Smoky Mountain Dreams! Want to know what Gatlinburg is like? Now you can experience it yourself! :D #gatlinburg #extras

I didn’t actually have to watch this video myself in order to write about Gatlinburg since I’ve been there many times over the course of my life. In fact, my folks used to take my brother and I up there as kids for little day trips on random weekends. I actually wrote about 50% of Smoky Mountain Dreams during a week’s stay in Gatlinburg in June of 2014 and went to Puckers and a few other places to make sure I got the descriptions right in the book. (By the way, there is a lingering shot of the Puckers sign at the end of this video.)

I wouldn’t say this is the best video of Gatlinburg. For one thing there is that unfortunate red truck blocking the view of a lot of it. I much prefer the video I posted earlier this month. I think it gives a better feel for the place. But I do think this gives one an idea of the landscape and the crowds and the way the traffic flows through there (and why Christopher is always taking shortcuts). It’s a busy little place akin to, say, Daytona Beach in the mountains in terms of quality of shopping experience and type of crowds. It might even be described as trashy. I’m okay with that. 🙂

So here you go! Complete with a Dolly Parton song! 😀

Sometimes holding on means letting go
Christopher Ryder and Jesse Birch are two men hanging on to the past. While Christopher has let go of his failure as a country singer in Nashville, he’s still trying to please his narrow-minded, non-accepting family. His beloved Gran loves him the way he is, but Christopher feels painfully invisible to everyone else. He’s happy enough performing at the Smoky Mountain Dreams theme park in Tennessee, but even when Christopher is center stage he aches for someone to see the real him.
There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to bisexual Jesse. He’s raising two kids and fighting with family after a tragic accident took his children’s mother. There’s no room in his life for dating, his kids are his priority, and he doesn’t want more than an occasional hook-up. He sure as hell doesn’t want to fall hard for his favorite local singer, but when Christopher walks into his jewelry studio, Jesse hears a new song in his heart.

Smoky Mountain Dreams is available now at:

AMAZON
B&N
SMASHWORDS
iTUNES
SCRIBD
OYSTER

And now at KOBO.

Southern Accent and Halloween Snow and Gatlinburg Views. LOVE. #extras #smokymountaindreams

I lost so many hours the other day watching random stranger’s vidoes of Gatlinburg on YouTube. I don’t even know why. Heh. I mean, I am doing it to make these blog posts but I know no one is even gonna watch these videos. Still, here’s a favorite. See, we don’t get snow in this area and this is considered insane–snow on Halloween! Highlights of this video: THE ACCENT. I don’t speak like this, but these are examples of how many people in this area sound, including Gareth and others in the book. And the views. ❤ Love it.

Sometimes holding on means letting go
Christopher Ryder and Jesse Birch are two men hanging on to the past. While Christopher has let go of his failure as a country singer in Nashville, he’s still trying to please his narrow-minded, non-accepting family. His beloved Gran loves him the way he is, but Christopher feels painfully invisible to everyone else. He’s happy enough performing at the Smoky Mountain Dreams theme park in Tennessee, but even when Christopher is center stage he aches for someone to see the real him.
There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to bisexual Jesse. He’s raising two kids and fighting with family after a tragic accident took his children’s mother. There’s no room in his life for dating, his kids are his priority, and he doesn’t want more than an occasional hook-up. He sure as hell doesn’t want to fall hard for his favorite local singer, but when Christopher walks into his jewelry studio, Jesse hears a new song in his heart.

Smoky Mountain Dreams is available now at:

AMAZON
B&N
SMASHWORDS
iTUNES
SCRIBD
OYSTER

And now at KOBO.

Fanwork Friday: The Starring Role #dero #awz

Another fantastic fanvid about Deniz and Roman from Alles was zählt (All That Matters). This one is a Roman character study from the early days of their relationship. I hated Deniz during this time period, but Roman wasn’t an easy person to deal with either. He wasn’t a delicate flower. Anyway, yeah, this was lovely to see.

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Oh, Roman,  you were such a brat and such a darling. I loved you.

Training Season can be purchased at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, ARe, and Smashwords. And also on iBooks.
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?

Fanwork Friday: Back to the Beginning – Deniz & Roman, Alles was zählt #awz #fandom #video

Wow. Why do the Germans make me cry with their gay soap couples? Okay, fine, why do all soaps make me cry about their gay couples, regardless of nationality? Oh, Roman. My heart.

This is such a good, good, good, good video.

Training Season can be purchased at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, ARe, and Smashwords. And also on iBooks.
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?

Fanworks Friday: White Blank Page

by Suzvoy

Originally found here. It’s pretty great. Oh, ATWT, you were such an asshole to your loyal fans in the end.

Lizzie Bennet’s Diaries

The fact that this exists makes up for a lot of terrible things in the world. Sometimes human beings make me so happy with their creations and their brains and their love of life, literature, characters, and creativity.

Lizzie Bennet Diaries – Watch and love!

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In other news, Earthly Desires is now available at Barnes and Nobel as a NOOK book, Amazon.com, AllRomanceEbooks, and Ellora’s Cave.

In addition, my co-author, Keira Andrews, is hosting a contest on her blog for a free copy of the book. Just answer her question and we’ll decide on a winner next week!

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Lastly, the song that is keeping my mood from going under today. It’s been a total life saver. Thank you, Of Monsters And Men.

Reading: As Meat Loves Salt

First, before I continue with today’s post: THANK YOU, MR. PRESIDENT!

 

It’s been seven years this summer since I read As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann, and I still find it very difficult to talk about. I would call it one of my favorite books of all time, and yet I can’t easily discuss it with anyone. My closest friends either love it or hate it…or hate to love it. I’ve been considering reading it again, but I remember the last time I read it (the first and only time), I was so breathless with it that I felt as though I’d lived a lifetime in the day or so that it took me to devour it. The characters haunted me to the point that I felt as though I walked around in their world for weeks on end after reading it. I couldn’t shake them. I couldn’t get them out of my heart or mind.

I still can’t listen to certain songs that were playing in my car during the time that this book occupied my life. For example, this song is always and forever associated with Jacob for me.

I recommend the book entirely. I can’t talk to you about it, though, not beyond this. Maybe if I do risk reading it again this summer I might make another entry in which I actually talk about it more. I guess, for now, I just want to say that this is an amazing, underrated, overlooked book. It’s the kind of book that I’m not sure I could ever get used to or stop feeling strongly about.

I’m rambling now. Buy the book. It’s worth it.