I do this monthly here at Love’s. Every second of the month, I’ve got a bit of space to talk about anything I want. I had a release on March 28th and in reality, I should be promoting the hell out of that book. I should be putting a spin on it so you think it’s the best thing since a chocolate-cinnamon cupcake with red-hot pop rocks with cream cheese whipped frosting* on it.

By all normal, sane, business-minded and logical reasoning, that’s what I should be doing. Telling you how marvelous Dirty Deeds is and how if you don’t get it right now, your cat will hate you, you will gain twenty pounds and you will be explosively flatulent every time you even THINK about having sex.

That’s what I am supposed to be doing.

Well—Fuck That.

Because a couple of days ago, something more important happened. Well, something that was a bit ago came to fruition. Grand Adventures was published by Dreamspinner Press. And it was—and continues to be—a Grand Adventure.

You see, we have two very special sweet people in our community—Eric Arvin and TJ Klune.

To say that they’ve had a rough time of it is to put it mildly. They have survived—and loved. But oh, there is need. So much need.

A bit ago, John Goode looked around and said, there should be an anthology done. Elizabeth North of Dreamspinner Press agreed. Whole-heartedly and full bore. And the call went out—and it was answered.

In droves.

I answered. I wrote and worried for them. I thought on who they were as people…as friends…as lovers and I wrote. I wrote for them. And I am honoured to be among the contributors. Honour is really too small of a word. I stand among giants and I am touched they let me stand with them. Because we still are in the shadow of these men.

TJ and Eric are… our touchstone. They are a couple who are living in a storm and we can only weave very flimsy words together to shelter them from the tempest they are in. We can hope and oh yes, we pray. We pray with every letter and every word. Every phrase and every keystroke. It is a wish and a chant and an angel wing and a candle lit. It is incense smoke and even a bowl of rice left for a benevolent ancestor in the hopes she would bless their journey.

And I wish I had the words to explain how much they mean to all of us. And I guess the people I’m trying to tell this to is actually TJ and Eric.

So, if this is read by the guys, thank you for letting help. You speak of gratitude and thanks and all of that nonsense and you see, it is us who should be thanking you. You give us heart and hope. You argue about when Christmas should begin or whether or not Otter should be in the video. We cry with you and you let us. You allow us to see your struggles and we cheer every second one of you smiles and you let us. We laugh with you and we agonize but mostly, you let us see your love.

You see, guys, your love is what we should thank you for the most.

It is a gift we cannot ever match. We can never pay you back for those smiles and those hugs and those times when you laugh and share a joke with us either in person or on video.

We will always be in your debt—for you have given us a coin much more precious than gold.

This anthology is a thank you. It’s a shout of hope and best wishes but mostly it is a heartfelt and sincere  thank you.

Much love to you both. And should you hear the wind outside of your window, it is carrying our fondest thoughts and hopes for you both.

Grand Adventures
Purchase the ebook or paperback at Dreamspinner Press

On September 1, 2011, TJ Klune wrote, “…it’s not about the ending, it’s about the journey…” in a review of Eric Arvin’s Woke Up in a Strange Place. With those words, two men began a journey of love and invited us to ride along. TJ and Eric have shared so much with us: their wonderful books, their smiles, their humor, their lives, and their inspiring devotion to each other. In December of 2013, their journey took a detour when Eric was taken to the emergency room. He survived the surgery to remove a cavernous hemangioma from his brain stem, but the challenges TJ and Eric face are far from over.

The authors in this anthology donated their talent as a way to support Eric’s continued recovery, to help bring strength to TJ, and to show both of them just how much love surrounds them. Grand Adventures is a diverse range of stories about the journey of love. We’re going on some grand adventures for a great cause. Thank you for joining us.

One hundred percent of the income from this volume goes directly to TJ and Eric.

Foreword by S.A. McAuley
An Unexpected Thing by John Amory
The Twinkie Ignition by J.E. Birk
When Friendship Becomes More by Sophie Bonaste
Isle of Waiting by Sue Brown
The Jogger by KC Burn
Holding Court by Cardeno C.
For Dear Life by Mary Calmes
Under the Full Moon by Ellis Carrington
Stripped by Shae Connor (2nd Edition)
That Place Across the Hall by C.C. Dado
Mistaken MD by Phoenix Emrys
Cops and Comix by Rhys Ford
Last First Kiss by LE Franks
Tomorrow by John Goode
From Fantasy to Friends by CR Guiliano
Witness Protected by Dawn Kimberly Johnson
Water Under the Bridge by Mia Kerick
A Gentle Shove of Human Kindness by Amy Lane
Air (Roads #1.75 million) by Garrett Leigh
An Atheist and a Yoga Instructor Walk into a Bar by Rowan McAllister
Stalking 101 by Moria McCain
Simple Desires by Tempeste O’Riley
Object of Care by Zahra Owens
Kid Confusion by Madison Parker
Fall Train by Jaime Samms
The Exhibition by Andrea Speed
What You Will by Tinnean
Prologue by Brandon Witt

Cover Artist: Paul Richmond