Showing posts with label GRL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GRL. Show all posts

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Featured Guest: Samantha Wayland ~ From GRL to What's To Come



Diverse Reader is super excited to welcome Samantha Wayland to the blog. I had the honor of meeting Samantha this past October in Albuquerque, NM and it was a highlight for me. She's here today to talk about her time at GRL and what's to come from her. Sit back and relax.


Greeting Readers!
I’m always so happy to have an excuse to stop by and say hello to you and your overlord, Meredith. I have to tell you, there are a lot of reasons to love GRL, but one of the highlights for me this past year in Albuquerque was finally having a chance to sit and get to know Meredith. For me, as an author, the chance to connect and tell war stories and pick a brain for new ideas on everything from marketing to the actual craft of writing is invaluable. But there are also the total SQUEEEE moments because I’m a reader, too, and Meredith, and so many other authors at GRL, write the most amazing books and having a chance to spend time with them in person is just incredible. INCREDIBLE! Some of the best moments are the ones where you’re just sitting and listening and you hear them say something and think, “Yes! This is the mind that came up with that character I love so much! This is the heart that created that scene or moment that moved me so powerfully.”

So, please, Readers, come to St. Louis! You will not be sorry. I will personally hand you a bag of rainbow-colored candy dicks and spend as much time with you as you need or desire. And then countless other authors will do the same (except the rainbow dick thing, that’s sort of just me). I swear it!

I’ve been to two GRLs now and the outcome has been the same both times—I’m totally charged up about what I’m working on, and chomping at the bit to start the next big project. As soon as I got home, I released the box set for my Hat Trick books on Amazon. This series starts out with Fair Play, in which Garrick, a hockey player with a penchant for putting his foot in his mouth, falls for Savannah, the team trainer who wants nothing to do with him. It continues with Two Man Advantage, when Garrick and his best friend and teammate, Rhian, discover they have more than friendship between them (with Savannah’s blessing – there is no cheating, I promise!). Those are both pretty happy endings, but End Game definitely had the best of those – you will love the love these three share! And finally, in a Merry Little (Hat Trick) Christmas, you get to visit with the threesome and find out what’s happening with their growing family.

And that’s not all I’ve been up to! Happily, I’ll be back here on Diverse Reader next week to reveal the new covers for the existing Crashing Series books, as well as for the third Crashing book, Changing the Rules, coming out in December! I can’t tell you how excited I am to share this installment in the adventures of Mike and Alexei with you all. As usual, those two are doing things their own unique way, with the love and support of the family they’ve built. 

Once the dust settles from that release (and the holidays, if we’re being honest) it will be time to turn my full attention to the next big project: Jack & Grady’s (as yet untitled) book. I am so so excited to dig into this one. Jack and Grady have waited a long time to get their happily ever after, and while it’s not going to be easy (for me to write, or for Jack and Grady to live through), it’s going to be WORTH IT.

And after that? I’m not sure. There are a couple of pining idiots in Boston that might get my attention. Or a certain rookie that needs his world turned upside-down. Or, a hacker and a cop in the funky, free-spirited city of Portland, Maine who may finally get the mystery series they’ve been waiting ages for me to finally sit down and write…

The best way to find out which wins the contest for my attention is to come claim your bag of dicks from me in St. Louis!







About Sam:

Samantha Wayland has three great loves in life; her family, writing books, and hockey. She is often found apologizing to the first for how much time and attention is taken up by the latter two, but they forgive her because they are awesome and she clearly doesn’t deserve them.
Sam lives with her family—of both the two and four-legged variety—outside of Boston. She is a wicked passionate New Englander (born and raised) who has been known to wax rhapsodic about the Maine Coast, the mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont, and the sensible way in which her local brethren don’t see a need for directional signals (blinkahs!). When she’s not locked away in her home office, she can generally be found tucked in the corner of the local Thai place with other socially-starved authors and an adult beverage.
Her favorite things include mango martinis, tiny Chihuahuas with big attitude problems, and the Oxford comma.

Social Media Links:


Newsletter Sign Up: http://bit.ly/37tqxhl

Sam’s Wonderland (FB reader group):





Sunday, October 13, 2019

GRL Spotlight: Ashe Winters


GayRomLit or as some refer to it as GRL truly is the must-attend event for people who create and celebrate LGBT romance. For those who are unfamiliar with what GRL is I can try and summarize it. Every year in October (this year it’s the 17th to the 20th with pre-events on the 16th) the LGBT community consisting of authors, narrators, readers, and professionals gather to share in their love of LGBT romance. There are signings, author lounges, many events, spotlights, it really is hours of fun.
The location changes every year and on the opening night of each year the spot for the next year  is announced. During this time at GRL there are two signings. One for Registered Authors and one for Featured Authors.
At these signings you can go to the authors’ tables, talk, have them sign swag they have, books you’ve brought, pick up pre-orders, and they will even sign something you brought from home.
Lounges are set up as well these are outside the signing times. Registered authors have one and featured have two lounges.
There will also be spotlights with readings, Q&A’s and so much more.
Now until October 14th Diverse Reader is spotlighting authors that will be at this years GRL. And if you want to know more about it simply head over to the site by clicking here:








Where to Find Me

Look for this image on the table runner!










Author Lounges

10/17 (Thurs.) from 9:00 AM - 9:45 AM
10/18 (Fri.) from 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM

The Book Room

10/17 (Thurs.) from 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
(I’ll have several paperbacks with me for purchase. I can take credit cards, exact cash, or you can direct PayPal me)

Storyteller Spotlight

With Amy Aislin and Kayleigh Sky

Imaginary Places in Real World Settings
What do the unique paradigms of Amy’s contemporary novels, Kayleigh’s paranormal/urban fantasy/sci-fi worlds, and Ashe’s use of real big cities in both contemporary and urban fantasy all have in common? They are creations of imaginary places in real life settings.
Join these authors as they explore the inherent problems and creative solutions that come with altering real life settings to accommodate imaginary places.

 10/18 (Fri.) from 9:30 AM - 10:20 AM


Featured Author Book Signing

10/19 (Sat.) from 10:00 AM - 12:30 AM









I’m not panicking. Are you panicking?? Oh, wait, that really is me panicking. Eek! This is my first GRL as a Featured Author and is my debut to any kind of signing as an author. I’ve been to two GRL’s so far, Denver and Portsmouth, VA, but I was there as a reader. I’m very much looking forward to being on the other side of the table, meeting everyone. But make no mistake, I’m still totally a reader at heart, and I’ll be a squealy fangirl right along with the rest of you.

If you could sum up most of my writing, I’d say I focus a lot on a lot of fluff and a lot of slow burn MM romance. Most of my works are friends-to-lovers, which honestly, I didn’t plan at all. It just happened that way. Guess we know what kind of characters live in my head, huh? My two most well-known contemporaries are Kiss Me Tomorrow and Shipping Orders, both part of the Valentine’s Inc. Universe. But, that’s not all I write.

The series that has my current focus features a snarky vampire who despises the human race and the human with mysterious powers he ends up stuck with while they both try to stay alive. It’s an MM Urban Fantasy series called Consequences of a Sin. The second book, Tethered Souls, came out on October 4th. I’ll have paperbacks of both books with me at GRL, and I might be coerced into giving a hint or two about the next book. If you like slow, slow, slow burn (seriously, Avery and Ryker are the definition of slow burn at this point), mystery, vampires, witches, and snarky banter, you should check out this series.

I’ll also have several of my contemporaries on hand in paperback form, including the two Valentine’s Inc. books. Come see me!













Fractured Truth (Consequences of a Sin: Book 1)


Universal Link: mybook.to/FracturedTruth

Blurb

Avery

Human beings are nothing but lowly trash. Fit only for consumption. That's my motto in life and why I avoid everything to do with them beyond an evening meal. Then he shows up with his delicious scent, and I can't seem to resist hunting him down. But when my hunt gets interrupted by a spray of bullets and I become the prey, I find myself falling into some strange rabbit hole where I have to rely on this incredible smelling human with strange powers to stay alive. How freakin' peachy is that?

Ryker

Being left on the doorstep of a church when I was infant meant my life began shrouded in questions. And that's how it has remained. Question after question. For a human, I have magical powers I don't understand. After all, magic went extinct a few hundred years ago. I shouldn't exist the way I do. Spending my life in the shadows has always been the safest place. Then a snarky wildcat of a vampire literally passes out in my lap, and my instincts kick into overdrive. Protect him at all costs. Even if I want to strangle him half the time.

Fractured Truth is the first book in the Consequences of a Sin series which follows Avery and Ryker as they try to find the truth behind a Sin that altered the history of their world. Each book will end with a HFN (or close to it) while the overarching plot continues into the next book. Some cliffhangers are likely.










Kiss Me Tomorrow (Valentine’s Inc. Book 8)


Universal Link: mybook.to/KissMeTomorrow

Blurb

Do what you have to do to stay alive. 
Don’t get attached. 
Rely on no one but yourself. 

Thrown out by my parents as a teen, I learned to survive the streets following a few simple rules. Those rules have stayed with me, kept me safe, alive, and working toward my dreams. 

Between my night job as a date-for-hire with Valentine’s Inc. and my daytime classes, I don’t have time for relationships. Even if I did, no guy wants a serious relationship with an ex-hooker. I know where to keep my expectations. 

My Valentine’s night job should have been business as usual. My “date”, with his weird love of cheesy pick-up lines, is anything but the usual I’d prepared for. Malcolm turns the tables on me, nearly charming the pants right off me. For once, I wouldn’t mind exploring this crazy spark between us for something more. Do I dare trust my heart Mal is different? Or will he walk away the minute he discovers my past?

A blind date. A spark they don’t expect. And a secret that could end it all. Kiss Me Tomorrow is a sweet MM romance of two men learning to trust their hearts to overcome their past, and part of the multi-author Valentine's Inc. Series. 








Shipping Orders (Valentine’s Inc. Cruises Book 2)


Universal Link: mybook.to/ShippingOrders

Blurb

A happy ever after is not in the cards for me. But a short fling aboard a ship crossing the Atlantic might just be exactly what I need. 

When my friends suggest I take a much-needed vacation on their Valentine’s Inc. hosted cruise, I leap at the chance. I don’t have a lot of expectations for this matchmaking singles cruise—I’m certainly not looking for a future Mr. Chase Kelton. 

What I’m not prepared for is walking into my assigned suite to find a man passed out on the first day. I recognize the shy barista immediately. He’s been serving me my morning fix for a year and driving me crazy with the hard shell he keeps locked around himself. I want to break it. I know there’s an entirely different man beneath it that I’m itching to reveal.

Reign is the proverbial fish out of water, and when I discover the real reason he’s on this cruise, I see an opportunity I can’t resist. He needs a companion to show him the ropes—I can do that and so much more.

An introverted barista with a crush, a wealthy executive afraid to fall in love, and a summer fling with an expiration date neither of them wants to keep. Shipping Orders is a full length, standalone novel in the Valentine’s Inc. Cruises multi-author series. 








Just One Kiss


Universal Link: mybook.to/JustOneKiss

Blurb

I never expected to feel anything for him; he’s just my roommate and friend. Then one single drunken kiss that shouldn’t have meant anything turns my world upside down. 

The lingering warmth from the brush of his lips consumes me. I can't breathe when he's near, so I flee every time he comes close. Yet I need his help to keep me from the academic probation that will cost me the last year of my university football career.

I want more. But we’re just friends, and he’s about to graduate. I’m not sure he’s even gay. Why did that kiss have to change everything?

Just One Kiss is a sweet, MM romance featuring college roommates, friends-to-lovers, and a love that sweeps them both away.









LOVE IS EVERYTHING

When asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, my answer was only one thing: a published author. Now I’m living that dream, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Romance is essential in every one of my stories. I enjoy exploring people falling in love. I guarantee a HEA in all my stories.

I’m an LGBTQIA+ author and strong supporter of the rainbow community. All my stories feature positive representation of this community that I hold dear to my heart.

Website & Newsletter signup: www.ashewinters.com

For exclusive content such as a look behind the scenes of my writing, inspirations, teasers and snippets, future projects, and so much more, make sure to join my reader group: Ashe's Hideaway! https://www.facebook.com/groups/AshesHideaway/

You can also find me here:

Facebook Group: Reading Past the Realm https://www.facebook.com/groups/ReadingPastTheRealm/