Make the Yuletide Gay!

If you’re like me, you’re eager to read holiday-themed romances this time of year. Whether it’s Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanza, I love them all. So I thought I’d bring the holiday stories to me! Make the Yuletide Gay is a holiday extravaganza featuring giveaways, holiday recipes and plenty of hot man-on-man action.

A variety of authors are guest blogging at my website this month until December 23, so visit often for festive reading suggestions, contests and more! Happy holidays!

From Amanda Young...With Love Contest

My April contest is in full swing. One lucky winner will win a With Love gift set. More details can be found at the link below:

http://www.amandayoung.org/2010/03/31/from-me-to-you-with-love/

Kicking off my December giveaway

For the duration of this month I'm running a big ole giveaway on my blog. The grand prize is a Danielle gift set (perfume) and a ton of print books and goodies. Four other lucky individuals will win gift bagsstuffed with goodies.

The best thing is, all you have to do to enter is leave a comment. Simple as that.

For more information, please visit my blog.

http://www.amandayoung.org/2009/12/01/giving-thanks-contest/

What is it: A multi-stage contest to find the hottest stories with the hottest hooks. What's a hook? A unique premise, clever idea, or new twist on old trope. Who can enter: Anyone not employed by or working for Loose Id. Current Loose Id authors, however, may enter. Submit: - Title of your work - Author Name - Story Hook, in the form of a marketing blurb of 100 words or less - First 250 words of a completed or in progress story of 30,000+ words in any genre currently accepted under Loose Id's submission guidelines. Send: By email to: looseid.hothooks@gmail.com Subject of email: Hot Hooks Contast Deadline: Before Wednesday, September 30. Prizes: The Top Two hooks will receive a contract with Loose Id for the work and publication within the year 2010. The remaining three of the Top Five will receive a critique of their full manuscript. You may submit as many entries as you like, but no more than two for any author can make the Top Twenty, and only one for any author can make the Top Five Five. The Top Twenty will be selected by an in-house committee and notified by October 10. During October 26-29, Loose Id's readers will be given the opportunity to vote on the Top Twenty to select the Top Ten. Top Ten winners will be asked to submit the first 1000 words of their stories by November 1. The Top Five will be announced by November 19. The Top Five will submit their full manuscripts for judging by February 1, 2010. The Top Two winners will be announced no later than February 15.

Stretching myself

Before I ramble on, I wanted to point everyone to a contest. Vote in the poll, "What did Mechele do?" at my newsletter group and those who get the answer right will be entered in a drawing for a $10 Loose Id gift certificate.

Now onto the rambling.

I don't like telling the same story over and over again. I sort of knew this but definitely found it out when I was working on my Curses trilogy. I had planned three similar stories. The stories didn't want to work that way. I couldn't make them. It's why the names (The Six Curses of Christmas, The Sixth Curse of Spring, and the Sixth Cursed Halloween) are all just a little different. That's because all the stories worked themselves out in slightly different ways.

I like to stretch myself with stories. I don't like writing something I'm not enthusiastic about.

My latest work really brought that home. It's the newest Settler's Mine, The Wolf. It's not a menage. It didn't want to be. It does have a lot of D/s and bondage play in it. Which was a thrill for me to do. Because it's more explicit in those areas than anything else I've ever written. I've toyed with them at times but this is the first book where they are openly done.

And the writing poured from me with ease. I think it's because I like stretching myself. That makes me happy, leading to a happy muse.

So here's to the next stretch.

Mechele Armstrong aka Lany of Melany Logen
http://www.mechelearmstrong.com
http://www.melanylogen.com