Independence Day Weekend & General Updatery

Wow, I've been a blogging fool lately! Who knew? :-D

Lots of good stuff happened this past weekend, and I was sorry to see the holiday end.

1. We had Reno's folks over for the day on Saturday, July 2. I made Beer-Battered Cod (with made-from-scratch batter, not the lazy, cheater packaged stuff) and the most incredible homemade New England Clam Chowdah Chowder in the history of the civilized world. Steamed corn-on-the-cob and a garden salad completed the meal, with (not homemade because I hate baking) Boston Cream Pie (giggling on account of I'm twelve) for dessert.

Oh, and two gallons of sangria with a ton of fresh fruit added (orange slices, whole berries, bite-sized chunks of pear and apple), which we managed to decimate in one day, and all without producing a hangover on the next. Helpful Hint: Drink a tall glass of water between each alcoholic drink, and another glass of water before going to bed to eliminate or at least minimize day-after hangover symptoms, which are mostly a result of dehydration. Take it from an expert.  

Gender Bender by Jaye Valentine and Wave (x-post)

I had planned on cross-posting the blog entry I co-wrote with Jessewave on the topic of cross-dressing, which was posted on her blog this past Friday, June 24. However, both Wordpress and Blogger are being a royal pain in the ass regarding the images, and since I really don't have time to screw around with this for any length of time, I'm simply going to cheat. :-D

Here's the link to the cross-dressing post on Jessewave's site (which also contains the pretty pictures):

Gender Bender by Jaye Valentine and Wave

If you come back here and comment after reading, you'll be entered into a random drawing for a PDF copy of your book of choice from the following list of our titles containing a cross-dressing male character. Click on the links for more info on each book.

Soft Focus by Reno MacLeod & Jaye Valentine
Only Words (Max & Skyler 1) by Acer Adamson
Any Excuse (Max & Skyler 2) by Acer Adamson
Happily Ever Before by Jaye Valentine
Firecracker by Jaye Valentine
D.N.A.: Double Helix by Jaye Valentine (warning: twincest)

Drawing will take place on Monday at 9:00 p.m. EDT, July 4, 2011.

--Jaye

LoveRomancesCafe Interview

Reno and I were recently featured guests at the LoveRomancesCafe Yahoo group. The following were interview questions asked by the moderator, Dawn Roberto, along with our responses.

The group's website is as follows should you wish to join: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LoveRomancesCafe/.

January 16, 2011

DR: Please tell us about your latest book.
JV: Our most recent release is a solo effort by me (Jaye Valentine), a short story entitled "D.N.A.: Double Helix." This story is actually the first few chapters of a novel that will be released in late March 2011. (As a side note, the price of that novel will be adjusted to reflect the containment of the previously released short story). The short is currently the #1 bestseller and #3 gay title on All Romance eBooks/OmniLit (and has been so for well over a week), and is the #7 bestselling erotica title there regardless of genre. I'm not one to spam groups like this, touting my own good fortune, but I'm pretty damn proud of this achievement. As a warning, this story deals with a very specific kink (twincest) so it's not for everyone, but it's apparently for more people than one might think. :-)

Amazon Blocks "D.N.A.: Double Helix"

After Amazon pondered for over a week since D.N.A: Double Helix was uploaded to their Kindle system, the title has officially been BLOCKED from publication. That's right, folks. Amazon has decided that you're not grown up enough to read about two FICTIONAL adult males engaged in a sexual relationship that cannot possibly result in mutant offspring. That's their prerogative as a business, and even if I don't agree, I do respect their decision. I wonder, however, what they'll go after next.  

As a result, I have removed all our M&V Tailz titles from Amazon that contain brotherly incest, twins or otherwise, humans or otherwise. It was brought to my attention by the recipient of an Amazon nastygram that should a glut of a publisher's titles be in violation of Amazon's entirely nebulous content rules, that not only will the "offending" titles be removed, but the publisher's entire catalog as well. I'm not ready to give up our Amazon account just yet, but when other venues start picking up the slack---and they eventually will---then we'll consider ditching Amazon completely. 

In the meantime, I've acquired the software to create Kindle-compatible copies of our books (in Mobipocket .prc file format), and I will be uploading this additional format for our entire catalog to all retailers with whom we have a direct relationship (meaning, vendors we access without the use of the Smashwords distribution engine). I hope to have all titles updated with the additional format by the end of this weekend.

I've never been one to presume to tell readers where to buy our books (inform, yes, but not tell them where I'd prefer they shop). However, in light of this development I will make a hearty, vocal recommendation. Both as a reader/consumer and as a publisher/author, I've had nothing but a wonderful experience dealing with All Romance eBooks since day one. Their publisher interface is a breeze to use, and in all the time I've been working directly with distributors (including one of the big ones) and retailers, I've never come across such responsive, friendly customer service. I recommend All Romance eBooks with absolutely no hesitation for romance and erotica titles, and their sister site OmniLit for other genres. Lori James and Barb Perfetti---you ladies ROCK hardcore. My hat is off to you both.

D.N.A.: Double Helix is now available for $0.99 at All Romance eBooks in Kindle-compatible PRC format in addition to the existing formats of PDF, PDB, HTML, and EPUB. Click on the pretty book cover below and indulge your naughty fantasies. :-)