Hello, lovely people.
I had hoped to give you a Ganymede Christmas present, and the story is indeed done, but I simply gave up on trying to figure out how to comply with the GDPR rules. I have a thing, a story. I want to give it to people. I need their email addresses to do that. And because of that, I need to make guarantees to the gods that I will not abuse people’s trust. Which I would not, but I still have to meet the same standards as someone who most probably would.
I used these same fireworks in a post last year about NYE in 1900, and I’m using them again because they’re pretty :)
Have a safe and wonderful New Year. I hope those of you who opted in on the Charles/Simon story enjoyed it, and I look forward to offering you more of Henry, Martin and their friends in coming years. I have a lot of new characters in new universes coming, as well, and I sincerely hope you’ll give them a chance too.
xxoo
Darrah
Images after the cut include butts and simulated m/m sex. London Spy is a 5-episode series from BBC. I only know that the show exists because someone (I believe it originated with gayxxgifs, which is definitely a porn tumblr!) posted this gif set, and after seeing the images, I had to see the entire show. Which I am loving, though it probably won’t contain any more scenes like this one. I just finished the third episode and hate that I have to wait another week for more.
So here are Ben Whishaw’s and Edward Holcroft’s butts: Continue reading a scene from London Spy (BBC) NSFW
I found the centaur artist :)
(NSFW images behind the cut) Continue reading I found the centaur artist :)
There is a NSFW illustration behind this cut. I am hoping someone will know who drew it. If you’re wondering if it’s something you want to see, I will say that it involves an erect centaur and cunnilingus, and it is beautifully drawn.
Back in April, I took a trip to New York, which is one of my very favorite places. I visit as often as I can, which isn’t often enough. I went to go to the Rainbow Book Fair–not as an exhibitor this time, but to hang out with Leta Blake, who was an exhibitor. I’ve wanted to be in New York at the same time as her for years now, and this time it worked out. I also wanted to do some research: riding subways, visiting stations, as well as taking a couple of tours at the Tenement Museum.
In case you hadn’t noticed, as above, in either in the right-hand column (if you’re on a computer) or at the very bottom (if you’re on your phone), I’ve uploaded a graphic of the protection stones Henry and Martin give one another. Henry gave his to Martin at the end of A Proper Lover (GQ Book 2), and Martin gives his to Henry near the beginning of A Willful Romantic (GQ Book 3). Ulvar did a perfect job rendering them for me, and I’m so grateful for her talent and her patience in dealing with my requests.
Near the beginning of AWR, Henry and Martin go shopping for waistcoats at Hamilton & Sons and Henry persuades Martin to wear something a bit fancier than plain black. Unfortunately, it’s too subtle to be seen on the book cover in most formats, I think, but Martin’s waistcoat does indeed have chrysanthemums and stripes, as you can see here :)
Henry’s choice is so very, very LOUD, but I would have had it even louder if I could. However, the only way I could think of to achieve that end would be to animate it (fireworks? glitter?), and we can’t do that with book covers (yet).
If I had goals for 2014, they were along the lines of “write books” and “publish books,” and I met those goals, so yay! me. This year isn’t going to be terribly different, really, but I know more about accomplishing those goals, which theoretically ought to make the process easier.
WRITING:
The sesquicentennial–150th anniversary–of the Battle of Nashville (Dec 15-16, 1864) is/was yesterday and today. In case you’re not a Civil War scholar (I’m not), the Battle of Nashville was the last big “western” battle in the Civil War, and it was won decisively by the Union Army.
I found out about the battle anniversary and the commemorative events entirely by chance. We had no other firm plans for the weekend, so I suggested to the Mr. that we might get some history, and he was amenable.
Our interest in the Civil War is of fairly recent vintage. When we moved to the South, neither the Mr. nor I knew much of substance about the war. Literally all I learned in school in Washington state was that the South was committed to slavery and lost the war because their cause was wrong. Or, in other words, the North was morally and otherwise superior to the South, which might be true in this instance, but also seems a simplistic reduction of the issues and certainly never made it seem very interesting.
(Please note: This is seriously a very long post about local Civil War stuff, not books or writing, or even AU slavery history in Ganymede Quartet! It’s about real history! And how I find it interesting!)
My dear friend Ajax has written a wonderful book.
WILL SEATTLE MAKE A MAN OF HIM YET?
It’s 1991 and Steven Frazier has danced away half a decade in the Seattle club scene with his beautiful-but-poisonous best friend, Adrian.Two glittering princes against the world, too high above life to care about what they might be missing. But everything changes when a chance meeting with older—not to mention handsome—businessman John Pieters, reveals a cosmopolitan world and possible futures Steven’s never considered.
Flashy club clothes won’t impress John, this charming man who knows so much about many things. Motivated by fantasies inspired by his crush on John, can Steven finally fight Adrian’s sick hold?
As he steps out into the larger world, supported by new friends, Steven must prove to John—and to himself—that he’s not a hedonistic rhinestone club kid, but a true diamond in the rough.
I loved this book. Seattle in 1991 was my year, really, so there’s that, but there’s also a terrific love story between charming MCs, great secondary characters, and hot sex.
My complete review of This Charming Man at Goodreads
