See that? The first sign of utter lunacy — giggling maniacally to one’s self. Heh.

For those who’ve been keeping up with my sometimes rambling (though infrequent) commentary, Mum’s feeling better. There was a truly rough patch for her, during which I had to hire a live-in caregiver for her, but she’s much better now and no longer requires as much supervision. So, *whew*!

But that’s only part of the crazy.

As some of you may know, my first story for Dreamspinner Press (The Second Door) was released in November. As it’s a Christmas story (novella), that makes sense. *grins* Then my Christmas novel for Torquere (Someone Special) came out. Edits galore! *hee*

At the same time, I was finishing up the manuscript for ‘Berry Blue: Lessons Learned’ (book 5 in the Fruit basket series, and the cover can be seen on my ‘coming soon-ish’ page), working on the sixth book (more on that soon), trying to get a short written for an anthology, AND working on/waiting for edits for the third FGC book, ‘A Game of Hearts’, with Total-E-Bound (this one released Jan. 9). Since Mum was still unwell at the time, things were nuts! Heh.

So, ‘Berry Blue’ will release on the 25th. I’ll be on the Torquere Social LJ on the 26th, doing my usual random rambling, posting excerpts, having contests and so on. (Just in case anyone feels like stopping by.)

In the meantime, I’m finishing up another MS (just need the epilogue), getting ready to dive into another One & One book (yep, returning to that series for the fifth story — more about that next time) AND considering starting an entirely different series, because I’m apparently a glutton for punishment. Heh-heh.

Lots of plans for 2012. Whether I have an equal amount of motivation remains to be seen. *hee*

And that’s the what. For now.

Hope you guys are all doing well, and thanks for checking in!

~Tis

I know I’ve said this already, but it’s a Christmas story, of sorts, which takes place over the course of a year, and clocks in at just over 50K words!

Called ‘The Second Door’, you can check it out HERE!, including a full chapter as an excerpt!

As I’ve said before, there’s the beautiful Anne Cain cover! Click the linky-dink (not to be confused with shrinky-dinks) to see it!

~Tis *is excited*

Loads of writing news, starting with Christmas stories! That’s right, I said STORIES, as in more than one! Two, in fact. In the interests of NOT repeating the same stuff over and over, I’ll be adding the pertinent info to the ‘Coming Soon’ page here on ye olde wordpress, along with info on other stories coming in the next few months.

I’ve been working on what will likely be the final story in the Fruit Basket series and I’m happy to say that it’s coming along well. Pauly, Randy and James wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ve been told it’s already on the schedule for 2012, though I’ll have more info on exactly when later.

Those of you who stopped by the Torquere Social LJ the last time I was on have probably noticed that I completely dropped the ball with the contests and such. This is not because I’m a slacker (well, not JUST because of that) but due to the fact that LJ as a whole was being an a-hole. By the time it wasn’t, the entire thing had slipped my mind. I’ll be over there again on November 24, at which time I will award the prizes for the past contests as well as have other contests. Assuming technology isn’t hating me that day (because I never know ahead of time), I’ll handle things in a MUCH more timely manner.

Let’s see… other stuff… Oh! I’m going to see my BFF in upstate NY for Thanksgiving this year, so that should be fun. Nothing like spending a week in a 3 bedroom house with 2 adults, 3 kids, 2 dogs and 4 cats to provide a restful holiday, right? *hee* (Honestly, the only part that’s a bit of a pain is that there’s only the one bathroom. LOL The rest of it really IS a good time! )

Hope all is well with you guys and I hope to hear from you soon!

~Tis

There’s a whole story about my keys (house, car, etc.), but I posted that on FB so I won’t repeat it here. LOL

Upshot is, I went to GayRomLit in New Orleans and had a great time meeting readers and other authors. It was amazing how effortless it was to just wander up to a group and join in with them!

For those who were on the fence about attending GRL, as it was a new gathering, I heartily recommend that you plan on attending next year’s retreat, which is going to be in New Mexico! Yes, it seems likely that we’ll lose the allure of 24 hour bars (and video poker machines, which is a good thing for me ), but it sounds like an amazing venue and the retreat itself will likely prove to be just as super as the one just past, if not more so!

In writing news, I’ve been told that my X-mas novel from TQ will be out in November, as will my X-mas novella with Dreamspinner. The next Fruit Basket/Rainbow series book, ‘Berry Blue’ is slated for release Jan. 25 (I think), and the 3rd FGC book should be available sometime in February or March, to the best of my recollection, from TEB.

Now I’m off to sleep. Mum is having Tis withdrawals, apparently, and I need to go visit her in the morning.

Until next time, my sugar-coated marshy-chicks! *mwahs*

~Tis

Mum’s still old (about to turn 93! Good for her; if I live that long I’m sure to be just as demanding as SHE can be! LOL), she’s still more than slightly crazy, and I’M still caught between real life and writing. Heh.

Basically, I haven’t had fuck-all to say here because I’ve been busy, and that’s not an excuse, just a statement of fact. *grins*

As far as writing goes, the fourth book in my Fruit Basket series (from Torquere) will be released on Saturday, July 30. It’s called Guava Red: Almost Paradise, and it’s possibly the least angsty story I’ve ever written. I’m actually very fond of it and I hope those who read it will be, too. Here’s the cover, btw! *hee*

* * * * * * * * *

In other writing news, I’ve just signed the contract with TEB for the third Farmingdale Gentleman’s Club book, A Game of Hearts, and it’s expected to release around Christmas time, though it’s not a Christmas story. *grins*

Speaking of Christmas, I have two holiday-themed stories coming out in November/December. One, from Torquere, is a novel-length story entitled ‘Someone Special’ while the other is coming from Dreamspinner Press and is titled ‘The Second Door’ (trust me, the title makes sense).

Also in the November/December timeline (as far as I know right now) is the fifth Fruit Basket story, the novel-length Berry Blue: Lessons Learned. This will be the story of Riley’s uncle Peter and… well, you’ll see. *hee* It’s complicated. (Shocking, I know. A complicated story coming from ME??? How bizarre, right? )

I’m also gearing up for travel, which is always fun. *insert sarcasm here*

Taking Mum to New Jersey in a couple weeks to see Satan and the Grandspawn (meaning my brother and his kids). When I’m back from that, it’s off to Dragon*Con, where my dearest love Kage and I will hopefully be participating in some panels for the writing track. Then I’m off to new Orleans for GayRomLit, and trying to go to Yaoi Con right after (literally right after — if I DO go to YC, I’ll be home for a whole day and a half between GRL and YC!) And somewhere in there, I need to fit in a week or more to visit with my BFF, Scarlet, and her kids and Mum! All while engaged in edits on four — yes, FOUR — different books! LOL

So the upshot, I suppose, is that this will probably be one of very few updatey posts for the next few months, and possibly longer.

I’m going to TRY to post a buy-link to Guava Red once I have one, and I’m scheduled to be hosting over at the Torquere Social LJ (http://torquere-social.livejournal.com/ ) on Saturday, assuming LJ is working then, but I’ll likely be incredibly scarce until after the New Year. NOT because I don’t want to keep in touch, but because there literally aren’t enough hours in the day.

If it helps at all, think of it as… I’m not talking much because I’m doing everything i can to keep giving everyone new reading material! *hee*

Oh, for those who like physical books rather than the digital variety, I’ve been told that the entire Fruit Basket series, to date, will also be released in print on July 30! The first two stories — ‘Lemon Yellow: Making Lemonade’ and ‘Lime Green: Margarita Mondays’ — have been combined into one volume (Lemonade & Margaritas) because they were both novellas, but ‘Mandarin Orange: Sweet & Sour’ and the new one, ‘Guava Red: Almost Paradise’, each have their own volumes. I’ll be adding an ‘In Print’ category to the sidebar soon, once I have the appropriate buy links. Future stories in the series will also be available in print at the same time they are released in digital format, so I’m fully chuffed! *grins*

So I guess that’s about it for now. Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you soon. With release info, if nothing else!

~Tis

Sorry, guys, but these things happen and the story will definitiely be available on the 30th! (It better be… poor Riley is chomping at the bit!)

Hi. My name is Tis and I’m a slacker. And ashamed of it.

It’s been ages since I last posted anything here (or anywhere else). This is not because I don’t care about those of you who read the bloggery, but because real life has a habit of jumping up and smacking me about the head at random. Sometimes it seems like things only begin to settle down when WHAM! (NOT the UK band from the mid-80′s, btw. )

Since the last time I wrote here, Mum’s been in and out of hospital six times, I’ve had three root canals, had three other teeth extracted, acquired four crowns and a bridge (yes, more dental work *rolls eyes*), and had several legal problems that I won’t mention.

This is in no way meant to excuse my long period of silence. I do feel terrible about not writing anything here in so long.

Fortunately, things seem to have calmed down for the moment, so I should have more presence for a (hopefully) good, long while.

So, that’s my ‘fun’ personal life, laid out in summary. On to writing news!

As some of you may know, the re-edited version of Life or Something Scary Like That was re-released in both electronic formats and in print, back in November of 2010. The sequel, Life Changes Everything was also released, with the same options. Yay! Both seem to have been well received, despite my inability to do much in the way of promotion at the time, so many, many thanks to those who bought the books! *hugs*

The third book in my ‘fruit basket’ series, a colorbox from Torquere Press, called Mandarin Orange: Sweet & Sour will be released on March 23rd. For those who’ve read Lime Green: Margarita Mondays, the new story is about Riley! Woot! (I love Riley! He’s so crass! LOL)

I’ve also just sent the manuscript for the third Farmingdale Gentleman’s Club book to Total-E-Bound and am waiting anxiously to hear from my editor there. I’m hopeful that it will release later this year!

I’ve also submitted a story to another publisher, but I’m not going to say much about that as yet. I think it’s a cute, funny story, but opinions may vary. *grins*

Hard at work on the next ‘fruit basket’ story and a Christmas novella for Torquere (I know, I know… it’s only March. I find it easier to write winter stories when it’s at least nominally still winter *hee*), and I’m writing the fourth FGC book for TEB, too.

So, that’s the writing stuff. Now, a little mini-rant about a book I just read (this was not a M/M book and I’m not naming the story or author… this is more an observation than anything else).

When creating or approving a book cover and blurb, PLEASE indicate SOMEWHERE that the story is Historical, okay? Do NOT give me the impression that it’s a contemporary when the entire thing takes place during the Civil War! Some sort of sign would have been nice BEFORE I started reading it! Now I’m left wondering whether I even want to read the author again because I apparently can’t trust their covers/blurbs!

Aaaaannnnddddd… rant over! *sheepish grin*

Oh! One other thing about writing and such! I’ll be on the Torquere Social Live Journal on the 23rd, so stop by if you’re able. I’m not sure what I’ll be doing yet, but I know there will be excerpts and at least one contest. I might even do a call for prompt-words and add a chapter to one of the free reads, here on ye olde wordpress! Yay!

And that, my peeps — sweet sugar-coated marshy-chicks that you are — is what’s been going on in Tis-ville.

Hope you’re all well and having good times!

~Tis

Well, October has been a crazy-busy month so far and only seems to be getting more so. LOL

First off, I’m participating in the BSB Halloween contest thingy. Info and such can be found HERE!!!

Status report: (on writing stuff) — RE-edits are finally done on ‘Life or Something Scary Like That’. I just need to go over the first proof and send it back for the next pass. Yay! The book has been polished quite a bit, but the plot and such remain basically the same, so if you already have this one you don’t HAVE to buy it again. Though the new cover is way prettier than the old one. That’s right… new cover art! *does a little dance*

First edits on the sequel to the above-mentioned story are just about finished, too. And again, a very nice cover, so thanks are due, from me to the artist.

BOTH these book will release (re-release, in the case of the first) on November 24th, the day before Thanksgiving here in the good ol’ US of A. BOTH will be available in digital AND print versions, which I’m extremely psyched about.

I’ll be hosting the Torquere Press Social LJ on Saturday, November 27 in celebration of the releases. By then I figure those of us in the States will be sick of turkey and family. LOL

I’ve almost finished the manuscript for the thrid book in my Fruit Basket series. To be fair, the Fruit Basket series is actually made up of color box stories (a TQ Press line), but since all my colors thus far have been citrusy… yep. Fruit Basket. *hee*

The other thing I’ve got going on in October is YaoiCon. If you’re going and want to hang out, feel free to email me. There’s a group already forming and the more the merrier, as far as I’m concerned.

Other writing stuff — still working on the third FGC book, the fourth FGC book (I know, I need to be more linear ), an urban fantasy-ish novel, a sci-fi post-apocalypse novel, and Matthew and Rory’s story (two characters from the Conventions series, for those who don’t know). Among other things. *hee* Too many irons, not enough fire.

Status report: (on RL stuff) — still having dental problems, so that’s no fun. Most recent is I’ve fired one of my dentists for being an arrogant prick. This means that some of the dental work I still need is going to be delayed, which just annoys me no end. Honestly, is it REALLY asking too much that I want a dentist who will tell me why he wants to do something, rather than saying “I’m going to do this. Because that’s what I’m going to do. No, you don’t need to know anything else about it.” (Okay, that’s paraphrased, but it’s pretty much what he said.)

Mum’s getting both excited and anxious about our Thanksgiving trip to NJ. Excited because she’ll be seeing Satan and the Grandspawn and anxious because she’s convinced she’s going to break a hip or something before the trip. If it weren’t so sad, it’d be funny. Unfortunately, it IS sad. More so because I know she’ll be fine. I think she just likes to worry. LOL

In other RL news, I’ve recently started reading the Parasol Protectorate books by Gail Carriger (not sure I’ve spelled that right). Very interesting reads, thus far. In a sense, I’m reminded a bit of ‘The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’ and ‘The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne’. Only with more vampires and werewolves. Paranormal steampunkery, I suppose. That is not a bad thing. *grins*

Well, that’s pretty much it for now.

Oh, I’ve slipped the new covers for ‘Life or Something Scary Like That’ and its sequel, ‘Life Changes Everything,’ onto the ‘coming soon(ish)’ page. Take a look and tell me what you think!

Later, my darlings!

~Tis

See the pretty cover!

You can also head on over to my brand new ‘Fruit Basket Series’ page to chack out the blurb and find a buy link, if you’re so inclined.

Other than that, nothing of great interest going on here. Well, there’s oral surgery but I’ll spare you all the details. LOL

~Tis

First, I was at Dragon*Con in Atlanta from the 2nd through the 8th. As usual, I had a blast and met some new people, like the remarkable Kage Alan, who has fast become one of my favorite people. There is literally no distance limit on the venom he spits. *hee* No, he really is a joy to know and has a wonderfully sarcastic sense of humor. I’m getting ready to read one of his books, and from the excerpt, it seems that his humor carries over, so I’m quite looking forward to the story.

The rest of Dragon*Con was great, too. I talked about my stories with some readers and handed out promo stuff. Attended some writing panels and so on, at which I met a few other authors and publishers. If I can just finish my latest edits and the stories I’ve got under contract, maybe I can write some new stuff for other pubs. Heh-heh. That’s a mighty big if.

On the non-writing side of Dragon*Con, there was the usual party in the room. It was good, except for the part where the people throwing the party in the next suite down sicced Security on us for something we didn’t do, but I guess mistakes happen, right? Our party didn’t end because of that, anyway. It eventually ended because it was five in the morning and we all had things to do early the next day. LOL

I do want to say that while my friends and I always stay at the Marriott, I still prefer the bar at the Hyatt, across the street. The new bar at the Marriott looks nice, but it’s nearly impossible to get a drink when there’s any sort of crowd and the layout is less convenient, in my opinion. Still, those who partied there seemed to enjoy it and it did free up a little extra space at the Hyatt bar, so I’m in favor of the new Marriott bar.

I was already coming down with the usual Con Crud by the time I got home. Fortunately, I had a week and a half or so to recover before I headed off into the wilds of New Jersey (Seacaucus) for the Authors After Dark convention, which was actually geared specifically toward romance writing. There were loads of readers, autors, editors and publishers there and I had a great time talking to everyone about my stories while I manned the Torquere Press table with K.I.L. Kenny, Jodi Payne & Kara Larson. I also distributed loads of swag on both my behalf and TQ’s (as did the ladies, who totally rock, btw).

AAD was a very small convention, which was nice. It was a lot of fun to have one-on-one time with readers and be able to answer their questions about backlist stories and those that have yet to come out. If I’m able to arrange my time in such a way that I can attend next year (it’s in Philadelphia for 2011, I believe), then panels! More panels! It’s my goal. *grins*

I think the award for greatest distance traveled for AAD has to go to Larissa, who made the trip from Brazil!

The events ended earlier today, for the most part, and I had to check out of my room before noon, so I didn’t get the chance to say goodbye to everyone the way I would have liked to, so… if you were there and I didn’t see you before I left, consider yourself hugged or whatever.

So that’s what I’ve been up to for the last few weeks. I’m still in edits on two books and trying to finish one that’s due in on October 1st, and I have loads of ideas for other new stories, so… stay tuned and I’ll update again just as soon as I have any news that’s, you know… NEW.

Oh, ‘Lime Green: Margarita Mondays’ will release on the 29th of this month. I’ll be hosting the Torquere Social LJ on the 30th, so stop by for a chance to win the new story!

Laters, my sugar-coated marshy-chicks!

~Tis