Monday 25 October 2010

Elliot's War - Available Now!



Hi everyone!

Elliot's War is available now from Total-e-bound. It's MM, BDSM. It was previously available as part of the Gaymes Anthology - so don't buy it if you've already got the anthology!

Here's the blurb:

The Welsh and the English. Celts and invaders. Captors and prisoners. Victors and slaves. Let the war games begin!

The woodland war is billed by the university as an important exploration of differing cultural traditions within the British Isles. As far as Elliot understands it, the game involves the local Welsh students and those who invade the university from across the border, waging a war in the woodlands that surround the university.

Elliot’s not quite sure how he ended up agreeing to take part in the war game. Nor is he entirely sure how he ended up running through the forest wearing a skimpy toga while being chased by a dozen Celtic warriors—all of them painted a very historically inaccurate shade of blue woad.

For better or worse, Elliot’s about to get an education that wasn’t advertised in the university prospectus.

Just click on the cover to read an excerpt on the TEB website :)

Wednesday 6 October 2010

Ellery's Duty - Available Now!



Hi everyone,

Ellery's Duty is now available from Resplendence Publishing. It's book three in the Thrown to the Lions series and best read in sequence.

You can find out more about it and read an excerpt here.

You can also enter a give away to win a copy here. (If you find out you've won after buying the book, you can convert the win into another book.)

And, before I go, I've got new cover art to share. Mistletoe and Submission will be out in December with TEB:



Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Monday 4 October 2010

Gay-ish Available Now - And Giveaway winners announced!



Gay-ish is now available from Total-e-bound. Click on the cover to find out more and read an excerpt.

Thank you to everyone who entered the hotspot competition. Since there were quite a few entries and people's choices covered pretty much the whole field, one of each title will be given away.

The winners are...

Gaydar: Brenna Zinn
Gay Like You: Mrsmarit
Gay Until Graduation: Orelukjp0
Gay for Pay: Donna
Gay Divorcee: Lisabet Sarai
Gay Man Seeks Same: Courtney
Gay Since Today: Sylwia
Gay Pride: Nancy L
Gay Friendly: Boylove-Addict
Gay Best Friend: Tame
Gayday! Gayday!: Adara
Gay-ish: Devon Rhodes

If you didn't leave an e-mail address on your post, please e-mail kim@kimdare.com (And tell me who you are!). If you gave me an e-mail address, the book will be with you by the end of the day :)

If you didn't win - or even if you did - leave a message on the newsletter and you'll be entered into another give away! And, if you're a member of Good Read's MM Romance group, I'm author of the month over there, drop by and say hi to me on the featured author thread, and you'll be entered into another give away.

Have a great Monday everyone!

Friday 1 October 2010

October News Letter

Coming This Month:

Monday 4th October – Gay-ish

A gay-ish submissive and a very gay dominant. Gay Pride rallies have never been so much fun.

When Langford sees Tayton lurking in the rain opposite a gay pride rally, he couldn’t be more thrilled that the cute guy from the sandwich shop is finally prepared to come out of the closet.

Tayton isn’t so sure he’s all that ready to come out. Technically, he’s not even sure he’s entirely gay—even if he has had a crush on Langford for months.

Can a man who’s not even sure he’s gay really find happiness with a man who’s never been in the closet?

Wednesday 6th October – Ellery’s Duty

As a well respected dominant, Ellery has been watching the subs from the local leather bars disappear into the lions’ den for far too long, and he’s not convinced that everything is as fine as they all claim it is. He’s determined to find out what really happens in there. If the only way he can do that is to volunteer to be thrown to the lions himself, so be it.

Kefir’s never worked out what the other lions find so interesting about the human sacrifices who visit their den, but this new man is unlike any other human he’s ever met, and Kefir’s captivated. Can the smallest lion in the pride claim a man like Ellery as his pet—is that even the way Kefir wants to think of his human mate?

Monday 26th October – Elliot’s War (Stand Alone)

The Welsh and the English. Celts and invaders. Captors and prisoners. Victors and slaves. Let the war games begin!

The woodland war is billed by the university as an important exploration of differing cultural traditions within the British Isles. As far as Elliot understands it, the game involves the local Welsh students and those that invade the University from across the border, waging a war in the woodlands that surround the university.

Elliot’s not quite sure how he ended up agreeing to take part in the war game. Nor is he entirely sure how he ended up running through the forest wearing a skimpy toga and being chased by a dozen Celtic warriors—all of them painted a very historically inaccurate shade of blue woad.

For better or worse, Elliot’s about to get an education that wasn’t advertised in the university prospectus.

Flash Back:

In case you missed them last month’s releases were:















And if we scroll back a whole year, September 2009’s release was:
















News:

I’ve been busy pencilling in new books for 2011 and can no report that I’ve now completely filled my calendar! I have 23 e-books due to be released by Total-e-bound and Resplendence Publishing.

Competitions:

Everyone who leaves a comment on this post will be entered into a draw to win one of my e-books (or an IOU for a future e-book). Last month’s winner was Cathy M. Please e-mail me at kim@kimdare.com to let me know which book you’d like to receive. This month’s winner will be announced in next month’s newsletter.

I’m also running a giveaway for some of my G-A-Y Lust Bites. It’s open until October 3rd. Check it out here.

Works in progress

Current editing projects:

Last months projects took longer than I expected, so I’m just putting the finishing touches to Perfect Timing 6 at the moment.

The original story I hoped to submit for this slot, the one I mentioned in last months newsletter, that I wrote two years ago, ended up having so many issues, I had to shelve it. I very rarely shelve stories, so that alone probably tells you how bad it was!

I'll be submitting the story that's replacing it to submit within the next few days. It's called The Stroke of Twelve. Here’s the blurb as it currently stands:

On the stroke of twelve Devon belongs to him for one hour. One hour that will change the course of his life forever.

Free of responsibility and provided with an independent income, Devon Ashford floats through life thinking only of where the next party might be. When a note orders Devon to present himself at Templeton, Crawford & Associates at noon on Wednesday, he’s curious enough and bored enough to follow the order.

He doesn’t know what to expect when he arrives, but it’s not to be told that on the stroke of twelve, he’ll belong to the stern man on the other side of the desk for exactly one hour. He doesn’t expect anyone to command him to strip for an inspection. Nor does he expect to follow the orders of a stranger. He certainly doesn’t imagine he could like doing that enough to go back for more.

Whatever he expects, Devon’s about to discover that what happens at the stroke of twelve could change the course of his life forever.


Next I’ll be editing Cameron’s Pride – the fourth and last book in the thrown to the Lion’s series. It should be hitting my editor’s in box the middle of this month.

After that, I’m on to Collared book 3 – it’s an MM short novel. Following on from that will be Rawlings Men 5 – an MM short novella. Hopefully this will be submitted by the end of the month.

Current writing projects:

The first draft of Cameron’s Pride is almost finished. Collared Book 3 needs about 15k added to it to bring it to the right length. Then, I’m going to tackle Rawlings Men book 5. Ideally I’ll have finished this and moved on to Pack Discipline book 3 by the end of the month.

Real Life:

The crocheting is going well…

The full size patchwork afghan made out of solid granny squares with black boarders is progressing nicely. This is about half of it. I have another 72 squares in 18 colours to go:




The pink lap blanket is done:



And I’ve started a red blanket of yet indeterminate size:



Free Short Story:

The main feedback I received from last month’s newsletter was that lots of people would like a short story attached to it.

I’ve asked some friends to pick photos for me to use as inspiration points. Each month, I’ll post one of those photos and the story I wrote after seeing it. Some of the stories will catch up with characters from books I’ve already written, others will give you a sneak preview into the lives of those whose books haven’t hit the shelf yet – others will stand entirely alone.

The first pic was picked by Jase, who I think a lot of you will know from the Goodreads MM Romance group. He’s an amazing proof reader and the sweetest guy you’ll ever meet – and he also has a knack for finding some really great photos too!




Temptation.

Kallias Myron brushed aside the thick curtain of leaves that hung down from the lowest branch of the old, twisted oak. He gasped as his gaze fell on the apparently slumbering god. Ducking under the bough, he took another cautious step forward.

The brambles growing along the edge of the clearing caught at his toga, tearing the pure white fabric. Kallias barely noticed. A glance over his shoulder, and he saw the last few priests that made up the procession through the forest, disappear from view.

It wouldn’t be long before they reached the Goddess Artemis’ temple, before Kallias would be missed from among the initiates. There wasn’t another moment to waste. Kallias stepped into the clearing.

His feet were bare, as were those of all the men who’d been called to serve the goddess at the temple. His soles made no sound as he approached the sleeping figure. Kneeling as close as he dared to the god’s side, Kallias ran his eyes over the slumbering form, from his horns down to his toes and back again. Stretched out on the rocky outcrop, he was the most perfect thing Kallias had ever seen.

The pipes he’d so often heard being played as he made his daily trek from the initiates’ lodgings to the temple on the other side of the forest, lay silent at Pan’s side. Without thinking, Kallias reached and ran his fingertips along the instrument, stroking the same surface the god’s lips must have caressed hundreds of times.

Kallias’ hands weren’t his own to command right then. They appeared to believe they had permission to touch whatever they pleased. No sooner had they left the pipes, than his fingers reached towards the dark, curled horns that graced the deity’s head.

At the last moment, Kallias snatched his hand away. His teeth nipped at his bottom lip. His other hand clenched around the folds of his toga as he fought against a temptation stronger than any he’d known in all his eighteen years.

The thin white fabric moved against his body and rubbed against his cock. His shaft had hardened at the very sight of Pan—the fabric turned damp and translucent with pre-cum as it brushed against the head.

Kallias’ tongue snuck out and lapped at his lips. Dragging his eyes away from the horned god for the briefest possible moment, he looked over his shoulder once more. No one was there, but they would be soon.

Kallias’ hand left his side once more. It was barely an inch away from the god’s horns when he lost his confidence. All those nights spent dreaming of a moment when he might finally come face to face with the object of his every fantasy, and now that he had his chance…

The initiate closed his eyes for a moment, before looking regretfully back to Pan’s face. Now that he had his chance—

The god’s eyes were open! Fear spiked inside Kallias. He tried to pull away and scramble back. He was too slow. Pan’s hand wrapped around his wrist and tugged him forward. A cry escaped from Kallias’ throat as he tumbled against the god’s body.

His other hand landed on Pan’s chest, sliding along warm flesh and brushing against the dark hairs that decorated the larger man’s skin.

Wide eyed, Kallias looked up and met the horned god’s gaze. Deep brown eyes stared back at him. A satisfied smile danced around the deity’s mouth. A sudden movement had Kallias laying on his back in the lush grass next to the rocky outcrop. He had barely hit the ground before Pan pounced.

As the larger man’s body covered his, Kallias’ free hand moved towards Pan’s shoulder, but even Kallias himself didn’t know if he wanted to drive him away or draw him closer.

He wasn’t given the chance to discover what he might have done. The god’s hand wrapped around that wrist too, and pinned it to the ground on the other side of Kallias’ head.

“I’m sorry,” Kallias rushed out. “I didn’t mean to…” To spy on you? To creep to your side and attempt to fondle you in your sleep? What could he really say? “I—”

Suddenly, no further explanation was needed. No other words were possible. Pan’s lips covered his.

The god’s grip tightened around both Kallias’ wrists as Pan’s tongue demanded entry into his mouth. With a startled gasp, Kallias parted his lips. A growl burst from the god’s throat, full of triumph and desire. His body pressed Kallias down against the warm grass.

As the god’s hips thrust forward, Kallias felt Pan’s erection rub against his thigh. Instincts the initiate had never realised he possessed took hold of him. He arched his back, pressing his body up against the other man’s more muscular frame.

His feet kicked against the grass. The folds of his toga slid aside. Pan’s chest rubbed against his torso, dark hairs caressing his fairer skin with every motion. Kallias whimpered and struggled to free his hands from the other man’s grasp, desperate to be able to reach out and touch the form he’d glimpsed through the forest so many times.

Without any warning, Pan suddenly released him. The god pulled away. Panic rushing through his veins, Kallias scrambled to sit up, to catch hold of him and drag him back.

“Please—!” That one word was all he managed, before Pan’s touch returned to his skin. Kallias barely had time to run his eyes down the god’s body, before he found himself being rolled roughly onto his stomach.

His cock slid against the blades of sun-warmed grass as Pan pushed him down once more. Relief rushed through Kallias as he realised that the older man wasn’t going to desert him for his foolishness in tussling with him before. Kallias made no complaint as the god’s hands covered his again and Pan’s fingers wound through his.

One curled horn brushed against his hair as Pan dipped his head and brought his lips to Kallias’ ear.

“I knew you would come to find me,” he whispered.

Kallias drew a shaky breath into his lungs. “I…Your music. When I didn’t hear you I…I thought…I thought you might be hurt…”

Pan laughed, a deep, joyous sound that seemed to take over the entire forest.

Kallias felt the heat rush to his cheeks.

* * * * * * * * * *

Pan, the great horned God of Hunting and Music, stared down at the boy’s profile as the younger man blushed very prettily for his soon to be lover.

“You sought me out because you thought I might be hurt?” he teased. “Was that the only reason?”

The boy fidgeted under Pan’s hold on him, but he didn’t try to pull away. He seemed to be far more inclined to enjoy being held down. Pan grinned as he helpfully tightened his grip on him, very willing to indulge that particular desire.

“I wanted…” The boy trailed off, so innocent he didn’t even seem to know the right words for what he sought.

An extra jolt of desire rushed through Pan’s body as all his suspicions were confirmed. The boy really was as innocent as the virgin goddess demanded her initiates should be. “You wanted to be trapped beneath me, just as you are now,” he suggested. “Didn’t you…?”

“Kallias,” the boy filled in for him.

The word was fractured by a sigh as Pan rocked his hips forward, thrusting his cock against Kallias’ arse through the scant barrier of his toga.

Releasing the mortal’s hand for a brief moment, Pan reached down between them and yanked the material aside.

Kallias let out a startled noise as the fabric tore, but the sound quickly morphed into a whimper as Pan’s shaft settled snugly between the young man’s buttocks.

The initiate pushed back, tight round muscles tensing and relaxing against Pan’s cock as his body made demands his mind didn’t even seem to understand.

A frustrated mew escaped from the younger man. Finally, he managed to nod in answer to Pan’s original question. Yes. This was what he’d wanted.

Reaching towards to the stones where he’d been resting as he waited for Kallias to find him, Pan caught up the small bottle of oil he’d tucked away there. Smearing some onto his fingers, he slid his hand down between their bodies once more. The digits slipped between the younger man’s buttocks, quickly finding his hole.

Kallias jerked away from the seemingly unexpected contact, but only for a moment. No matter how innocent they tried to keep the servants of Artemis, it was impossible to keep a man ignorant of his own body forever—especially when there was a god living in the forest who was more than happy to introduce him to the pleasures that could be found in a lover’s caress.

With the young man’s cheek resting on the ground, his face was turned to the side. Pan studied Kallias’ profile as the younger man’s confusion gave way to understanding. In its turn, knowledge quickly yielded the floor to pleasure, as Pan’s fingers slid inside him and began to show the far less experienced man exactly why he would enjoy being touched that way.

Unexpected pleasure rushed through Pan too, as he laid claim to a part of the initiate’s mind that had never been explored before.

The boy was hardly the first man who’d lain with him in those woods, he wasn’t even the first servant of Artemis to do so. But, as he stared down at him, it was harder than ever for Pan to ignore the fact Kallias was the first man who’d called to anything more than his cock.

Pan’s fingers stilled as he looked down at the young mortal. Kallias was the first man he’d ever needed to have pressed down against the grass that carpeted the forest floor. The first man in years who’d made it all too easy for Pan to forget Artemis’ warnings on what would happen to him if he tried to corrupt another of her followers.

Kallias moaned in pleasure as he push back around his digits, encouraging him to thrust them deeper inside him, until it was obvious that Pan was no longer the only man who needed to feel far more than mere fingers buried inside the smaller man.

Taking his hand away, Pan quickly slicked his shaft with extra oil.

Kallias looked frantically over his shoulder, as if scared that his lover was going to disappear if he took his eyes off him. As if any man would ever be able to turn away from such a sight!

Pan let his cock slide against the dip between Kallias’ buttocks as he once more covered the boy’s body with his own. As the tip of his shaft pressed against his hole for the first time, the boy tensed.

Against all usual practice, Pan found himself leaning down to press a reassuring kiss on to his shoulder. “Hush, you’ll be fine.”

He rocked his lips forward, just far enough to slide the tip of his cock past the tight ring of muscle.

Kallias bowed his head towards the ground as he gasped. His hands clenched around the long blades of grass, tearing several up by the roots. Lowering his own head once more, Pan rubbed his cheek against the boy’s fair skin. Inhaling deeply, he filled his senses with the younger man’s scent.

A touch of pain flashed through the boy’s eyes as Kallias looked over his shoulder at him once more. A protective urge he’d never felt before, rushed through Pan in response.

“It will pass. Just relax for me,” he coaxed, his voice a strange mixture of rough desire and gentle care.

Very slowly, the mortal boy seemed to accept his god’s presence within him. Pan rocked his hips very carefully. Kallias murmured his pleasure as he slowly slid inside him to the hilt.

Tight heat surrounded Pan’s shaft as he pulled back and thrust forward again. Kallias pressed back against him. Another gasp of pleasure escaped from the younger man.

Pan tightened his grip on the initiate’s hands as he set a rhythm and their bodies began to move together in earnest. Each thrust sent a wave of pure bliss rushing through him, unlike anything Pan had ever known. And the sounds of Kallias’ own joy only increased the god’s pleasure, until he finally felt the boy jerk beneath him.

Kallias cried out. A moment later, Pan let out a louder, rougher yell as he spilled inside the younger man. Pure ecstasy made his head spin and his mind go blank. Collapsing forward, he pinned the mortal down with his entire body.

As they both gasped for breath, their bodies rubbed together. With any other man, Pan knew he’d have quickly pulled away and reached for his pipes, or perhaps for another lover if one were available.

Lacking interest in anything other than Kallias, he merely pressed a tender, sleepy kiss against the mortal’s shoulder.

“I warned you what would happen if you took another of my followers!”

Pulling away from the boy, Pan scrambled to his feet as he spun around to face his accuser. Half crouched on the forest floor, he instinctively blocked the path between the Goddess Artemis and Kallias.

“Was it worth what it will cost you?” the goddess demanded as she took in every detail of the scene before her. The forest breeze whipped at her hair and her toga, sending both streaming around her. “A tumble on the forest floor with a boy you will cast aside the moment—”

“No!” Pan bit out. There would be no casting aside. There would be no returning Kallias to his goddess.

“No?” Artemis asked. Her eyes narrowed slightly. She tilted her head to one side as she studied Pan and seemed to look not just at him, but straight into him as well. Then, she laughed.

Pan rose up to his full height before her, willing to be damned to any level of hell at Artemis’ disposal rather than appear to be cowering before her like a mere mortal. Even as anger rushed through him, he was careful to stay between her and Kallias, unwilling to let the goddess’ wrath fall on him.

“He’s innocent,” he said.

“He was a complete innocent until he stumbled into your path,” she reminded him. “As much a virgin as any of my followers are and—”

“He’s not your follower anymore,” Pan growled, before he could think better of it.

“Oh, and who does he follow now?” she asked, with ominous calm.

“Me,” Pan said, stepping forward. “Kallias will follow me. He’ll worship me.”

The horned god met Artemis’ gaze and held it. Kallias was his, and for the first time in his life, Pan was willing to fight to keep one of the humans he’d lain with.

Artemis’ laughter filled the forest air once more. “Pan, tamed at last, and by little more than an innocent boy.”

Fresh fury rushed through Pan’s veins. But he held it in check. He had someone other than himself to think of now.

Artemis smiled. “Very well, Pan—he’s of little use to me now. You may keep him. If nothing else, perhaps he will distract you and keep you away from the other initiates for a little while.”

The wind swirled through the forest, disturbing every leaf and branch as the goddess vanished from sight.

Pan had no reason to trust her. He spun around, half expecting Kallias to have disappeared with her. He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the boy still sitting on the trampled grass, his toga askew and stained by his pleasure.

“What did the goddess mean when she laughed?” the boy asked softly, as his big blue eyes blinked up at his god.

Pan glanced back at where the goddess had stood as he lowered himself to sit on the grass next to him. “She thinks I’ve fallen in love with you,” he said, far more softly than he’d intended.

Kallias slowly nodded his understanding. “And you’re angry because she was wrong?”

Pan had to close his eyes for a moment, to rally his courage in the face of a mere mortal, before he could find an answer for him. “No,” he finally admitted. “I was angry because she was right.”

The younger man glanced up at him through the golden blond strands that had fallen into his eyes. A tiny smile crept to his lips. He dropped his gaze, but the smile stayed. Something that looked suspiciously like relief flashed across his face as he stared down at the grass between them.

“From the first time I saw you through the trees…And when I heard your music…I…” he trailed off, a blush rushing to his cheeks once more, at his daring in saying even those half sentences.

A few seconds of silence passed before he spoke again.

“What the goddess called me—a virgin—that means someone who has never…?” Kallias waved a hand towards the ground where they had lain together.

“Yes,” Pan said, not sure what other confessions may escape if he attempted a longer answer.

“And once, that is enough to mean I am no longer a…?” the young mortal nibbled at his bottom lip as he trailed off.

“Yes.”

Kallias seemed to think about that for a long time. His fingers tangled in the long grass. “You’re sure?”

“Yes,” Pan said again, unable to tell from the boy’s expression what he thought of that, if he regretted losing what his goddess had valued so highly.

“You don’t think that, perhaps, we should again,” Kallias finally said. “Just to be sure I am no longer…no longer of interest to the goddess?”

Pan grinned as he realised the boy’s cock was rising once more and he was already eager to worship his new god again.

Kallias smiled shyly back at Pan as the horned god granted his new follower’s first and most fervent prayer. It couldn’t hurt to be sure…

The End!

Please don't post this story elsewhere. If you want a copy in PDF, please e-mail me at kim@kimdare.com with Temptation in the subject line, all I ask is that you don't pass it on to anyone else. Thank you.

November's pic was chosen by the queen of the giveaways, the fantastic Chris from the Stumbling Over Chaos blog. Her choice tempted two of the characters from one of the G-A-Y books to come out to play and give us a glimpse into their lives a couple of months after their book ended, but you'll have to check back next month to find out which guys.

And that’s it for this month!

Don’t forget to leave a comment to be entered into the draw to win a free e-book.

Take care,

Kim Dare
Kink, love and a happy ending. Do you Dare?