Brief descriptions of the stories are after the cut.

Home Field Advantage By Shae Connor

College student Toby MacMillan, grandson of Atlanta Braves owner Ray MacMillan, works with the team’s locker room crew during the baseball season. It’s there that he meets Caleb Browning, who’s getting his first shot at the big leagues, and Toby, who’s been trying to keep his sexuality under wraps, finds himself smitten. An innocent dinner soon turns into a not-so-innocent night together in Caleb’s bed, but Toby quickly calls things off, afraid of the ramifications of their tryst.

Unable to avoid each other because of their jobs, the two men develop a tentative friendship, but it soon becomes more. After Caleb takes a fastball to the head during a game, Toby’s presence at his hospital bedside catches the attention of more than just the medical staff. Their budding romance hits the news, and Toby’s grandfather threatens to cut Toby out of team ownership unless he denies it. Facing a choice between the team he’s loved all his life and the man he could love for the rest of it, Toby has to decide if he’s ready to make a stand.

One Last Road Trip By Kerry Freeman

After the last game of his major league career, Jake Wilson is hitting the road, and he’s making a few stops along the way. He has an ex-wife with a new life in New Mexico, a son following in his footsteps in Oklahoma, a daughter with an announcement in Tennessee, and the gamble of a lifetime in Georgia. In 2,500 miles, his life will completely change, and he can only hope that his visit to his first love will cause everything to change for the better.

Wild Pitch by Marguerite Labbe

For as long as Ruben Martell has known him, he’s been in love with his best friend Alan Hartner. They played together, traveled together and publicly dueled on opposite teams. Now years later they’re both retired from the Major Leagues, are running a business together and coaching rival Little League teams. And in all those years, Ruben hasn’t given up hope that Alan might return his feelings one day, but now he’s starting to believe that Alan will never chose to move beyond the memory of his late wife.

Alan quit the game at the height of his career to take care of his sons and the one constant he’s been able to rely on is Ruben. In all that time he has tried to forget about the night everything changed, only being with Ruben on a day-to-day basis is weakening his resolve. They’d stepped over the line before and it had hurt their friendship and left Alan with a guilt he didn’t know how to handle. Alan doesn’t want to do anything to jeopardize that friendship now even if it mean denying the feelings he’s kept locked away for so long.

One Man to Remember By Kate McMurray

In the summer of 1927, all anyone in New York can talk about is Babe Ruth and the Yankees’ Murderer’s Row, the unstoppable batting lineup that no other team can beat. Skip Littlefield, an infielder for the less flashy New York Giants, is happy to let the Babe take the spotlight, even as he starts hitting as well as Ruth himself. Sports journalist Walter Selby has gained a reputation for being something of a dandy. He’s a force to be reckoned with, too, as one of the most dynamic voices in the daily papers. And now he can’t help but notice the talented first baseman helping the Giants race for the pennant. Then he meets the man and is left breathless—Skip is talented, soft-spoken, and also incredibly handsome. And Walt quickly comes to understand why Skip wants to stay out of the spotlight.

Against the backdrop of the lights of Times Square, the excitement of the era, and some of the most incredible baseball anyone has ever played, Skip starts to fall for Walt. But no one can know. Skip’s only hope is that the more charismatic stars will draw attention away from the quite romance blooming between Skip and Walt, or else Skip’s whole career and everything he loves is at stake.

Image courtesy of Meawpong3405 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Reblogged from shaeconnorwrites:

Hi there! Thanks for stopping by my blog. I'm happy to be participating in the Hop Against Homophobia, and I'm even happier that you're taking the time to check out my contribution. I'm going to address the serious part of why I'm here first, and then I'll get to the fun stuff. :)

When I started thinking about what I wanted to say in this post, I kept coming back to the same beginning point: Christianity.

Read more… 736 more words

Reblogged from The Amazon Iowan:

This is story number 13 for me, and publisher number 5! Yes, I practice literary promiscuity.

Saturday, May 4
10:00 AM
From Hoe to Pro (Dunwoody Room II)
For the self-proclaimed writing whores that would like to go professional. With Eden Winters.

11:00 AM
Writers Workshop: Traditional vs Self Publishing (Clairemont Boardroom)
Here’s the inside scoop on how to do it. With Kiernan Kelly.

2:oo PM
Writers Workshop: World Building (Clairemont Boardroom)
The environment we live in engages all our senses, sets a mood, and changes the way we interact with others. Shouldn’t your written environment do the same? With Kayelle Allen.

3:00 PM
Writers Workshop: Marketing for Authors (Clairemont Boardroom)
Think all marketing is the same? Think again. These experts reveal tips and tricks that are specific to authors. With Kayelle Allen.

4:00 PM
Butt Pirates in Space—the Back Story (Dekalb Room)
Meet the authors of the new Butt Pirates in Space Anthology prior to joining them for their book signing party. With Kiernan Kelly, T.C. Blue, and Kage Alan.

7:00–9:00 PM
Butt Pirates in Space Book Release Party (Con Suite)
Check out this 2 hr space pirate themed party and get to know the authors of this hot publication. With Kiernan Kelly, T.C. Blue, and Kage Alan.

Sunday, May 5
1:00 PM
Audience Turn-Offs in Social Media (Dekalb Room)
There are just some things you should never do online… especially if you are trying to promote your work. With Kayelle Allen.

3:00 PM
Lusting After Joss Whedon (Dekalb Room)
Part genius, part madman, Joss Whedon has given us greats like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Serenity, Cabin in the Woods, and the upcoming Avengers 2. Join artists as the discuss why they just can’t get enough of him. With Lee Martindale and TC Blue.

Strap yourself in and strap something on as you’re transported across  galaxies and lifetimes by Kiernan Kelly, Kage Alan, Angelia Sparrow,  T.C. Blue and Shae Connor. Whether it’s an interspecies pregnancy  between two hormonal males, a swashbuckling group of pirates, or free  gifts that talk, you’ll soon learn why in space, no one can hear you  cream. Open wide for BUTT PIRATES IN SPPAAACCCEEE!

Buy from MLR Press
Buy from Amazon Kindle || Paperback

The blurb:

A year after his arrival on the planet Lalande with a group of Earth scientists, Zeke’s had a lot of adjustment to do. He sure never expected to fall in love with a Lalandian, much less for Zeph to end up pregnant. And just about the time Zeke gets used to that idea, their unborn child draws the attention of more than just the scientific community. When kidnappers strike in the form of a band of privateers, Zeke has to put all his wits to work to outsmart them and reunite his family.

The anthology itself came out of a kind of crazy panel at Outlantacon last year, and we’ll be having a follow-up panel and release party at Outlantacon this year. Kage Alan is already insisting that, next year, we go for butt ninjas.

Those sneaky bastards.

I’m working on deadline to finish a short story for one publisher and a novella for another, due two weeks apart in May. Eep. I haven’t done much deadline (fiction) writing, so this is a new experience. So far, so good. *crosses fingers*

I’ll be in Chicago twice in six weeks, once for a publisher event and once for Memorial Day weekend (which is also the weekend of the International Mr. Leather event and the Grabbys). Looking forward to seeing all sorts of folks on both trips!

In between those two trips will be Outlantacon/Gaylaxicon, which is the first weekend in May. We’ll be debuting the Butt Pirates in Space anthology (MLR Press), which includes my short story “What to Expect When Your Boyfriend Is Expecting.” (Yes, I wrote MPREG. Sort of.) Other authors in the anthology are Kiernan Kelly, Kage Alan, T.C. Blue, and Angelia Sparrow. Links and other info coming soon…

Lots more stuff coming up, too, once all of that is off my plate!

I haven’t done one of these in a while (okay, I haven’t done much of ANYTHING here in a while, LOL), but a tweet asking for meal ideas and recipes inspired me. So, here’s how I make Slow Cooker Pulled Pork.

Boston butt or pork tenderloin
Dry rub
Water

Either type of roast works well; Boston butts are more fatty but usually turn out juicier. Since I’m usually cooking just for two, I buy whole pork tenderloins sale and cut them into sections of about 1.5 to 2 pounds to freeze separately.

For dry rub, I sometimes buy premixed (Paula Deen Butt Massage is great—no, really), or I throw something together from my spice cabinet: paprika, garlic, onion, pepper, a little salt. Right now, I have a mesquite-flavor dry spice mix, which makes a great base for dry rub. You’ll need about 2 to 3 tablespoons of dry rub for a 2-pound roast.

Rub the dry rub all over the roast. Place roast in the crock of the slow cooker, fat side up if there’s an outer layer of fat. Add about 1 cup of water to the bottom of the crock (do not pour over roast or you’ll wash off the dry rub). Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours or until meat is fork-tender. (You can start with a frozen roast; it’ll just take more like 8 instead of 6 hours.)

Remove roast from crock and place into a large pan with sides (a 13 by 9 baking pan works well). Shred (“pull”) meat using two forks. Serve as is, or add barbecue sauce of your preference. (I like sweeter sauce but usually serve it on the side.) Makes great sandwiches!

I’m a little late due to reporting delays, but for the fourth quarter of 2012, my backlist sales totaled 200 copies. (Yes, it came out even. I’m surprised too!) That’s for nine titles from three publishers. So, minus the $50 I donated back when I started this whole crazy thing, that means I’ll be sending an additional $150 to Hurricane Sandy relief. Because I ended up making part of my initial donation to the Occupy Sandy relief group, I’m going to split this donation between the disaster relief funds for Feeding America and the Red Cross.

Thank you SO much to everyone who purchased a book last quarter, and anytime, for that matter. You rock!