Archive for February, 2011

a few newsy items

Feb 27

Posted by kate in books, conventions, the boy next door | No Comments

First, the Literary Nymphs gave The Boy Next Door 4.5 out of 5 nymphs.

Second, I will be appearing in public! I’m still working out my convention schedule, but I will for certain be at the Rainbow Book Fair in NYC with a gaggle of other Dreamspinner authors. That’s on March 26. I’m also planning to attend the GayRomLit Retreat in New Orleans in October. (Reader registration opens soon!)

Third, by now you’ve heard about Borders filing for chapter 11. There’s one store in NYC that is closing, the one on Park Ave and 57th Street, so I raided it yesterday. One of the great things about living in New York is that the book stores have a pretty impressive selection of m/m books, and at store-closing discounts, I felt a little like I won the lottery. (Plus I found a few Suzanne Brockmann reissues I hadn’t read yet.) Here’s a peek at what I bought (with special guest, my cat Molly):


Click to embiggen.

That’s a lot of naked male torso! Borders had a lot of other great books, but most of them I’d read already. ;-) Still, it was good timing on the paper books; I broke my Kindle this morning. Luckily, Amazon is sending a replacement, but not until Tuesday.

I’ve been thinking about writing a retrospective post—somehow, I managed to get three books published in a year, which seems like such an impossible feat—but right now I have books to read (and books to write!).

Valentine’s Day with Harry and Noah

Feb 14

Posted by kate in holidays, in hot pursuit, WIP | No Comments

As a romance writer, I can’t say I have a problem with the general sentiment behind Valentine’s Day, even if I’d rather skip the hearts and flowers personally. Or if I’d rather avoid what I saw tonight: I decided that I’d buy myself a Valentine’s Day cupcake, so I stopped at a little bakery on the way home from work. While I was paying, this guy came running in frantically, all, “I need two cupcakes, and I need them to be sort of festive and Valentine-y! Stat!”

Anyway, in honor of the holiday, I thought I’d give you guys a terribly romantic scene from my WIP sequel to In Hot Pursuit. This scene might get cut, actually, depending on how I go with the revision, but here’s a little taste of what happens to Harry and Noah a couple of years after the end of their novel.

Read the rest of this entry »

review roundup

Feb 9

Posted by kate in kindling fire with snow, reviews, the boy next door | No Comments

Reviews for The Boy Next Door are starting to roll in!

4-star review from Three Dollar Bill Reviews:

This is the kind of story I enjoy … I love how “down-to-earth” it is.

By the way, I am working on a sequel, which will be Neal’s story. I’m still writing it, so I don’t have an ETA on that, but it is in the works.

4.5-star review from Tj at Jessewave:

The characters of Lowell and Jase really came to life for me and their revived friendship and budding romance felt very real. But the road to love is not an easy one. Jase has a troubled ex-wife Karen, who is understandably hurt from Jase’s rejection of her, and tries to control his life by threatening his custody of their daughter. As much as I wanted to hate Karen, and at times I felt that she was a bit of a harpy, I could also understand her pain, a pain that anyone who has had an unrequited love will understand.

The Boy Next Door also made Loose Id’s bestseller list 2 weeks in a row, so thanks to everyone who bought the book. And thanks to the reviewers for taking the time to review! Book bloggers are seriously awesome.

And, bonus, a new review of Kindling Fire with Snow from Val Kovalin:

The author did a good job with the subtle, precise details (much of it through dialog) that communicated their opposite personalities and cultural backgrounds (introverted Jewish guy, extroverted Irish-American). Also, I was very impressed with the vivid details, including landmarks and street names, which made Brooklyn come alive as a setting for this engaging story about second chances. Recommended.

Pssst. The Boy Next Door is available here!