Category: Heh

One Thing, If You Please…

On By Rhys FordIn Heh4 Comments

Can I ask we keep one thing in mind?

Some people will say I will keep you in my prayers and others will say I’m thinking of you and hoping for the best. If someone’s prayers for someone else bothers you, that’s not on them…that discomfort. It’s okay for someone to be religious or spiritual just as it’s okay for someone not to be. If we ask for tolerance for one thing, perhaps for our godlessness, we have to extend tolerance in exchange.

We have gut reactions. I have them as well. It’s hard not to knee-jerk at certain phrases or behaviors and it’s difficult to remember that the person opposite of us saying those things, doing those things is not the one who put the monsters in our closets.

We should remember not to cloak someone else’s words in our issues. We are all saying the same things, that we hope for the best outcome in a trying situation, especially since most of us are helpless to give anything else.

I am not religious. I don’t pray but I ferverently hope. That doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the hope and wishes given to me in someone else’s packaging. If I do pray for anything, it is that we all remember we are all in this together, and sometimes hearing someone else is thinking of you — no matter how they phrase it, no matter how they are thinking of you — it makes life a little bit better.

Accept the lamp given to you to help ward off the darkness, even if it is not in your style or doesn’t match your decor. It is still a light, and one given freely.

All that said, #TeamNoKetchupOnEggs

Guest Author Blog Post: Setting the Mood By Jeri Westerson

On By Rhys FordIn Heh2 Comments

Setting the Mood By Jeri Westerson

One of the reasons I’ve never gone in for writing screenplays is that I love writing the narrative prose of a novel. I love the descriptions, setting the tone and mood of a piece. I’m a prose whore, and nothing gets me all a-tingle like some well-written sentence, or a paragraph or page that puts me in another world.

And you must sense it, too, because the readers of this blog love to sink into these different worlds, different places.

I was once in conversation with another author about world-building. We know the masters of it; J.R.R. Tolkien, JK Rowling, George R.R. Martin—they take what we know from history, from the world around us, throw in a smattering of mythology, and make a perfectly reasonable alternative reality to what we know. But my contention was that every book has some measure of this world-building, even in the historical mysteries that I also write, because readers need to be re-introduced to medieval London, to the everyday life and customs of such an intimate society. And the same is also true of paranormal novels. It’s the writer who must set the world first in a reality that the reader can relate to before she can expand upon that foundation. Only when that foundation is firmly in place can you use it as a jumping off point. Continue reading “Guest Author Blog Post: Setting the Mood By Jeri Westerson” →

We Say Goodbye Today To The BEST of Cats, Tam.

On By Rhys FordIn Heh33 Comments

Yesterday while I was in mid-flight, Tam Kitteh crossed over a line where decisions have to be made. These are always difficult conversations but in the end, they have to made. So this morning, my sister and her very good friend took Tam to the people who gave him the best of care during his twilight years and now have helped him across towards peace, happiness and probably all the shrimp and Greek yogurt a large black kitten could need.

I will miss him. He was named after a legendary Irish bard and could beg every bit of chicken out of your hand with his enormous yellow eyes. He was the best of pygmy panthers and one of the sweetest cats ever. Not one for cuddles, he would come and visit, ask for some love and then saunter off because well, he is in all things, a roaming, loving bard.

He is going home to be with his sister, Neko who has probably been missing him tremendously.

I hope they finally learn to share a bed, because for whatever reason… Tam always seemed to find that ONE spot she felt was the best and she deserved.

I will so totally miss him. He’s been with us for eighteen years, through thick and thin. And I loved every moment we had him in our lives.

So…What Have I Been Doing?

On By Rhys FordIn Heh15 Comments

It’s been a few days. Truthfully, it’s seemed like a lifetime. I’m writing this kind of late Thursday Night but it’ll post tomorrow morning. So let me touch on the moving parts of my life right now.

One.
Greg Tremblay won a Kick-Ass Award for his Narration of Black Dog Blues — An Earphones Award from AudioFile Magazine.

In Greg’s words:

HOLY MOLY!!!
A more deserving book I cannot think of… and I’m SO thrilled that it’s Rhys Ford’s amazing urban fantasy that gets this nod!
https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/131407/

I know you all are probably going…yes, yes… we know Greg’s one of your special kittens… Okay… actually Doodle Cat is. She’s adorable!

But I cannot really communicate how much I adore Greg as a person and how freaking talented he is. I want the best of things for him. And he really deserves so much recognition for all the prep, care and work he did on Black Dog Blues. Congrats and well done don’t even cut it but it’s all I’ve got. Along with…thank you.

Two.
I finished 415 Ink: Rebel and sent it off. The book ended up being so long but there kept being more and more stuff to say. It is the first in a new contemporary (my take on contemporary) series and I am very excited to be bringing it to you. Each of the covers will feature a custom tattoo done by a master tattoo artist. The first one is from Micah Caudle of Flying Panther Tattoos in San Diego, CA. I’ve known Micah for years and he does such damned fine work. I’m hoping to get Rob Benavides to do one.

If you were one of the GRL San Diego crew who went to get ink at Flying Panther, everyone down there says hi.

Three.
The cover for 415 Ink is done. It’s VERY different from what I’ve done before and I’ll reveal it later on this year. I am very happy with it and am excited even more about the series. I’m also excited about the first design for the shirts, etc.

Four.
I’m heading to Hawai’i… family visit for nearly two weeks. Wifi will be sketchy. Keep in mind, we’ve lost power there because a gecko fell on a transformer once. So, I’m braced for that in case something goes wonky. That aside, there’s going to be a pool, coffee and good friends. And food. I’m going to work to make sure people eat, laugh and most of all… sleep. Because really napping is awesome.

Five.
GayRomLit is happening in Denver in October. I and a bunch of friends will be doing a roadtrip from San Diego to Denver starting a week before GRL. We’ll be posting as we go along. So… Vegas, Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, Durango and then into Denver through Colorado Springs. It’s going to be an adventure.

Six.
Sadly, our old man cat Tam Kitteh is very sick and on the eve of me leaving, I am of course concerned. He right now is on a huge, aggressive course of antibiotics and pain killers. So if you could please keep the old man in your thoughts, I’d appreciate it.

Seven.
There will be a very huge blog tour for Tramps and Thieves starting Sept 14.

I welcome you to join Rook and his cousin, Alex, on what should be an estate sale of macabre curios but what awaits them is something neither of them planned for Be sure you read the whole story AND please enter at EACH blog’s giveaway! One lucky winner from each blog will be chosen to receive a $20 USD gift certificate from the online store of their choice!

The course will be as follows:
Sept
14        MMGoodbook Reviews
15        Love Bytes
18        Sinfully Gay Review
19        Joyfully Jay
20        NDulgent Bloggers
21        It’s About the Book
22        The Novel Approach
23        rhysford.com (Epilogue)

 Eight.
Last but not least, it is time for me to plot and begin to write the end of Sinners. Miki and Kane will be back one final time in Sin and Tonic. It is an odd thing ending this series. I’m not sure how I’m going to feel when I’m done. Unlike Cole and Jae, I can’t see revisiting the boys from Crossroads Gin once we’re done with them. Maybe a novella of Con and Forest but the full story arc will be complete. Is it bittersweet? Hell, yes but I’m so damned glad to have you all with me along the way.

After Sin and Tonic, I will be returning to Kai’s world THEN working on Hellsinger 3 (Send In The Ghosts) which already has a cover. And a plot. I’ve got plots for the two books AFTER the next one I have to work on. Isn’t that just how life is?

So, there you have it. A brief tap into my last week and well, my immediate future. Much love to all of you and please let me know how you’re doing.

Tramps and Thieves is Available now for Pre-Order on Dreamspinner Press AND Amazon!

On By Rhys FordIn Heh2 Comments

Tramps and Thieves, the sequel to Murder and Mayhem, is now available for pre-order from Dreamspinner Press AND Amazon! It will be released on September 18th!

Pre-order from Dreamspinner Press
Pre-order link from Amazon

Tramps and Thieves
Whoever said blood was thicker than water never stood in a pool of it.

Retiring from stealing priceless treasures seemed like a surefire way for Rook Stevens to stay on the right side of the law. The only cop in his life should have been his probably-boyfriend, Los Angeles Detective Dante Montoya, but that’s not how life—his life—is turning out. Instead, Rook ends up not only standing in a puddle of his cousin Harold’s blood but also being accused of Harold’s murder…and sleeping with Harold’s wife.

For Dante, loving the former thief means his once-normal life is now a sea of chaos, especially since Rook seems incapable of staying out of trouble—or keeping trouble from following him home. When Rook is tagged as a murder suspect by a narrow-focused West L.A. detective, Dante steps in to pull his lover out of the quagmire Rook’s landed in.

When the complicated investigation twists around on them, the dead begin to stack up, forcing the lovers to work together. Time isn’t on their side, and if they don’t find the killer before another murder, Dante will be visiting Rook in his prison cell—or at his grave.

 

Tramps and Thieves is Available now for Pre-Order on Dreamspinner Press!

On By Rhys FordIn Heh2 Comments

Tramps and Thieves, the sequel to Murder and Mayhem, is now available for pre-order from Dreamspinner Press! It will be released on September 18th!

Pre-order from Dreamspinner Press
Pre-order link from Amazon to follow!

Tramps and Thieves
Whoever said blood was thicker than water never stood in a pool of it.

Retiring from stealing priceless treasures seemed like a surefire way for Rook Stevens to stay on the right side of the law. The only cop in his life should have been his probably-boyfriend, Los Angeles Detective Dante Montoya, but that’s not how life—his life—is turning out. Instead, Rook ends up not only standing in a puddle of his cousin Harold’s blood but also being accused of Harold’s murder…and sleeping with Harold’s wife.

For Dante, loving the former thief means his once-normal life is now a sea of chaos, especially since Rook seems incapable of staying out of trouble—or keeping trouble from following him home. When Rook is tagged as a murder suspect by a narrow-focused West L.A. detective, Dante steps in to pull his lover out of the quagmire Rook’s landed in.

When the complicated investigation twists around on them, the dead begin to stack up, forcing the lovers to work together. Time isn’t on their side, and if they don’t find the killer before another murder, Dante will be visiting Rook in his prison cell—or at his grave.

 

Dreamspinner Press GayRomLit Pre-Orders and Sales Table

On By Rhys FordIn Heh

Dreamspinner Press WILL be doing a Pre-Order for GayRomLit sale this year so you can pre-order any of the imprints’ attending authors at a discount and have your order shipped directly to the event.

We will be handing out pre-orders at the DSP Author sales table as well as before the event. We’ll have more information as we get closer to the date.

Additionally, the following authors will have paperbacks and at the table for purchase.
Bru Baker
Andrew Grey
Tj Klune
Carroll S Poe (CS Poe)
Rhys Ford
K-lee Klein
CJane Elliott
Rowan Mcallister
Kim Fielding
Taylor V. Donovan
Mj O’shea
Brandon Witt
Tempe O’Riley 
Shira Anthony

Also look for ebook-featured postcards (with purchase links) from:
Hunter Frost
Meghan Maslow
Avery Duran

Can’t wait to see you there!

Good Morning from Green Bay

On By Rhys FordIn Heh

Morning All… or what’s left of the morning.

Right now we’re holed up at a Starbucks on the day before the Writers’ Police Academy starts and allegedly writing. Everything is now plugged in, we have wifi and coffee. Well I think I might be the only one with coffee. The other two authors, Charlie Cochet and Victoria Sue both have tea.

And I’ve finally gotten situated on the table. So much fuss and cords.

Trying to finish out this book. Hopefully soon! Sooo close.

It was great meeting up with Vickie Peterson (watch me have spelled that wrong) last night. We went to Prime Quarter where they pretty much wheel a cow out, carve off a huge part with a chain saw and grill it for you. SOOOOO much food. But it was great company and well, we got to experience yet another Uber driver personality. Who then picked us up again this morning. Shout out to …. Edward.

Jason the Uber driver so far has been my favourite so he’s set the bar, Green Bay!

I should have taken pictures to include here. I’ll do some tomorrow. Right now, writing like the wind. 😀 Okay maybe a light breeze scented with a strawberry infused tea.