Audio Books!
The Coda books are now available in audio format. You can find them on Audible, as well as iTunes. Right now, they have Promises and the A to Z series. Strawberries for Dessert should be available soon.
Enjoy!
Random Paris Facts
Now that Paris has been out a couple of weeks, I thought I’d share a couple of random facts about it.
First, the guidebook that Angelo uses actually exists. When I was trying to come up with a title for the book, I stumbled across Paris A to Z on Amazon. It’s out of print, but I was able to purchase a used copy. I had no idea why I needed it, but once I had it in my hand, I knew Angelo would dig it.
Paris A to Z
Paris A to Z is available now from Dreamspinner Press. Get it here. It’s also available on ARe here. It’s not on Amazon quite yet, but it will be in the next few days.
Also, I have been interviewed today on Jessewave. You can find that here.
My friend Jane Kindred also interviewed me. That can be found here.
Did I forget anything?
Yes. I actually forgot to put acknowledgments into Paris, so I would like to thank everybody who helped me with this one: Heidi, Ethan, Wendy, Laura, Lisa, Julie, Dawn…. Good lord, I had a lot of help, didn’t I? I’m pretty sure I’m forgetting somebody still. Basically, if you beta-read this for me, thank you!! Thanks to my husband, as always. And last but not least, I have to thank Randy Jansen on this one, for getting me unstuck in the very early stages. This one was so fun to write, and I really hope you all enjoy it!
Update and Random Things
As per usual for me, I’ve let a silly amount of time go by without doing any kind of blog update. For people who follow me on Facebook and Twitter and such, this might all be old news. Or not. I’m never really sure where the line is between keeping people up-to-date and badgering them to death. 
Last night, I declared it officially spring here in Colorado. Obviously my “official” declaration doesn’t mean much, but here’s the thing: in Colorado, we may have nice warm days throughout the year, but the question is, what happens when the sun goes down? It can go from 70 to 30 in the blink of an eye. Last night my parents were over for dinner (my husband is away on a business trip) and after we ate we went out onto the back patio. My father played basketball with my daughter (she’s six, and he’s 6’3″, so he has a distinct advantage, but she doesn’t seem to mind). I sat there drinking a glass of wine, and it was warm enough that even after the sun went down, we didn’t have to come inside. Therefore: SPRING. And I for one would like to say, hooray!!
A quick rundown of what’s coming up. It’s funny to think that last fall, I was worried I wouldn’t have any new releases in the 2011. I am happy to say, that hasn’t turned out to be the case.
- The third (and final, I think) book for Zach and Angelo, Paris A to Z, will be released by Dreamspinner Press on April 6th. This is a novella (about the length of The Letter Z) so will be published in ebook format only.
- Between Sinners and Saints has been tentatively scheduled for ebook release on May 29th by Amber Allure. Paperback will be available a couple of weeks later.
- Song of Oestend will be released as an ebook by Total e-Bound on August 22nd. Paperbacks will be available shortly afterward.
I always have a bit of a lag between projects. Even though I know it’s part of my process, it makes me restless. A couple of days ago, I was whining to Heidi about being bored. She said, “Write a throw-away story about a fireman and a school teacher!” Then she started sending me links to naughty pictures, and somehow it devolved into, “Write about a pirate and a fireman. IN SPACE!” The crazy thing is, I actually started to think about it. Heidi for some reason became very excited and made me a collage (those of you who follow her know that she makes one for each of her own projects). I have posted it below. It’s big, so click on it to see it full-seize. That lovely man center left and upper left is my pirate, Valero (and yes, he’s named for a gas station – those of you who followed Heidi and I on our HaMEMA trek will get the joke). Anyone wearing a blindfold or lace is Tristan. Bottom center is the spoiled Prince who Tristan works for. And the gorgeous naked torso toward the lower right? Not sure exactly who he is, but who the hell cares? He’s fucking hot!
So for better or worse, I’m working on space pirates. It’s a bit on the kinky side (for me, at least, which isn’t saying a lot). I don’t think it will be a very long project. Maybe a short novella? Only time will tell.
I have a few blog guests scheduled for the upcoming weeks, and I have several dates as a guest on other blogs, so I hope you all will stop by and say hi while I’m out galavanting around cyberspace.
- On March 26th, I’ll be on Ethan Stone’s blog, trying to dispel a couple of common myths about author intent.
- On March 31st, I’ll be over at Amara’s Place, answering questions and giving away a book.
- April 1st, L.A. Witt (aka Lauren Gallagher, for those of you who also read het) will be here on my blog, giving away a copy of one of the many titles from her backlist.
- On April 2nd, I’ll be talking about picturing people naked on the new blog It’s Raining Men. It will be their grand opening, and I think they have all kinds of prizes lined up, so don’t miss it!
- On April 6th, I’ll be interviewed over at Jessewave.
- On April 13th, I’ll be a guest on Rachel Haimowitz’s blog.
- On April 15th, T.J. Glenn will be here on my blog.
- On April 22nd, S.L. Danielson will be a guest here on my blog.
- In theory, Ethan Stone will be around at some point pimping one of his new releases, but he’s sort of lax about picking a date.
Ethan does have two upcoming releases, Flesh & Blood on April 1st and Wolf Moon sometime in late May.
Notice that once we get more than a couple of weeks away, I’m sort of vague on the details.
I want to congratulate the very talented Reese Dante, who received two Ariana awards for her fabulous cover art, one of which was for One More Soldier. HOORAY! I love Reese’s work. Maybe I can arrange for her to do my space pirate cover?
If you’ve somehow missed it, make sure you stop by the new blog Heidi Cullinan and I are running together, Coffee and Porn in the Morning. We have hot men and giveaways! What more could you ask for?
Heidi and I will also be doing a booth at Capital City Pride in Des Moines. I think M.L. Rhodes will be there too, and maybe Rowan Speedwell and possibly Ethan Stone? Obviously, the details have yet to be ironed out, but I’ll do my best to keep you posted. And HaMEMA will return for a second round in October when Heidi and I board a train and head for New Orleans for GayRomLit. This event is open to readers too (in fact, it’s FOR readers) so join us if you can!
I think that’s all of my “official” business. And now, bear with me while I get all serious for a moment (or just skip to the lovely photo below – that’s fine too).
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to try to maintain a public persona. It’s always felt like a risk to me. I don’t like drama. AT ALL. I have literally been sick over it for days at a time. And so other than this little rambling confession, I shall continue to do my best to avoid it. I guess where I get stuck is, does avoiding drama mean I have to hide from the world? Sometimes, that’s how it feels, like every step I take is on thin ice. I see authors in my genre publicly attacking one another – it’s rare, thank goodness, but it happens – and I hate it. It breaks my heart. It makes me want to disappear. It makes me long to bury my head in the sand and never come out. But then Heidi and/or Ethan talk me down from the ledge, and I take a deep breath and try to go on.
I suppose I just want to say, I bear no animosity toward anybody. I don’t understand why any of us feel compelled to tear each other down. I want to support each and every author in our tiny little genre. I would rather assume the best of a person than the worst. I would always prefer to work toward friendship than toward friction.
Toward that end, I want you all to know how much I appreciate the support you give me. Even if you don’t know it, every email or comment or tweet or… anything… helps me face the vulnerability that seems to come with trying to maintain any type of public identity. So, thank you.
And in the spirit of thanks, I shall leave you now with this…
Holy fucking god, is he not the hottest thing you’ve ever seen (or damn close to it)? Yum.
Have a great day!
Hooray for cover art!
And hooray for Anne Cain, who has once again made me beautiful cover!
Merry Christmas!
Hello, and Merry Christmas! I thought about having Cole do an update, but he’s off in Paris, and darling, he simply couldn’t be bothered. I guess you’ll have to settle for me.
I can’t quite believe it’s Christmas Eve. While the rest of the world was preparing for the holiday, I was packing. My family and I moved into a new house just last week, on December 18th. We’re still surrounded by boxes that have yet to be unpacked, but we did manage to get the tree up, and tomorrow morning we’ll be hosting Christmas brunch for our entire family (DH’s side and mine).
And yes, since you asked, I apparently am insane.
What’s coming up in the new year?
On January 4th, my friend Scarlett Parrish will officially become a m/m author with the release of her latest book, By the Book, from Loose Id. 
You all may remember her last release, which coincided with the release of The Letter Z. We had Cole interview her (regrettably straight) male protag. We had Piper interview Angelo. Will such shenanigans be repeated? Honestly, I have no idea. But anything is possible.
Sometime around January 17th, Rachel Haimowitz will be here to promote her latest novel, Anchored. Make sure you stop by. I hear there will be giveaways involved!
On February 14th, you’ll finally get what so many of you have been asking for: more of Matt and Jared! Their Valentine’s Day short, Putting Out Fires, will be released by Dreamspinner Press. (That reminds me: have you checked the links on the sidebar carefully? I added something new and completely silly a few weeks ago).
On February 15th, Heidi Cullinan’s Nowhere Ranch will be released by Loose Id. I’ve read this one, and let me tell you, it is HOT. Maybe we’ll have some cross-promotional fun for our back-to-back releases. Depends on how energetic we’re feeling.
In April, Paris A to Z will be released by Dreamspinner Press. I am so excited about this release. I probably won’t have cover art for a couple more months, but I’ll be sure to post it as soon as I have it.
Also in April, my good friend Ethan Stone will have not one, but TWO new novels released by Dreamspinner Press: Flesh and Blood, and Wolf Moon.
Between Sinners and Saints is still in limbo. I don’t think there’s any doubt that it will be published. It’s more a matter of WHO will be publishing it. I’ll let you know as soon as I can.
What am I working on now? Well, I’m trying something new. It’s sort of fantasy, sort of paranormal. It involves a twinkish artistic type and a burly cowboy. There will be bondage. It’s a real departure from my comfort zone, in more ways than one, so we’ll see how it goes. Right now, between moving and the holidays, I’m not having much luck getting any writing done at all, but hopefully I’ll be able to get back in the swing of things early next year.
And now, I suppose I must get my ass in gear. There is still a lot to be done for tomorrow. Whatever holiday you celebrate this time of year, I hope it is fun and joyous. And I will leave you now with this:
Image hijacked from Gay Man in the High Desert: http://highdesertgay.blogspot.com/
Merry Christmas!!
Release dates
Matt and Jared’s short story Putting Out Fires will be released by Dreamspinner Press on Valentine’s Day, 2011.
Paris A to Z, the third installment in Zach and Angelo’s story, will be released in April, 2011, although I don’t have an exact date yet.
Yaoi-Con and other things…
My last update was October 20th? That means almost an entire month has gone by. How did that happen? Well, let me back up a bit…
Back in May, I went on Lynn Flewelling’s Writing on the Waves Caribbean cruise. At some point, Lynn mentioned Yaoi-Con to me. I said I’d heard of it, and was considering going, at which point she said she would be there and that she thought I should come too. Well, who am I to say no to Lynn? So I spent Halloween weekend at Yaoi-Con in San Francisco. And it was amazing!
I hung out with Lynn, and had the most amazing sushi ever with Jane Kindred and her friend Stephanie. I met scores of authors and other people in our biz. I met Andrew Grey, Z.A. Maxfield, Clare London, Astrid Amara, and Ginn Hale. I met Chris from Stumbling Over Chaos, Jenre and Tam from Jessewave, and Tracy from Tracy’s Place. And really, I’m just scratching the surface. I met more people than I could possibly list, and every single one of them was fabulous. I sat on a panel with Lynn Flewelling, Ginn Hale, and Astrid Amara (and I’m still sort of wondering how I got so lucky).
Felicitas Ivey, Clare London, Andrew Grey, Lynn Flewelling, and myself
With Lynn Flewelling and Andrew Grey
Now, some of you may remember that my house has been on the market since May. Wouldn’t you know it that in the midst of Yaoi-mayhem, we suddenly got a bite. In one weekend, we received not one, not two, but three offers on our house! Lucky for me, my husband is a good sport, and while I was having Yaoi-fun, he was running around our hotel, faxing papers back and forth. Upon arriving home, we were immediately thrown into house-selling and house-hunting chaos.
The good news is, we found a beautiful house and we’re now under contract on it. We close on both houses on December 17th – because heaven knows the holidays aren’t stressful enough as it is, we thought we’d add moving into the mix. In short, we’ve been in a state of upheaval since we got home, and there’s no reason to expect things to get better any time soon. On the bright side, I’m going to have the coolest fucking kitchen in the world. No kidding.
Guess I should start cooking again one of these years.
Yeah, yeah, you’re saying. That’s fabulous, Marie, but what’s going on with your writing?
Between Sinners and Saints is finished and has been submitted to a publisher. I haven’t heard back yet, so I can’t tell you much more than that. It’s probably safe to assume that the absolute soonest you’ll see this story will be late next year, but I’ll be sure to post more details here as soon as I have them. I’ve posted a very short excerpt here, and an even longer excerpt in my most recent newsletter, which can be found here.
I got a wild hair the other day to write a Valentine’s Day story about Matt and Jared. It kind of came out of the blue, but it really was a lot of fun. It’s only about 8600 words. I believe it’s going to be called Putting Out Fires, and it will be available from Dreamspinner Press in time for Valentine’s Day.
I have also re-tackled the Paris story. I’ve had this story mostly done for months, but I felt like something was missing. I’ve now spent the last few days on it, and I am happy to report that I have either a) finished the first draft for about the fifth time, or b) I’ve finished the fifth draft for the first time. Either way, I guess I can report that I have made progress. It might actually be close to being finished. I know, I’ve said that before, but I hope (fingers crossed) that I really will have it completely polished and ready to submit to Dreamspinner by next week, which would mean a release date around (I’m guessing here) May.
My next order of business is a silly little Coda Scooby-Doo spoof which has also been half-complete for a number of months. I think I finally know how to finish it. It’s juvenile tongue-in-cheek silliness, and once it’s done, I’ll post it here on my site for you to laugh at, or to roll your eyes at. Whichever seems most appropriate.
After that, I’m not sure what I’ll do. I do have another story on the back-burner for Jon and Cole. I have my never-ending fantasy project, Cockaigne. I think I know what I need to do with it – I need to change all 45K words of it from first person to third – but so far I’ve been too lazy to tackle it. Not a fact I’m proud of, but there it is. Jaime and Levi might end up with a sequel someday too, but I have no idea how soon.
That’s about it for now. And since it seems to be such a good way to end posts, I’ll leave you with a lovely bit of eye candy.
You guessed it. Another random update.
I realized I haven’t done one in a while. The truth is, there hasn’t been much to update you on.
August was a busy month. Strawberries for Dessert was released. Ethan Stone and I went to Folks Fest. I had a friend from my childhood drop by not once, but twice. It was all a lot of fun, but the result was, I basically took the entire month off.
So now it’s September, and I’m back in the game. I think. Do you all remember Jaime and Levi? It’s been a while, so let me reintroduce you.
This is Levi, a playboy surfer and bartender from Miami.
And this is Jaime, his rather innocent massage therapist.
As usual for me, Jaime and Levi still don’t have a title, but their first draft is (at last) nearing completion. It’s currently at about 64,000 words. I estimate that I have another 20,000 to go. This last little bit is always slow going, but the very minute the first draft is done, I will post it here! (Also the very minute they have a title).
What about the Paris story, you ask? It’s finished. Maybe. Or not. Clear as mud, right? Well, as soon as I get Levi and Jaime tucked away, the Paris story will become top priority. Honestly, I don’t think it will take me long to either whip it into shape, or decide it’s as good as it’s going to get. I love Zach and Angelo, and as this will be their final book, I don’t want to short-change them.
For better or worse, I think it’s safe to say you won’t see any new titles from me this year. I’ve had three novels, one novella, and one short story in eight months, but even if I finish Jaime and Levi tomorrow, even if I sent the Paris story to DSP this minute, they still wouldn’t be released by the end of the year. So I hope you’ll bear with me through this dry spell.
In other news, Heidi Cullinan are hitting the road! In October, we’re embarking on a road trip (hereafter known as Heidi and Marie’s Excellent Manlove Adventure). Ostensibly, I think this trip involves research for Mitch and Sam‘s next novel, and I’m just going along for the ride (but how fun would it be if Mitch and Sam ran into Zach and Angelo on the way?). Seven cities and 2830 miles in ten days, give or take a few. And maybe a bottle of Arbor Mist or ten. So stay tuned. There are bound to be pictures!
Working on something new
Do you all get tired of these random updates? For better or worse, I seem to do a lot of them.
Well, here goes…
One More Soldier has been out for a week now, and so far most of the feedback has been very good. I knew this story wouldn’t necessarily appeal to everybody. Then again, what story does?
Strawberries for Dessert will be released on August 6th by Dreamspinner Press. I’m so excited about this book! I hope you all love it as much as a few of my beta readers.
My good friend Ethan Stone is only days away from officially being a published author! I’m so excited for him. Be sure to check out his story Being Taught, available from Dreamspinner Press on July 28th. Ethan’s first novel, In the Flesh, will be available on August 27th.
Some of you are probably wondering about the Paris story. This is the third (and hopefully final) book for Zach and Angelo, and the good news is, I finished it a couple of weeks ago. The bad news is, it’s really not up to par. There’s something wrong with it, but I’m not sure exactly what. So, for the time being at least, that story is on hold. I will finish it eventually, I promise. Angelo would never let me abandon him completely.
Right now I’m working on a yet-unnamed story about a massage therapist and a playboy. Here. Let me introduce you. This is Jaime:
And this is Levi:
Aren’t they lovely? Together, they’re weighing in about 25,000 words right now, which is the point where the story always starts to feel less like fun and more like pulling teeth. But I’ll keep writing and hoping that the pieces will eventually fall into place. Because, let’s face it, those two men are hot. And together, they’re absolutely smoking.
I’ll be back on the 28th to remind you to buy Ethan’s story. Then starting on the 29th, I believe there will be a contest over at Stumbling Over Chaos for a copy of Strawberries for Dessert. On August 1st (or was it the 2nd?), I have some guests stopping by on a blog tour. And then it will be August 6th – time to break out the Arbor Mist and celebrate! I can’t wait!
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