A Declaration of Pride!, a Blog Hop, and a "Ask the Editor" session

Wanna win a copy? Leave a comment, and enter to win! 

I am a coat of many colors. Some people would like to  color me as only a gay man, but I am many other things. Being gay is not a strength or a weakness, it is simply a part of my DNA. When asked about my life, I say the only choice I made was to be comfortable with the feelings and attractions that I had had since I was five years old. But again, being gay is not the only thing that makes me me. Yes, I am an activist. And I am do write M/M. And I don't believe in secrets! (But many of my characters do, like Victor and Marissa of Two Tiny Secrets, my latest short story on sale here!)

I have gay friends who talk about gay things, but I also have straight, bisexual, and transgendered friends who inform, educate, and entertain me on matters of their first culture.

I am not and will not be pigeon holed into being only one thing. I am writer. I am a husband. I am a poet, a humanitarian, and a deep thinker. I am against bullying, hate, and discrimination of anyone. period. I am a hippie, a social butterfly, and a bibliophile. And I choose to believe I am all these things and would be all these things, whether or not I am gay, queer, or otherwise strange. Each of these things are a part of the quilt that make up my mentality and physicality. They are, as Dolly Parton sung, my coat of many colors which I hope to wear until the day I die. And I will have pride in all this, and more, as I discover new and interesting things about myself as I grow older.

And speaking of a coat of many colors, I got the chance to do an "Ask the Editor" session with Kris Jacen, who I have the honor of calling a great editor, an excellent advisor, and an incredible friend. She answered a ton of questions about the ideal author for an editor, her various projects (including Butt Pirates in Space), and the things she can (and cannot) teach as an editor.

Check out that Q&A and be educated, enlightened, and even tickled.

Her bio . . . Kris Jacen is the Executive Editor and Formatting Director for ManLoveRomance Press and its imprints. She was invited to join the MLR staff in 2008 and has never looked back. Working with over thirty-five phenomenal authors such as Rick R. Reed, JP Bowie, Ally Blue, Jet Mykles, and S.J. Frost has allowed her to both hone her editorial skills and indulge her inner fangirl. Kris also acts as editor, mentor and sounding-board for newcomers including Kendall McKenna, Parker Williams and Z. Allora. With this stable of talent under her guidance, Kris is quick to tell anyone who will listen that she loves her job. And her authors are just as quick to say that they love their editor.

And we part of the Rainbow Blog Hop, hosted by the Marketing For Romance Writers group. Tour around and see what else you can win while learning about other authors and projects!

AND A FREE GIVEAWAY!!!
Free to everyone -- No entry needed.
Download your favorite version of the exclusive Marketing for Romance Writers Rainbow Excerpts Book, with 60 pages of excerpts and samples from our authors. This version features gay romance.
Kindle http://marketingforromancewriters.org/media/RainbowExcerptBook-Vol1.prc
Nook / ePub http://marketingforromancewriters.org/media/RainbowExcerptBook_Vol1.epub
Adobe PDF http://marketingforromancewriters.org/media/RainbowExcerptBook-Vol1.pdf

A Challenge For Me. . . No FaceBook for a Month!

A social experiment: Could you spend a month without Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube? Would your creativity and productivity improve if you spent all the time you're currently using on Facebook and other "social media" promoting yourself and other such things actually writing instead, I've asked myself? I guess I'll find out in January. I am removing all social media and emails from my phone, and only allowing myself one hour a week on Facebook and other social media to see if I can discipline myself into writing more and "everything else" less. The only way to reach me will be through my blog, and my website. That's it . . . for January, at least. And we'll see where I need to go from there. So, during January, if you need me, the only email that i"ll leave connected is author@wtprater.com But, don't fret, I will also be updating my blog at least three times a week. So, check out how long I can last at this challenge at www.jwasg.blogspot.com

Another Flash FIction Friday (Details Here) !!!

I'm declaring yet another Flash Fiction Friday on my blog. The idea is simple. . . I will give you the title/theme . . . You will write a story 100 words long (no more, no less) . . . and then we'll let the audience decide who best captured the title/theme. And guess what? There is a prize, other then maybe self-discipline and a seed for a new story, or stories. Who wants to challenge themselves and others?

The theme will be announced be announced Thursday around 4pm and ANYONE can enter a story until around 5 pm Central Time Friday. You can enter by writing a story the length stated above and emailing that story to wtprater.jwasg@yahoo.com by 5 pm Central Time Friday. I will then post all the entries on the my blog Friday evening. Ask your friends and family to come read all the entries, and vote for the best one by leaving comments (Only one vote per comment, please) . I will go through the comments and post the winner Saturday afternoon. I reserve the right to bring in other off-line judges if there are not enough comments.

****One entry per author, please****

**** Warning: If your entry is less or more than 100 words (hyphenated words are counted separately), it will not be posted. PERIOD. And I will deal with spacing issues, but otherwise, I will not edit or correct spelling or grammar. ****

  

And this week's prizes: A hand knitted scarf of purple yarn (knitted by yours personally)!


This week's theme is : What a Twisted Memory  I have . . .


Two MUSTS for this one: It must be based on a real memory AND there must be a twist.THESE ELEMENTS MUST BE PRESENT IN ALL ENTRIES!!! Just remember 100 words exactly. Have fun and get to writing!




My Example:

     The old building stood before us, as we took the campus tour. It had been gutted and empty, and waited to be reconstructed as a more current structure of itself.

     That felt a lot like my life, on my own for the first time.

     I was shocked to find someone in my group that went to my high school. He was one of the boys that tormented me for being out. Completely straight, and homophobic.

     Until less than a month later, we found a way into that empty building, and he had me pinned to the ground, sucking my cock.


SO YOU'RE ENTERING . . . Thanks! And some last minute helpful tips!

1. READ THE RULES.

2. Comment below on Thursday, saying, "I'm in" or "I wanna" or something like that so I can keep an eye out for your e---mail.

3. Email your story to wtprater.jwasg@yahoo.com by 5 pm Central Time Friday. (Voting will begin after the stories are posted, around 6 pm Friday. )

4. Have your family your family, friends, and whatever and vote for the best story (perhaps yours) by leaving comments Friday or early Saturday (voting cuts off at 6 pm Central Saturday) . If you or anyone you know can not comment, simply email me at the above email and I will count those votes before I announce anything saturday.

5. Come back Saturday after 6 pm and check out / congratulation the winner.