Finding Founder

I’ve set aside a few days to reread Founder, the one and only western I’ve ever written.

I use that term somewhat loosely because I know so much more about the genre now than I did back when I wrote it. I’m also just a better technical writer than I was then, too. To be perfectly frank, It started off a little rough, but it’s getting smoother as I go on.

The bits I researched about raising horses and horse farming are pretty good – accurate details, lots of nice visuals, proficient use of horse lingo, and realistic dilemmas. The writing in those chapters is solid. Sucked me right in. There are other scene’s too, where the characters are so focused and emotional that it becomes a page-turner. But Aubrey’s voice is a little inconsistent at times, sliding between Texan, the not-so-deep south, and suburban Yankee. OOPS. Not great considering he is the only narrator.

This story is so personal to me that I was reluctant to even to read it again. I remember being in Aubrey’s head when I was writing it and thinking, “no one’s gonna like this guy”, which is not a great thing for a romance. Usually. Personally, I think truthful and human are always likable qualities, and Aubrey has those things in spades. And since my characters are usually likable, so it was a struggle for me to walk that line.

I don’t think it’s a bad thing to look at something you wrote years ago and think, “Oh, I could do this better now.” In some cases, like the Deviations Series, the book is better left alone. I call that “honoring the work.” It’s not perfect, but it’s so good just like it is, even with those imperfections. Those pieces you leave alone, with no apology for anything. And in other cases, like this one, the bones are really good, but you get a vision of what it could be and it’s hard to let that go.

So, I’m planning a revision – one that may actually amount to a rewrite.

This is the first time in my life that I am reading reviews and listening to them. The reviews that are still out there on Amazon and Goodreads (still attributed to a publisher that cheated me out of a year’s worth of royalties, thank you) are good actually, but some of them had some constructive suggestions that could bring their 4 stars up to a 5, and since I’m bringing this one up to date, I’m going to take some of those suggestions. I’m going to add maybe 15-20K, which will include a couple of chapters from Kelly’s POV so he gets some screen time (and we’ll understand better WHY he cares about the angsty cowboy, even when Aubrey isn’t that likable), and expand the story a bit. Reluctantly, I’ve also put the possibility of a new title and a new cover on the table, as well (though I do so love the artwork). In any case, it might seem like a whole new (hopefully even better!) book when I’m done.

Assuming I can make it through this first reread without having a breakdown. 😉

New, and available for Preorder!

I’ve polished up and republished a hot little short story called “Handyman” in the first ever Sexy to Go Gay Romance box set! This set is a collection of nine stories ranging from contemporary to fantasy to mythical in nature, but all featuring sexy men.


About Handyman:
Danny is haunted by memories of his ex, Peter, who moved out six months ago. He recognizes just how badly off he is when he wakes up to a flood in his condo, a problem Peter would have easily handled. But Danny can’t find the insurance paperwork, he doesn’t know who he should call first, and he’s about ready to strangle his stoner upstairs neighbors. His day starts looking up, though, when a parade of workmen arrive to deal with the water, replace his breaker box, and demolish his soaked ceiling. They prove unavailable, though, until Ken, a handsome, friendly handyman, shows up to handle Danny’s drywall. But can Danny handle Ken?

 

Sexy To Go Gay Romance will be available for download on April 1.
You can preorder it now! Find your format HERE:

Deviations in Mobi, Epub, and PDF!

 

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New Formats Available!

 

AT LAST!!

My beautiful and talented co-author, Chris Owen, has put the Deviations Series (and some of her own titles!) up on her website for sale in formats other than Kindle. You can now purchase Mobi, Epub and PDF formats directly from us!

The link to her cart is chrisowen.net/store/!!

Thank you all for your patience, and enjoy the new formats!

 

 

About that “A” in the acronym…

This started out as a facebook post, and then it got long and kind of personal and so I decided it was better on my blog.heart

I don’t usually like to get involved in hot-button issues like this because it tends to draw trolls and people who would rather argue with me than listen. But the more I read, the more I have to chime in on this LGBTQI “A” acronym debate. Please, when you read this, understand that I’ve been in this community since before any acronym existed at all. I have first-hand experience and knowledge of what I am telling you.

The GLBT acronym was adopted by the gay community (at least in NYC where I was living) in the very late 80s/early 90s, and it was adopted because it was rightly felt that the term “gay community” was no longer inclusive enough or fully representative of who we were. So – again I’m old enough that I remember all of this personally – we all started using the four-letter acronym and feeling very positive and inclusive about it. Some of us (like *cough* me) quickly switched it up to LGBT because it felt very feminist to put the women first. 😉

Not long after, mid-90s I would say, the community began adding the letter “Q”, which at the time meant “questioning”, and then very shortly after that came to represent both “questioning” and “queer”. One letter, two meanings. It took a short while for the community to widely embrace that letter because it was kind of like a big game of telephone – you didn’t know about it until you heard it from someone who heard it from someone else, but we got it, and then we all felt very positive and inclusive about that, too.

I remember very clearly adding the “A”. At that time it meant “ally.” It undeniably did. I don’t even recall the term “asexual” existing at the time, at least not in my circles. I remember clearly that we used it to mean ally when I lived in NYC, starting later in the 90s. I realize that in 2016 using it that way is controversial, but in 1998 it wasn’t. It absolutely meant “ally”, and man, did we need our allies. So, it was our way of honoring them and we encouraged our allies to be as proud to be openly accepting as we were to be LGBT&Q. And we all felt very positive and inclusive about THAT.

Then the “I” came along after that, and has always meant “intersex” as far as I remember. About the same time (or maybe just after) people starting coming out more and more as asexual, and the “A” started to represent “ally” and “asexual”. One letter, two terms – just like the Q. So then we had LGBTQIA. And yes, the “A” still meant ally.

I used that acronym for a long time, and then many of us added a +, which, if I’m not just using “queer” as all-encompassing, is my preference today: LGBTQIA+.

Very recently, I learned that many people also use the “A” to mean “arosexual”. I’m good with that. It’s inclusive. And that has, all along, been the whole point of even having an acronym.

I would love to find an acronym that encompasses all of us, wherever we fall on the spectrum, because despite the fact that I am older, and so, in some senses “old school”, I believe the arms of our community are wide enough for everyone who wants to consider themselves a part of it. But the fact is, if we try to come up with an acronym that suits us all, pretty soon there will be so many letters that the acronym becomes useless. I mean, what about our pansexuals? What about our gender non-conforming folks? What about our gender non-binary friends? What about all the lovely descriptors I haven’t mentioned?

And after we’ve encircled all of the beautiful diversity in our community within our ever-strengthening arms, are you really going to argue with the “A” also encompassing our amazing, activist, truth-speaking, open-hearted allies who defend us and set a shining example of the way we deserve to be treated?

Come on. Really?

I get that our straight, cisgender allies are not on the “spectrum” of queer people, but how far do you think our community would have come without them? We’re big enough and strong enough and OUT enough to fight our own battles for the most part now, sure. But when we depended on them, we were more than happy to include them. We still need them today.

So okay, I might be old enough to be your mother, and yes, sometimes my community changes so fast my head spins. But I adapt, I change my vocabulary, I broaden my thinking every day not only because I want to, but also because it’s my mandate as a person represented by that acronym. I don’t think it’s unfair of me to ask those in my community, in turn, to acknowledge that there was a time when just LGBT was kind of mind-blowingly progressive in and of itself.

Like queer couples marrying, like people using bathrooms that best suit their identity, like all equality, an ally’s desire to be part of our acronym has no bearing on your place in it.

Those activists, my friends, that were the ally in the letter “A” all those years ago will always be the ally in the letter “A” to me. I owe them the same inclusion that they freely offered to me.

Thanks for reading.

 

 

Deviant Talk

stableInterested in talking about the Deviations books? The men? The lifestyle?

I’m really excited to announce that the Deviations Series now has a fan group on Facebook! It was started by an awesome fan and membership seems to be growing daily. Come join!

Chris Owen and I stop in now and then, and every few days I’m posting wee snips of the prequel that I am working on about Bradford and Nikki. People are discussing favorite scenes, characters, similar books by awesome authors, lifestyle questions and observations… all kinds of stuff.

If you’re interested in checking it out, it’s a closed group and you can find it here: Tobias Vincent’s Deviants.

 

Review – Deviations: Submission!

lbrLOVE BYTES SAME SEX BOOK REVIEWS gave Deviations: Submission 4.5 hearts! Vicki said, “It has what I look for in a book: Great characters with lots of depth.”

I really enjoyed the thoughtful review. If anyone is interested, as Vicki seems to be, in more of Noah’s “inner monologue”, check out the Free Reads section of my site for some of his journal entries.

I’m so excited to see reviews for the re-release of the Deviations books popping up, and I love that they seem to hold a place in so many readers’ memories.We’re really glad to have been able to get this series back out there.

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Read the review HERE.

Buy the book HERE  (link to Amazon, but watch this space! Other formats coming soon!)

 

Review – Deviations Series!

GA5-plus-book2Y BOOK REVIEWS published a 5+ “quickie” review yesterday of the Deviations Series re-release! It came as a complete surprise to me and I’m so excited! They said, “this series is the absolute pinnacle of M/M BDSM romances.”

Whoa. I’m so pleased and grateful.

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Check out the review HERE.

The first book in the series, Submission, is available HERE  (link to Amazon, but watch this space! Other formats coming soon!)

The Deviations Series is Available!

I’M VERY EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE that the entire Deviations Series is back up on Amazon! Chris is looking into other formats and a shopping cart for her website, so hang in there if you need a different format. They’re coming!

Here are the links:

Submission: http://tinyurl.com/zuo68s9
Domination: http://tinyurl.com/zeowprf
Discipline: http://tinyurl.com/jd64pox
Bondage: http://tinyurl.com/hffz2pv
Safe Words: http://tinyurl.com/henq353

 

 

Deviations — In the Works!

submission

MANY OF YOU KNOW that Chris Owen and I recently requested the return of our rights from Torquere Press for non-payment and breach of contract.  I am happy to report that, as of this writing, Chris and I are now working on republishing the Deviations Series.  I’ve  started the conversation on Twitter –  please drop by and join in!

As I reread the books, as I’m being pulled back into Tobias & Noah’s universe, I’m reminded of the love and respect that I have for these characters.  Oh, yes, they’re hot.  But they’re truthful, they’re caring, and they’re sincere in their needs.  Tobias knows the weight of his responsibilities as Dom – he knows what he holds in hands (literally and figuratively).  Noah is well aware of the power inherent in his submission.  Chris and I set out to create characters that wanted more than kink – characters that wanted (needed?) to live the lifestyle 24/7.  Not one-night games, not weekend “second lives”, not a fantasy.  Real life — real limitations, real struggles, real issues.  Perfect and imperfect.  Constantly learning, evolving, never fully satisfied.

And I love that the people they have around them — Bradford and Phan for example — are more than just secondary characters – they have full lives of their own.

I can’t wait to see these books available again, to have these conversations and hear your thoughts.  More information as soon as we have it!

Relocating!

moving-man

HELLO ALL,

My web host disappeared from the internet last month with no warning!  I am in the process of creating a new site and a new blog, but in the meantime, my new email is jodipaynewrites@gmail.com.  You can also find me on Twitter @jodipayne and on Facebook!

My apologies for the lack of content…

Jodi