A new publisher looking for M/M stories

BLOG RELEASE

The Island by Kristopher Quentin

Stars Fall by Louis J Harris

Draven’s Gate by Cheryl Headford (Mock up Cover below)

An Anthology to support our social outreach program.

And

A submission call from writers all over the world.

This is what can be expected from CoolDudes Publishing in the next three to four months.  We have chosen to launch our  CoolDudes Imprint with Cheryl Headford’s beautiful YA M/M Fairytale for the simple reason that Cheryl writes the most endearing, angsty gay stories the whole world should know about. 

With this launch we intend to give a $25.00 Amazon coupon to a lucky subscriber to our site and Newspaper, plus free e-book copies of Draven’s Gate, Stars Fall and The Island when it is released. To top that, all our participating bloggers will have a giveaway prize of all three e-books to one of their lucky subscribers.

OUR PUBLISHING PROGRAM

We want to tap into the M/M market and expand it using our affiliate editors, beta readers, reviewers and promotional staff. We don’t ask for a penny upfront, however, we do offer contracts and deduct a small percentage of 40% from royalties for the services we offer.

We aim to publish e-books with a strong M/M element but are NOT genre romance  and not specific to Happy Ever After (HEA). The work may be darker in nature and reflective of the world gay men face. These are more along the lines of how things really happen with all of the horrors gay men and women have to face through their lives.

But, the romances will be heartfelt and not a guaranteed HEA although we would prefer HEA.

Literary works are welcome. 

These are novels that minimize on dialogue and maximize on narrative, but the language must be of a high standard. There are many authors writing literary books as opposed to light romance.

We also publish YA and NA, and we will attempt to control who sees what age wise. We want to open people’s eyes to the fact there is a whole culture of extremes out there in writing Gay Fiction.

We include all types of works about gay men, whether it be relationships written by gay men/women or straight, it doesn’t matter.

The focus is romance, crime, mystery, paranormal, fantasy with a gay theme (because after all, it’s perfectly normal right; it shouldn’t be set apart because its about two men together, or a fairy and a human) rather than gay romance, gay mystery, gay thriller etc…. It means someone buys it for the story it offers.

Above all, we strive to have this kind of reaction: ‘Oh my God! That’s such a great thriller, and you know what, it’s got two guys in it, but wow! it’s a fab book!’ That way we get the best of both – the hard-core readers who only buy gay romance and perhaps some others who buy it despite the fact it has two gay guys.

OUR SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

We accept works that are a minimum of 30,000 words unless it is a solicited short for an anthology.

Maximum word count: 120 000 words.

Please only send a submission query through our website at http://www.cooldudespublishing.com for completed works that are ready to begin the editing process.

Use “Submission  query” as your email subject and in the body please give the title of the work, your name, completed word count, and a synopsis which should include details regarding character development, plot, and conflict/story resolution.

Please use Arial or Times New Roman font, 12 point size for queries.

Also tell us the genre(s) and if it is for our adult or YA range.

You should include three sample chapters in Word format and address them to the following address: louisjharris@cooldudespublishing.com.

***

We strive to have this kind of reaction: 'Oh my God! That's such a great thriller, and you know what, it's got two guys in it, but wow! it's a fab book!' That way, in presenting a story, we get the best of both – attraction for the hard-core readers who only buy gay romance and perhaps some others who buy it despite the fact it has two, or maybe more, gay guys.

OUR SUBMISSION CALL

General Call

We want plot driven stories featuring at least one gay male main character. While we do wish to see a romance element within the stories, we do not require the story to have romance as its primary focus. We prefer a happily ever after, but realize that love is often bittersweet, so a happy for now ending is also welcome. We prefer submissions to be at least 30,000 words and will happily consider longer works upwards of 150,000. Stand alone titles are welcome as are series and we welcome both first time and established authors. If a title has previously been self published, it must be removed from distribution before we will consider it.

You, Me, and the Stars

Space ships, alien worlds, galactic conquests… CoolDudes is looking for quality science fiction with well realized worlds, exciting plots, good character development, and while there should be some romance, it doesn’t have to be the primary focus. Submissions should be at least 30,000 words in length and we are happy to accept longer works. Have an epic over 150,000 words? We’re happy to take a look and see if its a good fit.

Down in the City

Skyscrapers. Wharf fronts. Shopping malls. We’re looking for some gritty urban fantasy worth sinking teeth into. Vampires, dragon shifters, wizards, fae, and more are all welcome. Submissions should be a minimum of 30,000 words and we are happy to consider works over 100,000 words. Whatever the story, it should contain an element of a romance, though it doesn’t have to be the primary focus.

Contemporary Romance

Any setting, as long as the world is our own and it’s set in this era. We are looking for tales featuring two men in love. New couples, established couples, friends to lovers, Love comes in all shapes and sizes and we want their stories! HEA or HFN stories preferred and the stories may contain dark themes or be as sweet as candy as no two love stories are alike. Submissions should be at least 30,000 words.

Young Adult

Here at CoolDudes we firmly believe that youth are our future. We’re looking for positive stories featuring LGBT youth main characters, aimed at readers 12 and up and 16 and up. Please include an  intended age range with your submission. Stories can be set within any genre, and romance can be secondary. So whether it’s a young person running for his junior high student council while realizing his first real crush is another boy, or a college student finding the love of his life, we want to hear about it. Stories should be a minimum of 25,000 words.

***

We’re excited about this venture because, well, it is exciting.  It’s a huge challenge for us, after all, every one of the team is a writer, or a beta reader, or an editor in his/her own right. We are excited because our imprint is a baby and we want to nurture it and see it grow.  We are excited because we want our writers and readers to feel at home with us.

We are not an answering machine.

We are not form letters.

We are not a call centre.

Every step of the process goes through a human being, some are parents with families, some are lovers who live together, some are happily married in a mutual gay relationship.  In all this, we are all supporters of LGBT and this is our way of giving back to our amazing society.

http://www.cooldudespublishers.com

Twitter : @lgbtpublisher

Google+ : CooldudesPublishing MM Romance

Pinterest : http://www.pinterest.com/cdgaypub

Our Newspaper: Paper Li : Cooldudes Publishing

You Tube : CooldudesPublishing MM Romance

Wednesday briefs - Love Across Time - Recovering Lost Traditions

Instead of posting the next chapter of my Wednesday briefs story, Love Across Time, I decided to do a couple of side stories celebrating the holidays. Love Across Time - Recovering Lost Traditions is now up. You can read it by clicking here.

If you have just come across my blog and would like to read the entire Love Across Time story, you can click here to get to the Wednesday briefs page.

Here is a sneak peek at what you'll find in Love Across Time - Recovering Lost Traditions:

As the days and months passed, something started bothering Ethan and Chris that neither could put their finger on. At last it dawned on Chris what was missing. "Eth, have you noticed the lack of Christmas decorations around?"

"Now that you mention it, yeah," Ethan suddenly snapped his fingers, "That's what's been bothering me. No Christmas. When Ryan comes home I'll ask him about it.”

Ryan walked through the door at the tail end of Ethan's statement. "Hey, guys."

Ethan jumped up and rushed Ryan, practically knocking him down with his exuberant greeting. "How'd the physical go?"

"I'm in perfect health and rarin' to go!" Ryan punctuated his statement by waggling his eyebrows.

"Get a room, you too!" Chris exclaimed. Ethan burst out laughing at Ryan's response, which was to raise an eyebrow towards Chris.

Still giggling, Ethan struggled to explain what Chris meant; the end result being all three of them laughing like maniacs. Eventually Ethan turned a serious look on Ryan. "Ry, why aren't there any Christmas decorations anywhere?"

"What are Christmas decorations?"

Wednesday briefs - Love Across Time chapter 33

Chapter 33 of my Wednesday briefs story, Love Across Time is now up. You can read it by clicking here.

If you have just come across my blog and would like to read the entire story, you can click here to get to the Wednesday briefs page.

Here is a sneak peek at what you'll find in chapter 33:

Not for the first time did Doctor Korotas wish that the stasis pods had travellator capabilities as he explained to Barnes who Ethan and Chris really were. Barnes’ jaw dropped when he heard what the doctor said about them. “You’re bullshitting me, right?”

Doctor Korotas chuckled at the use of the archaic term. Ever since Ethan arrived, the archaic sayings were making a comeback. In fact, some people made a game out of trying to come up with them. “Time to make tracks,” he added his own archaic saying. “We’ll be ready when you get here.

~~~~~

Ryan burst through the doors of the infirmary, looking around wildly as he tried to catch his breath from the full-out sprint. Adrienne caught up with him just as Ethan and Chris were wheeled in. He looked sick when he saw who were in the stasis pods. He fell into the closest chair, burying his face in his hands.

“Ethan trusted me to protect him. I failed him and now he’s dying!” Ryan wailed, full of self-recrimination, “Him and Chris.”

Wednesday briefs - Love Across Time chapter 32

Chapter 32 of my Wednesday briefs story, Love Across Time is now up. You can read it by clicking here.

If you have just come across my blog and would like to read the entire story, you can click here to get to the Wednesday briefs page.

Here is a sneak peek at what you'll find in chapter 32:

Caught completely off-guard, Ryan looked around wildly before his brain kicked in. When Ethan shot him a frightened look he suddenly realized he couldn’t take Chris to a regular medical facility. There was no way they were prepared to deal with a man from 800 years in the past. He shook his head to get his mind to focus. “Edwards, Ryan, emergency summons acknowledged,” he shouted into his compcom. “Priority one emergency medical assistance required; my residence!” Again he shouted into his compcom.

“We have to get him to a hospital,” Ethan cried, his voice shaky.

He turned to the scared Ethan, pulling him into a hug, “Help is on the way. I have to get to TPC. They’ll bring him into the TPC infirmary. A regular hospital is not equipped to deal with a man from the past. They’ll take excellent care of him, I promise. Meet me there, baby.” With a quick kiss he was out the door before Ethan collapsed into the same convulsions that were wracking Chris’ body.

My review of Curiosity Killed Shaney by J. C. Wallace

Check out my review of Curiosity Killed Shaney by J. C. Wallace in my Kinda-sorta-maybe-weekly book review section.

Wednesday briefs - Love Across Time chapter 31

Chapter 31 of my Wednesday briefs story, Love Across Time is now up. You can read it by clicking here.

If you have just come across my blog and would like to read the entire story, you can click here to get to the Wednesday briefs page.

Here is a sneak peek at what you'll find in chapter 31:

Ethan jumped up, his eyes flashing with anger, "Ya ain't goin' nowhere, ya big oaf!" Ethan's southern speech and accent were becoming more pronounced as his anger built. "Yah, it took me some time t’ learn how t’ use this stuff, but ya ain't ignorant. Ya'll learn this stuff easy. What ahs havin’ problems with is how things work, like the travellators 'n' stuff, stuff ya ain't gotta know t’ use the stuff. You know ahs curious 'bout them things," he drawled. Ryan just looked at him; his mouth hanging open in surprise.

Chris shot Ryan a sheepish look. "Obviously you haven't seen him really pissed off. Wait 'till you experience his stubborn streak. You'll want to beat your head against the wall; or his. I want to stay, but I don't want to be a burden to you guys."

Heading Down The Long Road chapter 13

Chapter 13 of Heading Down The Long Road (the 4th book in The Long Road series) is up. You can find the chapter here.

If you have not read the first 12 chapters yet, you can find them here.

Here's a little preview of what you'll find:

Both men looked at Doctor Madison, expectantly. “The first thing I think we should do is get you hooked up with a mental health worker. What you’ve been through and what you will be going through during your physical rehab will take a toll on you physically, mentally and emotionally. I’m sure Greg is more than capable of taking care of your emotional needs and will be invaluable in helping you with your mental needs since he’s been through a similar experience, but there may be things he might not be able to help you with as much as he would want to.

“There’s absolutely nothing wrong with needing a little professional help on occasion. It’s not a sign of weakness or mental problems. Sometimes you just need to talk to a therapist.”

“That’s so true,” Greg said, “I had a therapist while I was going through my rehab there was a number of times I got really depressed and the therapist helped me out a great deal. I don’t know if I could have made it through without her.”

“But I have Greg to talk to,” Dave said, shooting a loving smile at Greg.

“That’s true. However, a situation may arise that, no matter how much Greg wants to help, he won’t know how to deal with it. I’m not saying it’s going to happen. I hope it doesn’t, but if it does, we’ll be ready to deal with it and help you along.”

Dave shrugged. I guess you’re right. I don’t have to talk with a therapist if I don’t want to, right?” He queried.

Heading Down The Long Road chapter 12

Chapter 12 of Heading Down The Long Road (the 4th book in The Long Road series) is up. You can find the chapter here.

If you have not read the first 11 chapters yet, you can find them here.

Here's a little preview of what you'll find:

“No. We were able to stop the bleeding and relieve the pressure in your skull. We believe that it was what caused your coma. We’re going to run some tests. I’m pretty sure your blindness is only temporary, a hold-over from the coma.  Can you see anything at all?”

“No, nothing. It’s like I’m in a room with no doors or windows or lights. Just blackness.

“Well, now that you’re back with us” Dave started crying softly, “we can get more accurate brain scans to see what’s going on. I can also have an ophthalmologist come and take a look at your eyes. But for now, I’m sure the two of you would like to be alone.” He turned to Jay and the Commissioner. “Let’s give them some alone time.” They left the room. Doctor Foster went to the nurse’s station. “The patients in room twelve are not to be disturbed for at least an hour. They have a lot of issues they have to work out, mainly the loss of Dave Barton’s leg and John Doe’s blindness, so I want them to be undisturbed for at least an hour or two. I’ll write out an order to cover taking vitals, etc.” He wrote out the order, then placed an ‘Examination in progress, do not disturb sign on the door’. “If you guys need anything, ring your call bell.” He made sure both men had their call buttons where they could reach them, then left closing the door behind him.

“Dave, you know I love you, right?”

“Yes.”

“I promised you that I would be with you during your rehab, and I’m going to keep that promise. However, if my blindness turns out to be permanent, you will need to find someone else to give you what I won’t be able to.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Wednesday briefs - Love Across Time chapter 30

Chapter 30 of my Wednesday briefs story, Love Across Time is now up. You can read it by clicking here.

If you have just come across my blog and would like to read the entire story, you can click here to get to the Wednesday briefs page.

Here is a sneak peek at what you'll find in chapter 30:

“Yes, Ethan, come in and have a seat. I have a special assignment for you. In a few minutes we’re going to have a special guest who wants to meet you and discuss your work. Because of your unique situation, I ask that you only discuss your job, and do not leave the conference room until the meeting is over.”

“Okay.”

“Please head on down to the conference room. I’ll have someone bring our guest there shortly.” As soon as Ethan left, Duncan contacted the control room. “Tell Ryan to bring Chris to the conference room, please.”

* * * *

Chris held back while Ryan entered the conference room. “Ethan, are you ready to meet our guest?”

“Uh, yeah, I guess so,” the nervousness in Ethan’s voice was quite evident.

Ryan gave Ethan a supportive hug then went to open the door. “Please come in,” he said as he stepped out of the doorway.

Ethan rose to greet the visitor when Chris walked in grinning. He stood there in shock for a few moments before rushing Chris and pulling him into a rib-crushing hug. “I-I-I can’t believe you’re here,” he exclaimed, tears running down his face. “I’ve missed you more than you can imagine.”

Wednesday briefs - Love Across Time chapter 29

Chapter 29 of my Wednesday briefs story, Love Across Time is now up. You can read it by clicking here.

If you have just come across my blog and would like to read the entire story, you can click here to get to the Wednesday briefs page.

Here is a sneak peek at what you'll find in chapter 29:

It was finally discovered that only bringing Ethan forward brought the timeline back 95% back into its proper flow. While Ethan missed his family terribly, he settled into his new life with Ryan; the two of them building a life together, even as members of the TPC continued to try and figure out what was going on with the timeline. Everyone had believed that bringing Ethan forward in time would fix it. They were wrong.

World War 3 in 2474 and World War 4 in 2802 caused a lot of historical records from that time period to be lost. Ethan took a job working with Anne to try and restore those records, and correcting erroneous information. His knowledge of the time period was invaluable and he was often sought after by the educational system to do lectures. Still he was unhappy, which didn’t go unnoticed.

~~~~~

An exasperated Ryan knocked on Duncan’s door. When he looked up Ryan asked, “Duncan, do you have a minute. I need to talk to you about something important.” Duncan indicated for him to come in and have a seat.

My review of Pricolici by Alicia Nordwell

Check out my review of Pricolici by Alicia Nordwell in my Kinda-sorta-maybe-weekly book review section.

Wednesday briefs - Love Across Time chapter 28

Chapter 28 of my Wednesday briefs story, Love Across Time is now up. You can read it by clicking here.

If you have just come across my blog and would like to read the entire story, you can click here to get to the Wednesday briefs page.

I apologize that this wasn't posted earlier, but I was going through a rough time in my personal life. All is well now, so here is chapter 28, Chapter 29 will be posted Wednesday.

Here is a sneak peek at what you'll find in chapter 28:

Duncan looked at Ethan sitting in a chair in front of the controls. “How did you get here?”

“My brother found one of your return thingies and tricked me into holding onto it when he pushed the button and here I am.”

Duncan turned to Liam, raising his eyebrows, “and the paradox alarm didn’t go off?”

Liam shook his head, “Nope.”

Slamming the door open; Ryan charged into the room, looking around wildly. As soon as he saw Ethan he ran over and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug and smashed his lips down onto his. When they could no longer breathe, Ryan broke the kiss. Pressing his forehead against Ethan’s, he said, “I can’t believe you’re here. How did you get here?”