Cover Reveal: A Solitary Man

Welcome everyone! I know it's been a while but I'm so happy to see you here today! Today, I'm honored to have Shira Anthony and Aisling Mancy visit. You'll remember Shira from earlier visits. I'm a huge fan of her Blue Notes Series. You may not recognize the name Aisling Mancy, but he has also visited us before. Aisling Mancy is a pseudonym for YA author, Cody Kennedy, to write adult books. Surprise! I love his writing! They are here to show off their new book, "A Solitary Man"! It will be an amazing book as they are both extremely talented writers. So without further ado, I present the cover reveal of "A Solitary Man" by Shira Anthony and Aisling Mancy!

A Solitary Man Cover Reveal

Authors Shira Anthony and Aisling Mancy have teamed up to write a red-hot action-packed thriller!

 A Solitary Man coming from DreamspinnerPress November 6th!

Excerpt:

Evan pressed the button on his phone to connect. “Freddy? What did you find out?”

Fred laughed. “For this, I’m going to exact a price.”

“You mean the keg I sprang for at graduation doesn’t get me a freebie?” Evan shot back.

“We’ve been out of law school for how many years now? Eight?”

“Nine this year,” Evan corrected.

“Credit’s no good anymore,” Fred answered. “I’m thinking dinner at Ivy at the Shore next time you’re in LA. On you, of course. Including a bottle of Veuve Clicquot.”

“For that,” Evan said with a chuckle, “this had better be good.”

“It’s good. And it was hell to get.”

“Okay, okay. Dinner on me. Assuming you and Margie put me up for the night,” Evan replied. “I’m looking forward to seeing your McMansion.”

“Deal. Took a little digging. Seems your mystery man did some undercover work for the FBI.”

“And?”

“My buddy in the US Attorney’s office wouldn’t give details, but word is Constantine got fed up with the bullshit after a case went bad somewhere down in South America.”

“Drugs?” Evan asked.

“No. He dealt with human trafficking. Specifically, child sex trafficking. My friend says the guy’s good. He tried a few cases where Constantine was the government’s key witness. Knows his stuff. Works his ass off and gets into his work. I got the impression sometimes he gets a little too close.”

Now that was interesting. “Why?”

“Seems the guy’s rabid about protecting kids.”

“Any idea why?”

“Nothing anyone would tell me,” Fred replied.

Evan leaned back in his chair. At least Xav wasn’t a slacker, but it didn’t make Evan feel any better about the prospect of bumping into him at work. “Anything else?”

“Constantine grew up in LA, went to school in Boston.”

“Boston?” Even more interesting. So much for his initial assessment of Xav as a broceanographer.

“Yeah, you’ll love this.”

Evan could almost hear Freddy’s grin over the phone.

“He did undergrad at MIT. Mathematics major. Master’s in criminology from U Penn with an emphasis in cryptology. The FBI was probably falling all over itself to recruit him.”

No shit. This just got better and better. “What the hell’s a guy with that kind of background doing in North Carolina?”

“I could ask you the same question,” Fred shot back. “Of course, if you decide you want your own McMansion….”

“You couldn’t pay me enough to come to work for you,” Evan joked. Fred was serious—they’d had this discussion a half-dozen times before.

“Try me.” Fred paused for a moment and then asked, “This personal?”

Evan had no intention of telling Fred he’d slept with Xav. “Not personal.”

“’Cause word has it he’s gay,” Fred said. “Out but not advertising.” When Evan didn’t take the bait, Fred added, “But you already knew that, didn’t you?”

Evan shook his head and sighed theatrically. “Don’t even go there, Freddy. You know I don’t mix business and pleasure. I just want to know what I’m dealing with. That’s all.”

“You can’t bullshit a bullshitter, man.”

“Thanks for the help,” Evan said, foreclosing the topic. “I’ll let you know next time I’m out your way. Tell Margie she’s a brave woman.”

“Always do. Laters. And make sure you get your sorry ass out here soon.”

“Will do.” Evan disconnected the call and rubbed his mouth. Mathematics major at MIT and a master’s from U Penn? No wonder the FBI had recruited him. And he’d pegged Xav for a surfer! What the hell are you doing in Dare’s Landing, Xavier Constantine?

About A Solitary Man

Sparks fly when Chance meets tall, sexy Xav at a Wilmington bar and they have the hottest one-nighter of their lives. But Chance doesn’t do repeats, Xav seems detached, and they go their separate ways without a word. Two months later, when closeted Assistant District Attorney C. Evan “Chance” Fairchild meets Dare’s Landing’s newest deputy sheriff, Xavier “Xav” Constantine, Evan isn’t only wary. He’s irritated as hell.

Xavier is a former FBI agent turned deputy sheriff who is hot on the trail of a South American child prostitution ring. Evan is fighting to put an end to rampant cocaine trafficking and chafing under the thumb of an election-hungry boss. When someone tries to kill the thirteen-year-old witness who holds the key to both their investigations, they’re forced to work together as they put their lives on the line to protect him. As Chance and Xav collide in heat of a sweltering North Carolina summer, dodging bullets and chasing bad guys isn’t the only action going on.

Pre-order A Solitary Man now from DreamspinnerPress!

About Shira Anthony

Shira loves a great happily-ever-after and never writes a story without one. She’s happy to write what her muse tells her, whether it’s fantasy, sci fi, paranormal, or contemporary romance. She particularly loves writing series, because she thinks of her characters as old friends and she wants to visit them even after their stories are told.

In real life, Shira sang professionally for 14 years, and she currently works as a public sector attorney advocating for children. She’s happy to have made writing her second full-time job, even if it means she rarely has time to watch TV or go to the movies.

Shira writes about the things she knows and loves, whether it’s music and musicians, the ocean, or the places she’s lived or traveled to. She spent her middle school years living in France, and tries to visit as often as she can.

Shira and her husband spend as many weekends as they can aboard their 36′ catamaran sailboat, “Lands Zen,” at the Carolina Coast. Not only has sailing inspired her to write about pirates and mermen, her sailboat is her favorite place to write. And although the only mermen she’s found to date are in her own imagination, she keeps a sharp lookout for them when she’s on the water.

Shira looks forward to meeting you at Gay Rom Lit!

Find Shira on blog, Twitter @WriterShira, Facebook, and Goodreads and

Subscribe to Shira’s monthly newsletter for updates, free fiction, and subscriber-only contests!

About Aisling Mancy

Aisling is an author who lives, most of the time, on the West Coast of the United States. Aisling writes adult fantasy, adult LGBTQIA romance, and fiction for gay young adults (C. Kennedy).

Raised on the mean streets and back lots of Hollywood by a Yoda-look-alike grandfather, Aisling doesn’t conform, doesn’t fit in, is epic awkward, and lives to perfect a deep-seated oppositional defiance disorder. In a constant state of fascination with the trivial, Aisling contemplates such weighty questions as If time and space are curved, then where do all the straight people come from? When not writing, Aisling can be found taming waves on western shores, pondering the nutritional value of sunsets, appreciating the much maligned dandelion, unhooking guide ropes from stanchions, and marveling at all things ordinary.

Aisling looks forward to meeting you at Gay Rom Lit!

Find Aisling on blog, Twitter @AislingMancy, Facebook, Goodreads, and

Aisling does respond to emails because, after all, it is all about you, the reader

     Thank you, Shira and Aisling, for visiting us! That is a beautiful cover and I'm so excited about your book. It really will be a great read. I also want to thank all of you for coming by to check out the cover reveal for "A Solitary Man". I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did . **HUGS**



Cody Kennedy's Slaying Isidore's Dragons Blog Tour

 Cody Kennedy and the Business and Pressures of being an Author

     Today I'm honored to welcome author Cody Kennedy to my Athenaeum! He's here to promote his incredible new book, "Slaying Isidore's Dragons".

 



 

 

 

     Cody has kindly agreed to answer a few questions about some of the pressure he faces in writing LGBTQIA YA books. Thank you, Cody, for visiting. If you're ready, we can get started with my annoying...er...my probing...umm...no. Not probing. Let's just start, shall we?

 

Join me in welcoming Cody back to my blog!

 

Cody: Hey, Jase, thanks for having me again. It’s always great to be here.

 

Jase: We’ve been friends for a couple of years now and one of the things we periodically discuss is the business of writing and that includes some of the pressures we experience and business decisions we make as authors. Talk about some of the pressures you endure in order to bring us your books?

 

Cody: Writing and editing deadlines are some of the most difficult. They require one to be creative on demand, so to speak, and the imagination doesn’t always cooperate. I love to interact with readers but need forty-eight hour days in order to be able to do so and keep up with the demands of writing. Another of the pressures stems from simply being human. I am generally patient and easy going, and like to have fun on social media. Yet, occasionally something will occur that requires me to be serious and it surprises people that I can be, and very direct if something calls for it.

 

Jase: I understand that you chose to write young adult LGBTQIA books for the boys for whom you advocate. What has been the best thing about writing them? And the worst?

 

Cody: Without a doubt, the best is seeing hope blossom in my readers. Nothing is more satisfying to me. The most frustrating is two-fold. First, trying to educate and deal constructively with the intolerance that exists toward the LGBTQIA community is a tall order. Second, being unable to put our books into the hands of the youth who need them most is extremely frustrating. Harmony Ink Press does everything within its power to distribute our books in all markets and venues, and make appearances at conferences and festivals. Yet, the youth who desperately need our books don’t have access to them. They don’t have access to them because mechanisms aren't in place for schools and libraries to purchase and carry them. It's also important to know that Harmony Ink’s books aren’t only for LGBTQIA youth and I’d like to find a way to market that effectively

 

Jase: Have you suffered personal or professional criticism for writing the type of books for youth that you do?

 

Cody: Both personal and professional, but none that I’ve allowed to affect me. Advocating for abused youth is very important to me.

 

Jase: You also write for adults under pseudonym. Of the genres you write, which are your favorite? And what genre have you not yet written that you would like to write?

 

Cody: That’s a tough question. I have three favorite genres. They are science fiction, fantasy, and high-action thriller-mysteries. I have yet to write historical fiction but plan to write a young adult novel next year about the youth who helped restore books and artwork after the Arno River flood of 1966. The youth were referred to as Mud Angels and I’ll write a book by the same name.

 

Jase: That sounds like it’ll be a great book. In conclusion, is there anything you’d like to say to everyone reading this interview?

 

Cody: Thank you for reading my books!

 

Jase: *grins* Thanks, Cody. As always, it’s great to have you here.

 

Cody: It’s always great to be here, Jase!

 

      Please check out Cody Kennedy's new book, "Slaying Isidore's Dragons"! I know you'll love it! And thank you all for taking the time to come to here and read this. I know I speak for Cody as well as myself when I say we greatly appreciate it! **HUGS**

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Follow Slaying Isidore’s Dragons’ Book Tour!

 

About Slaying Isidore’s Dragons

 

5 Best friends
4 Vicious brothers
3 STD tests
2 Guys in love
1 Car bombing
&
Nowhere to run

     Follow the burgeoning love of two teens during the worst year of their lives. Irish-born Declan David de Quirke II is the son of two ambassadors, one Irish and one American. He is ‘out’ to his parents but to no one else. French-born Jean Isidore de Sauveterre is also the son of two ambassadors, one Catalan and one Parisian. His four half brothers have been told to cure him of his homosexuality. Both teens have lost a parent in a London car bombing.

 

5 Weeks of hell
4 Attempts on their lives

3 Law enforcement agencies
2 Dead high school seniors
1 Jealous friend
&
A love that won’t be denied

 

     Declan and Isidore meet at the beginning of their senior year at a private academy in the United States. Declan is immediately smitten with Isidore and becomes his knight in shining armor. Isidore wants to keep what is left of his sanity and needs Declan’s love to do it. One is beaten, one is drugged, one is nearly raped, one has been raped. They are harassed by professors and police, and have fights at school, but none of it compares to running for their lives. When the headmaster’s popular son attempts suicide and someone tries to assassinate Declan’s mother, they are thrown headlong into chaos, betrayal, conspiracy, allegations of sexual coercion, even murder. And one of them carries a secret that may get them killed.

 

5 New family members

4 BFF’s
3 Countries
2 Extraordinary Psychologists
1 Courageous Mother

&
A new beginning for two young men in love

 

Read Chapter One of Slaying Isidore's Dragons

 

Now available in print and ebook at Dreamspinner/Harmony Ink Press
Amazon   GooglePlay   Barnes & Noble   OmniLit/ARe   Beam-eBooks in Europe

Ingram Books for Libraries and Schools

About Cody Kennedy

 

     Raised on the mean streets and back lots of Hollywood by a Yoda-look-alike grandfather, Cody doesn’t conform, doesn’t fit in, is epic awkward, and lives to perfect a deep-seated oppositional defiance disorder. In a constant state of fascination with the trivial, Cody contemplates such weighty questions as If time and space are curved, then where do all the straight people come from? When not writing, Cody can be found taming waves on western shores, pondering the nutritional value of sunsets, appreciating the much maligned dandelion, unhooking guide ropes from stanchions, and marveling at all things ordinary. 

 

Stop by Cody’s Blog with questions or comments, or simply share what’s on your mind.

Find Cody on Facebook, Twitter @CodyKAuthor, Medium, Pinterest, Tumblr, Google+,

Ello, Goodreads, & read Cody’s free serial story, Fairy

 

 

 

    



Cody Kennedy Visits

Cody Kennedy Visits

 

 

     Hey everyone! I'm so happy to see you and to welcome my dear friend and author extraordinaire, Cody Kennedy, to my blog. He's so kindly agreed to let me ask him a few questions. (Despite what he may say. LOL!!) Thank you, Cody!!


     Hey, Jase! It’s very ruthless kind of you to have me on your blog. This is my second opportunity to be victimized on visit your blog and, this time, I have the great displeasure of answering your nosy well thought out questions. It’s a great honor to be preyed upon here among other ill-fated esteemed authors under the threat of certain demise. It gives me a terrific opportunity to increase my chances of being stalked share a little about myself as other attention-seeking authors have done on your blog and I want to thank you from the bottom of my little black heart.




1. You turn on the radio and it's your favorite song. What is it?


I must choose one? How about two? Ah, c’mon! I must list at least two! Demons by Imagine Dragons and Yellow by Coldplay

 

 

2. What is the one book you can keep reading and never tire of?

Iliad. It contains everything. Overcoming the Monster - man versus [insert foe here] (Dracula, Star Wars); Rags to Riches (Cinderella, David Copperfield); The Quest (Lord of the Rings and...oh, yeah, Iliad); Voyage and Return (Alice in Wonderland); Comedy (Four Weddings and A Funeral); Tragedy (Caesar); and Rebirth (Despicable Me).


And it contains a lot of action! I’m all about the action.


3. It's the holiday season. What are your favorite memories or traditions?


I was raised by my grandfather, a prolific author, and began writing at the age of seven. For Christmas that year, he gave me two dictionaries, the Oxford and Webster's New International Dictionary (c. 1943). Best gifts ever!

 

 

4. What movie can be counted on to always make you feel better?


Independence Day starring Will Smith!


5. What is your food guilty pleasure?


Choco!


6. You can have three guests over for dinner, living or dead, who would they be?


Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov, and...and...depends on my mood.


7. You FINALLY have some down time. What do you do?


Why, read, of course! What kind of questions is that, Jase? What do you do when you have down time? If it isn’t reading, I...can’t...even....


8. What is one place you have always wanted to visit?


The Isle of Mann. I must find out for myself whether fairies exist.


9. What is your least favorite chore?


Vacuuming. Particularly when I accidentally suck the “m” key off my laptop.


10. What is/are your Holiday wish/es this year?


If I brought a smile to your face and made you laugh, then my work is done here. Peace, out!




Imagine Dragons link if you need it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWRsgZuwf_8

Yellow link if you need it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKNxeF4KMsY

Independence Day link if you need it: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116629/



     I love your answers, Cody! (I've called off the goon squad. HAHAHA!!) Of course my free time is spent reading. LOL!! Like there is anything better. Well...maybe eating chocolate. That's always a plus.  OH!!! You wouldn't invite me over? Hmm...maybe I should wait to call off the squad. :D Seriously though, thank you so much for playing along. I'm so happy you agreed to this fun little interview and I hope you had fun doing it. Again, thank you, Cody! **HUGS**

     To everyone taking time out of your busy schedule to read this, I thank you! Hopefully there will be more posts like this in the future.  I also want to take this time to wish you all a joyous holiday season. My love to you all! **HUGS** <3

   

 





I'm Back!!

 

 

I'm Back!!

 

 

 

     Hey everyone! I'm back! Sorry for the long pause between posts. Things have been...well...they've been. I think I'll leave it at that. And when I was trying to figure out what to write about, my mind went blank. I don't want to bore you with a stupid post. Soooo after some thought, I decided to write about my memories of Autumn. Kind of a "what Autumn means to me" thing. I hope you don't mind.

 

     As many of you know, I grew up on a military base in Germany. A town just outside Stuttgart called Vaihingen. It's in the southwest of Germany. It's a beautiful part of the country. And in the Autumn, the trees would be full of beautiful color. Reds, golds, yellows, and browns. All rich and vibrant. The air would crisp and clean with a bit of chill to it that made you feel so ALIVE!! It was like walking into a photograph done by an acclaimed photographer from a book about the best of Autumn . Almost a magical experience.

 

 

 

 

    No, this isn't one of my pictures. I still haven't digitalized all my photos. This is just a pic I love that really reminds me of Germany. Just off the base was a forest full of walking/hiking trails that surrounded a lake. I loved walking them. I would be out there for hours just enjoying the sights. I never did explore all the trails. I kind of wish I had. And when I would get home, there was hot cider, tea, or cocoa. One of my favorite thinks to drink was and is hot spiced orange juice. Put in some cinnamon and ginger and let it heat up to the point where it was ready to boil. You never let it boil. It  ruins the flavor. BLECH!!!

 

     It isn't just the the sights of Autumn, it's also the sounds. Autumn means high school football. I could hear the spectators cheering, the whistles of the referees, and most importantly for me...the marching band. While I can appreciate football, I'm not the biggest fan. I loved the music. Watching the band perform their routines on the field at halftime, playing the fight song and other pieces of music to spur on the team and fans. All of that was exciting to me. Autumn means marching band season. And I was a member all through high school. I was even a Drum Major in my junior year.









 

 

     Yes, that is me in my marching band uniform. We had white feathers that wrapped around the back and sides of the hat. When it was rainy, we removed them so they weren't destroyed. And yes, I played the flute. I still do. This picture is from my freshman year. Don't ask me if the team won. I don't know. I didn't pay enough attention. LOL!! I do remember loving every minute of being out there. :)

 

    So these are just some of the memories that I have when Autumn comes. It really is one of my two favorite seasons. The other being winter. But I'll get to that later. That is if you don't mind. I hope I haven't bored you too much with this post. If I have, I'm sorry! Soooo, as I close this post I'll leave you with two questions. What memories come to mind when Autumn arrives? Should I continue doing some posts like this? (Do you find them boring and prefer I stick to other less personal things?) OK. I guess that's technically three questions. LOL!! In the meantime, I will try to be much better about keeping up with my posting. I hope you are all having a wonderful day! Love you!! **HUGS** <3

RJ Scott Visits



 

RJ Scott Visits

 

     I'm so incredibly thrilled today to have one of my favorite authors visit my blog! I have been a huge fan of her books since I first found them. From her contemporary stories to her paranormal/supernatural stories, I've read and enjoyed them all. If you haven't had the opportunity to read any of her books, I hope you will take time to try them out. You won't be sorry. So without further ado, I want to welcome author RJ Scott to Jase's Athenaeum.

 

 

 

 

The power of the reader and Texas Winter (Texas series, book 2)

 

Welcome to of my mini author tour, thank you to Jase’s Athenaeum for having me…

 

When I was at the UK meet I was told by readers on more than one occasion that they thought I just wrote paranormal, or I just wrote contemporary. Of that they knew about Texas, but had never heard of the Sanctuary series. So I came up wit this idea… highlight a few different books, or series, and add in some cool prizes and maybe readers might find something new from me.

Today I wanted to focus on the power of the reader.

 

I love anyone who reads my books. Seriously, smishes you all. I also love every single email, facebook post, suggestion, edit or squee, that I receive. I think coming to MM writing from a fan fiction direction means that I feed from my readers. Without my readers there would be no sequels.

 

Texas 2, which I called Texas Winter, is a prime example of what reader support can do. The Heart of Texas was written as a standalone story, 83,000 words of soap opera shenanigans. Only… Riley and Jack were so much in love and readers said they wanted to see more… and so, I decided it might be a good idea … and I hated writing it for about three paragraphs and then suddenly before I knew it, it flowed and I’d finished. I loved writing it and wouldn’t even have started it without reader (and reviewer) support.

 

More information, including blurbs, excerpts, buy links, reading order and reviews can be found here:

 

Texas Winter – old secrets come into Jack and Riley’s life, only proving that love conquers everything - http://rjscottauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/texas-winter-sequel-to-heart-of-texas.html

 

Competition- closing date 13 July 2014, 13:00 GMT (London)

 

Simply comment below to be entered into the draw to win one of two prizes, first drawn name wins a $10 Amazon/ARe voucher, and for second winner an ebook from my backlist, or a future book when it becomes available.

 

Each comment on this post and other posts in the tour will be entered into a grand draw to win $50 Amazon/ARe voucher with the winner drawn from all entrants on Saturday 26th July.

 

    

     Thank you so much, RJ Scott, for stopping by. I'm very honored to have been included in your blog tour! And I want to thank all of you for taking the time to visit. I hope everyone has a great day!! **HUGS** 





Thank You!!

 

 

Thank You!!

 

 

      Earlier this week I shared a post from Cody Kennedy and Timmy about LGBT PRIDE and their thoughts on it. I want to take a moment to thank them again. Thank you, Timmy!! I'm so proud of you and your thought provoking post! You are an inspiration! Thank you, Cody, for sharing your knowledge of the LGBT Community and for also helping me set up that post. I wouldn't have been able to do it without you! I also want to thank all of you. You have been so kind and supportive and that means so much to me.  I want to keep this short so in conclusion I will say, Thank You My Friends!! I love you all!! Oh! Before I forget, tomorrow I will have author RJ Scott here as part of her tour this month. Please come check it out! I hope you have a wonderful day!! **HUGS**

Pride with Cody Kennedy and Timmy

Pride With Cody Kennedy and Timmy

     Here we are on the last day of June and that means LGBT PRIDE Month has come to an end. But before it does, I'm so incredibly lucky to have two very important people visit. Cody Kennedy, the extraordinary author of "Omorphi" and "Safe", has kindly agreed to be here today. I'm so thrilled to have him. And to make a great thing more amazing, my dear friend and nephew, Timmy is here to share his thoughts. You may remember that he is the talented artist responsible for the look of my blog. Before I hand things over to them, I want to thank you all for coming to visit! Take it away Cody and Timmy.

PRIDE versus FREEDOM, and a little history about our flag

Thank you, Jase, for the honor and privilege of being on your blog! As PRIDE month draws to a close, our good friend Timmy (Jase’s ersatz nephew) and I are here to discuss a little about the history of the PRIDE flag and, more importantly, how our LGBTQIA youth of today view PRIDE.

As an author who writes LGBTQIA works and someone who wishes to bring awareness to literary works and those who identify with non-binary gender, I hope to bring attention to the current, crucial socio-economic, political, and very personal issues surrounding PRIDE and those who don’t identify with the strict binary categorization of sexual identity.

Long, long ago (30 years) in a land far, far away (San Francisco, California, USA) the world's best-known version of the rainbow flag, often referred to as 'the freedom flag', was popularized as a symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) pride and diversity by San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker in 1978. The different colors symbolize diversity in the gay community, and the flag is used predominantly at gay pride events and in gay villages worldwide in various forms including banners, clothing and jewelry. For the 25th Anniversary of the Stonewall riots, held in 1994 in New York city, a mile-long rainbow flag was created and post-parade cut up in sections that have since been used around the world.

The flag was originally created with eight colors, but pink and turquoise were removed for production purposes, and since 1979 it has consisted of six colored stripes. It is most commonly flown with the red stripe on top, as the colors appear in a natural rainbow. Aside from the obvious symbolism of a mixed LGBT community, the colors were designed to symbolize: life (red), healing (orange), sunlight (yellow), nature (green), harmony (blue), and spirit (purple/violet). The removed colors stood for sexuality (pink) and art/magic (turquoise).

The original flag

The youth of today have a different take on PRIDE than we "older" folk do—FREEDOM—the very basis for our country’s foundation. Timmy gives us a twelve-year-old’s take on what PRIDE means to all of us.

Timmy on PRIDE versus FREEDOM

"I know the meaning of the word pride, but is this how we mean it? I think pride in the LGBT community is yet another label and a wall we hide behind. Pride is a feeling that we should all have whether we’re LGBT or not. LGBT doesn’t own this word and we shouldn’t use it like we do. We walk in Pride Parades as though we are entitled, and all the time we have our own groups and cliques. We also discriminate within our own community. Pride is not about safety in numbers, it’s not about hiding behind labels and others like us, and it’s not about parades. How offended might we be to see a heterosexual parade going down our street? I think it shouldn’t be about pride, but it should be about freedom. We have the freedom to be us, and that includes everyone. Pride is a personal emotion not a public show.

"I won’t hide in the closet anymore. I have been beaten, almost raped in the locker room at school, and called names repeatedly, but I am still FREE to be me. One thing I have learned over the last five months is that it is not about what I wasn’t allowed to be. I was treated and hurt badly, showed daily that I wasn’t loved, but I survived. I am so damn proud of that. I’m not the only person with stories like this. Heterosexual, gay, bi, transgendered, lesbian, or any other letter of the alphabet you choose, we all have a story. Being me does not define pride, it’s my FREEDOM that defines how I feel about myself that gives me pride. It’s hard to feel it and see it some days, but I know that deep down FREEDOM is there for me. Days that I feel weak, useless, unwanted, or lonely, I take my freedom out and say "hey, I made it, I’m here" and THAT is pride. People can’t give it to you, parades and parties are not pride. Look inside yourself to find your freedom first, before you label it pride."

Thank you, Timmy! Great comments! As PRIDE month draws to a close we find ourselves in a time of change; not only one of change in perspective but also one of behavior and the law. Now, more than ever before. I am proud to be an author of LGBTQIA literature and hope to bring you works that inspire you, give you strength and, above all, give you hope. Thank you for taking the time to read our post and rock on!

     Thank you again, Cody and Timmy! I'm so happy you stopped by to share your thoughts as well as a bit of history with us. Though the month of PRIDE has ended, I'd like all of you to take Pride in the Freedom to be you. You are Free to be who you are and should be proud of who that is. You are amazing and wonderful and perfect! Thank you all once again for stopping by. It really means a lot to me. I hope you have a great day!! **HUGS**

Check out Cody’s Books and Blog here. Like Cody on Facebook, find Cody on Goodreads, on Twitter @CodyKAuthor, on Amazon, and read Cody’s free serial story, Fairy. Check out Timmy’s Thoughts and Book Reviews here.

Available from: Harmony Ink Press

Όμορφη.　

Ómorphi. Greek. Meaning pretty

Pretty.　adj.　/pritē/ Pleasing by delicacy or grace

~*~

High school senior Michael Sattler leads a charmed life. He’s a star athlete, has great friends, and parents who love him just the way he is. What’s missing from his life is a boyfriend. That’s a problem because he’s out only to his parents and best friend. When Michael accidentally bumps into Christy Castle at school, his life changes in ways he never imagined. Christy is Michael’s dream guy: smart, pretty, and sexy. But nothing could have prepared Michael for what being Christy's boyfriend would entail.

Christy needs to heal after years of abuse and knows he needs help to do it. After the death of his notorious father, he leaves his native Greece and settles in upstate New York. Alone, afraid, and left without a voice, Christy hides the myriad scars of his abuse. He desperately wants to be loved and when he meets Michael, he dares to hope that day has arrived. When one of Michael’s team-mates becomes an enemy and an abuser from Christy’s past seeks to return him to a life of slavery, only Michael and Christy's combined strength and unwavering determination can save them from the violence that threatens to destroy their future together. Readan excerpt of Omorphi. 

Available from: Harmony Ink Press

Safe

Caleb had one mission in life.

To keep his boyfriend safe.

They met at ten, kissed at twelve, and were madly in love by eighteen. Caleb Deering is the captain of the swim team and the hottest senior in school. He comes from a loving home with a kind father and a caring, but strict, mother who is battling breast cancer. Nico Caro is small and beautiful, and has a father who rules with an iron fist—literally. One morning Caleb forgets himself, and he pecks Nico on the lips at school. A teacher sees them and tattles to the Headmaster. The accidental outing at school might be the least of their problems, because the ball set in motion by the school’s calls to their parents could get Nico killed. In the face of that very real danger, Caleb knows he has only one mission in life: to keep Nico safe. Readan excerpt of Safe. 

LGBT Pride And Me

 

What Does Pride Mean To Me

 

 

     Hey everyone! Happy Pride!!! I thought I'd do this post about what LGBT Pride means to me. Umm...yeah. Just as the title says. LOL!! And I'm hoping to have some friends share their thoughts as well. I hope you will enjoy it! So...let the rainbow shine and the glitter sparkle!!

 

     I guess the best way to start this is to tell you a bit about my coming out. Not just to others, but to myself as well. I started to really think about it when I was 16. That doesn't mean it didn't cross my mind before then because it certainly did. I just never really gave it a lot of thought. Hmm...this might be a good time to explain that I grew up on a U.S. military base in Germany. The subject of homosexuality was not talked about unless it was in a negative way. Being gay meant AIDS. And it meant being a less than human creature worthy only of jokes. Not the most accepting of places. Were they all like that? Of course not. There were some amazing people that accepted everyone regardless of whatever differences there might be. Anyway, back to the subject. My sexuality wasn't something I gave a lot of thought too. The reason I started to really focus on it was because I had just broken up with my latest girlfriend and couldn't get one of my father's soldiers out of my head. I was heartbroken a couple of years before when I found out he had a girlfriend and I was trying to figure out why. Why was I still hurt. And why my relationships with girls never really felt right. That's when it dawned on me. I was attracted to him. As I let that bounce around my head for a bit, I started to notice that I was attracted to other guys. That doing the things with my girlfriends that made me uncomfortable and giggle uncontrollably didn't leave me feeling that way when I thought of doing them with other guys. Yes. Giggle. I do giggle when I feel awkward. I'm not the only one, am I? OK, back to the story. And that's when I came to realize I am gay. It hasn't always been an easy journey. I ran back into the closet when a "friend" told me I was going to Hell and that it was wrong. That I was wrong. I didn't stay in there long. I came out for good a year later! :D

 

     Now that you have that rambling mess of a back story, let me tell you what Pride means to me. It's not just about showing everyone I'm proud to be gay. It's not the parades and parties. Don't get me wrong. Those are important. Very important. We need to let the world know we are who we are and that that's a great thing. But for me, it's also a chance to step back. To look at myself in the mirror and say, "I'm gay and I'm proud of myself!". You see, for a while I didn't think I would be here. I thought that something would happen and I'd get sick. Or that someone would come along and hurt me. I didn't think I would have a future. It never stopped me from coming out. I was just resigned to that being my fate. But I've learned a lot since then. I've seen how the world has changed for the positive. I've met many wonderful people who have shown me how wrong I was. Through education and exposure, I've learned that doesn't have to be my fate. So now, after having started this journey ???? years ago, I know I have a future. There is so much out there for me to see and experience. When I look in the mirror I'm proud of who I am. A happy gay man. That's what LGBT Pride means to me.

 

     So I hope you will join me in celebrating LGBT Pride this month. Not only by going out and making a statement, but by also looking in the mirror. Love you all!!! **HUGS**