe by e-mail to this blog.

I will announce the winner on Wednesday, November 23.

Don't want to wait to see if you're a winner? You can purchase your own copy at the following:

From Untreed Reads here.
Kindle
Nook

Synopsis
What Would You Give Up for Immortal Life and Love?

By day, Elise draws and paints, spilling out the horrific visions of her tortured mind. By night, she walks the streets, selling her body to the highest bidder.

And then they come into her life: a trio of impossibly beautiful vampires: Terence, Maria, and Edward. When they encounter Elise, they set an explosive triangle in motion.

Terence wants to drain her blood. Maria just wants Elise . . . as lover and partner through eternity. And Edward, the most recently-converted, wants to prevent her from making the same mistake he made as a young abstract expressionist artist in 1950s Greenwich Village: sacrificing his artistic vision for immortal life. He is the only one of them still human enough to realize what an unholy trade this is.

Blood Sacrifice is a novel that will grip you in a vise of suspense that won't let go until the very last moment...when a shocking turn of events changes everything and demonstrates--truly--what love and sacrifice are all about.

Excerpt
Elise Groneman stares out the window, stomach roiling. What she has is like stage fright. She gets it every night, before she ventures out of her tiny Rogers Park studio apartment on Chicago’s far north side. It’s always been amazing to her that just a few minutes’ walk to the north is the suburb of Evanston and a different world; there, the streets are tree-lined and clean, the homes palatial, the condos upscale, the restaurants grand, and the stores exclusive. Affluence and culture preside. Yet here, on Greenview Street, one encounters abject poverty, crime, the detritus of urban desperation: tiny brightly-colored baggies, fast food wrappers, condoms, empty alcohol bottles, even pieces of clothing. The sidewalks are cracked, the grassy areas choked with weeds and garbage. Here in Rogers Park, the normal folks―the ones who travel on the el to work downtown every morning―stay inside, so as not to mingle with people like Elise, or the man outside her window right now, who’s screaming, “What the fuck do I care what you do, bitch? It ain’t no skin off my ass.” Elise glances out and sees the man is alone. A boy cruises by on a bicycle that’s too small for him. The bike is stolen; either that, or he’s a runner for some small time dealer, delivering and making collections. Sometimes, there aren’t many options for moving up the ladder.

But this neighborhood is all Elise can afford, and, unless she picks up more clientele soon, she may even be crowded out of this hovel she begrudgingly calls home. Once, she shared the place with someone else, but those days, for better or worse, are long behind her.

Elise moves to the window, attempting to obliterate memory by the simple act of staring outside. Dusk has fallen and the sky belies the earthbound life before her. The sun is setting, the sky deep violet, filtering down to tangerine and pink near the horizon. If she keeps her eyes trained on the riot of color and shape to the east, she can almost forget where she is.

But the denizens of Greenview Street make sure she stays reminded. They stroll the night in an attempt to escape the heat, the hot, moist air pressing in, smothering. They call to one another, using words she had barely heard, let alone used, back in Shaker Heights, Ohio, where she had grown up: nigga, motherfucka, homey. Fuck used as an adjective, verb, and ejaculation (but rarely, ironically, utilized in a sexual context). Snatches of music filter out from apartment windows. Cruising vehicles pass by, bass thumping hard enough to cause the glass in her windows to vibrate. She has picked up names of artists like Bow Wow, Def Soul, and Trick Daddy as she walks the streets. Elise puts a hand to the screen, testing the air. Will there ever be a breeze again? She wonders if her neighbors would recognize any of the names attached to the music she loves, names like Vivaldi, Smetana, Bach. Other music fills the street: arguments and professions of love shouted with equal force. Headlights illuminate the darkening night, which is also lit by the flare of a match here, neon there, and sodium vapor overall. The world glows orange, filling up not only the streets of the city, but the sky, blotting out the stars.

East of her churn the cold waters of Lake Michigan, and Elise imagines its foam-flecked waves lapping at the shores. She’d like to pad down to the beach at the end of Birchwood Street, kick off her sandals and run across the sand and into the water, its cold obliterating and refreshing. She wishes she had the freedom, but east is not her path. Her way lies south, to Howard Street, purveyor of pawnshops and prostitution.

Her destination.

Elise turns to survey her cramped apartment. Near the ceiling, industrial green paint peels from the walls to reveal other coats of grimy paint no color describes. Metal-frame twin bed, sheets twisted and gray, damp from sweat and humidity. Next to that, Salvation Army-issue scarred oak table, small, with the remains of this night’s meal, a few apple peelings, a knife, and a glass half filled with pale tea, darkening in the dying light.

It’s a place no one would ever call home. Elise’s apartment is utilitarian, a place to work, to sleep, to eat. It’s little more than shelter.

The only sign of human habitation is her work: huge canvases mounted on easels, bits of heavy paper taped to her drawing board. Much of her work is done in charcoal and pencil, but the palette of grays and black remain constant, whether it’s a sketch or a completed painting. Her subject matter, too, is always the same, although the variety of choices she has to explore is endless. Elise likes to draw intensely detailed renderings of crime and accident scenes, aping the cold, clinical detachment one might find in a book of crime scene photographs. Here is a woman, slumped beside a corduroy recliner, a gunshot ripping away half of her head (the blood black in Elise’s rendering), beside her, a half-eaten chicken leg and the Tempo section of the Chicago Tribune, folded neatly and splattered with her gore. There’s a man lying beside a highway, the cars a fast-moving blurred river. His head has been severed from his body. On the wall she has masking-taped a nightmare in quick, staccato slashes: a young woman strangled and left to lie in the pristine environment of an upscale public washroom, clean, shiny ceramic tile, untarnished metal stalls. Another woman, looking bored, checks her lipstick in the mirror. Near Elise’s floor is a small, intricately detailed drawing done in charcoal: two lovers lie in a bed of gore, the aftermath―one presumes―of discovery of their union by a jealous lover. The woman has a sheet discreetly covering her up to the neck. The man lies splayed out in a paroxysm of agony. And why not? His offending penis has been slashed from his body. Is that it on the floor beside the bed, a smudge of black, nearly shapeless?

Where is all the color? Elise herself wonders as she dresses for the evening. Color has been leached out of her world; it is getting increasingly difficult to be able to remember what color was like and thus, increasingly difficult to duplicate its varied hues on paper or canvas. Color, it seems, is but a hazy memory out of her past.

Enough of art analysis, she thinks. It’s her days she has designated to her art. Nighttime is when she prepares for her other job, the occupation that keeps a roof over her head. The job which perhaps is responsible for stealing the color from her vision.

Enough! Enough! Enough! she thinks. Put the introspection behind you. It’s time now, time to become a creature of the night, an animal doing what it must to provide its own sustenance.

She rummages in the apartment’s lone closet, pulling out one of her “uniforms,” clothing that helps identify her occupation as much a mechanic’s jumpsuit, or a waitress’s ruffled apron and polyester dress.

Tonight, she dons a short black skirt bisected by a wide zipper ending in a big silver loop. Over her head, she pulls a white T-shirt, tying it just above her waist. In combination with the low-riding skirt, it perfectly frames her navel. Elise pulls the skin apart and plucks out a piece of lint. She completes her ensemble with dark seamed stockings and spike heels. These are the tools of the trade as much as the brushes, sticks of charcoal, and pencils littering her space.

Elise flips back her long whiskey-colored hair, and leans close to the mirror. She lines her lips with a shade of brown, then fills in with glossy crimson. Cheapens her green eyes with thick black kohl. Elise pulls her hair back, away from her damp neck, and up, pinning it all together with a silver barrette adorned with the smiling face of a skull. Pentagram earrings. Tonight a witch, creature of the night.

Then she turns, hand on doorknob. The night awaits: exhaust fumes, traffic, the chirping of cicadas.

Purchase your own copy at the following:

From Untreed Reads here.
Kindle
Nook

A Letter from a Reader that Makes it All Worthwhile

2011-11-09T04:40:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

Below is a letter I got yesterday from a reader in London regarding my AIDS-era love story, CAREGIVER. More than money, more than fame, it's this kind of connection to a reader that really defines what I do and makes me want to go on telling stories that matter...

Dear Mr Reed

I wanted to write and thank you for your amazing story. It was just so beautifully written and also appropriate 30 years on from the emergence of HIV and AIDS.

I am a part time priest in the Diocese of London and an African woman. I am also a community activist on the issue of HIV, and on the issue of LGBT human rights abroad. Part of what I do is try to mobilise churches here in London to respond to HIV both here in the UK and home in Africa. Sometimes it can be an uphill struggle and it is books like Caregiver that encourage me not to give up.

I loved Caregiver because it recalls the days before anti-retrovirals. It is also a reminder not to take treatment for granted. In the UK today many people have forgotten the eighties and early nineties when people were dying of AIDS here. I think it is important not to forget and to use the pain and loss from the past to continue to respond to HIV and to push for access to treatment for people everywhere.

There was a particular part in the book at the end where Dan had written to Adam saying that if he had stayed alive a few more years he would have seen the advent of treatment. Whilst I was reading your book the analytical part of me kept saying 'if only he could have lived a few more years he would have made it.' I just had a real sense of loss as I read the book.

You also touched on a very important issue about the treatment of bereaved gay partners who were often overlooked by their partners families. In all the debates we have today about the decriminalisation of homosexuality and gay marriage you have touched something very important and it is simply about the humanity of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. This is something I can hold onto.

I am not gay, but I am involved in the struggle for lgbt human rights in Africa and elsewhere because of this humanity. This is sometimes a very difficult path to walk as an African woman and as a member of the clergy. Holding on to the humanity of others helps me both to see and act.

I have so many friends who are alive today because of anti-retrovirals. There are many African women who are alive today because of the early struggles of white gay men. This might seem a controversial statement to make, but its true. African women are often invisible or not heard. We would have found it hard to struggle on our own. We have a lot to thank God for, and we still have much ground to cover and work to do.

You have told a beautiful story that reminds me that we must not take treatment for granted and that we must never forget those who were lost.

Thank you.

Regards
Ijeoma Ajibade

BUY from Dreamspinner Press
In ebook: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=2561
In paperback:http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=2562

Amazon Kindle version: http://tinyurl.com/3flyqzr

Win a FREE Copy of CAREGIVER

2011-11-05T07:33:00.000-07:00

Member of Goodreads? Enter to win a free, signed copy of my AIDS-era love story, CAREGIVER. Just go here and click on the link to be in the drawing! Winner will be announced on November 22.

The 10 Deadly Sins of Website Design

2011-11-04T09:40:00.000-07:00

From my friend and marketing guru, Penny Sansevieri:

Feature Article: The 10 Deadly Sins of Website Design
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Checklist to Help You Avoid Them

So, you're ready to create your very own author site, or maybe you're updating your old one. We all know there's a lot that can go wrong with a website (server gone down?) but there's also a lot you can do in the early stages to avoid some mishaps down the road. Here's a checklist that you can take with you as you work through the design elements of your website:

1. Cluttered: Let's just start there. A cluttered site is the kiss of death to conversion. Make sure the site you choose is clean, uncluttered and easy to navigate. If you can't figure it out, I guarantee you your visitor won't, either.

2. Confusing: Tell them what you want them to do. Several times. In order to make a sale, you have to tell your visitor what you want them to do - over and over and over. When we were redesigning our website, http://www.amarketingexpert.com, I kept hearing this from my web designer: let's tell them again and again what we want them to do. I responded to her, "But my visitors aren't stupid, they'll know what to do!" The problem is most surfers don't. We're busy, we're distracted, we want information and we want it now, also we want to know right away if we've landed on a site that can help us. If you repeat your primary message, they won't be able to miss it, and if the site is what they're looking for, they will stay. Which takes me to:

3. Too many messages: You must have one primary message and objective for your website. Yes, I know you want to do so much with it. You want to sell books and get speaking engagements and maybe even some consulting gigs. But all of this starts with one, clear objective. Take my site, for example. I have books, I am a speaker, I also sell marketing services and we are a full-service marketing and publicity firm. Wow, that's a lot, right? Yes, it is, but if you look at our homepage you don't see my books or my speaking. Why? Well, as much as I'd love to sell my books by the truckload, and speaking gigs are always fun to do, they don't keep the business going the way new business does. That's my primary objective.

4. Not knowing what your consumer wants: Once you figure out what you are selling, now you have to package it in a way that will entice your buyer. Knowing what they want and how they want it is key. Let's say you've written a cookbook for busy parents. And let's say your only objective is to sell books. That's a great goal! Now, your site needs to be designed around that goal. That means the book is front and center on the homepage, and because your user is probably busier than most, there's a big 'buy now' button just under the book that takes them to a page where they can purchase and download an eBook or order a print copy. Easy! You may also want to add a sign-up on the homepage so your readers can get cooking ideas, recipes and tips in their inbox a couple of times a month!

5. Cropsharing: This is what I call those folks who use other people's website domains. I seem to recall years ago there was something called Angelfire. Anyone could get a free site there. You could never own it, or upgrade, it was on their server and that was that. The problem is when their site goes away, so does yours. There are a lot of freebie websites out there, there's nothing wrong with this per se (other than I don't think we should design our own sites), and if you're strapped for cash this is a great, initial way to get started. But be sure that you can own the site at some point. Often free sites have an upgrade option, look into it before you build your website!

6. Copying your competition: It's great to love what your competition is doing, but don't copy them pixel for pixel. Not only is it not a nice thing to do, but consumers landing on both sites may not be able to tell the difference! Additionally, if Google spots this type of duplication, you could get your site pulled down.

7. Uh-oh, typo: Please spell check your website. Really. I don't understand why anyone would launch a site that wasn't spellchecked.

8. Staying static: No one likes a site that never changes, and a quick and easy way to make sure you don't have a static site is to add a blog to it. A blog is a fantastic way to keep your site looking fresh and it's great for SEO, too.

9. Not understanding your traffic: OK, I admit this has less to do with website design, but it all flows into the same pot. Get to know your stats, and if you aren't sure how to read your site analytics, get someone to help you. Many authors I speak to don't even know if they have traffic reports. To me, that's sort of like having access to a bank account you never check!

10. Nowhere to go: Regardless of how you will sell your book, you want to be sure that the sales process is super clear on the site. Additionally, you don't want your consumer to go through a lot of steps to buy your book; with each step you lose a sale so keep that in mind. Ideally, no more than three steps to a buy!

When you're going through your website - either building one, redoing one or making sure yours is in check, take note of the points I've shared here. It's hard enough getting people to come to your site; when they get there don't send them into "surf shock" and miss a potential sale.

Reprinted from "The Book Marketing Expert newsletter," a free ezine offering book promotion and publicity tips and techniques. http://www.amarketingexpert.com

My Inspiration: CAREGIVER

2011-11-02T01:02:00.000-07:00

Picture it: Tampa Bay, Florida, 1991. A young man flees a troubled life in Chicago to begin anew on the Gulf Coast of Florida. White sand beaches and azure waters beckon. Shortly after landing in Tampa Bay, the young man, in a gesture of solidarity with his gay brethren who are dying by the thousands, volunteers to become an AIDS buddy, focusing his attention on one victim of the virus…

Actually, if you’ve read the blurb of my new novel, CAREGIVER, you might think that the above is an alternate synopsis I wrote for the book. But the truth is it’s about me. Like my main character in CAREGIVER, Dan, I too fled Chicago for a new life in Tampa, FL and I too joined a program that supplied AIDS buddies to those suffering from the virus. In 1991, the afflicted had a very bleak outlook. But sometimes, we meet a person who can overcome that bleakness with biting wit, humor, grace, and style. My buddy was just such a man—he left a mark on me that has stayed with me until this very day and will always be one of the most special people I have ever met.

My book is called CAREGIVER, but by the end, the reader will wonder who really is the caregiver.

It’s taken me twenty years to write about Jim, my AIDS buddy from 1991 (who becomes “Adam” in the novel), my funny valentine who ended up dying in the Florida State Prison—but I think the results are ultimately worth it.

In CAREGIVER’s first review by fellow author (and icon) Victor J. Banis, he says:

"Reed has a fine command of words that sometimes approaches the magical...I think few readers will come away from reading this emotionally untouched... I could not stop reading until I had finished, and I don’t know how you can pay a writer any better compliment than that...I began by explaining my aversion to AIDS novels—but I’m not so great a fool that I didn’t know from the first page or so that this is a terrific work, insightful and bold, by a very talented writer..."

Read the whole review on Reviews by Jessewave.

SYNOPSIS
It’s 1991, and Dan Calzolaio has just moved to Florida with his lover, Mark, having fled Chicago and Mark’s addictions to begin a new life on the Gulf Coast. Volunteering for the Tampa AIDS Alliance is just one part of that new beginning, and that’s how Dan meets his new buddy, Adam.

Adam Schmidt is not at all what Dan expected. The guy is an original—witty, wry, and sarcastic with a fondness for a smart black dress, Barbra Streisand, and a good mai tai. Adam doesn’t let his imminent death get him down, even through a downward spiral that sees him thrown in jail.

Each step of Adam’s journey teaches Dan new lessons about strength and resilience, but it’s Adam’s lover, Sullivan, to whom Dan feels an almost irresistible pull. Dan knows the attraction isn’t right, even after he dumps his cheating, drug-abusing boyfriend. But then Adam passes away, and it leaves Sullivan and Dan both alone to see if they can turn their love for Adam into something whole and real for each other.

BUY from Dreamspinner Press
In ebook.
In paperback.

Amazon Kindle version

New and Notable: PREMONITION by DH Starr

2011-10-31T01:51:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to announce that my friend and fellow author, DH Starr's first foray into the paranormal has just been released by MLR Press. DH usually writes m/m romance, but with Premonition, he combines romance and psychological suspense with a touch of the supernatural. It should be a very interesting--and potent--mix!

SYNOPSIS
Martin Proctor has been on the Boston Police Force for ten years. His record is impeccable and he's helped his precinct and captain maintain one of the best crime records in the city. But no one knows Martin has premonitions which help him solve cases others find impossible.

Justin Franklin is also on the Boston force. Justin may not have supernatural abilities, but as an openly gay man, he possesses a courage that draws Martin in.

When Martin has a premonition about the death of Justin's brother and fails to save him, their lives become intertwined. As they work together to discover the truth behind Larry's murder, Martin foresees Justin's death.

The closer they come to cracking their case, the less time Martin has to piece together his fragmented visions and save Justin before it's too late.

Read an except.

Buy Premonition.

Check out My Profile in October's Lambda Literary Review

2011-10-29T08:51:00.000-07:00

This month, LLR romance columnist and reviewer, Dick Smart, put some hard questions to me and the result was an in-depth and revealing portrait. I hope you'll take the time to give it a read. If you do, you'll discover what connection I think exists between horror and romance, what my early-life head injuries have to do with my creativity, and, finally, the truth about whether my own writing scares me.

Rick R. Reed: Master of Romance and Horror

by Dick Smart on October 26, 2011

in Features, Interviews, Reviews, Romance

“When fiction is made according to its nature, it should reinforce our sense of the supernatural by grounding it in concrete, observable reality.” -Flannery O’Connor

Caregiver, the latest by the prolific Rick R. Reed, out now from Dreamspinner Press (cover art by Paul Richmond), is a straightforward traditional romance that may surprise his large horror romance fan base. But as Reed points out, “I am not one to stay within the lines when it comes to genre.” Readers who are fans of his horror romances know that they can trust Reed to deliver solid stories and strong characters and that trust is rewarded in this powerfully, satisfying romance set in the midst of the AIDS crisis in the mid-90s...

Continue reading the rest of the interview here.

Caregiver is Released and Reviewed!

2011-10-24T06:45:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share with you fellow author (and icon) Victor Banis' 4.5 star review of my latest release (today, in fact, is release day!), CAREGIVER, on Reviews by Jessewave. What better way to launch a new book than with a review from a master of the genre?

In part, Victor had this to say about CAREGIVER, my AIDS-era love story:

"Reed has a fine command of words that sometimes approaches the magical, and I think few readers will come away from reading this emotionally untouched... I could not stop reading until I had finished, and I don’t know how you can pay a writer any better compliment than that...I began by explaining my aversion to AIDS novels—but I’m not so great a fool that I didn’t know from the first page or so that this is a terrific work, insightful and bold, by a very talented writer..."

Read the whole review.

SYNOPSIS
It’s 1991, and Dan Calzolaio has just moved to Florida with his lover, Mark, having fled Chicago and Mark’s addictions to begin a new life on the Gulf Coast. Volunteering for the Tampa AIDS Alliance is just one part of that new beginning, and that’s how Dan meets his new buddy, Adam.

Adam Schmidt is not at all what Dan expected. The guy is an original—witty, wry, and sarcastic with a fondness for a smart black dress, Barbra Streisand, and a good mai tai. Adam doesn’t let his imminent death get him down, even through a downward spiral that sees him thrown in jail.

Each step of Adam’s journey teaches Dan new lessons about strength and resilience, but it’s Adam’s lover, Sullivan, to whom Dan feels an almost irresistible pull. Dan knows the attraction isn’t right, even after he dumps his cheating, drug-abusing boyfriend. But then Adam passes away, and it leaves Sullivan and Dan both alone to see if they can turn their love for Adam into something whole and real for each other.

BUY from Dreamspinner Press (the first 20 paperback sales will receive an autographed copy)
In ebook
In paperback

Amazon Kindle version

Remembering Matthew Shepard

2011-10-12T10:44:00.000-07:00

Rave Review for My Paranormal Thriller ECHOES

2011-10-10T04:57:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share a great review (4.75 stars) I got from the Bookwenches for my paranormal ghost story, ECHOES. In part, reviewer Bobby D. Whitney said,

"Part ghost story, part suspense, Rick R. Reed’s novella Echoes tells a sad and very human tale about love, death, and closure...Not only did it send a shiver of unease up my spine, but it left me with tears in my eyes...There is no true villain in Echoes, unless you wish to count the seductress that goes by the name of Tina, crystal methamphetamine. Not only does she decimate those who abuse her, but the effects ripple down to friends, family, and in this story even unsuspecting strangers. She brings illness, death, and devastation into all the lives that she touches..."

Read the whole review here.

Buy Echoes.

SYNOPSIS

Rick and Ernie have found the perfect loft apartment on Chicago’s west side. But before they are even settled, Rick begins having strange “dreams” that seem all too real. A young man, emaciated, with sad brown eyes, appears to him, frightening and obsessing him.

From their next-door neighbor, Paula, Rick learns of the gay couple, Karl and Tommy, who lived there before them. Paula had been close to them and Tommy’s mysterious disappearance still pains her. When she shares a photo of her with Tommy and Karl, Rick is shocked and troubled. Tommy is the man who has appeared to him in his dreams.

The dreams and the revelation put Rick on a quest to discover the truth about Tommy’s disappearance. It’s a quest that will lead him to Karl, Tommy’s lover, who may know more about Tommy’s disappearance than he’s telling, and a confrontation with a restless spirit who wants only to, finally, rest in peace...

Free Halloween Stories at Dreamspinner Press!

2011-10-07T06:58:00.000-07:00

Halloween Howl from Dreamspinner Press

To celebrate Halloween, Dreamspinner is inviting people to come trick-or-treating at their web site throughout the month of October.

Look for my own free contribution,"St. Boniface Hook-Up" a chilling tale of love amid one of Chicago's oldest cemeteries! Click here to read the free story.

Thirty other Dreamspinner authors have donated free short stories. Search through the different pages on the web site for Gary the Gargoyle door knocker. Each time you find him, click on him for a free download by the author whose page he’s hiding on! And make sure to check out the end of each story for a discount code.

OBSESSED About a Rave Review!

2011-10-06T04:57:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share a wonderful five-star review my psychological thriller/horror novel, OBSESSED, got from the Bookwenches. In part the review said:

"A few nightmares later, and I still can’t get this book out of my mind...This story took me on quite a ride, and I can describe it as a delightfully insane psychological mind fuck..."

Read the whole review here.

Synopsis
I kill, therefore I am…

Voices slam through the corridor of his wounded mind. The words of his dead sister cry out. His parents' taunts fill the silent room where he sits and waits--waits for the murderous rage, filling him with strength, driving him to kill, to touch the cold flesh, taste the warm blood--to feel alive again… A witness has seen him, but his killing only turns her on and now she wants to protect him. His wife suspects him, but the private detective she hired cannot stop him. Joe MacAree fears nothing--except that he may no longer be human. The thirst that drives him is relentless, moving deeper and deeper into his own shattering, private realm, where each murder is a delicious new gift of life, where revulsion is beauty, and the obsession will never let him go.

Obsessed was part of Dell Abyss' remarkable horror line, lauded by none other than Stephen King.

The book is on sale now from the publisher, Untreed Reads, for only $2.99. BUY.

CAREGIVER To Be Released October 24

2011-09-27T05:10:00.000-07:00

I'm excited. Caregiver, my AIDS-era love story is officially coming soon on my publisher's website (Dreamspinner Press). October 24 is the release date for both print and ebook! Check out Paul Richmond's amazing cover and read an excerpt here.

Description:

It’s 1991, and Dan Calzolaio has just moved to Florida with his lover, Mark, having fled Chicago and Mark’s addictions to begin a new life on the Gulf Coast. Volunteering for the Tampa AIDS Alliance is just one part of that new beginning, and that’s how Dan meets his new buddy, Adam.

Adam Schmidt is not at all what Dan expected. The guy is an original—witty, wry, and sarcastic with a fondness for a smart black dress, Barbra Streisand, and a good mai tai. Adam doesn’t let his imminent death get him down, even through a downward spiral that sees him thrown in jail.

Each step of Adam’s journey teaches Dan new lessons about strength and resilience, but it’s Adam’s lover, Sullivan, to whom Dan feels an almost irresistible pull. Dan knows the attraction isn’t right, even after he dumps his cheating, drug-abusing boyfriend. But then Adam passes away, and it leaves Sullivan and Dan both alone to see if they can turn their love for Adam into something whole and real for each other.

My A DEMON INSIDE is a Finalist for an EPIC eBook Award

2011-09-26T05:12:00.000-07:00

Just learned that my horror/love story, A Demon Inside, has been named a finalist in the EPIC eBook 2012 Ebook Awards in the Horror Romance category. Winners will be announced in March.

Below is a complete list of all the finalists.

Congratulations to the Finalists in for the 2012 eBook Awards.

Winners will be announced at EPICon in March 2012.

Anthology
Dame Topaz Treasures	Carrie S. Masek	Whiskey Creek Press
Dragon's Lure	Neal Levin (Editor)	Dark Quest Books
Winter Wishes	Angela James (Editor)	Carina Press
Childrens'
The Mystery of the Old Black Diary	M. Leigh Ingles	Self-published
The Weaver	Kai Strand	Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
What Kind of Turtle Am I?	Donna M. Zappala	Dragonfly Publishing, Inc.
Mainstream
Love, Sam	Linda Rettstatt	Champagne Books
Never Ever	Suzanne M. Hurley	Whiskey Creek Press
Perfect Score	Susan Roebuck	Awe Struck Publishing
Action/Adventure
Chasing Demons	Christy Tillery French	L&L Dreamspell
No One Lives Twice	Julie Moffett	Carina Press
Trail of the Tudor Blue	Gwen Roman	The Wild Rose Press
Erotica
Entangled Trio	Cat Grant	Ellora's Cave Publishing
Reconstructing Meredith	Lauren Gallagher	Carnal Passions
The First Real Thing	Cat Grant	Ellora's Cave Publishing
Fantasy
Psyche's Prophecy	Ann Gimpel	Gypsy Shadow Publishing
The Sevenfold Spell	Tia Nevitt	Carina Press
Thief of Hope	Cindy Young-Turner	Crescent Moon Press
Historical
The Flight of the Sorceress	Barry S. Willdorf	Wild Child Publishing
Tree Soldier	Janet Oakley	Createspace
Twins	Katherine Pym	Wings ePress, Inc.
Horror
Pillar's Fall	Ben Larken	LL-Publications
The Death of Lou Grant	David Halliday	Smashwords
The Last Vampire	Kathryn Meyer Griffith	Damnation Books
Mystery
A Wedding to Die For	Heather Haven	Muse It Up Publishing
Murder in Paradise	Larry K. and Lorna Collins	Whiskey Creek Press
The Dead Detective Agency	Peg Herring	LL-Publications
Paranormal
Healey's Cave	Aaron Paul Lazar	Twilight Times Books
One Blood	E.F. Watkins	Amber Quill Press, LLC
Piper's Fury	Rachel Firasek	Crescent Moon Press
Revelations	Carrie Lynn Barker	Eternal Press
Suspense/Thriller
A Little Death in Dixie	Lisa Turner	Bell Bridge Books
Becoming NADIA	Cyrus Keith	Muse It Up Publishing
Eyewall	H.W. Buzz Bernard	Bell Bridge Books
Science Fiction
Crewkin	Rhobin L. Courtright	Muse It Up Publishing
The Crystal Desert	Catherine Wells	epress-online
The Immortality Virus	Christine Amsden	Twilight Times Books
Spiritual/Metaphysical
A Mother's Eyes	Karen S. Woods	Sleeping Beagle Books
Paradigms	Chris McKenna	Gypsy Shadow Publishing
The Inheritance	Donna Sundblad	epress-online
To Dance With Angels	Don and Linda Pendleton	Self-published
Non-Fiction
A Blonde Bengali Wife	Ann Hamilton	LL-Publications
Shenandoah Watercolors	Beth Trissel	Self-published
The Indestructible Relationship	Kimberly Pryor	Self-published
Novella
Almost Heaven	Kimberly Gardner	Loose Id, LLC
Do Over	Mari Carr	Carina Press
Eagle's Redemption	Cindy Spencer Pape	Ellora's Cave Publishing
Hearts in Darkness	Laura Kaye	The Wild Rose Press
Jaq's Harp	Ella Drake	Carina Press
Song from the Abyss	Margaret L. Carter	Ellora's Cave Publishing
Stormy Wedding	Kelli Scott	Ellora's Cave Publishing
Contemporary Romance
A.J.'s Angel	L.A. Witt	Samhain Publishing
Hot Commodity	Linda Kage	Champagne Books
Life From Scratch	Melissa Ford	Bell Bridge Books
One Real Thing	Anah Crow and Dianne Fox	Carina Press
River Time	Rae Renzi	Carina Press
Woman on Fire	Fran Lee	Ellora's Cave Publishing
Fantasy Romance
Bound: A Faery Story	Sophie Oak	Siren Publishing, Inc.
Knightfall	Berinn Rae	Crescent Moon Press
One Thousand Kisses	Jody Wallace	Samhain Publishing
The Sleigh Maker	Candace Sams	The Wild Rose Press
Historical Romance
Five Card Stud	Gem Sivad	Ellora's Cave Publishing
For Love Is New	Jean Hart Stewart	Passion in Print
Healing Hearts	Taryn Kincaid	Carina Press
Passage to November	Phyllis DeMarco	The Wild Rose Press
Red Bird's Song	Beth Trissel	The Wild Rose Press
Horror Romance
A Demon Inside	Rick R. Reed	MLR Press
Demon's Dance	Evey Brett	Carina Press
Devil Music	E.C. Stacy and Thia Myles	Whiskey Creek Press
Endless Lust	Lexxie Couper	Ellora's Cave Publishing
Paranormal Romance
Blacque/Bleu	Belinda McBride	Loose Id, LLC
Capricorn: Forgotten Faces	Vivien Dean	Amber Quill Press
Dead Sexy	Paige Tyler	Ellora's Cave Publishing
Key of Solomon	Cassiel Knight	Samhain Publishing
Mask of Ice	Elaine Lowe	Ellora's Cave Publishing
Romantic Suspense
Absolution	Kaylea Cross	The Wild Rose Press
Courting Disaster	Carol Stephenson	Carina Press
Don't Look Back	MJ Fredrick	The Wild Rose Press
Fight or Flight	Natalie J. Damschroder	Carina Press
Flash Bang	Melanie Atkins	Whiskey Creek Press
Murder, Mi Amore	Cara Marsi	The Wild Rose Press
Science Fiction Romance
Outcast Mine	Jamie Craig	Carina Press
Silver Bound	Ella Drake	Carina Press
Steam and Sorcery	Cindy Spencer Pape	Carina Press
To Kiss Or To Kill	Jean Lorrah	Wildside Press
Spiritual/Metaphysical
Forgiven	Michelle L. Levigne	Desert Breeze Publishing
Lingering Spirit	Marilyn Meredith	Oak Tree Press
Passing Whispers	Lisa Anne Vance	Devine Destinies
Worth Fighting For	Zena Wynn	Red Rose Publishing
Short Story
Being Lead	Celia Kyle	Summerhouse Publishing
Chamber Music	Peter A. Balaskas	Uncial Press
Christmas Holly	Sutton Fox	Gypsy Shadow Publishing
Ruby Red Metallic	Casey Sheridan	Breathless Press
Seventh Heaven	Cate Masters	Self-published
Young Adult
Heir to the Underworld	E.D. Walker	Sapphire Blue Publishing
Land of Mountains	Jinx Schwartz	Treble Heart Books
Nightmare Interrupted	Linda Palmer	Sugar and Spice Press

OBSESSED Gets 5 Stars and a "Top Pick" Review from Night Owl Reviews

2011-09-16T12:12:00.000-07:00

Just got wind of a very positive review (5 Stars and a Top Pick!) for OBSESSED from Night Owl Reviews. In part, Lilyraines, reviewer said:

"A portion of that feeling stems from the fact that I am picky with the horror I read and pickier still with what would stay on my "keeper" shelf... Obsessed fits into that category.a story that I found difficult to put down..."

Blurb:
I kill, therefore I am…

Voices slam through the corridor of his wounded mind. The words of his dead sister cry out. His parents' taunts fill the silent room where he sits and waits--waits for the murderous rage, filling him with strength, driving him to kill, to touch the cold flesh, taste the warm blood--to feel alive again… A witness has seen him, but his killing only turns her on and now she wants to protect him. His wife suspects him, but the private detective she hired cannot stop him. Joe MacAree fears nothing--except that he may no longer be human. The thirst that drives him is relentless, moving deeper and deeper into his own shattering, private realm, where each murder is a delicious new gift of life, where revulsion is beauty, and the obsession will never let him go.

"A harrowing ride through cutting-edge psychological horror, this one's got a vicious bite. Rick R. Reed's Obsessed is a twisted nightmare." - Douglas Clegg, bestselling author

Read the whole review here.

Buy the book from the publisher
Buy for you Kindle

Rave Review for TRICKS!

2011-09-01T05:02:00.000-07:00

I was excited to awaken to a very positive review (4.5 crowns out of 5) for my opposites-attract love story, TRICKS. The reviewer, Jaymes, said:

"In Tricks, Rick Reed brings together opposites who overcome all of the distractions that could tear them apart. Sean and Arliss are such beautifully crafted characters that you want to see them succeed. The love story that started in Boystown and the potential for more are strong themes throughout. Rick Reed weaves all of it together to create a wonderful story."

Read the whole review here.

Buy Tricks here.

Lambda Literary Awards Changes Its Guidelines to be more Inclusive

2011-08-29T04:57:00.000-07:00

Lambda Literary has changed its awards guidelines! They will now judge based solely on LGBT content as opposed to the orientation of the author. I think it's a great--and long overdue--move. This year's awards guidelines can be found here.

"In determining whether a book should be submitted for consideration, it should be noted that the Lambda Literary Awards are based principally on literary merit and on significant content relevant to LGBT lives. These awards will be open to all authors regardless of their sexual orientation..."

5 Stars for DIGNITY TAKES A HOLIDAY

2011-08-24T09:07:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share with you the five-star review my comically sick and twisted love story, DIGNITY TAKES A HOLIDAY, got at Night Owl Reviews today. The reviewer said, in part:

"Not until the last quarter of the book does the true message reveal itself. Through the use of hilarious wit and a series of events which literally had me laughing out loud, we come to realize that, no matter who we are, love touches something deep inside us... the farce paints a brilliant picture of finding one’s own happiness against all odds."

Read the whole review here.
Buy DIGNITY TAKES A HOLIDAY here.

Win a FREE Copy of My New Romance Collection, HEARTRACE

2011-08-22T00:07:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: Thank you all for entering! Through a random selection process, we have a winner: Lu Ann . Congratulations, Lu Ann Mezera! I' ll be in touch with you to get you your copy soon.

To celebrate the print release of my latest collection, HeartRace, from Amber Allure (the GLBT imprint of Amber Quill Press), I am giving away a signed, personalized copy to one lucky reader. To enter the drawing for my collection of gay erotic romance, simply:

1. Leave a comment below. 
2. Be sure to leave an e-mail address so I can get in touch if you're a winner. 
3. Bonus points for reposting news of this contest/release on your Facebook, Twitter, group, blog, or other social network.
4. Even more bonus points if you click on the link at the right to subscribe by e-mail to this blog.

Note: Because the cost of mailing out-of-country is prohibitive, I have to limit the contest to only entrants in the US.

I will announce the winner next Wednesday morning, August 24.

You don't have to wait to win the contest to get a copy. HeartRace is now available through the following:

Kindle version
From Amber Allure

SYNOPSIS 
Horror. Romance. The two seem at odds, yet in provocative author Rick R. Reed's hands, the pair merge like a match made in heaven...or hell. Ranging from a chilling and ultimately redemptive ghost story, to a most unusual and shocking first-time meeting for two lovers, to a tale of ghostly revenge, and finally to a darkly comic take on the vampire mythos, this collection will make your heart race with passion...in all its forms.

Previously available only in electronic format, these four stories of Gay Horror and Romance have now been combined for a paperback edition! Included are the tales...

Echoes
Rick and Ernie have found the perfect loft apartment, but soon discover they are not alone...

How I Met My Man
How a guy meets his man can happen in a dozen different ways: online, at a bar, through friends, at a masquerade party, even at the scene of a murder...

Speed Demon
Jealousy can be such an ugly emotion. But can it drive one to kill? Find out in this deliciously twisted and thwarted love triangle tale of revenge from beyond the grave...

Sluggo Snares A Vampire
Sluggo thinks looking for love online is a good idea, until he finds a vampire with a similar idea...

Kindle version

From Amber Allure

If You're in Philadelphia August 12, Meet Me at Giovanni's Room

2011-08-11T06:39:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

An Evening of Gay Men’s Romance at Giovanni’s Room

Philadelphia, PA (August 12, 2011) Join MLR Press at Giovanni’s Room for an up close and personal book signing featuring the award-winning authors of some of the best in contemporary gay fiction. The evening will include readings by: Victor Banis, Ally Blue, James Buchanan, Z.A. Maxfield, William Neale, and Rick R. Reed. Selections from their current releases will showcase a variety of heat, from sweet romance to scorching erotica, and genre ranging from horror through mystery, BDSM, humor and more.

Giovanni’s Room, founded in 1973, is the oldest gay bookstore in the US. Housed in historic buildings from the 1800s, Giovanni’s intimate setting and comfortable ambiance allows readers and authors to connect one-on-one, providing a unique experience. Attendees can mingle with their favorite author or discover new books and authors.

Owned by best-selling, award-winning author Laura Baumbach, MLR Press offers the highest quality stories to readers of gay fiction and erotic romance. MLR Press titles include multiple award-winning and Lambda nominated books such as the Donald Strachey Mystery Series by Richard Stevenson and The Golden Age of Gay Fiction edited by Drewey Wayne Gunn, a Benjamin Franklin Award winner. Books from MLR Press take readers on amazing adventures through the creative minds of a small, select group of bright, uniquely talented authors and artists.

Friday, August 12, 2011
5:30 to 7:00 pm
Giovanni’s Room
345 S. 12th Street
Philadelphia, PA

Also attending and signing books: Laura Baumbach, Kimberly Gardner, Ethan Day, Jet Mykles, Diana DeRicci, Taylor Donovan, Liz Strange, DH Star, David Juhren, and Karenna Colcroft.

For additional information:
http://www.giovannisroom.com/event/evening-gay-mens-romance

Contact: James Buchanan
eroticjames@gmail.com
http://www.james-buchanan.com

MLR Press information: http://www.mlrbooks.com/books.php

###

New Novel Contract! CAREGIVER Accepted by Dreamspinner Press

2011-08-04T01:23:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share my good news that Dreamspinner Press has contracted with me for another full-length novel. This one is called CAREGIVER and the synopsis (as yet unapproved) is below. This is my most romantic and most autobiographical book ever, so I'm excited.

Dan Calzolaio has a new buddy. It’s not one he got through work, or school, or the usual places where one makes friends. No, Dan’s new buddy is Adam Schmidt and he comes to Dan courtesy of the Tampa AIDS Alliance, where Dan has volunteered to help people with AIDS.

It’s 1991 and Dan has just moved to Florida with his lover, Mark. The pair has fled Chicago and Mark’s addictions to begin a new life on the Gulf Coast. Volunteering for the Tampa AIDS Alliance is just one part of that new beginning.

Adam Schmidt is not at all what Dan expected when he signed up to be an AIDS buddy. The guy is an original—witty, wry, sarcastic, and with a fondness for a smart little black dress, Barbra Streisand, and a good Mai Tai. Adam’s doesn’t let his frailness and imminent death get him down. Dan’s relationship with him, through a downward spiral that includes Adam’s incarceration in the Florida State Prison, teaches Dan new lessons about strength and resiliency.

Adam also had a lover, Sullivan, for whom Dan feels an almost irresistible pull. Dan knows the attraction isn’t right, even when Dan dumps his cheating, drug-abusing lover, but when Adam passes away, leaving both Sullivan and Dan, can these two survivors turn their love for Adam into something whole and real?

Caregiver is a heart-wrenching love story that explores what it truly means to care for another human being and how adversity and tragic loss can bring two souls together.

Caregiver is set to be released on or about October 24.

My Ghostly Love Story ECHOES Makes Publisher Bestseller List for June

2011-08-03T08:36:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to announce that ECHOES, a story about a restless spirit's need to be vindicated, stands at #9 on Amber Allure's bestseller list for June.

Here's the complete list:
=======================================
AMBER ALLURE / July 2011

1. Clay's Challenge - Cassandra Gold (Gay / Contemporary)
2. Lucky - K. M. Mahoney (Gay / Shapeshifter)
3. The Truth About Al - M. L. Rhodes (Gay / Contemporary)
4. Under My Bed - T. A. Chase (Gay / Paranormal)
5. Trust Me - B. G. Thomas (Gay / Contemp. / Western)
6. Cemeteries - Lynn Lorenz (Gay / Paranormal)
7. Lost Between - Shawn Lane (Gay / Paranormal)
8. Hellish Twist In Tinseltown - Lee Avalone (Gay / Paranormal)
9. Echoes - Rick R. Reed (Gay / Paranormal)
10. For One Night Only - Anne Brooke (Gay / Contemp. / BDSM)

And here's a synopsis and buy link:
Rick and Ernie have found the perfect loft apartment on Chicago’s west side. But before they are even settled, Rick begins having strange “dreams” that seem all too real. A young man, emaciated, with sad brown eyes, appears to him, frightening and obsessing him.

From their next-door neighbor, Paula, Rick learns of the gay couple, Karl and Tommy, who lived there before them. Paula had been close to them and Tommy’s mysterious disappearance still pains her. When she shares a photo of her with Tommy and Karl, Rick is shocked and troubled. Tommy is the man who has appeared to him in his dreams.

The dreams and the revelation put Rick on a quest to discover the truth about Tommy’s disappearance. It’s a quest that will lead him to Karl, Tommy’s lover, who may know more about Tommy’s disappearance than he’s telling, and a confrontation with a restless spirit who wants only to, finally, rest in peace...

BUY

FREE for Your Kindle: Mozart's Blood by Louise Marley

2011-08-01T06:46:00.000-07:00

One of my personal favorite books in recent memory!

If you're interested, snatch this up ASAP because free deals don't always last. Simply click on the image at left to get your copy.

SYNOPSIS (from Booklist via Amazon)
Marley, a musician and writer, has produced a stunning drama inspired by the life of Teresa Saporiti, the first Donna Anna. Teresa, an aspiring singer, was turned into a vampire by a Czech aristocrat. As bad as the need for blood are the memories of the victims, which remain with the taker. Teresa has learned to deal with them, but Mozart, whom the baroness bit at the same time, never did and died painfully because he could not bring himself to satisfy the unnatural thirst. In San Francisco in 1906, Teresa meets Ugo, a Silician werewolf with a very curious past of his own. They become partners, guarding each other's backs. In twenty-first-century Milan, an egoistic baritone thinks he has figured out Teresa's secret and abducts Ugo to obtain the blood that holds Mozart's memories. The story covers four centuries, but the shifts between the past and the present are seamlessly handled, and the development of Teresa and Ugo over those centuries is impressive. An engrossing piece, from overture to final chord. --Frieda Murray

Win a FREE Copy of PENANCE, my chiller about Chicago Street Kids

2011-07-29T09:12:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: Thank you all for entering! Through a random selection process, we have a winner: Ike Rose. Congratulations, Ike! Untreed Reads will be in touch with you to get you your copy soon.

To celebrate the e-book release of my 1993 horror novel, Penance, from Untreed Reads, I am giving away a copy to one lucky reader in the e-book format of his or her choice. To enter the drawing for my terrifying story of a group of homeless street kids terrorized by a madman hellbent on cleansing the world of their kind, simply:

1. Leave a comment below. 
2. Be sure to leave an e-mail address so I can get in touch if you're a winner. 
3. Bonus points for reposting news of this contest/release on your Facebook, Twitter, group, blog, or other social network.
4. Even more bonus points if you click on the link at the right to subscribe by e-mail to this blog.

I will announce the winner next Wednesday morning, August 3.

Penance was part of Dell's historic horror line, Abyss, lauded by none other than Stephen King, who called it "remarkable".

You don't have to wait to win the contest to get a copy. Penance is now available through the following:

Kindle version
Nook version
From Untreed Reads

SYNOPSIS 

Bound by misery. Marked by sin. Set free by death.

Barely into their teens, without homes, they dwell in neon shadows, the violent eddies of urban America. They trade their innocence for money, abuse their hopes, and then a monster comes...

A monster without fangs or claws, but more deadly. Because of them, he has lost everything: his wife, his family. And he vows to clean the streets of Chicago...for good.

One of the street kids and a man of the cloth form a desperate pact. Together, they will find the madman whose basement has become a chamber of horrors...

EXCERPT

Lawrence Avenue was alive with rain-slicked excitement. Here, in Chicago’s uptown, royal blue, yellow, and green neon reflected off the pavement’s darkness. Cold night air. Steam rushing up through manhole covers. Christmas lights in neighborhood bar windows beckoned passersby with watery promises of “Christmas cheer.”

Jimmy Fels occupied his street corner. At thirteen, he already knew the poses. There was a casual defiance in the way he leaned against the storefront doorway, pelvis thrust out just enough to attract the interest of the cars cruising by more slowly than the others. He wore a faded jean jacket, Metallica T-shirt, pegged jeans, and Reebok Pumps. His ripped T-shirt deliberately exposed a nipple and a flash of smooth white stomach. The top of the T-shirt was cut away to reveal a gold rope chain, glinting in the glow of the streetlight above him.

Green eyes, wizened beyond their years, stared out of a pale face. He brought a cigarette to his full lips, lips almost too feminine and full for a boy, too ripe for anything clean. His hair, freshly washed, was still damp, looking darker than blond.

He tried not to appear too interested in the cars passing by, some slowing down to take a look at him. He knew it was bad to look too hungry. Make them think you’re doing them a favor…always keep the upper hand. Street knowledge passed on. Remember Gacy. Remember Larry Eyler and what he did to Danny Bridges, the boy who ended up chopped into pieces and thrown into a Dumpster. Get it over with as quickly as possible and keep moving. But he looked anyway, his eyes moving slowly, catching glances out of the corners, and saw the shadows of men leaning forward, their faces ghostly through car windows.

*

Dwight Morris looked at himself in his bathroom mirror. Forty-two years old, he thought, forty-two years old and you can’t even tell. The Cubs baseball cap was positioned just so, with the bill facing backward. His acid-washed Levi’s jacket hung loosely on him, with the cuffs of the sleeves turned up. Under the jacket, he wore an old grey-hooded sweatshirt unzipped just enough to show the New Kids T-shirt underneath. The mirror didn’t reveal the pegged black jeans and the BK high tops.

Dwight smiled at himself, exposing the boyish gap in his teeth. The hint of rouge on his cheeks made him look flushed; a young boy.

I must look at least twenty-five years younger.

*

Jimmy imagined their yearning.

He was cold, but didn’t want to warm himself. That would destroy the pose. The tough guy. So his arms remained at his sides, the cigarette an orange glow in one hand, held between thumb and forefinger. Too many suburban guys tucked at home with wife and kiddies, Indiana Jones on the VCR, lust for his little thirteen-year-old ass on their minds.

“Isn’t it a little cold out here for you, little boy?”

Jimmy jumped at the sound of a girl’s voice. He turned to his left and there she was. Miranda. Tonight she was wearing a black derby, a big black sweatshirt, urban camouflage pants, black leg warmers, army boots. Christ.

An amused grin played about her lips. “Shouldn’t you be home in bed, little boy? I think your mama has some cocoa and Oreos waiting.”

“Real funny, ’Ran. C’mon, gimme a fuckin’ break. I’m workin’.”

Miranda rolled her eyes. “Slow night?” She took off the black derby she wore and ran her hand through her close-cropped red hair, making it stand on end.

“It is with you standin’ there blockin’ the fuckin’ view.”

Miranda shook her head. “I can see we’re in a mood tonight.” She started away from him, hips sashaying, swinging her bag.

“Hey.” Jimmy took a last drag off his cigarette, flicked it into the gutter.

Miranda stopped and turned, cocked her head. “Thought you didn’t want to be bothered.”

Jimmy raised his hands to her. “See ya later?”

Miranda shrugged. “Depends on how it goes.”

“Right. That’s cool.”

Jimmy watched her walking away. Who would she find tonight? Would she make enough to buy herself a bottle of Cisco?

“How you doin’, son?”

The man’s voice made Jimmy take his eyes away from Miranda. He pulled a cigarette out of his jacket pocket and lit it, cupping his hand to shield the flame, before he looked up.

It was the creep. At least that’s what Jimmy called him. Some fucking preacher who lived around here. Tall, thin, pasty white with these little old-fashioned wire-rim glasses.

“Beat it. I ain’t interested.” Jimmy sucked in on the cigarette, blew the smoke toward the man.

The preacher made a gesture like a shrug, bringing his hands up, like I’m innocent.

Right. “Look, man, I’m okay. All right? See you later?”

Jimmy smirked as the preacher walked away, his hands dug deep in his pockets, head hunched down against the Chicago wind whistling down Lawrence, off the lake.

A Toyota pickup pulled over to the curb. Black with neon detailing. The truck had these squiggles of hot pink and turquoise. Jimmy pretended not to notice at first, then glanced in the direction of the truck. There was some young guy inside, wearing a baseball cap backward, leaning over and rolling down the window. Jimmy leaned over to get a better look at the face.

Wait a minute. Jimmy moved a little closer, trying to make it look like he’d just decided he wanted to cross the street or something. But he needed to get a better look.

This guy wasn’t so young. There were lines around his eyes, across his forehead. He had so much makeup on his cheeks he looked like fuckin’ Bozo the Clown.

Kindle version
Nook version
From Untreed Reads

Notable Read: Bad Dog

2011-07-28T07:03:00.000-07:00

I loved this book because it's about redemption, humility and getting a handle on one's place in the world. The framework of all this is the training of a lovable, possibly untrainable Bernese Mountain dog named Hola. Hola's training is the road back to life for her alcoholic, wife-separated owner, who, along the way, learns just as much about himself as he does about his dog as they make their way--and not always without missteps--toward triumph. A poignant, heartfelt memoir that offers as many life lessons as it does lessons in dog behavior.

Friday New Releases at MLR Press!

2011-07-22T14:04:00.000-07:00

Friday New Releases at MLR Press!

WIN A Copy of My New Release: ECHOES

2011-07-10T01:41:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: Thank you all for entering! Through a random selection process, we have a winner: Jason, who appears to be a "slave to passion." Congratulations, Jason! I'll be in touch with you to get you your copy soon.

Remember: you can still get a copy, just click here.

I'm happy to announce the release of my Chicago-set ghost/love story, ECHOES, from Amber Allure as part of its A Ghostly Affair collection.

To celebrate ECHOES' release, I am giving away a free copy of the e-book format of your choice, including Kindle-compatible. To enter, simply follow the rules below:

1. Leave a comment below. 
2. Be sure to leave an e-mail address so I can get in touch if you're a winner. 
3. Bonus points for reposting news of this contest/release on your Facebook, Twitter, group, blog, or other social network.
4. Even more bonus points if you click on the link at the right to subscribe by e-mail to this blog.

I will announce the winner on Wednesday by midnight, Pacific Time.

Here's what ECHOES is about:
Rick and Ernie have found the perfect loft apartment on Chicago’s west side. But before they are even settled, Rick begins having strange “dreams” that seem all too real. A young man, emaciated, with sad brown eyes, appears to him, frightening and obsessing him.

From their next-door neighbor, Paula, Rick learns of the gay couple, Karl and Tommy, who lived there before them. Paula had been close to them and Tommy’s mysterious disappearance still pains her. When she shares a photo of her with Tommy and Karl, Rick is shocked and troubled. Tommy is the man who has appeared to him in his dreams.

The dreams and the revelation put Rick on a quest to discover the truth about Tommy’s disappearance. It’s a quest that will lead him to Karl, Tommy’s lover, who may know more about Tommy’s disappearance than he’s telling, and a confrontation with a restless spirit who wants only to, finally, rest in peace...

Be sure to check out the other sensational authors' stories in the GHOSTLY AFFAIR collection:
Cemeteries by Lynn Lorenz
Hellish Twist in Tinseltown by Lee Avalone
Lost Between by Shawn Lane
Under My Bed by T.A. Chase

Don't want to wait for your copy of ECHOES? Read an excerpt and grab your copy here.

Writing Love Stories and Living Them

2011-07-08T05:36:00.000-07:00

Today I'm the guest blogger on Jessewave and am baring my soul and going very personal--about my own love story and the effect it's had on writing my fictional ones. I hope you'll take the time to check it out and leave me a comment.

In part, my blog on Jessewave says:

"For my partner Bruce and me, June and July are celebratory times. Our anniversary was June 15 (yea! we have made it to nine years now…and I see many more ahead of us) and both of our birthdays fall in July (mine on the first, along with our Boston Terrier Lily) and Bruce on the 12th.

Bruce and I were having dinner at a little French bistro in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle on my birthday last week and, as the wine flowed, we talked. He told me how content he was with his life and that, really, there was nothing else he could wish for. I felt the same way. It’s nice when you’re on the same page. He said we had something special and that one word summed up what we had.

I’ll get to that word later.

But it wasn’t easy getting to this page in the book of our lives. And thinking about Bruce and me has made me consider my other special love, and that’s writing. If any of you out there have followed my career at all, you’ll know that, lately, my stories have plotted out the course of love just as much as they have the build-up of suspense or horrifying revelations. I can proudly say I am now just as much a romance writer as I am a horror or dark suspense writer..."

Continue reading the blog here.

Win a FREE copy of OBSESSED, my serial killer thriller

2011-07-06T05:40:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: Thank you all for entering! Through a random selection process, we have a winner: Sherry Strode. Congratulations, Sherry! Untreed Reads will be in touch with you to get you your copy soon.

To celebrate the e-book release of my 1991 thriller/horror novel, Obsessed, from Untreed Reads, I am giving away a copy to one lucky reader in the e-book format of his or her choice. To enter the drawing for my story about a deranged serial killer who believes he's a vampire preying on Chicago, simply follow these rules:

1. Leave a comment below. 
2. Be sure to leave an e-mail address so I can get in touch if you're a winner. 
3. Bonus points for reposting news of this contest/release on your Facebook, Twitter, group, blog, or other social network.
4. Even more bonus points if you click on the link at the right to subscribe by e-mail to this blog.

I will announce the winner on Friday morning.

Obsessed was part of Dell's historic horror line, Abyss, lauded by none other than Stephen King.

You don't have to wait to win the contest to get a copy. Obsessed is now available through the following:

Kindle version
Nook version
From Untreed Reads

SYNOPSIS 

I kill, therefore I am…

Voices slam through the corridor of his wounded mind. The words of his dead sister cry out. His parents' taunts fill the silent room where he sits and waits--waits for the murderous rage, filling him with strength, driving him to kill, to touch the cold flesh, taste the warm blood--to feel alive again…

A witness has seen him, but his killing only turns her on and now she wants to protect him. His wife suspects him, but the private detective she hired cannot stop him. Joe MacAree fears nothing--except that he may no longer be human.

The thirst that drives him is relentless, moving deeper and deeper into his own shattering, private realm, where each murder is a delicious new gift of life, where revulsion is beauty, and the obsession will never let him go.

EXCERPT

Joe MacAree had just murdered a woman, and all the things he felt when he killed the other four he was feeling right now. How would he describe it? In his journal, he might call his feelings an “elevation of the senses” or “an ethereal quality bringing the world into sharp focus.”

After each killing the reaction was the same. There was a moment of sharp pain right behind his left eye, an instant where the pain was so intense as to block out the act he had just committed, the blood and the ripped flesh…then a moment where brilliant flecks of silver light swam before him, and he could not keep his eyes from rolling, trying to follow the patterns the stars made.

And then the clarity.

As he guided his light blue Honda Accord along Harlem Avenue just south of Chicago, everything seemed more alive, as if to contrast the death he had just brought about. He noticed things he never noticed: the shifting red, amber, and turquoise of the reflections the stoplights made on the rain-slicked pavement. He noticed how the color spread, muted, over the slick black roadway. Even his radio, usually sounding tinny tuned to WLS, seemed more vibrant. He heard the different instruments in “Hungry Like the Wolf” as if Duran Duran were in the car with him, playing. Although it was February and his windows were rolled shut, he listened to the sounds of the other cars, the hiss of their tires on the pavement, the bass of their engines. He felt each perforation on the cover of the steering wheel. He thought he could even sense the mechanical smell of his own and the other cars as they all made their way northeast, to the Eisenhower Expressway and the city.

And in his mouth, he savored a slight metallic taste.

* * *

Randy Mazursky had lived in Berwyn all his life. The suburb just west of Chicago had been where his father grew up and where his grandfather had set up his home when he came over from Poland to work in the meat yards of Chicago.

Randy liked Berwyn. It was familiar: The streets, gridlike, had always made it easy to get around and easy to give new people directions to his house on Oak Park Avenue. And best of all it was close to where he worked, the North Riverside Mall, where he managed an ice cream parlor called Whipped Dream.

Tonight he had spent a little longer at the restaurant than usual, since one of his waitresses had come down with the flu that everyone (his wife, Maggie, included) seemed to be getting just as it looked like winter was about to come to a close. She had left midway through her shift, leaving a busy Friday night crowd of screaming kids, hassled parents, and birthday party victims.

Randy had donned the blue and white striped waiter’s cap he had worn when he started at Whipped Dream three years ago and, like the trooper he thought himself, had gone out and served up Tin Roof sundaes, blown whistles, banged drums, and sung “Happy Birthday” with the rest of the crew. He knew it wouldn’t hurt the “kids” to let a pro show them how it was done.

Randy had enjoyed the change. But it had been a long time since he had waited tables and he barely had the strength to hold the steering wheel properly. It was only ten minutes to his home and Maggie, but the eagerness to get there made the ride longer.

He knew he didn’t have to worry. Maggie would have a great dinner waiting for him. Ever since Maggie had quit her job as a proofreader of Sears catalogs, she had become a virtuoso cook, even taking classes in Chicago. Randy had gained fifteen pounds.

He and Maggie had been married for only seven months and already she was pregnant.

The baby was unplanned; they had wanted to wait until they had a chance to buy a house before they had children. Right now they rented the second floor of a two-flat.

But when Maggie had whispered “we’re going to have a baby” in his ear right before he fell asleep one night, he felt nothing but delight. That delight and anticipation had not worn off in the two weeks he had been aware of his imminent fatherhood.

Now as he backed the car into a space in front of their yellow brick home, he felt a sudden urge to run up the stairs and hug Maggie. He knew she didn’t like him working late and wished he had thought to bring her something.

Well, he could make it up to her in other ways. As he closed the door of his car he smiled: There was no trace of the exhaustion he had felt just moments before.

Quickly he unlocked the two locks on the outer door and took the steps two at a time. As quietly as he could, he slid the key into the door of their apartment, hoping he could surprise Maggie in the kitchen.

He opened the door and closed it behind him, trying to stifle the click of the door as it closed. Randy crept through the living room, not wondering why the apartment was so still, why their stereo, Maggie’s constant companion, wasn’t on. He noticed only the yellow block of light that was the entrance to the kitchen as he made his way toward it on tiptoe.

As he stood in the archway, he began laughing. And the laughter did not stop until almost an hour later when paramedics put him under sedation.

Maggie, her dark hair a bizarre contrast to the pasty white of her usually dark Italian skin, lay dead in the middle of the kitchen floor, her throat and wrists cut. Her hair fanned out on the beige linoleum and her arms were out, almost as if she had been crucified.

The cat, Scruggums, sat beside her, licking his paws.

Kindle version
Nook version
From Untreed Reads

Coming Sunday, July 10 from Amber Allure!

2011-07-05T01:25:00.000-07:00

An AmberPax Collection Of

Paranormal Gay Erotic Romance

Featuring The Following Titles...

Cemeteries by Lynn Lorenz

(Gay / Paranormal / Ghosts / Hauntings)

Echoes by Rick R. Reed

(Gay / Paranormal / Ghosts / Hauntings / Suspense / Thriller)

Hellish Twist In Tinseltown by Lee Avalone

(Gay / Dark Fantasy / Paranormal / Ghosts / Hauntings / Voyeurism)

Lost Between by Shawn Lane

(Gay / Paranormal / Ghosts / Hauntings)

Under My Bed by T. A. Chase

(Gay / Paranormal / Ghosts / Hauntings)

Obsessed is Now Available in EBook!

2011-06-27T01:35:00.000-07:00

My very first novel, originally published in Dell's Abyss horror line way back in 1991, is now in a spiffy new ebook edition from Untreed Reads.

Your first is always very special. This story of a serial killer who believes he's a vampire preying on Chicago is no exception. Hope you'll check it out!

Kindle version
Nook version
From Untreed Reads

SYNOPSIS
I kill, therefore I am…

Voices slam through the corridor of his wounded mind. The words of his dead sister cry out. His parents' taunts fill the silent room where he sits and waits--waits for the murderous rage, filling him with strength, driving him to kill, to touch the cold flesh, taste the warm blood--to feel alive again…

A witness has seen him, but his killing only turns her on and now she wants to protect him. His wife suspects him, but the private detective she hired cannot stop him. Joe MacAree fears nothing--except that he may no longer be human.

The thirst that drives him is relentless, moving deeper and deeper into his own shattering, private realm, where each murder is a delicious new gift of life, where revulsion is beauty, and the obsession will never let him go.

Obsessed was part of Dell Abyss' remarkable horror line, lauded by none other than Stephen King.

EXCERPT

Joe MacAree had just murdered a woman, and all the things he felt when he killed the other four he was feeling right now. How would he describe it? In his journal, he might call his feelings an “elevation of the senses” or “an ethereal quality bringing the world into sharp focus.”

After each killing the reaction was the same. There was a moment of sharp pain right behind his left eye, an instant where the pain was so intense as to block out the act he had just committed, the blood and the ripped flesh…then a moment where brilliant flecks of silver light swam before him, and he could not keep his eyes from rolling, trying to follow the patterns the stars made.

And then the clarity.

As he guided his light blue Honda Accord along Harlem Avenue just south of Chicago, everything seemed more alive, as if to contrast the death he had just brought about. He noticed things he never noticed: the shifting red, amber, and turquoise of the reflections the stoplights made on the rain-slicked pavement. He noticed how the color spread, muted, over the slick black roadway. Even his radio, usually sounding tinny tuned to WLS, seemed more vibrant. He heard the different instruments in “Hungry Like the Wolf” as if Duran Duran were in the car with him, playing. Although it was February and his windows were rolled shut, he listened to the sounds of the other cars, the hiss of their tires on the pavement, the bass of their engines. He felt each perforation on the cover of the steering wheel. He thought he could even sense the mechanical smell of his own and the other cars as they all made their way northeast, to the Eisenhower Expressway and the city.

And in his mouth, he savored a slight metallic taste.

* * *

Randy Mazursky had lived in Berwyn all his life. The suburb just west of Chicago had been where his father grew up and where his grandfather had set up his home when he came over from Poland to work in the meat yards of Chicago.

Randy liked Berwyn. It was familiar: The streets, gridlike, had always made it easy to get around and easy to give new people directions to his house on Oak Park Avenue. And best of all it was close to where he worked, the North Riverside Mall, where he managed an ice cream parlor called Whipped Dream.

Tonight he had spent a little longer at the restaurant than usual, since one of his waitresses had come down with the flu that everyone (his wife, Maggie, included) seemed to be getting just as it looked like winter was about to come to a close. She had left midway through her shift, leaving a busy Friday night crowd of screaming kids, hassled parents, and birthday party victims.

Randy had donned the blue and white striped waiter’s cap he had worn when he started at Whipped Dream three years ago and, like the trooper he thought himself, had gone out and served up Tin Roof sundaes, blown whistles, banged drums, and sung “Happy Birthday” with the rest of the crew. He knew it wouldn’t hurt the “kids” to let a pro show them how it was done.

Randy had enjoyed the change. But it had been a long time since he had waited tables and he barely had the strength to hold the steering wheel properly. It was only ten minutes to his home and Maggie, but the eagerness to get there made the ride longer.

He knew he didn’t have to worry. Maggie would have a great dinner waiting for him. Ever since Maggie had quit her job as a proofreader of Sears catalogs, she had become a virtuoso cook, even taking classes in Chicago. Randy had gained fifteen pounds.

He and Maggie had been married for only seven months and already she was pregnant. The baby was unplanned; they had wanted to wait until they had a chance to buy a house before they had children. Right now they rented the second floor of a two-flat.

But when Maggie had whispered “we’re going to have a baby” in his ear right before he fell asleep one night, he felt nothing but delight. That delight and anticipation had not worn off in the two weeks he had been aware of his imminent fatherhood.

Now as he backed the car into a space in front of their yellow brick home, he felt a sudden urge to run up the stairs and hug Maggie. He knew she didn’t like him working late and wished he had thought to bring her something.

Well, he could make it up to her in other ways. As he closed the door of his car he smiled: There was no trace of the exhaustion he had felt just moments before.

Quickly he unlocked the two locks on the outer door and took the steps two at a time. As quietly as he could, he slid the key into the door of their apartment, hoping he could surprise Maggie in the kitchen.

He opened the door and closed it behind him, trying to stifle the click of the door as it closed. Randy crept through the living room, not wondering why the apartment was so still, why their stereo, Maggie’s constant companion, wasn’t on. He noticed only the yellow block of light that was the entrance to the kitchen as he made his way toward it on tiptoe.

As he stood in the archway, he began laughing. And the laughter did not stop until almost an hour later when paramedics put him under sedation.

Maggie, her dark hair a bizarre contrast to the pasty white of her usually dark Italian skin, lay dead in the middle of the kitchen floor, her throat and wrists cut. Her hair fanned out on the beige linoleum and her arms were out, almost as if she had been crucified.

The cat, Scruggums, sat beside her, licking his paws.

Kindle version
Nook version
From Untreed Reads

CLASS DISTINCTIONS Made the May Bestseller List!

2011-06-02T05:12:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Julie Lynn Hayes for winning a free copy of the story! I will be in touch with you offline, Julie. If you were interested in the book, you can still buy a copy from the publisher here.

I'm proud to announce that my college-set m/m romance CLASS DISTINCTIONS, made my publisher's May Top Ten Bestseller List.

To celebrate, I'm giving away a free copy of the story in the ebook format of your choice. Simply leave a comment and a way to reach you below. I'll announce the winner this coming Saturday.

Here's the complete list:

AMBER ALLURE BESTSELLERS/ May 2011

1. Kissed By God - T. A. Chase (Gay / Contemporary)
2. Between Sinners And Saints - Marie Sexton (Gay / Contemporary)
3. Between The Moon And The Deep Blue Sea - KC Kendricks (Gay / Contemporary)
4. Galaxy's Heart - Shawn Lane (Gay / Contemporary)
5. Infinity Pools - L. A. Witt (Gay / Contemporary)
6. Homeless In Heaven - Deirdre O'Dare (Gay / Contemporary)
7. Catch Me If I Fall - Riley Knox (Gay / Contemporary)
8. Crossing The Line - Christiane France (Gay / Contemporary)
9. Class Distinctions - Rick R. Reed (Gay / Contemporary)
10. Four Days With Jack - Kelli A. Wilkins (Gay / Contemporary)

Here's what CLASS DISTINCTIONS is about:
Kyle and Jonathan were perfect for each other, the two halves that, once together, made a whole. And then one snowy night just before Parents’ Weekend on the campus of Hamilton University, Kyle drops a bomb: he’s breaking up with Jonathan.

Class Distinctions follows the couple through the stormy (in more ways than one) night that ensues. Why has Kyle suddenly decided to throw away something so precious and good?

The answers lie in their backgrounds, and will gradually come to light as a winter blizzard rages around the young couple.

Their tortured paths bring them to the covered bridge where their love had come to life on a hot summer day. But will the warmth of that memory and the heat of the love they once shared be enough to outclass the storm, and more importantly, bring them back together?

BUY a copy.

New cover for ECHOES, coming in July!

2011-05-26T05:38:00.000-07:00

It's always exciting when you see what an artist comes up with as the "face" of your book. In this case, it's the cover for ECHOES, my urban ghost/love story coming out from Amber Allure in July.

Trace Edward Zaber did a wonderful job! Below is the synopsis. How well do you think the cover matches the story?

SYNOPSIS
Rick and Ernie have found the perfect loft apartment on Chicago’s west side. But before they are even settled, Rick begins having strange “dreams” that seem all too real. A young man, emaciated, with sad brown eyes, appears to him, frightening and obsessing him.

From their next-door neighbor, Paula, Rick learns of the gay couple, Karl and Tommy, who lived there before them. Paula had been close to them and Tommy’s mysterious disappearance still pains her. When she shares a photo of her with Tommy and Karl, Rick is shocked and troubled. Tommy is the man who has appeared to him in his dreams.

The dreams and the revelation put Rick on a quest to discover the truth about Tommy’s disappearance. It’s a quest that will lead him to Karl, Tommy’s lover, who may know more about Tommy’s disappearance than he’s telling, and a confrontation with a restless spirit who wants only to, finally, rest in peace.

“Echoes” blends mystery, suspense, and romance as only the writer described as the “Stephen King of gay horror” can.

New Review for HOW I MET MY MAN

2011-05-25T04:51:00.000-07:00

Just got this nice review for my novella from Amber Quill Press's "Masquerade" series, HOW I MET MY MAN. In part, the Romance Studio reviewer said, "...a good read for those who like a mystery that leaves you guessing to almost the very end..." She also said (and this seemed like a puzzling comment for a review to make about a romance that's also suspense/mystery because it really is more about the reviewer than the author): "I am glad it was short though as I do tend to get impatient trying to figure out what is going on."

Read the whole review here.

Buy HOW I MET MY MAN.

4.25 stars out of five for DIGNITY TAKES A HOLIDAY from the Bookwenches

2011-05-23T05:09:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite reviewing sites, the Bookwenches, gave a very favorable review for my "sitcom for the taste-challenged in 24 episodes", Dignity Takes a Holiday. About my oddball love story, reviewer Bobby D. Whitney said, in part:

"Pete Thickwhistle, forty-seven year old virgin and full-time mama’s boy, is looking for love. Unfortunately, love doesn’t reciprocate. What is looking for him is a whole lot of trouble, more than his fair share of humiliation, and a generous serving of maternal abuse. Pete is a bumbling, walking faux pas with no fashion sense ...But when Pete looks in the mirror, he doesn’t see a loser...He sees a dude magnet. Ever hopeful, perpetually positive, and hornier than a lovestruck rhinoceros, Pete knows that Mr. Right is just around the next corner...Pete is determined find him, even if he has to sacrifice his non-existent dignity to do it...if you’re looking for larger-than-life and sometimes gross-out, bathroom humor that doesn’t take anything – least of all itself – seriously, then you may just want to give Dignity Takes a Holiday a shot..."

Read the whole review here: http://www.bookwenches.com/may11reviews.htm#743946247

Get your copy from the publisher in print or ebook here.
Kindle version here.

Hate Mail: A Snake Waiting in My Mailbox

2011-05-18T05:25:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: I just had an e-mail from one of my publishers, who said they had forwarded the letter in question, which had been sent to their corporate office--and not my home address. So that does releive the creepiness of this whole experience a bit. A bit.

A couple days ago, I received a disturbing letter in the mail. I was unnerved for a few reasons:

1. Who gets hand-addressed letters in the mail anymore, anyway? What used to be a delight has become odd in the era of e-mail, texting, and instant messages.
2. The letter was addressed to me at my new home in Seattle, a home I had moved to only three days ago.
3. The letter had no other purpose than to tell me how much this reader despised one of my books.

It was this last reason that really bugged me. Now, I have written and published enough material to understand that not everyone will love what I'm doing, nor even like it. I expect and accept the occasional bad review along the way. I comfort myself with knowing that even the best authors, classic ones, can and do get bad reviews.

And I certainly know that, for an artist of any stripe, having the expectation that he or she will please everyone, all the time, is folly.

But reviews are something else entirely. They are not ostensibly written expressly for the author. They're for publications, online or print, and for readers, who may be looking for guidance in their reading selections.

But a personal letter to an author at his home? I don't know; to me that's crossing a line. And yes, I do believe it's a different matter from writing to an author to tell him or her you loved something he or she wrote. That's just good manners and an act of kindness.

What puzzles me most is why someone would take time out of a their day to sit down and write a hateful and mean-spirited letter to an author, track his address down (I assume via the Internet through property logs or something). The author of the letter was not about correcting errors I made, but simply to inform me what a terrible book I had written. Curiously, he ended his letter by saying he was getting another one of my books and hoped that next time, he'd be writing a "rave review."

My response? At first, I suggested to my partner that I write a check out for the cost of the book and mail it back to the disgruntled reader. Wisely--and this is part of the reason he's my partner--he counseled me to not "engage" this person, to just forget it.

Which is what I did. I tore up the letter and threw it in the garbage. Life is too short to dwell on unkindness. Writing this now will also help me expel the bad feelings I got from this experience. Still, I am a little creeped out that this character knows exactly where I live...

What would you have done had you received the same letter? Do you think readers should write to authors personally, telling them they despised their work? And if so, what's the point in that? To teach them? To counsel them? To ensure they never do the perceived wrongs again? I don't know. My mother taught me that giving advice, good or bad, unsolicited, is just rude.

And I agree with Mom. God rest her soul.

NEW RELEASE: Class Distinctions at 35% Off This Week Only!

2011-05-08T05:55:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to announce my latest release, a romantic ebook short from Amber Allure (the GLBT imprint of Amber Quill Press) called "Class Distinctions."

This week only, the story is available for a 35% discount from the publisher for all ebook formats (for Kindle, choose .prc). Click here to get your copy.

"Class Distinctions" will be available soon for Amazon Kindle, Nook, and other ebook readers.

Here are the details for "Class Distinctions":

Kyle and Jonathan were perfect for each other, the two halves that, once together, made a whole. And then one snowy night just before Parents' Weekend on the campus of Hamilton University, Kyle drops a bomb: he's breaking up with Jonathan.

Class Distinctions follows the couple through the stormy (in more ways than one) night that ensues. Why has Kyle suddenly decided to throw away something so precious and good? The answers lie in their backgrounds, and will gradually come to light as a winter blizzard rages around the young couple. Their tortured paths bring them to the covered bridge where their love had come to life on a hot summer day. But will the warmth of that memory and the heat of the love they once shared be enough to outclass the storm, and more importantly, bring them back together?

Excerpt:
...He had come to the bridge almost without thinking about where he was going, but when he arrived there, he knew his feet had had a purpose in bringing him to this place. The snow swirled around him and pitted against his face like needles. He watched as the flakes vanished into the rushing water beneath him.

The bridge was a special place for Jonathan and him. It had been where they had shared their first kiss, back in August, shortly after they had met. The bridge had been a different place, almost of a different world, in August. The sun was bright, beating down relentlessly, bringing the temperature of the day into the mid-nineties. The air was thick, like a damp cloth thrown over one’s skin. Mosquitos hummed…and the leaves on the trees whispered whenever an all-too-infrequent breeze came along.

Jonathan had led him to this bridge, after they had spent the morning hiking the woods surrounding it. The two of them had forged a path along the creek that ran below it.

“You have to see this…it’s really cool.” Jonathan took my hand and led me through a copse of trees to a clearing. He gestured grandly as the vista opened up before us—the weathered bridge, with its stones and faded boards, rose up against the brilliant blue sky like an ancient treasure. On either end of it, weeping willows sagged in the heat.

There wasn’t a soul around us.

Jonathan took my hand in his own and the touch was electric, almost like a jolt, as it coursed through me. It was the very first time he’d touched me and I think that simple pressure of palm against palm and fingers intertwining let me know I was in love with this boy. It also opened the door to a hunger for thousands more touches from him, ones as simple as grabbing my hands and ones a lot more complex.

We fought our way up through cattails growing along the shoreline and further up the rise, brambles, but at last we reached the planks that would lead us inside the covered bridge. Its shade promised cool.

Jonathan pulled me into the darkness and turned to me, smiling. “Isn’t it something? I wonder how old it is?”

I looked in his robin’s egg blue eyes, amazed I could still make out their pale color even in the shade of the covered bridge. “It’s great. Thanks for bringing me here.” I let go of his hand so I could reach up and touch his face. “But it doesn’t compare to you, to just being here with you.”

I leaned down then and kissed him. Even though he had taken my hand, I wasn’t sure until that moment that Jonathan was even gay. We had started the morning as buddies, classmates, fellow students at Hamilton University on our way out on a hot Saturday for a hike. But when he lifted his face and parted his lips slightly to meet me, I knew not only that he was gay, but also that my feelings were reciprocated.

And that filled me with an inexpressible joy.

The kiss lingered for what seemed to me like a half hour, but was really only a minute or two. My tongue probed the inside of his mouth, which tasted sweet, slightly of cinnamon. He reached up and laid his hand on the back of my damp neck to twine in my curls and pull me closer to him. Our sweaty bodies meshed.

It was a moment of pure, undiluted happiness. It was a moment I would never forget...

Click here to get your copy.

Hooray for Judy Mays - The Teacher Parents Tried to Oust Because She Wrote Erotica

2011-05-05T04:39:00.000-07:00

Parents who tried to oust a published erotic romance author (9 years) and well-loved teacher (more than 25 years) have seen their cause backfire. The teacher will not lose her job and probably will see a sharp uptick in her book sales.

Common sense and decency have triumphed over small minds!

In an interview with Publisher's Weekly, Judy Barunich (who writes under the pseudonym, Judy Mays, which, by the way, was never revealed to her students), told Publishers Weekly that, "...the entire fiasco backfired on the parents who complained. The support I have received from around the world has been unbelievable. Two complete strangers started a support page for me; and, the last time I checked, it had over 9000 “like” hits. However, it’s been the support from my current students...and their parents that has humbled me and warmed my heart. I was always pretty sure I was respected, but the outpouring of support from “my kids” has brought tears to my eyes...Also, the support of the romance community, both authors and readers, has been overwhelming. So, I want to thank everyone who has joined me on this wild ride from the bottom of my heart..."

You can read the whole article here.

And click on the links below and buy a book for Judy Mays and show your support for a persecuted writer who overcame those who have little better to do that conduct witch hunts and try to undermine a dedicated English teacher.

Happy Birthday Dreamspinner Press

2011-05-02T05:24:00.000-07:00

I love to share a bargain! And-heads up--if you love to read, you don't want to miss this.

Go to the Dreamspinner Press website for to see how you can claim your discounts and free reads.

Happy Birthday Dreamspinner Press - May Specials
Now through midnight EST May 31, 2011.

20% off all ebooks in the Dreamspinner Press store (including my own Dignity Takes a Holiday and Homecoming).
A drawing each week for an ebook reader of the winner's choice: Kindle WiFi, NOOK WiFi, or Sony PRS 350SC
49.99 on the 2011 DD set - First Time for Everything until May 25

Week One Specials:
40% off all ebooks that are turning 4 with us:
A Summer Place
Cursed
To Love a Cowboy
Slight Details & Random Events
Caught Running
Diplomacy

Week Two Specials:
30% off all ebooks that are turning 3
Far From Home by Madeleine Urban
Alliance in Blood by Ariel Tachna
The Archer by Abigail Roux
Murder Most Gay by John Simpson
Love Ahead by Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux
Condor One by John Simpson
Sparks Fly by Clare London
Selfless by Michael Powers
Children of Bacchus by Andrew Grey
Cut & Run by Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux
Task Force by John Simpson
Covenant in Blood by Ariel Tachna
Irish Winter by John Simpson
True Blue by Connie Bailey

Week Three Specials:
Download the first book from seven of our most popular series FREE - a different book each day.
Sunday - May 15 - Condor One by John Simpson
Monday - May 16 - Litha's Whim by Amy Lane
Tuesday - May 17 - Cut and Run by Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux
Wednesday - May 18 - Promises by Marie Sexton
Thursday - May 19 - His Hearth by Mary Calmes
Friday - May 20 - Love Means... No Shame by Andrew Grey
Saturday - May 21 - Luke by Jan Irving

Week Four Specials:
All Dreamspinner Press Anthology ebooks 50% off!
A Brush of Wings
Curious
Games in the Dark
Know When to Hold 'em
Make Me a Match, Vol. 1 & 2
Making Contact
Mr. Right Now
Myths and Magic: Legends of Love
Necking
Reflections of Love
Riding Double
Sandals and Sodomy
Sindustry Vol. 1 & 2
Uniform Appeal

Check the Dreamspinner Press Homepage May 29, 30, and 31st for three special surprises.

Erotic Romance Author Judy Mays "Outed" at School Where She Has Taught for 25 Years

2011-04-28T05:59:00.000-07:00

Have you heard the news that Ellora's Cave and Changeling Press author Judy Mays is being vilified for being an erotic romance author? Read the full story here.

I have yet to read a book by Ms. Mays, but am thinking of buying one of her works just to show my support to the narrow-minded people in her school district her want to ruin the reputation of a woman who has been a dedicated high-school teacher for 25 years. What does what someone does in her spare time (and under a pen name) have to do with one's day job? It wasn't like she was engaged in something illegal; she was a published author, for heaven's sake, a credential I would think would make her more attractive as an English teacher.

The entire reader community is now rallying behind her. It seems as if the very genre that generates so much money to the publishing business over any other genre continues to get disrespected. Shame on all involved in this debacle. Ignorance is the real sin here.

Raise your voice and please show your support of Judy Mays in any of the following ways:

Voice your displeasure of the original article and show your support of Judy Mays by
posting on WNEP's Facebook Page:
Email reporter, Kate Vernon and let her know how you feel about her "article":
Join the Support Judy Mays Facebook Page.
Comment on Twitter using Hashtag #SupportJudyMays:
Show your support of Judy Mays in a more personal way. Judy can be reached via email: writermays@yahoo.com

4 out of 5 Stars for How I Met My Man

2011-04-18T01:11:00.000-07:00

Somehow, I missed this very positive review of my short romantic/suspense story HOW I MET MY MAN when it appeared on Reviews by Jessewave on April 7.

If you are as clueless as I was, perhaps you might care to check the 4 out of 5 star review for the story, in which Feliz said, in part,

"...a pretty good suspense story, laced with a trace of creepiness which was mostly created through the characterizations. None of the cast is what they seem to be...All in all, this was a solid, skillfully written piece of entertainment of the darker, eerier sort which I really enjoyed."

Read the whole review here.

BUY the book.

SYNOPSIS

How a guy meets his man can happen in a dozen different ways: online, at a bar, through friends, at a masquerade party...or even at the scene of a murder...

The road to love is seldom straight, and for Stephen Embert, that road couldn’t possibly be more crooked. First, he arrives home to find an anonymous card in his mailbox that says, “I’ve been inside your house,” then comes the midnight home invasion. But Stephen forgets these disturbing occurrences a month later when he attends a masquerade party and hopes to finally meet Mr. Right.

But who is the stranger in black with the disturbing emotionless mask following him? And why does the stranger always get in the way of Stephen hooking up with Jeffrey, the angelic and nearly naked leather hunk, who wants nothing more than to get Stephen alone for some romance?

Appearances are not always what they seem, and discovering true love can sometimes be a matter of life and death...

THE BLUE MOON CAFE Named Book of the Year!

2011-04-17T06:36:00.000-07:00

I am so honored! Congratulations to winners in all the major categories.

The following is a full list of the category winners and runners-up of the 2010 Rainbow Awards For Excellence.

BOOK OF THE YEAR
Blue Moon Cafe by Rick R. Reed
Publisher Amber Allure, ISBN-13: 978-1-60272-802-8

2010 RAE Category Contest Winners!

CONTEMPORARY

First Place (tie)
Side Order Of Love By Tracey Richardson
Publisher Bella Books, ISBN:978-1-59493-143-7

Breaking The Ice By Kim Baldwin
Publisher Bold Strokes Books, ISBN: 978-1-60282-087-6

Second Place
Yours For The Asking By Kenna White
Publisher Bella Books, ISBN:978-1-59493-163-5

Third Place
The Janitor By Jan Irving
Publisher Loose Id, ISBN: 978-1-59632-938-6

HISTORICAL

First Place
Kicker’s Journey By Lois Cloarec Hart
Publisher, PD Publishing, ISBN: 9781933720616

Second Place
The Clash Between The Minds By Nann Dunn
Publisher Intaglio Publications, Inc, ISBN: 978-1-935216-10-0

Third Place
Pure Folly By Madelynne Ellis
Publisher Total-E-Bound, ISBN: 978-1-906811-78-5

YOUNG ADULT

First Place
Josef Jaeger By Jere’ M. Fishback
Publisher, Prizm (YA division of Torquere Press), ISBN: 978-1-60370-685-8

Second Place
My Invented Life By Lauren Bjorkman
Publisher Henry Holt and Company, ISBN: 978-0-8050-8950-9

Third Place
All Lost Things By Josh Aterovis
Publisher PD Publishing, ISBN: 9781933720708

ROMANTIC SUSPENSE

First Place
Conflict Of Interest By Jae
Publisher, L-Book, ISBN: 978-1-934889-24-4

Second Place
Mexican Heat By Laura Baumbach and Josh Lanyon
Publisher Samhain, ISBN: 978-1-60504-380-7

Third Place
Next Of Kin By Jae
Publisher L-Book, ISBN: 978-1-934889-42-8

PARANORMAL

First Place
The Blue Moon Cafe By Rick R. Reed
Publisher, Amber Quill Press, ISBN: 978-1-60272-802-8

Second Place
Hero By Heidi Cullinan
Publisher Dreamspinner Press, ISBN: 978161581287

Third Place
My Heart Is Within You By Marguerite Labbe
Publisher Dreamspinner Press, ISBN: 978-1-935192-70-1

SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY

First Place
Magebound By Katica Locke
Publisher, PD Publishing, ISBN: 9781933720654

Second Place
Sexual Energy By Afton Locke
Publisher Ellora’s Cave, ISBN: 978-14199-22244

Third Place
Second Nature By Jae
Publisher L-Book, ISBN: 978-1-934889-44-2

NOVELLA

First Place
Romantic Interludes 2: Secrets By Radclyffe (edited by Radclyffe and Stacia Seaman)
Publisher, Bold Strokes Books, ISBN: 9781602821163

Second Place
Best Lesbian Romance 2010 By Radclyffe , eds
Publisher CLEIS Press, ISBN: 9781573443760

Third Place
A Good Neighbor By Clare London
Publisher Amber Quill Press, ISBN: 978-1-60272-574-4

Sample 60 Saturday: Dignity Takes a Holiday

2011-04-16T06:27:00.000-07:00

Every Saturday, until I run out of books--or decide to go to page 70--I will present an excerpt, page 60, from one of my books. No matter what it says--funny, filthy, scary, dumb, or tantalizing--you'll get it here.

And I'd love to hear what you think. Leave a comment below and let me know if this made you want to read more. Or it it simply made you shake your head in dismay...

Let's continue the chronological tour with my twisted romantic comedy, Dignity Takes a Holiday, which some have compared to the work of that great American filmmaker, John Waters. And I couldn't be more honored!

BUY Dignity Takes a Holiday.

SYNOPSIS
Pete Thickwhistle doesn’t live what one might call a charmed life. At age forty-seven, he’s a flamboyant gay man who believes no one knows he’s gay, still living at home with his harpy of a mother. Worse, he’s still a virgin, longing to find just the right man to make his life complete. Pete’s an upbeat kind of guy, yet he’s never learned that the answer to his motto “What could possibly go wrong?” is always: “Everything.”

Pete’s road to love and happiness is full of potholes, yet he never tires of searching, despite job losses, weight battles, clothing faux pas, and disastrous vacations, parties, and dating debacles. Pete is the ultimate underdog living a television situation comedy, one named Dignity Takes a Holiday.

Page 60
“Oh Mother, it’s not funny.” Pete grabbed another bowl from the cupboard and scooped the stroganoff into it. He returned to the table and apologized to Larry. He began dishing up the stroganoff. At least it hadn’t landed on the floor.

Helen elbowed Larry. “This better be good or no….” She hummed “Here Comes the Bride.”

“Oh Mother, would you just stop it?” Pete paused to put his hand to his forehead, where a fierce headache was beginning.

“Whatsa matter? Got a headache? What? Brain tumor?”

“I’m fine.” Pete tried to smile, but tears glistened in his eyes. He handed Larry his plate. “Help yourself to carrots and salad, Larry.”

“This looks great,” Larry said.

“Yeah… but looks aren’t everything.”

“Thank you very much, Mother.”

“Mm-hm.” Helen passed her plate. “I’m just having carrots and a roll.”

“What?”

“I said, I’m just having—”

“I know, but why?”

“Just not in the mood for red meat. Makes my poop stink.”

Pete sighed. He dished up a helping of glazed carrots and put a roll on his mother’s plate. Finally, he served himself and raised his wine glass.

“A toast.” Pete waited for Mother and Larry to raise their glasses. When they did, he said, “To new friends and to old ones… coming home.”

They clinked their glasses, in spite of Helen mumbling, “Isn’t this idiotic?”

BUY Dignity Takes a Holiday.

Cracking the WIP

2011-04-14T05:57:00.000-07:00

Usually, I'm very quiet about my works-in-progress (WIPS). I hold them close to the vest, seldom talking to anyone about them, even my partner. It's part of the creative process for me and I fear if I give away too much too soon I will spoil the joy of the writing journey for myself. It's sort of like a premature ejaculation…and nobody appreciates those.

This time around, however, I feel it's safe to go ahead and talk about my work-in-progress, a novel set in the early 1990s called CAREGIVER. It's okay because this time around, I am writing something that's probably more autobiographical than anything I've ever written. Writing CAREGIVER every day now takes me back to the early 1990s, when I was young and living in Tampa with my first real boyfriend, and when the AIDS crisis was also pretty young too. It was a specter in the gay community then, claiming lives left and right.

There's a fictionalized love story in CAREGIVER, about two people who loved the same dying man and their attraction for each other in the midst of their loss, but there's also a lot of truth in the book, based on my remarkable--and ultimately tragic--relationship with a man named Jim.

My story with Jim is recounted in the piece below, which originally appeared on a True Crime blog, but also ended up in my collection Tales from the Sexual Underground.

Anyway, I thought I would share with you the piece (and the relationship) that inspired what I'm working on now.

My Perfect Date with an AIDS-afflicted Felon

I’m driving north on Florida State Route 75. It’s August and the flat land stretching out on either side of the highway looks baked. The slash pines, palms, and cypress trees stand like stalwart sentinels against the blistering sun: brave.

The car hums along, the whirr of the air conditioning compressor keeping me company. I’m too jazzed to listen to music.

I’m on my way to a date with Jim. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him, since he moved from the Tampa Bay area up north to Raiford, which is a good three hours away. I can’t blame Jim for the move (it wasn’t his choice), but it’s been hard not being able to see him the past month. Oh sure, we’ve written and Jim’s a great one for letters, especially since he can draw hilarious caricatures of the people he’s meeting in his new home

But there’s a disturbing edge to his letters, too, and I know some of these people have been less than kind to Jim. The name-calling, for one thing, breaks my heart. But thank God Jim has a sense of humor, otherwise I don’t know how he’d get through each day

I know he’s been hanging on for this date, which we’ve had planned for a while

Finally, an afternoon with Jim. I didn’t know, four months ago, that I would grow to love him so quickly

I drive on, the broad expanses of rough grass and hearty trees being replaced every so often by strip malls and towns with names like Ocala. The pavement shimmers before me in the heat. My tires hum. An armadillo hurries alongside the road. A mosquito splats against the windshield, leaving a swath of blood.

***

I remember the first time I met Jim. It was another blistering summer day (funny how in my memories of the two years I lived in Florida, it’s always summer, even when the memory took place in December or February). Jim and I had been set up and these kinds of dates always put me on edge: they never worked out.

When Jim answered the door, I was sure that this set-up date would work out like all the others: completely inappropriate. Other people never seemed to have the capacity to pick someone out for myself that I would choose on my own.

And this guy who opened the door immediately put me on my guard. I mean, I enjoy a good drag show at the local bar as much as the next guy, but here in Brandon, Florida (a suburb of Tampa, full of kids, trimmed lawns, and swimming pools), a smart little black dress and pearls just seemed out of place, especially on a very handsome blond man with great blue eyes and a nice, tight build.

But there was Jim, all smiles and beckoning me to come inside. I went into the little bungalow he lived in with a roommate (who was at work). The place was typical Florida, one-story, stucco, with a schefflera bush in the front yard, and that peculiar, tougher-than-nails, fire-ant infested grass on the front lawn. Inside, pastel walls and beige furniture completed the picture. The Golden Girls could have used the place for a set.

And there was Jim, smiling at me in his sensible matron’s outfit and just putting the finish creases on a little ironing he was doing just before I rang the bell. The whole scene made me think of a cross between June Cleaver and RuPaul.

I wasn’t sure what to say. But that really didn’t matter, because Jim was more than ready to take over (once he’d made certain I had a fruity cocktail in my hand, even though it wasn’t yet noon), telling me all about his recent move down here from Chicago (I had the same story to tell, but I wasn’t to learn until much later how very different our respective moves to the sunshine state were), his love for Barbra (need I add a last name here?), and how his health was improving under the abundant Florida sun.

I learned fast that day that clothes don’t always make the man and that Jim would turn out to be one of the bravest men I’d ever met.

***

It’s been a long drive and I’m glad to finally be pulling up in front of Jim’s new home. Raiford, Florida is north central Florida…typical of the state, but not the kind of look one usually associates with Florida (white sand beaches, aqua-marine waters, palm trees swaying in the salty breeze): Raiford is kind of grim and parched looking, especially the wide open spaces where Jim’s new home sits. It’s surrounded by dry brown grass…stretching infinitely to a blazing blue sky, where the sun beats down, relentless.

A tall fence surrounds Jim’s new home, with no nod to adornment (Jim, with his graphic design background and his love for the visual arts, I’m sure, did not approve). This fence was made of foreboding chain link and twice the height of a good-sized man, topped with razor-sharp circles of barbed wire. The only thing that looks halfway decent is the curving arch over the entrance drive and the stone monument just beside it. The arch tells visitors, in curving steel, that this is the Florida State Prison. The stone monument spells it out further: Department of Corrections, Florida State Prison.

This is where they send the big boys: the felons.

I can’t imagine Jim inside. He’s been hanging on for our date.

I can’t wait to see him.

***

When Jim and I went on our first date (after our getting-acquainted morning cocktail hour at his house) we went to Ft. DeSoto beach, a beautiful stretch of white sand just off of St. Petersburg Beach. Because it’s in a state park, the beach is backed up not by high-rises with balconies overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, but with a view that nature intended. Instead of bricks and mortar (and the attendant Florida tourists), Ft. DeSoto beach has only sand dunes, sea grass, and mangroves as a backdrop. It’s another blazing hot day and I’ve brought lunch for Jim and me (with a thermos full of mai tais…Jim’s favorite) and we spend the entire afternoon listening to the waves roll in and watching a matronly pair wade along the shoreline, net bags in hand, collecting starfish and shells.

Jim tells me about the last job he had before he went on this extended period of unemployment and how he worked as a graphic designer. He tells me about what led to his dismissal: picking up a stranger one night and bringing him back to his workplace. Out of lube, and always imaginative, Jim went into his supervisor’s cube and found some very creative use for the waxy (and slippery) substance those in the cosmetology trade call lipstick. The couple made quite a mess, not the least of which was Jim’s being fired the next day.

Jim was like that: a little imp, unable to play by the rules.

Life has a way of getting the attention of those who go against its conventions by biting them in the ass.

***

Getting into the Florida State Prison is a lot easier than getting out, but there are some obstacles. In order to arrange for my date with Jim, I had to go through the chaplain, who put me on the very short list of visitors who could come and visit him (not that there was a long list of admirers waiting to be put on that list; only Jim’s parents so far had come to check him out in his new digs—and they had made the trip all the way from Downer’s Grove, Illinois). Once inside the prison, I had to go through an anteroom, where I had to sign in and then subject myself to being frisked, right down to removing my boots to ensure I wasn’t securing a file in the heel or something. I understood the precautions, silly as they were. Yet Jim was in no shape to escape, even if I had somehow managed to smuggle in everything he would need to slip through Raiford’s well-guarded walls.

Security wasn’t as tight for my last couple of dates with Jim, which had taken place at the Hillsborough County Jail. There, things weren’t as grim, or as lonely. I would line up with a whole room full of chattering visitors, get checked in, and then be off to converse with Jim through a wall of Plexiglas, under the admiring eyes of some of the other inmates. Jealousy is such a petty thing, and particularly annoying when you’re trying to have an intimate moment with your date, while those behind him wonder what it would take to make you their bitch.

But that was before Jim’s case was adjudicated and they sent him north, to the state prison. That was before Jim began to get really sick.

***

Now, a guard down a colorless hallway leads me to the prison infirmary. I know this will be my last date with Jim and it’s hard not to recall all the laughs we shared before he was caught (he had violated his parole in Illinois, where he had been convicted of grand theft auto) at various beaches along the Gulf of Mexico, in Cuban restaurants, just listening to music at my apartment.

It’s also hard not to remember the additional details that brought him here: how, in a fit of depression, he had set fire to his roommate’s house. What did he have to be depressed about, anyway? He was only dying from AIDS (this was in the early 1990s and the drug cocktails that would keep many of his brethren living full lives were still on the horizon), isolated, and on the run from the law. Why be sad when he could number his only friends (me) at the number one? Why be sad when my friendship was not borne out of a common love for the arts and sarcastic observations about life, but instead courtesy of the Tampa Aids Network, where I had volunteered to be an AIDS buddy and was assigned to Jim?

I wasn’t sure I wanted to see Jim. He had written me, before he was confined to the infirmary, about how the other inmates taunted him and called him Spot, because of the Kaposi’s sarcoma lesions that covered him from head to toe (and continued, even now, to eat his fragile body and soul alive). I didn’t know what to expect. The last time I had seen him, he was still vibrant, still Jim: a little blond man with a quick smile and bottomless kindness.

I knew he had deteriorated…and I knew it was going to be bad.

***

Jim was alone in the room of the infirmary where they had done, I suppose, what they could to ensure his comfort. Other beds awaited other inmates, with maladies less deadly, I hoped, than Jim’s.

And there he was. Asleep. He looked frail and vulnerable, not at all what you’d imagine if you thought of the terms “convicted felon” or “state pen inmate.” His face, once tanned and vibrant, was covered with purple sores. My Jim had turned into a monster in the short time that had elapsed since we last saw one another.

He turned to me and opened his eyes. At least his eyes, blue as those waters we once sat beside, had stayed the same. It took him a minute or two to recognize me, but when he did, he smiled. I moved close to the bed and took his hand. With my other hand, I touched his forehead, where a fever raced around inside, hot as the air outside these prison walls.

I don’t remember what we talked about on our last date. Probably not much; Jim drifted in and out of sleep while I stood beside him, sometimes even in the middle of a sentence: mine or even his own. He did manage to tell me about his parents’ visit the day before, how his mother had collapsed in grief the moment she saw him.

I wanted this last time of ours together to be meaningful. But what, really, is there to say, at life’s end? I leaned in close and kissed him, my cheek brushing up against one of the lesions. It felt crusty.

The only thing left to say, really, at the end of life, or even the end of a perfect date are three words: “I love you.” Jim whispered back, “I love you, too,” and then he fell asleep.

I crept away.

Jim died the next day. The chaplain very kindly told me, when he called, that he thought Jim had hung on long enough to see me. I hung up the phone and slipped outside to my patio and looked across the surface of the pond just steps away. A wind rippled across the deep green water, making the grass at the water’s edge sway. A white ibis pecked at something along the shore.

I thought of a silly drawing Jim had sent me a couple months ago. It was a colored pencil caricature of a fat middle-aged woman I had written about; she was naked and riding a surfboard. Jim had called it “Amelia’s Hawaiian Adventure.”

The picture made me laugh when all I really wanted to do was cry. But my eyes were dry. Maybe it was just Jim’s influence as he looked down, trying to replace grief with hilarity. I laughed until I was almost breathless and had to sit down, cross-legged, on the concrete.

Finally my laughs turned to sobs and I faced away from the pond and toward the sliding glass doors. The glass was bright with sun and I swore I could see Jim reflected there. He mouthed some words and I strained to read them through my tears. “Glad you could drop by.” I swallowed, containing myself and think: me too, Jim. Someone else might think our last date was kind of sucky, but for me it was perfect.

After all, a perfect date is marked by a timeless connection and an intimacy borne of true love. Maybe I didn’t get the chance to bring you flowers or candy, but this date we had…well, it will be the one that will always stand out in my mind as my best, because I like to think that I sent you off, free, with the words “I love you,” lingering in your mind.

The Power of Words

2011-04-10T05:41:00.000-07:00

Words can make a difference...

Sample 60 Saturday: TRICKS

2011-04-09T00:31:00.000-07:00

Every Saturday, until I run out of books--or decide to go to page 70--I will present an excerpt, page 60, from one of my books. No matter what it says--funny, filthy, scary, dumb, or tantalizing--you'll get it here.

And I'd love to hear what you think. Leave a comment below and let me know if this made you want to read more.

Let's continue the chronological tour with my love-story-set-in-a-stripper-bar, Tricks. When it reviewed Tricks, the Bookwenches said, in part: "...Most of us have come to associate author Rick R. Reed with stories of horror and suspense that keep us on edge, shock and enthrall us. In his novel Tricks, Mr. Reed gives his readers something a little different from what we've come to expect: a story whose main focus is romance. This is a novel about the nature of love, the meaning of home, and the choices that men make. But while this is unquestionably foremost a romance, it also contains elements of suspense that lend an almost tangible sense of urgency to the story..."

BUY Tricks.

SYNOPSIS
Tricks can mean many things: sex partners, deceptions, even magic. In Rick R. Reed searing love story, it means all three.

Arliss is a gorgeous young dancer at Tricks, the hottest club in Chicago's Boystown. Sean is the classic nerd, out of place in Tricks, but nursing his wounds from a recent break-up. When the two spy each other, magic blooms.

But this opposites-attract tale does not run smooth. What happens when Arliss is approached by one of the biggest porn producers in the business? Can he make his dreams of stardom come true without throwing away the only real love he's ever known? And will this question even matter if the mysterious producers realize their dark intentions?

PAGE 60:
“Yeah. I think I might have caught that bug that was going around. Hopefully, it’s just a 24-hour thing and I’ll be in tomorrow. Thanks, Don.” Sean hung up the phone, feeling guilty. He hardly ever missed work and when he did, he never lied about it. In the past he had only called in sick when he had actually been sick (which was rare). He used to scoff at those who laughingly said they took “mental health” days, thinking they were slackers.

Now he knew what they were talking about. If there was ever a time when he needed a mental health day, this hot, muggy Monday morning was it.

He had made himself some coffee and toast and took it out to the balcony. There was no breeze and the air stank of car exhaust. It seemed like the whole world—everyone but him—had either gone to work or was on their way there. He stared out at the street, watching the cars and foot traffic go by, wondering just what the hell he had done.

Let’s examine the evidence. First, he had sent away a perfectly nice guy—no, more than that, a really sweet, hotter than hell guy—and probably made him feel like shit in the process, adding insult to injury by requesting that he leave by the back door so he wouldn’t cross paths with his ex. Nice.

Sean wouldn’t be surprised if he never saw Arliss again. He couldn’t blame him. What he had done was akin to using the guy and casting him aside, making him feel he was at best second on Sean’s priority list when it came to men. When that list amounted to only two, that left poor Arliss dead last. Arliss probably rethought his opinion of Sean on the way home, labeling him a first class jerk, or a flake, neither of which, Sean was sure, would rank high on Arliss’ list of dating likes.

He blew on the coffee and thought of the second stupid thing he had done. He had sent Jerome away, telling him pretty emphatically that there would be no second chances, that they were truly over and done…for good...

BUY Tricks.

Sample 60 Saturday: ON THE EDGE

2011-04-02T07:01:00.000-07:00

Let's continue the chronological tour with my gay romance collection, On the Edge. The book is a collection of eight of my most romantic stories, previously available only in ebook format, in a trade paperback edition.

Go here for more info and to get your copy.

SYNOPSIS
In Rick R. Reed’s haunting, mesmerizing, suspenseful, and romantic world, his gay male characters live on the edge, often literally as well as figuratively. In this new collection, you’ll take a wild ride with some of literature’s most unforgettable characters. Along the way, you’ll be moved—to tears, to laughter, to uneasiness, and sometimes, to arousal. As Bette Davis once said, “Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.”

Previously available only in electronic format, these eight stories of Gay Erotica and Romance have now been combined for a paperback edition! Included are the tales...

Superstar
A story about promises made, promises broken, and dreams unfulfilled. Yet ultimately, it’s about realizing that love can come along when one least expects it—and in the unlikeliest of places.

Through The Closet Door
A tale that brings to painful life the consequences of coming out of the closet when you’re married. Gregory’s mask is slipping, pulled down by the allure of a handsome neighbor and the demands of a desire that only gets louder the more he tries to quiet it.

Riding The El At Midnight
When the gorgeous and twisted Mark boards a northbound el train, he is looking for love in all the wrong places. Finding Julio aboard that same train, Mark thinks, is the answer to his dreams. But are his dreams nightmares?

Fugue
Slip into the dungeon playroom of a master and his boy. But in the boy’s mind, a dream state takes him places the master could not imagine...places where the established order turns upside down.

Incubus
Two men, one predator, and a violent crime equal a journey into hellish nightmare territory. This tale merges horror with a tragic love story and the result is...chilling.

Man-Amorphosis
I awoke one morning from uneasy dreams to find my penis had transformed itself into a vagina... Thus begins the story of a very unusual day...

No Place Like Home
Trannies and Psychos and Bears...oh my! Burl discovers—in a hilariously bizarre quest—that there really is no place like home.

Pottery Peter
One long hot summer. Three gorgeous men. And a burning triangle set down in the middle of a factory filled with sweaty men with bulging biceps.

PAGE 60
Page 60 happens to fall in the middle of "Through the Closet Door"

“Sh-h. Listen, it’s okay.” Jake whispers and leans close to Gregory, his chest pressed against Gregory’s back.

Impulsively, Gregory turns and hugs him. He is more surprised by his action than he imagines Jake is. The intense brown of Jake’s eyes is apparent, even in the dark. Gregory feels he could lose himself in the brown, letting it swallow him up like a cold spot in the lake. The feel of Jake’s body so close, the strong arms wrapped around him are like a blessing, a relief after so much denial.

Then Jake is leaning close, and Gregory feels the soft pressure of his lips on his own. Gregory closes his eyes, shutting everything out save for the soft cool of Jake’s mouth on his. He lets his head go back, parts his lips to admit Jake’s tongue and, almost of its own accord, his hand comes up, grabbing Jake at the nape of his neck and pulling him closer. The feel of his beard against his smooth skin is electric and Gregory finds himself out of control, lost, as he mashes his mouth against the other man’s, his tongue dueling, the taste of beer and cigarettes and something indefinable and sweet filling his mouth.

An image of Rosemary intrudes, that same image of her standing near the window, watching for return, wondering what he’s doing. And what is he doing?

Just as suddenly as the kiss begins, it stops as Gregory stiffens, leaning back. Jake pulls away, regarding him out of the corner of his eye, back against the porch swing. Jake is breathless. He lets out a small laugh, husky.

Gregory forces himself to scoot down on the bench a couple of inches, so that their contact disappears. He doesn’t want this to end, yet at the same time, sees no other road open to him. He can’t live split in two. Weakly, he mumbles, “I have to get up early tomorrow.”

“Sure,” Jake whispers, reaching for another cigarette. The flare of the lighter illuminates his face for a moment and Gregory is certain he can see frustration and disappointment in the other man’s craggy features. He exhales smoke and looks out toward the lake. “I understand. You run along now. Be a good little boy.”

“Jake, I—”

And Jake puts a finger to Gregory’s lips, the lips he’s just kissed. “Hey, don’t worry about it, man. Believe it or not, I was married once too, even have a couple of kids, so I know. I know.”

Gregory is off the porch and swallowed up by the darkness before Jake has a chance to say another word. He stomps through the night, his footfalls hard, firm, and rapid as he heads back toward his own home…and Rosemary. He doesn’t question why his breath is catching and why his face is covered with salty tears.

Go here for more info and to get your copy.

FREE for your Kindle: Some Vampire Goodness--IMMORTAL

2011-04-01T05:59:00.000-07:00

Simply click the Amazon link at left to get your free book. But hurry--these titles often do not stay free for long!

Product Description

For centuries, the Kahill vampire clan has lived quietly among locals and tourists in the tranquil beachfront village of Clare Point. In Immortal, V.K. Forrest weaves the unforgettable tale of Fin, a Kahill clan leader who discovers that the woman he loves may harbor a secret too dark to comprehend. . .Immortal Magnetic, fearless Fin Kahill has dedicated his life to ridding the world of its most vicious serial killers. Fin is used to roaming the earth freely--not getting stuck in sleepy Clare Point. But when the clan needs him close by, Fin agrees to take a summer job on the town's tiny police force. He expects little excitement--until he meets Elena, an ethereal Italian beauty.

As Fin struggles against his feelings for Elena, the peace in Clare Point is shattered by the inexplicable murder of a tourist. The young man's throat has been cut, his body eerily posed. When the killer strikes again, Fin wonders if a member of his own clan is responsible. The only one he can turn to is Elena, but he knows that falling in love with a human can be a deadly mistake. Yet just as Fin edges closer to solving the murders, he discovers Elena may not be exactly who, or what, she appears. . .

HOMECOMING Cover in a Contest! Vote for a Chance to Win a Limited Edition Print!

2011-03-31T09:08:00.000-07:00

Enter to vote on which of four Paul Richmond covers (my Homecoming is one of them) becomes a poster. If Homecoming takes first place, you could win the print, suitable for framing. See the other covers, and get all the details here.

Sample 60 Saturday: A DEMON INSIDE

2011-03-26T07:04:00.000-07:00

Every Saturday, until I run out of books--or decide to go to page 70--I will present an excerpt, page 60, from one of my books. No matter what it says--funny, filthy, scary, dumb, or tantalizing--you'll get it here.

And I'd love to hear what you think. Leave a comment below and let me know if this made you want to read more.

Let's continue the chronological tour with my haunted house story, A Demon Inside. Bookwenches Reviews said, "...A Demon Inside does not lead you gently into the wading pool; it shoves you into the deep end of horror...I plan to read it again, if only to remind myself what constitutes a satisfying scare..."

BUY A Demon Inside

SYNOPSIS
Hunter Beaumont doesn't understand his grandmother's deathbed wish: "Destroy Beaumont House." He'd never even heard of the place. But after his grandmother passes and his first love betrays him, the family house in the Wisconsin woods looks like a tempting refuge. Going against his grandmother's wishes, Hunter flees to Beaumont House.

But will the house be the sanctuary he had hoped for? Soon after moving in, Hunter realizes he may not be alone. And with whom--or what--he shares the house may plunge him into a nightmare from which he may never escape. Sparks fly when he meets his handsome neighbor, a caretaker for the estate next door, but is the man his salvation...or is he the source of Hunter's terror?

PAGE 60
Nana lies propped once more on the pillows, her eyes engaging and imploring him. “Destroy Beaumont House.” His grandmother makes the command over and over again, a litany, her voice dead and toneless. Soon, other voices join in, people hidden in shadows in corners of the room. The chorus rises in volume until it hurts his ears.
And then it stops. Hunter moves toward his grandmother, but before his eyes, she morphs into something else, something scaly, with yellow feral eyes.

Hunter awakened all at once. There was no swimming upward out of a haze of sleep. He shivered and looked over to see he had left the window open to cool himself after his bath, but now the room was freezing, the pale curtains billowing inward. They made Hunter think of ghosts. He got out of bed, hearing the soft hiss of rain outside. He pulled the windows closed and hurried to get back beneath his comforter, pulling it up to his chin. He didn’t know if he would get back to sleep tonight, at least not with the imagery from his nightmare still so fresh in his mind.

What did it mean? Was it some sort of omen? Or just psychological residue, his mind processing the odd and frightening day he had had?

Either way, the dream still clung to him, like something sticky and wet, disturbing him when he knew it shouldn’t. If it was something paranormal, like an omen, shouldn’t he listen? After all, what were omens anyway, other than warnings? And more logically, if it was his own psyche’s wake up call to him, then maybe he should stop and consider these thoughts he was having of taking up residence in rural Wisconsin.

And finally, he thought of Nana. Beyond the dream images, beyond her final pathetic entreaty about the house, Nana stayed alive in his heart for all the good she did. She had taken him, as a shell-shocked little boy, and raised him. Protected him. Nurtured him. And yes, spoiled him, giving him practically whatever it was he wanted (riding lessons, a piano, a car on his sixteenth birthday), taking him to China, Italy, France, England, Egypt, and Argentina. The old woman could never say no to him, but she always had a bottomless well of love for her grandson and always put his best interests first.

BUY A Demon Inside

The 9th Circuit just ruled on Prop 8. What can you do?

2011-03-23T14:09:00.000-07:00

The 9th Circuit just decided to NOT lift the stay on Judge Walker's ruling that Prop. 8 is unconstitutional. That's a death sentence for at least some couples.

The poignant video testimony of two Courage Campaign members (above), Ed and Derence of Palm Springs, a couple that has been together for 40 years, demonstrates that lives are in the balance. Ed suffers from advancing Alzheimer's. The California Supreme Court and now the 9th Circuit have decided to make Ed and Derence wait at least 9 more months before they might enjoy the fundamental right to marry.

By then, it might not matter anymore.

Together, we have to work to assure there won’t be more Ed and Derences. So here are 3 things you can do right now (from the Courage Campaign):

1. You can click here to contribute $9 – one dollar for each month it’s expected to take until the CA Supreme Court rules on the “standing” issue. Courage Campaign will use your tax-deductible contribution to make sure no more courts ignore couples like Ed and Derence through advertising, events, and on-the-ground organizing.
2. You can click here to join the 48,958 people who signed up for the Courage Campaign's effort with Sen. Feinstein and Rep. Nadler to repeal DOMA, so that for couples who are married in California, and can marry elsewhere, they can get the 1,100+ federal rights they deserve, no matter where they live.
3. You can click here to tell the 9th Circuit: You Can't Stay Our Love. Take a photo of you and your loved one holding a homemade sign that says "Can't Stay Our Love". Then, if you’re straight, tell your story of how you’d feel if you had to sit in a waiting room to get married with no end in sight. If you’re LGBT, tell why you can’t wait. Ed and Derence sent in their story the last time Courage Campaign asked, and it went viral on The Washington Post, The Advocate, and dozens of blogs. Yours could be the next.

Courage will increase public awareness so that future rulings do not confuse dry, legal prose with life itself. We will never stop fighting. Please keep fighting by taking one, or all, of the actions above.

A Dignified Review of an Undignified Book: DIGNITY TAKES A HOLIDAY

2011-03-21T06:03:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning to a wonderful review of my "very different" "offbeat" romance, Dignity Takes a Holiday. Writing the book and submitting it, I knew that Dignity was something very unusual for me, a book that readers would either "get" or not...and I was prepared for the possibility that it was the kind of effort that would either be loved or hated, with very little in between.

And that is being borne out now in the reviews its getting and comments from readers. Jerry Wheeler, at Out in Print Reviews, gets that too. I like that he understood I took a chance and "stretched" to write a book that, even for me, is very far from what I would usually write (it's been compared more than once to John Waters, and I think that's apt).

Anyway, Mr. Wheeler says, in part: "Reed goes far out on a limb here, writing slapstick farce instead of his usual taut suspense and horror thrillers. Writers who take themselves into unfamiliar territory are to be applauded. The chances they take, whether successful or not, bespeak a willingness to grow beyond what their audience expects of them and that experience is usually reflected in a deepening—a re-dimensioning (I love making jargon up)—of whatever genre they’re better known for when they return to it.

"But that’s not what you want to hear, is it? You want to know if it’s any good.

The answer is a qualified ‘yes.’ Qualified because Dignity Takes a Holiday is purposefully over the top and that alone may put some readers off. The abuse Helen dishes out is so severe and the situations Peter finds himself in are so outrageous that you may find yourself reading with a grimace instead of a grin. Funny, yes—hysterical at times. But painfully so.

"However, this is all set-up for the ending, which (and this is typically Reed) puts the preceding events into context and reveals the heartfelt relationship underlying the farce..."
Read the whole review here.

SYNOPSIS
Pete Thickwhistle doesn't live what one might call a charmed life. At age forty-seven, he's a flamboyant gay man who believes no one knows he's gay, still living at home with his harpy of a mother. Worse, he's still a virgin, longing to find just the right man to make his life complete. Pete's an upbeat kind of guy, yet he's never learned that the answer to his motto "What could possibly go wrong?" is always: "Everything."

Pete's road to love and happiness is full of potholes, yet he never tires of searching, despite job losses, weight battles, clothing faux pas, and disastrous vacations, parties, and dating debacles. Pete is the ultimate underdog living a television situation comedy, one named Dignity Takes a Holiday.

Buy Dignity Takes a Holiday from Dreamspinner Press here.

Buy Dignity Takes a Holiday from Dreamspinner Press from the Amazon Kindle store here.

Sample 60 Saturday: Tales from the Sexual Underground

2011-03-19T05:29:00.000-07:00

Every Saturday, until I run out of books--or decide to go to page 70--I will present an excerpt, page 60, from one of my books. No matter what it says--funny, filthy, scary, dumb, or tantalizing--you'll get it here.

And I'd love to hear what you think. Leave a comment below and let me know if this made you want to read more.

Let's continue the chronological tour with my collection of erotic stories, essays, and, er, anecdotes, Tales from the Sexual Underground. When the book appeared in March of 2010, Rainbow Reviews said, "Aside from the fact that he is a solidly good writer and I enjoy his versatility in genre writing, whether in the realm of horror, the suspense thriller, erotica or romance, what attracts me to his stories most is that they are highly imaginative, they push boundaries and they challenge me as a reader. Tales From The Sexual Underground accomplishes all of this and more. And while a handful of the stories in this collection took me outside of my comfort zone leaving me wide-eyed and breathless, the thrill and anticipation of what was to come as I continued to turn the page was like an aphrodisiac."

BUY Tales from the Sexual Underground

SYNOPSIS
I wanted to write about people who were not just out, but out there, people who lived their sexual lives in ways most of us could only imagine...and for whom the flavor vanilla had absolutely no appeal. I interviewed porn stars, prostitutes, self-proclaimed sex pigs, and delved into bizarre sexual practices. It was eye-opening, arousing, and a lot of fun (but never, never good clean fun). I also include here my favorite dirty stories. They all explore a side of life that exists not in the twilight zone, but in my favorite destination...the sexual underground.

Page 60:
Neg. UB2. That’s common internet parlance for “negative—you be too,” and it irks many poz people. Maybe it irks them because:

Negative. UB2.

It’s late and the leather bar I’m sitting in is at the prescient moment just before the bartender shouts, “Last call!” Just before the lights come up to change the dark, smoky, sexually-charged universe that the few remaining men in the bar inhabit. There is the smell of desperation in the air, as these few look around for someone with whom to spend an hour, the night, their lives. Should we go next door to the baths?

An acquaintance sits next to me. I’ve seen him before, maybe even done him once in the backroom. We chat off and on, as our predatory gazes scan the room. We know nothing about each other, really. That’s about to change.

“So what are you gonna do?” I ask.

He fingers the chain and leather harness across his broad chest, glistening with sweat and a matte of dark, going-to-gray chest hair.

e takes a drag off his cigar. Contemplation. “Dunno. Guess I’ll go home and cruise the net.”

“That works for you?”

“Shit, yes. It’s like ordering a pizza.”

I recall when we exchanged our HIV statuses at one point; not tonight. He’s poz. Makes me wonder: “So, do you tell these guys about yourself?”

“What do you mean? Top? Bottom? Stats?”

“No. You tell ‘em you’re poz?”

“Hell no.”

The bar’s hot. Blue smoke hovers near the ceiling. I feel a chill. “Why not?”

BUY Tales from the Sexual Underground

A Taste of my 2011 EPIC eBook Award Winner

2011-03-18T05:29:00.000-07:00

Here's a little taste of my 2011 EPIC eBook Award Winner, THE BLUE MOON CAFE (best Horror Erotic Romance).

Buy link: http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/BlueMoonCafe.html

SYNOPSIS
Someone--or something--is killing Seattle's gay men.
A creature moves through the darkest night, lit only by the full moon, taking them, one by one, from the rain city's gay gathering areas.

Someone--or something--is falling in love with Thad Matthews.
Against a backdrop of horror and fear, young Thad finds his first true love in the most unlikely of places--a new Italian restaurant called The Blue Moon Cafe. Sam is everything Thad has ever dreamed of in a man: compassionate, giving, handsome, and with brown eyes Thad feels he could sink into. And Sam can cook! But as the pair's love begins to grow, so do the questions and uncertainties, the main one being, why do Sam's unexplained disappearances always coincide with the full moon? Prepare yourself for a unique blend of dark suspense and erotic romance with The Blue Moon Cafe, written by the author Unzipped magazine called, 'the Stephen King of gay horror.' You're guaranteed an unforgettable reading experience, one that skillfully blends the hottest romance with the most chilling terror...
(Gay / Dark Fantasy / Shapeshifter / Werewolf / Suspense / Thriller)

EXCERPT
In his imagination, Thad pictured the two of them coming in his front door and Sam throwing him roughly up against the door, covering his face and neck with kisses while his hands roamed, tweaking a nipple there, fondling his balls here. In the pregnant darkness, the man would work Thad into a frenzy of carnal desire so great he didn’t know if they would make it to the bedroom or if they would consummate their passion right on the living room floor. He saw their muscles, slicked with sweat, working in unison like a machine to bring each other to dizzying heights of pleasure.

He hadn’t pictured Edith greeting them at the door and the poor little Chihuahua manically jumping up and down on him, whining to be taken outside—immediately. So, with reluctance, Thad flipped on the overhead light so he could find her leash. He looked back at Sam, who waited outside in the shadows. “You can just go on in and have a seat on the couch. She won’t take me more than a minute.”

“It’s okay. I can wait out here.” Sam groped in his pocket and brought out a pack of cigarettes. He extracted one, lit it, and exhaled a plume of blue gray smoke into the night air. Thad was both repelled and attracted by the site of Sam lighting up.

Ugh. A smoker. Something I will have to work on changing. He then couldn’t deny the “bad boy” thrill the site of the man smoking gave him. Or maybe not.

Thad ducked back in and stooped to affix harness and leash to Edith, who was all but hopping up and down with impatience. She whimpered and stared desperately up at him.

“I know, I know,” Thad soothed. “Small bladder.”

The two stepped outside and Edith froze when she saw Sam. Her eyes widened and the hackles along her neck and back went up. She immediately began a furious yapping, baring her teeth, and lunging toward Sam, her tiny frame testing the endurance of the leather leash. Thad was surprised the old girl had so much fury and strength within her seven pound frame. He sent a weak smile Sam’s way to apologize for her behavior. “I don’t know what’s up with her. She’s usually not like this.”

“Maybe it’s the dark. I’ll walk over here.” Sam hurried back down the walkway until he stood near the street, the orange tip of his cigarette glowing in the dark.

Thad squatted down to comfort the little dog, shaking with fury and what seemed like terror. He had acquired Edith as a puppy and had made sure she was well socialized from about eight weeks old on, taking her everywhere with him and exposing her, over the years to all sorts of people, other dogs, and even cats. He had never seen her behave like this. Great! I finally find a man I think I could be nuts about and my dog doesn’t like him. Something I’ll have to work on. Thad walked Edith in the opposite direction from Sam and she calmed down enough to re-establish her original goal and to take care of it.

“I’ll put her in the bathroom,” Thad called to Sam as he headed back to the apartment. “Give me just a sec. I’ll leave the door open and then you can come in.”

Thad hurried to make a bed of towels for Edith in one corner, then rushed into the kitchen to put some peanut butter in her little Kong toy. He presented it to her. “Here, now I’ve been nice to you. Now you be nice to me. No more trouble from you.” He took one last glance back at the dog, busy with getting peanut butter out of her toy, before closing the bathroom door.

Sam leaned against his front door, smiling. He didn’t look tired in the least, even though it was near two in the morning and he had worked all evening. The color in his cheeks was high, his lips full and slightly parted, and the way he stared at Thad was all invitation. Thad simply wanted to get lost in that big, furry body.

But he was still a little flustered. “Sorry about that. She isn’t usually so unfriendly. I don’t know what got into her.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m not much of a dog person—maybe she knew that. And maybe you don’t know what’s gotten into her, but I have an inkling you have a very good idea what’s going to be getting into you.” Sam winked and then laughed.

“You dog!” Thad crossed the room, flicked off the lights, and pressed his body against Sam. The kisses, against the door, just as he had imagined, commenced. Thad was, for once, grateful he didn’t have a job to go to come Monday morning, because he knew his face would be red and chafed from the pressure of Sam’s beard. This way, he imagined he would smile with fond memories every time he looked in a mirror.

They kissed for what seemed like the next hour, until both of them panted and half their faces were wet with the other saliva. Without ever leaving the front door, shirts had been undone and pulled open, flies opened, and shoes kicked into corners.

Breathlessly, Thad forced himself away from Sam and said the three little words every man longs to hear: “To the bed.” He grabbed Sam and tugged him toward the bed that occupied one corner of his studio. They fell upon it, laughing and tearing at each other’s clothes...

[WITHHELD IN THE INTEREST OF THOSE WITH DELICATE SENSIBILITIES]

...Sam and Thad lay on their backs, breathless. Thad spoke first, but only after several minutes had passed, long enough for him to process what had just happened and to allow his respiration to return to a somewhat normal pace. “That was amazing. I’m no Mary Poppins, but I can honestly say I don’t know when it’s been that good for me.” Thad let out a long, quivering breath. “You’re right; you are an animal.”

Sam laughed and the sound was comforting, here in the pale, silvery light from a waning moon outside. Thad snuggled into the crook between Sam’s chest and arm, resting his head on the fur that blanketed Sam’s chest. This, he thought, surprising himself, is just about as good as the sex.

“I just go with my instincts.” Sam stroked Thad’s hair gently. “If that makes me an animal, then I am guilty as charged.” He moved slightly away from Thad. “Don’t kill me, but do you mind if I have a cigarette? I can go outside if you want.”

Thad shook his head, grinning. “A smoke after sex. That’s so cliché. But go ahead. Normally, I wouldn’t allow it, but I’ll make an exception for you…Sam.” Thad liked how the name felt on his tongue.

“Grazie.” Sam turned to sit up and grope in his pants pocket, bringing out a pack of Marlboro Reds and a lighter. He leaned back against the headboard and lit up. The room filled with the acrid stench of burning tobacco and paper and instead of being repelled, as he normally would be, Thad moved close to Sam again, taking up his newly claimed spot on the man’s chest. He stared up at him, watching him smoke. Lazily, he traced circles in the hairy mat covering Sam’s chest. His fingers stopped when he caught sight of a design on Sam’s left pectoral, something he had hadn’t noticed in the dim light or perhaps because it was all but hidden by the forest of hair. Thad got up on one elbow.

“You have a tattoo?”

In the dark, Sam nodded. “I’ve had it for years, way before tattoos were all the rage like they are these days.”

“Especially here in Seattle.” Thad often wondered if there was some requirement that all citizens of Seattle must have at least one tattoo. “What’s it of?” Thad strained to make out the design’s contours in the dim light and couldn’t.

Sam leaned forward to switch on the little bedside lamp. Thad squinted at the sudden light source, then directed his gaze down at the muscled chest before him. “What is it?” Thad traced the design with his fingers, lowering his head to peer more closely at it. He nipped at Sam’s nipple and Sam laughed.

“It’s Lupa, the she-wolf who suckled Romulus and Remus, the twins who founded Rome in mythology. Cool, no?” Sam flexed his chest so the wolf seemed to move. Two cherubic twin boys below the figure suckled at her teats.

“It’s kind of weird. But it suits you.” Thad reached over Sam to turn off the light again. “What brought you to America?”

Did Thad detect a slight stiffening when he asked the question? He had only meant to further their little post-coital conversation. “I don’t mean to put you on the spot,” he hurried to say, wondering if he had imagined the slight body language. “If it’s none of my business, just say so.”

Sam relaxed against the bunched up—and damp—pillows. “No. It’s okay. We came from a small village in Sicily. Lots of mountains, rocks, olive trees…not much else. You would probably think it’s pretty, but me, I was bored. We just decided one day to go, to come to America, to see if we could make a go of it here. We tried New York City first, but it was too crazy there. Too many people, too expensive. We wanted someplace where everything was not concrete, where there was some nature. Seattle was, how would you say? A natural choice.”

Now it was Thad’s turn to stiffen just a bit. What was with all the ‘we’ this and ‘we’ that? His feelings, briefly at an all-time high, sunk. Was Sam married? Did he have a lover? Was Thad just that night’s side dish? Sam’s olive cake with Marion berries? Would Sam soon be getting up to hurry home to someone who was sleeping with one eye open, waiting for the sound of his key in the door? Thad did not want to come off as suspicious, but he couldn’t resist his next question and thought he might as well get everything out in the open right from the start.

“You said ‘we’. Who’s ‘we’?” Thad tried to bite his lip to keep himself from saying it, but he couldn’t resist the impulse. “Wait. Don’t tell me. There’s a boyfriend—or a wife—right?” Thad held his breath, waiting for the bad news to be delivered. It wouldn’t surprise him, but it would certainly deflate him. And it would be just about right for how his life had been going lately.

Sam chuckled and took a last drag off his cigarette. He got up and went to the window to flick it outside. His ass, high and firm, glowed in the moonlight and Thad wondered if he would have to rethink his policy of not dating committed men. Hell, with that ass, I may have to rethink my policy of being a total bottom.

He’s not talking because he’s trying to think of the right way to tell me. Thad clutched a pillow to his chest, almost as if he was bracing himself for a blow, which he was.

Sam weighed down the bed as he slid back in beside him. “You silly boy. There’s no one else. I said ‘we’ because I have a son. He came with me.” Sam took Thad’s face in his hands and snatched him up in his dark-eyed gaze. “There’s no one else.” He let go and Thad immediately missed the contact. “I travel light. I usually like, um, no complications? But when I saw you, I couldn’t resist.”

It wasn’t until they were drifting off to sleep that the paranoid side of Thad caught up with him again, causing him to wonder if the fucking was a way to stave off further conversation. Who was this son? Did Sam really just come to America for a change? How many people actually do that…or can even afford to? Stop it, now. He’s here with you now…

And the men drifted off to sleep together...

Win a FREE Copy of A Hundred Little Lies by Jon Wilson

2011-03-15T04:54:00.000-07:00

To promote its newest release, Cheyenne Publishing is giving away a paperback copy of A Hundred Little Lies by Jon Wilson. To enter, simply send an email to webmaster@cheyennepublishing.com
with A Hundred Little Lies Contest in the subject line and include your contact information in the body of the email. The winner will be notified on Wednesday March 16th.

SYNOPSIS
Everyone knows Jack Tulle as a widower, a doting father, and an honest businessman. The problem is, it's all a lie.

For eight years Jack has enjoyed the quiet life in the sleepy little town of Bodey, Colorado where he owns and operates the General Store. He sits on the town council. He dotes upon his eight-year-old, headstrong daughter, Abigail. He is even being sized-up as a prospective new member of the family by the bank president. But when the local saloon announces plans to host a grand prize poker tournament, Jack realizes it could spell trouble. One of the many secrets he's been hiding is that he used to be a con man — mainly underhanded poker, but he wasn't above the odd swindle when the situation presented itself. And a contest like the one his town is planning is sure to draw some old business acquaintances — fellows Jack would really rather not admit to knowing.

Of course there's one man in particular Jack is worried about seeing — Tom Jude is the only person who knows the truth behind all his secrets. Tom wasn't just Jack's partner-in-crime, he was also the love of his life. And Tom knows things — like the fact that the little girl Jack is raising, really isn't his...

As Jack scrambles to maintain his deceptions by lying to friends and neighbors as well as the child he has grown to love, he discovers the real truth: when your world is built on A Hundred Little Lies, exposing a single one of them can bring the whole thing crashing down.

NEW RELEASE! Win a FREE Copy of My Love Story, HOMECOMING

2011-03-14T00:04:00.000-07:00

Currently, Dreamspinner Press is offering my latest release, Homecoming, for only $3.99. The e-book is available in all popular formats, including Kindle-ready (Mobi/prc). Get your copy of Homecoming here. Or order directly from Amazon's Kindle store here.

Or...you can win a free copy in the e-book format of your choice (including Kindle compatible). Simply follow the steps below. I will announce a winner on Tuesday morning.

AND WE HAVE A WINNER! Elisabeth Staab wins the free copy. I will be in touch with you soon, directly, Elisabeth.

1. Leave a comment below.
2. Be sure to leave an e-mail address so I can get in touch if you're a winner.
3. Bonus points for reposting news of this contest/release on your Facebook, Twitter, group, blog, or other social network. Even more bonus points if you click on the link at the right to subscribe by e-mail to this blog.

Homecoming is a poignant, yet hopeful story, about a man finding his way back to life and love after losing his partner. It's definitely a solid step in the romance direction for me...

Homecoming
ISBN-13: 978-1-61581-840-2
Genres: Gay / Contemporary / Romance
Cover art: Paul Richmond
Length: Novella (32k words)

BLURB
After losing his partner Toby, Chase faces a long, painful road back to life and love. At first, he doesn’t see how he can go on, but then Chase and Toby’s old friend Mike cajoles him into returning to Chicago for the annual International Mr. Leather Competition. There Chase revisits a world of hot, casual sex that he had forgotten existed, meets a friend who cares more for him than he ever realized, and discovers the possibility that he might yet find his way home.

EXCERPT
EVERYTHING was ready for the surprise party. Chase had decorated their Seattle condo with gold, purple, and white streamers and matching balloons, giving the place a Mardi Gras feel. A specially made banner hung above the dining room table with Toby’s high school graduation photo and the words, “Over the Hill? Happy 40th, Toby!” emblazoned across its slick white surface.

Their condo, in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, felt alive with the electricity of anticipation. Even what lay outside the windows, which overlooked the Space Needle and downtown Seattle, appeared to be lit up for a party this early spring evening.

Chase had gathered all of Toby’s friends for the bash, swearing them to secrecy and getting them in on the weeks-long planning for his partner’s milestone birthday. They were spread out now throughout the kitchen, dining, and living areas, clutching cocktails in their hands, chattering about Toby and how he looked too young to actually be forty, and how surprised he would be when he walked in the door. Chase himself relished the idea of Toby’s handsome face wide-eyed in surprise and delight. No one appreciated a party like Toby. Chase saw his man in his mind’s eye, even as he bustled around the condo, making sure the hors d’oeuvres were in place. The dining room table was laden with bowls of Pad Thai, pot stickers, chicken satay with peanut sauce, and prawns enveloped in wonton wrappers; Chase had dusted the tablecloth with purple glitter. He could just picture Toby’s face—the short blond hair, the wide-set blue eyes, the finely chiseled features—alive with total shock and pleasure at everything Chase had assembled to celebrate his special day.

The food and the local friends weren’t the only things Chase couldn’t wait for Toby to see. Diagonal to the dining room table, Chase had a bar set up, sparing no expense to have it stocked with top shelf liquor, wine, beer, and mixers. And the bartender was yet another in a long line of surprises Chase had arranged. The guy was pure eye candy—Latino with olive skin, buzzed black hair, the darkest eyes Chase had ever seen, and ripped and bulging muscles that should have put him on the cover of a fitness magazine rather than behind a bar. These were visible because his outfit consisted only of tight black pants and red suspenders. Best part was that the guy seemed truly affable and friendly. His excitement at Toby’s arrival did not seem in the least faked.

And the best surprise of all stood in the corner by the windows with the view they had bought the place for. Mike. Chase had been thrilled when Toby’s old best friend from Chicago had agreed to fly out for the party. Mike and Toby went back years, to their college days at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. When Chase and Toby lived in the windy city, he had to admit to himself that he would be lying if he said he wasn’t jealous of the two men’s closeness, but Mike had always seemed genuinely happy that Toby had found Chase, after years of searching for the one in and out of leather bars all over Chicago’s north side.

Although Toby had left the leather scene behind—and sold off his chaps, harness, and bar vest on Craigslist—Mike had never gotten away from it, which was evident even now. Mike was tall, verging on six-five, with buzzed salt and pepper hair, a matching beard, pale gray eyes, and a deep tan. In another life, Chase would have gone weak in the knees at the sight of this hunk. Now, he seemed more like a loving brother-in-law. But once he had arrived at their condo from Sea-Tac airport, earlier that day, in jeans and a Bears T-shirt, he had changed into full leather regalia for the party—tight black leather jeans, a clinging T-shirt that showed off his ripples and bulges to good advantage, leather vest, and combat boots. He looked like some sort of Tom of Finland fantasy.

Apparently, Chase was not the only one who thought so. Right now, Mike had a full entourage of new friends gathered around him, all Seattle men, dressed in their usual garb of sweat shirts, fleece, jeans, and, even in March, sandals (some with socks, but that was Seattle for you).

Chase hurried over to Mike and managed to pull him away from the crowd of fawning admirers that had gathered around him. The two men stood near the front door. Chase eyed Mike. “So are you excited?”

“Oh God, yes. It’s been how long since we’ve all gotten together? Seems like forever.” Mike asked.

Chase thought about it. The last time he and Toby had been back to Chicago must have been four years ago, when they returned to the city in August, in miserable heat, to visit Mike and go to the Halsted Market Days street festival. It had been a fun time, but both Toby and Chase were ready to return to Seattle’s cool temps and summer sunshine by the end of that week, a sure sign that Seattle had usurped Chicago as ‘home’. This trip was Mike’s first to Seattle. He had planned on staying a week. Chase brought himself back to the present and answered Mike, “I’m thinking four, maybe even five years ago.”

Mike shook his head. “That long, huh? We should never let that happen again.” He pulled Chase close in a bear hug. “You guys mean too much to me to see you so infrequently.”

Chase pulled away, a little breathless. The guy didn’t know his own strength; he’d almost squeezed him to death. Not that Chase minded—in fact, the truth was he was a little turned on by Mike’s closeness and brute force—but here he was, waiting for his lover to come home to the surprise party he had spent the last several weeks of his life planning. He looked over the room, which had gone a little hushed, with several people moving to the windows to peer outside.

He turned back to Mike, glancing down at his watch. It was a quarter ‘til seven. “I don’t know where that man is; he’s usually home by six fifteen at the latest.”

“He’ll be here,” Mike said, grinning. “Probably just got tied up at work.” His eyes went a little faraway. “I can just picture it.”

Chase punched his shoulder. “Cut it out! I know what you’re picturing.” Just then, he felt the vibration and then heard the ring tone he had set up just for Tony on his cell phone. He pulled the device out of his pocket, glancing at Mike and saying, “Speak of the devil.”

He pressed accept. “Hey honey. Get held up at work?” Toby worked at Microsoft as a technical writer and the days could often get really long—especially when one figured in the commute from the campus in suburban Redmond.

“Yeah. I won’t bore you with the details. Sorry I didn’t call you sooner. I just wanted to get out of there and then I fell asleep on the bus. I guess I really am forty! No energy!”

“Well, we’ll fix that when you get home.”

“What’s for dinner?”

“Leftovers. We still had chili left from Wednesday night.”

“Sounds good. And Chase?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m glad you’re respecting my wishes to not do anything special for my birthday. I really do just want a quiet evening at home with the man I love.”

Chase thought he’d get that later, when they were asleep and everyone had gone home. He looked around at the throng, grateful they had all gone quiet when his cell phone rang. Someone had even been thoughtful enough to pause the playlist of eighties dance music that was going. He felt a little twinge, hoping Toby would truly be thrilled—and not disappointed or angry with him—for planning this shindig.

After all, how many times does a guy turn forty?

“You know I love you, honey.” Chase looked at Mike, who had an expectant expression on his face. “So where are you? Close?”

“Better. I’m just stepping off the bus.” Chase heard the punctuation of the hiss of the pneumatic doors closing and the bass of the bus’s engine as it roared off. The drop off was just at the corner. Surprise party time was almost here!

Toby said, “I can stop and pick up some cornbread from that bakery on Olive if you want, it would go great with—“

Chase’s blood went cold at the sudden ceasing of Toby’s words. It wasn’t just silence he heard, but a sharp intake of breath, screeching brakes, a blaring horn, a bit of static and then…

Nothing.

Chase felt as though his heart had stopped. What had just happened? Surely, Toby had simply dropped his phone or something. His cell would ring again in a minute and Toby would pick up where he’d left off.

But the cell phone didn’t ring. And with a feeling like he was moving in slow motion, Chase began to move toward the window that overlooked their street. He had heard the screeching brakes and horn more than just through the phone, he thought with a nauseating sense of dread.

He barely heard Mike calling after him, “Chase? What’s the matter? You just went white as a ghost.”

Outside, he could hear the sirens in the distance. Outside, the traffic stopped in the street below them. Outside, a crumpled figure lay in the middle of the road, still. A woman stood nearby, her SUV door open, weeping.

That figure—the one lying twisted on the pavement—that wasn’t Toby, was it?

It couldn’t be. Chase peered through the darkness and knew that it was, but something inside him refused to believe it. No, that’s not my Toby. It couldn’t be. I’ve told him a dozen times, at least, to pay attention and look where he’s going when he’s outside on his cell.

Chase sat down suddenly, and hard, on the floor, staring numbly at the concerned faces of his friends as the sirens outside grew deafening.

Get your copy of Homecoming here. Or order directly from Amazon's Kindle store here.Get your copy of Homecoming here. Or order directly from Amazon's Kindle store here.

Once in a Blue Moon, You Win an Award

2011-03-13T06:34:00.000-07:00

I'm very pleased to announce that my werewolf chiller/love story, The Blue Moon Cafe, won the 2011 EPIC e-Book Award last night in the best horror erotic romance category. Unfortunately, I was not on hand at the awards in Richmond, VA to accept the award, but I'm still really jazzed that the book was recognized.

The EPIC eBook Awards (formerly EPPIES) have been given annually since the first EPIC conference in 2000 to recognize outstanding achievement in e-publishing. EPIC eBook Awards entries are judged by volunteers, with the largest percentage of EPIC eBook Awards Judges being active EPIC Members. Guest judges, all of whom are either published authors or publishing professionals, may be used as alternate judges at the EPIC eBook Awards Committee discretion. After the first round of judging the works of the finalists are sent to second panel of judges and winners are selected.

Here's a little taste of what The Blue Moon Cafe is all about:

Someone—or something—is killing Seattle’s gay men.

A creature moves through the darkest night, lit only by the full moon, taking them, one by one, from the rain city’s gay gathering areas.

Someone—or something—is falling in love with Thad Matthews.

Against a backdrop of horror and fear, young Thad finds his first true love in the most unlikely of places—a new Italian restaurant called The Blue Moon Cafe. Sam is everything Thad has ever dreamed of in a man: compassionate, giving, handsome, and with brown eyes Thad feels he could sink into. And Sam can cook! But as the pair’s love begins to grow, so do the questions and uncertainties, the main one being, why do Sam’s unexplained disappearances always coincide with the full moon?

Prepare yourself for a unique blend of dark suspense and erotic romance with The Blue Moon Cafe, written by the author Unzipped magazine called, “the Stephen King of gay horror.” You’re guaranteed an unforgettable reading experience, one that skillfully blends the hottest romance with the most chilling terror...

To read an excerpt and make your own reservation at The Blue Moon Cafe, click here.

Sample 60 Saturday: MUTE WITNESS

2011-03-12T06:47:00.000-08:00

Rick R. Reed Reality

10 Confessions

The Myth About Being Liked on Facebook

RELEASES TODAY! I HEART BOSTON TERRIERS!

Bookwenches Reviews CAREGIVER

Writing a Book is Like Making a Necklace

Glimpses from My Life: Houseboat on Lake Union

Notable New Release: Big Business by Carey Parrish

Love Romances Cafe "Best of 2011" Nominees

My Boston is the Cover Model for My New Book!

New Rave for CAREGIVER

Bring LGBT Couples Home for the Holidays

Kindle Giving

Three Dollar Bill Reviews Likes CAREGIVER

Just in time for the holidays! MATCHES releases today.

Coming this Wednesday, December 7, from MLR Press

5 Stars from MM Reviews for CAREGIVER

CAREGIVER Gets a Rave Review from Amos Lassen

NEW RELEASE! Win a FREE Copy of My Vampire Love Story, BLOOD SACRIFICE

A Letter from a Reader that Makes it All Worthwhile

Win a FREE Copy of CAREGIVER

The 10 Deadly Sins of Website Design

My Inspiration: CAREGIVER

New and Notable: PREMONITION by DH Starr

Check out My Profile in October's Lambda Literary Review

Rick R. Reed: Master of Romance and Horror

“When fiction is made according to its nature, it should reinforce our sense of the supernatural by grounding it in concrete, observable reality.” -Flannery O’Connor

Caregiver is Released and Reviewed!

Remembering Matthew Shepard

Rave Review for My Paranormal Thriller ECHOES

Free Halloween Stories at Dreamspinner Press!

OBSESSED About a Rave Review!

CAREGIVER To Be Released October 24

My A DEMON INSIDE is a Finalist for an EPIC eBook Award

Anthology

Childrens'

Mainstream

Action/Adventure

Erotica

Fantasy

Historical

Horror

Mystery

Paranormal

Suspense/Thriller

Science Fiction

Spiritual/Metaphysical

Non-Fiction

Novella

Contemporary Romance

Fantasy Romance

Historical Romance

Horror Romance

Paranormal Romance

Romantic Suspense

Science Fiction Romance

Spiritual/Metaphysical

Short Story

Young Adult

OBSESSED Gets 5 Stars and a "Top Pick" Review from Night Owl Reviews

Rave Review for TRICKS!

Lambda Literary Awards Changes Its Guidelines to be more Inclusive

5 Stars for DIGNITY TAKES A HOLIDAY

Win a FREE Copy of My New Romance Collection, HEARTRACE

If You're in Philadelphia August 12, Meet Me at Giovanni's Room

New Novel Contract! CAREGIVER Accepted by Dreamspinner Press

My Ghostly Love Story ECHOES Makes Publisher Bestseller List for June

FREE for Your Kindle: Mozart's Blood by Louise Marley

Win a FREE Copy of PENANCE, my chiller about Chicago Street Kids

Notable Read: Bad Dog

Friday New Releases at MLR Press!

WIN A Copy of My New Release: ECHOES

Writing Love Stories and Living Them

Win a FREE copy of OBSESSED, my serial killer thriller

Coming Sunday, July 10 from Amber Allure!

Obsessed is Now Available in EBook!

CLASS DISTINCTIONS Made the May Bestseller List!

New cover for ECHOES, coming in July!

New Review for HOW I MET MY MAN

4.25 stars out of five for DIGNITY TAKES A HOLIDAY from the Bookwenches