An Update Of Sorts. Warning: All over the place.

I know, I know. I use this thing so sporadically, and so much has happened since the last time I updated this thing. So, what was it, the 19th of July? Since then, One Two Three, Salvation came out to two wonderful five star reviews. You can read them here and here. Thanks so much to Cat and Nanee for saying such kind words about my novel. It means a lot to me :)

That brings me to my next bit of news. I signed a contract for the next in the series, Drawing By Heart, and it's set for release on November 23rd. Now, some of you might remember this as one of the three novels I was working on for NaNoWriMo this year, which makes this even more special for me. I love this particular story and it keeps the suspense and mystery going more than I'd expected.

What I really came here to show off, so to speak, is the beautiful new cover I have for Drawing By Heart. It was done by a different cover artist this time, which had me a little bit apprehensive, but it came out beautifully. I wish I'd been able to keep one of the models from the other cover, but the model for Kay is absolutely fucking perfect and I can't wait to show it to you! (image redacted)

Isn't it beautiful?

That being said, I'm participating in NaNoWriMo again this year, as I always do, but I'm going in without a single damn idea as to what I'm going to write. It'll probably hit me a couple days in or something. I hope to see some of you doing the same thing, and look forward to sharing word counts and sprints like we did last year.

One more thing. Mrs Condit reviewed One Two Three, Shatter for her retro reads, and gave it 5 stars as well. You can read that review here and she also nominated me for Author of the Month. I didn't win, I was up against some stiff competition, but she did give a nifty little nominee badge I can display right here:

OKAY, I think this entry is 'all over the place' enough that I should probably end it here before it goes off in a completely different direction. Hopefully I'll start using this more, especially as Drawing By Heart comes out, but I said that about One Two Three, Salvation too, didn't I?

Til next time!
~Joey

Blog Hop Time!

This time, I'm participating in a blog hop that I was invited to by Charley Descoteaux called Seductive Studs and Sirens. It's a weekly blog hop for LGBT authors to post excerpts and spread the word! So if you're here from that wonderful place, hello and welcome!

For this week's blog hop, I guess I'll start with one of the books I already have published, One Two Three, Shatter. It's the prequel to my upcoming novel, One Two Three, Salvation. I've decided I'm going to do this with excerpts from both Kaleb's story-- Shatter-- and Kay's-- Salvation-- up until the release date.

BLURB: Life was harsh and cruel to Kaleb Xander from very early on, and he was never given a moment's rest to breathe and recover from the misery. Once freed from years in a cage of wrath and perverted lust, he found the real world to be a mere step up from what he was used to. Abuse was simply coming in different guises and through new avenues now.

All it should take is one person to reach out their hand and save this lost soul--but Kaleb is more complicated than that. It'll take a miracle, and he's banking on someone to be just that for him before he gives it all up.

EXCERPT:
　　　　"I'm assuming you're the new bouncer Jeff keeps talking about?" Kaleb asked, quirking an eyebrow again as he wiped down the bar, and he watched Trent nod in affirmation. "Thought so."

　　　　"Do you not like me or somethin', dude?" the bouncer asked, and Kaleb scoffed, looking up incredulously.

　　　　"Dude, I barely know you," he said in a matter-of-fact tone, starting to straighten out glasses for the next rush. "It's not like I'm gonna be your best f*ckin' friend right off the bat. I'm not like that. Sorry if you thought I was."

　　　　"Fair 'nough." Trent nodded and folded his hands on the bar top. Kaleb noticed they were worker's hands, calloused but long and rather elegant for a male of the man's size. He looked away quickly, up into Trent's eyes.

"So what can I do for you?" he asked, assuming his normal position of leaning forward on the bar, keeping their eye contact.

　　　　That seemed to be an important part of customer service. It'd taken him a while to force himself to look up into people's eyes, to keep them there even when he felt like he was being totally analyzed and picked apart from the inside out. The very thought made him shift his shoulders.

　　　　"Yeah, just a beer. Sierra Pale Ale," Trent said with a nod.

　　　　"Don't get many orders for that particular draft," he remarked as he turned to draw the beer. It took a minute to get the liquid out, but it poured frothy and pale as the name promised.

　　　　"I don't like the heavier stuff," the bouncer explained as Kaleb slid him the glass.

"Makes sense, but I'm fond of the heavier stuff myself. Then again, I'll drink any beer as long as it's not light. That sh*t makes me f*ckin' gag like nobody's business."

One Two Three, Shatter available through Silver Publishing, Amazon, Barnes and Noble or AllRomance EBooks now!

New Novel Release!

I know I've been really quiet on this front, working a full-time job can do that to you, but I finally got the sequel to Kaleb's story picked up by Silver Publishing.

One Two Three, Salvation now has a cover and a tentative release date of September 7th, and I'm currently working on the first round of edits on it. It made me realize just how often I use the word 'was' in my manuscripts, and I've been going back and fixing it in my other stories as well.

Before I go off on that tangent, this is the beautiful cover for One Two Three, Salvation. I worked with the same cover artist that did One Two Three, Shatter, and I think she did just as great of a job. She had more of a challenge with this one because I was incredibly picky about my models, but it turned out wonderful in the end despite that.

Now, I've got to go dive back into my edits. I'll post more information as I get it. Cheers!

My First Nomination!

So I know I've been relatively quiet here lately, been doing editing and workshops to get my latest manuscript up to standard, but I just wanted to share this wonderful bit of good news that just came my way and it'd mean the world to me if you voted for my book. One Two Three, Shatter has been nominated for the GLBT Contemporary Romance section of The Romance Reviews' Best Books of 2012. This is my first ever nomination and I'm so honored. I'm in some great company too.

Just click the button and follow the links to the voter page. You do have to log in to vote, though, because the system tracks the voting that way.
Thanks guys!