I also write under pen name Sibley Jackson, which has a separate page here to click on and view. Random thoughts about writing books, painting, women, men, love, life, and whatever happens to be on my mind.
I'm proud and excited to announce the second book in the Avengement Series is now available! Solace, a psychological thriller, mystery, and drama! The sexy red shoes continue...
Where the hell is Brady?
It should have taken about a half hour for him to walk to town and back. As Tory heads out to walk the beach searching for him, a soft smile plays on his face. He can just imagine the ribbing Brady will give him when they meet coming toward each other.
Instead, he comes face to face with his worst nightmare. There is his husband, lying in the water, bleeding and gasping for breath. Brady, petrified and struggling to stay alive, tries to tell Tory something about a boat. Then his frightened eyes stare into Tory’s as he manages to say “I love you” one last time. He’s gone before Tory can even tell him the same.
The police believe it’s a robbery gone wrong. Tory wonders if it isn’t a hate crime. He swears he’ll find the killer, even if the police give up trying. No one is going to get away with gutting the man he loved, leaving him like trash to die alone. Nothing will stop him from getting justice for Brady.
Not even murder.
Buy For Kindle Buy for NOOK Waiting for it to go live on I-tunes and kobo, which will happen anytime now. Paperback coming in August!
This book can stand alone. However, Tory plays a very important part in the first book of the Avengement Series, Stiletto, so if you haven't read it you may want to. You'll get to know him quite well there and really learn to love him by the time you begin to read Solace. Plus, the main character from Stiletto (Jasmine) returns as a VIP side character in Solace. Here iis the photo and the buy links for Stiletto, too:
The United States Supreme Court has declared the right to marry for LGBT people in ALL states of the USA. This is a major victory for love, equality, and happiness. Many days lately I haven't been proud to be an American. Today is a day I am proud to be a citizen of this country. Today, the Supreme Court decided to side with decency, love, and equality instead of fear, bigotry, and hate.
Today they showed empathy. They showed clear-headed equality.
Thank you to those who voted in favor and got this passed. A country can't stay strong if its citizens are forced to live their lives according to only some people's beliefs and fears, some people's ignorance and lack of understanding.
Today, our highest court said: No more. No more will states be able to discriminate because of a group of loudmouths who want to shove their false beliefs on others. No more will this country stand by and allow hospitals to ban people from their loved ones bedside just because the state has decided they're not worthy of a simple marriage license. No more will we turn our back on someone's right to love simply because we don't happen to like who they're attracted to. No more.
Instead, they voted for love. When a country stands for love, all kinds of positive possibilities shine in the horizon. This isn't the end of the struggle for LGBT rights, but it's a good win. It means those possibilities are ripe to turn into probabilities, and then finally fact and law.
CONGRATULATIONS TO MY LGBT FRIENDS EVERYWHERE ON THIS LANDMARK DECISION!
I have recently become friends with a wonderful writer named Hans Hirschi. He is so considerate and kind it's always a pleasure communicating with him. Plus, the man can write. I've read some of his work and thoroughly enjoyed it. His new book, Willem of the Tafel, is on a blog tour and I'm proud to have my blog as one of the stops.
Please make sure you check everything out. Hans has a guest post here plus there are prizes you can sign up to win at the bottom. Good luck!
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="368"]Willem of the Tafel by Hans M. Hirschi[/caption]
Willem of the Tafel by
Hans M. Hirschi
Published by
Beaten Track Publishing
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, LGBT, Post-Dystopian, Young Adult
194 pages
Release Date: May 28, 2015
The world we know is gone, destroyed by greed and ignorance. On a post-apocalyptic Earth, centuries into the future, few have survived the Great War. Some have taken refuge deep inside a mountain. One of them, Willem, is exiled to the surface... Alone and struggling to survive, Willem embarks on an epic journey, making a discovery that could once again alter the future of humanity. Willem of the Tafel is an epic tale of survival, second chances, hope and undying love.
After a war that almost wiped humanity off the face of the earth, people change, and one of the consequences I envisioned was the abolishment of ‘state’ as we know it, along with a profound change to how humanity will look at faith.
We are currently engaged in an interesting time, where religious minorities are fighting a desperate battle to keep another minority from getting married. The arguments are the same, no matter what country you look at, be it Ireland (where the people recently approved marriage equality with a two thirds majority), the U.S. (where the support in polls is almost as high as in Ireland and where the Supreme Court is expected to approve equality before the end of June), to Germany, where the battle is fought right now. Procreation, children, religious views, are at the core of the debate. What all these arguments don’t take into account is that humanity only knew state sanctioned marriage for, oh, a thousand years? And I think that’s generous. Before that, we’ve gotten married, we mated for eons, simply by declaring to do so. There were no registries, there were no archives. People just decided to do it and that was it. We did just fine, we procreated (from our earliest two ancestors) to the seven plus billion populating the planet today. So marriage and procreation, well, not really, and religion certainly plays no role. Or how many marriages are destroyed around the planet because black and whites can intermarriage these days? The argument is so preposterous it defies being taken seriously. Leaves the welfare of children. The ultimate and final argument that’s thrown into the face of those who approve of equality. I have two things to say: a) kids on the streets, kids abandoned by their parents are always kids to straight parents, any exception would simply validate the rule. b) gays have always had kids and always will, and modern research shows that on average, we make slightly better parents. Why? Because we have to work so hard to become parents, we never take our kids for granted, and we never toss them out into the street because they don’t live up to our expectations. That’s a straight thing…
Therefore, in my version of the future, people won’t get married in any state sanctioned ceremonies. People won’t care. They simply mate and live together. It is the quality of the relationship, the love between two people that will be at the core of society, not a piece of paper.
Hans M Hirschi (b. 1967) has been writing stories ever since he was a child. Adulthood and the demands of corporate life efficiently put an end to his fictional writing for over twenty years. A global executive in training and channel development, Hans has traveled the world and had previously published non-fictional titles.
The birth of his son and the subsequent parental leave provided him with the opportunity to unleash his creative writing once again. With little influence over his brain’s creative workings, he indulges it, going with the flow.
A deeply rooted passion for, faith in a better world, in love, tolerance and diversity are a red thread throughout both his creative and non-fictional work. His novels might best be described as “literary romance, engaging characters and relevant stories that won’t leave you untouched, but hopeful.”
Hans is a proud member of the Swedish Writers’ Union and the Writers’ Center in Sweden.
The giveaway for Willem of the Tafel has 11 randomly chosen winners; 10 will receive $15 Gift codes to the author's shop, but the grand prize winner will receive a free ticket to GayRomLit retreat 2015, in San Diego, CA, happening October 15-18th, 2015. Ticket value is $175, but if you win the grand prize, you're responsible for travel and accommodations. Please notify the author in advance should you win and be unable to attend, so we can choose another recipient to enjoy the prize!
I want to thank everyone who stopped by my blog during the Hop Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Bi phobia. I appreciate you taking the time to do so. I hope you enjoyed the hop this year!
The winners of the four prizes I was giving away have been selected and contacted by email. They are::
Kimberly for Where There's Smoke
Trix for The Performance Series
Lee Todd for There Was A House (Books 1 and 2)
Sula for Gastien (Books 1 and 2)
Congratulations to the winners!
Caddy Rowland is a novelist and painter. Her
social media links follow.
As an indie author who writes LGBT friendly historical family saga/drama and psychological thriller/drama under my name (Caddy Rowland) and gay m/m romance under the pan name Sibley Jacskon, I'm proud to once again be a part of the International Day Against Homophobia,Transphobia, and Biphobia. To find out more information about this national event,(May 17th) visit:http://dayagainsthomophobia.org/ Please also visit the main page for this bloghop at http://hopagainsthomophobia.blogspot.com/
I do have a couple of different prizes to give away. You will find information about them following my post.
While I know there is a lot of gay romance, m/m romance, gay erotica, and LGBT fiction where the focus is on the issues and problems characters face because of being LGBT, I find it sad and disturbing that more books don't feature LGBT characters where their "gayness" isn't the center of the plot.I have felt for awhile that readers are ready and willing to except characters of all gender preferences, but as long as we continue to keep LGBT characters in their separate worlds, LGBT characters will never truly evolve into mainstream fiction.
And that's not only too bad, to me it's unacceptable. I've blogged before about writing LGBT side or main characters and not lumping those books in the category LGBT. There's nothing wrong with the category if their gender preference is the crux of the story. But what if it's a thriller, mystery, fantasy, etc where the character happens to by LGBT but it isn't the main focus of the plot? Why should a book like that be lumped into LGBT? There isn't a "Straight Fiction" category all books with straight main characters have to lump into.
And so I decided not to use the LGBT or gay categories for my books unless it WAS the main thrust of my story. I do talk about my gay characters in some blurbs. I did use keywords so that people looking for books with gay characters would find my books. But, I put my books where they should be. For example, There Was House saga has all four books in various thriller categories and drama. However, a gay teenage boy shares main character status with a straight girl. They're victims of sex trafficking. This plot isn't about him being gay (although he does play up his campiness, and I don't shy away from showing how he is abused.). It's about the horrors of being trafficked and their plot for revenge.
Then I got to test and see if there would be any push-back from readers by my not having listed it as LGBT. It was the ultimate test. A Bookbub ad. I didn't choose "LGBT". I chose Thriller. I wanted my book sent to 2 million subscribers, not a hundred and fifty thousand. I got accepted on the third try. I knew from their stats I should expect between 11,500 to 38,900 downloads. The books was also free. I would have to count on buy through of the other 3 in the series to make profit.
And guess what? I got 60,000 downloads for House of Pleasure, the first of There Was a House . That's almost twice the high end of their average for downloads. Better yet, I made royalties any writer would be proud of that same month from buy-through on the other 3. Royalties which made us happy indeed here at the Rowland home. And the gay boy was introduced in the first book. He was very over the top, in your face gay.
The best part? I've gotten my share of one-stars (it is one story told over 4 books, clearly marked, but some don't seem to read the description), along with my share of 4's and 5's, but not one of the readers complained about the book having a gay main character or his actions, or the scenes. Not one. He isn't even mentioned in the reviews at all. I need no other proof to show me mainstream readers are very ready to accept LGBT characters in all genres without a "special category".
I hope the future brings out more books in all genres with LGBT characters. I hope more writers who write LGBT characters branch out from romance and erotica. I have nothing against romance or erotica. I write it. But people (straight and LGBT) are so much more than their sex lives. We suffer from a lack of LGBT characters in books that aren't romance or erotica or dark stories of gay struggle. (And I love me some good gay fiction filled with struggle.). But we need stories where their gender preference and the ramifications of it aren't the subject matter or the storyline.
That would be true equality in fiction. It's only right.
Most of all, it's time.
To celebrate this event, I will be giving away all six short stories of The Performance Series by Sibley Jackson to one winner, and all six short stories of Where There's Smoke Series by Sibley Jackson to one other winner. These are only available as .mobi or pdf. I will also give away the first two books of The Gastien Series by Caddy Rowland (historical family saga/drama) to one winner and the first two books of There Was a House Saga by Caddy Rowland (psychological thriller/drama) to one other winner. These can be given in .mobi, pdf or epub. You can click on the books here on my blog to read their descriptions. IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED FOR ONE OF THE PRIZES YOU MUST: -LEAVE A COMMENT ABOUT WHY LGBT RIGHTS ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU IN THE COMMENT SECTION OF THIS POST -LEAVE YOUR FIRST NAME, AN EMAIL WHERE I CAN SEND YOUR PRIZE IF SELECTED, THE FORMAT YOU PREFER, AND WHICH PRIZE YOU ARE INTERESTED IN WITH THAT COMMENT -IF IT DOESN'T MATTER WHICH BOOKS YOU WIN, SAY "ANY" THE CONTEST ENDS LATE MAY 24th. I WILL PICK WINNERS WITHIN 3 DAYS AFTER THAT DATE. IF YOU DIDN"T LEAVE AN EMAIL AND THE INFO I REQUESTED, I'LL MOVE ON, PICKING SOMEONE WHO DID. :) Good Luck! Please make sure to visit the other participating blogs to have a chance at more prizes. Caddy Rowland is a novelist and painter. Her social media links follow.
I am thrilled to announce a NEW novel, the first psychological thiller & drama in The Avengement Series. The title is Stiletto, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. As always, my work is GLBT inclusive. (I also always feature an artist somewhere in my stories, as I am also a painter.)
In this new series, victims decide to take the law into their own hands. Vigilante justice at its finest!
The Avengement Series: Sometimes a person gets pushed too far.
Book One: Stiletto
Never underestimate the value of a kick-ass pair of heels. Sexy shoes can make a woman feel beautiful. They can also bring a man to his knees—or worse.
Once John Mickelson slithers out from any blame for the devastation he’s caused with his Ponzi scheme, Jasmine Albertson finds herself barely left breathing. He’s taken everything: her husband, her money, her home, and her child. She can barely see through the haze of pain and hate.
However, one thing is very clear: John Mickelson is going to pay, and she’s going to be the one doing the collecting.
(Note: Although there is an object tying these novels together, each gritty drama is a stand-alone psychological suspense thriller with a complete story arc.)
Karma really can be a bitch—especially when it scores a willing partner.
Right now it is only available as an e-book at the below online retailers. The paperback will be coming to Amazon sometime in April. BUY HERE: Amazon Barnes&NobleI-tunes kobo ALSO, A GREAT BIG THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO DOWNLOADED HOUSE OF PLEASURE FROM THE BOOKBUB AD AND BOUGHT THE OTHER THREE BOOKS! I'M GLAD YOU ENJOYED THE FIRST BOOK ENOUGH TO CONTINUE WITH THE STORY. THIS SAGA WAS A TOUGH ONE TO WRITE, BUT I FELT THE STORY ABOUT SEX-TRAFFICKING VICTIMS WAS AN IMPORTANT ONE TO TELL. THE RESPONSE WAS OVERWHELMING AND I THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART.
Caddy Rowland is a novelist and painter. Her social media links follow.
