The Candidates available to read free right now.

Many months ago I mentioned I had put my hand up to write a story for the M/M Romance Group over at Goodreads, in their event: "Love Has No Boundaries." Well, today it was posted.

My story focuses around Reece, a marketing professional, who is sent away for a few days to participate in a trial run for a new job. The job is all he could ask for, and he's excited by the prospect of it, until he runs into someone from his past.

Enter Cameron. Reece knew Cameron at college where they were rivals in every sense. Reece has always found Cameron attractive, but that never offset his intense dislike of the man.

Now that they are competing for the same job, will that rivalry continue, or will they be able to get past it and find a more harmonious existence?

The story is titled: The Candidates. Jump on over to Goodreads to read it now. Please note you will have to be a member of the group to access it at this time, and I would advise anyone interested in M/M romance to become one if you're not already. On top of my story, you will find over 100 stories written for the event, with more to come. What have you got to lose?

Here's the cover.

The Candidates on Goodreads

Enjoy!

Bette. ;)

Hi, all,

I'm not sure why I'm writing this post today; I'm not sure I have all that much to say, but they do say to keep posting , so here I am.

The end of the month is looming and with it multiple deadlines, both for work and play (I tend to consider my writing as being part of the 'play' category right now—at least until it begins to make me money that is).

I've been working hard to finish one story that as it comes to fruition makes me inordinately proud. I really like it. I suppose that's a good thing, and I've certainly 'liked' my stories in the past, but I actually feel I'll still like this one when I reread it in six or twelve months. I tend to be rather self-critical of things that can't be changed, i.e., already completed (and submitted or published) manuscripts. I know I'm certainly not alone in that, but this story may break the mould for me, and that is exciting.

As soon as I get it to bed, I can concentrate on my Love Has No Boundaries Goodreads M/M Romance story, which sadly has had to play second fiddle till now. I have dabbled, and definitely have a plot jotted down (even a couple of thousand words), but it will be nice to really hit it hard. My chosen characters, Reece and Cameron, deserve that from me.

There are busy days, and weeks, ahead, but I think the outcome will be worth the pain.

Hopefully by the time I post next, I'll have good news to share.

Bye for now,

Bette.

BetteBrowne©2013

I wanted to post to let everyone know (cough, cough, mainly me - LOL) I have taken up a prompt in the Goodreads M/M Romance group event: Love Has No Boundaries

I'm rather excited, even if a bit intimidated; the first reason being there is a such short lead time. It is due by May 15 . . . ahhhhhhhhhhhhh. And, there are so many fabulous authors (really well read, popular authors) taking part. But that's okay. I will not let it overwhelm me. I will just do my best with the prompt—which shouldn't be hard; it is fabulous—and write the story.

This is the photo prompt . . . 

Kimberly requested:

Dear Author, After hating each other as college rivals, now they meet again at a job interview and it is not hate sparks that are flying now. Or whatever you can come up with...enemies to lovers...please HEA! 

. . .

I'm excited with my ideas so far and where I'm planning to take the story. It won't be overly long—I am aiming for 15K—but I'll let the story dictate that as I go. It will be sexy and snarky . . . and most importantly, lots of fun.

My biggest hurdle, and fear if I am honest, is the fact that I have another deadline looming for the beginning of May . . . *rolls eyes and begins to shake* . . . but that's okay. If I plan well, I should be fine. [Please cross your fingers for me!!!!!!!]

I'm not sure if I am allowed to blog my teasers here (will check on that) but will do so on my Goodreads Author profile. Click the button link to go there, or http://www.goodreads.com/author/Bette_Browne

Bye for now, Bette. 

BetteBrowne©2013

Hi, all.

It's nearing the end of February . . . incredible. Valentine's Day is done and dusted for another year. Hope everyone had a good day—or at least read some great VD romances. I did, some lovely m/m and m/f from my publisher BDP. I really need to get on my Goodreads page and add some of the books I've been reading, but in case I don't, certainly give any of the books from the new Valentine's Day Collection a go: www.bottomdrawerpublications.net  If it's only m/m you're after then A New Dream by C J Baty was sweet and lovely, and An Unexpected Party by Henrietta Clarke was a British gem—loved the dialogue.

Apart from a bit of reading, I have also been settling back into some writing. Thank goodness. I'm very happy with the story I am working on right now, and even though I am not ready to share titles or the story's future (well planned anyway), I'd love to share an excerpt that I am really happy with.

Hope you enjoy it. Please remember it is still in draft and unedited.

Till next time.

Bette.

* * *

“Get up,” a deep voice urged him; a hand shaking his shoulder helping to pull him from his deep sleep. “Get up. Hurry.”

Ryan blinked open his eyes, unsure of what was happening. The room was still dark and he didn’t know how long he’d been asleep. He turned his head, looking up, trying to focus, not recognizing the person whose hand was on his shoulder, its firm fingers digging into his flesh.

“Jesus,” he complained, shrugging his shoulder to try and shake the insistent hand off. “Get the fuck off me.”

“We don’t have time for this. You need to get up, and you need to get up now.”

Ryan felt like shit, his whole body resisting even waking up, let alone getting up. “I’m sick, leave me alone,” he grumbled, allowing his eyes to close again.

“I don’t know what your name is, but if you want to be alive in five minutes, you need to get your ass out of this bed.”

The urgency in the man’s tone roused him, aided by the words “alive” and “five minutes.”

Ryan sat up, the rush of blood to his head almost making him fall back down again. The hand that was still on his shoulder held him firm then pulled him off the bed. “Move,” the man said, taking him by the elbow and leading him quickly and insistently from the room.

Ryan put the brakes on just as they reached the top of the staircase, wrenching his arm out of the man’s grasp, a deep cough issuing from his tortured throat. He was conscious enough now to know that nothing about this situation was right. He’d never seen this man before in his life. “I don’t know you and you expect me to leave this house. Not a chance.”

The man turned. Even in the dim light Ryan could see his determined face. “I’m the good guy, believe me. There is a bomb in this house, right there in the study,” he looked over Ryan’s shoulder toward the room in question, “and if you don’t leave with me now then you will die.”

Ryan blinked, trying desperately to process what the man had said. A bomb? In Jacob’s study? He began to shake his head in denial. “You’re wrong. There couldn’t— Who would—?”

“There is a bomb attached to the safe door in Jacob Rite’s study.” The man’s words were punctuated for comprehension. “The timer is set for”—he glanced at his wrist—“less than two minutes.” Ryan felt a chill pass over his body, and it had nothing to do with him being naked. “So move—now!”

The man turned and Ryan followed him, rushing down the stairs and then through the lounge room, adrenaline pushing his flu-ridden body on. The light from the kitchen was a beacon, allowing Ryan enough visibility to dodge the obstacles in his way. The man in front of him not once looking back to check he was following, as if it was a given.

They entered the large timber and stone kitchen at a gallop, the man in front of him coming to a total unexpected stop, causing Ryan to collide into his back. “What the—”

Not a second later they were moving again, the man turning and locking his hand with Ryan’s. He pulled Ryan to the left, leading him the long way around the counter, but not before Ryan saw what had made him stop. Jenna the housekeeper was draped backwards over the black stone countertop, her eyes wide open, a ghastly red hole in the middle of her forehead.

“Jenna . . .” he murmured, pain evident in the sorrowful word, a million conclusions rapid firing through his brain. What the hell is happening in this house?

                

                Bile rose in Ryan’s throat. He held it down, allowing the man holding his hand to pull him forward, his own mortality innately more important to him at that moment.

BetteBrowne©2013

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

I hope everyone had a truly wonderful festive period and that you are now ready and raring to go for 2013. Goodness, 2013. Can that even be true? It is really 2013? I certainly can't believe it. I'm sure I believe most of 2012 was abducted by a weird alien force, because it can't have been 12 months since the last NYE celebrations and me lamenting—more than likely—the same thing. *hehe*

But the fact is 2013 has arrived. Hopefully it will be a resounding success for everyone.

My plans for the year haven't changed a great deal from the end of last year. I hope to get my "main" working manuscripts finished and submitted for consideration. I say "main" because there are so many "started" ones, but I am still concentrating on a select few. I seem to be suffering from a bit of writer's block, but hopefully now that Christmas is over and I can get back into my routine, the words will come easier. Gosh, I hope so. They certainly seem to be stuck deep down right now.

I seem to have a bad habit of starting new manuscripts when I can't find the words for a working piece—hence the "many" I mentioned before. I doubt I am alone in that way of dealing. There are certainly words and ideas in my head, just not the ones I am chasing. I think I'll pick another scene to work on and see if that helps ... for ALL of the stories. How can I have four main stories on the go and not be able to pick up on any of them? Maybe that is the issue. Four stories! The funny thing is, I have no issue with any of the voices or the direction I want to take with each of the stories. I just can't seem to get back into them. It is so frustrating.

I'm not worried ... yet. It is a difficult time of the year to stick with routines, and I know that. If I come back in a month and am still struggling with the same problem, then I may plead for help. For now I will just say bye and send best wishes for the new year ahead.

Till next time.

Bette.

This week I contributed a guest post to the Top 2 Bottom Reviews blog as a part of the Second Chances anthology blog tour. On the same day the book was also reviewed by host, Gabbi, and "Dirty Martini" received a 4.5 star review. I was tickled pink. Both posts can be read using the links below, and I have also included my post here.

Blog tour post:     top2bottomreviews.wordpress.com
Second Chances review post:     top2bottomreviews.wordpress.com/review

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Are gay men versatile, and does fiction imitate real life? And why does it matter to me? By Bette Browne

Hi. I’m Bette. Being a “published author” is new to me, so I must admit it’s a bit daunting putting together this post, but it’s my pleasure to do so in support of the Second Chances anthology blog tour. I love the book, and I’m very proud that my story “Dirty Martini” is included in it.

I discussed many possible topics for this post with my publisher, and when “Are sexual preferences within male/male relationships in the real world actually as defined as those often portrayed in fiction and on the television screen?” was mentioned, I decided that this topic could prove rather interesting. It is something I have certainly thought about and would love to know.

I’m a heterosexual woman, and even though I have a healthy obsession (yes, I did use that word) with male/male romances, I really have no idea what goes on in the bedroom of gay couples around the world. Why does it matter to me? In all honesty, it doesn’t. I’m just curious. And as an author writing in this genre, I would hope I am not too far off base. I’m certainly not a voyeur, and I don’t think I’m alone in sometimes looking at a couple, regardless of pairing, and… well, just wondering. I certainly consider a fictional couple when I read them and wonder about the dynamics and whether they could exist as “real.”

My imagination is fierce; I certainly have ideas, but are any of my fantasies justified in the realm of reality? I’ve watched a bit of porn (who hasn’t?), but how accurate is that reality when the models/actors are being “paid” to do whatever. The stories I read that are written by the male authors within the M/M romance genre haven’t shed any light for me either. Characters in those range as well. Having recently read the Adrien English series by Josh Lanyon where the main characters most definitely have defined roles, well… confused again. As for television: Queer as Folk (QAF) definitely cemented the more “defined roles” tag for me. The couples in it were very “non-versatile” (is that a word?). And for me, as I would assume for many, QAF was my first real exposure to gay romance, and QAF was accurate? Wasn’t it?

When I began researching, there was so much more on the topic than I’d imagined (praise, or curse, Google). And what surprised me, according to the research, is that the “majority” of gay men are versatile. I truly didn’t expect this to be the case. I assumed more defined roles would be held. Instead, what I found was men may lean one way or the other, and they may have a preference, but they are still versatile overall. Age groups, geography, as well as other factors varied the results, but it still remains distinct. Men mix it up. They “top” and “bottom.” This makes me happy. I think because if I were a man for a day, I would “definitely” want to experience everything!

When I think about it, my favorite male/male stories, and fantasies, are the ones involving two very evenly matched men, e.g., Cut & Run and its sequels by Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux. They are sensational. Those two men have me under their spell. They are men with similar careers and education, both tall and lean (nice six-pack and muscles of course, but not too bulky); men who like to give and take equally. Why does this appeal to me? I think it’s because they are the men who appeal to me in real life, the ones I am physically attracted to, the ones I would date (sorry hubs) if they were straight, and if I can imagine two (or even three) of them together… well all the better. Am I objectifying men? Yes, possibly, it is my fantasy after all.

I’m sure my preferences will continue to come across in the characters I choose to write about, as well as what I read. But as I think about the couples I’ve read and enjoyed—some of my favorites—I realize I really did have a soft spot for Josh Lanyon’s very defined “Adrien-with-an-e English”… Maybe I need to revisit him. It seems I’m versatile too.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

When you see these words, "I think the fourth story, Dirty Martini, was my favorite," and "I liked the last two stories best..." (Mine was second last. *big smile*) about your story, you can't help but get that fluttery feeling. It's nice.

I have to admit I've been quite excited by the comments my story, part of the Second Chances anthology by Bottom Drawer Publications, has received.

See the two reviews in question here:

http://www.redhotbooks.com

http://gaylistbookreviews.wordpress.com

The positive words have given me the courage to keep writing. Not that I have ever stopped, I mean it more in a figurative sense, but the encouragement makes me more willing to keep plugging on with a goal in mind—submitting my work.

I'm still working on the story I mentioned in my last post. Ben and Todd are still exciting me very much; in fact, the story has a new name, and a prologue now—the joys of novel over short story length: I can add as much as I want. If you read my last post, you know they are a second chance at love—my original second chance at love actually. As teenagers, they weren't both ready for love, but when they meet again, fifteen years later, this may be their time.

Kyle, a secondary character from Ben & Todd's book, will star in Bk 2 of the series. It also has been named, as has the series, and I am very excited for the possibility of seeing them published. Time will tell.

I am also working on a novel of intrigue and mystery. One mc has been named Dominic, a bit clichéd I know, the name seems very popular in m/m stories right now, but it suits him and his lifestyle. I have named the other mc as well, but I'm not willing to share right now, because his name may change. I'm not 100% convinced it is right. I can also see a series in this story, and no, I am not intent on all my characters having series based around them or their world; I have numerous unfinished manuscripts that if I get them completed will remain single stories. But as I have continued to work on this and think about it's ending, which keeps altering by the way, I feel there is possibility. Hopefully, if I get it completed by the date I have imposed on myself, and the editor I plan on submitting it to, sees merit in it, they too will agree with my long-term plan. *crosses fingers*

That's it from me for now. I think I have enough inspiration to write a few thousand words today *again, crosses fingers... and toes* so I'd better get to it.

Until next time,

Bette.