Romentics: Nothing Personal by Scott & Scott

Nothing Personal by real life couple Scott&Scott is more a mainstream novel than a romance. Actually the romance in it is a bit overshadowed by the life journey of one of the character, the Cuban-American Carlo Batista.

At the beginning of the novel, Carlo is a mid-twenty normal gay guy; like a lot average guys, he went to college and gain a white collar job in an insurance call center. He has friends and ex lovers, and he follows the floods; one of this flood brings him in front of the building where politicians are voting a ban against gay marriage... and they win. Carlo, maybe for the first time, realizes that politics can influence his life and not in the best way. An attempt to change things without being too much involved doesn't bring much and so Carlo decides to enter the ring: he opposes to the Democrats candidate to be the Democrat representative.

Carlo is not a political animal, he is mostly a man throws in something bigger than him; gathered around him is a disparate election committee, made up of friends, and not, with different minds but whose personal interests draw them together. Carlo begins to convince people that he is serious, when he himself is not sure of it. Meanwhile his relationship with Brian Gallagher, his new boyfriend, is getting serious too, even if Carlo doesn't know a lot about Gallagher, and Gallagher at once is supportive of his political campaign and soon after refuses to be too much involved.

Carlo and Gallagher's relationship is strange, since it starts abruptly, so abruptly that the reader realizes that they have a sexual relationship from little hints and not since he had the chance to read something about it; there is a scene in which Carlo is thinking to call Gallagher to ask the guy out, and few pages after, Carlo and Gallagher are steadily dating, and probably something is happening between them... I was a bit disoriented, I even went back some pages to actually check if I missed to read something... Maybe the fact is that the focus of the novel is not the romance between Carlo and Gallagher, but more Carlo's growth as independent man. And to be independent, Carlo couldn't focus on Gallagher.

While we know about everything about Carlo, we know very little about Gallagher. He remains a mystery almost till the end, not only about his life, but also about his feelings for Carlo. Gallagher is strange, since he made things that are very tender, like bringing Carlo to know his family, but then he never gives any details on his life and feeling. Despite this, speaking of the romance, I prefer Gallagher's character, I feel like he is more involved on a personal level than Carlo. I really feel Carlo like a man following the flood, both in politics than love, but maybe this is due to the fact that he is still so young.

Anyway the book is a bit of a surprise, quite different from the others I read by the same authors, but not a negative one; only be warned, to be not disappointed from the lack of heavy romance aspects, usually so frequent in the Romentics novels.

http://www.loose-id.com/Romentics-Nothing-Personal.aspx

Amazon: Nothing Personal (A Romentics Novel)

Reading List:

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


Cover Art by Michael Breyette

Romentics: Nothing Personal by Scott & Scott

Nothing Personal by real life couple Scott&Scott is more a mainstream novel than a romance. Actually the romance in it is a bit overshadowed by the life journey of one of the character, the Cuban-American Carlo Batista.

At the beginning of the novel, Carlo is a mid-twenty normal gay guy; like a lot average guys, he went to college and gain a white collar job in an insurance call center. He has friends and ex lovers, and he follows the floods; one of this flood brings him in front of the building where politicians are voting a ban against gay marriage... and they win. Carlo, maybe for the first time, realizes that politics can influence his life and not in the best way. An attempt to change things without being too much involved doesn't bring much and so Carlo decides to enter the ring: he opposes to the Democrats candidate to be the Democrat representative.

Carlo is not a political animal, he is mostly a man throws in something bigger than him; gathered around him is a disparate election committee, made up of friends, and not, with different minds but whose personal interests draw them together. Carlo begins to convince people that he is serious, when he himself is not sure of it. Meanwhile his relationship with Brian Gallagher, his new boyfriend, is getting serious too, even if Carlo doesn't know a lot about Gallagher, and Gallagher at once is supportive of his political campaign and soon after refuses to be too much involved.

Carlo and Gallagher's relationship is strange, since it starts abruptly, so abruptly that the reader realizes that they have a sexual relationship from little hints and not since he had the chance to read something about it; there is a scene in which Carlo is thinking to call Gallagher to ask the guy out, and few pages after, Carlo and Gallagher are steadily dating, and probably something is happening between them... I was a bit disoriented, I even went back some pages to actually check if I missed to read something... Maybe the fact is that the focus of the novel is not the romance between Carlo and Gallagher, but more Carlo's growth as independent man. And to be independent, Carlo couldn't focus on Gallagher.

While we know about everything about Carlo, we know very little about Gallagher. He remains a mystery almost till the end, not only about his life, but also about his feelings for Carlo. Gallagher is strange, since he made things that are very tender, like bringing Carlo to know his family, but then he never gives any details on his life and feeling. Despite this, speaking of the romance, I prefer Gallagher's character, I feel like he is more involved on a personal level than Carlo. I really feel Carlo like a man following the flood, both in politics than love, but maybe this is due to the fact that he is still so young.

Anyway the book is a bit of a surprise, quite different from the others I read by the same authors, but not a negative one; only be warned, to be not disappointed from the lack of heavy romance aspects, usually so frequent in the Romentics novels.

http://www.loose-id.com/Romentics-Nothing-Personal.aspx

Amazon: Nothing Personal (A Romentics Novel)

Reading List:

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


Cover Art by Michael Breyette

Behind the Cover: John Jude Palencar

John Jude Palencar is a rarity among modern artists, mixing meticulous technique reminiscent of the old masters with a soaring, darkly surreal imagination. There are touches of Bosch and Da Vinci in his visual allegories of netherworld landscapes and doomed characters. Origins is a sumptuous tribute to his work.



Amazon: Origins: The Art of John Jude Palencar

( More Illustrations )

Artist and illustrator, John Jude Palencar is known throughout the world for his distinctive, ethereal style and unique conceptualization. For more than 20 years he has received honors for his contributions to the field of illustration including Gold and Silver Medals from the Society of Illustrators, two Gold Book Awards from Spectrum, and Best Hardcover and two best Paperback Awards from the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists for three consecutiv years. Besides being an active artist and illustrator, he has served on the juries of several international art competitions.

His work has appeared on hundreds of book covers in over thirty countries. Renowned authors, H.P. Lovecraft, Ursula LeGuin, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Octavia Butler, Stephen King, Charles deLint and Christopher Paolini are but a few. TIME Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, National Geographic Managazine and Television, and the Philadelphia Opera have employed his artistic talents for their publications and productions. Most recently, his cover paintings for Eragon and Eldest, by Christopher Paolini, has appeared on the New York Times Childrens Best Seller List for the past year. An influence on the young prolific author, Christopher Paolini named Eragon's birthplace "Palancar Valley", after John Jude (see chapter three - Eragon).



( More Covers )

The fantastical art of John Jude Palencar lends an otherworldly, dreamlike tone in the Mystic Visions 2010 Wall Calendar. Known for his cover illustrations of the Eragon books, Palencar's mystical and often bizarre world compels the viewer to take a second, even third look to comprehend its complexities. Melding mystery and fine art, Mystic Visions is sure to fascinate.



Amazon: Mystic Visions 2010 Wall Calendar

( Inheritance Trilogy )

He has been a featured artist in IDEA Magazine in Japan and enjoys an on-going artist-in-residence program in Country Kerry, Ireland. There, his paintings were included in a special exhibit entitled, "Images of Ireland", held at the National Museum in Dublin. He also donated his work to raise money for the Cill Rialaig Project at the 6th Annual Ambassador's Golf Classic held in Waterville, County Kerry, Ireland.

His work was featured in an exhibition entitled, "As Seen From Ohio: Nine Illustrators", at the Centro Cultural Recoleta in Argentina as well as The Spectrum Retrospective Exhibition held at The Society of Illustrators Museum of American Illustration in New York City. John Jude also has partecipated in dozens of group exhibitions at colleges and universities throughout the country.

His paintings are in numerous corporate and private collections in the United States and abroad.

http://www.johnjudepalencar.com/

Behind the Cover: John Jude Palencar

John Jude Palencar is a rarity among modern artists, mixing meticulous technique reminiscent of the old masters with a soaring, darkly surreal imagination. There are touches of Bosch and Da Vinci in his visual allegories of netherworld landscapes and doomed characters. Origins is a sumptuous tribute to his work.



Amazon: Origins: The Art of John Jude Palencar

( More Illustrations )

Artist and illustrator, John Jude Palencar is known throughout the world for his distinctive, ethereal style and unique conceptualization. For more than 20 years he has received honors for his contributions to the field of illustration including Gold and Silver Medals from the Society of Illustrators, two Gold Book Awards from Spectrum, and Best Hardcover and two best Paperback Awards from the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists for three consecutiv years. Besides being an active artist and illustrator, he has served on the juries of several international art competitions.

His work has appeared on hundreds of book covers in over thirty countries. Renowned authors, H.P. Lovecraft, Ursula LeGuin, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Octavia Butler, Stephen King, Charles deLint and Christopher Paolini are but a few. TIME Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, National Geographic Managazine and Television, and the Philadelphia Opera have employed his artistic talents for their publications and productions. Most recently, his cover paintings for Eragon and Eldest, by Christopher Paolini, has appeared on the New York Times Childrens Best Seller List for the past year. An influence on the young prolific author, Christopher Paolini named Eragon's birthplace "Palancar Valley", after John Jude (see chapter three - Eragon).



( More Covers )

The fantastical art of John Jude Palencar lends an otherworldly, dreamlike tone in the Mystic Visions 2010 Wall Calendar. Known for his cover illustrations of the Eragon books, Palencar's mystical and often bizarre world compels the viewer to take a second, even third look to comprehend its complexities. Melding mystery and fine art, Mystic Visions is sure to fascinate.



Amazon: Mystic Visions 2010 Wall Calendar

( Inheritance Trilogy )

He has been a featured artist in IDEA Magazine in Japan and enjoys an on-going artist-in-residence program in Country Kerry, Ireland. There, his paintings were included in a special exhibit entitled, "Images of Ireland", held at the National Museum in Dublin. He also donated his work to raise money for the Cill Rialaig Project at the 6th Annual Ambassador's Golf Classic held in Waterville, County Kerry, Ireland.

His work was featured in an exhibition entitled, "As Seen From Ohio: Nine Illustrators", at the Centro Cultural Recoleta in Argentina as well as The Spectrum Retrospective Exhibition held at The Society of Illustrators Museum of American Illustration in New York City. John Jude also has partecipated in dozens of group exhibitions at colleges and universities throughout the country.

His paintings are in numerous corporate and private collections in the United States and abroad.

http://www.johnjudepalencar.com/

In the Spotlight: Naomi Clark

I’m pleased to be part of the Virtual Blog Tour for the release of Silver Kiss by Naomi Clark started yesterday February 22.

While I’m familiar with the shifter themed novel in the Gay Paranormal genre, it’s not the same for the Lesbian one. So I asked to James Rasmussen of QueerEdFiction if there is the same interest:

The shifter/paranormal/urban genre is massive with all readers, it's probably one of the biggest flagships of publishing today--just look at the number of urban fantasies that regularly top the bestseller lists. I would say that while Silver Kiss carries the flag for GLBT--what QueeredFiction Press is all about--it is also fundamentally a great urban fantasy.

Blurb: Ayla Hammond has come home.

After years as a lone wolf in a self-imposed exile she´s rejoining the pack and trying to mend fences with her parents.

She´s convinced them to accept her girlfriend, but can a lone wolf change her ways? As if homecoming wasn´t hard enough, Ayla also can´t help getting involved in a missing person case. With pressure to solve the case mounting from the pack alphas, Ayla is starting to question where her loyalties lie - and if a return to the pack she left behind is really what she wants.

I asked to Naomi Clark to tell us about the book, the process to write it and so on. And also if the shapeshifter paranormal genre is so popular in the Lesbian fiction as it is in the Gay one. Remember that this is a guest blog and so, if you comment, Naomi Clark will be glad to answer you ;-) And you will also have the chance to win the ebook!

“If you look back at the folklore and legends that feed into modern werewolf stories, you´ll notice there are lots of ways to become a werewolf. You could wear a wolf skin, like one of the characters in my short story, WOLF STRAP. You could make a deal with the devil, or drink water from a wolf´s footprint. You could even smear yourself in the fat of a freshly killed animal, mixed with anise, camphor and opium, and see if that worked. Or, if you were very brave (or maybe foolhardy) you could let yourself be bitten by a werewolf.

In my novel SILVER KISS there are no shortcuts to becoming a werewolf - either you´re born one, or you´re not. And no amount of potions will change that. But why would people want to become a werewolf anyway? I suppose there are the obvious benefits - all that extra strength and power would be pretty nice, right? And there´s a certain allure in throwing off the manners and constraints of humanity and running wild as a werewolf - that´s definitely something my werewolves enjoy about shapeshifting!

Personally I think I´d enjoy seeing the world through a different set of eyes. The way a werewolf looks at things must be completely different from the way a human does. I´ve tried to show this in SILVER KISS through the heroine, Ayla, by showing how her mindset changes between woman and wolf.

I´ve got a great contest for everyone. There´s an ebook for a winner at the end of today and everyone who enters now will also be in the running for winning a signed print copy of SILVER KISS drawn at the end of the week. Just answer this simple question in your comment to be entered into both competitions:

What would you like most about being a werewolf?



Follow the SILVER KISS BLOG TOUR (http://www.queeredfiction.com/silverkiss.htm) for more chances to win. Check out the itinerary and join me on the next step of the tour. And there are even more prizes on 1st March, the official SILVER KISS release day and I´m live for a Twitter Release Party #silverkiss.”

Visit the Silver Kiss page at http://www.queeredfiction.com/silverkiss.htm for a reading as Naomi Clark reads from Wolf Strap! (Released in parts over the course of the blog tour!)

About Naomi Clark: A former army brat, Naomi is now happily settled in Cambridge, living in a converted cowshed with a tank full of catfish. She has been writing stories ever since she learned to write. A lifelong fascination with dragons, monsters, magic and ghosts eventually lead her to urban fantasy. Her short fiction has appeared in a variety of ezines and she also writes a monthly horoscope column for a local magazine.

Find out more at www.naomiclark.net.

Naomi's writing is strong, vibrant and engrossing. She creates complex characters with very human strengths and weaknesses; her world in Silver Kiss is well crafted and bound by clear set rules. She has a fresh and easy style that guides a reader quickly and effortlessly into her world. James EM Rasmussen

In the Spotlight: Naomi Clark

I’m pleased to be part of the Virtual Blog Tour for the release of Silver Kiss by Naomi Clark started yesterday February 22.

While I’m familiar with the shifter themed novel in the Gay Paranormal genre, it’s not the same for the Lesbian one. So I asked to James Rasmussen of QueerEdFiction if there is the same interest:

The shifter/paranormal/urban genre is massive with all readers, it's probably one of the biggest flagships of publishing today--just look at the number of urban fantasies that regularly top the bestseller lists. I would say that while Silver Kiss carries the flag for GLBT--what QueeredFiction Press is all about--it is also fundamentally a great urban fantasy.

Blurb: Ayla Hammond has come home.

After years as a lone wolf in a self-imposed exile she´s rejoining the pack and trying to mend fences with her parents.

She´s convinced them to accept her girlfriend, but can a lone wolf change her ways? As if homecoming wasn´t hard enough, Ayla also can´t help getting involved in a missing person case. With pressure to solve the case mounting from the pack alphas, Ayla is starting to question where her loyalties lie - and if a return to the pack she left behind is really what she wants.

I asked to Naomi Clark to tell us about the book, the process to write it and so on. And also if the shapeshifter paranormal genre is so popular in the Lesbian fiction as it is in the Gay one. Remember that this is a guest blog and so, if you comment, Naomi Clark will be glad to answer you ;-) And you will also have the chance to win the ebook!

“If you look back at the folklore and legends that feed into modern werewolf stories, you´ll notice there are lots of ways to become a werewolf. You could wear a wolf skin, like one of the characters in my short story, WOLF STRAP. You could make a deal with the devil, or drink water from a wolf´s footprint. You could even smear yourself in the fat of a freshly killed animal, mixed with anise, camphor and opium, and see if that worked. Or, if you were very brave (or maybe foolhardy) you could let yourself be bitten by a werewolf.

In my novel SILVER KISS there are no shortcuts to becoming a werewolf - either you´re born one, or you´re not. And no amount of potions will change that. But why would people want to become a werewolf anyway? I suppose there are the obvious benefits - all that extra strength and power would be pretty nice, right? And there´s a certain allure in throwing off the manners and constraints of humanity and running wild as a werewolf - that´s definitely something my werewolves enjoy about shapeshifting!

Personally I think I´d enjoy seeing the world through a different set of eyes. The way a werewolf looks at things must be completely different from the way a human does. I´ve tried to show this in SILVER KISS through the heroine, Ayla, by showing how her mindset changes between woman and wolf.

I´ve got a great contest for everyone. There´s an ebook for a winner at the end of today and everyone who enters now will also be in the running for winning a signed print copy of SILVER KISS drawn at the end of the week. Just answer this simple question in your comment to be entered into both competitions:

What would you like most about being a werewolf?



Follow the SILVER KISS BLOG TOUR (http://www.queeredfiction.com/silverkiss.htm) for more chances to win. Check out the itinerary and join me on the next step of the tour. And there are even more prizes on 1st March, the official SILVER KISS release day and I´m live for a Twitter Release Party #silverkiss.”

Visit the Silver Kiss page at http://www.queeredfiction.com/silverkiss.htm for a reading as Naomi Clark reads from Wolf Strap! (Released in parts over the course of the blog tour!)

About Naomi Clark: A former army brat, Naomi is now happily settled in Cambridge, living in a converted cowshed with a tank full of catfish. She has been writing stories ever since she learned to write. A lifelong fascination with dragons, monsters, magic and ghosts eventually lead her to urban fantasy. Her short fiction has appeared in a variety of ezines and she also writes a monthly horoscope column for a local magazine.

Find out more at www.naomiclark.net.

Naomi's writing is strong, vibrant and engrossing. She creates complex characters with very human strengths and weaknesses; her world in Silver Kiss is well crafted and bound by clear set rules. She has a fresh and easy style that guides a reader quickly and effortlessly into her world. James EM Rasmussen