My Amazon Book Reviews: Douglas Whaley "Corbin Milk"

The Spy Who Fell In Love
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Corbin Milk has a dilemma. Well, several dilemmas. He's a top spy for the CIA, who have no qualms about using the fact that Corbin is a drop dead gorgeous gay man as sexual bait while working undercover. His new found lover wants Corbin to stop using his sexual prowess on his spy missions. And to top it off, his supervisor is a closet case who wants a night in the sack. These are the main twists turning about in "Corbin Milk," a thriller in three parts.

First is a mission to the Middle East, where Corbin must find his way into a super secure palace. Then a trip to Amsterdam, to take down a sadistic Russian into rough sex, and then the most tricky mission of all...making a secure relationship with the new love of his life, George Yancy. All the while, he has to fend off the snooping supervisor who is far too interested in Corbin's love life and makes Corbin's job all the more difficult on the home front.

"Corbin Milk" makes use of its characters and fleshes them out well. Corbin himself is a complex man, a superior spy who winds his way through difficult missions in realistic fashion, and the other folk play important roles without succumbing to cliché. Corbin works hard and plays harder, and all the other members of the story keep up with the book's pace. A thriller with romance at its core, "Corbin Milk" is a book I savored, one episode at a time.

The Rainbow Book Fair

This past Saturday, I overslept. This was not a good thing, as the rainbow Book Fair I've been telling everyone to come to was better than two hours away and I had two and a half hours to get there. I bolted from bed and ate a hasty breakfast, then hit the highway. I was smart enough to have loaded the books into the car trunk the night before. I still made it to the event in time, including picking up my friend and fellow author David Stein. A friend snapped this picture of the two of us.

Despite the minutes to midnight sort of arrival, we were set up well before patrons began arriving. In another break of luck, the table next to ours was a no-show, so I used it to spread more books out. Thanks to the Square device that turns a smartphone into a cash register, I did a brisk business, mostly on my new book. I was pleased. I got to see some old friends, and Thor stopped in for a visit, bearing bagels.

Now if you are wondering why I am wearing those groovy hippie glasses indoors, it was I forgot to change from driving with my sunglasses to my regular spectacles. Which was a mistake, as I left them on the passenger car seat. Which means that David, unwittingly, sat on them. Oh Snap was exactly what it meant in the literal sense. Driving home was a real trial, as I had to balance the frame on half of my head while adjusting the nose piece about every 5 to 10 miles. But I made it home safely, and my new book is already getting some very positive feedback. (Always good for the insecure author's ego.)

In less than two weeks I'll be headed for Cleveland's CLAW event, where I'll be moderating "Dirty Words: The Erotic Author's Forum." Everyone gets to do a reading, which is always fun, and the audience tends to be very responsive during Q&A time. With the new book to lead the vendor table, I am also hoping to do well sales-wise again.

I'm so pleased to have the new book out that I've started working on another. I've finally started the Amish Zombie novel I've been batting around in my head for a few years now. "Mennonite Of The Living Dead" is the working title (groan all you want to, but now you won't forget it, will you?).

If you're in New York City on Saturday...

Stop by and visit me at



I'll be promoting my new book...which is also now available for Kindle!

  

Writing Block Busted

It's been almost 5 years since my last new book, Skin Tight was released. Frankly, I have been dealing with both a writer's block and a serious lack of enthusiasm. But over the summer, that popped open in a big way. Now I have four finished works for a short story collection, a fifth about 75% complete and a follow-up that THAT story gestating. I'm hoping to have this finished in time for MAL. It's been a long time.

<<< This is the collection I gathered over the summer for Kindle, but it's a collection of about 20 years worth of writing.The working title of the new set is "Bounty Hunters & Kick Ass Cops"

I join the Kindle Age!

I am joining the Kindle age with this new Collection: Brutality! It's a pun on that it's the totality of my work and the correct pronunciation of my last name, Brough,  Gor for it, Kindle readers. It's better than 50 Shades of Grey.

Click on the image for more info.

The 2012 CLAW Author's Forum

CLAW weekend was a total delight, but the highlight for me was being moderator to the Author's Panel. I nick-named it the "Black Leather Bookshelf" in the shameless plug division, at the same time, the panelists were like a who's who. The order was me at the end of the table, with Guy Baldwin, Gloria Brame, Jack Rinella and Race Bannon seated along with me.

Gloria I had never met before, and she promptly became a thrill to be with. She was funny, flirty and very smart, and her antics with Guy were all but show stealers. We all read from our works, and then took questions. The audience eagerly participated, filling almost 90 minutes as we each took turns responding. Guy was his usual irascible self, adding to the entertainment value.

I feel so damn lucky to have been a part of this. Joel took the pics, and there are more through the link.

New York City Book Boys. Never Have a Dull Day

Saturday AM, I hopped bright and early into my car with three boxes of books for the annual Rainbow Book Fair, which Daniel Kitchens has been doing a great job of running these past few years. It's always an enjoyable outing, and - like last year - David Stein and I split costs on a table. As lucj would have it, the vendor next to us failed to show, so we expanded our space.

Perfect Bound Press is David's company, I list mine as Black Leather Bookshelf. There were an awful lot of folks there this year, including this year's "get," Samuel R Delaney, Sci-Fi and kinky writer. (You think I'm kidding? Read "Hogg" someday.) he has a new novel about Rural Gay America out, which I picked up and had autographed.

Another author friend was there, Christopher Trevor.

As per usual, lots of friends arrived to say hello and pick up some books. My buddy Colonel Al propped in to show off his workout improved figure. 

All in all, a good day. I think that David and I sold enough to have made some profits, but I was ready to head for home. I'm psyched to catch the premier of "MadMen" later this week (it's on the DVR waiting for me).

Have a Great week, all.

     

I'm Officially Cracked

I got mentioned on Cracked.com! (Or at least my book does.)

http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-7-hardest-people-to-shop-for-holiday-gift-guide_p2/

Palm Springs Leather Weekend.

Joel and I used some airline miles and an invite from our friend Peter Fiske to attend Palm Springs Leather Weekend. It was nice to get out of the house for a change and try to alleviate the fact that my depression has reached an almost crushing level of despair, along with my computer networking class being far and away harder than I ever imagined it to be.

Luckily, there are only two of us in the course and that allows the prof to answer all of my annoying questions. I fear I may not be able to catch up to the level of technology the course involves.

However, let's share some of the pictures.

My friend Alex Ironrod opened the weekend by reading from his new novel "Leather Nights" (a murder mystery) at Gear. I was pleasantly surprised by the turnout for him. I should add that I wrote his back-cover blurb.

My friend Bryce, whom I had not seen for a few years. This was in the party behind the Tool Shed where I'd set up a book table.

Mikal Bales (aka Daddy Zeus of Zeus Studios) took the time to come over to The Barracks on Saturday to say hello. He may be one of the men in California that I've missed the most since moving away. His new beau, Mick, is very sweet.

The gentleman here, Marshall, was a close friend of my late master, Gary Taylor. We had not seen each other since 1999. We had a long and somewhat emotional talk while he visited.

The notorious Gagbear and George (WetInSF) visited. It was nice to finally meet Jim after years of chat.

In what I can only say was the oddest moment of the weekend, singer Gregory Gray walked up to my table and said - in a thick Irish accent - "You don't even remember who I am, do ya?"

He was right, I didn't.  I interviewed Gregory over the phone in 1994 for Frontiers Magazine when his album "Euroflake In Silverlake" was released. When he played a show at the Virgin Megastore, I picked him up and we went to The Faultline for a wild night. He picked up a date and returned to his hotel after a few hours, and I'd not seen him since. That he remembered me and decided to hang out again was delightful and fun. Turns out he's a PS regular now and we have several mutual friends.

Of course, it wouldn't be a hot weekend if there weren't plenty of good looking men running about. (Hi Nipper!) That is, until The Barracks got busted for overcrowding (and yes, the place was mobbed), and the cops cleared everyone out. My first ever bar raid! Ah, well.

Then it was on-board the big old jet airliner for the trip home, for which we had enough miles to get first class seats. I never realized how comfortable flying could be before this. It made the end of the weekend easier to deal with. We arrived home to one very happy kitty. Now it's back to studies.

I am going to make a great effort to write more posts and reviews, if only to force my brain to write things.

Finally, Some Catching Up. Book Sales, Driving in the Rain and Avoid The Winking Lizard.

This time last week, David Stein (on the left, above), Alex Ironrod, artist John Randle and I had already finished our kinky creativity forum in Ohio for Cleveland Leather Awareness Weekend. I was very happy with the forum, as we had about 25 attendees early in the event (Friday at 1:30), and those in attendance asked plenty of questions. The three authors in the crew each read from a slection of their work, while John described how he makes decisions regarding his kinky painting. (His triptych on display was beautiful.)

David arrived in Philly from NYC via Bolt Bus Weds for an overnight stay, displacing poor Sophie Cat from her usual room. On Thursday, we headed for Pittsburgh with a stop in Carlisle for what David called "the best crab cakes outside of Maryland." The Sunnyside Restaurant did not disappoint! Too bad it wasn't open for Sunday Business or we would have stopped on the return drive. We spent the night with my good friend Russ in Pittsburgh.

Friday we drove - for a second day - in the rain. David had registered too late for the main hotel, so I dropped him off and headed for the host location to set up. Alex and his crew had already set up, so my table and books were up and on display with ease. Sales were solid, and I was pleased by that. I also got in a serious session with an Irishman from DC, who left me some souvenirs.

That gentleman, his boy, a friend of theirs and I went to a restaurant called "Winking Lizard" for a meal and service so bad that we complained to the manager (spilled drinks, cole slaw literally dropped in one person's lap, etc). Usually, the manager will say something like, I'm sorry, and I'll comp you the drinks, or something similar, but not this one. He actually began to argue with us. We were so angry that we left, went to a different bar and wound up doing some hard drinking.

Which is unusual for me. The last time I was impaired was in Amsterdam over two years ago. But I now like Belgian Blue Moon Wheat Beer. Really like it. A lot. Made the fireworks at the end of the Cleveland Indians game (a full half-hour of them) a real kick to watch.

Sunday, by one PM, David and I were back on the road and in the rain, again, this time headed back to Philly. Monday was a day to chauffeur David around the city a bit, taking him to Giovanni's Room (Philadelphia's Gay Book Store, and one of the few left in the country), and then to The Trollycar Diner for lunch and a comfort food lunch with author Thom Magistar (that's him on the right).

Ultimately, I got David back to 30th Street Station and back on the Bolt Bus for NYC. I've been busy this week catching up and kitty-sitting, and still on the search for work.

Tomorrow: Join me In NYC: I'm doing a reading after 3PM.

 

 

David Stein and I will be sharing a book table at the event. Come on out!

 

My Amazon Book Reviews: Bryan J Kinnaird and Sean Delaney "Sean Delany's Hellbox"

The strange, sad case of Sean Delaney
3 out of 5 Stars

Sean Delaney was a linchpin in the creation of KISS, and has been slowly, quietly been deleted from the band's history. When Casablanca evaporated and Glickman-Marks allegedly stole his money, Delaney ended up broke and homeless. "Hellbox" was his attempt on beginning to set the legacy straight. Unfortunately, Delaney died in 2003 at the age of 58. His recorded conversations were then transcribed by Bryan Kinnaird.

The result is a mess of a book with some tantalizing details. Delaney pulls no punches, saving some of his harshest allegations for Neil Bogart and Howard Marks. He has a love-hate relationship with his former proteges, in particular, Gene Simmons. But the books is so thin (I read it in roughly two hours) and riddled with factual errors and typos, it becomes difficult to accept Delaney's accusations. For instance, he repeatedly referees to "Dressed to Kill" as KISS's second album, and even gets his own albums by The Skatt Brothers mixed up.

Part of this can be blamed on Kinnaird, who could have edited and corrected the most glaring errors (Janice Joplin for Janis, etc), but that doesn't help ease the strain on Delaney's more incredible stories. On the other hand, Delaney's life story and tales of 60's New York City are wonderful, as are the road trip stories with the newly (and not yet famous) minted KISS. It's nice to hear some of the KISStory from a perspective outside the band, and "Hellbox" adds a much needed chapter to that legacy.