Brandon Shire

Author of Contemporary Gay Romance

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Brandon's Musings

Music Monday – Neil Cribbs

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Neil CribbsMusician Neil Cribbs was playing at  the Atlanta Pride Fest a few weeks ago, and I didn’t get a chance to go. So I did the next best thing, I went over to Youtube to see what the man was about. I wasn’t disappointed, and I will make it a point to see him the next time I have a free moment. If you like blues and soul as much as I do, you’ll likely love his sound. Check him out below. You can find more on his website or connect with him on Twitter. I would also like to make note of the fact that Neil does extensive volunteer work at the local children’s hospitals, bringing music and smiles whenever he enters.

Disclaimer: I usually feature LGBT artists on this blog, but I don’t know Neil’s orientation, and frankly I don’t care. I like his music.

 

Because Life – An Update

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To those who have come to expect more frequent postings from me, I apologize for failing to post anything of substance lately. Simply put, it’s been one of those hectic periods in which the demands of life have left little time for blogging, writing, or simply keeping fans updated.

So here we go, an update to keep you updated because I have no time to update regularly.

Book 2 of the Cold series, Heart of Timber is in its final stages.

Heart of Timber - Brandon ShireWithin the next few weeks I’ll be sending it to the beta readers, editor, and cross-checking facts with my consultants. I expect the novel to come out mid-October, but we may hold it until after GRL.

GayRomLit 2013 in Atlanta.

I won’t be there. In fact I won’t be in town at all. I had planned to meet many of the authors I talk with regularly and several fans that asked about having coffee/lunch.  This will not be possible. Pride is also a nonevent for me.

10,000 Books Sold

We are just shy of having sold 10k books. As an indie writer with no time, no Facebook page, and no marketing budget, I think this is phenomenal. Each one of those sales is directly due to the encouragement and persistence of my fans.  They have helped spread the word and have aided us in raising awareness (and $$$) for homeless LGBT kids. Thank you so much.

Works in Progress

Readers have asked me about putting a special page up for WIPs. If you’d be interested in seeing this, let me know.  The main reason I don’t have one now is that I have many WIPs in various stages. I do not know when (or if) they will come to market. Both the muse and the demands of life dictate on what gets worked on and when.

However, next year I plan to have at least one of the LGBT Sci-fi series novels available. I will be backing off on the MM Romance for a while, but the muse really wants me to work on a romance story based in Croatia. (She usually gets what she wants first.)

Fundraising for Homeless LGBT Youth

LGBT Fundraising MM RomanceTo date, fans have helped raise over $3000 for homeless kids through various programs related to my writing/books. We also have a new fundraiser going on through Razoo with a long term goal of $25K. Some have said this is an unrealistic, I don’t believe that. There are too many people who still don’t know about the plight of homeless lgbt and the fundraiser is just as much about educating them as it is about raising money. Currently, we’re just $146 short of our short-term goal of $1000. Donate.

Maybe A New Publisher?

I have discussed submitting future work to an established publisher with J. Time currently spent on other aspects of self-publishing could be better spent actually writing, and working with a publisher would free up a lot more time for me. J and I are still looking into it.

Have Questions?

If you have questions or comments the best place to ask is in our Goodreads group. If I’m not around, my  fans are always happy to engage. [Caution: They’re a feisty bunch. 🙂 ]

 

This is what homeless LGBT kids wake up to every day

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Last year Lost-n-Found shared a video of a ‘squat’ for homeless lgbt youth. People seemed shocked at how these kids lived and even more shocked at what they had to do to survive. One year later Lost-n-Found returned to the squat to see what had changed for these kids. As you can see from the video, not too much has changed despite the heroic efforts of LnF.  Is it because they haven’t tried? No. If anything, the volunteers are more dedicated, more active, and pushing harder to make changes.

And still the number of homeless lgbt kids has increased. The revised estimate for 2013 is that there are approximately 750 homeless LGBT children on the streets of Atlanta.  62% of these kids will attempt suicide.  When you wake up to this every day, is there any doubt as to why that number is so high?

You can Donate here or at the Lost-n-Found website

LGBT Fundraising MM Romance

Character Model come to life. Meet ‘Anderson’

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As many of you know, I went looking for character models for both Lem and Anderson before I started to write what turned out to be my best-selling gay romance novel, Cold. I thought I needed these to help me build the characters correctly and strengthen their draw for potential readers in a prison setting. Of course, in doing this, I never told the models I used what I was doing or asked for any of their input.

antonio manero - cocky boysRecently I reached out to the character model for Anderson and surprised him with the news, not knowing that he had previously read one of my books. He loved the idea and was gracious enough to allow me an interview. I know I have teased fans relentlessly about his identity. (The only hint I gave was that he was one of the Cocky Boys.) But only  one person got his name right. So let me introduce you to the beautiful Antonio Manero. [Read more…] about Character Model come to life. Meet ‘Anderson’