Top Pick! Forever in One Second



Forever in One Second has been reviewed at Night Owl Reviews.  Here's the link:

http://erotica.nightowlreviews.com/nor/Reviews/Lilyraines-reviews-Forever-In-One-Second-by-Finn-Marlowe.aspx

Yes, I know, I'm a Magpie 'cause I like the pretty, shiny Top Pick Pin!

Autographs and Nervous Breakdowns

Now that the release date for the paperback version of A Thread of Deepest Black is almost here (March 6), I have received my copies from my publisher, Samhain.  They arrived unexpectedly early all boxed up in bubblewrap and it took me several hours of staring at the box on the kitchen counter before I could open it.  I have no idea why, I was excited to see a print copy of my book (my first one), and yet I was scared to peek inside!  Obviously I got over it.

They are very pretty.  I still love Kanaxa's wonderful cover.  Once my sisters found out, I had to fork over their copies.  One of them already read the ebook, but the other...lets just say I'm sure she'll never look at me the same way again!  I am trying to weasel out of giving my mom one.  I will eventually fail.  Mothers trump every excuse you can come up with.  Now, everybody in my family knows what I write, I blab storylines to them all the time, but unless you are m/m fan, I imagine reading it for the first time can be quite shocking.  In the end though, its their decision.

Which brings me to the next scary thing about receiving those books:  Autographing one!



It just so happens that on the day I received this Pandora's Box lovely package, I had plans to meet up with my friend Mountie from the Goodreads M/M Romance group for coffee (actually I only drink tea, but we always choose to keep the Starbucks staff employed).  I wasn't sure she'd want a copy, but I brought one, 'cause I just had to show SOMEBODY!  Being the wonderful person she is, yes, she did want one and then...well, she wanted me to autograph it for her.  OMG!  What?  I refrained from saying "What the hell for!" (or maybe I didn't, the whole thing is a freaky blur) and proceded to enter some bizarre fugue state.

Everything went blank.  Yep.  I couldn't find the words, any friggin' words, which is not something I've ever had happen to me.  I mean I knew I wanted to thank her for the honor, but wow, the link from brain to hand was broken, something had short-circuited.  And when I finally landed back on Earth with a thump, my shaky hand could barely hold the pen.  And she was kind enough to show me where I was supposed to sign.  I did not acquit myself well.  Thank you for putting up with me Mountie (I have no idea what I wrote, please tell me it wasn't moronic!).  If I had to have a meltdown in public, I'm glad it was with you!

So if you ever decide to ask me for my autograph (like at GayRomLit) please go easy on me.  While I may wonder why you want it, I will eventually suck it up and get it done because absolutely and truly, the honor is mine, that you would ask because you liked my book, and I thank you.

Valentine's Day Wishes

To all the couples out there (and triples as the case may be, I’m a romantic no matter what you’ve got going), have a great Valentine’s Day, and I hope that whatever surprises you’ve diligently planned turn out perfect.  No plans?  It’s not too late to move your ass!  It really is the thought that counts. In this busy, busy world we live in, doing something to ease the burden for your special someone is a great present.  Gas up their car for them (or wash it), vacuum the house (naked’s good) or, and most people love this—make dinner.  Thoughtfulness is always the perfect gift.  So is chocolate.

No significant other?  So what!  I’m still mourning the loss of my other half, but I have plans today anyway.  Bingo!  Yeah, I know, am I crazy?  No.  My mother loves getting out to bingo with her girls and we indulge her whenever we can and besides, last time I went, I won $120.00 – so there, you doubters (good thing I don’t have an addictive personality…). 

So today us girls are gonna dig out our red shirts, pack our wallets and head to the casino and make our tax donations to the government have fun.  Maybe I’ll win, maybe I won’t, but that’s not the point.  The point is I’ll be out with those I love, even if it’s not a romantic kind of love.  I’m going to treasure every minute with them, and later, I’m going to buy my own damn chocolate.

Happy hearts and flowers day!

Perfectly Legal Torture

There’s a horrible form of torture going on all around us and nobody’s doing anything to stop it.  Most likely, someone you know has suffered through it, a family member, close friend, lover.  Maybe even you—and you’ve suppressed the memory so deep into your subconscious you won’t recall the pain and agony until it happens to you again.  There’s probably a scary, scientific name for it, but for now, I’ll just call it Putting Shit Together.

Oh, you remember now, don’t you?  That thing you bought from Ikea/Jysk/Home Depot?  That just perfect item for the den/bedroom/living room that came with 67 pieces and 387 nuts & bolts and that extra piece you just have no idea where it goes?  Christmas is a particularly vulnerable time for the unsuspecting gift-giver (and receiver).  Did you give someone misery for Christmas? 

Just recently I moved to a new home, which is why this topic is foremost in my mind.  A new home means new spaces that need to be filled (and not just with shoes).  I have put together so many things lately that I have enough left-over Allen wrenches to make a funky sculpture.  The worst offender was the coat rack I desperately needed for they front entrance, because you just know how great kids are about putting things on hangers, so I thought I’d save myself some grief and get something with hooks instead. Silly me.  Apparently they don’t understand how to use hooks either or find them scary, I'm not sure which.

My first clue should have been the beginning paragraph of the supposed instructions, warning me not to tighten any of the bolts more than half-way.  Okay.  I obeyed ‘cause I can follow directions (well, sometimes), and proceeded to put the damn thing together.  Somewhere out there the evil manual-writing people (whose first language is not English) are laughing their asses off, wicked gleams sparkling in their respective eyes.

Step one said to follow the diagram exactly, which I did, although I didn’t use a magnifying glass, dictionary, or the power of the Force, sorry to say.  So, around step 47 I had an epiphany.  There’s a reason you aren’t supposed to tighten the bolts and it’s because you have to take the whole thing apart and start over from step one.  Why? Let me explain how this works. 

You must start over because you put the two pieces together backwards.  Never mind it looked exactly the same as in their diagram, but when you get to step 48, the bolt holes don’t line up as shown in the newest diagram.  Now the instruction sheet writers knew you would do this (as you had a 50% chance of doing it wrong, but Murphy’s Law said nah, 100% chance) which is why they are laughing, from some tropical place, at your suffering.

At this point you curse under your breath (or aloud, very loud), take it all apart and begin again.  Your hands begin to ache.  Your head throbs.  The Allen wrench clatters from your cramped fingers to the floor, skids like it had wheels and falls through the slats of the heating vent on the floor eight feet away.  The dog thinks you are crawling around on the floor expressly for his entertainment and not only French kisses you, licks your eyeball with the accuracy of a government trained sniper.  If you don’t break a nail (below the bed of course) prying off the vent cover, you cut yourself on the sharp (and rusty) edge.  But what the hell—you recall hearing dog slobber has antibacterial properties and since he already had his tongue in your mouth…and you had a tetanus shot ten years ago…you finally retrieve the tiny wrench from the unidentifiable (and you don’t want to know) gunk from down in the vent and pick up where you left off. 

You finish.  Then bask in the head rush of satisfaction, and, admit it now, pride, that you have accomplished this great and wonderful thing.  The head rush lasts roughly 30 seconds until you realize there are 3 bolts/screws/metal thingies left over.  And your construct is leaning/listing/disassembling itself as you watch…

After this you will likely do one of the following:

1. Cry
2. Swear
3. Throw things while having an epic hissy fit
4. Phone the number on the instructions, you know, the toll-free number where it says someone will help you? (Hope you know your call will be re-routed to a call center in India/Malaysia/Newfoundland and you won’t understand a word they’re saying…)
5. Take it back (you didn’t destroy the packaging it came in, did you? Oh, sorry, I know those giant staples rip cardboard like nothing else, and that plastic/Styrofoam is so delicate/fun to pop/snap into clingy bits)
6. Shove it somewhere in the garage and hope it comes back to life and reassembles itself (just so you know, you will get caught and bitched out for taking this step.  Do not forget to hide the receipt and have a handy, all-purpose lie ready that you were given this thing by [insert name of person intensely disliked by person bitching] and all it needs is one screw/bolt/metal thingy to fix and then wouldn’t it look perfect in the…man cave…workshop…and if you’re a guy, try saying that wonderful new hobby/sewing/spa room you’re gonna build for her…)
7. All of the above

However, might I suggest one last option…?

8. Wipe sweat off brow, blood onto pant leg, dog slobber along sleeve and do what any sensible person would do under the circumstances:  Phone your Dad.  If that’s not an option, use plan B and call husband/wife/retired nosy neighbor/brother/cute guy down the road who’s been trying to get into your pants dying to ask you out and get them to put it together for you.

Problem solved.

** Next time just go with #8 first. Beer/hamburgers/cookies/gas money/kinky sexual favors will be so much easier.

 

Win Forever!

No, not that forever (although I'd offer it up as a prize if I could!), but an ebook copy of my new release Forever In One Second, now out from Samhain Publishing.

Head on over to Stumbling Over Chaos and leave a comment between now and January 19, 2012, and Forever could be yours!

Link:  http://www.stumblingoverchaos.com/

Now Available at the Samhain store:  http://store.samhainpublishing.com/forever-second-p-6612.html?osCsid=60252a7d18052f882d8910a27f701d23

And Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Forever-in-One-Second-ebook/dp/B005VFO95G/ref=sr_1_1?m=AZC9TZ4UC9CFC&ie=UTF8&qid=1324575601&sr=1-1

Now also up at All Romance Ebooks:

http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-foreverinonesecond-669008-145.html





Reviews and Pirates

Forever in One Second due out January 10th, has received a couple nice reviews lately (thank-you!) and here are the links if you want to check them out:

Literary Nymphs



http://literarynymphsreviewsonly.blogspot.com/2011/12/forever-in-one-second.html?zx=ee67b73be4090508



http://www.guiltypleasuresbookreviews.com/2012/01/review-forever-in-one-second-by-finn.html?zx=6bd00b189e4ba4e3

But while there's good news, there's bad - I've been pirated.  Already!  Sheesh, the book hasn't been released yet and already I have to go a'huntin'.  Not that this is anything new, just wasn't expecting this so soon.  I want to say to book pirates:  I hope you really liked that book, because it might be the last one of mine you get to read.  Why?  Simple - my publisher is in this to make money and if my writing does not support all their time and effort, the encouragement, the editing, the cover artists, the promotional work they do on my behalf, well, then...you get the picture (I hope).  So if you like my books...buy them!

Because the only good pirate is...Johnny Depp.

Happy Holidays

I'm finally settled in the new house, and after much chaos, have found all the important stuff, like the Christmas tree, all the TV and Playstation remotes and the dog and cat toys.  Can't find my socks, my best photo printer/scanner or the winter clothes, but hey...maybe Santa will replace those at Christmas...please.

Now that I'm a bit organized, I've added a new page for excerpts, above, specifically a scene from Forever in One Second, releasing on January 10, 2012 - and it's already received a great review from Literary
Nymphs - here's the link: http://literarynymphsreviewsonly.blogspot.com/2011/12/forever-in-one-second.html?zx=9e387c927aca4cd8 (and yes, reviews freak me out, even the good ones!)

So now I'm out of excuses, it's time to get writing again!  Over the next while I'm going to finish A Trick of the Light, the next book in my werewolf/shifter world, and following the events in A Thread of Deepest Black, and maybe complete a couple other projects that have been on the go for a while:  Marksman (a contemporary m/m) and Heaven and Guile (a contemporary m/m ghost story).

Merry Christmas everyone!

'This is why I love winter ...' by Steve Dinicol