Good reviews for Ad Astra!

Good reviews are always gratifying.

I've been fortunate in that I've never had a truly savage review -- in fact, even the less favorable reviews have always seemed, on balance, to be fair. I would even go so far as to say that they generally point out what I, too, thought were the weak spots in a particular story.

But it's lovely to see my latest work has been generally well received. When the lowest score for a books is 3/5, that's nothing to sneer at as an author. 

To cherry pick a few lines to feather my cap (to mix a metaphor):

Another reason for that is the fact that his relationship with Nicholas (who btw is his husband) was on the kinky side, but it was so easily introduced, so easily narrated, that it was as if the writer was writing vanilla sex for crying out loud. It blends beautifully and the scene itself was not so much erotic as it was sweet, effortless, and sensual. So, do you fault me for wanting a full on novel on these guys? (Thomaidha Papa)

If you like stories that imagine what the future will be like, if you enjoy reading about man who are clearly devoted to each other, ...and if you're looking for a short, hot read with lots of love and some kinkiness, then you will probably like this short story. (Serena Yates)

I love futuristic and science fiction stories, and this short one was great! Jacob and Nicholas are husbands, pilots, fighters in the future ...This was a wonderful short that reminded me of how important it is to love, even in the fighting forces, and that being together is so much better than being apart. (Christy Duke)

So, if you think you might enjoy it I can only encourage you to buy it. All author royalties for Torquere Press Charity Sips are donated in their entirety to a worthy organistation (this year to Outserve-SLDN), AND those donations are matched by Torquere Press. So you'll be doing a good deed and (hopefully!) getting a good read at the same time. 

New Release! Charity Sip Release & Blog Hop!

Our Bloghop Starts Here: Torquere Press

Each year, Torquere Press does a charity drive supporting an LGBT cause. (These stories are out now.) The authors donate their royalties and Torquere matches that amount. Each year the stories are themed reflecting the cause the drive is supporting. I don't participate every year; I don't always have a story that would fit.

But this year's cause is close to my heart -- to the extent that it's difficult to talk about why. Curae leves loquuntur ingentes stupent etc. Growing up, I wanted to join the military -- I had big dreams, and they didn't work out. Perhaps ironically, it wasn't because of my LGBT status, though I've often wondered how things would have turned out. If I had gotten my dreams then, would they have been dashed later? It's impossible to know what might have been.

Anyway. From their about page:

"Outserve-SLDN is the association of actively serving LGBT military personnel and is a non-partisan, non-profit, legal services, watchdog and policy organization dedicated to bringing about full LGBT equality to America's military and ending all forms of discrimination and harassment of military personnel on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity."

If you think the difficulties facing American service people who are LGBT ended with Don't Ask Don't Tell, please educate yourself further. Trans* people are still barred from serving. The fight is far from over.

September Update!

Well, September's been anything but boring, but sadly all the interesting things are happening in my private life instead of the wonderful world of writing. BUT there will be a proper writerly post in about week, as Torquere Press are organizing a blog hop to promote the upcoming Charity Sips.

Tune in for that, as there will be something like 24 stories coming out all once, all in aid of OutServe. The stories themselves are out on Friday the 19th, so if you must have them immediately (and who would want to wait?) make sure to mark your calendars.

To help get you in the mood I created a mood board for my sip, Ad Astra (to the Stars).

A little snippet for those who haven't seen it yet (so very NSFW):