Giveaway & Guest post - GayRomLit: Desire (and fun!) in the Desert by Brien Michaels

Thanks for joining us on the Riptide Publishing FirstAnniversary Blog Hop Bash! All month long, we’re bringing you guest posts and interviews from your favorite authors, artists, and Riptide staff. As a thank you for helping us celebrate, we’re also giving away $10 in Riptide store credit to one lucky commenter at every stop! Simply leave a comment below by 11:59pm on Sunday, October 28^th to enter. Be sure to include your email address and to check out our complete tour schedule to find out where else you can enter to win—one Grand Prize winner drawn from commenters at all the stops will also win a Kindle that we’ll load with every book we publish in 2013!

Plus, check out our anniversary sale—All October long, backlist titles are 15%-50% off!

Today we have a special GRL wrap-up from Brien Michaels, budding author and Riptide Publishing’s unofficial con master and promoter.

GayRomLit: Desire (and fun!) in the Desert

Brien Michaels & Stephanie Grober

So, 2012 has been kind of a huge year for me, as an author and a fan. I’ve attended several conferences, conventions, and retreats, and gotten to meet so many amazing people, from editors, to authors, to readers. Gotta admit—the readers have been my favorite! By far, the most fun I’ve had all year was at the GayRomLit Retreat in Albuquerque. Getting there was hell (coast-to-coast travel usually is) but once I arrived, it was a blast.

I spent most of Friday hanging out at the Riptide table with the amazing Aleksandr Voinov and I may-or-may-not have had a mini fanboy meltdown when I met Abigail Roux—who wouldn’t?! They were both super sweet and down to earth, which is so cool, considering their awe-inspiring backlists and the legions of fans they have. It’s great when you finally meet a favorite author face-to-face and you find out they are exactly the amazing person you thought they’d be.  And Aleks wins best-dressed—he rocked a three piece suit throughout the entire weekend!

Cat Grant, Aleks Voinov, Abigail Roux, LA Witt & Brien Michaels

Saturday began with some great publisher’s spotlights, including Loose Id’s, where I got to represent my author self. I was amongst Tara Lain, Kerry Freeman, Lori Toland, Elizabeth Silver, and Lynn Lorenz. All in one room. I think I exploded a little bit, to be honest. Each and every publisher’s spotlight (including Riptide’s) was an incredible chance for authors, editors, and press representatives to chat with readers and peers who love our books, our entire genre, and romance at large.

Riptide Publisher's Spotlight

That’s what was so amazing about GRL. I know the description has said all along that GRL is a retreat for authors and readers of LGBT fiction, but I don’t think I’ve ever been somewhere so accepting and loving in my life. Two guys making out behind us? Nobody batted an eye, and a few people actually turned to watch. Everyone felt comfortable being themselves. Acceptance was in the air!

The book signing on Saturday afternoon was fabulous, with more m/m authors in one room than I’ve ever seen. Riptide alone had attending authors Aleksandr Voinov, Cat Grant, Elyan Smith, Abigail Roux, Anne Tenino, Damon Suede, Amy Lane, Heidi Cullinan, Marie Sexton, and LA Witt! I made the rounds, but once again, I spent most of the day at the Riptide table—this time with the too-amazing-for-words Stephanie Grober, Riptide’s marketing coordinator. So many readers came up to the table, telling us how much they love Riptide and how much they love the quality of work they put out. I don’t think readers understand how much they mean to us on this end of the business. Whether we’re authors, editors, publishers, marketing people, whatever— they’re our bread and butter, our reason for being, and they mean the world to us.

Aleks Voinov, Damon Suede & LC Chase

Sunday was a bittersweet day, because most of the wonderful authors who came had to bid the others adieu. I roomed with authors Cat Grant and Daisy Harris (SQUEE!) and I missed them from the moment they got onto the airport shuttle. But it was so great because when you get to meet people that you admire so much, it resonates with you. In a world where we usually have to imagine each other’s voices from behind the pages of a book, or behind a twitter account, or coming through a blog post, it is amazing to meet face-to-face.

I’ll never forget this weekend. If you can, register to go when GRL descends on Atlanta next year. Do it. Don’t even think about it. I promise you, you’ll have the time of your life.

About Brien: Brien Michaels was born at an early age. In the time that he is not writing, he enjoys reading, eating, and terrorizing young wood nymphs. After an altercation with a person in a mask, he fled to the hills and now lives in seclusion with the voices in his head. He currently writes dark fiction, erotic fiction, and dark erotic fiction for the creatures that have moved in under his bed.

Learn more about Brien and his work at http://brienmichaels.com.