The Fabulous Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia

First, a HUGE shout out to the folks at The Day Against Homophobia – you can find them HERE.

Another HUGE shout out to the organizers of the Annual Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia – this was a ginormous undertaking and you can find them HERE.

As a participant I’ll be giving away the winner’s choice of EITHER Santa Claus is Coming (available from eXtasy Books), OR the sequel (tentatively called) Toy Testing in Santa’s Workshop (slated to come from eXtasy in late July – hot off the presses to the winner – blurb to come this week!) To win, you must comment on today’s post HERE on the blog. (There are two more planned posts this week – if my guest posters get off their heineies -coff, AUBRY,coff- and send me stuff!) Winners will be chosen on the 24th from comments on today’s  post, though feel free to comment on anything related that finds its way onto my blog between now and then.)

I generally approach this Hop as a teacher – now a former teacher – and I believe with all my heart that the best and surest way we will ever eradicate both homophobia and transphobia is by educating our kids. In the past I’ve written about my students. This year I’m going to let parent speak for me. My very dear friend has a son who is roughly the size of a mountain, and who is gay. He’s grown now, and I HOPE living a fabulous life with people who love and accept him as he is, but high school for him? Not such a wonderful place. Here’s one family’s experience – it has a happy ending, in the “Shakespeare” definition of happy endings: No one died. But, God. We should want so much more than that for our kids.

My son is gay.

 

And I don’t mean happy. He’s seldom happy, but I think that’s standard issue for young people today.

 

In high school it was worse. My son is extremely strong-willed. He’s never been afraid to tell anyone the truth, and that included his sexual orientation. And high school kids are bastards on the whole. They will say or do anything, no matter how heinous, to hurt the kids who are different.

 

So my son became a target.

 

Now, my son isn’t a small guy. In the 8th grade, he could have picked me up and set me on the kitchen counter. By his freshman year he was 6’1″ and pushing 300 lbs.

 

You might think this would work in his favor, but it didn’t. It made his teachers less willing to help him.

 

“He’s a big boy,” they would say.

“He can take care of himself,” they would say.

 

Until he actually DID defend himself.

 

Then all I heard was, “He can’t fight in school; we’ll expel him.”

 

This went on for a couple of school years. The first half of the year, he was bullied because “he could take care of himself”.

 

We’d have meetings.

 

Then, the second half of the year, he’d defend himself.

 

And we’d have more meetings. Suspensions. Threats of expulsion.

 

By his junior year I was fed up. I told his Vice Principal that either they would protect my son, or he would protect himself and I would find a lawyer willing to destroy a school district.

 

All this helped. For a couple of months. Then it started back up.

 

“The teachers don’t have time to follow your son around.”

“If they didn’t see it, they can’t do anything about it.”

“We can’t be everywhere.”

“Can’t he deal with this himself?”

 

Things came to a head halfway through his junior year. We got a call from the school. My son had been to the school counselor, talking about suicide.

 

I guess that’s the magic word in a public school.

 

It’s okay when a student gets relentlessly picked on, teased, and bullied. That’s just “part of being a teen these days”. But a suicide threat? Oh, heaven forbid! That kind of thing could bring bad press to a school district.

 

Now everyone wanted to get involved, but by that point nothing they could do could help my son be comfortable or happy at that school.

 

So, he packed up his possessions and moved to Kentucky, thinking that with a new school and a new start, he could get through.

 

Not a chance.

 

As I mentioned earlier, kids can be bastards. And school officials often don’t care as long as it doesn’t affect them personally.

 

I thank God often that my son chose to drop out of high school and get his GED rather than commit suicide, but I find it so sad that it had to come to that. That our children can’t be kept safe in the schools that we all pay for, even as we’re told that “they are doing all they can”. [VJ’s addition: Yes. All they can. While Administration talks and talks and produces, in another Shakespeare moment, “sound and fury, signifying NOTHING” for these desperate kids.] I’m here to tell you that they aren’t. There are teachers who care, but they seem to be getting fewer and farther between by the year. [VJ’s addition: Yeah, it’s incredibly demoralizing to have your hands utterly tied in the face of the bullying we see but are allowed to do nothing but give warnings and write referrals that are never acted on…]

 

My son is happier these days, but his high school years still effect many things in his life.

 

Work.

Friends.

College.

 

He is always waiting for the next bully to show up, the next person to yell “fag”, or “homo”, or worse. Because it’s inevitable. Because so many parents can’t be bothered to teach their kids right ffrom wrong, and their kids grow up to be just as big of bastards as adults.

 

My son is a high school drop out, but he’s ALIVE, and working toward happiness and learning to deal with life as it comes.

WINNERS! But, yeah, I’m late again…

First – Happiness is a good review for your pervy Santa story! Check out what MM Good Book Reviews had to say about Santa Claus is Coming, HERE!

I haven’t finished my Top 10 New To Me Books/Authors of 2013 list – I stopped at #7 for a reason, though… And will finish it in the next blog post, which will hopefully be in the next couple of days…

Worse, I NEED to announce my Birthday Winner! Holy Crap! I can’t even make an excuse other than my laptop, circa 2005, keeps freezing, and I’m too lazy to crawl into the writing cave and use the big desktop… I suck.

So – Old Dude, in his totally OBJECTIVE way (::snorts::), did indeed choose a winner – JIM! Because, “Hey, that’s a guy’s name! You have a guy reading your blog!” (::snorts more::)

Okay, Jim, so better late than never?

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Okay, a couple hours early, but still…

Happy 2014!!!

It’s My Birthday!

And, cuz it’s SO much more fun to give than to receive, first, here’s an Instant Gratification present!

He’s pretty, but I think he got into my cake!

Now for the OTHER prezzy. So, when I was fifteen and was ordering my class ring, a boy I kinda liked told me I should definitely not get a silver ring because, “You were born to wear gold.” Yeah. I know. ::snort:: I, of course recounted this to my mom and, every year after that on my birthday – until the last several when she’s been unable to – she bought me a gold charm for a charm bracelet. Each charm had special meaning, and I cherish it with all my heart.

So, to win your choice of either Birthday Licks, my m/m BDSM birthday spanking Quickie, Santa Clause is Coming, my pervy Santa and the drag queen story OR Something to Talk About, the m/m/f menage Sierra and I have at Amazon and ARe (on sale for $1.49 at Amazon through the New Year!), leave me a comment telling me about your best OR worst birthday present or memory. Winner will be randomly chosen by Old Dude (who will likely close his eyes and point, cuz that’s how he rolls!). (Click on book titles for blurbs, excerpts and buy links!)

 

On The Twelfth Day of Christmas…

…my true love gave to me:

The Twelve Gays of Christmas

(The original…A true classic…I just wish I could find a better quality version of it…)

(Cute, in a very OneD, I wanna watch him make out with another pretty boy sort of way. And that is one DOCILE cat!)

(I can’t decide if this is filthy or funny or both… I think it’s the uniforms that does it for me!)

 

Eleven Sexy Santas!

   Ten Tighty-Whiteys

   

        Nine Naughty Nappers

Eight Edible Abs

 

Seven Leather Daddies

(Again, this bottom – heh, heh – pic? One of my FAVORITE EVER.)

Six Beautiful Boys into Bondage

  Five Guys with Chocolate

Four Oddly Disturbing Novelty Condoms

Three Cool Plot Devices

A Grumpy Santa, A Smokin’ Drag Queen, and a new definition of Relaxing Massage, all wrapped up in my new release!

Available HERE at eXtasy Books!

(And a bonus “3” BDSM Quickies: Birthday Licks, Hard Limits and Melting, which you can find at Ellora’s Cave by clicking on the titles).

Two more pretty boys kissing

And a Tequila Rose Fizzy (Which I already make, only minus the OJ, and with Cranberry Diet Ginger Ale – and it is YUM!!)

On The Eleventh Day of Christmas…

…my true love gave to me:

Eleven Sexy Santas!

(Although the “Genuine Article” looks a little confuzzled about it all…)

Ten Tighty-Whities

        Nine Naughty Nappers

 

(Okay, you got a bonus napper. Ya gonna bitch about it?)

Eight Edible Abs

 

 (Dude – you want coffee? Hell yes! Drink it off my tummy? Go for it! You are SO invited!)

Seven Leather Daddies

(Again, this bottom – heh, heh – pic? One of my FAVORITE EVER.)

Six Beautiful Boys into Bondage

 

Five Guys with Chocolate

Four colorful condoms (Fully Prepped and Ready to Go!)

Three Cool Plot Devices

A Grumpy Santa, A Smokin’ Drag Queen, and a new definition of Relaxing Massage, all wrapped up in my new release!

Available HERE at eXtasy Books!

Two more pretty boys kissing

(This is totally how I picture my Master Thomas and Ryan from my Birthday Licks, Hard Limits and Melting Quickies, which you can find by clicking on the titles).

And a Tequila Rose Milkshake (Which is now the official dessert of the holiday!)

My 8th Favorite New to Me Book & Author of 2013

 

 

#8 Free Falling by SE Jakes

Okay, so Free Falling actually was NOT the first SE Jakes book I found and loved. That was Catch a Ghost, out from Riptide. Having discovered *that*, I quickly devoured her entire Samhain back list and FB stalked her til she accepted my friend request. SE’s stories are action adventure – mercenaries and/or military men in the business of rescue – a business that sometimes gets very messy. The closest I can come to for a comparison is Abi Roux’s Cut and Run series – the stories are totally different, but the intensity, the hard, Alpha men, those are the same. So, it’s safe to say I could put almost *any* of her titles on here as my favorite… Except… I read an author interview thingy about how Prophet, one of the MC’s in Catch a Ghost had kept showing up in the Men of Honor series, and Free Falling was mentioned. THAT wasn’t a Samhain release! Nor a Riptide story! Nor was it listed on B&N or ARe (my go-to’s when I can’t get something from the publisher). So I asked and, dammit, Free Falling was an Amazon exclusive. Which meant I’d be reading it on my phone, which is lovely, but trying to read on it gives me a migraine.

So, for love of SE Jakes, I caved and bought the (absolute cheapest I could find) Kindle.

Free Falling was SO worth it.

As anyone who’s listened to me pontificate knows, I’m a sucker for a wounded hero, and both Mick and Blue more than fit the bill. The story is twisty, there’s enough kink to make even me happy, the plot is suspenseful (and feels like it could have a sequel, hint-hint). Mick? Delicious. But Blue is that special character – he’s Gabriel in Cara McKenna’s Shivaree series. He’s Angelo in Marie Sexton’s Promises series. He’s this incredibly damaged, helpless and vulnerable APPEARING, utterly kick-ass I can take care of my own shit thank you very much, painfully strong man who doesn’t give an inch – until he meets the man worth giving an inch for. And then, once that man – for Blue it’s Mick – proves himself worthy, he gives him everything. Blue is the reason Free Falling is book #8 and not Bound by Honor or one of the Hell or High Water books. I simply fell in love with Blue, and now I find myself looking for HIM to show up in the other stories (he and Mick actually do, there’s a lot of crossover, which I love) right along with Prophet.

You’ve seen the (drool) cover, here’s the blurb:

Sometimes falling in love is the most dangerous thing of all…

Blue’s a thief who lives for adrenaline and danger. When he meets Mick, a mercenary and a hitter, he feels an immediate attraction. But Mick reneges on a bet they’ve made, leaving Blue pissed and confused.

When they meet again a year later, Blue’s in terrible danger after having walked into the middle of one of Mick’s jobs. Mick saves him, and although the two men have fallen for one another, they have no idea how to handle that kind of intimacy that’s been forced on them.

But when Mick goes missing on a job, Blue’s the one to go after him, determined to save the man he loves no matter the cost.

And be sure to check out SE’s blog, HERE.

On The Tenth Day of Christmas…

…my true love gave to me:

Ten Tighty-Whities

(That first pretty boy? He’s Leo. A character in a BDSM long novella I have out to a publisher right now. Those last two images? OMG – my FAVORITES! Can you blame me?)

 

Nine Naughty Nappers

Eight Edible Abs

 

(Gee! How’d my book cover get in there?!)

Seven Leather Daddies (Kurt should look a bit more appreciative, here!)

Six Beautiful Boys in Bondage

Five Fingers Dipped in Chocolate (Oh, yeah. He looks like he needs help!)

Four colorful condoms (Fully Prepped and Ready to Go!)

A Grumpy Santa, A Smokin’ Drag Queen, and a new definition of Relaxing Massage, all wrapped up in my new release!

Available HERE at eXtasy Books!

Two more pretty boys kissing

(This is totally how I picture my Master Thomas and Ryan from my Birthday Licks, Hard Limits and Melting Quickies, which you can find by clicking on the titles).

And a Tequila Rose Milkshake (Which just about guarantees I’ll miss at least one more day due to extreme intoxication!)

VJ’s Top 10 New to Me Books ‘n Authors of 2013

I am so damned slow. Seriously.

Okay, so you’re gonna *eventually* get TWO WHOLE POSTS from me tonight! Because I had my Christmas with the Kid today – there’s a story I’ll have to share some day when I’m feeling all emotionally available – I’m much later posting ANYTHING than I’d planned. Also, much like yesterday’s 12 Days post, today’s is gonna have a bonus, cuz I wanna tell you about my top ten favorite New-to-Me Authors of 2013, but there’s only 9 days left in the year!

So – let’s get started!

10 – Easy Ryder by Deanna Wadsworth

 

Deanna Wadsworth (check out her AWESOME Blog HERE) should NOT have been a new to me author. I owned several of her books – she’s got an awesome freebie featuring bears (not the kind in the woods, either!), did a really fun m/m take on Little Red Riding Hood, and a FABULOUS version of Sleepy Hollow, which you MUST get if you haven’t already, and you love the show. But somehow, I’d never actually read anything of hers, no matter HOW much she cluttered up my eLibrary! Then I hung out with her at Detroit, then Toledo Pride, and the woman is just fricking FANTASTIC. So, of course, I *liked* her, so I wanted to support her, and then she described her first Dreamspinner release, Easy Ryder.

If you even try to tell me the cover alone isn’t enough to seduce you into buying it, I’m gonna call you a liar! But, if you need more, here’s the blurb:

It’s July 3, 1976, the beginning of America’s bicentennial weekend, and everyone seems to be celebrating their freedoms except eighteen-year-old runaway Michael Ryder. Fresh from rural Pennsylvania, Michael is doing whatever and whoever it takes to get to San Francisco, where he hopes to find a new life with the freedom to love without fear.

While hitchhiking, a mysterious, tattooed biker named Snake offers him a ride west—on the back of his customized Harley chopper. During their journey across Route 66, Snake introduces Michael to new and steamy pleasures, leaving Michael aching for more than just a physical relationship. But a violent encounter with a cruel biker gang and a harrowing secret from Snake’s military past might destroy their unlikely relationship long before they reach the end of the road.

Okay, I’m a child of the 70’s. I’m old enough to have actual memories of the summer of 1976. That alone endeared me to the book – it’s “historical” – yeah, MY history. So, I was pretty much sold on every level, and I’m SO GLAD I read it. It’s a little bit dark – being a gay man in 1976 wasn’t the easiest life to live in the open. It felt authentic – from the emotional details, to the descriptions of Snake’s bike. Yeah, there were things I didn’t like. Really didn’t like. But even those fit the characters and moved the plot. Those moments reminded me that part of being an exceptional author is writing uncomfortable stuff, but not losing your reader. Well, Deanna kept me, and now she’s pretty much stuck with me.

AND – it’s worth noting that she’s got a bunch of Christmas themed stories where the characters have flavored cum. I mean, seriously. How can you pass up Santa’s elves and flavored cum???

9 – Chaos Magic by Jay Lygon

Jay Lygon is definitely NOT a new author. To me, though, Jay IS a bit of  a mystery. I couldn’t connect to Jay’s author page, so HERE’s a link to Jay’s Goodreads page. Jay has two series at Torquere Press, and I’ve read them both, but I keep coming back to the dark, damaged, delicious characters of Sam and Hector… and as the series progresses, all the other gods and goddesses we’re introduced to in the Gods & Magic series… Here’s the blurb for Chaos Magic:

Sam is a broken young man, searching for temporary escape from his demons–inside and out. Running from abusive ex-lover Marcus, the God of Fear, Sam finds himself in the arms of the hottest man to step foot into his life: Hector.

Hector proves to be the Daddy Sam needs and wants, but the road is a very rocky and often terrifying one. As Marcus digs his claws deeper into Sam, it threatens to tear everything Sam and Hector have built together apart.

Dark, broken, reacting like real people (even with the cool urban fantasy quirks), doing dumb things, suffering the consequences. Having to (GASP) communicate. Forgive. It’s a really wonderful series, and one of few you’ll ever hear me say gets better with each book. Chaos Magic was released in 2008, The Harem Boy (a Torquere Shot that is related to the Gods & Magic series) was pubbed in 2009… The most recent thing ARe lists is Coming Together: In Vein (proceeds to benefit Doctors Without Borders) has a Dec 21, 2012 pub date. So, I’m not sure if Jay’s still writing (if you’re reading this, Jay – PLEASE! WRITE MORE! I NEED YOU!). Anyway, like I said – both series are good – Gods & Magic is GREAT. Like a re-readable enough one that it lives on my Nook.

 

On The Ninth Day of Christmas…

…my true love gave to me:

A Sound Thrashing for Missing Three Whole Days!

Nine Naughty Nappers

Eight Edible Abs

 

(Note Angela Knight’s AWESOME artwork!)

Seven Leather Daddies (Kurt should look a bit more appreciative, here!)

Six Beautiful Boys in Bondage

Five Fingers Dipped in Chocolate (Oh, yeah. He looks like he needs help!)

Four colorful condoms (Fully Prepped and Ready to Go!)

A Grumpy Santa, A Smokin’ Drag Queen, and a new definition of Relaxing Massage, all wrapped up in my new release!

Available HERE at eXtasy Books!

Two more pretty boys kissing

(This is totally how I picture my Master Thomas and Ryan from my Birthday Licks, Hard Limits and Melting Quickies, which you can find by clicking on the titles).

And a Tequila Rose Milkshake (Which just about guarantees I’ll miss at least one more day due to extreme intoxication!)