When news is so good you snort coffee out your nose

....well, almost. :)

So, I was taking a brief break at work this morning to sit back, take a large sip of my jumbo coffee, and check my personal email on my phone. I came close to snorting coffee out my nose and all over my computer and desk when I read an email from the lovely folks at DSP saying Analyzing Emory was up on the site and available for pre-order. Then I had a holy shit moment because it all just became incredibly more real than it had all seemed only moments before.

My. First. Novel. Is. Available. For Pre-order. O.M.G.

Because I was at the office, and couldn't quite run screaming up and down the hallways (What can I say? I need the paycheck!), I settled for one of these in my chair:

I've always been unfailingly impatient, so I'm not quite sure how I'll survive the next month, but I'm sure I'll manage somehow. Now, please excuse me while I go back to dancing like a complete and utter dorky spaz in the privacy of my own living room. :D

xo,
Lily

Analyzing Emory-- Out January 4th!!!

It's right around the corner! My first novel, Analyzing Emory, will come out January 4th from Dreamspinner Press. SQUEE!!!

When a family friend offers him the job of resident psychologist at Chicago’s GLBT Center, Kyle Michelson jumps at the chance to reinvigorate his career, move on from his recent breakup, and get his life back on track. Kyle hopes returning to the familiar territory of his hometown will do him good, but meeting Emory Brenner at a club changes everything.

Anything but familiar, Emory leaves Kyle breathless from the start. There’s just one problem: Kyle wants more than a one-night stand, Emory doesn’t do relationships, and neither man can resist the other. Luckily for Emory, he never has to see Kyle again. Or so Emory thinks until he runs into him while volunteering at the GLBT Center.

Kyle makes Emory want things he never thought he could have and chips away at secrets Emory has kept locked away for years. On the surface, Emory’s recovered from his past: he has a job at a record store and a roof over his head. But putting his trust in another person, having a relationship, means opening himself to more pain—and that is a risk he can’t take.

There were a lot of times I didn't think this novel would ever get finished. I owe a big thanks to a very dear friend for always lending the encouragement and support I needed to keep plugging away at it. I'm really proud of this story and I'm so excited to finally be able to share it. I also have to send a shout-out to the wonderful folks over at Dreamspinner who've just been exceptional throughout this process. And the biggest thank you ever to L.C. Chase for the beautiful cover!!

xo,

Lily

Free reads and cover art input

Greetings! Hope you are all having a lovely weekend.

So, both of my short stories published with Torquere Press back in 2010 have been out of print for a while now, and I've just sort of been sitting on them, not sure what to do. All the rights are transferred back to me, so really, I can do anything I want with them. I thought fleetingly of either subbing to another publisher or even self-publishing on ARe, or Amazon. But in the end, I decided I'd much rather just offer them up as free reads on my blog.

So, my first ever published work, Forces of Nature, can be found here. It's about best friends, Evan and Drew, getting a little help from Mother Nature admitting their true feelings for each other.

In Just a Summer Fling, a beautiful surfer named Chris helps Ryan, who's just been dumped by his boyfriend, get some of his self-confidence back while he's on vacation. Fling can be found here.

Just a Summer Fling was also just reviewed over at Joyfully Jay as part of their Young Love Week. Not Familiar with the Joyfully Jay blog? Take a gander:

Last week I supplied the Dreamspinner art department with input on what I would like to see for the cover of Analyzing Emory. When I started to fill out the information--What do the MCs look like? Do you want a drawn cover or one using stock photography? What's the tone of the story? Etc.--everything just started to feel so real. It's really happening! It wasn't some sort of April Fools joke in September. They're really publishing my book and they're even going to make a pretty cover for it! The editing process hasn't begun yet, and I'm sure I'll moan and groan through it, but that part excites me as well, because it means the book is just getting that much closer to being finished and ready to be shared with everyone. Early 2013 can't come fast enough!

xo,
Lily

Fell into a black hole for a while... but I'm back, and have BIG news!!

Hello one and all!

So, I've done what no writer with a blog should do. I haven't posted in a year. *Hides head in shame.* The last year has been an insanely crazy busy one. After deciding to make a relatively substantial career change, I got a new job, packed up everything I owned, left Boston where I had been living for over six years, and moved to the DC metro area.

Life is ducky, but with all that job searching, and packing, and moving, and unpacking, and getting settled in a new state in a new job, I found I didn't have much time for writing. But little by little, I managed to chip away at the novel I had been working on, and I am pleased as punch to report I just signed a contract with Dreamspinner Press! Analyzing Emory will be published sometime in early 2013. *Does a super happy dance.*

Here's what it's about:

Kyle is a psychologist who moves back to Chicago to take a job working at the GLBT Center run by a family friend. Recently out of a long-term relationship, Kyle needed to leave New York to get his life back on track. It's great being back in the town where he grew up and went to college. Everything is familiar. What Kyle didn't expect was Emory. Emory is difficult, and challenging, and doesn't want anything to do with the word "relationship." But Kyle doesn't want to give up on the enigmatic man who from their first meeting at a club took his breath away.

Emory has a lot of demons and a past he won't talk about. He goes out, has sex, and never gets attached. Period. But after spending the night with Kyle, he wasn't at all prepared to deal with how Kyle made him feel... like maybe he wanted more than a one-night-stand. When Kyle and Emory run into each other again at the GLBT Center and their lives begin to intertwine, they'll both find they each have a lot to learn, and maybe what they both need is each other.

I'm thrilled to be back and look for more updates in the near future!

xo,

Lily

8th Anniversary Celebration!

It's the 8th birthday of Torquere Press!

In honor of this momentous occasion the fine folks at Torquere are holding a Lucky 8 Ball contest. By taking part in a scavenger hunt of authors' webpages and blogs (in which yours truly is participating ;)) you will have the chance to win fabulous prizes, including a Kindle! So, pop on over to the contest site and start scavenging!

Vacation, relocating, and anniversaries... oh my!

Holy, crazy, last few weeks.

Some really big things are coming up for me! First, it's finally time for my long-awaited summer vacation! I'm heading to Germany for two weeks to visit a friend. I'm so excited. I'm certain to come back with many plot bunnies wearing lederhosen. ;)

After I get back from my trip my life is in for a major overhaul. I've been offered an amazing new job that will be fantastic for my career (y'know, the career that pays the bills), but it requires me to relocate. So, in about a month I'll be boxing up my life, leaving Boston, and moving back down to Washington, DC. I lived there for about a year when I was in grad. school a while back, so it's a familiar place and I still have great friends in the area. It's still a huge change.... but a completely exciting one. It just means that for the next few months my life will be slightly crazed and stressful. It'll totally be worth it though. Let's just hope I can find some time for writing in there somewhere so my characters don't think I've completely abandoned them. ;)

Speaking of characters and writing, I have added a new works in progress page, so check it out to see what I have in the pipeline. Also, Torquere Press has an 8th anniversary celebration coming up! Starting in September Torquere will have some fun things going on including an author webpage scavenger hunt in which I'm taking part! So, keep your eyes peeled on the Torquere Press website come September for details.

Now, I have to get back to haphazardly throwing things in the direction of my suitcase. *grins*

My last post was when?!

*looks at last blog post date*

*looks at calendar*

*looks back at last blog post date*

Seriously?! Have I really not updated my blog since February?! 

Wow. I'm pretty sure I deserve a spanking. LOL

So, the job that actually pays my bills has been running me into the ground. And, I had some writer's block issues. And, I'm trying to find a new job (hopefully) that won't make me want to bang my head repeatedly against a wall. So, things have been busy... just not hugely productive on the writing front.

BUT.... that doesn't mean that things haven't been looking up of late. I'm currently working on three things. First, there's a novel (my first!!! *does a dance*), where I'm this close to typing 'The End.' Then of course there's the multitude of edits, revisions, re-writes.... but let's take things one step at a time, shall we? I'm also working on a novella (which if it goes the way I'm envisioning it will actually be a paranormal series of sorts... but perhaps it's too early to say much more). And, finally, there is a short story about a sandwich (okay, so it's about two men... but there is a sandwich, and it does play a crucial role in the plot). 

There are, of course, a few other things rolling around in my head like dust bunnies or that have very cursory outlines/beginnings, but the three things I mentioned above are getting first priority. (Unless a new plot bunny and new characters start screaming in my head to be written immediately, and NO, they will not wait! And yes, this has been known to happen... ;p) 

Maybe I'll make it a project this weekend to add a WIP page to my blog. That would be good. So, even if I don't have anything new coming out people can see what the hell I'm up to. ;)

More info on WIPs soon. (Really, I promise!!) 

Love,

Lily