A Roof for the Rain is out today!

Available today from Red Rose Publishing!
A new short story from Katrina Strauss:

In a world with nothing left to lose, can one man find hope in another?

It's the year 2031. The rain doesn't fall, while access to water is controlled by a ruthless few. In the midst of this harsh, barren world, Jacob has taken up his father's mantle as leader of the rebellion against the Water Lords. Loyalty and sacrifice have their place in Jacob's life, but there's little room for love. Gorgeous recruit Ethan at least meets Jacob's physical needs, but duty to their cause comes first. When a killer dust blizzard interrupts a scouting mission, memories of Jacob's painful past hit him full force. Will he find shelter from the storm in the form of Ethan's love?

A Roof for the Rain by Katrina Strauss
Available from Red Rose Publishing for only $1.99!

Read an excerpt:
http://katrinastrauss.com/A_Roof_for_the_Rain_excerpt.html

Buy the e-book:
http://redrosepublishing.com/bookstore/product_info.php?products_id=411

First draft of Blue Ruin 4 is done, and other news!

Much to report this Monday morning! I'm pleased to announce I've finished the first draft of Blue Ruin 4: Need You Tonight. Yes, I've knocked out another adventure with Blue, Derek, and the usual assorted suspects. Book four finds "The Boys" dealing with parents, career woes, schedule conflicts, and a murder mystery -- you know, the usual stuff couples deal with! And while I don't want to give away too much more, a few readers may be pleased to know a certain silver-haired hottie has come back to play, while those seeking resolution between Blue and Cameron will hopefully be satisfied.

While Need You Tonight is simmering on the backburner and awaiting revisions, I'm starting a new m/m novella that I'll be submitting to Loose Id for their summer vacation theme. I won't go into detail on this one yet, lest I jinx myself, but it promises to be one of my "light" reads. I do pen those on occasion, though my characters will be oddball misfit types as usual, with a vacation that's a little different from what you might expect to find in an erotic romance.

As for upcoming releases, m/m futuristic short A Roof for the Rain will be out this Thursday the 26th from Red Rose Publishing. Jacob and Ethan are a little more rugged than my usual yaoi boys -- or what I term "pretty but slightly buff" -- while their world is a far cry from Derek and Blue's pampered bubble bath existence. Check back in a few days for the purchase link to go live!

In addition, Loose Id will be re-releasing dark BDSM het/menage fantasy Eldritch Legacy 1: Secrets Revealed next month in April. The reprint includes minor revisions and scene changes from the original 2006 Aphrodite's Apples release. I'm also excited to announce that Anne Cain has been selected to do the cover art! After the successful combination Anne and I enjoyed with Sleight of Hand at Samhain, I can't wait to see what she has in store for the first Eldritch Legacy reprint.

Okay, off to get crackin' on that new novella. Hope everyone has a great week!

Excerpt from A Roof for the Rain, coming March 26th!

Red Rose Publishing has surprised me, though pleasantly so, by bumping the release date for A Roof for the Rain from next month to next week! A Roof for the Rain is a short m/m story, another one of my "dollar menu" reads as I like to call them, but will hopefully prove a satisfying experience while my patient readers wait for me to finish longer works. Here's an excerpt and blurb to whet your appetites until March 26th!

Blurb:

In a world with nothing left to lose, can one man find hope in another?

It's the year 2031. The rain doesn't fall, while access to water is controlled by a ruthless few. In the midst of this harsh, barren world, Jacob has taken up his father's mantle as leader of the rebellion against the Water Lords. Loyalty and sacrifice have their place in Jacob's life, but there's little room for love. Gorgeous recruit Ethan at least meets Jacob's physical needs, but duty to their cause comes first. When a killer dust blizzard interrupts a scouting mission, memories of Jacob's painful past hit him full force. Will he find shelter from the storm in the form of Ethan's love?

Excerpt:

Ethan stood on the crest of the dune. He focused the high power binoculars and scanned the arid valley. He let a long, low whistle. “Got some amazing cloud buildup on the horizon. Think anything will come of it?”

Jacob instinctively sniffed the breeze for the scent of pending rain. Nothing, he thought. With a sense of sadness, he realized he didn’t remember what rain smelled like in the first place. He pushed the sadness away.

“We’ll see.” He took a swig of water from his canteen. His eyes lingered on Ethan’s sculpted form. Clad in snug black tank top and fatigues, the same model of rifle as Jacob’s slung across his back, the other man cut a striking figure against the bright blue sky. His shoulders glowed bronze in the sunlight, his hair golden where the western breeze tousled the strands combed back by the tinted sand goggles pulled atop his head. Jacob never bothered with goggles, but apparently Ethan’s pale blue eyes were more sensitive to the sun.

He wondered why Ethan’s presence proved so distracting, when the men he’d slept with before had failed to hold his interest after two or three encounters. Tearing his eyes away, he took another sip of water and capped the canteen. He walked around to the rear of the rail buggy. “How far’s the ravine from here?”

“About twenty kilometers.”

“Any water in it?”

“Can’t tell. These binoculars aren’t that good.”

Jacob adjusted the solar panel installed on the back of the buggy. So long as he drove conservatively, a charged battery afforded him a two-hundred mile range. In the event he and Ethan ran into trouble and had to haul ass across the dunes, that range would significantly decrease. Best to have the vehicle fully juiced. The panel set, he turned his attention to the decrepit house he’d parked next to.

He scanned what would have been the front yard. The burned-out shell of an SUV sat half-buried in the dirt beneath a dead oak tree. A long, wide dune lined the nearby split-rail fence, the tops of telephone poles peeking through the dirt on the opposite side. The house had sat by a two-lane highway, from the looks of it.

Jacob’s boot heels crunched against the sand as he approached the front steps, the top few still visible as the house rested on a raised foundation. The structure was a wooden two-story number, flecks of dirtied white paint clinging to the walls in random patches. No vinyl siding for these folks, Jacob thought dryly.

The house had been boarded and shuttered, as was the case with all of the homes in this region during DB2, but the plywood had been ripped from several of the first floor windows by some bored, restless soul for the purpose of target practice. Jacob went up the concrete steps to the wooden porch. The warped planks groaned in protest but supported his weight. To his left, the remains of a lopsided porch swing hung by one chain.

He pulled the screen door open with an ominous creak. He noted fresh rust on the hinges, indicating a recent rise in humidity. He caught himself sniffing the air for rain again. Nothing. Nothing but dust and dry heat.

“What are you going in there for?” Ethan called after him.

“Just looking,” Jacob said. “Might find something of use in here.”

“Like what?” Ethan asked. “Spiders? Scorpions? Mummified farmers?”

Jacob paused. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for. In the old days, it would have been food, medicine, bottled water, and weapons.

“You never know,” he finally answered. Trusting his rookie would follow him, he tried the doorknob. With another squeak of hinges, he crossed the threshold into the house.

*****

Excerpt from A Roof for the Rain
Copyright 2008 by Katrina Strauss
Coming March 26th as a Red Rose "Petal"
for only $1.99! Check soon for purchase details!

*****

Read an E-Book Week: Buy 1, Get 1 Free from Katrina Strauss!

It's Read an E-book Week! To celebrate, I'm offering a special buy one, get one free offer this week only. Simply purchase a single e-book title written by me, Katrina Strauss, between March 9 to March 13, 2009 and forward the receipt to me at katrina_strauss13 AT yahoo DOT com. In the body of your message, please include your request for any available Katrina Strauss e-book of your choosing and whether you'd prefer it in PDF, HTML, LIT, or Mobi. In turn, I'll send you that second requested title absolutely free! It's not only my way of saying thanks for giving my work a chance, but exploring e-books in general.

You can find my available titles, along with all e-book purchase links, at http://www.katrinastrauss.com/books.html The only restrictions are that you must purchase a Katrina Strauss title, you must make the purchase this week between March 9 to 13, 2009, and the requested free title must be a currently available release rather than "Coming Soon". Also, one free offer per purchased title barring repeats. For example, you can't buy two copies of book A and then requests copies of books B and C. However, if you purchase books A and B, you may then request C and D. Again, the e-mail address is: katrina_strauss13 AT yahoo DOT com

Looking forward to sharing the e-book love!