Yen Plus going digital-only

As announced directly at the Yen Press website, Yen Plus magazine is going strictly digital:

http://yenpress.us/2010/04/the-future-of-yen-plus/

Interesting, that.

New review for Efflorescence!

Efflorescence received some nice reviews during its first run in a collective anthology, so I've been anxious to see how it fares during its second incarnation as a stand-alone release. I'm pleased to say Efflorescence has received a lovely new review from... Boylove Addict! This is the third time M/M reviewer Boylove Addict has read and favorably critiqued one of my M/F titles. What can I say -- I'm beyond flattered! Catch her review here:

http://boylove-addict.livejournal.com/55020.html

Other cross-readers between M/M and M/F may be interested to know the roots of Blue Ruin's Sasha lie, in part, in Efflorescence's Pavel. I just love a Russian accent. If you'd like to know more about 1920s bondage/maledom novella Efflorescence, you can find a blurb and purchase info at All Romance:

http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thetiesthatbindefflorescence-425013-144.html

Back to writing. An editor agreed to consider a partial on the Sunrise at Mama Irene's derivative, so I'm polishing the four chapters I've drafted so far! It's good to be back in the writing game. :)

RIP Peter Steele

Type O Negative has pulled fake death stunts in the past, but sadly, it's no hoax this time. RIP Peter Steele. You died too young, but your music lives on, while at least a few of us goth girls will never forget that Playgirl shoot.

Writerly update

Back in February, I posted about the chronic pain issues that have affected my writing schedule (not to mention, you know, my entire life) since November. I'm happy to say I'm almost back to normal, albeit I take things a little slower now and am still managing minor pain flareups. After the wonderful response to free story Sunrise at Mama Irene's, I've been inspired to work the short into a full-length book. After some haphazard baby steps, I'm averaging 1K words a day on the manuscript, a vast improvement over what I'd written the past few months. (Which was mostly, um, zero, with a few 200 word spurts here and there.) I can't say when I'll be done, but I thought readers would like to know that yes, I'm drafting my next book, and it's a May/December M/M contemporary featuring Tony and Josh. I'll share more details once the manu's complete!

RIP Malcolm Mclaren

Well hell. Infamous Sex Pistols manager Malcolm Mclaren has passed away:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/malcolm-mclaren-dies-aged-64-1939621.html

Whether you're of the camp that Mclaren invented punk or that he stole it from the colonies, whether you view him as a musical pioneer who tapped into the spirit of the age or simply a shrewd businessman who effectively marketed anger, malaise, and bondage pants, the fact remains that he helped drive a scene that became the voice of a generation and would inspire the next ones to come. In the words of Johnny Rotten, who once sued Mr. Mclaren for royalties owed: "For me Malc was always entertaining, and I hope you remember that. Above all else he was an entertainer and I will miss him, and so should you."

RIP, Malcolm Mclaren. You may be gone, but punk will never die -- you had the last laugh in watching the "No Future" generation grow up and take over the world after all.

Efflorescence is available today!

My 1920s bondage story Efflorescence has been re-released by Tease Publishing. Note: this story features light maledom. The femdom cover is for the entire publisher series, The Ties That Bind, coming this summer in print. More details soon! In the meantime... get your stand-alone e-book of Efflorescence today for only 99 cents from All Romance:

http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thetiesthatbindefflorescence-425013-144.html


BLURB:
In the spring of 1920, the wholesome Gibson girl is fading from grace while the spirited Flapper has yet to emerge. In the midst of this transition, restless model Hannah finds a kindred spirit in Russian painter Pavel. As their sessions lead both model and artist to question their taboo desires, can they defy convention and follow where their hearts lead them?


EXCERPT:

One thick brow lifted, and Pavel's lips curved at the corner. "La Doña, she tells her girls not to talk to the painters, no?"

Hannah smiled down at her hands, folded demurely in her lap. She shook her head.

Smooth, supple fingers brushed her jaw line. Pavel tilted her chin back up, angling her face from one side to the other, scrutinizing her with the cool, detached manner of the artist with which she had grown accustomed; yet unlike previous painters, his touch warmed her, leaving an odd flutter in the pit of her belly.

"I have a new client. He wishes for paintings that are, how would one say it…suggestive?"

Hannah jerked her head straight, her pale cheeks instantly scalding. La Doña had assured her that she could say no if she did not wish to participate in any project that went against her morals. In fact, she was to report any request or action that left her uncomfortable.

On the other hand, she had traded cards behind La Doña's back. And some girls had whispered that more provocative sessions proved a good way to earn extra money, which a model might then stash in her pocket unbeknownst to their mistress.

Hannah flushed harder and forced herself to speak. "You will pay extra?"

Pavel chuckled heartily. "Ah, there. You are ten times more striking with color to your face."

Though his laugh sounded casual, he averted his gaze, his dark features gone ruddy. "Of course, I will pay extra. But please, do not worry. I will not ask you to fully undress."

Hannah detected his mutual embarrassment. A few painters had left her vaguely unsettled during the most pristine of sittings, yet she sensed no lechery on Pavel's part, only professionalism. She exhaled slowly and willed herself to relax.

Pavel returned to his stool. He took a tin tube of paint from the easel tray and squirted a dollop of red on the palette. Brush in hand, he began dabbing and mixing the fresh paint with a spot of blue. The color orchid, the same shade as her dress, gradually emerged.

"Perhaps you might wish to sit more, er…comfortably? Turn around in the chair, like a man sits." He waved his hand, gesturing with his rainbow-splotched palette. "Go on," he assured her, "I will not watch. I will be a gentleman and mix my paints."

Hesitant, yet somehow excited, Hannah rose and turned. Awkwardly, she straddled the seat, then lowered back down with caution so as not to tear her skirt. Her hem eased up, exposing her stockings where she had rolled them right above the knees. Her cheeks blazing hotter, she clutched the arc of the backrest.

"Good, good," said Pavel, glancing at her absently as though it were nothing.

And indeed, it is nothing, she told herself. He was an artist, she was his model, this was the twentieth century, and she was mature enough to show a hint of flesh.

-- Excerpt from Efflorescence
Copyright 2008 by Katrina Strauss
Available in e-book at:
http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thetiesthatbindefflorescence-425013-144.html