Brandon Shire

Author of Contemporary Gay Romance

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Spotlight: The Boy and His Wolf – Paranormal Romance

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Welcome new author and Librarian of the Year, Sean Thomas, to the blog. 

The-Boy-and-his-wolf-smallMy time in the self-publishing industry has been very short and in less than six months I received recognition as Librarian of the Year by the Romance Writers of America, wrote a novella, and now made it into an audio book. If anybody asked me six months ago if I believed any of this would be possible I would have looked at them like a crazy person. Sure, I’ve always loved to write but I never actually expected to publish anything and to be honest, I hadn’t given self-publishing much thought until very recently. Calling myself an author was just a far off dream that I only hoped I would aspire to one day. [Read more…] about Spotlight: The Boy and His Wolf – Paranormal Romance

UPDATE: Good news and a reality check

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First the good news.

Episode Two of Wicked Men should be released next week is available NOW from Amazon.) I will provide direct links once I have them. For future books, we will have a pre-order option set up so that you can be sure you don’t miss any episodes. I’ve already begun Episode Three, and I’m incorporating your input into the story right now. You should see Episode Three in mid/late January. After January 31, all Wicked Men episodes will be sold across all retailers (not just Amazon).

The reality check.

From the beginning Wicked Men has been an experiment, from your inclusion to the selling price. Unfortunately, reality has, in the ever-changing world of publishing, made a $0.99 price per episode unfeasible for long-term sustainability. Not just of this series, but of the whole platform that has come under my name. I have a lot of books I’d like to get to you, but that won’t be possible if we can’t pay today’s bills.  The price per episode for Wicked Men will be going up. That’s the reality.

This change is not something I’m particularly happy about, especially since I kept arguing with J. for the lower price. But it is my sincere hope that the quality of writing, and your inclusion in the story, will keep you interested in my scribblings for a long time to come.

The alternative.

There is still the option to purchase the completed Wicked Men series when it is released. Just add your email address to http://eepurl.com/5Lqm9 for a one-time notification. Taking this option doesn’t mean you can’t participate in the story discussions. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Your input is still very much wanted and welcomed. Stop by the fan-created Goodreads group and add your voice to the discussion. (Note that the Wicked Men thread is NSFW.)

Thank you all for your continued support,

Brandon

Choose Your Kink (Please)

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Fans of The Love of Wicked Men are heating things up once again.  A new poll just came out to decide what Sid’s kink is going to be in later episodes. Here’s another chance for you to get involved and have your voice heard.

Vote on Goodreads

Watch for Episode Two coming out just before Christmas.

Did you miss Episode One? It’s available exclusively at Amazon.

wicked men episode two mm romance

When gay fiction becomes a personal journey

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Friend and fellow author, Allen Renfro discusses his new book, Ambiguity. As many writers (and readers) can attest, a novel in the making is often a testament to a life’s journey.

AmbiguityBridgeI think I speak for many writers who become inspired that sometimes a story simply won’t leave you alone. The words come to you as you try to sleep. Walking along the street you see the characters in the faces that pass by. You hear the voices of the characters as you’re sitting in a restaurant and quietly listening. Finally you surrender and began the process of putting words to paper. The story for my novel Ambiguity came to me in such a manner and I think the story resonates even more right now at this point in time than when I first became inspired.

If you’ve read any of my work you are very much aware that my characters often wrestle with the centuries old conflict between religion and sexuality. In my novel Ambiguity, this conflict erupts into all out war. I wanted to explore the horrors of religious hatred toward homosexuality and also show the repercussions on both sides of this hatred. I wrote Ambiguity more for myself than anyone else. I needed to delve into my own experiences with religion, to understand my own mistrust of people who claim religion as their sole purpose for condemning homosexuality. In my own cynicism I wanted to show that many times people use religion to hide behind, to cover up their own secrets. There are many closets to hide in and come out of. [Read more…] about When gay fiction becomes a personal journey

Crafting the Heart-wrenching Reads

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broken heartRecently I was asked about the polarity in my writing. It stretches from erotic to emotionally devastating, and all places in between. Because of this, I have two very different reading audiences. On one side, I have my m/m readers who seek happy endings and hot sex, while the other readers look for less eroticism and more of a literary read, which often (with my novels) leaves them in tears.  Today we’re talking about the more literary of my novels – The Value of Rain, Listening to Dust, and Summer Symphony. If you would like to review the topics I explored in those novels, you can see this post.

Why do I write about such emotionally charged issues?

It certainly isn’t for the money. My gay romance novels outsell the more serious fiction books 50:1. I write these books because the stories need to be told. There is more to our existence as LGBTQ people than flippancy, fashion trends, and fucking. [Read more…] about Crafting the Heart-wrenching Reads

The Conversation is getting gritty about Wicked Men

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Wicked Men - Gay Romance

I asked fans to offer their input for the next episode of The Love of Wicked Men, and whoa, did they ever. We had to change the feed to NSFW. So, if you’d like to know all the salacious details of what readers think, what they want to see, and the pictures they offered, visit us on Goodreads and offer your input too. All are welcome.

What are readers and reviewers saying about Wicked Men?

I cannot wait for more.

Hot, sexy, full of intrigue, mysterious characters…

The perfect ingredients for the start of an exciting ride…

Two of the grittiest, most raw, realistic characters I have come across in a long time…

I don’t know what’s Jack story but I can’t wait until he breaks Sid ass off, it’s going to be freaking epic!!!

Totally worth staying up late for…

Episode Two is going off to beta readers shortly and I’ll be looking for input from fans for episode three over the holidays. Don’t miss out!

Get your copy exclusively from Amazon

Free for Kindle Unlimited users!