Rachel Haimowitz' Love Letter to GayRomLit

By Rachel Haimowitz

There’ve been many blog posts by now about the first-ever GayRomLit, which was a fabulous experience in so many ways for so many people (myself included!). Janna’s asked me to do another, but rather than go over what so many have already said with much more eloquence (and ability to remember names; I’d forget my own if my mom hadn’t sewn it into my underwear when I was a kid :-p) than I ever could, I thought I’d write a little love letter to GayRomLit, instead.

Love first and foremost to the organizers, who pulled together an amazing con that was smooth sailing from start to finish. From the author readings to the beignets and café au lait each morning to the parties around the pool, the event was loose and social, and never once was I at a loss for things to do or people to do them with.

Love next to the amazing community of readers, writers, bloggers, industry professionals, and the many who fall into more than one of those categories. What a joyous experience to gather together in one place to share the thing we all have such passion for, and to share that passion with each other. As I mentioned on my own blog, the best thing by far about GayRomLit was the opportunity to put faces to names, to meet people we’ve all been chatting with for a long time, sometimes years. It’s just as exciting for the authors as it is for the readers, because we’re readers too; just ask Rowan Speedwell, who was subjected to a soft but uncontainable “Eeeeeee!” every time I found myself speaking to her :)

Love also to not having to explain why we read, write, and love gay romance—a discussion that comes up constantly at primarily het romance cons—because everyone at GRL already knew and understood. Of the many things that set GayRomLit apart as a must-attend conference among the many cons available to M/M romance readers, that shared understanding and pleasure is the #1 reason for me.

And lastly, love to New Orleans, the perfect city for the inaugural GayRomLit. I wish I’d had time to see more of it, but what little I did get to enjoy was an experience unlike any other city I’ve ever seen.

For these reasons and many others, I can’t wait to go back next year, when GRL will be in Albuquerque, NM, and I very much hope to see you all there as well!


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Riptide Grand Opening Giveaway

Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win any backlist book of choice (excluding Crescendo) by Rachel Haimowitz!

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Riptide is having a Grand Opening tour, of which this blog post is a part. At the end of the tour stop, Riptide also awards one lucky commenter a big Riptide swag bag, US resident only. If an international winner is chosen, they will substitute for a gift certificate to All Romance E-Books.

The best part is, that each comment in the blog tour earns you one entry in the grand prize drawing for an iPad. Other prizes are a Nook and a Kindle.

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Links:
Website Riptide Publishing | blog tour list | website Rachel Haimowitz | Weblog Rachel Haimowitz

Guest Review: Counterpoint by Rachel Haimowitz

Rachel Haimowitz
Counterpoint
Guiltless Pleasure Publishing, 2010

Series:
Counterpoint is book #1 in the Song of the Fallen series. The second book has the same main characters and will be released in 2011.

Backblurb:
It is the twilight of mankind. Depleted by generations of war with a dark race, the human kingdoms and their ancient alliance stand on the brink of extinction. The outlands are soaked with the blood of the fallen. The midlands are rotting with decadence and despair.
Elfkind, estranged by past crimes, watches and waits for nature to run its course.
And then the two collide.
Ayden's life has long been guided by two emotions: love for his sister, and hatred of all things human. When he's captured in battle, he must for his sister's sake swallow his pride and endure slavery in the service of a human prince. To his dismay, this close-up view of his enemy is nothing like he expected. Now curiosity and contempt make a battlefield of his soul, even as he struggles to pick up the pieces of his shattered worldview.
Freyrik Farr, Crown Prince of Farr Province, finds his new elven prisoner puzzling. He's always known elves to be beautiful and dangerous, but never has one affected him as deeply as Ayden. Can his life of service to his people leave room for this attraction? Dancing on a dagger's edge between duty and high treason, Freyrik discovers that some choices can change a life, and some an entire world.
Between prejudice, politics, pride, and survival, Ayden and Freyrik must carve a new path, no matter how daunting. For nothing less than the fate of both their peoples rests on the power of their perseverance -- and their love.

Genre & Keywords:
M/M, Dark Fantasy, Elves, Slavery, War, Kingdoms

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Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Heat level: 2 out of 3 flames
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*Review copy received from the author*

Guest review by Lis:

So. Counterpoint. Song of the Fallen. Yes that is the book. Starring Freyrik Farr, Crown Prince of Farr Province, and Ayden, Elf. Ranger and the most stubborn elf I've ever met. What to say about them? Because that is sure not an easy feat. Every now and then you encounter a book that has you puzzled and firmly on a fence with your legs swinging indecisively on either side of the fence.

So. Counterpoint. On the one hand, or should I say leg, I want to tell all the wonderful things about this book. Tell you this is a fantastic read that is definitely recommended. On the other hand or leg, I want to tell you that this book frustrated the hell out of me. That I put it away several times and that it has the shittiest ending of all endings.

When Janna asked me to review this book, I was expecting a fantasy read in the style of Lord of the Rings or Feist' Magician. Only with gay characters of course. It's not. It's fantasy, but it is something different and more darker than your average high fantasy read. It is something to be appreciated. Thought went into creating the dark fantasy setting and the themes in this book.

The main characters, Freyrik and Ayden are stereotypes as characters – with Freyrik as the king/temporary ruler/master with a compassionate nature and Ayden as the slave stubbornly holding on to his sense of self and freedom and his prejudices at the same time – and they are not, because both characters do things that that don't belong to their stereotype but uniquely to the character itself. The supporting characters are only there to play a role, but somehow it seems fitting for this story. In the end it is all about Freyrik and Ayden. Not Freyrik the rules and warrior and Ayden the elf, ranger and now slave.

The author has a way with words and she weaves a long and intriguing story with several turns and ups and downs. She takes her time for Freyrik to win Ayden's trust and for Ayden to overcome some of his prejudices and adjust to his new situation of being a (bed)slave. I loved Ayden's wit. This is something I talked about before, but sometimes authors don't give their characters a unique voice and they speak/talk the same as all the other characters in the story. While in real life everyone has their own little quirks in speech. Words we like to use over others. This author mastered that well.

What has me fence sitting is in part the sense of doom that is always present in this story and the romance that isn't quite yet a romance because it starts fairly late in the story and is in the end underdeveloped because, yes, the ending. Gah! That would be my biggest problem. Here you go writing an extensive story that you know can't be fitted into one book and you just have to stop there?! And of course, make us wait more than a year for the sequel? Not fair missy! It's like walking down the road, trying to find your way, when suddenly the road is gone. This bothered me more than the violent scene at the end that pissed me of to no end and made me ashamed of being human. It actually made me put aside the book till curiosity didn't kill the cat, but me, almost.

So. Counterpoint. I'm still fence sitting here. Therefore if you truly want to know what this review is all about, you just have to pick the book up yourself!

Linking:
Rachel Haimowitz’s weblog | on Goodreads | on Twitter
Buy Counterpoint here

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