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!