Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Tell me what you're up to, Kenn Dahll


Kenn Dahll! Long time, no talk. Tell me what you're up to!

Kenn Dahll: Getting used to semi-retirement. Writing as much as I can but getting discouraged by poor sales. looking at publishers other than Excessica that have calls out for anthology submissions. The reimbursement is poor but there are no cover costs. WIP is a BDSM story.

I hear that. I got an royalty statement that came in at 7 cents today, so... I understand discouraging. That was on a royalty-paying anthology. Anyhoo, got a new book out? What's it called?

Kenn Dahll: Spanish Seductions: Raul

Tell me about it.

Kenn Dahll: It's the fifth and final story in the series about Raul's adventures as a bastard son of a nobleman in 16th century Spain. Lots of sex, some BDSM, and a violence in the series; but hey, it's the time of the Inquisition!

Oh my gawwwd, that sounds mouthwatering. Where can readers buy it?

Kenn Dahll: http://www.excessica.com/books/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13&products_id=813&zenid=8d6c84201e6e1519824e1e062c98f5e4

Where can readers find you?

Kenn Dahll: kdahll69@hotmail.com

Thanks so much!

Sunday, March 29, 2015

It Burns! It Buuurns!

I'm having trouble concentrating today, so I'm going to ask you this burning question as a means of procrastination...

Here's the set-up: I wrote a book for a vampire box set that's now off the market. The book's called Earth Blood is Easy and it's a quirky sci-fi New Adult heteromance about an alien vampire who's shocked when she discovers you can't just order up blood by the glass here on earth.  You have to like... suck it... out of people!

No sex. It's fun and funny (I guess it's a romantic comedy?), but it really doesn't fit with my... ummm... repertoire? What's the word I'm looking for?  Well, you know what I mean. I write erotica and queer fiction. This book isn't erotic and it isn't queer. It doesn't scream Giselle.

So my question is, what should I do with it?  It's previously published, but only in the box set. It was published as Earth Blood is Easy by Giselle Renarde, so whatever I do with it I'm not, like, disowning it or anything.  That said, I feel like if I pub it that way (either self-pub or with an indie publisher), I'm acknowledging that it's mine, I wrote it, all that.

But from a marketing perspective... see, here's what I don't want to happen: a teen picks up Earth Blood is Easy, likes it, says to self, "I want to read more by this Giselle character" and then BAM is hit with a wall of smut. Earth Blood is Easy is TOTALLY appropriate for teens. There is no explicit content, and I think it would appeal to NA readers of all ages. It's just got that tone.

Should I publish it under a pen name?  That's what I'm thinking I should do.  Then it's at arm's length and there won't be any underage readers seeking out more of my work because they love this book so much they just can't get enough of me. Because that's super-likely to happen. The book's just that good.



Sorry, that was my Canadian self-effacing-ness speaking. Earth Blood is Easy really is a cute little book. In fact, of all the books I've written (and she's read), it's my girlfriend's favourite. And she's a sci-fi geek, so that says I didn't miss the mark.

What do you think? Publish it under a pen name, even if I don't intent to keep it up or write anything else for that author brand?  Or is that a bad idea?  Any other authors have experience with this? Any readers want to chime in?

Any good pen names to suggest...?

Thanks! Love you!
Giselle

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Give Me the Music

This one's for @amhartnett.  We've been tweeting back and forth about Rufus Wainwright a lot lately, and when I was searching for another post to show her, I came across THIS one.  I wrote it for Oh Get A Grip, where I blog every other Thursday, but if you're a die-hard Donuts and Desires reader and you will read NO OTHER BLOG but this one, you probably haven't seen it.

So here it is:

Give Me the Music


Have you noticed how pervasive "rockstar romance" erotic novels have become lately?  I'll admit, my finger's not exactly on the pulse of modern romance trends (much as it ought to be, since I operate at least somewhat in that genre), so if I've noticed it, it must be a thing.  Books, stories, 30-novel box sets, all about girls and guys lusting after rockstars.

And this is probably a brilliant trend to hop onboard--because if there's one kind of hero that never gets old, it's a rockstar hero.

I'm going to get way too personal here, because I know how much you love it when I tell you all my sexrets. (that was supposed to be "secrets" but I can't bring myself to erase a Freudian typo)

Right.  So, you've probably heard me mention that, at this stage of my life, my primary attraction is to women.  If you want to know something quirky and odd about me, here's a random fact: the only guys I've found myself attracted to in the past few years (aside from Professor Snape, but he's fictional anyway) are musicians.

Super-SUPER-gay musicians.

Rufus Wainwright.  OMG.  My heart is beating faster just looking at that name.

This is nothing new, come to think of it.  When I was a preteen, I recorded my father's Elton John's Greatest Hits record onto a cassette tape and played it every night as I fell asleep, fantasizing about dancing endless tangos with him.  Someone was wearing a flashy red gown, and I don't think it was me.

Earlier this year (or maybe it was last year), Ryan Field posted a call for submissions.  He was putting together an anthology called The Women Who Love to Love Gay Romance.  It happens that I don't read gay romance (or any romance, for that matter), but his concept of having female authors insert themselves into gay sex scenes hooked me, totally.  I had to write something for him.  And I did.

And it was about a gay musician. Obviously.

My story featured a fictionalized version of a Canadian indie artist called Owen Pallett. You may remember him from when he performed as Final Fantasy. Or maybe you don't know him at all.  Here he is:



I wrote a story called "Baby Got Bach" for Ryan Field's anthology--a what-if scenario based on... oh boy, this is embarrassing... 

See, last year Owen Pallett's first violin concerto was premiered with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.  He didn't perform the piece himself, but he was there.  He hosted the afterparty.  Yeah, so after the show I found myself in the same room as him.

He was standing right there.  Right-the-fuck there. And do you think I could work up the courage to say, "Hey, I love your music."

Nope.

I stood in the corner and stared at him like a huge creepy perv.  And then I left.

(I could tell you a strikingly similar story about not talking to Peter Oundjian at the Toronto Reference Library, but we'll save that for another day, methinks...)

When I got down to writing "Baby Got Bach," I kind of hit a wall of writer's block. I just couldn't envision myself engaging in any kind of activity with this Owen Pallette-esque character of mine.  If I got my hands on one of the gay musicians I'm constantly perving over, what would I even do with him?

Here's the big question: do I want Rufus Wainwright's penis in my vagina?

Umm... actually, no.  I don't want that at all.  And yes, I realize there are many other ways to have sex, but when it comes right down to it, I don't want to do any of those things with these people.  I could perv over Rufus Wainwright concert clips on YouTube ALL. NIGHT. LONG. but I don't want to fuck him.  I'm almost disappointed in myself, admitting that, but I just can't picture it.

Maybe it's not the musicians.  Maybe I want to fuck the music.

The music gives me this giddy, blissful feeling that's... well, a lot like love.  Like a frenzy of misdirected lust and joy and cosmic orgasm.  It's hard to explain, because it feels like infatuation.  There's a longing and a pull, a desire, and it's strong.  It's damn strong.  I'm not even sure what you'd call it.

Romance readers can keep their rockstar heroes... as long as they give me the music.


Edit: I should have mentioned Owen Pallett's Heartland is one of my favourite albums of all time. I highly HIGHLY recommend it. The song in the clip above (Lewis Takes Off His Shirt) appears on this album, as do many other Lewis-related songs.

Friday, March 27, 2015

Spooky Bisexual Erotica: Sharing the Stranger

When I proofread this short story the other day, I was kind of... scandalized? Am I allowed to be scandalized by my own work? I guess I'd just forgotten how weird and dirty it was. I actually thought it was a purely lesbian tale about stepsisters spending the night in a haunted house. It's not. There's a dude in it who looks like Jack White and may or may not be a vampire. Don't ask me--I just wrote the thing.

Anyhoo... I recommend.  It's taboo and it's HOT.

Sharing the Stranger
A Dark Tale of Forbidden Fertility
by Giselle Renarde

Valerie and Marissa are spending the night in a remote old farmhouse. The last thing they expect is a knock at the door. When Raphael appears out of nowhere, they’re possessed. What is it about this strange figure that has them so mesmerized? Is it his pale skin? His raven hair? His silver-tipped walking stick and shoes that are inexplicably clean despite the mud all around?

Perhaps Raphael’s most alluring quality is his ability to make the girls want things they never imagined… and do things they’ll never forget…

A forbidden first-time fertility tale.

Now Available from Amazon| http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00V8CZ34C?tag=dondes-20
Amazon UK| http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00V8CZ34C?tag=dondes-20
Amazon Canada| http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00V8CZ34C
Amazon Australia| http://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B00V8CZ34C


EXCERPT

“Valerie?” I asked, skulking around the corner.

She was standing in the entrance with the door wide open.

In the darkened entryway stood a man who looked neither young nor old. His dark hair fell in greasy strands across his gaunt cheeks. He had that pale sort of skin that gave way to blue bags under his eyes, the way I looked when I didn’t get a good nine hours of sleep. But there was something about him… something inexplicably appealing…

“Marissa,” Valerie said, opening the door a little wider. “This is Raphael. He says he used to live here.”

Raphael reached for my hand and I gave it to him in an instant. “Marissa? What a beautiful name.”

“Thanks.” When I felt his cold fingers against my palm, my knees weakened. I almost collapsed against the door when he brought my hand to his lips and kissed it softly.

Any other guy did that, I’d kick him in the nads.

But Raphael had these eyes, these piercing green eyes that convinced me everything was okay.

“Soft skin you have. Just like your sister’s.” He looked from her to me. “Such lovely young women you are. Same eyes you have. I see the family resemblance.”

Valerie broke out in a blush and said, “Oh, we’re not related. We’re just stepsisters. Our parents only got married less than a year ago.”

“Ahh,” Raphael said, nodding. “Then you have not lived here very long?”

“No, we just moved in,” I said, rushing to speak before Valerie could get a word in. “Before that we lived in the city. It’s very different, living out here in the middle of nowhere.”

“Very different,” the stranger agreed.


Now Available from Amazon| http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00V8CZ34C?tag=dondes-20
Amazon UK| http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00V8CZ34C?tag=dondes-20
Amazon Canada| http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00V8CZ34C
Amazon Australia| http://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B00V8CZ34C

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

#RandomBookIWrote Wednesday: Bali Nights

Here's a book I decided to write while watching a documentary about male sex workers catering to female clients on the beaches of Bali. Come to think of it, a lot of book ideas come to me while I'm watching documentaries.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Bali-Nights-Giselle-Renarde-ebook/dp/B00JG89N46?tag=dondes-20
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/book/bali-nights/id854343865?l=en&mt=11
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00JG89N46

Erotic romance by Giselle Renarde explores lust and sexual fantasies on the sandy shores of Bali...

Do Beach Boys really exist? They’re said to be hot young surfers who sell their bodies on the sandy shores of Bali—and not to other men, oh no. Beach Boys specialize in seducing women.

According to Kimmy, Beach Boys are not only real, but they’re Bali’s top tourist attraction. And she should know, considering she hired one last time she vacationed there. How she convinced co-worker Shandra to fly halfway around the world just to pay a guy for sex, Shandra will never know… until their first day in Bali, when she falls for Man: tall, dark, handsome, and on the make.

There’s something different about Man—he’s nothing like the guys back home. Shandra can tell him things she’s never shared with anyone, shed her inhibitions, and abandon herself to the best sex of her life. Now she understands why Kimmy was so anxious to return to her Beach Boy, Budi.

With Man’s encouragement, Shandra surrenders to a lust for men (and women) she’s long denied. But there’s more to a Beach Boy than meets the eye. Are Budi and Man really as trustworthy as Shandra and Kimmy think, or will their secrets shatter the girls forever?

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Bali-Nights-Giselle-Renarde-ebook/dp/B00JG89N46?tag=dondes-20
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/book/bali-nights/id854343865?l=en&mt=11
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00JG89N46

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Tell Me What You're Up To, Lilith Lo!


It's "Tell Me What You're Up To Tuesday." Sorry I missed last week, by the way. I was out of town and thought I'd post when I got home at 4 in the afternoon. Walked through my door, cleaned out the litter boxes, crashed on the couch. That was it. I was out for the night.

Anyhoo, today's guest is Lilith Lo!

Giselle: Tell Me What You're Up To, Lilith Lo!

Lilith Lo: Morning Giselle :) I can feel the heat from Canada all the way down here! Fabulous work.

On the stove - is a mess I need to clean up from when I made coffee this morning and spilled the sugar. :)

On the books - I'm writing two series. One has become known as Thor Porn. The official series title is Gods of Lust. Book 1, Rapture, will be released in late March. I grew a bit weary of Thor being delivered sans erotica time and again.

The second series is Vespa's Sapiens. Book 1 is available now. A sci-fi series that puts the Sexy in World Domination.

On the Roundabout - I have a list of things to do that's a mile long. Every day I work morning to night and somehow I've only managed to slip further behind!


Giselle: Got a new book out? What's it called?

Lilith Lo: Relax

Giselle: Done. Now tell me about this book LOL

Lilith Lo: A couple trapped in a sexually repressed marriage sought out sex therapy - and then discovers a new passion while putting their counselor's suggestions into practice.

Giselle: I love couples trapped in sexually repressed marriages! Where can readers buy it?

Lilith Lo: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TCIFP5Q?tag=dondes-20

Giselle: Where can readers find you?

Lilith Lo: Website: www.lilithlo.weebly.com
Twitter: @lilithsirinlo

Monday, March 23, 2015

...but the weird part was...

Random middle-of-the-night post, here. My girlfriend had this dream about us. And when I say US, that includes YOU:

I had a weird dream ... well not really weird but different for me .. usually dont dream about sex

.. it was one of those no lead-up no end dreams .. just the action in the middle ..

I finally got my entire hand inside you .. all the way past the wrist .... you were totally naked flat on a table with a velvet table cloth and you kept trying to pull your shoulders up so you could get a view of what I was doing .. but the angle was wrong and you kept wincing with a touch of hurt but smiling to encouraging me to keep going

... but the weird part was ....

.. that you didnt seem to notice (or if you did you didnt care) that there were people around watching sort of like bleacher style and they were making comments and encouragements 

.. weird huh ?

Friday, March 20, 2015

The Book I Wrote Before I Was a Writer and Don't Take This as a Recommendation

Where to begin? There's so much I want to tell you.

I'll begin with the novel. I found it on my computer, partially completed at 200 pages and 60,000 words.  I have some memory of writing it while I was still working in business--before I had any intention of becoming an author, as far as I recall.  But memory is an iffy thing.  I can be wrong. I'm often wrong.

If I wrote a huge chunk of a novel before I made my living as a writer, I must have done it for a reason.  That reason is lost on me now.  To preserve a time in my life?  To preserve the salience of certain events?  I don't know.  All I do know is that I started revising this book and it sucks monkey balls.

But you know what? Even monkey balls can be fixed. And now I want to make a joke about this chimpanzee I saw in a documentary whose vasectomies wouldn't take... but I won't make that joke. Instead, I'll admire what I was trying to accomplish over a decade ago, when I wrote my life down--or some version of it, at least.

This book is autobiographical fiction, but if I were to sit down right now and try to delve back into myself as a teen and young adult, I just wouldn't be able to. I've outgrown the angst.  It's so hard to access that side of yourself when it feels so distant, but when I wrote this book (I must have been in my mid-twenties at the time) those years were obviously close at hand.

So I'm thankful my former self took the time to write my monkey balls book. Sure the writing is terrible, but the heart of it's there. It'll take a lot of time, but I can work with what's on the page. That's the project I'm devoting my time to, these days.

Blog Post, Part Deux:

You might have noticed I added a feature in the sidebar. Over there ==>

My New Year's resolution was to read more, because I firmly believe a big part of the writer's job is to read. Mission accomplished. I'm pretty sure I've already read more books in 2015 than I did in the whole of 2014. Well, maybe not quite, but almost. I'm doing well.

I also figured I would share what I was reading with you. I'm accountable to you. You can see what I'm doing. Giselle is nothing if not transparent.

Nope.

Except, if you're reading this blog post before I change the cover in the sidebar, the book you're seeing actually isn't the book I'm reading.

When I spotted The Postmistress at the library, I was so excited because I remember when it came out and there were subway posters for it and the cover looked so pretty and I was like, "Yay, it'll be like Lark Rise to Candleford and I miss that show so much."

And then I opened it and started reading, and from the very first page... IT WAS MY MONKEY BALLS BOOK. I kid you not.

Not talking content here, just quality and style. It begins with a preamble because the author obviously didn't have the confidence to be like, "Here's my story. Here it is. Right now." Nope, she needs to kind of explain WHY this story has to be told, or why you might be interested in reading it.  I know this because that's why my monkey balls book began with a similar preamble, which is now dust.

Readers don't need to be told why they might want to read the novel via some cutesie prologue. Readers picked up your book because they wanted to read the book. So just get on with it.

You know I don't like to trash other authors' works because it's bad for business and it makes you feel pretty shitty if you are that author, but The Postmistress is a New York Times bestseller and the prose is just... it's just not good, guys. It's sadly bad. It's so bad it made me sad.

Books that bring out my inner editor go back to the library. I never used to give up on books. I felt like once I'd started them I had a duty to finish reading. Not anymore.

What put me over the edge with The Postmistress was the messy POV shifts and head-hopping. It irked me so much I finally threw my bookmark on the floor, closed the book and said, "That's it. I'm done." And also, "Who edited you?"  This stuff would have been so easy to edit out. It's really jarring, and it's just left in there to jar you. It's like if I'd found my monkey balls book on my hard drive and just went, "Hey, let's publish this! Right now!"


Basically what I'm saying is that books that appear in the what I'm reading feature in the sidebar are just that--books I'm reading. They're not necessarily recommendations.

Although I have a feeling the book I just started (Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan) WILL be, because the writing is fucking brilliant. Lawrence Hill thinks so too. Although his quote on the cover says, "A truly beautiful novel." Mine would be more like, "Kick-ass motherfucking gorgeous writing like I've never seen. *high-five*"

...which is probably why I'm never quoted on book covers...

*Opinions expressed at Donuts and Desires are those of Giselle Renarde and do not necessarily represent the views of her cats.*


Saturday, March 14, 2015

#MySexySaturday One Woman Show

I featured my new anthology of transgender literary erotica for My Sexy Saturday a few weeks ago when it first came out. I'm featuring Everybody Knows again today (with an excerpt from a different story) because the large print edition is now available!

It's really important to me to offer books in large print, and particularly to ensure that the large print edition is available for the same price as the standard edition.

One thing I did differently with Everybody Knows: I created not just larger print, but a larger book. The large print edition is 7.5"x9.25", so more squarish than my usual 5.25x8. (Who else nerds out on book stuff and accessibility?)

Anyhoo, this week's 7-paragraph excerpt is from a touching story called One Woman Show. It's the very last story in Everybody Knows and it's never been published elsewhere. I kept it for this collection because I love these characters--a transgender actress rehearsing her one-woman-show, and her friend Jenna, who gives her the encouragement she needs:

"I wouldn’t say I had a bad childhood. Lots of kids had it worse.” Rising from the floor, Wellesley let out a small chuckle. “This is starting to feel like therapy.”

Jenna laughed along. “You would know.”

Staring at a bare bulb, Wellesley felt a spark of inspiration. Out of her fear, something real rose up. She had a vision of what she could create for her audience. Her story was real. If she told it right, she could really move them.

“When I was twelve, Mom drove me to the city. There were no therapists in town, and even if there had been she wouldn’t have wanted anyone getting wind that I was seeing one. She asked the doctor if there was something wrong with me. And if you have to ask, the answer’s pretty clear.”

“Something wrong with you?”

“Puberty didn’t sit well.” Wellesley suddenly felt dizzy, and she set herself down on the futon. “Hey, Jenna, isn’t it weird how sometimes it’s easier talking to strangers than talking to someone you love? I could tell Dr. Mirim things I could never tell my mom. And, for some reason, the idea of bearing my soul to one hundred and seventy three audience members is less unsettling than the idea of getting naked in front of you.”

Jenna peeked out from behind her makeshift spotlight. “Just pretend I’m a hundred and seventy three people.”

***

I really hope you'll grab a copy of Everybody Knows, whether as an ebook, paperback, or large print paperback.

It's available from Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00U01XGLY?tag=dondes-20
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/everybody-knows-giselle-renarde/1121294662

...and a bunch of other retailers. Ask for it at your favourite bookstore--I'm sure they can order you a copy.

Friday, March 13, 2015

For the first time in print: A Little Burlesque with bonus Burlesque Beauties

A Little Burlesque
Lesbian Historical Romance
by Giselle Renarde

Now available in print!

Sapphic secrets abound at the little burlesque house by the sea, and it'll take more than slippery fingers to bring them to the surface.

In A Little Burlesque, Madame Mireille's ocean-side parlour, Les Trois Dames Jouissantes, is one of the last houses holding to the tenets of classic burlesque. They specialize in raunchy comedy sketches, undulating fan dances, chorus lines and, of course, the striptease. In post-war Maritimes, Madame's burlesque house enjoys notoriety thanks to an all-female cast combining the smart with the sensual.

It was this reputation that attracted the troupe's two newest members. Ginger the saucy redhead has been around the block a few times. She might come on strong, but she's a master of the comedy striptease. Orchid is young, new to the stage, and embodies all that is innocent--or so she'd have you believe!

This print edition also includes the short sequel, Burlesque Beauties.

When Orchid catches Petra performing in a saucy burlesque show, all those leering eyes bring out the jealous beast in her. What could possibly heal the rift? If Petra joins her by the seaside, will Orchid realize there are certain gifts burlesque beauties only give each other?

Historical lesbian romance with an erotic edge.

Get it from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other retailers.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Tell me what you're up to, Lisabet Sarai


Tell me what you're up to, Lisabet Sarai!


Lisabet Sarai: Book 2 of my DS Duos series came out the first week in February. I'm trying to find time to promo, but my "real" job is sucking up an awful lot of time.

My biggest news is that I just got two contracts from LadyLit Publishing for lesbian fiction. This will be my first standalone F/F books and I'm pretty excited. One book is a collection of short stories called HER OWN DEVICES. The other is a brand new paranormal fantasy entitled THE WITCHES OF GLOUCESTER.

Got a new book out? What's it called?

Lisabet Sarai: DS Duos Book 2

Tell me about it.

Lisabet Sarai: DS Duos Book 2 continues Lisabet Sarai's incendiary series with two more intense BDSM short stories. In "Never Too Late", a middle-aged wife and mother encounters the Master of whom she's secretly dreamed all her life. In "Just a Spanking", a dominant provides an answer to the question he's asked his long-time submissive: could you come from just a spanking? Also includes a spicy F/F BDSM excerpt from Lisabet's erotic thriller EXPOSURE.

Where can readers buy it?

Lisabet Sarai: http://www.amazon.com/D-S-Duos-Book-2-ebook/dp/B00T8G2IMU?tag=dondes-20

Where can readers find you?


Lisabet Sarai:

http://www.lisabetsarai.com
http://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/83387.Lisabet_Sarai
https://www.amazon.com/author/lisabetsarai

Thanks, Giselle!

Thank you too!

Monday, March 9, 2015

Did I ever tell you about this?

I can't remember if I mentioned I wrote a short piece that was included in the book Publisher's Weekly calls a "groundbreaking title":


Trans Bodies, Trans Selves: A Resource for the Transgender Community
by Laura Erickson-Schroth (Editor)

Trans Bodies, Trans Selves is a revolutionary resource-a comprehensive, reader-friendly guide for transgender people, with each chapter written by transgender or genderqueer authors. Inspired by Our Bodies, Ourselves, the classic and powerful compendium written for and by women, Trans Bodies, Trans Selves is widely accessible to the transgender population, providing authoritative information in an inclusive and respectful way and representing the collective knowledge base of dozens of influential experts. Each chapter takes the reader through an important transgender issue, such as race, religion, employment, medical and surgical transition, mental health topics, relationships, sexuality, parenthood, arts and culture, and many more.

Bet you thought I was just a no-good down-and-dirty smut peddler, didn't ya?  ;-)

Trans Bodies, Trans Selves is available from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Trans-Bodies-Selves-Transgender-Community/dp/0199325359/ref=dondes-20

I'm your one-stop casting call shop (apparently)

Last week I mentioned a casting call for trans guys in New York. This week it's an opportunity in Vancouver for a transgender comedy:

Saturday, March 7, 2015

February Print Sales Superstar (and it's a charity anthology!)

There was one stand-out in print sales last month, and I'm so pleased it's the book I published to raise money for organizations that do kick-ass work with Aboriginal women in Canada:

Don't You Savage Me: Explicit Lesbian Romance Featuring Aboriginal Women
Authored by Giselle Renarde

156 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1500261344
ISBN-10: 1500261343
BISAC: Fiction / Lesbian

In “Don’t You Savage Me,” bestselling author of the Rainbow Award-winning novel The Red Satin Collection has bundled together six lesbian love stories featuring Indigenous characters.

There’s a little something for every taste, from the sticky-sweet romance between a cop and the girl next door in “Cuff Divers” to the intense heat of “Sugar Bush.” Rusidan learns about her girlfriend’s heritage in “Traditional Inuit Throat Singing” while Emma encounters a legend come to life in the historical romance “To Dream of Her True Love’s face.” A group of girls leave Jansey utterly exhausted in the charming bondage story “Knowing the Ropes.” Charm or no charm, Dina can’t resist rodeo rider Leslie Goosemoon in “Leslie Goosemoon Rides Again.”

All royalties earned by the author on sales of “Don’t You Savage Me” will be donated to charitable organizations allied with Indigenous women in Canada.


Thank you for buying this book! I mean, thank you to everyone who buys any of my books, but I'm so pleased to be able to pass on royalties from this one in particular to organizations that are working with and for Indigenous women.

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Casting Call for Trans Men (New York Dept of Health Photo Shoot)

I came across this photo shoot project the other day and thought I'd share in case anyone's in the area and wants to audition on March 11th. They're looking for 8 trans guys, and the photo shoot is scheduled for March 18th, for those who are chosen. This is a paid modeling gig.

The project/photo shoot will be for a booklet that will be given out by healthcare professionals to patients who are transitioning FTM.

The focus is on health and transitioning safely.

To find out more details and contact information, visit https://desireekennedyproductions.wordpress.com/2015/03/02/casting-trans-men-for-nyc-dept-of-health-booklet-photo-shoot/

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

#RandomBookIWrote Wednesday: Anonymous

This is my most explicitly Toronto-centric book to date--aside from The Other Side of Ruth, which is even MORE Toronto-centric than Anonymous. Read Anonymous now to get your fill of Toronto fiction!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01G4GBSD6?tag=dondes-20
Hannah and her husband Nathaniel have always shared one particular fantasy—he wants to make love with another man, and she wants to watch.

When Hannah loses her job to a crumbling economy, she soon finds that an idle mind is indeed “the devil’s playground.” She latches onto the delectably naughty idea of bringing a third into the bedroom, but inviting a man they both know to join them could have far-reaching negative consequences. What they need is someone else. Someone anonymous.

After a hot night of ménage sex with a stunning escort, Hannah becomes obsessed with finding out the identity of their mystery male. Even when Nathaniel unexpectedly introduces another vibrant young man into their relationship, Hannah remains possessed by her fixation.

To what lengths will Hannah go to discover the real identity of "Mr. Anonymous?"

ANONYMOUS by Giselle Renarde

EXCERPT

...“I want to suck another man’s cock,” he said.

She smiled. “I want to watch you.”

“I bet you do.”

After setting her glass down on the coffee table, Hannah crossed her bare legs over her husband’s lap and laughed. “I can’t believe we’re talking like this. It’s so naughty!”

She ran her fingers down the front of his already unbuttoned shirt and leaned in to kiss his neck. He smelled like wet pine after coming in from the rain. She kissed him again, kissed his cheek this time. Every peck left a pink mark on his flesh. Tonight, she’d paint him with lipstick. Her lips would be her brush, and his skin her canvas. She’d been waiting all day, and now this dirty talk was gearing her up for an evening to remember.

“Sorry again about dinner,” she said with a deliberate pout.

Nathaniel shrugged. “Hey, it’s not your fault the power went out. I wasn’t all that hungry anyway.” Leaning toward the coffee table, he stacked some cheese onto a cracker and popped it in his mouth. Hannah felt awful that finger food was the best she could do after promising him a meal to die for. She nuzzled his chest as he chewed. From the time he’d walked through the door, she suspected it wasn’t food Nathaniel had on his mind. Her husband wasn’t usually a dirty talker, but he’d sure gotten into it tonight. Maybe it was the candles. The whole atmosphere of the power outage fostered creativity.

“What else do you want?” she asked. “If we had another man here right now, what would you do to him?”

Nathaniel made an Mmm sound deep in his throat as Hannah pulled his shirttails from his navy blue trousers. “Are you undressing me?” he asked.

“Are you avoiding the question?” she answered.

He kissed her forehead, leaving a dab of wet warmth in his wake. “Have you ever known me to avoid questions?” He chuckled as she pushed his shirt down over his shoulders and teased his pert nipple with her tongue. “Oh, you do have a talent for that.”

“You like it, huh?” She leaned across his chest and bit the other nipple as it stood erect. “Well, then, you’d better keep talking, mister. I want to see it in my mind.” Sitting up beside him, Hannah looked out across the candlelit living room. Her gaze fell into the rocking chair under the vast window of the sunroom extension. “If there was a handsome young man, like that guy Jameson from your office…if he was sitting in that rocking chair over there, what would you do to him?”

“What would I do?”

“Yes, what would you do?” Hannah chuckled as Nathaniel rose from the couch and wandered toward the window. “I’m waiting for an answer, Mister ‘I’m secure in my masculinity.’ How would you make that boy come?”

Nathaniel set his thick fingers against the shining oak of the rocking chair. With his back to Hannah, he raised his head to the raindrops drizzling down the great window. She hoped the electricity would never come back on; this naughtiness was much more entertaining than anything on television. Her insides sizzled.

Turning, Nathaniel met Hannah’s gaze from across the room. “If he was sitting in this chair right here?”

Hannah squirmed in her seat. Her panties were wet just thinking about charming Jameson, the young gay go-getter in the grey cubicle across from her husband’s. “Yes, if he was sitting there naked, all dark and delicious, what would you do to his flesh?”

“The first thing I would do,” Nathaniel replied, walking around the chair, “is touch his face.”

She squealed like a schoolgirl. “You would?” Grabbing a throw pillow, Hannah hugged it close to her chest. “Oh, I’d never have guessed that. Where on his face? And what would you touch him with?”

Nathaniel rolled his eyes. “With my finger, you little minx.” He looked down into the rocking chair as though Jameson were really seated there. “I would brush my index finger down his cheek.”

Hannah cooed at the thought. “I’ve never touched a black man’s stubble. I wonder what it would feel like. Would it be fuzzy, do you think, or sharp like yours?”

“I imagine it would feel like mine,” he said, running a hand across his blondish five o’clock shadow. Nathaniel had an exquisite face: a squared jaw, a dimpled chin, a Greek nose, and a scorching look in his grey eyes every time a dirty thought crossed his mind.

“What would you do next?” Hannah asked, squeezing the square pillow closer to her chest. “I’m sure you wouldn’t spend the whole night touching his face.”

Standing upright beside the rocking chair, Nathaniel stuck his thumb in the air and wriggled it. “I’d put this in his mouth.”

“Oooh…” Hannah chuckled. “I thought you were going somewhere else with that.”

Her idea seemed to bring a blush to her husband’s cheeks. Swinging her feet up onto the couch, she hid her smile behind the throw pillow and let out a throaty giggle. “Nathaniel, you’ve gone all shy on me!”

“Never,” he said with a wink...

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Tell Me What You're Up To, Barrie Abalard


Hi, Barrie! Tell me what you're up to.

Barrie Abalard:

Hi Giselle! :)

We finally got rid of our home in the Northeast USA and now live in a small ranch in the Appalachian foothills, far from the city. We're better off financially, have better weather and better views (LOL), are closer to family, and are part of a wonderful college town. Just a better life, although I miss a lot of people. The last few years held so much stress and health challenges that I was unable to write at all. But I'm eager to get back to it.

Giselle: Okay--I'm jealous that you have a ranch. I'm just going to come right out and say it. Good to hear you're getting back to writing, too. Got a new book out?

Barrie Abalard:

I'm planning to re-release a whole lot of old books, as well as some new material later in 2015. Most of the old material is spanking stories--some short stories, some novels, all of it some flavor of romance. I need to revise, recompile, make new covers, and so on. I'll get there. Titles include Just Spank It, Poker Brat, Licked, and my Alaska (Emily and Bear) series.

The new stuff I'm writing is S&M ish, more out there, more pain slut oriented. I've already started working on the unfinished novel.

Giselle Renarde: OMG "pain slut"... I want it now! NOW! It's just cruel, making me wait like this. *sigh* Okay, so where can we find you?

Barrie Abalard:

www.barrieabalard.com, though the site's pretty outdated. Books that I currently have available will be there with links. I'm an excessica author: http://www.excessica.com/books/. Or, you can search for me on Amazon.

Thank you, Giselle. Mwah!

Giselle: Thank YOU for stopping by, Barrie. I don't think we've had any back-and-forth in like... three or four years? Or longer? Probably around the same time I updated my Wix site, LOL. Glad I'm not the only one.


Monday, March 2, 2015

Book Review: Brand It Yourself: The Fast, Focused Way to Marketplace Magic by Lynn Altman

Remember like two weeks ago when I said I pretty much never write book reviews? Well, that applies mainly to fiction--especially erotic fiction. When you work in a certain niche, reviewing your peers' books can get awkward. And I don't just mean if you didn't like for the book. Give a glowing review and you run the risk of being called a pusher of your cronies' fiction (or worse).


Well, I don't write marketing books and I don't know author Lynn Altman, so I'm going to review this book of hers called Brand It Yourself: The Fast, Focused Way to Marketplace Magic.

Brand It Yourself is an industry-focused (yet very approachable) book that explores brand creation/invigoration/reinvention via creative process and brainstorming. It's coming at you from the point of view of a freelancer working with major corporate clients. Whether or not this book would be applicable to and useful for someone like me--an author whose writing business consists of myself and two cats--really depends on whether or not I choose to actively translate the lessons I've learned into methods I can incorporate into my little venture.

The first thing I did when I'd finished reading Brand It Yourself was to flip back to the copyright page to see when it was written. This book felt really recent, so I was surprised to find a copyright date of 2006--nearly 10 years ago. Most industry books I've read come off dated the second they hit the market, but not this one. That's quite a feat.

I'm a sucker for a business book written in an amusing tone, and I found myself laughing out loud a few times as I read this one. It's very approachable, in that sense. Author Lynn Altman basically says, "Here's what I do with my clients" and provides a good deal of general insight for a book that's really quite concise.

If you're like her and you have corporate clients (or you are that corporate client--someone who works in a marketing or brand development department, for instance), the ideas in Brand It Yourself are easily transferable. As for myself and my business of one (where I am the brand and my books are my products), I'll have to sit with what I've learned for a while.

Often when I'm reading books on marketing, I've got a notepad beside me and I'm madly scribbling ideas. I didn't take any notes while reading this book. I just read it. Up until the penultimate chapter, it was looking like a 4-star book, but I took a lot away from "Chapter 8: Avoid the Quagmires: Mistakes and missteps based on firsthand experience." (Always finish reading the book before writing the review!) I learn a lot from other people's mistakes, and this kind of writing always assuages my fears that there are these infallible gurus out there in the world who never mess up. The takeaway is sometimes greatest when pros allow themselves to be the anti-experts.

Great tone, useful information (particularly for pros in a corporate or freelance setting), and I ate this book up even though I'm usually a slow reader, so it must have been entertaining. I'll have to sit with what I've learned before I know for sure whether I can brand myself after reading Brand It Yourself.

Brand It Yourself: The Fast, Focused Way to Marketplace Magic
by Lynn Altman
Published by Penguin
Available from Amazon