TRAINING SEASON AUDIOBOOK! EXPERIENCE MATTY ALL OVER AGAIN! #gay #romance

Whooooo!!! NOW AVAILABLE! Training Season on AUDIOBOOK! Buy it Amazon & Audible. And now at iTunes!

“Does Training Season by Leta Blake live up to all it’s crazy hype? IT SO DOES!” – Breann, Boy Meets Boy Reviews

Michael Ferraiuolo, known for narrating the Five Borough books by Santino Hassell, did a fantastic job. Check out the sample! Absolutely thrilled with how the audiobook turned out!

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Unquestionably talented figure skater Matty Marcus is willing to sacrifice everything for his Olympic dream, but his lack of discipline cost him the gold once before. Now the pressure’s on. He needs a coach who can keep him in line, but top coaches don’t come cheap, and Matty can’t afford to stay in the game no matter how badly he wants to win.

When a lucrative house-sitting gig brings him to rural Montana, Matty does his best to maintain his training regimen. Local residents turn out to be surprisingly tolerant of his flamboyant style, especially handsome young rancher Rob Lovely, who proves to be much more than a cowboy stereotype. Just as Matty requires a firm hand to perform his best on the ice, Rob shows him how strong he can be when he relinquishes control in the bedroom. With new-found self-assurance, he drives himself harder to go straight to the top.

But competition has a timetable, and to achieve his Olympic dream, Matty will have to join his new coach in New York City, leaving Rob behind. Now he must face the ultimate test. Has he truly learned how to win—on and off the ice—during his training season?

This book contains BDSM elements.

NOW AVAILABLE! SLOW HEAT by LETA BLAKE – An Alpha/Omega Erotic Romance

JASON & VALE COLLIDE IN THIS HOT ALPHA/OMEGA EROTIC GAY ROMANCE!

Available now at Amazon and in Kindle Unlimited

A lustful young alpha meets his match in an older omega with a past.

Professor Vale Aman has crafted a good life for himself. An unbonded omega in his mid-thirties, he’s long since given up hope that he’ll meet a compatible alpha, let alone his destined mate. He’s fulfilled by his career, his poetry, his cat, and his friends.

When Jason Sabel, a much younger alpha, imprints on Vale in a shocking and public way, longings are ignited that can’t be ignored. Fighting their strong sexual urges, Jason and Vale must agree to contract with each other before they can consummate their passion.

But for Vale, being with Jason means giving up his independence and placing his future in the hands of an untested alpha–as well as facing the scars of his own tumultuous past. He isn’t sure it’s worth it. But Jason isn’t giving up his destined mate without a fight.

This is a stand alone gay romance novel, 118,000 words, with a strong HFN ending, as well as a well-crafted, non-shifter omegaverse, with alphas, betas, omegas, male pregnancy, heat, and knotting. Content warning for pregnancy loss and aftermath.

EARLY REVIEWERS SAY:

• “Holy hotness, YES, LETA BLAKE, you just gave me another reason to love you.” – Jordan, Alpha Book Club

 

• “Wow– I loved this book! Couldn’t put it down. Those who like their mm romance on the hot side will looove this one!” – Eli Easton, author of Blame It On The Mistletoe and the Howl at the Moon series

 

• “I loved this book. Really LOVED it. The author once again proves her extraordinary versatility. This book is so much more than a love story. So multi-layered. So wonderful.” – Katerina, Don’t Love Me, Jack Reviews

Leta Blake Recommends Kit Brisby’s ROGUE MAGIC! Check it out! #gay #romance

I’m thrilled to welcome Kit Brisby today to talk about her excellent book Rogue Magic! It was one of my favorite books I beta read last year and I highly recommend it!

Let’s get started:

1. Rogue Magic is deeply romantic, but more than that it’s a wonderful but never heavy-handed allegory for persecution based on religion, race, or any other human quality that might go against the values of the established culture. Was this intentional on your part?

 

Persecution based on religion, race, and countless other identities has existed for centuries. It’s a common theme in stories, and I don’t think I was doing anything revolutionary here! When I wrote this book, the political climate in the United States hadn’t quite reached its current fever pitch. I’ll be honest – I hoped that by the time the book was released, our nation might be entering a time of healing under the leadership of the first female president.

But that’s another story entirely.

Ultimately, I believe #ownvoices is incredibly important, and while ROGUE MAGIC might be read as an allegory about what marginalized people face today, I urge readers to seek stories written by members of those populations. I’m a queer white woman with anxiety. I can speak to those experiences, but I can’t begin to speak to the lived experiences of people of color, Muslims, and other marginalized people. I’m touched that readers have drawn parallels but a direct parallel was not my intention.

 

2. Do you remember the first moment this story came alive in your mind? The point of inspiration? Can you tell us a bit about it and how it made you feel inside?

 

The opening scene was always the foundation of this book. The act of sacrifice and the immediate consequences. The mix of confusion and fear and empathy. I get a little squiggly feeling in my stomach over that scene, and it’s that kind of excitement/inspiration that fuels me as a writer as the story unfolds.

 
3. Was there a point with this story when you felt like it was too much, or that you’d never be able to complete it satisfactorily? What got you through that time and led you to persevere?
I’m always very excited for the first 15,000 words of a new draft. Then I enter the “despair and whining” phase until I’ve got about 15% left. I stick to a fairly stern drafting schedule that gets me through the agony of the “I’ll never finish this garbage” doldrums. Revisions and line edits can be rough, but in this case I had amazing guidance. That always makes the hard work more gratifying.

 

4. Many authors write with music playing or use songs to drive inspiration and channel emotion. Is there a particular song (or songs) that will forever be attached to Rogue Magic or its characters for you?

 

I listen to moody Google Play Radio stations when I’m writing. I also listen to short, curated playlists that help me get into characters’ headspaces. The Shins played a large part in ROGUE MAGIC’s playlist, along with a little Belle and Sebastian. I have a feeling that was more Levi’s influence than Byron’s.

 

5. You have an annual star chart you use to track your writing and edits. I found it deeply inspiring and started doing a similar one for myself. Do you want to briefly explain it?

 

I’m deeply inspired by author V.E. Schwab. She popularized the “star chart” method and uses monthly calendars. Her productivity is amazing, and she’s very transparent with her fans about the amount of labor that goes into producing a book. Using a star chart to tracking drafting is particularly motivating, but I’ve found a lot of value in visualizing revisions, which aren’t nearly as sexy as cranking out brand new words. (But they’re so much more important!) I use a year calendar from NeuYear.net to track my book-related work.

 

6. What is the one thing you hope readers take away from Rogue Magic and what is the one thing you are most proud of when it comes to the book?

 

I hope readers enjoy themselves as the story unfolds. I’ve found great comfort and escape in books throughout my life, and it’s truly the greatest honor to offer that to others.

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Thank you, Kit! Congratulations on the release of Rogue Magic! 

Important Information Regarding the ’90s Coming of Age series (Pictures of You & You Are Not Me)

For a long time now, I’ve been trying to figure out how I wanted to make this post and what I wanted to say and disclose. And for an equally long time I’ve put it off. Mainly because I didn’t want to disappoint anyone and I kept hoping for some kind of change that would make it unnecessary. But, truly, it’s been necessary from the get-go because that’s how publishing works.

When I made my initial projections regarding the release dates for We Can Be Good (Bk 3) and We Make It Real (Bk 4), I operated on a central assumption based in prior experience: that the first two books would pay for themselves. See, as long as I’ve been self-publishing I’ve never had a book not pay for the cost of creating it. I’ve had books earn more or less profit, but I’ve never failed to cover my expenses. So, when I set aside the money to publish the four book series, I went with $5,000, thinking that would be more than enough. I was wrong.

See, it’s a rule for me that each book carry itself. It becomes dangerous to my business for me to allow for a situation where Peter pays for Paul. At least during this stage of my career. Maybe when I have many more books out and a steady back catalog income coming in I could take that risk. But at this juncture, I just can’t. It would only take a few books that didn’t sell with a profit for me to have no capital to work with at all.

So, back to Pictures of You & You Are Not Me. They’ve been so well received by readers who took the leap and reviewers that it may come as a surprise for many to hear that they have barely covered even half of their expenses. I put $3,600 into those books (editing, covers, formatting, marketing) and as of the other morning they had earned $1,900. Not each, but both of them together.

Perhaps it’s crass to be giving you guys actual numbers, but I want you to understand that this isn’t a case of the books not earning enough to satisfy me. I never thought they’d make that much of a profit because they are a little out of the box. But rather these books just aren’t carrying their weight financially. This at a time when my day job is precarious and my book sales are down by 1/3 across the board last year.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Well, it doesn’t mean that you won’t get the rest of the ’90s Coming of Age story. I am DEFINITELY writing the next two books. What it does mean is that I need to bend my rules and allow for Peter to pay for Paul. But I need to do that on future books, not past ones. The plan has to change because the outcome didn’t work out the way I’d initially assumed it would. (Humbling? You bet!) I simply don’t have the leeway financially right now to take another $3,600 hit with the hopes it will pay off eventually. (And I do believe these books will pay off eventually! It may take time, but as a back catalog piece, they are going to be a good asset, in my opinion.)

It means that I have to publish at least one, if not two, books that make a decent profit so I can save up that $3,600 with the idea that it won’t be coming back to me quickly. I don’t know that my next releases will provide that profit. I have no idea, frankly, what will sell and what won’t. It’s always a bit of a mystery.

But here are a few things I do know:

1. I love this series. I’ve been working on it off and on for fourteen years and I won’t let it go until it’s finished.
2. I will not take fourteen years to finish the back half of it! LOL!
3. I WILL put We Can Be Good out in 2017 for sure. If I can, I’ll also do We Make It Real, but I can’t know if it will be 2017 or 2018 at this point.

I want to apologize to everyone who is eagerly awaiting Peter’s next adventure. I am sad to know that I’m disappointing you and a little embarrassed to know that there is no way out of it. At this point, even if some crazy generous weirdo (LOL) were to fund the cost of the edits, etc, I’m so far down the path of trying to get this next unrelated release out that I’d need to do that first.

Again, I’m so sorry to let everyone down. I’m not giving up, though. I’m still enthusiastic af for the books and for Peter and for his story! I’m still invested 100% and that’s part of the reason I’m slowing the timing of releases down, too. Obviously, I could forgo editing, etc, to lower costs. But I can’t ask you guys to accept lower quality books for the last two. I’ve waited this long to put his story out, and I’m not going to send sub-par follow-ups into the world.

I hesitate to call ’90s Coming of Age series a failure, but this Winston Churchill quote does sum up how I feel about the future of the books. I refuse to lose enthusiasm for the books and I refuse to quit on them.

In the meantime, I’m serving up some hot, slow-burn omegaverse for my next release (hopefully in late Feb or early March). I hope you’ll join me for that wild ride! Sending love to all my readers out in the world! Every last one of you makes the difficulties worth it! Every review, every bit of feedback, every email and FB like and Twitter reply.

You make it real, you make it fun, and you make it worthwhile. ❤

ETA: At the urging of a reader, I’ve updated my Patreon site with some goals regarding audiobooks and getting these next two books released. You can become a patron (and access some extras!) by clicking here:

My Favorite Reads of 2016! A Hodge-Podge of Excellence and Entertainment! #bookrecs

The rules for this list were simple: books I read in 2016, loved like whoa or found edifying in an important way, and (most importantly) didn’t beta read or edit.

Click on the book cover to purchase!

Seraphina & Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman

These fantasy books featuring dragons and a wonderful, diverse cast of characters, including trans and gay characters, as well as a polyamorous end-game were simply wonderful. Highly recommended. I’d love to see more in this fascinating and well-drawn universe. My top reads of the year.

 

For Darkness Shows the Stars & Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund

These fantasy books featured post-apocalyptic reimagining of Jane Austen’s Persuasion and Baroness Orczy and Otto Penzler’s The Scarlet Pimpernel respectively. Unique world-building with descriptions that “roll film” before your eyes, these stories were addictive, new, and yet familiar all at once. Highly recommended. I’d love to see more in this universe, especially since a few threads are left dangling at the end of the second book. 

Backwards to Oregon by Jae

I both loved this book and found it frustrating, yet it’s making my Favorites of 2016 list. How’s that possible? I bought it expecting a lesbian Western and quickly realized that it was a trans Western more than anything else. Luke Hamilton is clearly a transman and I loved the aspect of the book that dealt with how stunted Luke’s life had to be to keep his secret. But, again, it’s advertised as a lesbian Western, and it consistently calls Luke “she” when written from Luke’s own point of view. Which, well, really made me uncomfortable. I started to replace the ‘she’ with ‘he’ in my mind just to ease the cognitive dissonance. I wish that the author would edit this book to reflect Luke as a transman, removing the female pronouns, because it was, otherwise, an excellent, well-researched, very engaging read that’d I’d highly recommend. It’s a shame that it’s so good and yet this issue makes it deeply uncomfortable at times. Or maybe that’s a good thing, too. It certainly made me think.

Rorschach Blots by RoughDraftHero

This book is short and you can pay whatever you like for it (including nothing at all) over at Smashwords. I can’t recall what made me pick it up. It’d been in my TBR for a long time, but this year I finally got around to it. I will say that this book is pretty problematic in that it covers a teacher and student getting involved in deeply inappropriate ways. It wasn’t even wildly well-written, but, dude, it’s free-ish, so let’s get our priorities in order here. It smacked of repurposed fan fiction, but I’m down with that, and maybe it wasn’t even and it just had that feel. BUT it’s on my Favorites of 2016 list for a reason and that is the really fascinating psychological stuff going on when you’ve got a young, uneducated, fledgling dom trying to assert himself over an older, not entirely educated sub who is resisting every step of the way because, duh, he’s the dom’s teacher. I’d probably sell a kidney to see a sequel to this book, to be honest. Okay, not a kidney. But I’d make statements like, “I’d sell a kidney” and hope the author would just simply deliver for me despite no kidneys being sold. Recommended if you enjoy twisted set ups with odd pay-offs and lots of spanking.

Blue on Black by Carole Cummings

Fantasy-Western with angry men who are desperately attracted to each other? Yes, please. Fascinating world-building with several unexpected twists that I didn’t see coming? Double heck-yeah! I’m always excited when a book surprises me, because, to be honest, it doesn’t happen a lot. So I was pleased as punch when I got to say, “Now, what? Didn’t see that coming!” while reading this book. I’m a sucker for fantasy books and this one was my cuppa all the way. Broody men with high-stakes and a mystery that kept me curious until the end. Recommended!

The Mystery of Nevermore by C.S. Poe

I adored this mystery by C.S. Poe. It had hints of Adrien English without all the almost unbearable angst. If you enjoy acerbic characters who are sexy while solving mysteries and who just can’t keep themselves out of trouble, then you’ll enjoy this one, too. This book felt like an old friend. It has the vibe of a cozy mystery despite being set in bustling New York City. Maybe it’s because of the heaps of snow? Regardless, this is a lovely read and I recommend it.

 

Merry Christmas, Mr. Miggles by Eli Easton

I’ll just admit up front that I have a certain weakness for a younger/older book where the older character is the more flamboyant, over-the-top, dramatic one, and the younger character is steady and steadfast. This absorbing read hit that button hard and fast, and I loved it. Easily one of my all-time favorite Christmas reads, I lost track of time while reading this one and ended up staying up until 3:30 am. Not even on purpose! I was so absorbed, I didn’t even know what time it was! Highly recommended. Very cute. Loved it. Would read again.

“Funny, cute, snarky and just plain fun.” Review: Will & Patrick Wake Up Married by Leta Blake & Alice Griffiths #gay #romcom

“I love this set up for the story…drunk and married in Vegas! This is very funny, cute, snarky and just plain fun. Looking forward to the next installment.”

via Julie, Goodreads

 

Taking Stock of My Year: 2016 Accomplishments & 2017 Goals

It’s time to take stock of what I’ve accomplished in the last year and what I’d like to do in the next one. I live in a perpetual state of feeling like I’ve never accomplished enough. So sometimes it’s healthy for me to take a minute to say, “Look, you did these things. There’s actual proof!”

In 2016, I published the following books:

Will & Patrick Fight Their Feelings

Will & Patrick Meet the Mob

Will & Patrick’s Happy Ending

Angel Undone

Pictures of You

You Are Not Me

In 2016, I had the following books released as translations:

Vespéral

Saison d’entrainement: Entrainement tome 1

Centre d’entrainement: Entrainement Tome 2

Überraschend … verheiratet!

Training Season: La stagione dell’allenamento

Un fiume in piena

The year has had its blessings and its troubles. I think the most surprising thing I’ve discovered is that I need to create two new pen names in order to work on non-Leta Blake brand ideas. In the end, I think it will serve me well to have three brands to allow my creativity to flow, but in the meantime it will bring on some lean times.

Which brings me to my 2017 Goals…

1) AUDIO: I’d like to explore audio and after much thought I’ve decided that Will & Patrick Wake Up Married is probably the way to go. The length of each installment is less than my usual book and so, hopefully, it would be more affordable to produce. I haven’t even begun to look into it, but intend to do so starting in January.

2) 90s COMING OF AGE BOOKS 3 & 4: I intend to finish the 90’s Coming of Age series in 2017. They are tentatively called We Can Be Good and We Make It Real.

3) M/F SERIAL: I want to start putting out the M/F serial I mentioned above. I have planned out twenty installments, but I’d like to get that down to ten, and put out three to five of them next year.

4) DARK EROTICA PEN NAME: Books published under this name won’t be “Leta Blake brand”. I intend to put out two (or possibly four) books under this name next year, depending on how things go.

5) A CHRISTMAS BOOK: I have three ideas and whichever one jumps me hardest will get my attention.

6) A LETA BLAKE BRAND BOOK: I’m waffling here. I’m torn between a Will & Patrick sequel, a heist book I’ve wanted to do forever, the Gareth/Lowell book from Smoky Mountain Dreams universe, and a book about Varun from Will & Patrick’s universe. But I’m already pushing the limits of my abilities with these goals, so I will just say that I’ve got to make a choice on this rather soon. It’s important to me that I get a stand alone Leta Blake brand book out this year.

It’s my belief that 2017 will be a building year for me. It will be a lot of work and expense with potentially little profit. It will probably feel a lot like the uphill part of the roller coaster, and I hope it only takes one year to get to the top of it. It’d be nice to experience a fun ride down before I start building again. Because that’s life, isn’t it? You go up that hill and then whoosh, it’s over in a flash, and you do more work to get up the next hill, and whoosh. There’s always hard work to earn the rush. I can promise there will be books to show for the work. I truly hope readers will enjoy them.

Let me take this opportunity to thank all the readers out there, all across the world, who’ve made my writing career thus far so wonderful. You’ve allowed me to write books that move me and I’ve loved hearing that they also moved you. Thank you for your trust. I know you invest money and time whenever you read one of my books. It’s an honor to be granted those precious hours of your life.

Thank you and blessings.

NOW AVAILABLE! You Are Not Me (90’s Coming of Age, Bk 2) by Leta Blake

Follow Peter into the summer following his senior year to face new beginnings, new friends, and old baggage.

After a tumultuous final year of high school, Peter Mandel needs a break. It’s the summer of 1991, and his secret relationship with his ‘best friend’ Adam Algedi is put on hold as Adam goes away to Italy for the summer. On the cusp of adulthood, Peter has a couple of months to explore who he is without Adam at his side.

Enter Daniel McPeak, a slightly older, out, responsible college guy with a posse of gay friends and an attraction for Peter. Drawn into the brave new world of the local gay club, Peter embarks on a whirlwind of experiences—good and bad—which culminate in a hotel room where he has to make the ultimate choice.

But Adam will come back eventually, and there are promises that have to be kept. As autumn draws near and college awaits, can Peter break free of the binds of twisted first love? And what exactly is Daniel’s role in his life – a brief temptation, or something more?

Join Peter in the second book of this four-part coming of age series as he struggles to love and be loved, and grow into a gay man worthy of his own respect.

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This new series by Leta Blake is gay fiction with romantic elements.

Book 2 of 4.
Length: 100,000 words, 328 pages

These books contain aspects of: New Adult fiction, ‘90s gay life, small city homosexual experiences, Southern biases, sexual exploration, romance, homophobia, bisexuality, and twisted-up young love. Oh, and a guaranteed happy ending for the main character by the end of Book 4.

NOW AVAILABLE! Pictures of You by Leta Blake (90’s Coming of Age, Book 1)

“Go ahead and start getting excited about this.” Katie, Back Porch Reader

“An amazing story that I couldn’t put down!” Jaime, Alpha Book Club

“Five freakin’ awesome stars. Wow, Leta, you have outdone yourself.” Jewel, My Fiction Nook

“I couldn’t put this book down. I absolutely loved it.” Tracy, Bayou Book Junkie

“What a book! It consumed me from start to finish.” Amy, Goodreads Librarian/Reader

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Growing up gay isn’t easy. Growing up gay in Knoxville, Tennessee is even harder. 

Eighteen-year-old Peter Mandel, a private school senior—class of 1991—is passionate about photography. Peter doesn’t have many friends, preferring to shoot pictures from behind the scenes to keep his homosexuality secret.

Enter Adam Algedi, a charming, worldly new guy who doesn’t do labels, but does want to do Peter. Hardly able to believe gorgeous Adam would want geeky, skinny him of all people, Peter’s swept away on a journey of first love and sexual discovery. But as their mutual web of lies spins tighter and tighter, can Peter find the confidence he needs to make the right choices? And will his crush on Daniel, a college acquaintance, open a new path?

Join Peter in the first book of this four-part coming of age series as he struggles to love and be loved, and grow into a gay man worthy of his own respect.

This new series by Leta Blake is gay fiction with romantic elements.

Book 1 of 4.

These books contain aspects of: New Adult fiction, ‘90s gay life, small city homosexual experiences, Southern biases, sexual exploration, romance, homophobia, bisexuality, and twisted-up young love. Oh, and a guaranteed happy ending for the main character by the end of Book 4.

 

Crossposted to Steemit.

.99 for Episodes 1-3 Bundle of Wake Up Married serial! #deal #sale

 

Get the first three episodes for just .99 (or comparable regional price) at the following retailers! Good through August 17, 2016!

 

 

 

 

Experience the fun of this romantic comedy serial by best-selling author Leta Blake and newcomer Alice Griffiths! 

Episode One: Will & Patrick Wake Up Married

After a drunken night of hot sex in Vegas, strangers Will Patterson and Dr. Patrick McCloud wake up married. A quickie divorce is the most obvious way out—unless you’re the heir of a staunchly Catholic mafia boss with a draconian position on the sanctity of marriage. Throw their simmering attraction into the mix and all bets are off!

Episode Two: Will & Patrick Meet the Family

Meeting the family is challenging for every new couple. But for Will and Patrick, the awkward family moments only grow more hilarious–and painful–when they must hide the truth of their predicament from the people they care about most. Throw in the sexual tension flaring between them and you’ve got a recipe for madcap laughs and surprisingly heartwarming feels.

Episode Three: Will & Patrick Do the Holidays

A couple’s first holiday season is always a special time. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve are magical when you’re in love. Too bad Will and Patrick’s marriage is a sham and they’re only faking their affection for each other. Or are they? Sparks fly in this episode of the Wake Up Married serial. Will the sexual tension between Will and Patrick finally explode in a needy night of passion? Or will they continue to deny their feelings?

Word count: 101,000; page count: 332