A.M. Leibowitz

queer slice-of-life stories

Arts

Cover Reveal: Across Worlds: Collision

Books

Title: Across Worlds: Collision
Author: S. A. Snow
Genre: mixed gender sci-fi erotica adventure

Jane expected six months undercover to be hard; she expected it to be lonely and bleak. She didn’t expect to find love.

Jane Butler, a CIA operative, is assigned the task of infiltrating the Xanthians and determining if they’re a threat to humanity. Going undercover as a Xanthian mate, she boards the transport ship and meets Usnavi—her new mate. After spending six days traveling through space, Jane is ecstatic to explore the Xanthian station and soon sets out to complete her mission. The only problem? Usnavi—and the feelings she is quickly developing.

Fumbling their way through varying sexual expectations, cooking catastrophes, and cultural differences, they soon discover life together is never boring. As Jane and Usnavi careen into a relationship neither of them expected, Jane uncovers dark secrets about the Xanthians and realizes she may no longer be safe. When it becomes clear she’s on her own, Jane is forced to trust and rely on Usnavi. Simultaneously struggling with her mission, her feelings for Usnavi, and homesickness, Jane faces questions she never imagined she would have to answer.

After chasing around puppies and corralling kittens, S.A. Snow flips open her BSG replicated console and enters her mysterious world of imagination. Seeking to escape the rigors of her day jobs, she enters flight mode and powers her engines full-speed ahead.

A prolific writer of non-traditional erotica, S.A. Snow grew up on a small alpaca farm high in the Andes Mountains. A lover of yoga and meditation, she spends her free time constructing alien space stations, organizing werewolf governments, and cataloging all episodes of Star Trek in order of technical soundness. A firm believer that one need not choose between Gene Roddenberry and George Lucas, she also has closely examines all Star Wars movies in order to determine which episode is more factually based.

S.A. Snow writes truth and only truth, factoring in all evidences she can find. She writes only about parallel universes she has personally visited, and believes if something about her books isn’t shocking, she’s not effectively telling the story.

PREORDER Today!!

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/435337

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The Monday After

Arts, Music

This is always the busiest time of year. As school winds down, there are so many things planned. We’ve been in concert/recital mode on and off since mid-April, but the end of May and the beginning of June are always the most rushed.

After the weekend we just had, I’m taking today to just breathe. So instead of posting some of my fiction or writing a scathing takedown of something-or-other, I’m going to play proud mommy for a few minutes. Tune out if you don’t care about kids’ concerts and recitals. If you like that sort of thing, and if you don’t mind a bit of shameless bragging, then keep reading. Warning: You may encounter cuteness. Beware.

We kicked off our marathon weekend with a trip to jazz band competition. My son, who is in fifth grade, plays the saxophone in his school band. He played in the jazz band last year, which was a big deal because it’s a select group. This year, he was invited to play bass keyboard instead of saxophone. This is a great bunch of kids, and they work hard, practicing three days a week. I was amazed at what their teacher had them doing—he had these nine- and ten-year-old kids performing some complex skills. They even used mutes at one point, and were coordinated enough to unmute without breaking stride in the song.

They performed three selections, and this one was by far their best:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwdxudOPiSw]

They’re the only elementary school, so they compete at the middle school level. We just learned that they placed first in their division. Way to go, kids!

We spent the rest of our weekend in rehearsal and performance for the annual dance recital. Some of you may remember that two years ago, we had to find a new dance studio home when the kids’ former one closed. I’ve said it before, but I’m so glad we made the choice we did. They’ve been very happy here, and I’m grateful to the teachers for their care and instruction. Like with jazz band, one thing I’ve been consistently amazed by is what they can get these young kids to do. My son’s tap class is ages 9-11, and they put on quite a show with their dance this year:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7EOdPNa7M4]

Sadly, there aren’t more students my son’s age taking ballet. The good news is, he had private lessons with his wonderful teacher (who came over from their former studio). He was a little nervous about his first solo, but he made it through. When he was finished, I met him backstage. He rushed at me and shouted, “I did it! I didn’t mess up! I did it!”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRjRZQeeFmM]

Finally, I think one of my favorite moments was seeing my daughter let go and just enjoy herself. She’s never been as sold on dance as my son, though she does say she likes classes and wants to keep going. But there’s a moment when you know that your kid has found a good fit. It’s not about her talent or the skill level of her class; it’s about how free she looked on stage and how much joy I saw reflected in her face.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP3gZf0ae84]

If you’re interested in the rest of the weekend performances, you can check them out on my YouTube channel (or look at past performances on my other channel; Google weirdly separated my videos by email address).

Here they are in their costumes:

Come Fly with Me/Live It Up
Before the big show
IMG_0951
Post-solo sibling love
IMG_0954
The nerd and the rebel

We still have another concert, a mini-concert, an Irish dance recital, a Girl Scout bridging ceremony, and fifth grade graduation to attend. Mercifully, those are more spread out than this past weekend. At least I’ll have time to breathe in between.

How about you? What’s the end of the school year look like in your house?

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WIPpet Wednesday: A BIG announcement and an “interview”

Books, Fiction, True Love

I’ve been putting off saying anything because I wanted all my ducks in a row, but now that everything’s in order, I’m ready to reveal my big, huge, ENORMOUS secret:

I have a publisher. As in, signed contract, paycheck, editing and publication schedule, actual-real-live publisher.

Oh, my.

I’m going to be a published author.

*faints*

Sorry about that; I’m back. The novel I’ve been editing (which I posted snippets of until mid-March), Lower Education, will be out early next year. I think I’m still in shock. Getting this thing whipped into shape is a long, difficult process. Some days, I enjoy it. Other days, I want to smack every single one of my characters and tell them to just do as I say.

In honor of my exciting news, I’m jumping on the character interview bandwagon. I snagged Phin and locked him in the room sat down with him to chat. I know I didn’t have to play by official rules, but I did anyway. 5/21/14 = 5 + 2 + 1 + 1 + 4 = 13 questions.

Phin sits on the couch, leaning back, one ankle resting on the opposite knee and his arm draped lazily over the back of the couch. He leans his head back and closes his eyes.

Me: Thanks for stopping by.

Phin: I didn’t exactly have a choice. Ugh. Do you have any coffee? I’m dying. It’s way too early.

Me: You got up early when Alex asked you to.

Phin: Yeah, but that was different, and I still wish I hadn’t. Coffee?

Me: Nope. Here’s some water, though.

Phin: Is this going to take long? I have plans.

Me: Oh, really? That’s news to me.

Phin: You don’t know everything about me.

Me: That’s what you think. We’re going to play 20 questions. Well, okay, 13 questions, because this WIP thing has to mesh with the date. That’ll wake you up. Ready?

Phin: Are you sure it can’t wait til I’ve had coffee?

Me: I’m sure.

Phin: [groans] Fine. Go ahead.

Me: All right. We know how you got stuck—er, ended up in North Cowell. First question: Do you miss the city?

Phin: Hell, yes. There is nothing to do here. And also people I’d rather not talk to but can’t really hide from because there is f***ing nowhere to go.

Me: Yeah, I get the sense it’s pretty quiet. If you had a day to do whatever you wanted, no restrictions, and your only goal was to enjoy yourself, what would you do?

Phin: [smirks and uncrosses his legs; leans forward] I think I could find something.

Me: You seem to have forgotten I wrote you. I know all your tricks.

Phin: Nope. You don’t.

Me: [rolls eyes] Whatever. Let’s stick with that theme. What’s your ideal date?

Phin: Why don’t you tell me about yours instead?

Me: Because this is about you.

Phin: No, I mean that is my ideal date. I like to know what the other person wants and then deliver spectacularly.

Me: In order to manipulate them?

Phin: That counts as one of the questions.

Me: Fine. Then answer it.

Phin: Yes. Sometimes it’s because I want something. But sometimes, it’s just because, believe it or not, I like to make people feel good. [winks] In more ways than one.

Me: Is that what’s going on between you and Alex?

Phin: [flushes] No. He just…pushes my buttons, that’s all. And I can’t read him, which pisses me off.

Me: Are you going to tell me what happened between you that made him so angry with you?

Phin: [examines his hands] I don’t really want to talk about that. I was twelve, okay? I was a little s**t.

Me: That’s fair. I shouldn’t have asked. Let me try something different. Where do you see yourself in five years?

Phin: What’s with the heavy questions? I don’t really know. If you’d said five years ago I’d be here, I’d have laughed at you. Always thought I’d be married with kids, living some suburban dream. Life just gets in the way sometimes, I guess. I didn’t really sign up for this s**t, but it found me anyway. God. Can we talk about something else now?

Me: Sure. The rest are just your basic rapid-fire. Here we go. Coffee or tea?

Phin: Coffee, damn it!

Me: Cats or dogs?

Phin: Dogs.

Me: Morning or night?

Phin: Night, clearly.

Me: Ocean or mountains?

Phin: Definitely ocean. Mountains are overrated.

Me: Beer or wine?

Phin: Both are good. Nothing else, though. I’m a bit of a lightweight.

Me: Radio station?

Phin: [cringes] News or sports. Sorry.

Me: Last one.

Phin: Thought you said thirteen.

Me: Bonus question. Because I’m in charge.

Phin: Hey! That’s not fair.

Me: I know. Favorite thing about Alex?

Phin: I hate you.

Me: [evil grin] Just answer the question.

Phin: [huffs] He actually cares about people. Unlike you, obviously.

Me: I care. I care deeply about making you uncomfortable. Anyway, I’ll let you go get your coffee now. Thanks for hanging out with me.

Phin: [escapes as fast as he can]

Happy WIP’ing, everyone! Thanks to K. L. Schwengel, our excellent host. Be sure to read the other entries, and hopefully add one of your own!

 

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Cover Reveal: For By Grace

Books, Covers

Today, I’m thrilled to be able to promote the new novel by my friend, author Adrian J. Smith. I can assure you, it’s every bit as good as it looks. Be sure to check out the links, and happy reading!

Title: For by Grace
Author: Adrian J. Smith
Genre: Crime/ Mystery/ FF
Publication Date: June 1, 2014

Being a Sheriff’s Deputy is not all about saving lives and arresting criminals, and each day Grace wonders if she’ll make it home.

While kids at the schools Deputy Grace Halling visits see her as the knight in blue-cotton armor, people involved in the cases she is dispatched to have a different opinion. She has every confidence in her ability to do her job and arrest criminals. She easily takes down a knife-wielding woman and a drunken combatant teenager without hesitation. Everyone—victim, suspect, or witness—has a story to tell or to lie about, and Grace is never perturbed by their tales.

That all changes when she looks down the barrel of a gun. She loses confidence in her ability as a deputy, she loses trust in herself and fellow officers, and she struggles to stay afloat as shift after shift passes. Grace cannot find her rhythm of being a deputy again. And when the Police Chaplain unexpectedly barges into her life, her personal and professional lives are flipped upside down. Grace struggles to find even ground, worrying that the next time she stares a murderer in the face will be the last.

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Adrian J. Smith, or “AJ” as she is often called, is a part-time writer with an epic imagination, sharp wit, and kind heart that gets her into a bit of trouble when it comes to taking in all the neighborhood stray cats. Being obsessed with science fiction, Smith often goes off on tangents about the space-time continuum. She is also a part-time lunatic with a secretive past. It’s been rumored that she was once a spy for the government, but anyone who has gotten close enough to know the truth has never lived to tell the tale. When traveling around the world on various classified tasks, Smith requires the following be provided: buffalo jerky, mimosas, and eighty-six pennies. This is all we know about the reclusive woman.

At least 10% of all proceeds goes to Sanctuary For Kids. It’s a fantastic organization that sends money to help children around the world. Charity and children are an extremely important part of Adrian’s life and supporting them in any way possible is magnificent. Please check out their website to see what they are doing and consider donating to them yourself.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/adrianjsmithbooks

Twitter: www.twitter/com/adrianajsmith

Author Website: adrianjsmith.wordpress.com

Author GoodReads: www.goodreads.com/adrianjsmith

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Adrian-J.-Smith/e/B00B94LSPW/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1390923004&sr=8-1

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Guest Post on Praying the Rosary

Blogs, Guest Post, Worship, Writing

Woo hoo! I got to write a guest post for Carly Gelsinger‘s series From Grape Juice to Red Wine, stories of people shifting from mainstream, conservative, or fundamentalist evangelical to “high church” liturgical traditions.

I had the chance to meet Carly in person at the Faith & Culture Writers Conference a couple of weeks ago.  She’s really cool, the sort of person who makes you feel like you’ve known her forever even though it’s only been a single weekend.  She has a way of putting people at ease with her warmth. The coolest thing was finding someone else who shared my own experience–that of choosing (rather than having it forced on us) a conservative evangelical path before finding our way out again.

I’m excited to add my voice to the conversation, especially because it echoes my own journey so well.  Go check out my post, and while you’re at it, give Carly some bloggy love on her other writing.  Happy Friday!

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