Have you ever loved someone
but walked away
because he could not fathom his own heart?
reader questions
Is love at first sight rational?
I was asked this question a few days ago, and it stuck with me. I kept wondering, when is love ever rational? And this question led to others:
Does a modern romance even include such a thing? Or is that ‘old school romance’, from days long before we plastered selfies and our every intimate thought across the web?
Is it just hormones?
I’ve seen the word ‘insta-love’ enough lately to believe we’ve become cynical about the possibility of love at first sight. So maybe, in our modern era, we have unwittingly reduced love down to the equivalent of a possession. (As in a thing owned.)
It’s sad really, if that’s all love has become.
Your thoughts?
Because Life – An Update
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.
Within 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
To 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. 🙂 ]
Character Model come to life. Meet ‘Anderson’
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.
Recently 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’
Cold by Brandon Shire coming in May
The beta readers are sending back their comments about Cold.
“Another five star read!”
“Love these characters!”
“You had me crying, again!”
The exact release date is still to be determined, but it will be in May. You can join in the conversation on Goodreads, or get notified via email by signing up for my newsletter.
Read the book blurb
Prison is a brutal, heartless, and demeaning environment. No one knows this better than a man sentenced to life in prison for murder. Lem Porter is a high-profile prisoner who had a solid career ahead of him in a field he loved until he killed his brother. He has spent almost eighteen years behind bars and doesn’t have much hope left.
Anderson Passero had it all. He built a career, a name, and a relationship with a man he thought he loved. Only after he very publicly landed in prison did he realize how ignorant he’d been. He has eight months left on his sentence and he is eager to go home and put prison life behind him. He doesn’t know it yet, but he will always carry these eight months with him, and they may just help him to understand what love really means.
NOTE to Current Email Subscribers:
The frequency of emails will increase as we have integrated the blog with our email subscriber list at the request of fans. As followers of this blog know, we offer a broad range of voices from other LGBT authors, musicians and filmmakers, as well as info about LGBT Youth related news. It is my sincere hope that you’ll stick with us and help spread the word. Exclusive information about new releases and upcoming books will still be available via email first, before appearing on the blog or social media sites.
~Brandon
Assumption and prejudice – from beta readers
Consider this.
My book, Afflicted came out in September. It is an HEA M/M novel that deals with a blind man and male prostitute who was thrown from the house as a young boy because he was gay. When I passed it on to my beta readers they loved the story, its eroticism, and its passion, but some of the comments I got back dismayed me:
Gay kid thrown from the house and becomes a hustler is a bit passe.
500,000 homeless gay kids on the street right now, more than a few of them selling their bodies for $10 for a warm bed (for one night) and the concept is passe? Is this where we have come to? That we can scream about a chicken sandwich but step over a 15 yr old kid whose parents didn’t think him worthy of being called human? What does that say about how homophobia has really affected us when we can, as a community, accept homeless kids as normal or passe? Even in a fictional story the idea insults my heart. [Read more…] about Assumption and prejudice – from beta readers