Author: Rhys Ford

Rhys Ford is an award-winning author with several long-running LGBT+ mystery, thriller, paranormal, and urban fantasy series, including Murder and Mayhem, a 2016 LAMBDA finalist. She is published by Dreamspinner Press and DSP Publications.

Rain, music and whatnots

On By Rhys FordIn Heh10 Comments

I’ve been having issues with the new book. Okay yeah, I always have issues but this time, oddly enough… it’s the title.

I’d love to name it Dirty Side Down. Sadly, that’s a Cole title sound. From now on, anything with Dirty in it is going to make me think of bullets, snarky gay detectives and Korean food.

Word association is an interesting thing.

There are words we never think about how much they weigh until used in a certain context then suddenly they grow fangs and thorns or turn the inside of our brains maudlin with memories of things and people we cannot shake.

Shake. Another word. Milky, sweet or hard, terrifying rock slamming together beneath the earth until its crust breaks.

Odd things those. Words.

Yet we still have problems talking with one another. We talk TO easily enough but WITH is sometimes hard.

I think it’s because even through we all have the same words, we all speak our own different language…even if we share the same sound for chair.

Someone once said it’s odd to think that the brain is the only thing that ever named itself.

And I think in some secret corner of our minds, it’s still naming things, seeing things, hearing things on its own terms while laughing its head off at the confusion it causes.

Fucking not-chairs.

Morning!

On By Rhys FordIn Heh6 Comments

This is an interesting blue. It’s a nice blue. But it’s sort of in the medium range of tones. On the other hand, it is very water-hued so maybe that’s what they were going for? I’m on the fence about the blue.

But it’s a nice shot. Very sweet.

Excerpts… Murder, Ink and Sloe

On By Rhys FordIn Excerpt, Free Stuff, Good News39 Comments

How about a few excerpts? Just for a lazy Sunday. What’s coming down the line over the next few months. Don’t forget to enter The State of the Rhys Giveaway on The Novel Approach if you haven’t already.

Murder and MayhemMurder and Mayhem

All Rook could smell was blood.

Hot. Metallic. Dirty. Blood.

It stung his senses, an angry hornets’ nest of odors he couldn’t outrun—even as he pounded down one of Hollywood’s tight back alleys. Rook could hear shouting, piercing rushes of sound caught in the maze of brick, glass, and cement behind him.

A sun-faded aluminum can crinkled when he stepped on it. Folding up over the edge of his high-top, it clung to his foot for a stride before gravity dislodged it. Nearly tripping over his own feet, Rook stumbled, then caught himself with a grab at a rolling trash can, tipping the enormous black receptacle to the ground. Garbage poured out of the heavy bin, foul, sticky liquids gushing out from its depths, and as Rook jigged around the stream, he was very aware of the sounds of footsteps closing in on him.

He’d be damned if he let them catch him. Continue reading “Excerpts… Murder, Ink and Sloe” →

Diverse Reader’s LGBTQ Push Back Charity Giveaway!

On By Rhys FordIn Free Stuff, Good News
LGBTQBannerFB
Diverse Reader is thrilled to announce there are 224 of us authors offering to reward a lucky reader generous enough to give a little bit back to charity. The giveaway will launch on Diversereader at 9AM EST and run until 11.59PM EST on 1st May.
Donate to a charity or share donation links to enter!
To keep things simple, entries will be managed by Rafflecopter. Each participant can enter only once, by leaving a comment on the blog post naming the charity they’ve donated to, or whose donation links they’ve shared.
Once the entries are closed, Rafflecopter will randomly pick winners from the entrants, and Diverse Reader will match them up with donors on a first-come, first-served basis.
To the Giveaway!
http://diversereader.blogspot.com/2015/04/lgbtq-push-back-charity-giveaway.html

LGBT people make up less than 10% of the overall population, yet 40% of homeless kids in the U.S. identify as LGBT. Of them, 68% cited family rejection for the reason they were on the streets. Studies have repeatedly shown that homeless LGBT kids are more at risk of being attacked, robbed, and raped than their heterosexual counterparts, more likely to engage in prostitution or survival sex, more likely to turn to drugs or alcohol, and more likely to attempt or commit suicide. Despite this, less than 25% of homeless shelters cater for or specifically target LGBT kids, leaving them at the mercy of individual organizations who can pick and choose who they help and who they abandon on the streets.

Changing laws and attitudes takes time, and right now there are LGBT people in need who can’t afford to wait. The sooner we can help them, the better, and the more resources we have, the more help we can offer.

That’s why 224 authors, review bloggers, and publishers have got together to offer something wonderful: a reward for people who do a little bit to give back to charity. Instead of spending $5 on a book in the next two weeks, give that $5 to an LGBT charity of your choice, tell us about it in the comments, and go into the draw to win a book from one of our participating donors. And because it’s not all about money, if you can’t make a donation then please take a moment to share a charity’s links and tell us about that instead.

Three fundraisers have been set up for this purpose and have Indiana at its heart:

#Pizza4Equality has all donations going to Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors Fund.

Another fundraiser is aiming to raise $100,000 for Indiana Youth Group.

Finally, Planting Peace is trying to raise $100,000 to provide beds for homeless LGBT people.

Please consider giving to one of these deserving fundraisers, or any other LGBT charity anywhere in the world. We’re not telling you where you should donate your time and money, only asking that you do. The smallest things can make the biggest difference, and together, we can do something incredible.