Romance for the Rest of Us

Deadline extended for Charity Sips!

2009-07-28T16:58:00.001-07:00

We've moved the deadline back 2 weeks to give authors more time. In 2008-09,
we all donated more $5,000 to Lambda Legal. Let's make this year's charity
proud!

Call for Submissions:

In 2008, Torquere Press decided to use its September anniversary and its Sip
short story line for a little good work. Dedicating the month to supporting
the fight for equal rights in marriage, Torquere and our authors published
gay and lesbian wedding themed stories, with the proceeds going to charities
such as the Lambda Legal Fund. To date, more than $5000.00 has been donated
to the selected charity.

In 2009, our authors have chosen the Matthew Shepherd Foundation as the
recipient of our anniversary Sip Blitz, with the theme of Changing Lives at
the core of the stories.

Stories are due August 15, 2009, and will be released in September 2009.
Each story should be 3000-8000 words in length, and focus on gay, lesbian,
bisexual or transgendered characters. Priority will be given to stories with
strong romantic elements.

What is Changing Lives all about? We want stories about changing minds,
about standing up for what you believe in, and about the right to live, and
love, as you choose. We're looking for hope, for positive endings, and of
course, love stories.

General submissions guidelines can be found at www.torquerepress. com Please
send submissions to submissions @ torquerepress. com with "Changing Lives" in
the subject line. Authors agree that all royalties from Charity Sips will be
donated to the Matthew Shepherd Foundation, with Torquere matching all
donations 100%. Please email Shawn at saclements @ torquerepress. com with
any questions.

been a long couple of months

2009-06-17T16:06:00.000-07:00

and we apologize for being mostly absent. Show us you're still here! Email Lorna at ldoone @ torquerepress.com and get a chance for a free paperback copy of Other Magical Creatures, our BBA menage anthology about all manner of magical men and women!

Book Expo News

2009-06-03T11:31:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all!

Larry and KIL Kenny returned from Book Expo America in New York relatively alive

They both had a lot to report.

Larry mainly wanted us all to know, as publishers, authors and readers of gay and lesbian romance, that a lot of people still don't know we're out there! They're interested in our genre, interested in our books and in our demographic, but they don't know where to go to find us.

As publishers, this means we need to focus on marketing through the industry specific places like Booklist and Publisher's Weekly, and start pounding the pavement with press releases.

But what can authors and readers do, you ask?

Kate reports that bookstores, conference and yes, libraries want authors to come and talk. They want readings, signings, and promo materials. These things don't have to cost a lot, or even cost anything, if a writer wants to do a reading. Book clubs want new experiences. Heck, one of our authors gave a reading at her garden society, for goodness' sake! But I don't have a book in print, you say? They want ebook authors, too. In fact, a lot of libraries are desperate for someone to come in and explain to their staff how ebooks work!

As a reader, you can do just as much to spread the word. Talk to people. Talk to librarians, local bookstores, and book clubs you might attend about gay romance. Tell them that a full 80% or more of the book market today is romance readers. Tell them that we do romance. The 2007 ebook market jumped from 1 million dollars to three million, according to an RWA survey. We estimate m/m romance is about one eighth of that. Booksellers and librarians need to know this! Terrified of outing yourself as a reader of m/m? Just make an anonymous suggestion at your local library and/or bookstore. Drop it in their suggestion box and run! We won't tell anyone.

We learned a lot more about how to set up a booth (don't be late, or everyone's trash ends up in your booth), how to market series and genres, and how to get people interested in ebooks, but the main thing we found out is that we're selling ourselves short, as a whole; readers, writers, and publishers.

So spread the word!

To Read KIL Kenny's blog post on what authors can do, go here!

Wish Us Luck at Book Expo

2009-05-28T17:01:00.000-07:00

Webmaster Larry and editor KIL Kenny are off to New York City tomorrow through Sunday for Book Expo America, the premiere trade show for the book industry. If you're attending, stop by and see them! Booth 3962.

Our objective this year is to promote all of our various lines, from the Top Shelf to BBA (our menage line) and Prizm (our Young Adult line). We're focusing hard on independent bookstores and libraries, as well as supporting the ladies at All Romance Ebooks with their think green, read E campaign.

As always, we're aiming to bring gay and lesbian romance to the forefront of the industry!

recent reviews for TQ books

2009-05-26T11:34:00.000-07:00

howdy!

Our overworked review coordinator posted a whole slew of reviews over at our Social Livejournal. Rather that do all of her work over, I'll just give y'all the link!

http://community.livejournal.com/torquere_social/1191164.html

Head over and click through to some of the fabulous review sites that are so good to us!

BBA title gets a kudo!

2009-05-26T11:30:00.000-07:00

noted romance novelist Rebecca York has this to say about Lauren Burka's BBA Novela, The Memorial Garden

In MEMORIAL GARDEN, Lauren Burka, has created a world of decadence ruled by an empress who values her own pleasure far above the lives of her consorts. Full of erotic and ironic twists and turns, this story creates a tapestry of sensual surprises and forbidden pleasures.
Rebecca York ** http://www.rebeccayork.com

Here's the blurb!

Sofian grew up to a privileged but empty life on a backward world until the Empress called him to serve her at the Celestial Court. When he arrived, he discovered that he would be serving her in bed, and that he would not long outlive the day she discarded him.

Then he meets Numair, a former consort of the Empress. They become increasingly entangled under the shadow of their shared fate, and their relationship blossoms. Will they learn the difference between need and love before time runs out for them?

Here's the buy link!

We're not dead, and a wrap up of Romantic Times

2009-05-03T09:27:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all!

The blog is not dead! I've just been swamped, and frankly a little at a loss with what to do over here! We have the social livejournal, the Twitter, the Facebook, the Yahoogroup, the MySpace. It's a little dizzying.

Grins. Somehow a blog seems more formal, more serious. I think I may be showing my age there, huh?

At any rate, we've been swamped since we got back from Romantic Times, but I did want to share some of it with y'all!

We got in Tuesday and caught up with Vincent Diamond and Chris Owen. We were all a little lagged and settled in, just having a blast and waiting for stuff to start. Wednesday we had the electronic book signing in the evening, where Kiernan Kelly joined us, and we got to meet the fabulous Jen McJ, who came by to see us all in what would otherwise have been a very slow night.

In fact, the whole con was slow. Tory Temple came in Wednesday night, just in time to come to the fairy ball Thursday night, which despite us all dressing up as trashy Wizard of Oz characters, was surprisingly underattended. I have to assume the economy really has a lot to do with people not showing up and not costuming. We had fun, though, and got to meet up with artist Alessia Brio and partner Will, and Lori and Barb from All Romance Ebooks. We couldn't eat any of the food (darned allergies) and by the time it was done, we were ready to go have a glass of wine and play some pool. The redneck fairies will be back to jeans again next year, I promise.

The next high point was Saturday. The booksigning was slow, by all accounts, including the big names. We did get to see Elaine, though, which is always fab! Unexpected, too! Tory and Kiernan did well at their first RT, and we all got a little love from the fans, as well as meeting new people.

The best part of the whole weekend was the mass trip to Disneyworld! Kiernan knows all the ins and outs of the park, and we had a ball! You haven't lived until you've taken a load of gay romance writers on Pirates of the Carribean!

Anyway, here are a few pics to make you smile!

Julia Talbot after Kiernan painted her eyes

BA, almost ready for the ball

Kiernan, ready to get her flying monkey on

Chris as Steampunk Dorothy and Kiernan as a flying monkey

Tory Temple as the scarecrow

BA at the booksigning

Julia at the signing

Tory Temple at her first RT!

Chris Owen, in the June Cleaver dress of joy

Kiernan Kelly, getting her promo on!

Anyhoo, I'll try to keep y'all updated better! That's all for now!

Anthologies Open for Submissions at Torquere Press

2009-02-04T11:15:00.000-08:00

Bite Me! Love Bites 2 – A BBA Menage Anthology

One neck. Two sets of bite marks. Or hickeys. Werewolves, vampires, or just a couple of kinky folks who need a third. Whatever gets the threesome motor running is good! Stories should be romance or erotic romance with a male/male/female relationship. Our readers prefer fully realized plots and strong characters, with happy endings if at all possible.

Stories are due March 21, 2009 for release in May 2009. Word count between 3000-8000 words, with a payment of $50.00, as well as a contributor copy in both electronic and paperback format. Since this is a direct to print anthology, we're asking exclusive electronic and paperback rights for 5 years. Please send a synopsis, author bio and your story to submissions@torquerepress.com with Bite Me in the subject line.

***

Cherry
Who doesn’t love a first time story? Not virgins, necessarily, or first time gay sex stories. Just the first time two boys get together. Or the first time someone does something sexual that they never thought they'd try! Anything that might be a cherry to pop will work! We're looking for gay male stories only for this anthology, with fully realized characters and hot loving!

Stories are due April 1, 2009 for release in July 2009. Word count between 3000-8000 words, with a payment of $35.00, as well as a contributor copy in electronic format. We're asking exclusive electronic 2 years. Please send a synopsis, author bio and your story to submissions@torquerepress.com with Cherry in the subject line.

***

Back in the Saddle

Cowboy stories are so popular with Torquere that we had to bring them back in the tradition of Under this Cowboy's Hat or Cowboy Up! Old west, rodeo, contemporary, or foreign, you name it, we want our cowboys! Stories should be gay male, romantic, and feature happy endings.

Stories are due June 1, 2009 for release in September 2009. Word count of 8000 or more words, with a payment of $75.00, as well as a contributor copy in both electronic and paperback format. Since this is a direct to print anthology, we're asking exclusive electronic and paperback rights for 5 years. Please send a synopsis, author bio and your story to submissions@torquerepress.com with Back in the Saddle in the subject line.

***

Vamps

Vamp it up with this Lesbian anthology! What does vamp mean to you? A vampire? A 1940s femme fatale? Let your imagination run wild, and see what kind of vamps spring to mind! Stories should lean toward romance and erotic romance, and should feature lesbian characters.

Stories are due June 1, 2009 for release in September 2009. Word count between 3000-8000 words, with a payment of $50.00, as well as a contributor copy in both electronic and paperback format. Since this is a direct to print anthology, we're asking exclusive electronic and paperback rights for 5 years. Please send a synopsis, author bio and your story to submissions@torquerepress.com with Vamps in the subject line.

***

I Put a Spell on You- a BBA Menage Anthology

Love spells? Magic in the air? You bet. All it takes is two boys, one girl and a magical romance, and you have the perfect story for I Put a Spell on You. We're looking for m/m/f romance and erotic romance with strong characters and great stories.

Stories are due July 1, 2009 for release in October 2009. Word count between 3000-8000 words, with a payment of $50.00, as well as a contributor copy in both electronic and paperback format. Since this is a direct to print anthology, we're asking exclusive electronic and paperback rights for 5 years. Please send a synopsis, author bio and your story to submissions@torquerepress.com with Spell in the subject line.

***

The Care and Feeding of Demons

Demon romance! Demon hunter romance! Urban fantasy, kick-butt antiheroes. This one was requested by Torquere's authors, who asked and received! All demons, all the time! Stories should be gay male, and should be romance or erotic romance with a hopeful or happy ending.

Stories are due July 1, 2009 for release in October 2009. Word count between 3000-8000 words, with a payment of $35.00, as well as a contributor copy in electronic format. We're asking exclusive electronic 2 years. Please send a synopsis, author bio and your story to submissions@torquerepress.com with Demons Anthology in the subject line.

***

Halloween Sip Blitz – Sips are our popular short story line, running 3000-8000 words. Every Halloween we put out Sips with a spooky theme, to be sold separately and as a package. We prefer male/male stories for this line, but will consider lesbian or menage stories if they're exceptional. The deadline for this year's Halloween Sip Blitz is August 1, 2009, and we ask exclusive electronic rights for one year. Sips are a royalty paying line, and authors earn 35% gross on all Torquere site sales, and 25% on all distributor sales.

***

Naughty and Nice Holiday Sips – Are you Naughty, or Nice? You can show us in your short stories, from 3000-8000 words, based on a holiday theme. The deadline for the holiday Sips is October 21, 2009, for release in December 2009, and we ask exclusive electronic rights for one year. Sips are a royalty paying line, and authors earn 35% gross on all Torquere site sales, and 25% on all distributor sales.

***

Holiday Single Shot Extravaganza – Got a holiday story that needs telling? Think it will be novelette length, from 10000 to 20000 words? If it's romantic, gay, lesbian or menage, and has a holiday theme, then query us for our Single Shot extravaganza! Please send query by August 1, 2009 to submissions@torquerepress.com. Once your query has been approved, stories are due by October 1, 2009. We ask exclusive electronic rights for one year. Single Shots are a royalty paying line, and authors earn 35% gross on all Torquere site sales, and 25% on all distributor sales.

***

For formatting guidelines and other information see our general guidelines page here .

A little bit of winter warmth from CB Potts!

2008-12-27T14:05:00.000-08:00

From CB:

I'm feeling all secretive and sneaky -- did you ever have those days when you want to ditch it all and be a secret agent? But then I remember that I don't like to travel all that much, and I live in a very small town, so discovering international intrigue and mystery is going to be a little tricky.

But sometimes intrigue is as close as the computer.

I started writing this little tale, called ISP, just over two years ago, and it's just about done. Here's a little sneak peek: You'll have to let me know what y'all think:

Create a User Name.

"Hmmm." What should he call himself? A quick scan of the other user names on the site returned a range of options. There were the meaningless names, the MxxxJZ and the 12wde. There were conceited names -- SuperStud -- and those that walked a thin line between the incomprehensible and the terrifying, names like Painbacon. "Damn! And I was gonna call myself Pain Prosciutto," he joked, half forgetting his surroundings.

Then he leaned forward and hit a few keys: TheGMan.

The computer blinked at him for a moment, leaving Graham afraid that he'd violated some obscure Homeland Security rule with his user name choice. All he needed was the Feds kicking down the office door, looking for a terror suspect lurking in the heart of the actuarial office. He was just about to shut the system down when the message changed.

Tell us your secrets, TheGMan.

***

Nobody knows the truth about me, Graham typed. I don't know how I could ever tell anyone: I'd lose my job. I'd lose my friends. I'd lose my family.

He hit the backspace key hard. "That makes me sound like a freaking pedophile," he muttered under his breath. Getting started was harder than he expected.

If you saw me, you'd never suspect what kind of person I am.
I look like I'm in control, but nothing could be further than the truth.
Right now, I'm holding it together. But I need somebody. Somebody to step into my life and take control of me.

Delete, delete, delete. "And that sucks."

I'm laying awake at night, thinking and wishing and dreaming about a guy. I don't know who he is, and I don't know how I'm going to find him -- or even if he really exists.

But I know what I want him to do to me. That's my secret.

Graham took a long, shuddering breath. This was the closest he'd been to his truth in a long, long time.

I want a man. That's kind of a secret in itself, because nobody knows I'm gay. I think they just think I'm a nerd. Or they don't care.

Ok, that was secret number one. Now, Graham thought, it was time for the hard stuff.

This man knows me -- but I don't know him. I can't even see him, in most of my dreams. He's a strong man, a dominant man. His voice is all smoke and gravel and control. It fits him perfectly.

He's a man who will see me and want me and take me as his own. He'll see through the pretense of control and step in and take charge of me. He knows that I don't know what I'm doing and will make me learn. Who has no problem putting his hands on me, without my permission because he knows I need this. He tells me what to do, and I do it, because there's no way that I can't obey him.

It's not rape I'm looking for. It's control. It's dominance. I want to hear the commands in my ear. I want to feel the hands on me, possessive. Strong. Demanding. I want him to take me.

I want him to own me. Is he a master, an owner, a possessor? I don't know. He's someone to belong to, for a few minutes, for an hour, maybe forever.

In my dreams, I don't see him. I don't know him. That doesn't matter. I want to surrender to the mystery. To the darkness. To submit for the sake of submitting, to go down on my knees for a stranger, to offer my ass to the unknown.

He knows this. He wants to push me into submission, to see how far he can go. But he doesn't want to hurt me. Not permanently.

But I don't know how to start. Where do you find someone like this? It's not the type of thing you can ask for. "Please dominate me?" That eliminates the essential element of domination -- that he's seen me and claimed me, knowing what I am without me advertising it. I just wish this man would appear out of nowhere and take me.

If only someone would just put their hands on me…

Graham swallowed. That was it, the short and sweet version of his dreams, condensed into a few paragraphs. The whole set of thoughts that would wake him from a sound sleep night after night after night, desperately clutching at himself. For anyone to read. For everyone to read.

Click here to share your secret.

Graham's finger hovered over the mouse button for a long, long moment. He stared at his words, at his most secret of secrets.

Then he clicked.

Visit CB at www.torquerebooks.com and at http://www.cbpotts.net/

Some free fiction from Chris Owen

2008-12-18T05:59:00.000-08:00

Fitting

By Chris Owen

Philip bounced a little as he walked down the street to his tailor's shop. He was getting a new suit, and nothing made him feel more confident than clothes that fit just perfectly. Clothes that would hang properly, clothes that would feel good on his skin when he moved, clothes with unspoiled lines and neat seams. Sometimes clothes made the man, or at least made the man look trustworthy enough to handle one's money.

But Philip was really bouncing because even more than he loved good clothes he loved getting fitted for them. The entire process of selecting shirt styles, discussing fabrics, talking about colors... and the way that his favorite tailor moved about him, draping swatches over his shoulders to check for tone, the way his hands would brush over his arms and shoulders. Then there was the actual taking of measurements.

Philip shivered.

He went into the tiny store front and smiled as the man at the counter looked up. "Good afternoon, George."

"Good afternoon, Mr. Thorne. How are you today?"

"Fine, thank you." Philip moved into the store, looking about for George's assistant. "Peter's not in?"

"I'm afraid not. Did you wish to see him?"

Philip did not. In fact, he knew in advance that Peter would not be there at all; he'd called the day before to make sure. "No, no. It's not important."

George moved to the door and locked it, flipping the sign to closed. "I hope you don't mind. I find it distracting to have people walking in when I'm with a client. Please, come into the back and I can show you the new worsted weights for winter."

Philip smiled and followed the tailor into the back room. He loved this room, with its comfortable chairs and bolts of fabric; the dark wood on the walls made it feel more like a study than a fitting room. The large ornate mirror was fitting to a castle's dressing room, he'd always thought.

George moved around him, showing him new fabrics, new shirts. They looked at sketches of suits, selected one that had trim lines and slightly narrow lapels. Briefly, they discussed color and seasonal preferences, finally deciding that it was late enough in the year to go with a slate colour, with a hint of green.

Philip could smell George. He could smell the aftershave George wore, so light that at first he wasn't sure if he was just making it up for himself to enjoy. He could smell the mint of toothpaste or mints when George leaned over Philip's chair, pointing to subtleties in the design they had chosen. Philip could feel the man's body heat and he wanted to feel the man himself.

George wrote on a pad of paper for a while, noting the colors and designs, the small refinements they would make, then he glanced up at Philip. "I have all your measurements on file," he said, and Philip felt a pain of longing and disappointment. "If you are in a rush, I have all I need. But I would really rather measure you again, just in case. One never knows how a client's measurements can change."

Philip almost sighed with relief. Yes. He wanted his measurements taken. Yes. He wanted George's hands on him. And no, he was not particularly troubled by the obviousness of his erection. Subtlety was a waste of time in a busy world.

He stood and George moved around him again, this time with the tape measure. Neck first. Arms, from shoulder to wrist. Back, from nape to tail bone. Was that George's hand trailing over his ass? Chest. Waist. Hip. Oh, that was very smooth. Neatly avoided Philip's cock, but just barely. Legs, hip to ankle, and then hip to floor. Waist to ankle. Waist to floor. Far more measurements than were really needed.

George was making note of everything on the little pad on the floor. Philip looked down at him and studied George as he wrote, concentration in his face. And then George turned to face his body again. Inseam.

Philip was so hard. He closed his eyes as George touched him high on the inside of his thigh. He felt one hand hold the tape to his leg, just below his groin and the other hand move down to his foot. A pause. Then the hands were gone. George would be making notes. Thirty-one inch inseam.

Except George couldn't be making a note if he were nuzzling at Philip that way. Philip moaned and moved slightly, felt George's cheek moving against him, through Philip's trousers. And then the nimble fingers of his favourite tailor were opening the trousers and gently pushing his boxer shorts out of the way. George's breath on him, warm and moist. George's fingers on him, quick and light, sampling the texture of his skin. George's cheek against his hip. Philip rocked his hips slightly and kept his eyes closed.

Hot, wet heat around him. Oh God, yes.

Soft mouth, gently taking him in, a strong tongue tasting him. Fingers on his balls, weighing their heaviness as George's mouth started to move, began to slide up and down his length.

Tongue lapping at him, almost tickling his over-sensitive skin. Lips surrounding him. Hands on his hips, holding him steady and George sucked and moved and moaned.

Philip came with a sharp cry of release, trusting George's strong hands on his hips to keep him upright. George was licking at him, cleaning him before pulling the boxer shorts back up and refastening Philip's trousers.

He looked down at George and smiled. Then he fell to the floor and laughed, gathering George into his arms and kissing him soundly. George was laughing too, so hard that Philip feared he might start to choke.

"Phil, that's fun. How come we don't do this more often?"

Phil kissed his lover again. "Because you always have Peter here, and I never get an afternoon free from crisis."

He reached for George's pants, but his love just brushed his hand away. "It'll keep until I get home. We can play chef and chef in training when we make supper."

"And how will that lead to us getting naked?"

"We'll find a way. Hey, you want that suit? I mean you have tons, but that one would be real nice on you."

Phil nodded. "Yeah. I'll need it when I go to London."

George sighed. "I hate it when you go away."

"Come with me then; it's only a week. You can see the sights while I'm in meetings. Come to the stupid formal dinners with me and keep me from going mad."

"Seriously?" George's eyes were comically wide.

"Sure. Do you think you can arrange for time off?" Phil said with a grin.

"I'm the boss. I think I can, yeah." Beaming at him, Philip pounced.

There were still there on the floor when Peter returned from his lunch, once more earning himself a free meal to make up for his embarrassment at walking in on his boss. It was worth it.

end

Chris Owen is the author of Bareback, 911, and most recently contributed to The 5 O'Clock Bar, along with Sean Michael, Julia Talbot, and BA Tortuga. Find Chris at www.prettymuses.com and at Torquere at her author page

Submissions Calls - general

2008-12-12T20:24:00.000-08:00

What We're Reading For - December 2008

Sips - These are short stories, 3000 to 8000 words. We have openings as early as the end of January 2009 and throughout the year. Stories should be romantic, GLBT. Standard royalty rates of 35% on all Torquere sales and 25% on distributors sales, on the cover price, apply.

High Balls - this is our novella length line - 20,000 to 40,000 words. We have openings for late spring 2009 and later. Romance a necessity, GLBT. MMF Menage welcomed for the BBA imprint. Standard royalty rates apply. One story published per month.

Spurs and Saddles - This line is all about cowboys and the great American west, novella length, 20-40K words. Contemporary or historical. GLBT. Standard royalty rates apply. One story published per quarter. reading for early 09

Everyday Spectres - This is a paranormal line, specifically about the everyday lives of paranormal creatures. Tone tends to be urban fantasy or magical realism. GLBT. Reading for summer 09. Novella length, 20-30K Standard royalty rates apply. One story per quarter.

Games People Play - reading for early 09. Like Spurs and Spectres, this is a novella line. We call this one BDSM light, and encourage light-hearted, romantic explorations of the games people play in their bedrooms. GLBT. Standard royalty rates apply. One story per quarter.

Top Shelf novels This is our novel length line, and it's always fast to fill up. Novels should be GLBT, 45K to 90K - We're reading for autumn 2009. Top Shelf novels with good sales will be considered for paperback release.

Prizm YA novels - We're reading for summer 2009. Especially looking for series, paranormals. Prizm Young Adult novels are GLBTQ books, and our focus is on young adult stories about gay characters, rather than coming out stories, or stories focused on the negative aspects of being a gay teenager. All Prizm titles are released in paperback, with an 8% royalty on paperback sales, and 35% on Prizm site ebook sales.

Turn of the Screw serial fiction - reading for early 2009. Turn of the Screw is novel length fiction, serialized for 10-12 months, with a split royalty. Then your book becomes an ebook for 2 years, with standard rates applying. Very popular with the readers.

Chasers - reading for second half 2009. Chasers are sets of 3 10-20K stories about the same characters. All 3 stories are contracted at the same time, and come out consecutively over a 6 month period. Standard rates apply.

Toy Boxes - need storied. Themes: Vibrators, due Dec. 15; Beads, due Jan. 15; Biting, due Feb. 15; Guiche, due Mar. 15; Silk, due Apr. 15; Body Paint, due May 15; Prince Albert, due June 15; Costumes, due July 15. Editor is looking for sexy, but also romantic. Shared royalties among all authors.

Keep an eye out for more calls! Please see our submissions page for more information or email submissions @ torquerepress.com with any questions!

Happy Holidays from Tory Temple!

2008-12-07T15:44:00.000-08:00

Hey y'all!

Tory Temple says happy holidays! Tory is the author of Tabula Rasa, Tinder, and Heat. Find her at Torquere Books, here!

WHY IS A CHRISTMAS TREE BETTER THAN A MAN?

1. A Christmas tree is always erect.
2. Even small ones give satisfaction.
3. A Christmas tree stays up for 12 days and nights.
4. A Christmas tree always looks good - even with the lights on.
5. A Christmas tree is always happy with its size.
6. A Christmas tree has cute balls.
7. A Christmas tree doesn't get mad if you break one of its balls.
8. You can throw a Christmas tree out when it's past its 'sell by' date.
9. You don't have to put up with a Christmas tree all year.

10 THINGS THAT SOUND DIRTY AT CHRISTMAS, BUT AREN'T.

10. Did you get any under the tree?
9. I think your balls are hanging too low.
8. Check out Rudolph's Honker!
7. Santa's sack is really bulging.
6. Lift up the skirt so I can get a clean breath.
5. Did you get a piece of the fruitcake?
4. I love licking the end till it's really sharp and pointy.
3. From here you can't tell if they're artificial or real.
2. Can I interest you in some dark meat?
1. To get it to stand up straight, try propping it against the wall.

A little naughty! Clickity!

Stems and Petals
http://torytemple.com

been a little remiss

2008-12-04T08:07:00.000-08:00

but never fear! I have a bunch of stuff from some of TQ's favorite authors and some wonderful newcomers as well!

Keep an eye out for new content, coming soon!

yaoi con and WEHO

2008-09-30T12:58:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all!

Long time no see, huh?

Just got back from running a booth at Yaoi Con. Man, that was exhausting. Good, but exhausting. We got in late Friday night, had some supper, and met up with Kit Zheng, who helped us work the booth. Saturday we set up the booth (many thanks to our two volunteers from the Yaoi con staff!) and got rolling. Kit was there, and Kara Larson stopped by to help work most of the day. We had a lot of interest, a lot of return customers, some signings, and there was a lot of interest in the YA and menage stuff as well as the pure m/m.

We got to see Clare London, Elisa Rolle, James Buchanan, ZA Maxfield, Hayden Thorne, and probably a ton of other folks that I missed. Atta Vazzy worked the booth like a pro, and networked with the Yaoi crowd.

We sold better than 2/3 of the books we took, with the most popular titles being the YA, vampire and werewolf, and BDSM titles. Sci fi amd fantasy fared well, too.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to attend any of the panels or the parties, but Atta says the cosplay contest was a hoot, and that everyone enjoyed the bishie auction.

Thanks so much to everyone who stopped by to visit, and to everyone who made the show a success!

Larry (our much beleaguered webmaster) was going to go to LA for the West Hollywood Bookfair on Sunday. An unfortunate family calamity had him staying home, and our amazing authors took up the mantle for him last minute, setting up the booth and working it to get TQ's name out there. People took lots of catalogs and promo, asked lots of questions, and showed a lot of interest. Sales were slow, apparently, but we had been told repeatedly that this was not a great sales opportunity, so we were happy! Special thanks to Jay Lygon, Stephanie Vaughn, Kara Larson, Mel Spenser, Misa Izanaki and Zoe Nichols for working it for us, and for anyone I might have missed, as well!

Yay for con season being over until January, when you can look for us at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Denver!

A report on Book Expo America

2008-06-05T11:03:00.001-07:00

Hey y'all!

Shawn and I got back Monday from spending three exhausting days in LA, working Book Expo America. For those unfamiliar with the Expo, it's the largest gathering for book professionals in North America, where publishers and other book service providers set up and display and discuss their wares with librarians, booksellers, and other industry professionals. There's no point of sale opportunities at the Expo, but there are a lot of people who showed interest in stocking our books!

First of all, let me say that California is a great place to meet Torquere Press people! Jay Lygon, James Buchanan, Mel Spenser, and Andi Marquette all stopped by to say hi, and Kara Larson, Stephanie Vaughan and Tory Temple all dropped in to help us work the booth. Got to wave at Laura Baumbach over at the MLR Press booth, too. Thanks to all who stopped and chatted, and if I missed anyone, holler, as my Swiss cheese memory is just a mess!

We met a lot of folks who were interested in stocking Torquere books, and we had books for Tory and Stephanie to sign. We weren't sure how an in booth signing would work at BEA, so we kept it low key, just brought a few copies, and I think it worked to our benefit. We really felt that the people who took the books would *read* them, not just toss them.

We took catalogs of all the paperback titles, gave away lots of promo for the ebook catalog online, and gave out business cards aplenty to distributors, reviewers, and the like. In short, we talked y'all up, big time.

Most of y'all know that we have the new Young Adult line, Prizm, that's launching this year. We did a lot of talking about that, too, and gave out a ton of sample booklets and post cards. I got to tell you, y'all, postcards with your cover art on one side and the ordering information on the other are still one of the most effective marketing ideas out there. Bookmarks with cover art on one side and a teeny excerpt and ordering info on the back also work so well, especially at a huge expo where people are already carrying huge bags of heavy swag.

Librarians were very interested in the Young Adult stuff, y'all, while booksellers were interested in both YA and Adult. Many, many bookstores told us they were expanding their collections to be more "eclectic" or "inclusive", which is a huge change from years past. We also had some distributors from the UK and Australia who were very interested!

We met the ladies from Bywater Books again (Kelly was at Saints and Sinners, and is a doll) and if you want some great lesbian books, they've got them. The folks from Aspen Mountain press stopped by to say hi, and that was a hoot, as I got to talk Western Colorado, which is near and dear to my heart. Someday you'll get Salida, honey!

Our intrepid webmaster Larry spent the show wandering the show and gathering information, handing out cards, and acting like a kid in the candy store with all the free books. He got some good ideas for us for next year in New York, and did a lot of good networking. We got a good many people stopping by the booth, saying Larry sent them, so kudos to him!

Now for what the booksellers said about our product, just FYI. They loved it. Said it was professional, loved the various cover art, and complimented our typesetting. The YA books kind of premiered a few changes we're making in the typesetting arena, like drop caps at the beginning of chapters, etc, and it was popular with everyone. The librarians loved the idea of gay and lesbian romance, as a genre, and while a lot of them said they would never be allowed to carry them, a good many more said they'd be looking to make orders.

All in all, we came home with less than half of the promo, and maybe 5 books left out of the 50 we took as samples to give out. While there's really no way to quantify how much good BEA did us for now, I would say it was a success, and that again this year, it did a lot to raise the profile of Torquere Press and gay and lesbian romance! Next on the list is Book Expo Canada, and then our first American Library Association convention!

Keep an eye out for the other cons we're going to! We'll be listing them as we go!

guest blogging by Anah Crow

2008-05-16T09:20:00.000-07:00

Anah Crow did some guest blogging over at Jessica Freely's blog! You can check it out here:

Here's a little excerpt:

"Over at the Torquere Press Social LiveJournal, Jessica brought up the
question of how the writers got started writing, and how the readers
got started reading, m/m fiction. And, of course, I opened my big
mouth. This got me invited to bring my speculations over here to
Jessica's blog for a guest spot.

I've been writing m/m fiction for 27 years, that I can remember. In
fact, queer fiction is about the only thing I've ever written. I
wasn't raised in an environment that even recognized queerness in any
way, and I didn't dare write anything down until I left home. After
that, it took some years until I found out that other people not only
wrote like I did, they read the kinds of things I wrote as well. As
Jessica noted, it was a bit of a coming out for me, some ten years
after I came out as queer in my personal life."
--Anah Crow

Anah is the author of The Look of a King, a Top Shelf Novel, and the Queen of Swords Arcana with Torquere Press. You can find Anah's books here!

Saints and Sinners write up

2008-05-14T17:31:00.000-07:00

Shawn and I headed off over the past weekend to New Orleans, dragging webmaster Larry with us.

Ah, New Orleans. The food. The Jazz. The humidity.

While my hair tried to take over the world, we dropped books off at the bookstore, met up with TQ editor and author Vincent Diamond and authors Jay Lygon and Shanna Germaine, and basically had a ball.

Saints and Sinners is the premiere GLBT literary festival in the US, and they'd asked us to come down this year, and put Shawn on a panel called "It's Not Just New York, Baby"

We dropped off books at the bookstore, spread the promo around, and talked to people about Torquere and about the new YA line, Prizm books.

The panel was about how small presses, e-book publishers and academic publishers are changing the face of publishing, and about how we can do what New York can't.

Most of the crowd at Saints and Sinners were a little e-book nervous, so Shawn did a lot to explain the process and the benefits of e-book publishing. We also talked a lot about gay romance as opposed to traditional gay erotica or gay lit, and quite a few people showed some interest. Fellow author Jolie du Pre put in a good word for m/m romance and erotic romance as a viable market, and we learned a lot about what the gay lit world is up to.

Vincent did a reading, which we missed, as it was at the same time as our panel, but by all accounts, it was a good one, so way to go Vincent!

It was great to see Jay Lygon, who is always a hoot, and made a great partner in crime when it came to the erotic romance corner of the room (or the shallow end of the pool, as we called it)

Shanna Germain was lovely, and it was great to meet her in person.

All in all, I think Saints and Sinners was a great networking opportunity this year, and we really enjoyed meeting everyone and talking shop. We gave out a lot of book recs and talked y'all up.

And hey, what's not to love about cafe au lait and beignets with your conference?

The State of M/M at the Romantic Times Booklover's Convention

2008-04-25T09:52:00.000-07:00

When you write and publish gay and lesbian romance, you never know what to expect when you go to Romantic Times. Writers of m/m, or male/male have had their share of hassles in the past, whether they affected Torquere or not, so when we packed up for the Romantic Times Booklover's Convention last weekend in Pittsburgh, we girded our loins at the same time, so to speak.

Well, aside from the hotel being under construction, we can say without a doubt that this year's RT was a resounding success.

We arrived Tuesday night and stayed out by the airport with fellow TQ-er Chris Owen before wading into downtown Pittsburgh bright and and early Wednesday morning. Don't worry, PA folks. I have nothing bad to say about Pittsburgh, which was far prettier than advertised, and boasted some of the friendliest people I've EVER met in the north east.

Wednesday, Shawn was on two panels with Brenna Lyons from EPIC and several other publishers, talking about how to choose an e-publisher and how to submit to one. You have to understand, this was the first year RT had an e-publisher track, and I think it went well. The panels were full, people asked lots of questions, and I think the ladies on the panels did a god job talking about their specific presses, and about what separates epublishers and indies from the big 6 in New York.

Wednesday night we had the first ever e-published author signing. There were glitches, but they were general ones, and everyone pitched in to solve them. We sold some books, got a lot of interest, and not one person had a hate-on for us, which was a nice change from cons in years past.

We talked a lot about our upcoming Prizm line with booksellers and librarians, and more than one of them told us that we'd given them goosebumps, because there was such a need for GLBT young adult, especially the kind of romantic, hopeful voice we hope to bring to it.

Thursday night's Faery Ball was a hoot. We went the redneck route, as usual, and while we didn't place in the costume contest, I think we can safely say we were right up there in the popular vote.

By Saturday, everything had gone so right that we were waiting for the other shoe to drop. We hung out with our authors (Jodi Payne, Chris Owen, Carol Lynne, artist Alessia Brio to name a few) and met lots of prospective authors. We had a lot of folks tell us they couldn't write what we publish, but even more who were fascinated by the growing market share m/m holds, and who wanted to know more.

The Saturday booksigning went well, and I think that's the most telling thing. Last year, we had a few die hard fans (who we love, kisses all around) who came and bought from us. We had a few of those this year, but we also had perfect strangers who picked up a book, read the back jacket, and went, huh. Then they bought it. Only a very few people actively avoided our tables, and those folks were all polite, if a little unnerved.

All in all, it was light years ahead of RT 2007.

So what's this all mean? It means, that while there are still a lot of folks who aren't ready to love us, people are accepting that we're out here, and that we're a growing part of the market. We're selling books. People want to know why, and how, and are curious about our market. The more they hear that our readers are women, the more intrigued they are.

Does this mean we're welcome everywhere with open arms? No. But it does mean that things are getting better, and that there's an awareness out there that didn't exist even a year ago about what we do. I think that we're doing the best thing we can, which is presenting our books in a professional, accepting manner, working with people instead of against them, and every one of us who goes out and does an event can bring one more mind around to the idea that there's room for all of us. Everyone deserves a happy ending, no matter who they are, or what their sexuality is.

Special thanks go out to Kevin from RT, who always makes us feel at home, and who works so hard to make sure we get where we need to go!

Writing Out Loud by Anah Crow

2008-03-22T09:07:00.000-07:00

Anah Crow writes about using Voice Recognition software as a writer. Anah is the author of The Look of a King and Tomorrow's Gambit, as well as several Sips. You can find them all at Torquere Books, under Anah's author page

Writing Out Loud

I love writing; it’s what I do and what I can do even when various parts of my body refuse to function. However, my hands and arms have deteriorated over the years. No amount of prescription medication or alternative therapy kept the loss of using my hands from looming on the horizon. Further, other physical problems conspired keep me from my desk, even if I could type.

Last fall, I invested in Dragon Naturally Speaking 9 Preferred and a new (second-hand) laptop computer – a considerable investment – to try and kill two birds with one stone. The laptop (an IBM T43 ThinkPad with memory upgrades, for the interested) was to get me away from the desk and the DNS9 was to get me to stop using my hands.

The learning curve on DNS9 isn’t steep, but it is considerable on both sides. Dragon has to get used to you as much as you get used to Dragon; it learns as you go, sometimes slowly. Nevertheless, voice recognition software has improved considerably over the years. If you’ve tried it in the past and been dissatisfied, as I had, the technology has improved.

First, a disclaimer: as with most software, the specifications listed on the box are the minimum you need to run the program at all, not the minimum you need for a snappy experience. I have exceeded the minimums by two or three times and plan to upgrade again soon. However, if all you have is the minimum, it will still work and is worlds better than not writing at all. Frustration only arises because we talk very quickly and a function we expect to be instantaneous isn’t once we put a computer into the mix.

Everyone I tell about this software experience says the same thing, “Oh, I could never write out loud!” I said exactly the same thing until I actually lost the use of my hands at one point. After that, it wasn’t such an obstacle. It was strange at first but all of a sudden I was making words without pain, and that made up for the discomfort.

In fact, I went on to write “All Hallow’s End” using voice recognition, start to finish. My hands were a wreck from making an elaborate Halloween costume for someone and the call went out for Sips. I never would have started, much less finished, except that I could sit back and talk it out. That helped to get me over the initial uncertainty about the process.

When my arms and hands healed up some, I put the headset away for a few months until my health caught up to me again. I pulled out the headset at the beginning of March and the first thing I said to Dianne Fox was, “Why did I ever stop using this?” I got right back in the saddle and it was smooth sailing.

Now, I’ve noticed a shift and I forget that I am talking. I am simply writing. This is very funny when the dogs misbehave and their scolding ends up in the middle of a scene. Fortunately, it’s easy to undo. I curl up in a comfortable chair with the computer on a nearby table and dictate. I find my productivity has increased greatly because I am not slowed by stiffness or entirely derailed by pain. On bad days, I can take my computer to my bed and I can follow doctor’s orders by resting while still getting my words in.

I’m fortunate that the worst of my disability is intermittent, but I’m teaching myself to edit with Dragon and surf the web with it. I have other things I can ‘spend’ my hands on like knitting and art. I figured, why not use the software for everything I can and save my hands for other creative ventures?

The initial investment was steep, for me, and it’s been frustrating at times, but the end result has been more than satisfactory. Advantages include more words written, fewer meals ordered out because my hands were sore from working, and bad days redeemed by being able to chat with friends and put in time on the stories that I love. That last part is the most important thing for me; my life is improved in a way that really matters.

Suggestions for success:

- find out from a friend or computer technician how to tell what kind of processor and memory you have on your computer before you go shopping for software, if you don’t know how to find it yourself

- check on how much an upgrade of memory will cost for your kind of computer; this can be a small investment with great results

- do all of the training modules available on your software!

- run your ‘language optimizer’ (the part of the program that incorporates your progress into the program itself) at regular intervals, even though it takes a long time

- keep water or non-caffeinated drinks on hand while you work since a dry mouth leads to errors and a sore throat

- check online and at the library for user guides specific to your needs; voice recognition software is gaining popularity and there’s lots of help out there

- see what else you can change about your work environment to make things easier like using a different chair, sitting back from the computer with your feet up, and increasing the font size on your screen

Anah Crow

http://www.anahcrow.com

anahcrow@gmail.com

bad publicity is still publicity

2008-03-18T12:53:00.000-07:00

Looks like Torquere is making the blog rolls as a subject of major speculation. Bad press is still press, I know, but at the risk of being termed unprofessional, I want to answer a few things, just for the edification of our readers and writers.

We're not a vanity press. Vanity presses *and* self publishing houses like LuLu charge a fee to publish your work. We are a royalty paying (on time and at 35% gross, which is e-book market standard) press with over 100 authors to our credit.

We've never changed hands. Torquere *did* incorporate a few years ago, but Shawn Clements and Lorna Hinson are still 50/50 on the paperwork and still do at least 75% of the work work ;)

We publish our own books. Show me an e-publisher who doesn't, and I will send you the name of the owner and one or more pseudonym that they write under. It's the nature of the beast. Most of us started our companies because we wrote in a niche market that no one else wanted to publish. With as many authors as we've published over the years, I would say we were right about there being an interest in the market we wrote in. We've never hidden it.

The clique accusation I can only answer with the thought that if an author is unhappy with us, I wish they would come to us with their complaint, because we can't address it if they don't. This applies to our editing. This is the one complaint that we worry on, and strive to improve, but like all publishers, e-book and NY, we have to find a balance between getting the book out on a schedule the author approves of and doing our best to edit the book on time. There are publishers out there who state that they do not edit, period. Still others say that if they find a single typo in a manuscript, they will not accept it. We choose to try to take on stories that have great ideas or great characters and fix as many of the mistakes as we can.

No press is perfect for all writers and readers. Of course, we hope that many of both will find us a good fit and come see what we're doing. The bottom line, however, remains that this is a business. And no one knows our business better than we do.

support boys kissing!

2008-03-06T15:30:00.000-08:00

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/TV/03/03/apontv.missingkisses.ap/index.html

As the World Turns won't let the boys kiss. God knows, Torquere Press does. Get the word out there and let people know that gay romance deserves equal time!

an ounce of promotion

2008-01-21T15:13:00.000-08:00

is worth a pound of hard work.

Sometimes it's enough to make us scream.

I've always been one to let my work speak for itself, but in this game we call publishing, it doesn't always work. Sometimes no matter hoe hard you work, or how good you do, someone out there is better at playing the game.

Guerrilla promotion is not my strong suit.

Looks like it's going to have to start being one, whether I like it or not.

Ideas?

congratulations

2007-12-19T22:00:00.000-08:00

to all of the authors who finaled in the Eppie awards!

Specifically to Olivia Lorenz, Jodi Payne and Jenna Jones! Jay Lygon also deserves kudos for being so close that they announced Chaos Magic as a finalist before whisking the honor away...

If you haven't read Ghosts, For Better or Worse, Chiarscuro or Chaos Magic, you can find them all at www.torquerebooks.com

The EPPIES are a great idea. I love the thought of an award strictly for ebooks. I have participated for several years in planning the conference, judging in categories our books are nominated in, and flat out helping.

I have reservations about them, however, which is why I won't be attending EPIC this year.

However, rather than rant and ruin my authors' well deserved joy, I'll just say congrats!