The Rhodes Less Traveled

Tattooed hunk/New cover

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:53:25 GMT

My next gay erotic romance, due out around April 20th, is about a bookstore owner who finds himself both annoyed as hell at and turned on by the new shopkeeper next door...a hot, bad boy tattoo artist. Totally not the bookstore owner's type...or so he thinks. Yet the man just lights his fire!

Here's the cover for the story--Under My Skin.

I think he's pretty hot, too! ;)

XOXO,
ML

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Supernatural Hunk :)

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 15:53:07 GMT

Jared Padalecki, who plays Sam Winchester on Supernatural.

See what I mean? Hot. As. Hell. :)

XOXO,
ML

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Supernatural

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 21:21:57 GMT

I'm sure I'm waaay behind the times here and everyone but ME has probably already been watching this show, but holy moly!! I just discovered Supernatural and am completely addicted! I downloaded the first two full seasons and all the episodes of season three thus far from iTunes and spent a week gorging myself on them. Ever since Buffy and Angel, I've been struggling to find something to fill that niche. Doctor Who and Torchwood have helped immensely (love, love, love both those shows!!), but I've seen all the episodes of those and am patiently waiting for new ones, so I was once again floundering, empty, and craving something. Enter Supernatural. I LOVE it!! Great monsters and creepy things (I have to admit, a couple of the episodes have pretty thoroughly scared the bejeebers out of me), great writing, and Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki have awesome rapoire. And can I just say I have the serious hots for Sam Winchester! Man...it's all I can do not to drool when I watch. :)

Anyway, for those who haven't seen it yet (like I said, probably everyone knew about it but moi!), check it out! Like...now!!

XOXO,
ML

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EPPIE finalist and bestsellers!

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 00:40:51 GMT

My recent good news... :)

My contemporary gay romance Hearts & Bones is a 2008 EPPIE Award finalist in the GLBT category!

Always (my recently released paperback that contains Never Let Go and Hearts & Bones) has been the #1 bestseller at Amazon.com on both their gay romance and gay erotica lists!

My newest release, Out Of My Mind, was the #1 bestseller at Amber Allure in both November and December 2007!! And it's been a top three bestseller at All Romance Ebooks as well!

You can visit my website for more info on all the above books. www.mlrhodeswriting.com

ML :)

Happy New Year!

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 00:31:10 GMT

My mom always told me when I was a kid and would wish the weekend would hurry and get here, or wish Christmas or summer or next year would hurry and come, that I shouldn't wish time away because the older you get, the faster time seems to fly. And boy was she right. 2007 was a blur in so many ways. But it was also a great year, so no complaints from me!

I had seven new releases in 2007 (including novellas, novels, and anthologies), and 2008 looks to be equally busy and productive for me. Here's my tentative release schedule for the coming year:

March -- Lords of Kellesborne (sequel to True of Heart)
April -- The Draegan Lords (paperback that will include True of Heart and Lords of Kellesborne)
April -- Under My Skin
May -- Vertigo (part of the gay superhero AmberPax at Amber Allure)
Summer/Fall/Winter -- Fires of Ballian (sequel to Lords of Kellesborne), Under My Skin II, Magic (sequel to Falling), Souls Moon (sequel to Souls Deep)

And coming eventually -- a sequel to Out of My Mind, a sequel to Hearts & Bones, The Silver Wood, a possible sequel to Vertigo and possibly more in the Under My Skin series.

I'm going to be busy...but I like it that way. I tend to thrive on having just a little too much to do. :)

Wishing everyone a healthy, happy, successful and peaceful 2008!

XOXO,
ML

A new hunk from my gallery :)

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 13:09:48 GMT

New release!

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 10:48:58 GMT

I just logged into my account and I can't believe it's been THREE months since I posted!! Ack! I knew I was behind, but that's just sad. Sad, sad, sad. LOL!

Anyway...brand new m/m release this past weekend! It's called Out Of My Mind, and here's the blurb:

For four years Rafferty Jones and Nick Tucker have worked side-by-side as police detectives in their small Maine town. But lately, Rafferty’s imagination has been creating fantasies about Nick—more specifically, about Nick and him together—that have shocked Rafferty. Detailed erotic scenarios a thirty-something, set-in-his-ways straight man shouldn’t be imagining. He’s been struggling to keep them secret, afraid that if Nick discovers the truth it will end their friendship. But with each passing day it’s getting harder and harder to pretend Nick is “just” a friend. And harder and harder for Rafferty to come to terms with the possibility he might not be as straight as he’s always believed.

Nick’s always known he’s gay and he’s had deep feelings for Rafferty for years. But after a difficult experience at his former police precinct in Boston, he decided when he moved to Maine to keep his sexual orientation under wraps on the job. He wants to be acknowledged at work for what he can do, not who he’s doing. And with Rafferty being straight, there’s always been a clear-cut line that Nick’s known he can’t cross with his unsuspecting partner and best friend. And yet...for the past few months it’s become difficult to remember that line. He’s not sure why, he just knows that for the first time in four years his heart and his body are urging him to go for what he really wants...Rafferty.

When a stormy weekend trip on Rafferty’s boat gives birth to an unexpected night of passion, will it be the spark they need to forge a new and deeper relationship? Or will Nick’s past and Rafferty’s fear drive a wedge between them that will destroy not only their barely-begun love affair, but their partnership and friendship as well?

It's available now at Amber Allure

I also have a new paperback available that just came out in late October called Always. It contains my two stories about Will and Ethan...Never Let Go and Hearts & Bones. Here's the info about it!

Now in paperback, Always combines the first two highly acclaimed volumes in the emotional and explosively erotic man-love story of Will McLaren and Ethan Gallagher.

Never Let Go

For years Will McClaren and Ethan Gallagher hid their deepest desires from one another, each thinking the other was straight, both of them too afraid of shattering their friendship to admit their real feelings. Then, in a vulnerable moment, they discover the truth and give themselves over to an explosive passion that will forever alter their relationship. But after just one night together, Ethan’s secret life interferes and the two are torn apart for three long years. When at last Ethan returns, only a shell of the vibrant man Will once knew, and mysteriously evasive about where he’s been, can the two men overcome years of deceptions and tragic truths in order to heal their friendship and perhaps find the kind of love that lasts a lifetime?

And the story continues in...

Hearts & Bones

Finally a couple in every way, Will and Ethan are savoring the pleasures of being together at last. But only a few short weeks into domestic bliss, their hard-won peace and contentment is put to the test. Someone from Ethan’s dark and dangerous past has returned to settle a vindictive score, luring the lovers into a deadly game. When Will’s caught in the crossfire and his very life is at stake, will Ethan be strong enough to overcome his debilitating fears and face down his old enemy? Or will this shadow from his past destroy the one man he’s ever loved?

This one's available at Amazon.com

And now, at almost 4 a.m., I'm off to bed! :)

XOXO,
ML

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Progress report--updated

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 06:16:20 GMT

I'm so pathetic. I totally forgot I was supposed to be posting my progress here. My excuse is that...er...I was busy writing! LOL!

Here's where I stand on Hearts & Bones...

31,500 / 40,000
(78.8%)

I should be finished in the next day or two. Yay!!! And then...I'll be starting on my next m/m story, due to be released in November, called Out of My Mind. :)

XOXO,
ML

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Progress report

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 06:02:37 GMT

I'm a last minute kind of gal. I juggle writing around a full-time (sometimes more than full-time) "day" job, family, my feeble attempts at having a life, and sleep. I really, really, really like to sleep. Unfortunately, that's what I often give up to get everything done. Oh, I'm such a whiner. LOL! But that's not the point here. The point is that because I'm always doing a jillion and one other things besides writing, I tend to binge write. Meaning I may not write anything for a few weeks because I'm busy, or if I do write it's little tidbits here and there. Then, when a book deadline draws close, everything else goes on the backburner and all I do is write. I glut on writing. My entire world turns inward and revolves solely around the story and the characters.

So...ahem...that's kind of where I am right now. I'm writing the sequel to Never Let Go. It's called Hearts & Bones and picks up Will and Ethan's story shortly after Never Let Go ended. I've got a deadline and I'm going to have to spend the next couple of weeks in writing madwoman mode. The story of my life. :)

Here's my progress so far on Hearts & Bones...

5,000 / 35,000
(14.3%)

Want to watch to see me at my procrastinator-makes-up-for-lost-time best? Stay tuned!

XOXO,
ML :)

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New Hunk of the Week!

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 05:37:24 GMT

Yummmm!!! :)

XOXO,
ML

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New hunks of the week...er...weeks :)

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 04:09:31 GMT

I'm SO behind!! I missed posting two weeks worth of hunks, so without further ado, here they are! :)

Hunk of the week July 19th
In honor of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows being released this week...I thought a bit of Dan Radcliffe hunkage was in order. :)

And from the previous week...

Hunk of the week for July 9th.

Enjoy, everyone!!

XOXO,
ML

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Transformers

Sat, 07 Jul 2007 10:01:03 GMT

Saw this movie tonight, and OMG!! It was SO good!! I remember the first time I saw the preview for it in the theater a few months ago, it was this edgy, cool-looking sci-fi-ish flick and I was thinking, "This looks awesome! I want to see this, whatever it is!" And then at the end of the preview it said it was Transformers. I cracked up. I was like...Transformers?! The kids' toys?!?! You've got to be joking! So I kind of wrote it off.

But then a while later I saw another preview and it was even better than the first, so I decided kids' toys or not, I was going to see it. Everyone I'd talked to over the past few days who'd seen it said it was great...and it really was! So if you like sci-fi-ish destruction of the world kind of movies (if you liked Independence Day, for example) this is one you're going to want to see! It was surprisingly good...both the human cast and the robotic one.

It gets the ML two thumbs up! :)

XOXO,
ML

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New Hunk of the Week

Mon, 02 Jul 2007 09:28:13 GMT

For those of you in the US...Happy 4th of July! For those of you not...enjoy anyway. Reichen's pretty damn hot no matter how he's wrapped. Or not. :)

XOXO,
ML

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Never Let Go...a bestseller!

Mon, 02 Jul 2007 09:22:41 GMT

My newest m/m erotic romance, Never Let Go, ended up as #1 on the Amber Allure bestseller list for June! Woo hoo! I'm pretty psyched. :)

ML

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My newest m/m book video!

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 15:27:05 GMT

Let me know what you think of my newest video... :)

Hugs,
ML

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New Hunk of the week!

Thu, 28 Jun 2007 09:27:30 GMT

I came across this one on my friend Kris Avalon's page. How fricking sexy is this?! And, yeah, it's Ricky Martin. Be sure to clean up the drool from your keyboard. LOL!

XOXO,
ML
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New release!! Never Let Go...

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 23:28:55 GMT

It's out!! My newest M/M erotic romance, Never Let Go, is now available for sale! :) Here's the scoop...

Will McLaren and Ethan Gallagher first met in high school. Ethan—sophisticated, cocky, and full of wild daring—was everything bookish and quiet Will was not. Yet they’d instantly connected and forged an unlikely friendship that had carried them through their teens and well into adulthood. Even as teenagers, though, they’d always kept secrets from one another...hidden bits about their lives and desires they feared could destroy their friendship.

As adults, the secrets have become heavy burdens to bear, forcing them to keep their distance from one another and make up stories to hide the truth. Then, in an unguarded moment, Will lets his slip. His revelation explodes into a night of unexpected passion that stuns them both.

When Ethan disappears the next morning, Will blames himself, and as the months pass with no word, he’s convinced he’s driven away his best friend. He forces himself to move on with his life and try to forget.

But three years later Ethan shows up again, only a shell of the vibrant man Will once knew, and mysteriously evasive about where he’s been. When Ethan makes a confession of his own, can the two men recapture the friendship they’d once shared, and maybe even build something more powerful? Or will the hurts and deceptions of the past tear them apart for good?

Read an excerpt!
Buy a copy!

Happy reading!

XOXO,
ML

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New Hunk of the Week!

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 23:00:22 GMT

In honor of the first day of summer...

It's okay, you can drool. :)

XOXO,
ML

Happy Summer Solstice!

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 13:19:08 GMT

Today's officially the first day of summer. Yay! Wishing everyone a beautiful day!

XOXO,
ML

What kind of 60s person are you?

Tue, 12 Jun 2007 07:42:47 GMT

Yep, this pretty much fits me. :)

What kind of Sixties Person are you?

You are a Hippie. Wow.
Take this quiz!

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Join

| Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

Bizarre Dream

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 07:14:55 GMT

So I had a really weird dream last night. I dreamed I lived next door to Sanjaya. You know, the cute but not-exactly-ready-for-the-big-time finalist from American Idol this past season? In my dream, I was sitting on my front porch (not my real house, but the house in my dream where I apparently lived). Sanjaya walked by across my yard to go to his house. I told him his dad was looking for him because their basement had flooded. He didn't say a word, just smiled that real big sweet smile of his and waved at me. And I woke up.

Okay, I don't know about you, but on a scale of 1 to 10 for meaningless bizarre, this rates right up there at the top. LOL! I ask you...what was my mind doing in this dream??? Why Sanjaya? I watched maybe half the American Idol shows this season, but definitely wasn't hooked on it like I have been sometimes in the past. I wasn't a Sanjaya fan. I mean, like I said, he's cute, and I gave the guy credit for always being so easy-going and smiley and nice when everyone every week was ragging on him so much. But I never voted for him, or swooned over him. I didn't hate him either. He was just...there.

And what the hell's the deal with the basement flooding?! All I could think of when I woke up was that maybe it was a prophetic dream. I don't know...maybe I should email Sanjaya and tell him to tell his family to beware the next rain storm! LOL!

So that's my weirdness for the day...

ML :)

New Hunk of the Week

Sat, 09 Jun 2007 06:52:00 GMT

Here he is.... pretty damn hot, huh?

Have a great weekend, everyone!

XOXO,
ML (who's got to finish writing a novella this weekend, ack!!! :))

Couplings #1!!

Sun, 03 Jun 2007 12:13:02 GMT

Woo hoo!! As of this moment my gay erotic romance anthology, Couplings, is the #1 bestseller on Amazon.com's gay general fiction list! I'm pretty psyched! It's been hovering near the top for the past month, but...well...you know, there's nothing quite as nice as hitting that #1 spot. :)

My gay contemporary fantasy novel, Falling, is still on Amazon.com's gay erotic fiction list also! It's hit the #1 spot several times and usually stays in the top two or three. It's been steadily on the bestseller list since February.

New Hunk of the Week!

Wed, 30 May 2007 12:12:22 GMT

On my website and on MySpace I usually post a new hunk each week. I thought I'd post them here as well. So here's the latest... This week it's double the pleasure! Enjoy! :)

On the move...

Wed, 30 May 2007 02:02:07 GMT

Yeah, I've moved my blog. Again. My very first blog ever was here on Live Journal. But I wanted to customize it more than I could, so I switched to Blogger. For the past couple of years my primary blog has been there, looking all shipshape, its color and design matching my website, all formal and correct. But sometimes I just find it a real pain in the ass to log into Blooger, post, change things, etc. I don't know why, but it just seems overly difficult sometimes.

I tried WordPress and HATED it. Does it look pretty? Yeah. But what a b*tch to use!

Enter MySpace. I created a MySpace page in February 2007, which, of course, has a blog if one chooses to utilize it. And I have a few times. But I find posting to it...well, kind of tedious also. So pretty much the only thing I ever post there is promo info.

I don't know, maybe I'm just a big baby or maybe I'm lazy, but I just like what I like and I whine if I can't have it.

So now I'm back to Live Journal because it's just...easier. And more fun. And if it's not fun to write in my blog, then I'm not gonna do it. So fun is good. This time I didn't bother to copy all my old blog stuff and move it here. I just started fresh. And, yeah, I know the design of this page doesn't match my website OR my MySpace page, but I get sick of the same ol' same ol' all the time. I get bored. I like change. I'm a complicated person and I have multiple facets to my personality, so I've decided if I want my blog to be white and blue, or pink with green polka dots, or purple with bunnies all over it, or orange and red with pirate ships, so be it! Screw design consistency. It's my blog and I'll play if I want to. LOL!

If you'd like to read back posts of my blog you can still find my old blog at: http://www.mlrhodeswriting.com/blog.htm

ML :)