author. human. working hard to become stellar at life.
“*5 stars*
Each one is better than the last. And for a series that describes itself as a “romantic comedy” there have been some very complicated and meaningful issues immersed within the romance and the comedy. They actually made me cry, dammit.
Oh and if you haven’t figured it out yet … I totally recommend.”
I’m grateful for this wonderful review of Pictures of You. It’s beautiful.
Sometimes holding on means letting go
After giving up on his career as a country singer in Nashville, Christopher Ryder is happy enough performing at the Smoky Mountain Dreams theme park in Tennessee. But while his beloved Gran loves him the way he is, Christopher feels painfully invisible to everyone else. Even when he’s center stage he aches for someone to see the real him.
Bisexual Jesse Birch has no room in his life for dating. Raising two kids and fighting with family after a tragic accident took his children’s mother, he doesn’t want more than an occasional hook-up. He sure as hell doesn’t want to fall hard for his favorite local singer, but when Christopher walks into his jewelry studio, Jesse hears a new song in his heart.
AVAILABLE NOW ON KINDLE UNLIMITED FOR 90 DAYS!
Will & Patrick Wake Up Married Episodes 1-3 are now available in German!
***
Growing up gay isn’t easy. Growing up gay in Knoxville, Tennessee is even harder.
Eighteen-year-old Peter Mandel, a private school senior—class of 1991—is passionate about photography. Peter doesn’t have many friends, preferring to shoot pictures from behind the scenes to keep his homosexuality secret.
Enter Adam Algedi, a charming, worldly new guy who doesn’t do labels, but does want to do Peter. Hardly able to believe gorgeous Adam would want geeky, skinny him of all people, Peter’s swept away on a journey of first love and sexual discovery. But as their mutual web of lies spins tighter and tighter, can Peter find the confidence he needs to make the right choices? And will his crush on Daniel, a college acquaintance, open a new path?
Join Peter in the first book of this four-part coming of age series as he struggles to love and be loved, and grow into a gay man worthy of his own respect.
This new series by Leta Blake is gay fiction with romantic elements.
Book 1 of 4.
Length: 100,000 words, 328 pages
These books contain aspects of: New Adult fiction, ‘90s gay life, small city homosexual experiences, Southern biases, sexual exploration, romance, homophobia, bisexuality, and twisted-up young love. Oh, and a guaranteed happy ending for the main character by the end of Book 4.
“Leta Blake has become an author whose books I pounce on. Most of the time the payoff is an incredible reading experience.
This time?
DEFINITELY”
“Love this series!
These authors do a terrific job of keeping the reader’s interest, maintaining romantic tension, and accomplishing all this seamlessly. It’s a pleasure to read such skillful and talented stories.” — Nancy Ward’s review on Goodreads
What do I have planned for the upcoming twelve months? Let’s start with the next thing on my plate!
2. TRANSLATION NEWS! For those of you who would like to read my books in German, French, or Italian, more translations will be coming out soon! In September, <strong><em>Vespertine</em></strong> will be released in French and the first three books of the <strong><em>Wake Up Married</em></strong> serial will be released in German, and December sees the release of <strong><em>The River Leith</em></strong> in Italian! Currently available translations are:
French: Saison d’entraînement, Le Retour de Leith, and À l’ombre de Smoky Mountain.
Italian: Training Season: La stagione dell’allenamento
Spanish: Sueños en las Montañas Humeantes
3. Wake Up Married universe news. Healing, South Dakota will definitely see more releases. I have ideas for three books in this universe within the next year or so. I won’t say much more except to say that, yes, we’ll see one new book with Will & Patrick as the leads (though probably not the first to be released!) and two books with side characters from the first serial getting their own stories. For those of you worried about Hartley, hold tight. For those of you curious about Varun, it’s coming. For those of you who want to see Uncle Kevin get his happy ending, that might happen, too.
Thank you to all the readers out there! You are my joy and inspiration!
**
crossposted to STEEMIT
I’ve had a pretty dang busy year in 2016 and it looks like it’s going to continue to be a doozy!
First, in Part 1, let’s talk about what’s been happening, and then, in Part 2, coming soon, I’ll share a little about what is going to happen over the rest of the year!
Angel Undone is a short novella that was originally penned for an angel-themed anthology that the publisher canceled before releasing. I always loved the story, though, and after sitting on it for a few years, I decided it was finally time that it saw the light of day. It’s funny, irreverent, and the opposite of “inspirational fiction”. I discussed the inspiration for the story at Joyfully Jay Reviews and you can read about that HERE.
![Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000038_00050]](https://letablake.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/cover-letablake-angelundone.jpg)
“Once again, as she often does so eloquently, Leta Blake poked me right in the feels, and I’m not even sorry about it.” Lisa Horan, The Novel Approach
“Recommended mainly because it’s Leta. But also, because it’s entertaining, blasphemously sexy, and thought provoking.” – Back Porch Reader
“Five-plus stars. ♥ “ – Dog-Eared Daydreams
Currently available at Amazon, Kobo, B&N, iTunes, and Smashwords.
**
There are deal bundles available to make it more affordable!
That about covers the current situation with me and my books. I’ll let you know in Part 2 what to expect from me this upcoming year! Thanks for your readership and support! I am grateful for every last one of you!
crossposted to Steemit
Welp! This sure made me happy today! <3
"Recommended…mainly because it’s Leta. But also, because it’s entertaining, blasphemously sexy, and thought provoking."
Lovely review of my upcoming release, Angel Undone, out Monday, July 18!
I love this book and am loving the second book in the series, too! <3
“5 Stars for the whole series so far.
They are all that fucking good and I love them and if it were possible I’d have these authors’ babies and each night I’d massage their feet and fingers (so they could write more, longer) and make them breakfast in bed every morning and do their laundry and give them baths and bake them every delicious dessert I know how to whip up (and that is hyoooge number of sweet concoctions).” — Michaelle’s review on Goodreads.
A couple of weeks ago while visiting New York City, I went to the top of the new One World Trade tower, also known as the Freedom Tower. Having been to the top of both the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center over the last several visits to New York, I’d been skeptical of my need to go to the top of yet another high building. My New Yorker friend insisted I go, though, telling me that the elevator ride up made it all worth it and that, yes, there was a very nice view at the top.
As a claustrophobe, I wasn’t sure how the elevator ride could be awesome in any way, shape, or form, but my friend made me promise to at least try to keep my eyes open for the surprise. SPOILER ALERT! I am now going to tell you the cool thing about the elevator at One World Trade, so if you don’t want to know, don’t read more! Ahem, okay, so. I got on the elevator and when they crammed a bunch more folks in behind me, my heart started to race, but I kept my eyes open. As the elevator began to rise I realized that the walls were all LED screens and we popped out of the basement of the building and onto a view of what the city looked like in 1524 when it was discovered. Hint: lots of grassy fields and lots of water! Then as we rose into the air, the date changed and the city literally grew up around us through the decades. I would have happily ridden that elevator about ten more times! Alas, you only get to ride it once.
Word to the wise! Don’t get suckered into renting the iPads at the top. Basically, they are iPads that you can hold up at any window and it will tell you what buildings you’re looking at. They seem like a fun and cool idea until you’re lugging it around. They’re heavy and annoying and after a few minutes you’ll realize that you will enjoy yourself a thousand-fold more if you just stand back and enjoy the view. Basically, they were $15 bucks down the drain. Also it was harder than I thought it would be to get rid of them so I could enjoy the view unencumbered.
The view was phenomenal. The entire city was in view from all sides. It was, as you can see, not that easy to get a great shot with just my iPhone, so I eventually gave up on that, too.
There are two possibilities for meals at the top of One World Trade. The first is where most of the tourists seemed to go: a little stand-up sort of cafe with pizza, hot dogs, and the usual tourist fare. The other was a sit down restaurant that was mainly peopled with men and women in business suits conducting meetings. The prices were steep (like really steep!) but I wasn’t in the mood for some terrible greasy food. I wanted something delicious. So I paid for the nice restaurant and what a view we had! These pictures go left to right and speak to the fantastic view in the restaurant.
_
My food was absolutely delicious and served very elegantly. I felt like the experience was worth the money, but I understand entirely if others might balk at the food prices on the restaurant menu.
All in all, I found the experience enjoyable and recommend it. Though, if I had to say which of the highest buildings is my favorite experience, I’ll have to stick with the good ol’ Empire State Building. The elevator ride up is terrifying but there’s just something about the place. It feels like New York to me and One World Trade felt like a very pretty experience. There’s a difference.
Ajax Bell is a one-click, must-buy author for me! Loved this advance review! Can’t wait for Bad Reputation!
“The sexual tension is smoking hot. I know they have feelings for each other but they are both fighting it and it’s driving me crazy! This is one of the best slow burns I’ve read. Everyone has to read this!” — Stacy Jo, Goodreads reader review.
“Final thoughts: this serial is addicting and I have no regrets.”
Read the rest of the review by following the link below! 😀
Does Seattle give a damn about his past reputation?
After being caught in a backseat tryst with the mayor’s son, twenty-one-year-old Shane Fontaine is exiled from his small hometown. Now, alone in the city, he seeks solace in punk show mosh pits and bathhouse saunas.
But the music scene and gay community in 1982 recession-era Seattle aren’t always safe. Rescued from a brutal beating by a Russian engineering student, Shane forms a friendship that launches a confounding set of traumatic and ecstatic encounters.
Shane’s quest for human connection sends him down dark, dangerous streets. To survive, he must become the man who chooses to persist, to do the right thing and stand up for others.
This close-up portrait of pre-AIDS Seattle illuminates dark corners, where homeless kids cluster for safety near the revitalized Pike Place Market. Bad Reputation contrasts the deeply personal need for friendship with the universal dilemma: people aren’t always what they seem.
Source: Queen City Boys
I’ve set myself up with a lot of really difficult goals for this year and I’ve just completed one of them: finishing up the Wake Up Married serial. I have to finalize the pre-sale of the Episodes 1-6 bundle, but, otherwise, that project is in the can. My business plan tells me that the next thing on my plate is another huge project (know as the ’90s Coming of Age series) and I do want to work on that.
However, today I was hit by two incredibly fun plot bunnies. After spending several hours forcing myself to ignore them and work on what was on my “to do” list for my big project, I realized that I was dragging my feet and being less productive that I might otherwise be. Eventually, I said, “Screw it. I’ll just make a few notes about these book ideas.” Next thing I knew, entire scenes were showing up, and I was scrambling to get words down. I wrote 3,000 words today on a project that isn’t what I’m supposed to be working on.
At first, I was castigating myself. “You’re wasting time, Leta. You’re supposed to be focusing on the next big thing on the plan.” But suddenly I had a glimpse of myself as a friend would see me and I realized, “Hold up. You’ve been working your ass off for a really long time. You deserve a play break.”
Don’t get me wrong. I’ve had a great time writing the Wake Up Married serial, and before that Vespertine, and before that Training Complex, and before that Smoky Mountain Dreams. But the thing is, ever since Smoky Mountain Dreams, I’ve been working on something I’m supposed to be working on instead of something that has just appeared in my mind like a gift from the gods. As I put it to a friend, “There is a big difference between that thrilling sensation of creating something while in the throes of inspiration and writing something and thinking, ‘Good thing this is fun, because it’s also really hard work.'”
So, yes, I decided that for two weeks I’m going to allow myself to play. I can write whatever I want. Two weeks will not matter in the scheme of the big project I’m doing this fall. Not even a whit. But if I remain as excited and eager to work on these two new ideas, I could make a large dent in them over two weeks. It’s unlikely I’d finish anything, but getting something started means there’s something to come back to finish up later.
Anyway, yeah. Permission to play. I’m granting it to myself.
“All you are doing is segregating a group of people, who honestly, would protect your child if they saw something wrong going on. I would beat a MAN that would be going after a child in the women’s room and I know my trans brothers would do the same in the men’s room. I have nieces and nephews that I would die for and I would protect your child too. Putting me in a men’s restroom does not protect you BUT it does hurt us. Please get your head out of the clouds in thinking that these disgraceful laws are going to protect your child. That is a weak excuse to allow bigotry to keep on going. If you want to keep you children away from child molesters and perverts then you might as well put them in a bubble at home because these laws are not going to do it. ”
A fantastic and very real post. Thank you to Xena and to Margaret for sharing it.
