The Summer Gardener by Jan Irving is out!

Alejandro Moreno drops out of college and puts aside his dream of a degree in landscape design to take care of his mother and younger brother. Then he gets the chance to restore a strange and unpopular patch of land with an uncanny inhabitant—Fane, a prickly fairy.

At first, Alejo isn’t thrilled to share the space with the annoying fae, but as they work together on the neglected garden, both men discover they have two things in common: a love for working with the natural world and loneliness. But how can Alejo handle feelings for not just another man, but one who isn’t human at all?

To purchase The Summer Gardener go HERE.

For the excerpt, slide and more, visit The Summer Gardener page HERE.

I love to garden, so this story is special to me since it was infused like potpourri by this year's summer. Alejo is a man who will do what it takes, sacrifice himself in a quiet way, for those he loves.

Yesterday I spent all day in the garden, so here is a photo of my November garden:

Mask by Jan Irving in the Rainbow Awards finals

I had a nice surprise from Elisa's awards. First, The Janitor received an honorable mention in debut fiction for the popular vote, which was nice, especially given the lovely company. But then you could have knocked me over with a feather because my second book Mask was chosen by a judge to be in the finals for futuristic fiction! Wow, that is such a nice surprise. You can see it here.

The Summer Gardener by Jan Irving out Nov 4th!

See it here.

The Janitor by Jan Irving makes Elisa's list

My first book, The Janitor, made Elisa's list for new writers here.

My wiki page

I redid my Wiki page recently. Really like how it's looking so take a look here.

Nice review of Mask by Jan Irving

Jen from Dark Diva Reviews says:

Mask by Jan Irving is a book with a very unique twist to storytelling. I have never read a book that utilized instant messaging as a technique to get into the personalities of the characters. I have to admit, it was a little odd at first, but I really grew to love it. The quick banter was fascinating and revealing as to Nick and Kain’s personalities. The way in which Jan Irving allowed the characters to have a security in the instant messaging that they didn’t have face to face really came through for me. Not only did this lead to interesting character dimensionality, it also allowed the reader to feel Nick and Kain’s insecurities in a way that I really didn’t think would be possible without this technique.

More of this review here.

Tea ceremony

So we went to the beautiful Nitobe Garden yesterday for the tea ceremony. Here is a view of the garden from the island.




This is the tea house and inside you can see the server mixing formally the macha version of tea we were served. It was actually very good tea, made from a powder and because these are tea enthusiasts, they chose a very expensive tea from Kyoto to share with us as their gift. Each tea bowl was chosen to reflect the season, going into fall. The black teabowl you see there is the one she used to make my tea, which I had after a sweet wafer made of ginkgo.



If you click on the first picture you can see the chicadees who came to drink from this small out of the way fountain in a part of the garden normally off limits. The lantern here has a prehistoric feel, one of my favorite of the many in the garden.



This is the stream rushing by into the small lake and grandfather lantern.


So next I want to translate this experience into Mastering Toby for an important scene after my men have been at painful odds.

I have sold The Pleasure Slave!

Lucius Metellus Carbo, once a legate on the rise in the Roman army, is now crippled, a recluse in disgrace. When he rescues a whore from abuse, he can't help but be drawn to the beautiful young Gaul. Varick shows up at his house in Pompeii, and the two men slowly form an odd friendship. Eventually, Lucius buys Varick but he doesn't want Varick's sexual compliance out of duty. Can he believe his slave truly desires him?

I already have a cover for this but can't share it until I have the final, but I really like it. This is a story I found wonderfully absorbing to work on. It is slated for a January 2010 release date. I put up a short excerpt from the novella here.

Now I just have to get back on track with what I'm working on now. Mastering Toby has been shuffled aside a lot so I got a little stalled. I'm eager to get it recharged and get back to work on it. It is just under 40,000 words now.

Tomorrow we will be attending the Japanese tea ceremony at Nitobe Gardens. I'm really looking forward to that and hope to take pictures.

Mask receives another 5 star review

From Rainbow Reviews:

Ms. Irving has created a Gothic style contemporary paranormal romance with many interesting twists that keep the reader spellbound until the very end. I loved how the story began as an internet chat that continued throughout the story between Nick and Kain. The paranormal aspects of the story added mystery and depth to the plot line. It was incredible to watch the growing relationship and changes that occur in Nick and Kain as they accept each other's love. Things don't go smoothly as they deal with the difficulties in each other's lives knowing that their love strengthens and supports them. Thanks go to Ms. Irving for an incredible story.

Link for the entire review is here.

Thanks to the folks who read my books there.

New silk dyeing and Mask receives a Five Star review

This is Cadfael with his little dress up costume for holidays. It's a little ring we can put around his neck for festivities.

And I promised to share the results of my dyeing day.



I did some modern takes on design and then I experimented with crimping the silk scarves. One has the traditional Fortuny Delos pleat and the other two I crimped with some interesting texture using a crimping iron I picked up for the task. I'm really happy with these. There is also a close up of the necklace I designed and is being made up today.

I was very pleased that Mask got a five star review at Literary Nymphs:

Mask is a fast read, not because of its size (over 200 pages) but because once you start it, you won't be able to put it down. The story is centered on two lonely men, one a young, innocent artist and the other a reclusive, jaded businessman who meet in a chat room. Drawn to each other from the beginning of their relationship in a world that is often dark, intense and occasionally violent, they will have to survive many tests before they can find their happily ever after.

Filled with strong interesting characters, a story line that will keep you on your seat and some intensely hot sex scenes, Mask is a must read for any M/M lover.

The rest of the review is here.

The Summer Gardener

Alejandro Moreno had to drop out of college to take care of his Mama and younger brother Jose but fortunately he likes the outdoors, working with the earth as a seasonal gardener for the city. His life is blisters, cold Mexican beer after a long day of work and a stiff back so nothing prepares him for the unusual inhabitant of Autumn Grove, Fane, the real guardian of his alloted garden.

Despite their differences, the two men form a friendship based on restoring the neglected garden. But Alejo is troubled by his growing desire for another man, and someone who is not even human. Although Fane can spin some temporary magic to bring them closer, can this escape into an unfettered, lush world stand the chill of the coming fall, when Alejo will have to leave the garden in search of construction work?

It felt right to be working on this novella on and off all during the rich, hot days of summer since it's saturated with the garden world. I'm not sure I could have written it in winter time.

It is tentatively slated to come out in December from Dreamspinner Press.

Mask is out!

My book Mask is out.

This book is truly beautiful. It has domino masks typeset into each chapter header and the cover art by Anne Cain is absolutely gorgeous.

If you'd like to read the first chapter and purchase it in ebook or print, click on the cover below:



Remember that DSP has a special promotion to win an Itouch running this month and also that their popular anthology titles are 25% off. It's a good time to pick something up from the site.

I will be holding a raffle for a hand-made by me silk scarf. The details are here. And I decided to run this raffle on Friday sometime, this week. So to take part you need to pick up the book, you need to watch that live journal. The first person to answer a question found in the book will be the winner, not counting previous winners since I want everyone to have a chance.

To visit my site and see the excerpt, book trailer vid and more, go here.

Special raffle to celebrate Mask

I'm running a special raffle again to celebrate the publication of Mask this Monday. Details here.

Mask out August 17!

I have some happy news to share. First, Mask will be out earlier than I anticipated, on August 17! And second, The Hired Man will be out in October.

Mask is on the DSP coming soon page: here.

The book has beautiful typset masks on each chapter heading and this Anne Cain cover. PB made it a little smaller, but you can see leaves hinted on the arms, harkening to the vegetation that is swarming over the gothic-type Southern mansion.

Click on this to see it larger. This is the cover for Mask. Really, I have to say, this is a beautiful cover and I'm very happy with it. It's lush and sensual and completely in character for Nick, an artist who forgets to get a hair cut. I feel like I lucked out big time twice with cover art.



Can't wait for this book to be out.

On my LJ Jan_revealed here, I will be running a raffle to celebrate the book coming out as I did with The Janitor. Friend the journal to keep track.

And you can check out my website to see what I have in the works, with excerpts, blurbs and more: http://janiceirving.com/

Book Review: Impacted! by Mickie B. Ashling

Impacted! by Mickie B. Ashling
m/m contemporary BDSM romance
Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/newreleases.htm
This book is available in both ebook and print

It's true I have a big kink for, well, kinky fiction, but how to find it meshed with the romance and tenderness I also crave? Not always easy. In this case, Red, a red-haired Dom and Scott, a dentist on holiday, hook up to get their needs met. They immediately recognize their D/s dynamic and celebrate in a hot encounter in Scott's car.

Despite perfect, sizzling chemistry they part, but then their hidden lives collide with reality when Red shows up as the candidate of dental hygenist at Scott's new practice. Now Scott, a man who proved how much he loves being on his knees for Red, is going to be Red's boss.

Of course they can't leave it all business, so they negotiate to explore their unconventional relationship in secret. But under the play there are growing feelings, vulnerbilities. Impacted! is a wonderful offering of kink for the romantic.

Available in print and ebook
Dreamspinner is having a special promotion for the month of August. For every $10.00 you spend you receive one entry in the drawing for a free Apple iTouch. Add the free Stanza ebook Reader and you can have your own portable library. All anthologies are 25% off for the entire month.

New slide for Mastering Toby

This is my newest WIP so I made a slide for it for fun. It's an unusual story I hope to finish possibly in September.

My new Wiki page

I just put up my new wiki page. See it here.

Happy news! I have sold Mask, my next book.

This weekend I sold my novel Mask! I'm really happy about this since I know people were wanting to see more of my work come available. It happened really fast which was wonderful. The novel is tentatively out in October 2009 which is when it's actually set.

It is an erotic gothic novel and possibly the first of three. I'm now working on a historical that regularly brings my critique group to tears--but in a good way. If you liked The Janitor, then The Hired Man is a story I think you'll enjoy. I actually have so many stories I want to work on that I'm excited about.

I am already working on the book trailer vid for Mask. My friend found the perfect picture to imply Kain and Nick's Dominant/submissive relationship, a picture of Kain 'taking what's his.'



Mask may also have two sequels in a series. I'm going to wait and see how the first book does and if it seems readers like it and want more, I will write more.

Now some of you know about the special raffle on my livejournal, Jan_revealed, here: http://jan-revealed.livejournal.com/8409.html

That is where the snippets and most up to date news is about my work. It will be a short lived but special raffle for all those who purchased The Janitor, so take a look here for details: http://jan-revealed.livejournal.com/6487.html

To purchase The Janitor, click on the swimming goldfish below:

The cover for The Janitor

I’m a naturally optimistic type of person, you know? Yeah, I think good things will happen, only they don’t usually--Dane, The Janitor

Dane bleeding all over the cover, perfect. I think this cover by April Martinez is award-winning material.

So, yeah. I really can't believe it. The actual cover is really huge, it was downsized by PB, but if you click on the cover, it will become larger. Some of Dane's magic rubbed off and this happened.

The novel is out May 5th!

To purchase The Janitor, click on the banner below.

And I have lots of news and excerpts for my upcoming work on my live journal set up for my original work, Jan Revealed. It's a little easier for me since I can put excerpts under a cut but I update it weekly with book reviews, excerpts, raffles.

Horizons, a book review

Horizons by Mickie B. Ashling

M/M romance, novel length
Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/currenttitles/horizons/horizonsbuynow.htm

When Clark Stevens, a popular wide receiver with a potential NFL contract, winds up in the ER because of an injury, familiar ground for the young and troubled athlete, he is overwhelmed by his attraction for his male trauma doctor, Dr. Jody Williams. He can't stop himself from flirting with him, even though he's struggled for years with his forbidden desires for other men.

Jody also struggles to keep up a professional front with his patient, a young, beautiful man who he immediately empathizes with. But it's clear from Clark's mixed signals that he's hiding who he is, which Jody knows is disaster. He can't let himself fall for this 'straight' football player.

This story gives us the sympathetic and emotional struggles of both Jody and Clark as they can't seem to stay apart, even though Clark kids himself he can bury his want. It also features some of my favorite 'kinks,' an innocent-to-being-with-other-men young hero, a caring relationship that benefits both men, and lots of angst which is believable and grounded.

The link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/currenttitles/horizons/horizonsbuynow.htm