clride531 is celebrating today, so I wish you the very best and sparkliest of days and I hope that much fun is had.

::love and hugs;:

I posted these on Tumblr but I wanted to share them here too. Totally, utterly impractical, unless you're Titania, but stunningly gorgeous.

( three pairs )

wesleysgirl wrote me a further installment in her Jim/Blair series!

Starting Over

It's sweet, funny, loving, just perfectly them.

The whole series can be read on AO3 here

::hugs WG tight::

Not a clue what this is, but I just got a Google alert on it; one minute clip on TY, very fuzzy, of a guy named Sammy (I think) who's a car racer (I think) talking to Richard and his sons in a room.

Most odd.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svcHh7Q_Yyo

I just kept clicking a button on Fictionwise with great determination, trying to buy a book, then spotted the warning patiently flashing: You've already bought this book.

Thank you, Fictionwise.

I checked Calibre and yep, I have it, but it slipped through the cracks and didn't get the 'unread' tag it needed for me to spot it when I looked for my next book to read.

I've got over 1100 books on my reader/Calibre now; something tells me this isn't the only lost one. God, I'm such a packrat when it comes to books; really must work on whittling down my TBR list instead of gleefully adding more as I come across daily freebies, library books, or
x% off coupons.

Happy Birthday to the lovely hobbituk!

I hope that the sun is shining on you and the cake out of this world delicious :-)

::love and many hugs;:

Just wandered across some photos of out and proud ex-rugby player Gareth Thomas posing pretty much nude for Attitude magazine.

Wow. I don't go for lots of muscles, ink and chest hair, but I'm making an exception and it's not just because I have a lot of admiration for him. No, it's the drool factor.

Cover of the mag is here

( one of the pix underneath, NSFW )

Three lovely people celebrate today, so Happy Birthday to castalie, elskegaderian and flowery_twat!

I hope that the day has been good to you and that much fun has been had.

::love and many hugs::

Happy Birthday gigglestheblood!

I hope much fun is being had on your special day.

::love and hugs::

Happy Birthday to two lovely people, sallymn and calime33!

It's a gorgeous day here so I have spare sunshine if you need it and I hope that you don't because you deserve the most perfect of days.

::love and many hugs::

So what have I been doing recently? Lots of digging! David sprained his ankle badly about ten days ago and it's still very swollen so I'm prepping the veggie patch. I weeded it and now I'm slowly digging it over. Back killing me and hands blistered. The border doesn't look too bad though it's mostly green; the spring weeding paid off. The herbs are flourishing and I made iced tea with fresh mint and lemon balm.

Willow is enjoying going out into the garden. She's had a few encounters with the dogs who surround us, and seems to be sticking to our yard now, not wandering off. If she's kept in she climbs the screen and gets stuck halfway up, mewing piteously to be let out.

I had a lovely lunch with caarianna yesterday at a local place that specializes in locally sourced food. I had a delicious Mac and Cheese with a fancy salad and we chatted about fandom, traveling and such. This is clearly my month for meeting LJers which is so nice.

Just popping over to the dollar store to buy some clothes pins. I've put up a washing line in the back garden to use natural means to dry the laundry. People don't seem to do that much over here, but it's not visible from the road and it'll be great to put out heavy stuff like towels and save electricity. Plus they come in smelling all fresh.

I'm working on a short story for Torquere, one with all the proceeds going to NOH8, and I have another short I really have to finish that I've been working on forever, plus a new solo novel I began and yes, got stuck on. I have lots of ideas for books/stories, but I'm finding it hard to actually, you know, write them. And yet I've been really productive; by August, I'll have had three books published this year, one solo, two co-written with Alexa and no one can say that's bad -- so why do I feel blocked? Maybe because my fanfic is thin on the ground...

Eh.

Eleanor has been asked to babysit on Saturday; her first ever time. It's two minutes away in a car so we can be there fast if she needs us and she knows the children well so I'm sure it will be fine. She wants to get a summer job now she's 16 so this is good practice.

It won't be there for long, I daresay, but Rock and a Hard Place is ranked 7,722 out of all the Kindle books on Amazon and is 61st in Gay and Lesbian books (it was 55th earlier this morning not that I'm checking, ahem).

That is so cool.

ETA And now it's Saturday and it's 6,730 and 56th!

Been forever since I wrote these two but I just watched the last three episodes in a day and there was one Tony/Gibbs scene that sparked this drabble.

Losing Battle

He'll never tell Tony, but Gibbs loves the moments when Tony's face hardens with resolve and he resists, fights back.

Gibbs likes strength and he nurtures it in Tony, in his own way.

But he likes it more when Tony bites his lip, murmurs, 'Yes, boss' and his gaze falls, just for a moment.

Likes that subtly trained submission too much, if he's honest.

He wants to reward Tony for it. He knows what Tony craves and he can provide it.

There's a rule that says he can't.

Gibbs is getting older.

Maybe it's time to wear purple and red.

There's a gorgeous series of official photos from USA featuring people from, among others, Suits, White Collar, Burn Notice, Common Law and Psych here.

This is the cutest Shawn ever.

( shawn )

Happy Birthday to raynewton and magnavox_23!

I hope that you're both having wonderful days and that the cake, presents and fun just keep on coming.

::love and many hugs;:

Happy to announce that 'The Square Peg' by Jane Davitt and Alexa Snow will be published by Loose Id on August 7th.

It's a contemporary m/m romance with D/s, S/M overtones. We had so much fun with it that we're planning a sequel, focusing on one of the secondary characters.

Benedict, a successful accountant, who's just been dumped for being boring, is surprised and pleased to learn that he’s inherited half ownership in a gay bar from his estranged father, seeing it as a chance to get out of his rut.

That's until he meets his new partner, a mouthy, disturbingly hot Brit called Shane, and discovers that the bar's in the red and Shane's not interested in renovations that could drive away their regulars.

When a late-night confrontation turns into the hottest sex either of them has experienced, they realize there's one way to fit a square peg into a round hole, but are they solving problems or papering over the cracks?

As they explore the new dynamic between them, pushing their limits until Ben's shocked at where his desire to dominate Shane takes him, the renovations to the bar begin. They're building something new, something good -- but will fear and an unexpected act of violence tear down what they've created?

There's a particular shock at discovering an author you loved has died; more so when it happened a while back and you didn't realize but feel you should've known. I was just adding some Tom Deitz books to my Goodreads reviews and found that he died in April 2009.

I found out Heinlein had died in a similar way. This was long before the Internet; I looked him up in an encyclopedia of SF and saw the end date to his life. I was on my lunch break and I went back to the office in tears as I recall.

David and I loved Deitz's books, the earlier ones especially. What a shame.

Just saw this linked on After Elton. Lots of naked men and body paint. Mmm. NSFW for nudity, though it's, ahem, artistic (that's a joke you'll get when you see it ;-))

http://www.andrewchristianshop.com/Tag-Me-Andrew-Christian-ccid_62.aspx

Under the wire because I've been afk all day, but still in time to wish two lovely people the happiest of days.

darling_effect and indiana_jane_, I hope that your special days were perfect in every way and that you enjoyed every shining moment.

::love and many hugs::

Three lovely people celebrate today, so Happy Birthday to sistakaren, catspaw_sgjd and treacle_a!

I hope that you're enjoying being pampered and spoiled by those you love and that the cake is delicious and big enough for two pieces each.

::love and many hugs::

Don't read until you've watched the finale. 170 word snippet fic.

( Balm in Gilead )

Cutting now

( episode thoughts )

I'm catching up on H 50 and I'm watching the first episode that the NCIS LA people are in.

THE BACKGROUND MUSIC IS KILLING ME.

I never noticed it before, but I'm twelve minutes in and it hasn't stopped, apart from two blissful periods of approximately five seconds each.

I can't hear what they're SAYING, for heaven's sake.

When did this become a thing?

I don't need a soundtrack to an episode. The odd bit of background music here and there at dramatic moments is fine, but non-stop is annoying to the point where I can barely stand to watch.

Gah.

Did anyone else watch the pilot for this? It was a little heavy-handed and clunky in places but I always cut pilots some slack and I did enjoy it enough to want to watch it again.

Premise: two cops, both brilliant, at each others throats, in couples counseling to save their partnership.

The amusing bit is that the coroner is Samantha from The Sentinel (Alicia Coppola) and one of the detectives is a horndog who dates every woman in the department and had a one-night stand with her.

There's a scene with him, her, and his partner, that's so like the Blair/Samantha/Jim scenes that I got flashbacks.

The bromance/slash is there but so canon it's almost not worth it, if you know what I mean. Everyone in the group assumed they were gay (yawn) and they have carguments and full on, through a window fistfights -- but when the chips are down, they've got each others backs. One's divorced, amicably enough, the other is the one-night stand guy (issues of abandonment).

Entertaining, though, and a little quirky.

Let's pretend it's yesterday, because with David and Eleanor both home sick I didn't have time to check the birthday list and missed three!

(sprained ankle/heavy cold. Today Lauren is home with the cold and the other two have hobbled and sneezed themselves into work/school).

So Happy Birthday lawyergirl15, maggie_conagher and trislindsay!

I hope that much fun was had, presents opened and cake consumed on your special day.

::love and hugs::

One for yesterday and one today, so Happy Birthday to ps_noir and anidada!

I hope that the sun is shining and much fun is being had as you celebrate your special days.

::love and hugs::

Yesterday, not without a few tears, we planted a tree in the back garden and put Talisker's ashes at the base. We chose a peach tree; orange and furry like him and when it grows, it'll shade the hammock nicely.

Still miss him so much.

I wrote a 15,000 word threesome m/m/m office romance with some spanking for the Goodreads 'Love is Always Write' event organized by the M/M Romance Group and it's just been posted if anyone wants to read it. I don't think it's locked or anything.

Many thanks to all those working behind the scenes to make the event work and to wesleysgirl for her kind beta read.

Disciplinary Action
ETA Okay, sorry, it IS locked to members. Will see if /when I can repost it elsewhere. BRB.

Watched the Man City v QPR game.

OMG, what a game! What a game. Still reeling.

Stoke finished 14th, not brilliant, but they got out of the group stages of the Europa League, to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, and played more games than most of the other teams in the Premiership.

Next year.

Happy Birthday to three lovely people, malnpudl, gateruner, and julia_here!

I hope that much fun is being had and that all is as it should be on such a special day.

::love and hugs;:

Happy Birthday ladyra!

I hope that the day is turning out just the way you wished for and that the sun is shining.

::love and hugs;:

We're thinking about a holiday in California and I was wondering if anyone in San Francisco could tell me what the weather's like in mid-July? We Googled and it said it was pretty chilly, high 60s, which seems weird.

We've left it a bit late so it might not pan out but we were planning San Francisco for a day or two, then up to see the redwoods, back via Yosemite and Napa Valley, sort of a big circle.

David's so used to flying around the world at a minute's notice with someone else booking flights and hotels that he doesn't realize it's very very late to be thinking about this.

I'm contemplating a tent in the back garden.

Happy Birthday to sunsaralyn and earth2skye!

I wish you both the sparkliest of happy days and I hope that much fun is had.

::love and hugs::

I bought two sweaters in the sale and was miffed when I read the labels (do not ask me why I did that) and discovered that they were hand wash only, do not wring, twist, look at unkindly, or tumble dry.

'The hell with that' trembled on my lips.

Then a thought occurred to me and I checked the labels of three other sweaters from the same place that I bought last fall and fling into the washer and tumble dryer with a merry tra-la-la.

Hand wash only, do not wring...you get the picture.

Ha! I just washed both the new ones AND tumble dried them and THEY ARE FINE.

So there, labels.

Happy Birthday empressvesica!

I hope the day is as special as you and the cake delicious.

::love and hugs::

Thank you for the lovely profile gift nosurething2! It was so kind of you ::hugs::

Delighted to announce that Rock and a Hard Place by Jane Davitt and Alexa Snow is now available from Loose Id here with a gorgeous cover by Valerie Tibbs.

As ever, writing with Alexa was more like a lazy day lounging by the pool, cool drink in hand, than work. So much so that we went straight into writing a new book, current title The Square Peg that will be coming out from Loose Id later this year, so go us :-))



Determined to outdo each other, business rivals Sean and Andrew land themselves in hot water when their private feud spills over at a very public charity auction. With neither willing to back down over the dream vacation at stake, they're told by their boss that they're both going and that they're to return as friends.

As fate would have it, their plane crashes and they wash up on a desert island where their feud is as likely to doom them as the lack of food and their inability to start a fire. But there's enough heat between them to set sparks flying once out and proud Sean discovers that Andrew's gay, but determined to remain in the closet.

Rescue comes, but brings with it new challenges. They're whisked back to their old lives with secrets to keep and a shared passion that makes it impossible for them to stay apart for long.

Choices must be made, new paths taken, and two men who have always been good at fighting find themselves, finally, with something worth fighting for: each other.

The adorable t_verano gave me fic for my birthday; sweet, achingly lovely Steve/Danny and soooo good ::beams happily::

Inside

Happy Birthday to two friends with whom I share a birthday, mahala_ac and alchemynerd!

I hope that you have as good a day as I've had, and that you're knee deep in cake :-))

::love and hugs::

Thank you for all the kind wishes, LJ presents from wesleysgirl and murielle and the Facebook messages; so touched. I'll say thank you properly tomorrow; people coming over to share my cake (vanilla with pineapple cream cheese frosting and pineapple mousse :-)) so I need to tidy up a titch.

::loves:;

Happy Birthday to one of my first friends on LJ, the lovely undeny!

I hope the day brings you happiness and joy and that you enjoy yourself as you celebrate it.

::love and snuggles::

I could stare at this for ever. Thanks for sharing, Phil!

ETA He's in Mission beach, Queensland.

( stunning beach )

Happy Birthday researchgrrrl!

I wish you a day crammed full of fun and happiness and cake.

::love and many hugs;:

David and I drove E into Toronto to meet her BFF who moved away to Newfoundland two years ago. They're staying at her friend's grandomther's house and spending the weekend at the Toronto Comics Art Festival

http://torontocomics.com/

which looks awesome since she'll get to meet some of her favorite artists and have one on one time with them.

We stayed for supper in the Distillery District and felt very cosmopolitan with the CN Tower right there and all the glammed up people around us.

Only trouble is that we pick her up on Sunday.

Toronto's having a marathon on Sunday ::sigh::

It's going to be hell getting to where we need to go...

Happy Birthday vashtan and taylorgibbs!

I hope that much fun is being had as you celebrate and that the cake is yummy.

::love and many hugs::

I still have 235 Buffy and Angel fics to archive at AO3 :;whimpers::

It's slow because I keep reading some and thinking they're not worth adding, then the completist in me kicks in.

Oh well. A bit at a time, drabble by drabble.

Happy Birthday to the sparkly and fab mpoetess!

I hope that your day is as special as you and that much fun is had celebrating it.

:;love and hugs::

Thank you for the lovely star, murielle!

It looks lovely on my profile page ::hugs::

For those fans of our fic 'Secretary' who wondered what would happen if Wesley caught Faith reading Fifty Shades...

What? You weren't wondering?

Well, I was ;-))

NC17, around 1000 words.

( snippet fic )

I was at a wedding yesterday and we stayed over in the hotel, so I didn't get the chance to check the birthdays.

Belated wishes for yesterday and for today to taffimai, sanguine2 and emily_sheppard!

I hope that the days were perfect in every way and that much fun wa shad.

::love and many hugs::