Taming the Mountain Mist by K.C. Warwick

Justin, a commander of a garrison near the Wall in norther Britain meets a man of legend: Falan is a shape-changer, an healer who can shapeshifter in a grey wolf.  Justin is not so startled to meet the man, cause he is born in Britain and his mother has raised him with the old tales. Both Justin and Falan prefer men upon women, and so it's pretty clear and simple that they can share something together, without too much problem: they start a relationship, both maintaining their life, but finding a point amid the path to connect.

But Justin, even if living far from the politics, is a man of Rome, and when Rome calls he has to respond. But if the call can put in danger Falan and his people, what Justin will do?

Taming the Mountain Mist is a smooth tale, you have a feeling of peace reading it. It's true, there is a clash between two world, but Justin seems to be a man that can conciliate these two worlds. I'd like to read a bit more on this story, less then 40 pages, cause, even if it's a paranormal tale, it's also an historical one, and I have always liked the Roman tales setting in Britain (beautiful one, Born of the Sun by Joan Wolf).

http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2193

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading+list&view=elisa.rolle

Taming the Mountain Mist by K.C. Warwick

Justin, a commander of a garrison near the Wall in norther Britain meets a man of legend: Falan is a shape-changer, an healer who can shapeshifter in a grey wolf.  Justin is not so startled to meet the man, cause he is born in Britain and his mother has raised him with the old tales. Both Justin and Falan prefer men upon women, and so it's pretty clear and simple that they can share something together, without too much problem: they start a relationship, both maintaining their life, but finding a point amid the path to connect.

But Justin, even if living far from the politics, is a man of Rome, and when Rome calls he has to respond. But if the call can put in danger Falan and his people, what Justin will do?

Taming the Mountain Mist is a smooth tale, you have a feeling of peace reading it. It's true, there is a clash between two world, but Justin seems to be a man that can conciliate these two worlds. I'd like to read a bit more on this story, less then 40 pages, cause, even if it's a paranormal tale, it's also an historical one, and I have always liked the Roman tales setting in Britain (beautiful one, Born of the Sun by Joan Wolf).

http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2193

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading+list&view=elisa.rolle

Incubus by Rick R. Reed

I need to take a decision: or stopping reading any fiction by Rick R. Reed involving the El Train in Chicago or having my heart at peace that when the characters enter the subway anything of normal will happen. In this short story Oliver is coping with the loss of his partner, and husband of only few days, Ryan and he is not doing it well. Ryan was killed on the day they were coming back from their honeymoon, at night, just out of the subway.

In the months after the event, Oliver has replayed every moment of that ride on the El Train and the few steps they took before Ryan's killing. That is probably the strength of the story, the author plays with the reader's mind as he is playing with Oliver's: is it all real, or is it only an illusion? The events Oliver is replaying are really happened, or he is slowly descending into craziness. Oliver has even given an hint towards this second option, saying that craziness runs in his family even before all went to hell.

There is a big love story but this is not a romance. It's clear that Oliver and Ryan were perfect together, and probably if nothing happened to Ryan, Oliver would have never shown any mental issue. But the reader has only few chance to enjoy that love, few brief moments before the tragedy. They are not enough for a romantic reader. After that, it's all an horror tale, and even when the incubus comes back to haunt Oliver, it's not love, and Oliver is well aware of it.

So no, if you are a committed romance reader and what your are searching is a fairy tale love story, Incubus is not probably your choice. But if you consider that this is only a short story, and that often short stories lack in originality to be only a sex scene, maybe well written, but nothing more, than Incubus is surely something more than that, and it's worth a try.

http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/Incubus.html

Amazon Kindle: Incubus

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Incubus by Rick R. Reed

I need to take a decision: or stopping reading any fiction by Rick R. Reed involving the El Train in Chicago or having my heart at peace that when the characters enter the subway anything of normal will happen. In this short story Oliver is coping with the loss of his partner, and husband of only few days, Ryan and he is not doing it well. Ryan was killed on the day they were coming back from their honeymoon, at night, just out of the subway.

In the months after the event, Oliver has replayed every moment of that ride on the El Train and the few steps they took before Ryan's killing. That is probably the strength of the story, the author plays with the reader's mind as he is playing with Oliver's: is it all real, or is it only an illusion? The events Oliver is replaying are really happened, or he is slowly descending into craziness. Oliver has even given an hint towards this second option, saying that craziness runs in his family even before all went to hell.

There is a big love story but this is not a romance. It's clear that Oliver and Ryan were perfect together, and probably if nothing happened to Ryan, Oliver would have never shown any mental issue. But the reader has only few chance to enjoy that love, few brief moments before the tragedy. They are not enough for a romantic reader. After that, it's all an horror tale, and even when the incubus comes back to haunt Oliver, it's not love, and Oliver is well aware of it.

So no, if you are a committed romance reader and what your are searching is a fairy tale love story, Incubus is not probably your choice. But if you consider that this is only a short story, and that often short stories lack in originality to be only a sex scene, maybe well written, but nothing more, than Incubus is surely something more than that, and it's worth a try.

http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/Incubus.html

Amazon Kindle: Incubus

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

How to create an Award

It's all day that I'm thinking and reading posts and thinking again. Actually I have always pondered the idea to create an award, but I have always thought, who am I to do that? And now I'm thinking that I'm not alone, am I? I have a lot of friends, readers and authors, and so if I give a space, the Awards could be yours not mine. Only I have nothing to give to the winner if not the a virtual price, you are the winner of the LGBT Award of a little slash/gay/lesbian/romance/whatever online community. And here start one of the problem, I read gay fiction, but not lesbian fiction at all, so I really need your help, friendslist or anonymous commenters.

I have 40 tags among genres and themes, I can create 40 posts for 40 categories and screen the comments. I can open the candidatures for each category and after a month, close the posts and draw the first 10 of each category. I can then open 40 polls for each category and draw the winner for each of them. I can then open 5 polls with 8 titles mixed together and draw the final 5 titles. Finally the last poll, 5 titles from which drawing the all together winner.

As I said, I have nothing to give to the winner if not a virtual award, but to entice people to comment and vote on the polls, I can probably ask to the authors/publishers if they are willing to donate an ebook copy of the final 40 titles and then draw one name among who voted as winner of the full 40 ebooks. If I find people willing to read 5 books in a month, we can also think to not create a poll for the last 5 titles, but to have a jury to read them and give a reasoned vote. Even more of 5, I don't know, 10?

We can consider print books and ebooks, maybe released from August 2008 to August 2009. I will not ask the gender of the author or its sexual orientation ;-)

Starting to setting things --> http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/799266.html

How to create an Award

It's all day that I'm thinking and reading posts and thinking again. Actually I have always pondered the idea to create an award, but I have always thought, who am I to do that? And now I'm thinking that I'm not alone, am I? I have a lot of friends, readers and authors, and so if I give a space, the Awards could be yours not mine. Only I have nothing to give to the winner if not the a virtual price, you are the winner of the LGBT Award of a little slash/gay/lesbian/romance/whatever online community. And here start one of the problem, I read gay fiction, but not lesbian fiction at all, so I really need your help, friendslist or anonymous commenters.

I have 40 tags among genres and themes, I can create 40 posts for 40 categories and screen the comments. I can open the candidatures for each category and after a month, close the posts and draw the first 10 of each category. I can then open 40 polls for each category and draw the winner for each of them. I can then open 5 polls with 8 titles mixed together and draw the final 5 titles. Finally the last poll, 5 titles from which drawing the all together winner.

As I said, I have nothing to give to the winner if not a virtual award, but to entice people to comment and vote on the polls, I can probably ask to the authors/publishers if they are willing to donate an ebook copy of the final 40 titles and then draw one name among who voted as winner of the full 40 ebooks. If I find people willing to read 5 books in a month, we can also think to not create a poll for the last 5 titles, but to have a jury to read them and give a reasoned vote. Even more of 5, I don't know, 10?

We can consider print books and ebooks, maybe released from August 2008 to August 2009. I will not ask the gender of the author or its sexual orientation ;-)

Starting to setting things --> http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/799266.html

LGBTQ Award: Setting rules

So no one told me I'm fool, and it's already a good thing, and more or less the suggestions I received are in line with my first idea. Only one people replied that my categories are all erotica, and so they don't have books to submit: I actually went to re-read those categories, and where some of them are probably erotica (BDSM, Menages...), I don't think they are ALL erotica: Fantasy? Coming of Age? Silver Romance? are those erotica?

I don't know, I'm not much for the idea to create erotica and non erotica categories, it would be probably difficult to set a range to part what it's in one or the other. But if you think it's better, let me know. So basically, let me summarize all.

First phase: an initial round to determine the candidatures. I will create a single post for each category, I will prepopulate each category with the titles I think will fit in them or that people will submit me, plus I will leave people in the comment section to add titles for the first week. Always in the comment section, people will vote the title. The same person can vote more books in the same category (obviously they can vote more books in different categories), only please don't vote ALL the books of the category. I have faith in you that you will not cheat (BTW I will check the IP address, you can vote even if you haven't a LJ account). The voting phase will be open for 1 month. At the end of the month I will draw the first 10 in each category.

ETA: To pre-fill the categories with the books you would like to see in them, just comment here or write to me in private. It's possible to candidate the same book in more categories if you think it will fit. Next Saturday I will post a blog for each category with the already prefilled titles and the voting phase 1 will start. I will accept late candidatures for the first week, and then I will close the categories.

Second phase: a poll for each category with the final 10 titles. 2 weeks to vote and at the end of the 2 weeks, the winner for each category. At this point we already have virtual winners, 1 for each category.

Third and last phase: a selected jury of readers (or authors without eligible books in the categories they have to read) will read 3 books out of the final list and give them a vote (range from 1 to 10): I hope to have enough jurors to have a book read by 3 different persons. A month to read all the books and at the end of the month we will have the final winner.

ETA: I'm accepting volunteers for being in the jury. Please leave a comment here or contact me with a private message.

And now the categories:

Fiction
1) Contemporary
2) Fantasy
3) Futuristic
4) Historical
5) Paranormal / Horror
6) Mystery / Thriller 
7) Coming of Age / Young Adult
8) Comedy

Non Fiction
1) General Non Fiction
2) Biography / Memoir
3) History
4) Poetry
5) Travel

Special Category: New Author

All the categories are parted in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transexual and Queer. Please, help me in filling the categories other than G (my field), otherwise those categories will have problem to survive. For the 2009 LGBTQ Rainbow Awards I will consider ebooks or print books released between September 2008 (included) and August 2009 (Included). I'm not against the idea to consider also re-releases (maybe a previous ebook released in print, or viceversa; or a reprint of the same book from a different publisher).

At the end of the first week, we will reconsider the Categories: if a category has not enough votes or candidatures (I will set a minimum of 5 titles per categories), I will withdraw it from the competion, or at least will try to compact more categories in one.

I will save the names of all people who joined in one of the voting phase. For every voting phase there will be one (or more depending on the availability of prizes) "small" winner among the voting crow: a small award is, for example, a gift certificate from a publisher to download an ebook. At the end of all the voting phases, I will draw a reader winner of a gift basket with ebooks / gift certificates and print books donated by publishers / authors: the winner will have to directly contact the authors who donate print books (publishers and authors are totally free to choose to donate only ebooks). Please consider that, if the winner is not in the same country of the author, it's an own choice of the author to send a print book, he/she can choose to revert to an ebook. The publishers / online booksellers / review sites who already gave their disponibility are (in alphabetical order):

 

 

 

 

 

 



Please let me know if you think some of them should not be there, or if I forgot something.

Sooo: the first phase will start next week. October for candidating, November for skimming, December for selecting and January for reading the final books. First week of February the winner!

Again, I'm totally open to suggestion on all of above.

LGBTQ Award: Setting rules

So no one told me I'm fool, and it's already a good thing, and more or less the suggestions I received are in line with my first idea. Only one people replied that my categories are all erotica, and so they don't have books to submit: I actually went to re-read those categories, and where some of them are probably erotica (BDSM, Menages...), I don't think they are ALL erotica: Fantasy? Coming of Age? Silver Romance? are those erotica?

I don't know, I'm not much for the idea to create erotica and non erotica categories, it would be probably difficult to set a range to part what it's in one or the other. But if you think it's better, let me know. So basically, let me summarize all.

First phase: an initial round to determine the candidatures. I will create a single post for each category, I will prepopulate each category with the titles I think will fit in them or that people will submit me, plus I will leave people in the comment section to add titles for the first week. Always in the comment section, people will vote the title. The same person can vote more books in the same category (obviously they can vote more books in different categories), only please don't vote ALL the books of the category. I have faith in you that you will not cheat (BTW I will check the IP address, you can vote even if you haven't a LJ account). The voting phase will be open for 1 month. At the end of the month I will draw the first 10 in each category.

ETA: To pre-fill the categories with the books you would like to see in them, just comment here or write to me in private. It's possible to candidate the same book in more categories if you think it will fit. Next Saturday I will post a blog for each category with the already prefilled titles and the voting phase 1 will start. I will accept late candidatures for the first week, and then I will close the categories.

Second phase: a poll for each category with the final 10 titles. 2 weeks to vote and at the end of the 2 weeks, the winner for each category. At this point we already have virtual winners, 1 for each category.

Third and last phase: a selected jury of readers (or authors without eligible books in the categories they have to read) will read 3 books out of the final list and give them a vote (range from 1 to 10): I hope to have enough jurors to have a book read by 3 different persons. A month to read all the books and at the end of the month we will have the final winner.

ETA: I'm accepting volunteers for being in the jury. Please leave a comment here or contact me with a private message.

And now the categories:

Fiction
1) Contemporary
2) Fantasy
3) Futuristic
4) Historical
5) Paranormal / Horror
6) Mystery / Thriller 
7) Coming of Age / Young Adult
8) Comedy

Non Fiction
1) General Non Fiction
2) Biography / Memoir
3) History
4) Poetry
5) Travel

Special Category: New Author

All the categories are parted in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transexual and Queer. Please, help me in filling the categories other than G (my field), otherwise those categories will have problem to survive. For the 2009 LGBTQ Rainbow Awards I will consider ebooks or print books released between September 2008 (included) and August 2009 (Included). I'm not against the idea to consider also re-releases (maybe a previous ebook released in print, or viceversa; or a reprint of the same book from a different publisher).

At the end of the first week, we will reconsider the Categories: if a category has not enough votes or candidatures (I will set a minimum of 5 titles per categories), I will withdraw it from the competion, or at least will try to compact more categories in one.

I will save the names of all people who joined in one of the voting phase. For every voting phase there will be one (or more depending on the availability of prizes) "small" winner among the voting crow: a small award is, for example, a gift certificate from a publisher to download an ebook. At the end of all the voting phases, I will draw a reader winner of a gift basket with ebooks / gift certificates and print books donated by publishers / authors: the winner will have to directly contact the authors who donate print books (publishers and authors are totally free to choose to donate only ebooks). Please consider that, if the winner is not in the same country of the author, it's an own choice of the author to send a print book, he/she can choose to revert to an ebook. The publishers / online booksellers / review sites who already gave their disponibility are (in alphabetical order):

 

 

 

 

 

 



Please let me know if you think some of them should not be there, or if I forgot something.

Sooo: the first phase will start next week. October for candidating, November for skimming, December for selecting and January for reading the final books. First week of February the winner!

Again, I'm totally open to suggestion on all of above.

Speed Dating (Damon’s) by Sophia Titheniel

Damon's is the new series by Sophia Titheniel. In comparison to the previous one, I think this is more light, young and also maybe funny. The main characters are elves, living in a fantasy Los Angeles where human and otherworldly people live together in peace; if you put aside the pointed ears and the long curly hair, Damon and Alyan are as any other everyday gay boy: suffering for an heartbroken while at the same time you are worried that your hair is not stylished enough or that your skin is not perfect.

Alyan was dumped by his boyfriend, and he is a month that is moping inside the apartment he is sharing with his sister. Said sister is tired, and probably also a bit disgusted, since Alyan lacks of personal hygiene in that month, and enrolls his brother in a speed dating night. After some remonstrances, Alyan goes to the night club, whose owner, Damon, is Alyan's longtime crush, even before the treacherous ex boyfriend. That night Alyan comes back home with a stranger, after spending all the time trying to catch eyes with Damon, but the one night stand doesn't help him to forget... but who is Alyan trying to forget? the former boyfriend or the never boyfriend, Damon?

As you can see, there is practically no drama in this story, and as I said, the elf nature of the characters is only a nice add, but doesn't influence so much their behavior; plus the author has a romantic insight on the story but with a modern taste: Alyan loves Damon, but when Thomas approaches him in the night club, he doesn't put much resistance. More, he has sex with him more or less since it wouldn't be nice to say no (well, you couldn't say that Alyan is a teaser...). And truth be told, sex with Thomas is good, even if he is not the love of his life.

And Damon? How does he cope with Alyan being a bit of a slut? more or less like it's nothing important, for sure nothing that could compromise any chances they have to be together. The important thing is that Alyan is able to realize that they are fated to be together, no matter how many men he has to bed to arrive to that conclusion.

http://www.changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=1202

Setting the rules for the Rainbow Awards, first phase will start soon: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/799266.html

Speed Dating (Damon’s) by Sophia Titheniel

Damon's is the new series by Sophia Titheniel. In comparison to the previous one, I think this is more light, young and also maybe funny. The main characters are elves, living in a fantasy Los Angeles where human and otherworldly people live together in peace; if you put aside the pointed ears and the long curly hair, Damon and Alyan are as any other everyday gay boy: suffering for an heartbroken while at the same time you are worried that your hair is not stylished enough or that your skin is not perfect.

Alyan was dumped by his boyfriend, and he is a month that is moping inside the apartment he is sharing with his sister. Said sister is tired, and probably also a bit disgusted, since Alyan lacks of personal hygiene in that month, and enrolls his brother in a speed dating night. After some remonstrances, Alyan goes to the night club, whose owner, Damon, is Alyan's longtime crush, even before the treacherous ex boyfriend. That night Alyan comes back home with a stranger, after spending all the time trying to catch eyes with Damon, but the one night stand doesn't help him to forget... but who is Alyan trying to forget? the former boyfriend or the never boyfriend, Damon?

As you can see, there is practically no drama in this story, and as I said, the elf nature of the characters is only a nice add, but doesn't influence so much their behavior; plus the author has a romantic insight on the story but with a modern taste: Alyan loves Damon, but when Thomas approaches him in the night club, he doesn't put much resistance. More, he has sex with him more or less since it wouldn't be nice to say no (well, you couldn't say that Alyan is a teaser...). And truth be told, sex with Thomas is good, even if he is not the love of his life.

And Damon? How does he cope with Alyan being a bit of a slut? more or less like it's nothing important, for sure nothing that could compromise any chances they have to be together. The important thing is that Alyan is able to realize that they are fated to be together, no matter how many men he has to bed to arrive to that conclusion.

http://www.changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=1202

Setting the rules for the Rainbow Awards, first phase will start soon: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/799266.html