Hey there! This week I'll be at the Romantic Times convention in Vegas. If you are there, I'd love to say 'hi'! Here are the spots/times you can find me.
Weds: 2:45pm panel – When it Hurts So Good
Thurs: 2:45pm panel – Hybrid Author 101
Fri: 11:15am panel – Laughing Through Your Tears
Fri: 1:30pm panel – From Agony to Ecstacy
Sat: Book fair!
Sat: Dreamspinner FAN tastic Day party-- 6:45pm is my author slot
Eli
Someone on facebook reminded me that I should update you all on what's in the queue for me. Apr/May 2016 -- "How to Wish Upon a Star", (aka Howl at the Moon #3)
With MCs Dr. Jason Kunik, a third-generation quickened and genetic researcher, and Milo, a hospice dog who just recently became quickened.
I'm finishing this up and will self-pub, so it will be out quickly!
Jun 2016 -- "A Second Harvest", from Dreamspinner Press
This is the first book of a new series called "Men of Lancaster County", but each book will also be stand-alone. This book is a May/Dec romance and features a widowed Mennonite farmer and the young gay man who moves in next door. I'm in final edits and have a cover now. Whoot!
August 2016 -- "The Land of Milk and Honey", from Penguin
This is the sequel to "Kingdom Come" and the second book in my Amish murder mystery series (written under Jane Jensen)
Nov 2016 -- my Christmas novella for 2016
TBD
There will be more out in 2016 but the exact titles and dates are still unknown.
Eli
"How to Howl at the Moon" won some lovely spots in the Goodreads m/m romance group's member's choice awards. It got 2nd Place for "Best Humorous" and 3rd place for "Best Paranormal".
You can see all the winners here.
Thanks to those who voted for "How to Howl at the Moon"! You can read more about the book here.
Eli
Big news! My novel "The Stolen Suitor" is set for release Feb 1, 2016 and is now available on the Dreamspinner "Coming Soon" page for pre-order!
This 70K novel is set in Clyde's Corner, Montana, where my Christmas novella "A Prairie Dog's Love Song" took place. It's part of the new Dreamspun Desires line from Dreamspinner. This new line features 2 new books a month, each with a traditional category romance trope respun for m/m. You can get a subscription or buy books separately. All books will be available in paperback. Cool, huh? Check it out here.
Here's the blurb for "The Stolen Suitor"
All of Clyde’s Corner, Montana, knows local dandy Chris Ramsey will marry Trix Stubben, young widow and heir to the richest ranch in the area. But one woman isn’t too keen on the idea. Mabe Crassen wants to get her hands on that ranch, so she sets her older son to court Trix, and her younger son, Jeremy, to distract Chris and lure him astray.
Jeremy Crassen thinks his mother’s scheme is crazy. But he wants desperately to go off to college, which Mabe will agree to—if he seduces Chris. How will shy, virginal, secretly gay Jeremy attract Chris, who seems determined to do the right thing and marry Trix? Jeremy can’t compete with a rich female widow. Or can he?
Eli
Along with the upcoming "How to Walk Like a Man", I have another book coming at Thanksgiving. It's my 2015 Christmas novella, "Midwinter Night's Dream". The main character, Micah, is the brother of Hank from last year's "Unwrapping Hank", but this novella can be read as a stand-alone.
The cover reveal is going on today at Gay Book Reviews and there's a give away of a gift certificate too, so stop by and sign up for the give away. You can also read an excerpt there.
Eli
Yay! It's taken some time to get my ducks in a row, but today is the cover reveal for "How to Walk Like a Man", the sequel to "How to Howl at the Moon"!
The cover reveal is taking place on two blogs: The Novel Approach and My Fiction Nook. Each blog features a different excerpt.
1. The Novel Approach (CLICK HERE)-- includes the first section in chapter 1 plus a giveaway of a $10 Amazon gift certificate.
2. My Fiction Nook (CLICK HERE)-- includes the second section in chapter 1 plus a giveaway of a $10 Amazon gift certificate.
The book is available for pre-order here. Release day is Nov 13!
I loved writing Roman's story and I hope you like it as much as I do.
Eli
I will be a featured author at GRL in San Diego. Here's my schedule:
Thursday – 12:30-1:30pm – Author’s Lounge, Mission Ballroom D&E 6:30-8:30 - Dine with an Author Friday – 11:25-12:20pm, Author Q&A in Mission Bay A Saturday – 12:30-3 – Featured Author Book Signing Event (I'll have How to Howl at the Moon, The Mating of Michael, the new Sex in Seattle book 1 & 2 paperback, teasers of the upcoming "Midwinter Night's Dream" (my xmas story) and "How to Walk Like a Man" (Howl #2) and a drawing to win these new boos.
I'll also have some stuff in the Swag room. Hope to see you there!
Eli
I've had a spate of new audio books out this summer with more coming soon! I thought I'd say a little bit about them.
"The Mating of Michael" audio book is narrated by Michael Stellman, who also read my audio book "A Prairie Dog's Love Song". It's a wonderful listen. I like the youthfulness of his voice and the way he conveys emotion.
"The Lion and the Crow", read by Scott Richard Ehredt, is really a treat! I just finished listening to it myself on my morning walks. Scott has a mature, rich British voice that gives the story heaps of gravitas. He made the writing sound so wonderful! And I love all his character voices. Do try it!
COMING SOON
"Unwrapping Hank" audio, performed by Jason Frazier, should hopefully be out by early October. It's sounding awesome.
I hope to have Matthew Shaw read "How to Walk Like a Man" (the sequel to "How to Howl at the Moon") and have that one out by early December too.
Listening to audio books has really helped me rack up the miles on my Fitbit. (Or does my Fitbit help me get through more audio books?) Hope you've enjoyed some good ones lately too!
Eli
This has been a good month for me and audio books! "The Mating of Michael" is also now available on audio book and it's wonderful! The narrator, Michael Stellman, previously recorded my story "A Prairie Dog's Love Song". He does a great job with "The Mating of Michael". You can hear a sample at the link below. Thanks, Dreamspinner, for producing this title! http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/The-Mating-of-Michael-Audiobook/B011S4ARJK/ref=a_search_c4_1_8_srTtl?qid=1437311913&sr=1-8
Dreamspinner Press has produced "The Lion and the Crow" on audiobook! It's now available on audible.com and will be showing up on Amazon shortly. I haven't heard the whole thing myself yet, but I loved the narrator's early audition. Should be awesome!
It's release day for "How to Howl at the Moon", the first book in a new m/m romantic comedy series about dog shifters. I had a blast writing this book, and I'm so excited that it's now out there available to the public. Fly little bird, fly! Or maybe, run, little dog, run! It's my tradition to share some of my photo inspiration on release day. So without further ado, here are some images that I found to use as mind candy while working on this story.
NOTE: These are all images I googled. I don't own the rights to them and they are not used in the actual book.
TIM WESTON
Tim is our shy gardener, a full-blooded human who moves to Mad Creek by chance and has no idea that dog shifters exist (or any other shifters for that matter). Tim is tall, lanky, and a bit gawky. I looked for a long time to find the right 'mind model' for Tim physically, and I fell in love with the photo below. Love those bangs! (so does Lance)
SHERIFF LANCE BEAUFORT
The other MC is Lance, a border collie shifter who is the sheriff of Mad Creek, and a determined protector of the town. I didn't find the perfect photo of Lance. He had black hair and brilliant blue eyes, he's compact and muscular, and intense with a capital I! But here are some images that come close....
(THE HAIR!)
(THE TUDE!)
CHANCE (aka Lance in dog form)
Lance is a shifter descended from border collies. In dog form, he's all black with just a touch of white on his chest and a dot on one ear, and he has brilliant blue eyes. He's very intelligent looking. This is the dog photo I used for Lance. He actually looks quite a lot like the dog that ended up on the cover, no?
MAD CREEK
For my setting, I wanted a small town, someplace remote and someplace that felt a bit interesting or exotic. My husband suggested the California mountains. We lived in Oakhurst, California for about five years, a small town in the mountains up the hill from Fresno but before you get to Yosemite. Mad Creek is technically further up into the mountains than that, but I based Mad Creek on Oakhurst. Here are some photos.
RENFIELD (aka "Renny")
Renfield is a puppy that Lance gives to Tim. He's a 100% dog (not a shifter) and he's mostly Bernese Mountain Dog.
LILY (Lance's mother)
Lance's mother is also a border collie shifter with black hair and blue eyes. She's wiry, energetic, and basically a whirlwind of manipulation and buttinski-ness. Julie Louis-Dreyfus is a great comic model for her.
MISC STORY STUFF
Some reference images for rose hips, a Sheiff's badge and the DEA uniform.
That's it for this release! I hope you enjoy the book.
P.S. The audiobook is done and is 'in processing' at Amazon. It should be live in the next week or two!
Eli
Release date: Feb 28, 2015
I'm super, super excited about this book! "How to Howl at the Moon" is the first book of a new m/m romantic comedy series featuring dog shifters and a little town in the California mountains called Mad Creek.
I wrote the first draft of this novel during NaNoWriMo in 2014, and I had so much fun writing it. I fell in love with Molly Harper's "Naked Werewolf" series and it inspired me to want to write a humorous shifter series of my own, only in m/m. My husband likes to say he gives me all my best ideas, and I'm afraid there's some truth in that. When I said "romantic comedy with shifters?" He said "dogs!". He was right.
We have three bulldogs of our own and it was a blast to write dog shifter characters and give them dog mannerisms and personality traits. I hope you'll enjoy reading about Lance, his mother Lily (as Lance says, Jewish mothers have nothing on the relentless herding instinct of a mother descended from border collies on both sides), Gus, Roman, and the other residents of Mad Creek. And of course, Tim, our clueless hero.
You can read an excerpt here. And the book is available on Amazon right now for pre-order.
The cover is awesome, no? Cover by AngstyG. (Click for close-up)
Also, I am working on an audio book version of this right now! I hope to have it out around the same time as the ebook.
Eli
The M/M Romance group on Goodreads is a fun and large group (the 3rd largest group on goodreads I think), and if you like m/m romance, you should definitely check it out. They just had their annual awards to determine the group's reader's favorites for 2014. Two of my books won in several categories. Given all the books that I personally read and loved that were nominated this year, and all the very talented authors, I feel super honored.
YOU CAN SEE ALL THE WINNERS HERE.
The Mating of Michael
Best Sex Industry -- #1
Best Medical/Rescue Works Prof -- #2 (#1 - The Backup Boyfriend by River Jaymes, #3 - Collide by Riley Hart)
Best Hurt/Comfort -- #1 (#2 - Beneath the Stain by Amy Lane, #3 - While All the World Sleeps by Lisa Henry)
Blame it on the Mistletoe
Best Gay/Out for You -- #3 (#1 - Try by Ella James, #2 - The Backup Boyfriend by River Jaymes)
Best Coming of Age -- #3 (#1 - The Art of Breathing by TJ Klune, #2 - The Family We Make by Kaje Harper)
Best Friends to Lovers -- #3 (#1 - All Kinds of Tied Down by Mary Calmes, #2 - Collide by Riley Hart)
Best Humorous -- #2 (#1 - #3 - Loving Jay by Renae Kaye, #1 The Art of Breathing by TJ Klune)
Thank you so much to those who voted!
Eli
My very first m/m story published was "Before I Wake", which came out from Torquere Press in April 2013. They only had a year contract, so the story has been out of print since Apr 2014. I finally got my ass in gear and have self-published a new edition.
The original story was written for a fairy tale anthology with a strict 8000 word count. Of course, self-pubbing I was able to expand it a bit, adding a new 3K epilogue.
You can find it here:
ALL ROMANCE EBOOKS -- https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-beforeiwake-1721954-145.html
BARNES & NOBLE - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/before-i-wake-eli-easton/1121024294?ean=2940150207943&itm=1&usri=2940150207943
Hope you like the new version,
Eli
I published my first Eli Easton m/m romance in April 2013, so 2014 was a “year two” for me. That’s the year when newbie enthusiasm faces the realities of the market and the daily work flow, and you either flunk out entirely, settle into a dabblers casual ‘tude, or decide you’re in it for the serious long haul.
As of Dec 2014 I can say that it’s option c—my butt is firmly planted on this piece o’ earth.
In 2014 I published 5 m/m romance books, making 13 total. I had less publications in 2014 than in 2013, but I released my first full-length novel (“The Mating of Michael”).
Many readers of m/m romance also write it, so you will know what I’m talking about when I say there are things an author must consider when deciding whether or not to invest more time in a genre. First: Am I objectively any good at writing it? Second: Do I really like the genre enough to dedicate a large chunk of my time to building a career in it? Third: Can I continue to come up with fresh ideas and fresh work in this area story after story?
The answer to those questions for me is 'yes'. I still feel I have something to offer the genre, I still really enjoy writing it, and I've gotten some lovely encouragement which makes me feel like my efforts are not in vain.
The m/m romance genre is an interesting beast. If being a ‘romance author’ is not taken very seriously by the general population and/or literary world, writing m/m romance is regarded with even more confusion/embarrassment/disdain. It seems to be the equivalent of saying ‘I write porn’. Now, I personally don’t think there’s anything wrong with writing porn, but that’s not the way I consider my Eli Easton books.
Granted, I am probably in tune with point-oh-one percent of the population in this, but I really don’t see a lot of difference in regular (m/f) romance and gay (m/m) romance. At the heart, a romance is a romance. Love is a mystery. Why do two people fit together? And how do they figure it out? To me, a romance is about two people discovering their perfect partner—from first meeting, to getting to know one another, to overcoming obstacles, to realizing they want to be together for life. It’s about the dynamics of their personalities and daily lives and how they fit together. It's about realizing that love is more important than anything else. It’s family and psychology, personal flaws and strengths. It’s chemistry and heat. In the end, very few things in life impact us the way our choice of life partner does. So what could be a more important subject to write about?
How I landed in the m/m genre is a bit of luck and a bit of good casting. My first exposure to m/m was Anne Rice's "Cry to Heaven", which I read in high school and found compellingly unusual and sensual. Later on, there was fan fiction (johnlock and sterek mostly). As a writer, I’ve always been more comfortable with male characters. Never a girly girl, I am sometimes irritated by romance heroines. Bottom line: I find men more interesting creatures and far sexier. So being able to write two male leads works for me on many levels. I also find the social and personal dynamics of being gay interesting. Let’s face it, unless you want to write regency romance, there’s not a lot left in our modern society to keep men and women from doing whatever they damn well please. There are more hoops to jump through, and thus more opportunity for denial, obstacle, and conflict, in a gay relationship. I also like the idea of contributing, however obliquely, to normalizing gay relationships. I am absolutely in favor of gay rights.
As for stigma or literary snobbery, I am old enough to have given up on expecting to rule the world—or the NY Times bestseller list. The fact is, whatever people think of romance, more people read it, and buy it, than any other genre of book. People read it because they enjoy it—it’s an escape, a comfort, entertainment, and a solace. It’s fantasy and an outlet for the love and desire that is often lacking in our 'real lives'. I am honored to provide that for readers.
On to the old and new!
2014: Looking Back
Publications:
“Stitch” (gothika anthology, my story “Reparation”), Apr 2014 “The Mating of Michael” (Sex in Seattle #3), Jun 2014 “Heaven Can’t Wait” (in Dreamspinner’s Daily Dose), Jul 2014 “Bones” (gothika anthology, my story “The Bird”), Oct 2014 “Unwrapping Hank” (Christmas novella), Nov 2014
Cons Attended:
Dreamspinner’s author con
Milestones:
“Blame it on the Mistletoe” gets over 2000 rankings on Goodreads
“Unwrapping Hank” hits #1 on Amazon’s gay romance list (briefly, but it was there!)
“The Mating of Michael” wins #1 place in the William Neale Award for Best Gay Contemporary Romance category, 2014 Rainbow Awards and #2 place in “Best Gay Book” overall.
3 audio books published in 2014: “Blame it on the Mistletoe”, “A Prairie Dog’s Love Song”, and “Superhero”.
‘Came out’ as Eli Easton under my writing/game design nom de plume of Jane Jensen
2015: Looking Ahead
I plan to spend more time writing in 2015 since I’ve recently finished a huge work project.
![LionandtheCrow[The]FS FINAL COVER - Copy](http://static1.squarespace.com/static/5aae88b75417fc4054640c92/5ab04ad6e0c9384677f4c281/5ab04ae2e0c9384677f4c5bd/1521502946854/LionandtheCrowTheFS-FINAL-COVER-Copy.jpg?format=original)
Publications Anticipated:
“The Lion and the Crow” (expanded edition), Dreamspinner, Jan 2015 “How to Howl at the Moon” (new paranormal dog shifter series), Love Lane Books, Feb 2015 “Claw” (gothika anthology, my story “The Black Dog”), Apr 2015 A novel for Dreamspinner (TBD-- probably Sex in Seattle #4 or Prairie Dog #2), Aug 2015 “gothika #4” (anthology), Oct 2015 Christmas novella 2015 (Micah Springfield’s story), Nov 2015 “Kingdom Come” (murder mystery set in Amish country from Berkeley’s Prime Crime line),- sometime in 2015
Writing in 2015: Kingdom Come #2, Howl at the Moon #2
Cons Attending:
Dreamspinner’s author con Rainbow Con Romantic Times
Goals:
* continue to build name recognition and reader base
* do a better job updating my blog!
* would be lovely to have a #1 on amazon for longer than one day!
;-)
That's it for this year's round-up. Please let me know your suggestions and if there's anything you are dying for me to write in 2015!
Eli
Pardon me while I hyperventilate. This is the first year I've had a book in the Rainbow Awards and I'm shocked to find that "The Mating of Michael" won 1st place in the Best Gay Contemporary Romance category and second place in the Best Gay Book category. Wow! I feel so incredibly lucky that Michael and James' story resonated with the judges. This will hopefully get some people to pick it up who otherwise might not have tried it. Thank you.
Also, the "Stitch" anthology I wrote along with Jamie Fessenden, Kim Fielding, and Sue Brown, won 4th place for Best Gay Anthology and also won an award for the cover. Whoot!
Check out all the Rainbow Award winners here:
http://reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwidth.org/4489098.html
As an author, I have a soft spot for every book I write, even if others don't love them like I do. lol But it's amazing, wonderful, hopeful, sustaining to have one that gets good sales. I was super excited this morning to see that "Unwrapping Hank" has hit #1 in gay romance on Amazon. I'm so grateful, because getting good results means I get to keep writing m/m romance, which I LOVE, and I get to spend more time on it. So thank you so much for anyone who bought the book. In these days of rampant piracy, your support is so, so, so much appreciated! http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/14044691/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_b_3_5_last
Dreamspinner Press has produced an audio book version of my Christmas story from last year's advent, "A Prairie Dog's Love Song". It's really good! Check it out here:
Eli
Dreamspinner just released an audio book version of "Blame it on the Mistletoe". The narrator, Jason Frazier, is fantastic. So much fun. Here's a link on audible with a sample.
