Today on our Cyber Launch Party Blog, we're spotlighting some April releases from JMS Books!
TWELVE HOURS I by Drew Hunt
High school quarterback Zack Pierce’s life is spiralling out of control. To hide from his growing attraction to Sam, his best friend and team mate, Zack drinks, smokes dope, and has sex with any girl who will have him.
Things reach a crisis point when Zack’s girlfriend dumps him after she finds out he’s got another girl pregnant. Not knowing what else to do, Zack breaks out his father’s bourbon and calls Sam for help.
The call in the middle of the night scares Sam, who rushes to his friend’s side. Dare he risk everything by confessing what he feels for Zack? The next twelve hours will either make or break them.
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BEAUTIFUL DISASTER by J.M. Snyder
Twenty year old Corey Evans is one-half of 2ICE, the biggest duo on the radio at the moment. Pronounced twice, they're number one on the Billboard charts this week with their latest single. And number one in download sales, with two albums that have already gone platinum, to hear their manager tell it. And currently on their second U.S. tour, which has sold out stadiums across the nation.Despite this, there's an emptiness inside him which Corey can't seem to fill, no matter how many groupies he takes to his bed. He sees this same emptiness mirrored in the eyes of his band-mate, Ian Coltraine, who drowns his evenings after each show with a bottle of whiskey. Ian's the one Corey turns to when he wakes beside an unknown fan, still asleep in his bed and needs help evicting her. He's Corey best friend, the only person on the tour he can confide in, who he really trusts ...
The one, Corey finally realizes, with whom he is madly, deeply, terribly in love. And he suspects Ian might feel the same.
But his recent string of one-night stands makes Ian cautious about Corey's true feelings. He's wanted Corey for so long, and has watched him go through countless fans in search of ... what? Ian doesn't know. And he doesn't yet believe Corey when he says Ian might be it. Ian hopes so, but can't bring himself to believe Corey's fickle desire won't be gone in the morning.
Can these two young men somehow move beyond Corey's past and Ian's pain to embrace a love they both so desperately desire?
NOTE: The paperback also contains the short stories Encore and Render, which feature the same characters.
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ENCORE by J.M. Snyder
BRAND NEW FICTION FROM J.M. SNYDER!
In Beautiful Disaster, pop superstar Corey Evans realizes how hollow he feels until he discovers he's in love with his best friend and band mate, Ian Coltraine. Together they form the successful pop duo 2ICE, and this story picks up where the first left off.A couple not only onstage but in the bedroom now, Ian and Corey have managed to hide their newfound relationship from the fans, the press, and -- most importantly -- their management. But when manager Dean Summers stumbles upon the two of them together, he's determined to put an end to what he sees as a destructive course which can only end up tearing the band apart.
Is the budding love Ian and Corey share strong enough to stand up to the pressures they face?
If you haven't read Beautiful Disaster, this story may not make much sense. So pick up the first story before diving into this short, satisfying sequel!
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BETWEEN STATES by J.M. Snyder
The year is 1863. Caleb Chilson is a private in the Confederate Army, currently camped in the Virginian woods.
Most of his time is spent on picket duty, on the lookout for a Yankee attack. But when the moon is full, he manages to slip away from the encampment and into the woods to become something a little less than human ...
Imagine his surprise when he meets another werecat like himself. The only difference? Brance Brenneman wears a Yankee uniform.
Contains the stories:
•Book 1: Under a Confederate Moon
•Book 2: Beneath a Yankee Sky
•Book 3: A More Perfect Union
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THE OBSIDIAN MAN by Jon Wilson
All his life, Holt has dreamed of leaving his life of drudgery to join the legendary Danann, a mysterious race of rangers and magicians. When trolls threaten his village, he sees his chance in the arrival of Kawika, a handsome ranger sent for protection. But things take a deadly turn when a demon appears, leading an army of horrible creatures. The village goes up in flames, Kawika vanishes, and Holt finds himself wandering lost and alone in the wilderness.Rescued by the Danann, Holt suffers both physical and psychic scars. However, Kawika’s lover, Keone, hopes to use that connection to track and destroy the demon responsible for the attack.
Unfortunately, the link works both ways -- Keone can track through it, and the demon can use it to invade Holt’s mind. As the pursuit continues, Holt’s sanity begins to slip away. Gradually the realization dawns that instead of helping Keone defeat the demon, he may be leading them both into the demon’s deadly trap.
WIN - Leave any of the authors or the publisher a question today at their Cyber Launch Party and you get your name in the hat for your choice from any of their April releases - Take a look at your choices! Please leave your email address so we can contact you if you are today's winner - Good Luck!
Wow - what an excellent selection of gay fiction! Fantasy, historical, paranormal and contemporary - you guys have it all this month!
ReplyDeleteJM, for those not familiar with JMS Books, tell us all about them. I know you've been in the business for many year, what made you decide to start your own publishing company?
Authors, please stop in and tell us about yourself and your new books!
I wish you all great success and can't wait to learn more about you all.
Hi DeNita!
ReplyDeleteMy own press seemed the next logical step in my progression as an author. When I began publishing in 2002, I started by self-publishing and taught myself the industry. In 2006, I began working with various e-book publishers because I wasn't familiar with that aspect of the business. But as I branched out and published with a variety of different presses, I learned more and more what I liked ~ and didn't like ~ and thought about how I'd do things differently.
JMS Books LLC came about at the urging of a friend. I was content to self-publish my own stories, but when my friend showed an interest in getting his work published through me, I began to think about publishing other authors.
I'm very hands-on with the authors we publish. I read every submission, and only take those I really personally like. While most of the stories we publish are gay erotic romance, we also publish many other genres ~ everything from non-gay stories to lesbian erotica ~ even young adult, nonfiction, and poetry. My thought is that there are a lot of great authors out there with queer titles who aren't being picked up by other publishers because their stories are "hot" enough or don't fit into a convenient marketing label. I don't care about things like that. If I like it, I want to publish it, plain and simple.
While I have editors on staff who work with some of the authors, I also edit when I get the chance. I create the book covers, lay out the book interiors, and generate the e-book and print book files myself. Because I see publishing an author's work like a partnership, we pay 50% royalties, which is higher than a lot of other electronic publishers out there. Also, any book over a certain length automatically goes into print. We release 3 e-book titles a week and 4 print books a month.
And we're open to submissions! Visit our site at jms-books.com for more information!
Congratulations to all the new release authors.
ReplyDeleteI've finally noticed in the last couple of months the promotion of books I believe are geared toward YA gay teens. (The blurb for Twelve Hours indicates mature teen and adult YA readers to me.)
acm05atjuno.com
These books sound great. I'm familiar with J. M. Snyder's works but the other authors are new to me; I look forward in reading their works.
ReplyDeleteMy question is how many hours do you spend creating the book covers? Do you work closely with the authors?
Thanks,
Tracey D
booklover0226 at gmail dot com
I took a look at all of the JMS releases this month. I think the stories in Hard at Work look very interesting. I only started reading m/m romance a few months ago but I really enjoy that genre.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on all of the April releases!
user1123 AT comcast DOT net
Congratulations on all the releases.
ReplyDeleteJM as an author and a publisher are there certain things you look for when deciding whether or not to publish someones books?
sstrode@scrtc.com
I love a bit of magic, so 'The Obsidian Man' caught my eye immediately.
ReplyDeletemarypres@gmail.com
I love the selection of books you offer JM and am wondering if there are any particular themes you'd love to see more of in books? Since you wrote a rock star themed story, and I'm seeing more books with that theme(which is good since I love those kind of stories), do you think that might be the next big thing?
ReplyDeletejoderjo402 AT gmail DOT com
I love the selection of books you offer. How hard is it to keep it all straight?
ReplyDeletedebby236 at gmail dot com
Thanks for the great contest. I have a question for JM Snyder. I don't see a lot of historical romance set during the civil was era. What made you decide to set your trilogy during that era?
ReplyDeletejepebATverizonDOTnet
All of these look really good. A nice assortment of books.
ReplyDeleteiqb99@yahoo.com
Anne,
ReplyDelete"Twelve Hours I" involves young adults over the age of consent, but because it contains explicit sex, I wouldn't market it as a YA book.
Then again, some of the YA books on the market distributed by traditional publishers have explicit sex between teens, so I guess it's all your own perspective!
Tracey,
ReplyDeleteIt depends on the book cover. I work with the authors closely to capture the essence of their stories, and they provide information on what they want to see on the cover. Some covers take a while to tweak until they're just right; others seem to come effortlessly.
On the average, I'd say a cover takes about an hour to create once I have the images and fonts in mind I'm going to use. But I can spend two or more hours scouring images in search of just the right one!
Sherry,
ReplyDeleteMy main criteria for deciding to publish a story is that I have to like it. Since I'll be promoting it online and off and my name will be associated with the final product, if I didn't like a story, I couldn't accept it for publication.
That said, I have a wide variety of interests and love to read many different kinds of books, so I like a lot of different things :)
Joder,
ReplyDeleteI'll let you in on a little not-so-secret about me ~ I started writing gay erotica with boy band slash. So in essence I'm returning to my roots when I publish a rockstar story.
I don't know if that's the next big thing or not. It seems that the paranormal craze is slacking off a bit, but one thing I see a lot of are military and cowboy stories. I'm not big on cowboys, so more band fiction would be great!
Jen,
ReplyDeleteI live in Richmond, VA, one-time capital of the Confederacy. When you grow up here like I did, the Civil War becomes second-nature to you. I know more facts and trivia about that era than most people never even learned in school. Because it comes so easily to me, it's an easy period for me to return to when writing.
I have another book set during the Civil War, "A Heart Divided," which will be released through JMS Books sometime in June (it's currently available through Amber Quill).
I'm a fan of historicals set during times of war. I don't care for Victorian novels overall, but I love the Civil War era.