Please Welcome Amber Kell!!!

Please give a warm welcome to my first ever guest blogger, Amber Kell!  Amber is here as part of her November Birthday Extravaganza, in which she's been hopping all over the place sharing bits and pieces of a free story! If you've missed any of the installments, you can find links to them all at her blog here

And now, on with the story!

Accidental Alpha #26

As it turned out the family dinner fell on the night before the 

full moon. 

“You’re father isn’t going to invite any unmentionables to dinner again, is he?” Fenris asked as he tossed aside the clothes Stanley had chosen and pulled a suit from a dry cleaning bag.

“If he did I wouldn’t be able to mention it,” Stanley teased. “And where did I get a suit? I’m pretty sure none of my other outfits were that nice.” Although he did wear a suit to his old job none of his previous suits looked like they featured in a menswear magazine.

“Consider it one of the perks of being the Alpha. You’re mate does your shopping.” Fenris gave a sniff. “From what I can see you need it.”

Stanley shrugged. “You didn’t dress up to visit with my parents.”

Fenris smiled. “I thought you’d tell me if they were formal. Besides I don’t like your father. I would’ve dressed up for your mother though. She’s my favorite new inlaw.”

Laughing, Stanley took of his sweater and jeans and dressed in the outfit Fenris brought. “Better?”

Fenris stared at him so long Stanley worried he’d done something wrong. “Huh, oh sorry I was just admiring the scenery.”

Shaking his head Stanley smiled at his mate. “If we’re going to get to this thing on time you need to get dressed too. Why did you decide to have the dinner at that new Italian place anyway? My mother would’ve loved to cook.”

“Because I know your father won’t start anything and my parents won’t argue if we’re out in public in front of the humans.”

“Why didn’t we just have dinner with your mother and then your father? Why everyone at once?” Stanley was missing something in this whole arrangement he just knew it.  “You’re holding out on me about something.”

Fenris froze in the act of tying his tie. “I think holding out is a rather strong statement.”

“You’re handling me again aren’t you?” Stanley narrowed his eyes at his mate. Over the time they’d come to be mates, Stanley had noticed Fenris’ role was to keep the alpha happy. And if Fenris thought Stanley would be happier unaware, the other wolf kept things from him.

“Now love, it isn’t a matter of keeping things from you. Just I’ve always thought my parents should get back together but there’s only a limited number of reasons you can get them in the same room.”

“So you’re using our dinner to get your parents to sit down at the same table. What about your mother’s husband?”

Fenris shrugged. “I’m sure we can find him a new wife.”

A startled laugh burst out of Stanley. “What if he doesn’t want a new wife?”

“Then he’s out of luck. Mates shouldn’t separate.” Fenris said firmly. “I’ve known this all my life but they still stay apart. I can see my father still pines for her and my mother doesn’t look happy. Now that I know what it’s like to have a mate I’m even more determined that my parents get back together.”

Stanley sighed. Wrapping an arm around Fenris he pulled his mate close. “Babe, you can’t organize other people to do what you think they should. Your parents have to choose their own paths even if you think they’ve made the wrong choices. It’s their choices and they have to live with the mistakes they make.”

Fenris patted Stanley on the chest. “My parents deserve to be together.”

“I’m not going to change your mind am I?”

“Nope.” Fenris said.

“At least make sure everyone knows it isn’t my fault when this entire thing explodes in our face.”

“Of course dear.” Fenris dressed quickly and led the way out the bedroom. “It’s my job to make sure you always look good.”

Stanley looked down at his designer suit. “So far you’re doing well in the clothing let’s hope your people sense is as good.”

Fenris gave him a wolfish smile that did nothing to reassure Stanley. “My parents won’t even know what hit them.”

Despite his mate’s cheery outlook Stanley had a feeling there was no way this night would work out. “Maybe it’s not too late to be a missing person,” he mused on his way out the door.

Guest post at Fiction with Friction!

ohhhh yay! I'm so excited about this!!

http://www.fictionwithfriction.com/2011/11/17/guest-blogger-dc-juris/

Hot Angels and Cool Demons Blog Tour Continues With...

Me!

::waves:: Hi folks.

Hopefully there's some new people here, maybe ones who don't know me. For those who don't, I'm DC Juris, and I write gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual, and heterosexual romance. ::coughs:: Okay, okay. I write smut. But it's romantic smut! erm...Mostly!!!

Anyhow, the lovely Jay Di Meo (http://jaydimeo.wordpress.com/) invited me to participate in the Hot Angels and Cool Demons Blog Tour, and since I can't say "no" to Jay (who can, really??) here's my contribution.

My very first stand alone (not anthology) publication was a book at Torquere Press called "On God's Honor."

Here's the blurb:

Ekenezer has no idea why Nathan Bradley is so important, or why God has sent him to guard a hapless klutz. But one look at Nathan and Ekenezer soon finds that he has more than protective feelings for his ward. What’s an angel to do, though, when having the one person he’s ever wanted means giving up his wings for eternity? 


Although I was still new to the writing world and the book lacked a lot of the polish of my current releases, "On God's Honor" still garnered fairly good reviews, which was awesome for my first time out. No five star ratings, mostly three stars, though looking back, that's fair. The contract expired earlier this year, so the book is currently out of circulation.

At this point, I'm excited to start a rewrite on it--give it all the details and love it needs, and resubmit it to Breathless Press. I think my editor Mason and I could make it a really, really good piece!

After "On God's Honor" originally came out, I received a few e-mails asking me why I'd chosen an angel for a gay romance, and why in the name of Heaven had I made God a gay-sympathetic character??? (Yep, I wrote God into the book, too. Nothing is sacred with me!)

The short answer is that I find the idea of an angel in any sort of sexual relationship extremely erotic. Think about it: a messenger and representative of God, holy, incorruptible...until they meet a certain human. Suddenly they're tempted. Emotions and desires they'd buried, or even thought they'd never experience, come rushing to the forefront. Do they give up their wings for their lover? It's a dilemma they never even imagined. Think about the power there, of the average human being. Most of us can barely convince others to do what we want, we remain incapable of winning arguments against the most zealous of people, yet we tempt angels. And what greater show of devotion and love, but to cast yourself down for your soul mate?

Of course, in my book, that doesn't happen. In "On God's Honor," I portray God as a character sensitive to the needs--carnal and otherwise--of his angels. He admits that such things take place far more often than he'd like to admit, but the goal is to keep the humans safe, and he'll do whatever that takes. Even if it means turning a blind eye to certain activities.

But there's a larger reason for writing God in such a way--affirmation. You see, it's my belief that, if there is a God, he knew what he was doing when he made each and every one of us. To think otherwise is to give dominion to the other side, or, worse, to suggest the All Powerful makes mistakes. In essence, you can't have it both ways. If I'm a transgender bisexual, it's because I was meant to be. Else the Man Upstairs doesn't know what he's doing...in which case you throw the believers into chaos!

I'll admit I'm an Atheist. I've never been quiet or shy about that fact, so writing a book about an angel raised some eyebrows among people who knew me. Who was I to claim enough knowledge to speak about God and Heaven? Well, I didn't. I'm not a theological expert. I claim enough knowledge to speak about love, nothing more.

Some people suggested that, because I'm an Atheist, I wrote the book as a slap in the face to God and organized religion. To them, I've said that if love is a slap in the face to organized religion, then you're doing it wrong. O.o

I'm looking forward to diving back into this story, and seeing what can be added and tweaked. It sort of feels like visiting an old friend.

Why I Support Aj

I'm one of the authors who stepped up and defended AJ in the whole "OMG AJ IS A WOMAN!!!!" debacle. I defended him in the only fashion I know - loudly.

I've gotten barraged with messages regarding my defense, all of which, I've ignored until this post. Here are my answers, if anyone cares. (And for the record, I don't care if you care or you don't.)

Q: Don't you feel like this is a slap in the face to the GLBTQ community??????

A: Let me understand the reasoning here. A transgender man feels he has to hide his status in order to gain acceptance. That's supposed to be a slap in the face? What it *is* is a sad commentary on our society, and the m/m writing community.

Q: People look to m/m romance for guidance and insight, especially questioning youth. The lies of "his" "gay" situation are monumentally destructive, don't you think?

A: First of all, if anyone is looking to m/m romance for guidance and insight, all they're going to learn is that anal sex can be done without lube, men frequently fall in love with other men on sight, and gay men are incapable of keeping their hands off each other in any situation. Seriously. That's the majority of the gay romance out there. It's FICTION. You wouldn't learn how to be a veterinarian by reading The Pokey Little Puppy, would you? If Aj were purporting to be a certified expert on something, then fine, yes, I'd agree with you. But Aj purports to be a writer of smut just like the rest of us. I certainly hope no one is looking to my books for guidance and insight. Christ, just do a google search - you'll get better information.

Q (or more of a ranting statement, actually - and I'm quoting this one directly) : "Listen, asshole, Llewellyn has on MORE THAN ONE OCCASION bemoaned and bitched about female authors like myself trying to cash in on the gay male experience by using gender neutral pen names and now you defend her??? That's bullshit!"

A: First of all, if Aj is transgender, which he claims to be - and we have no proof he's not - then he's a HE not a she. Second of all, if Aj is a transgender MALE who is sleeping with/fucking/in love with/having wet dreams about/masturbating to the idea/image/memory/dream/whatever of another MALE then he is indeed GAY, or at the very least, bi. Which would make his outrage reasonable, yes?? Or does one have to have a functioning, semen spitting penis in order to be "really" gay? If that's the case, I know a few infertile, erectile dysfunctional gay men who are about to rip off their pointy-toed pumps and stab your eyes out with them. :-) And by the way, that's MISTER Asshole to you, sweetie.

Q: Who is Ann Somerville, anyhow?

A: I haven't the foggiest. I've never heard of her until this whole thing happened. Although she's probably never heard of me, either.

Q: Aren't you worried that people will stop buying your books because you defended her?

A: AGAIN, he's a he until we have proof he's not transgender. No, I'm not worried. Frankly if people want to not buy my books because I've defended someone, that's fine with me. I would rather them hate me if they need to, than falsely kiss my ass.

Q: Doesn't it matter to you that he's not really a he?

A: Nope. The gender of an author makes no difference to me. Do you have any idea how many other authors are presenting as one thing but are really another? There are females pretending to be males, males pretending to be females, and transgender males pretending to be "natural" gender males.

I think people read my works based on my talent and characters, not what's between my legs. But for the record, if it matters to anyone, there's a vagina between my legs.

Q: Is he really Dj too????

A: How the hell would I know? Why don't you write their publishers and ask? Better yet, find someone who has their phone numbers (there has to be an author out there with them) and call them both at once. Can't really fake that, hmm?

Q: But what about all the lies she told in her blog about coming out and being bullied?? She's trivializing the gay experience.

A: (I'll let the she/he thing go...apparently it's beyond reasonable grasp....) I can't say as I recall reading any such posts (not saying they're not there, just I don't remember reading them) but how do you know they're not real?? DID he come out to someone as a gay male? HAD he been bullied? Transgender people deal with our share of bullying all the time. How do we know those posts aren't based on reality?

Q (or really another rant, quoted verbatim): "SHE LIED TO US! She deceived all her readers! We believed what she said and it was all lies!! We have a right to know the truth!!!!"

A: You have a right to know the truth?? Seriously?? Are you listening to yourself? You don't have a RIGHT to know anything. Not one single, solitary thing. You have the privilege of being let into someone's life, and you have the responsibility to be respectful of them. That's where it ends. You don't have a right to know anything about anyone, especially if they're not impacting your ability to function in your daily life. Some of these authors write the smut you enjoy at great personal risk. Some have lost their families over it. Some have even been forced to stop writing and go into hiding. HIDING. Over a book. How ridiculous is that? It's completely stupid that someone risks their life to bring you a feel good moment. You're welcome.

Q: Did you read Damon's post about this?? Don't you agree with him? He's right about so much!!! How can you not agree with him? I met him in New Orleans and I think he's awesome.

A: I did read the post. I agree with some points. As you can see from the above, I disagree with some points. I'm free to agree or disagree as I wish. I met him in New Orleans, too and I agree, he's pretty cool. Although I have no idea what that has to do with anything else.

Q: I heard some publishers make you take a male or gender neutral pen name. Is that true? Do you think that's dishonest?

A: Since I'm not published with every GLBTQ publisher out there, I can't speak for them all. I've had one publisher say I'd need a gender neutral pen name, yes. I already had one, based on being transgender, so I didn't have any issue with it. And it's no more dishonest than anything else going on in the m/m community at the moment.

Q: Do you know who started all this? Will you tell me?

A: I do. I won't.

That's it. That's all I have to say. Comment or not, agree or not. I don't really care. :-)

Please vote for Finding Sanctuary!

Shameless vote whoring commencing in 3...2...1! I've had the luck of working with some very talented cover artists for my books, and one of them is up for an award! Please go vote for the "Finding Sanctuary" book cover!  http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/1427480.html