Monday 30 December 2013

In 2013 I...

Hello everyone :)

I’ve been working on this blog post for a few days, trying to work out what to say about 2013. I want to write something really cheerful and upbeat, but in all honesty, it’s been a bugger of a year with one thing and another.

Now, first things first. Contrary to what I’ve heard on the internet at various points through the year – I’m not giving up writing. I don’t have writer’s block. I’m not burned out.

It is true that, over the last year, I haven’t been able to publish at anywhere near my usual volume. However, that’s had less to do with my ability/willingness to write, and more to do with my needing to temporarily divert my energy into dealing with other things.

As I’ve mentioned on the blog before, I have ME/CFS. Energy is something that is always in short supply and this year has brought some special challenges.

I don’t know how many people reading this are familiar with Spoon Theory. (There’s a great write up on it here. If you don’t want to read it to understand a stranger’s blog post, that’s fair enough, but I’d really encourage you to read it if you know anyone in real life who is dealing with a condition that involves chronic pain or fatigue.)

Over the past year, I’ve had very few spoons to use on writing. Part of this is simply the nature of things. When you have ME there are days, weeks and months where spoons are simply in very short supply.

There has also been something of a "return to reality" element to 2013 for me. You see, for the last few years, I was taking a cocktail of medications to try to manage my ME/CFS and con some extra spoons out of the universe. In February this year, the combined side effects of the various medications finally became completely unmanageable. I had to stop taking all my meds. Most of my limited supply of spoons has been spent dealing with the fall out form that and, in some way re-paying all those spoons I was so chuffed to have managed to con out of the universe.

I’ll be honest, most days this year, getting out of bed used up pretty much every spoon I had. Doing anything beyond that was, quite simply, impossible.

So, as you might have guessed by this point, this year’s recap is slightly different to those I’ve done in previous years. It’s less about celebrating big successes and more about taking cheerfulness as and where I find it. Here goes…

In 2013 I…

* Released eight (short) e-books through various e-publishers. (Although, in the interests of full disclosure, all of them were either submitted, or at least started, before 2013 began.)

* Came off four highly addictive medications in quick succession. (Not fun, but happily now in the past!)

*Regained some of my tolerance for the kind of pain that not being on pain meds involves. (Again, not a fun process, but I think the worst has past.)

* Lost half the weight I put on while I’d been taking those meds.

* Re-read my entire backlist twice. (I originally needed to do this because, as a side effect of one of the meds, my memory of writing some of my stories isn’t as complete as it should be. However, the re-reading has proved to be useful—it’s allowed me to assess which stories need to be significantly altered if I want to re-release them as self pubs in the future. That’s a good thing.)

* Released my first self published e-book. (This one is a genuine highlight for me. I’m really proud of that book!)

So, all in all, I guess there are quite a few silver linings there. And, the really good news is, 2013 is just about over!

2014 is going to be a much better year. More about that, my plans for 2014, and possibly a bit about New Year’s Resolutions, in the next post.

*Hugs*

Kim Dare

Tuesday 19 November 2013

Lots of News...

Hello :)

I seem to be all over the place at the moment.

I have a new book out with Amber Allure which you can check out here...


http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/KQ_MakingItCount.html


I've been interviewed on the UK Gay Romance Blog. You can check that out here.

I'm also blogging as part of the Boy In Our Books Blog BDSM week which you can check out here...
(This one contains an ongoing giveaway as well.)


http://boysinourbooks.com/2013/11/19/bdsm-week-guest-post-giveaway-kim-dare/


In the real world I'm also about 2/3 of the way through Worth a Shot, the second story in the FIT Guys series, which started with Worth Waiting For.

Hope everyone is having a great week.

*Hugs*

Kim.

Thursday 31 October 2013

Worth Waiting For - with buy links :)




You can also find it on Goodreads, if you want to hear what other readers think first :)

Tuesday 22 October 2013

Worth Waiting For - Available Now!


Worth Waiting For had reached All Romance E-books

And Amazon!

(Smashwords is still a work in progress, lol)

Monday 7 October 2013

Turning a Corner


Sing choirs of angels!

It's been a bugger of a year with one thing and another, but I think I've finally turned a corner.

After a couple of false starts, I'm finally on the verge of releasing my first ever self published title!

I've been working on this story off and on since 2009. It's now with the proofer, and it should be ready to come out within the next month.

It's Male/Male, BDSM, Erotic Romance. At 45k it's the longest one I've released for a while, it's also the start of a new series called FIT Guys - set in the Falconer Institute of Training.

I have a cover, created by the lovely Kris Norris... 




And here's the blurb...


When Colby earned a swimming scholarship to the Falcon Institute of Training, he expected to spend all his time either training or studying, but that was before he looked out of his living room window and straight into the dance studio opposite.

It’s taken Noah years, but he’s finally got his life in order. He teaches dance classes all day, hits the clubs every night and he’s not looking for complications—especially not in the form of overly-innocent swimmers who like to spy on him from across the street.

The first time Colby approaches him, Noah has no trouble turning him away. It’s only when Colby returns years later, to collect on a casually delivered promise, that Noah finds himself incapable of keeping Colby locked out of his carefully re-constructed life.

Their kinks may match up perfectly, but their lives and their pasts couldn’t be more different.Years have passed, but will what they have together turn out to be worth waiting for?

Author note: This story contains ***strictly non-sexual*** flashbacks to when one character was under 18.

More news hopefully coming soon!

*Hugs*


 

Kim Dare

Sunday 11 August 2013

Different - Available Now


Hi Everyone,

Different is now available from Amber Allure. It's a short M/M, BDSM stand alone.

Here's the blurb:

Matthew and Stuart have been dating for over five months and Stuart thinks things are going well — right up until the moment Matthew suggests that they try something different — the kind of different that involves bondage, spanking and leather.

Matthew’s been building up to making this suggestion for weeks, dropping subtle hints and hoping Stuart won’t completely freak out at the mention of kink. Now, with his desires out in the open, all Matthew can do is hope that introducing something different will make their relationship perfect rather than destroy it completely.

And a quick excerpt:

...“Stuart?” 

“Yes?” Stuart turned to the next page in his menu, but he didn’t look up.

For a moment, Matthew considered making a bland little comment about the weather but, no. They’d been dating seriously for over five months. There was waiting for the right moment, and then there was acting like a coward and completely avoiding the issue.

He lined the words up carefully in his mind, determined that they would come out sounding entirely casual. “How do you feel about us doing something different one night?”

Stuart glanced up from the menu. “Different?”

Matthew nodded and tried to look as if they were talking about nothing more interesting than the annoying new computer system they’d installed in the car dealership where he worked.

Stuart glanced across the restaurant table at Matthew. His expression was entirely blank, as if he wasn’t familiar with the word. “Any particular kind of different?”

The kind where I tie you up and spank you. Matthew set aside his menu and took a sip from his glass of wine and decided that probably wasn’t the best response. “Whatever kind you want to answer about,” he suggested instead.

Stuart tilted his head slightly to one side, but if he thought Matthew had lost his mind, he didn’t seem unduly concerned by the possibility. “Well… I can’t claim to be in a rush to try nude bungee over the Severn. On the other hand, there’s a sushi place that I wouldn’t mind trying out if the raw fish thing doesn’t bother you. How different do you want to get?”

Matthew listened politely until Stuart ran out of words. “What about—”

“Good evening, gentlemen. Are you ready to order?”

Matthew ground his teeth together. He’d never been more tempted to tell a waiter to leap off a cliff in his life—and that included the guy wearing a “One man, one woman. One definition of marriage.” badge, who’d served him at a business lunch a few weeks ago.

Stuart caught his eye and Matthew motioned for him to order first.

“Sounds good, I’ll have the same,” Matthew said when the waiter finally turned to him. Did his words sound rushed? Had it been obvious he wanted to get rid of the waiter? Would Stuart realise they were discussing something really important to him? God help him, he was losing the plot.

Matthew forced a smile. “Thanks.” He handed the menu to the waiter and waited impatiently until the man was out of earshot.

As soon as they were alone, Matthew leaned forward and set one elbow on the table. “A minute ago—”

“You don’t usually eat—” Stuart began.

Silence descended, as each of them waited to see if the other would push forward with his sentence.

Eventually Stuart nodded for Matthew to go ahead. “Before the waiter came over,” Matthew said, carefully. “We were talking about trying something different.”

Stuart nodded, just once. Did he look tense or just bored? And when the hell had Matthew stopped being able to tell the difference between the two?

Matthew took a deep breath. “What do you think about the kind of ‘different’ that involves handcuffs or a paddle?”...

You can find the book here.

***

In other news, the reason I haven't been blogging much is because I've been working a few different things out, and making some decisions about where I, and my writing, needs to go from here.

Hopefully I'll have answers to those questions and some news for everyone soon.

*Hugs*

Kim Dare

Wednesday 10 July 2013

Cover Art and Guest Blog

Hi Everyone,

Virgin Territory was one of the best sellers on All Romance E-books during the first half of this year! I'm blogging about that over on the ARe cafe here. You can see the top ten best sellers here.

I also have a cover for Different, which will be released by Amber Allure on August 11th.


Here's the blurb for Different, in case you missed it before :)

Matthew and Stuart have been dating for over five months and Stuart thinks things are going well — right up until the moment Matthew suggests that they try something different — the kind of different that involves bondage, spanking and leather.

Matthew’s been building up to making this suggestion for weeks, dropping subtle hints and hoping Stuart won’t completely freak out at the mention of kink. Now, with his desires out in the open, all Matthew can do is hope that introducing something different will make their relationship perfect rather than destroy it completely.

*Hugs*

Kim Dare

Monday 1 July 2013

No news is good news - Maybe?

Hi Everyone!

The start of a new month and for once, I’m reasonably organised and ready to do my “what’s happening this month” post. So, it turns out that what’s happening this month is not a lot.

I don’t have any new releases scheduled. I don’t have any submissions scheduled. It feels distinctly unnatural.

There is a probably guest blog post coming up, possibly on the 8th, but that hasn’t been finalised yet.

I’m plodding my way through the first draft of the new novel. I’m at the 24k mark at the moment. I expect the first draft to end up about 60k. (And the finished story to be 75k, since I tend to under write.)

I’m aiming to finish the first draft by the middle of July – not because it’s a particularly logical or feasible deadline. In fact, I’m half sure it’s a very silly deadline. But, I’ll turn 30 around the middle of the month, so it would be nice to have finished the first draft by then. The back up deadline is the end of the month at the latest.

I don’t want to jinx it, but so far, I’m quietly chuffed with how it’s going. The characters are doing what they should be doing. One's a jerk, but he's supposed to be during the bit I'm writing at the moment. The other character is very frustrated, but dito for that being exactly what he should be feeling right now, lol.

And that's it, I guess.

Have a good July everyone!

*Hugs*

Kim.

Monday 24 June 2013

Skin

Hi everyone,

Before I forget, I've been blogging elsewhere during the last week - my post "Acceptance" is up on the All Romance E-books Cafe. You can check it out here, if you feel inclined.

I also want to take a moment to thank everyone who commented on last week's post, both here and on Goodreads. Your support means a hell of a lot to me. I'm about 18k into the first draft of that story I mentioned. So far, so good.

The topic I want to talk about here today is a bit different. If you read blogs, tweet, follow readers groups or well, pretty much anything like that, you'll already know that, every so often a writer will react publicly to a review and the world will pretty much implode around them.

The advice they're given by readers, bloggers, reviewers, other writers etc is pretty consistent.

1. Don't respond to individual reviews. Cool - good advice.

2. Grow a thicker skin. Here's where I'm not so sure the advice is always good.

Does growing a thicker skin work for some writers? Probably. And if it works for you, that's great, but it's not the only way to deal with it.

I think it's far more sensible to react, to feel, to care. I don't have a thick skin. I don't want to have a thick skin. I get upset about bad reviews, annoyed with illogical ones, thrilled with the positive ones. I've had reviews that made me grin like an idiot and others that inspire me to make sarcastic comments out loud at the computer screen. I've had more than a few that had me in tears.

There aren't many words I loathe, but one of them is BDSM-lite. To my mind its patronising and minimising, the new incarnation of The One True Way. It puts my back up every time I hear it, whether its directed at one of my stories, or someone else's story, to someone's real life activities.

For a long time, I took the general advice. I tried to develop a thicker skin about it. I tried to think nice polite thoughts every time the term cropped up. But it all seems so artificial, so pointless to block out emotions that way. The usual advice seems to be to become a robot or a rhino - neither of which are known as being particularly great writers.

Emotions aren't a bad thing, they aren't a weakness - especially not for a writer. Why not accept whatever the review makes you feel, own it, pin point the specifics and use it in your next story?

Whatever emotions a review inspires in you, there's probably going to be a character in a future story where it will come in useful.

To use BDSM-lite as an example again, there are plenty of people in the real world BDSM clubs who think that anyone whose kinks are different to their own aren't doing it right - come to that, there are people in all walks of life who think that their way is the only way to do things. It's a reality that my characters will have to face at various points in different stories. How do they feel in that situation - not in general but specifically, accurately, in detail? Why run away from knowing that answer?

Am I saying that it's psychologically healthy to go through a roller coaster of emotions every time you get a flurry of new reviews? Probably not. But, to be honest, there are a hell of a lot of things about being a writer which don't promote sanity.

Am I saying that writers have to open up to the emotions inspired by reviews? Of course not. I just want to put it out there that there are options that writers shouldn't be ashamed of wanting to explore.

Oh, and just for the record, in case there is any confusion on the matter, am I saying that I hate a word, therefore people shouldn't use it? Definitely not. I grew out of thinking the world should adapt itself to my wishes when I was a toddler, regressing now would be more trouble than it's worth...

Okay. Enough babbling. Have a great week all :)

*hugs*

Kim

Monday 17 June 2013

Five Years On...

Hello all,

(I've been debating about writing this post, unsure if people will take it the wrong way, but here goes anyway.)

This weekend I celebrated an anniversary of a sort. It's 5 years since I sent my first story to Total-e-bound. It was the first story I ever had accepted. It's what set everything else in motion. I can still remember how excited I was.

Fast forward to today and, in some ways, nothing has changed. I still love writing. I still have more stories in mind than I have the time/energy to write. I still love my genre.

In other ways things have changed. Rather than one publisher, I have five (six if you count the GR MM Romance group event, which is becoming more publisher-like as the years go by). While in some ways this is great, in other ways not so much, because each publisher has its own house style and these seem to have both diverged and become more stringent with each year that goes by, which brings its own complications.

Over the last seven months, I've written at least one story for each of the six publishers. So, six different house styles, six different sets of rules. I just worked it out and between the different publishers, there have been 17 different people editing / proofing those stories. 17 people with different opinions on what I'm doing wrong and should do differently.

Now, I'm the first to admit that my writing isn't perfect. There are lots of things I could do better, things that I'm learning how to do better with each story. But the fact that there are so many different, divergent opinions is hard to deal with. It's reached a point where I sit down to write and the thought process goes like this...

*writes a paragraph*
Damn. Publisher A doesn't like that sentence structure. Must avoid simultaneous actions.
*rewrites it*
Hang on. This story isn't going to publisher A, it's going to publisher B. They don't mind simultaneous actions, but they don't like was -ings.
*rewrites it again*
And so on, for every paragraph, for every story.

I think at first, I was okay with this, or at least I convinced myself that I would one day find a way to please everyone. Now, I accept that there's no way to do that when some of the publishers have diametrically opposing rules. There's no chance of me ever writing something that will please everyone or being able to settle into a steady style. 


Just to be clear - Do I think the publishers are doing something wrong here? No. It's just the way things are. I'm not saying it should change at all, and certainly not for my convenience,

However, the fact remains that, with so many contradictory opinions, quite often from people who I don't know well enough to really trust, I've lost sight of my own opinion on, well, pretty much everything to do with writing. I reached breaking point.

After five years, I've realised that something has to change.

So, in the last week or so I've started a new project. Its a full length novel and for the first time in five years... it's not intended for a publisher. 


So, no deadlines, no prescriptive house style I need to follow. I can just write. It's impossible to describe just how close to bliss the feeling is.

I'm not entirely sure what this means for where my writing will go in the future, but I feel more optimistic than I have for quite a long time.


I think things might actually turn out okay...

*Hugs*

Kim

Wednesday 12 June 2013

Finally!

Hi Everyone,

There are some books that are a joy to work on. They almost seem to want to write themselves. You start at the begining of the first draft, write straight through to the end, edit it without to many problems and send it off to a publisher.

Then there are the other kind of stories. The ones that don't want to be written.

Way back near the begining of 2009 I had an idea for a short story. It was going to be 2000 words long and given away as a freebie. I wrote it, but it didn't really work. I guessed it needed to be longer. I set it aside to re-write as a 15,000 story.

That version didn't work either. Maybe it still wasn't long enough. I re-wrote it as a 30,000 word version. No luck. Maybe I'd gone too far the other way. I changed things around and cut it down to 20,000 words.

The damn thing still didn't work. By this point, I was far from impressed. I could probably have written a full length novel in the time I'd spent potching with this story.

Finally, this year, I decide the only thing to do is take the idea and completely re-write it from scratch. That's what I did - three times. Finally, after changing the title, the character names and most of the plot, I think I have a version of the original idea that works.

That story is now called Different, and will be re-released as a 13,000 word story with Amber Allure on 11th August 2013.


Here's the blurb:

Matthew and Stuart have been dating for over five months and Stuart thinks things are going well — right up until the moment Matthew suggests that they try something different — the kind of different that involves bondage, spanking and leather.

Matthew’s been building up to making this suggestion for weeks, dropping subtle hints and hoping Stuart won’t completely freak out at the mention of kink. Now, with his desires out in the open, all Matthew can do is hope that introducing something different will make their relationship perfect rather than destroy it completely.


With this one submitted, I'm now down to "only" 34 backlog stories - ones I've started since I began writing seriously, but haven't got to the point where they are submittable.

In order to preserve what sanity I have left, I'm now happily working away on a brand new title, one that doesn't have an baggage attached to it from previous attempts. It's something close to bliss.

Hope everyone is having a great week,

*Hugs*

Kim Dare

Thursday 6 June 2013

Masochist's Choice - Available Now!

Hi everyone,

I'm later posting this than I would have liked. It's turning out to be one of those weeks.

But, Mashochist's Choice is out now! It's MM, BDSM and part of the Sun, Sea and Submission series. It will probably make more sense if you've read Vanilla Licks.

Just click on the pic to go to the Resplendence book page for the blurb and an excerpt!



And, in case you missed it, I also have a free short story up on the Goodreads MM Romance Group. Click on the cover to find out more, and see the picture that inspired the story!

Taken

Hope everyone else is having a great week,

*Hugs*

Kim Dare

Monday 3 June 2013

June + Free Short Story Available From Today!


I am incredibly un-ready for it to be June. That said, I don’t think I’ve been ready for a single month this year, so that probably doesn’t really count as news anymore!

On to the real news

********************

description

The Goodreads MM Romance Group’s Don’t Read in the Closet event is up and running. Stories will be realised every day during June and July. My story will be released today.

It’s called Taken and it’s a MMMM paranormal/fantasy story, about 10,000 words in length. It’s a bit different to what I’ve written in the last few years so I’m taking the precaution of assuming everyone will hate it—that way, any other reaction is a bonus, lol.  It's based on this image:
 

You can find it on the MM Romance Group on goodreads here. Or on the new MM Romance Group website here.

  Taken

*********************

Next up, on Wednesday (5th June) Masochist’s Choice will be released by Resplendence Publishing.



Masochist Wanted:  A position has become available as an assistant to Mr. Fulton Hollingsworth. The successful applicant will be physically fit, and willing to obey orders quickly and efficiently. Full training will be given.  However, a man with a natural tendency toward both masochism and exhibitionism will find himself at an advantage.
 
Firm friends Todd and Ash have worked at Pendragon Bay Hotel for months, but only ever in the vanilla side of the resort. Neither man has any kind of kinky experience under his belt, but that’s not going to stop either of them applying for the job.
 
When the selection process starts, each man only becomes more and more certain that his friend is completely unsuitable for the job, but it’s too late to back out now. Once Mr. Hollingsworth has a paddle in his hand it’s soon clear that nothing is ever going to be the same for Todd or Ash.  

 
*********************
 
lgbtmonth

The last thing pre-planned for this month, is a guest blog post on All Romance E-books as part of their LGBT month.

You can find each post on their blog here.

My post is due to go live on the 15th June.

*********************

What else do I have to tell you?

I’m currently editing the second story in my Kinky Quickies series with Amber Allure. I’ll hopefully have a blurb etc to share with you early next week.

The remainder of the month I’m hoping to spend on a new project I have in mind. I don’t want to say too much because I don’t want to jinx it. So, I’ll just say that it’s a full length novel and I’m really excited about it.

********************

Last but not least. For the next two days the House of Lords is debating our (England and Wales) Same Sex Marriage Bill. They’ll vote on Tuesday Evening. If the majority vote in favour, the bill will be one step closer to becoming law.

I’m hopeful for a good outcome, but at the same time I’m dreading all the hate that will hit the headlines over the next few days.

It’s likely there’ll be a bit about it on my twitter account. Feel free to say hi to me over there :)

********************

Have a great June everyone!

*Hugs*

Kim Dare.

Wednesday 29 May 2013

Coming Soon - Masochist's Choice

Hi Everyone,

Masochist's Choice is with the publisher and going through edits as we speak. It's scheduled to be released next Wednesday - 5th June.

It's MM, BDSM and the fifth title in the Sun, Sea and Submission series. It will probably make more sense to you if you've read at least Vanilla Licks (the fourth one in the series).


Here's the blurb:

Masochist Wanted:  A position has become available as an assistant to Mr. Fulton Hollingsworth. The successful applicant will be physically fit, and willing to obey orders quickly and efficiently. Full training will be given.  However, a man with a natural tendency toward both masochism and exhibitionism will find himself at an advantage.

Firm friends Todd and Ash have worked at Pendragon Bay Hotel for months, but only ever in the vanilla side of the resort. Neither man has any kind of kinky experience under his belt, but that’s not going to stop either of them applying for the job.

When the selection process starts, each man only becomes more and more certain that his friend is completely unsuitable for the job, but it’s too late to back out now. Once Mr. Hollingsworth has a paddle in his hand it’s soon clear that nothing is ever going to be the same for Todd or Ash.  
 
 
Hope everyone's having a great week.
 
*Hugs*
 
Kim.

Monday 20 May 2013

Things that make me happy...


At the moment, the UK’s same sex marriage bill is being debated in parliament. The bigotry is flying. It’s probably going to get worse before it gets better. Health wise and work wise things are winding me up too.

So, today I’m going to ignore all of that and take about a couple of the random things that have made me happy lately.

Product Details
 
Les Miserable (DVD)

Les Mis is my favourite musical. I’ve seen it on stage and in concert but I don’t do cinema, so this was my first chance to see this version. It was so much better than I expected it to be. Some of the actors who I didn’t expect to be any good really knocked it out of the park. BTW – did anyone else notice the way Eljorah was looking at Marius at certain points in the film? I don’t think Fontine and Cossette were the only ones in love with him

 
Apassionata (Book)

(Spoilers!!!) I like all the books in this series (and they do need to be read as part of the series). But, this one was something special. One of the characters in the story – Marcus – has been around for several books; he’s the son of one of the main characters in the original titles. Now, he’s in his late teens / early twenties.

Marcus isn’t the main character in the book, but he was the one whose story had me on the edge of my seat—it also had me in tears at more than one point. He’s a gorgeous character and he deserved his happy ending so much—not just in terms of a romance, but in terms of family relationships and self discovery as well.

 
In Search of a Master (Book)

This one doesn’t seem to be in print any more. I had to order a 1980’s copy from a second hand shop in America. It was worth it. I’ve liked all the John Preston books I’ve read, but this one was right up there with Mr. Benson for me.

Maybe it’s because it was written from the sub’s point of view (unlike Entertainments for a Master and For the Love of a Master, which are set in the same world). Or maybe it’s more than that—I think perhaps those two books were a fantasy written to appeal to doms, where as In Search of  Master was more likely to appeal to subs.

There are three subs in the story, matched up with three doms by the end. Two of the doms lost quite a lot of my respect near the end of the book, but in the process the third dom proved himself to be an even better man in my mind.

As a writer I can see that those doms only became more domly and perfect for their respective subs via their actions near the end. As a reader I was so wrapped up in the story by that point I would have cheerfully have throttled those two doms and I still like to think they got their comeuppance after the book ended.

 
Fall Girl (Book)

This is the book I’m reading at the moment. It’s by Tony Jordan, the author of Addition. I bought Fall Girl just after finishing Addition, that was way back in last year. I’ve had it on my bedside table ever since, but I’ve been scared to read it, because I really wanted it to be as good as Addition, and I was afraid it wouldn’t be. Guess what—all that worry was for nothing.

The topic doesn’t touch quite so close to my heart (Addition dealt with OCD, which I have a bit of experience with) but the style and the voice are just as good, and the story is good in its own right.

So, yes, at the moment, I'm just reminding myself there are good things in the world and things that can make me happy, even when bigots are making stupid speeches in parliment.
 
And that's about it for today.
 
Have a good week everyone!
 
*Hugs*
 
Kim.

Tuesday 14 May 2013

Virgin Territory - Available Now!

Hi everyone :)

Virgin Territory is now available from ARe. It's MM, BDSM and part of All Romance E-books 9 Shades of Naughty collection. Click on the cover to go to the buy page. If you've pre-ordered it, it should show up as available to read now :)



Blurb:
 
Danny may be a virgin, but that's not all he is...

When a fellow dom points Aaron in the direction of the new guy visiting in their local leather bar, there are a lot of things that draw him to Danny. One of those things is the rumor that Danny is a virgin in terms of leather, guy-on-guy action, and even in so far as his experience with girls. Add to that the fact that Danny is hot as hell and knows how to throw down a challenge, and Aaron is helpless to resist.

Danny knew as soon as he laid eyes on Aaron that he wanted him. He's not going to let a little thing like complete inexperience get in his way. He survived his best friend drunkenly admitting their virginity to the entire club on their first night there, but that doesn't mean he likes the way people have treated him, or the assumptions they've made about him since that night.

Can a virgin handle coming face to face with a serious and experienced dom? Maybe the real question is, can the dom handle the virgin?
 
 
Excerpt:
 
“Fresh meat.”

Aaron Banks ignored his friend’s words in favour of handing his money to the bartender and picking up his beer.

“Are you listening to me?” Steve demanded from just behind Aaron’s left shoulder.

“Not really.” He took a deep swig from his glass. He’d heard enough talking over the last eight weeks to last him a lifetime.

All projects had their complicated moments and, God knew, he was used to awkward customers, but the bickering pair of barristers he’d just finished working for hadn’t just taken the biscuit, they’d bloody well run off with the biscuit barrel too.

Aaron sighed and rolled his shoulders in an effort to rid his muscles of two months’ worth of tension. Closing his eyes for a moment, he let the noise of all the guys in the bar wash over him. The murmurs of muted conversations all blurred together. The whole place pounded to the rhythm of the music from the dance floor on the other side of the club.

There were no lyrics to the song, no syllables to spoil the deep base. Combined with the scent of leather and sex filling the air, it was sheer perfection.

A few hours spent doing something that required no words at all, and he knew he’d be back to his usual self.

“Does that mean you’re not interested in breaking him in?”

Of course, Steve never had been very good at shutting the hell up and letting a guy relax in peace.

Aaron turn around. “What are you babbling about?”

“The new guy.”

“Any new guy in particular?” Aaron asked idly, as he ran an assessing eye over the men around him. He wasn’t even sure that he was in the mood to play with a new guy. Hard-core with a stranger would take way too much negotiation. Quick and dirty in the men’s room could be arranged with nothing more than a look, but wouldn’t be entirely satisfying.

An old friend who just happened to also be a horny sub would probably give him the best of—

Steve grabbed Aaron’s arm and dragged him several paces to the left, almost spilling both their beers in the process. “I’m talking about him.” Through the press of men, Steve pointed out a young guy standing with a group on the other side of the room. “We have a virgin in our midst!”
 
 
 
That's it for me at the moment. I'm still editing Masochist's Choice. Hopefully I'll have some concrete news on it that I can share soon.
 
*Hugs*
 
Kim Dare

Sunday 12 May 2013

Better than Sex - Available Now

Hi everyone!

Better than Sex has just been released by Amber Allure. You can buy it now, direct from the publisher's website, at a special new release price.

Clicking on the cover will take you to the publisher's website. Or, you can scroll down to read the blurb and the excerpt.

Better Than Sex - Click for large version

Blurb:

Brody has been admiring the new guy at the engineering firm where he works for the last six months. Wallace is all the things Brody isn’t—confident, stunning, sex-on-legs. Oh, and straight. Working alongside Wallace is the highlight of Brody’s week, and fantasizing about Wallace is the full extent of his sex life.

But Wallace has other ideas. The moment he joined the firm, Wallace knew he’d have trouble keeping his hands off Brody. In an effort to stay professional at work, he’s kept his sexuality to himself, but that’s about to change.

When he hears Brody say that seeing the latest project leave the premises is “better than sex,” Wallace knows he has to take action. It’s time someone taught Brody how good sex can be—especially when it’s served up with a generous helping of leather.

Excerpt:

“It’s a bloody wonderful feeling, isn’t it?”

“Hell, yeah.” Brody rested his forearms on the railings, leaving just an inch between his elbow and Wallace’s hand, and peered down into the loading bay.

As they watched, a van revved its engine and pulled away, taking with it the last parts of McFadden, Rutledge and Jones’s latest completed project. The carefully calibrated machines were, at long last, safely tucked away in their containers, each one of them wrapped up with the same kind of care a doting mother might bestow upon her newborn.

The job was done. It was on time, on budget and, best of all, it was now officially on its way out of the building.

As the van turned a corner and rolled out of sight, Brody’s attention strayed, not for the first time, to the man standing beside him.

As Brody subtly observed him out of the corner of his eye, Wallace rolled his shoulders. “Feels like a ton weight’s been lifted off my back,” he said, with one of those lopsided grins that inevitably made Brody’s cock rise very quickly to the occasion. “It’s better than winning the bloody lottery.”

“Better than beating England at Rugby,” Brody offered, in a vague effort to make it seem like he was paying attention to Wallace’s words rather than just admiring the view he presented.

Wallace already had his regulation overalls halfway off, the arms of the dark blue boiler suit tied around his waist. Only a close-fitting white T-shirt now stood between Brody and Wallace’s naked skin. The leather jacket tossed over Wallace’s shoulder only added a hint of welcome darkness to the picture.

Wallace laughed, but he didn’t look away from the loading bay and make it necessary for Brody to drop his gaze. “During the last minute of extra time, to win the grand slam,” he suggested, upping the ante even more. His Scottish accent deepened in line with his enthusiasm.

“Better than sex,” Brody said, now speaking entirely on auto-pilot.

Silence fell between them and stretched out for several seconds. Wallace tilted his head to one side. “Maybe you’re doing it wrong.”

Brody frowned, wondering if he’d missed an entire segment of the conversation. “What?”

“Maybe you’re doing it wrong,” Wallace repeated, his gaze still never leaving the bare concrete floor below them.

“You’ve lost me,” Brody admitted. He decided it was best not to add that any such lapse in concentration probably had something to do with the way all his blood had rushed to his cock the moment Wallace joined him overlooking the loading bay. Not for the first time since Wallace joined the company, he sent up silent thanks for the fact that his own overalls were baggy enough to hide even the most flourishing erection.

“Finishing a project feels good, agreed—especially one which was this much of a bugger. Meeting a tight deadline is a rush, and God knows the bonus is going to come in useful,” Wallace said, as he turned to face Brody properly. “But, if you think any of those things comes anywhere near feeling as good as sex does, then you’re doing something seriously wrong in the sack.”

Brody stopped leaning on the railing and automatically mirrored Wallace’s posture. He swallowed several times in quick succession and pinned his best imitation of a friendly, but distinctly non-sexual, smile to his lips. “Thanks, but I think I worked out the basics a long time ago, mate.”

He was about to make himself turn away when Wallace huffed. “The basics? If all you’re doing is inserting tab A into slot B, it’s no wonder what we’re doing at work is the highlight of your week.”

Brody’s feet welded themselves to the floor. Walking away when Wallace was talking about sex was simply not possible. Brody was slightly shorter than Wallace and had to tilt his head back to meet his gaze. Their eyes locked and Brody willed suitable words to his lips, but they wouldn’t come.

It was bloody hard to lie while maintaining eye contact with Wallace, and the truth was that Brody’s working hours had been the best part of his week ever since Wallace joined the team. Fantasising about Wallace had also comprised the entirety of his sex life during that time.

Unfortunately, Brody knew damn well that Wallace was only interested in inserting his particular tab into female slots. Admitting that he was all in favour of being the slot to Wallace’s tab, was not a good idea.

Brody swallowed. Apparently nothing, not even the kind of weird lingo usually reserved for constructing dodgy flat pack furniture could make being screwed by Wallace anything other than bone tinglingly erotic.

“I…” he mumbled.

Wallace took half a step forward and dipped his head to put his lips near Brody ear, as if to share a secret. “I’m not talking about the basics, angel. I’m talking about the kind of sex that makes you scream so loudly your throat aches—the kind that involves every bit of your mind as well as your body. I promise you—once you get past the basics and bring out the leather, a whole new world will open up to you.”

“Leather,” Brody repeated, as if he’d never heard the word.

Wallace closed the gap between them even farther. The scent of his jacket immediately overloaded Brody’s senses.

“Yeah, leather,” Wallace whispered. He dipped his head so his lips almost brushed Brody’s ear. “Specifically, the kind that’s used to make whips and paddles.”


Thanks for reading! The story is available here.

*Hugs*

Kim Dare

Friday 10 May 2013

Giveaways and Covers

Hi everyone,

There are two give aways on at the moment. Both by the lovely Chris from Stumbling Over Chaos.

Clicking on the covers below will take you to the individual giveaway pages...

 
 
 

(If you've already pre-ordered Virgin Territory, you'll be able to claim a different title instead.)

And, I also have new cover art to share. I've just finished the first draft of the first one, Masochist's Choice. Hopefully that will come out some time in June, followed by Fourteen Nights in September. The release date for Exposing Edward Ellis is still up in the air. (Clicking on these covers won't take you anywhere, lol)

 

 



Have a great weekend everyone!

*Hugs*

Kim Dare

Monday 6 May 2013

Flashback - M/M Romance Group Stories

Hi guys,

My story for this years free story event with the Goodreads M/M Romance Group is finally with the proof reader, so I thought this would be a good time to poke everyone and remind them about the stories from the previous years events.


 *****


Back in 2010, they the group started off with a Christmas story. 25 writers contributed stories.
 
My story was called A Bugger to Pack and was inspired by this image.
 
  
 
 
You can read it in this anthology....
 
 
 
 
*****
 
In July 2010, I picked this picture and wrote a story called Masochism 101.
 
 


The story is now in this anthology...


 
 
*****
 
 
On to 2012 and I wrote Safe, based on this picture...
 
 
 
 
You can find the story here. (I'm pretty sure it's in one of the anthologies for the event too, but I'm drawing a blank trying to remember which one, lol.)




This year the event is....




And my story is based on this pic....


 photo tumblr_mfp1mwtXDy1s1dwcjo1_500_zps5990f3c7.jpg


I think it was probably the most challenging story to write, both because it's a long time since I wrote high fantasy, and also because when you have four guys rolling around together, there are a lot of limbs to sort out!


*****


That's it for now. But I should be back later in the week, because I had lot of new cover art through today and it should be finalised soon :)

Have a great week all!

*Hugs*

Kim Dare

Wednesday 1 May 2013

May Newsletter

Hi Everyone,

I have quite a bit of news for this month, so I'll get right to it...

***

First of all - I have a new book on pre-order from today!

Virgin Territory is an MM, BDSM erotic romance, and part of All Romance E-book's Shades of Naughty series. Here's a bit about it...


 
 

Danny may be a virgin, but that's not all he is...

When a fellow dom points Aaron in the direction of the new guy visiting in their local leather bar, there are a lot of things that draw him to Danny. One of those things is the rumor that Danny is a virgin in terms of leather, guy-on-guy action, and even in so far as his experience with girls. Add to that the fact that Danny is hot as hell and knows how to throw down a challenge, and Aaron is helpless to resist.

Danny knew as soon as he laid eyes on Aaron that he wanted him. He's not going to let a little thing like complete inexperience get in his way. He survived his best friend drunkenly admitting their virginity to the entire club on their first night there, but that doesn't mean he likes the way people have treated him, or the assumptions they've made about him since that night.

Can a virgin handle coming face to face with a serious and experienced dom? Maybe the real question is, can the dom handle the virgin?

Clicking on the cover above will take you to the pre-order page for the book. Click on the graphic below will take you to the list of all the books in the series.

***
I also have another book coming out this month, another MM, BDSM erotic romance, this time with Amber Allure. It will be on sale from the 12th May. Here's a bit about it...




Brody has been admiring the new-guy at the engineering firm where he works for the last six months. Wallace is all the things Brody isn’t—confident, stunning, sex on legs, oh, and straight. Brody is resigned to considering working alongside Wallace the highlight of his week and fantasizing about Wallace the full extent of his sex life, but apparently Wallace has other ideas.
The moment he joined the firm, Wallace knew he’d have trouble keeping his hands off Brody. In an effort to stay professional at work he’s kept his sexuality to himself, but that’s about to change. When he hears Brody say that seeing the latest project leave the premises is better than sex, Wallace knows he has to take action. It’s time someone taught Brody how good sex can be—especially when it’s served up with a generous helping of leather.
 
***
 
In other news, April is the end of the tax year in the UK. So, I've been tallying things up, including the donations made via the charity books.
 
So far...
 
Gay Friendly has raised £789.87 for Ty Hafan Children's Hospice.
 
Touching Wood has raised $186.69 for ALSO Out Youth (Florida).
 
In the Blink of an Eye has raised £172.08 for Dogs for the Disabled.
 
***
 
On a similiar subject, by my math, Riptide publishing has so far raised $674.00 for The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom via sales of O, Come All Ye Kinky. (You may remember that the original charity chosen was the Domestic Violence Project of the National Leather Association - International. Unfortunatly, that no longer appears to be in operation, which is why another charity was chosen to take its place.)
 
***
 
Moving on to giveaway results!
 
Anna won a copy of Temporary Mark on Emily's Birthday Bash.
 
and
 
Urbanista won a copy of Temporary Mark on Scorching Reviews LGBT event.
 
Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaways!


***

What other news do I have?
 
Well, I'm currently working on a new story for Resplendence Publishing.
 
Masochist's Choice will be the fifth title in the Sun, Sea and Submission series. It will hopefully be released in June.
 
The second project on my calander for this month is the second story in the Kinky Quickies series from Amber Allure. I keep changing my mind about the title :)
 
***
 
I think that is it for now.
 
I'm going to do my best to keep posting here every Monday. There are also random updates on my twitter - https://twitter.com/KimDareAuthor
 
Hope everyone has a good May!
 
*Hugs*
 
Kim Dare.

Monday 29 April 2013

Goodbye April!

Hello Everyone!

I'm really glad April is almost over. The last two months or so have been a complete sod.

Off the top of my head, in the last eight to ten weeks...

I came off three different highly addictive medications. I caught a stomach bug. I had a chest infection (my whole family had it in fact, and both my parents developed complications as a result. My father was in hospital for a week, my mother probably should have been admitted too). I've developed a spontanous allergy to my favourite perfume and now look like someone has tried to strangle me. I've had painters and carpet fitters in to work in my house. Oh, and my dog is on heat and not happy about that fact.

It's been... interesting.

I'm way behind on pretty much everything writing related. I think it's taken me most of this month to write and edit a 10k-ish free short for the Goodreads MM Romance Group event. Happily, that is finished and ready to print out and proof.

As a result Masochist's Choice - which was slated to come out with Resplendence in May will probably be delayed until at least June.

I also fell way behind with replies to e-mails, comments and damn near everything else. I think I'm back up to date with most things, so if you are waiting on a reply from me, please poke me. Apologies to anyone and anything that fell through the cracks.

But, on the positive side, April is almost over and I'm really hoping that May is going to be a much better month!

I'll be back on the first of the month to talk about two new releases due to come out in May and announce the results of two giveaways.

There's still time to enter those two giveaways here and here.

Hope everyone else's April went better than mine!

*Hugs*

Kim Dare

Monday 22 April 2013

Temporary Mark - Available Now!

Hi Everyone,

It seems to have taken forever, but - Temporary Mark is now available on general release! That means, if it's not there already, it will be showing up on All Romance E-books, Amazon, etc any second. Clicking on the cover will take you to the TEB website, the links of the side of the blog will take you to ARe, Amazon etc.

Here's a bit about the story...

 

Can a temporary collar ever lead to a permanent relationship? Mark and Mr. Nolan are about to find out.

Mr. Nolan’s last relationship lasted for over two decades. But, since suddenly finding himself single, two years ago, he has struggled to find a submissive who can fill the void in his life. Maybe a temporary arrangement is exactly what he needs to ease him back into the lifestyle he loves so much.  Mark’s never experienced life under the protection of a good dom. He’s merely had a series of abusive partners. He’s used to being treated as a temporary feature in a man’s life, then thrown away when they tire of him.  When mutual friends push them together, the last thing Mr. Nolan, or Mark, expects is to end up hoping a temporary collar will become permanent.  Reader Advisory: Please note that the stories in the Collared series are connected solely by theme. They can all be read as standalone titles and in any order. Mr. Nolan previously made an appearance as a secondary character in Bi Now, Gay Later, however it is not necessary to have read that book first.

Excerpt...

Edward Nolan lowered his book and glanced at his watch. There was no good reason why anyone should knock on his door that close to midnight. Hell, there wasn’t even a bad reason for anyone to call on him at that time. Rising from his chair next to the fireplace, he slipped his glasses into his book to keep his place and made his way out of the lounge.  His footsteps echoed on the tiled floor as he strode purposefully across his front hall. He’d already locked up for the night. He glanced through the narrow window alongside the door as he took his keys from his pocket. Two figures were discernible in the gloom.  He pulled open the door. The light from the hall shone over his shoulder, illuminating two familiar faces.  Edward looked from Denton Greenwood to Jerry, from the young dominant to the even younger submissive, then back. The possibility of them being there because something was wrong occurred to Edward, but it was quickly dismissed. A man didn’t spend so many years on the leather scene as he had, without learning to read body language and expressions.  He studied each of his visitors in the full and certain knowledge that they were up to something. Denton did a marginally better job of hiding it than Jerry, but even so—if they’d been in the dock, no jury with sense would have hesitated to find them guilty.  "We have a favour to ask you for," Denton began.  Edward narrowed his gaze, but he nodded once, granting him permission to continue.  "It’s a slightly delicate situation, sir," Denton hedged, with a not-so-subtle glance past him into the house.  They’d earned that much for their friendship over the last two years. Edward stepped back to let them through.  "Would you mind if we brought someone in with us, sir?" Jerry asked, blinking big blue eyes at him. "It’s just that it’s a bit cold to leave him in the car, sir…"  Edward glanced over Jerry’s shoulder, into the 4 x 4, parked by the kerb at the end of his drive. A figure sat huddled in the back, but the tinted windows didn’t allow him to make out any kind of detail.  Edward’s curiosity got the better of him. "You may."  A tilt of Denton’s head sent Jerry to the car. He opened the back door to reveal a well-built young man with dark, spiky hair. He certainly wasn’t dressed suitably for the cold. His T-shirt was long-sleeved, but the fabric was ridiculously thin—the stiff wind blew against it, and the lines of muscle on the boy’s torso were clearly outlined through the material.  He evidently worked out, a lot. He carried serious muscle, and he obviously wasn’t above showing that off in the clubs. His leather trousers clung to his crotch and legs, putting all his assets overtly on display. The only place he could have gone dressed that way, and not have looked like a cheap-rent boy, was a gay nightclub.  The boy’s attention remained on the ground while he walked towards the front door. With his hands pushed awkwardly into pockets, his shoulders hunched up, causing him appear to be a turtle that would much rather retreat into its shell. He allowed Jerry to lead him forward, not attempting to take charge of the situation, even with someone as instinctively compliant as Jerry. Edward’s rapid assessment put a tick in the box indicating that the boy was a submissive.  A bit closer and Edward distinguished the silver piercing in his guest’s eyebrow. When the boy stepped into the light, the tissue-thin nature of his shirt let it be obvious that his nipples were pierced too.  Edward was well aware that Denton studied his appraisal of the boy. If this was another one of their matchmaking attempts, they had at least changed tactics. If the last seven submissives they’d thrown at him had all been carbon copies of his previous submissive, Frank, then this boy was the exact opposite of all those pretty, delicate little blonds.  "Mr Nolan, with your permission, I’d like to introduce Mark Howells to you. Mark, this is Mr Nolan."  Mark kept his head down, making it difficult for Edward to see his face. Edward held out his hand. There was a quick flash of brilliant green eyes as Mark peeked up before dropping his gaze again.  A few more seconds passed. Edward kept his hand where it was.  Finally, Mark gave in and put his hand in Edward’s grip. The brief handshake was enough to inform Edward that the boy was nigh on freezing.  "Come in," he ordered. "There’s a fire in the lounge. You’ll find it far warmer in there."  "Yes, sir." The words were so mumbled as to be damn near incoherent.
Edward bit back an automatic instinct to correct. It wasn’t his place to comment on the boy’s elocution. Instead, Edward opened the lounge door. The warmth from the room immediately seeped into the hall.

**********************************

And that's it for now, except for one quick reminder. I'm finally finding my way around twitter, and that's where you'll find random bits and pieces, inspiration pics and all the as-it-happens bulletins on my stories. Followers are welcome: https://twitter.com/KimDareAuthor

Hope everyone has a great week.

*Hugs*

Kim Dare.