Happy New Year!

I confess, it feels good to have all the festivities over, and I'm optimistic about this decade. And may 2010 be the year we discover the secrets of teleportation and alchemy!

First off, thanks to Lily at Rainbow Reviews for a nice review of Carol of the Bellskis!

Thanks also to All About Romance's website which gave Holiday Outing a B. B is for blintzes! Thanks Katie Mack!

So what's the plan for 2010? I have several books in progress or waiting in the stuffy, overcrowded lobby of my mind....

•  A contemporary mystery romance complete with horses, hot Brazilians, and would-be murderers.
• A "space opera" collaborative work with the amazing Ginn Hale and Nicole Kimberling. It's not certain, but we've been working on another anthology, although this time it will be set around a space station and a carbon dioxide-breathing population. My story will of course have terrorists, crying, torture, hot Brazilians (oh wait no sorry wrong novel), hot SPIES, and perhaps miniature desktop elephants.
• An AU medical mystery story set in a homesteader community suffering a terrible plague. Vague description, I know, but its a work in progress and I'm still not 100% sure where it's going to go.
• Fire, the sequel to Water, which will follow the development of the supernatural beings, the Valde, as they struggle to break free of their human body prisons and finish the war they started so long ago.

And of course, something will probably peak my interest halfway through the year and I'll write that story instead and abandon all hope of maintaining any sort of writing schedule, which is why I can give you no guarantees, other than this: MORE TO COME.

Hope you all are as hopefully about 2010 as I am! May the teleportation to our gold reserves begin!

Copenhagen, Denmark (AP) - Scientists present at the Global Warming talks in Copenhagen today revealed their solution to the global warming issue plaguing the world; it is Astrid Amara's new book, Carol of the Bellskis.

"This book has enough heat to allow readers to turn off their wood-burning stoves, enough metaphorical and physical icy conditions to halt the retreat of the oceans, and an ability to generate its own atmosphere," says top scientist, Dr. Rathbone Factlover. He added, "And the atmosphere not only comes with ozone, but with nearly insipid holiday cheer!"

Early readers of the book have been astounded by the warm, cozy feelings they had after the experience, and the fact that the author chose to set a Chanukah story in Whistler, British Columbia.

"There are Jews in Whister?" asked a woman on a street.

Author Amara is pleased with the results.

"I always knew that my writing would one day save polar bears," she said while eating a third fast food cheesewhopper and standing next to 14,000 kilowatts of baseboard heating without sealed windows. After taking another sip of her spotted-owl juice, she throws a piece of plastic in her back yard, barely missing her Hummer. "I'm just glad that I'm making a difference."

Carol of the Bellskis is for sale as of today at Loose Id.

Happy Saturday, Shabbat, Chanukah! There were 6 individual flakes of snow in the air on my way to my coffee stand this morning, which means it could turn very snowy here soon. But I'm nicely tucked inside, reading and drinking coffee.

And since I'm offering a small gift every day leading to the release of my new Chanukah novel Carol of the Bellskis, I thought I'd offer the kind of gift NO ONE WANTS. Yes. This is the internet-equivalent of Christmas fruitcake, or a sweater-vest.

It's a map! A map of Parmas City, the fantastical setting of the novellas written by Nicole Kimberling, Ginn Hale, and myself in our Hell Cop series! Oh joy! I bet you've always wanted to know where Ben Moran lives in comparison to Jay Yervant. I've bet you've sat back and said to yourself, "self, why oh why can't I visualize whether or not these characters are walking north to the gay district or east to the beach?" Well, worry no more. This sketchy and unprofessional-looking map will clarify your vision of Parmas City like butter hardened on a pair of goggles.

A Map of Parmas City.

Enjoy!

And Happy Holidays! Bring on the snow!

Happy Chanukah! The holiday begins at sundown today, so as a first present, I would like to share an excerpt from my upcoming 2010 Hanukkah romance novel, Carol of the Bellskis!

Paralegal Seth Bellski finally calls it quits on his clandestine relationship with his boss, Lars Varga, tired of being his dirty secret. Yet despite being in the middle of a bad breakup, the two of them are forced to run a kosher B&B until Seth's relatives are found. But more than just candles re-ignite over Chanukah, and Seth is left wondering if maybe Lars IS the guy of his dreams. After all, if they can survive this holiday, surely their relationship can survive anything.

Read an excerpt (PDF).

Have a great night everyone, and best wishes!

Oh, me.

Why must I combine the loving, innocent values of a time-honored holiday tradition with, as one of my ESL students once said, "the intercourses"?

I don't know, but I sure as hell enjoy doing it. I get concerned looks from the dogs when I maniacally giggle as I tear my characters asunder and then fling them back together so they may "proceed with caution." The cheerful clacking of my computer keys accompanies a the low mumble of me talking to myself like a madwoman, cackling demented as I dangerously combine blintzes with blizzards and jerky ex-boyfriends with icy staircases and - worse - a theatre director. I may have gone too far this time. I don't care. Hanukkah is almost here and I feel the holiday joy upon me.

So here to kick off the week in which Hanukkah will begin (this Friday at sundown), I thought I'd share my new banner for The Carol of the Bellskis, which is coming next Tuesday, December 15! And every day of Hanukkah, starting Friday night, I'll be sharing an excerpt here on the website. Another way to keep warm through the night. :) Happy near-holidays, everyone!

The Holiday Season is upon us! At least it feels like it, weather-wise.

And since no one writes de hot m/m Jewish romance no mo, it's up to me!

The Carol of the Bellskis is my newest title, and will be available from Loose Id on December 15, smack dab in the middle of Chanukah!
So pull up a chair, light a candle, eat a latke, and get ready for some light-hearted holiday romance.

Here's the unofficial blurb:

Paralegal Seth Bellski is tired of being the secret lover of his boss, Lars Varga, founding partner of Finch, Varga & Vale Law. So when he asks Lars to spend Chanukah with Seth's family at their kosher B&B in Whistler, B.C., and Lars refuses, Seth realizes he will never get his self-conscious boss out of the closet.

So Seth prepares to spend his Chanukah holiday alone in the B&B. Instead he finds himself running the place, as his aunt and uncle are missing, and nine demanding, peculiar, and danger-prone guests have arrived. To make matters worse, Lars shows up, begging forgiveness. Lars's touches remind Seth of why he put up with his boss's behavior in the first place. If only the words that came out of that beautiful mouth were as sweet as his kisses.

But how can Seth find time to fix his broken relationship when the guests are demanding kosher, gluten-free diets, losing their pet terriers, and hitting their heads on the ice?

Seth and Lars find themselves put through the paces of being a married couple, all while still broken up. But then again, if they can survive this Chanukah, surely their relationship can withstand anything?

More info coming soon.

Happy pre-holidays, everyone!

 Well, it's torrential rain-time here in the Pacific Northwest, but I can't complain. We had an amazing summer. And I had a lovely summer goofing around in that sun, playing outside, and not writing.

But now that the weather has turned, it's time to return to Babs (my laptop) and get to work on a new novel!

I have a Hanukah story coming out this December from Loose Id.  At the moment it's called The Carol of the Bellskis. It's a fun story to write, although hard to visualize snow when there's nothing but rain outside.

I also read a great book this weekend, The City & the City by China Mieville. No, not m/m romance (although two pretty awesome detectives I really enjoyed), but a great example of how speculative fiction and mystery can merge in a creative, enveloping way. Yess! I love reading!

As soon as I have some excerpts and more materials on Carol of the Bellskis, I'll share. Until then, I wish you all a lovely autumn and the start of a great Writing Season!