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HOLIDAY SPECIAL!!Happy Holidays!! The month of Giuli or Yule ✨🎄✨ (or ‘months’ if you’re a hobbit - explained below!)🔵What to expect in this one:Transition stuff
2. Yule, hobbits & protection against demons 😈3. Brilliant new releases featuring calculus, baking, (not) vampires and sharks(!) - from Simon Doyle, R.J. Peterson, CD Rachels & Shane K. Morton…4. Control download (free novella)5. The Sam Gillespie Expansion Pack HOLIDAY SPECIAL (NSFW!!!): Santa magic, Queer Artist of the Month (with a difference!), This or That, more Santa magic, leather snowman, Darth Vader & The Twelve, uh, Toys of Christmas 😉🏳️⚧️TRANSITION STUFF!🏳️⚧️ Loads to say this time, but I’ll try not to turn it into an essay lol. Firstly, nearly 8 weeks after surgery, the pain is much, much better than it was - not gone but also not at the level where I’d call it ‘pain’ so much as ‘discomfort that comes and goes’. I had my final 6-week checkup with the surgeon and gave up trying to convey anything after he told me people didn’t feel pain after 6 weeks. I won’t see him again, I’ll see my GP if I need anything. Anyway, I took off all the dressings yesterday (🥳) - no nipple covers, no tape - so am now just applying either tea-tree oil or Vitamin E oil to help the bare scars. Being sans-covering has brought the nerve pain back, but I reckon that’s to be expected after nearly 2 months under protective casing, so hopefully it will pass soon! I’m still not writing anything - I have less energy & mobility thatn usual so I decided to use it to get ready for Christmas. After that, I’ll need to look at finding somewhere to live in the nearby city, which I’m really looking forward to but also totally overwhelmed by! As to the rest, I’ve now been A YEAR ON TESTOSTERONE!!! I had my blood tests and, after 5 months on half-dose because my testosterone was too high, it’s now too low lol, so I’m back onto the initial dose. Blood test end of Jan to see how that’s going… The effects have been very noticeable though! More belly hair, feeling more like myself, improved strength and my voice has started to regain some of the resonance I’d noticed it losing. All in all, WHAT A YEAR! 💜 🏳️⚧️
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The Neverloving Dead: Reviewshttps://mybook.to/TheNeverlovingDead Thank you SO much to everyone who’s taken the time to read & review on Amazon, Goodreads, BookBub & The Storygraph, and to those still reccing The Neverloving Dead in book groups. After a book’s release, it drops off people’s radars incredibly fast, so keeping it in front of people is totally amazing of you & MASSIVELY appreciated!! I’ve already lifted some of your review quotes for promo posts (so thank you for giving me such generous & delicious ones to work with 😋) - that’s an ongoing process too, so I’ll continue to do that for different posts! FB group: Tal Frost’s Werebears & Wyrdlings |
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Yule, the Elder Moon & Hobbits:I LOVE December moon names: ‘Cold Moon’, ‘Long Night Moon’, An Mios marbh (the dead month). Then there’s the Anglo-Saxon Giuli (p:Yooli) or ‘Yule’, & the Old English Aerra-Geol-Monath, or ‘Month Before Yule’. January was then Aeftera-Geol-Monath, Month After Yule - WHICH was Tolkien’s inspiration for the hobbit Shire months: Foreyule for December and Afteryule for January! Hence the hobbity party pics 😊 This year, the final full moon is the Elder Moon (sometimes it’s Birch). Elder trees recover from damage easily, so this is a time endings & bouncing back. Known as Ruish (roo-esh) to the Celts, the Elder moon’s ripe for magic relating to death & renewal. The plant is said to protect against demons & evil beings, especially if it grows close to your house. Rowan’s place was in front of the house and Elder’s was behind, keeping evil spirits from sneaking in. Incoming Christians attached negative legends to plants to suppress pagan beliefs, but elder fared worse than most. Folks were told Judas' hanging tree and Jesus’ cross were both elder (aspen was also often blamed for the cross) - both of which are unlikely since elders are small with weak wood! Elderflower teas & tonics ease winter colds, flu symptoms, coughs and sore throats. The cooked berries are great in pies, jam & wine, while the flowers are used for cordial and even champagne. Dipped in batter, the flowers make excellent tempura, but be sure to remove the stalks as they’re toxic! |
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SIMON DOYLE: This is Not a Vampire StoryOut January 7th https://books2read.com/u/mgwV0D From the author of The Snow Boys. "Poignant, incredible and touching." — K.C. Finn, Readers' Favorite Seventeen-year-old Victor Callahan holds a secret as ancient as the shadows. Employed as a night porter in a quiet Irish nursing home, the teenager watches over a group of men he once knew a long time ago. Victor has orchestrated their reunion for a final farewell, a goodbye to those whose lives have shaped him through the years. But can he keep his secret from Lakeshore Manor’s oldest resident, James O’Carroll? As he cares for these remnants of his past, memories of a bygone era haunt him — of wild adventures on the rugged Irish coast, of forbidden love hidden beneath the threat of eternal night, and of a shipwreck that changes everything… Gloria Pinto, the night nurse, doesn’t like him. But maybe she has her own secrets. THIS IS NOT A VAMPIRE STORY weaves a tale of timeless bonds, the cost of immortality, and the lengths we go to for love. But is love more important than life? Victor is about to find out. |
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RJ PETERSON: Once Upon a Yuletide Romance:Out Dec 6th https://mybook.to/OUAYR Calculus is kicking Will Hargrove’s butt. When fellow student Tom Dawson suggests they study together, both hope it will improve their grades in the college class. Spending time together leads to more than just a passing grade, and a tentative romance blooms. However, Tom’s negative feelings about relationships—thanks to his mom’s attitude about her failed marriage—keeps most of his feelings at bay.
One thing leads to another and soon the men are willing to admit their true feelings, but can Tom get past his mother’s influence and open himself up to a full relationship? The annual YuleFest is the perfect occasion to spend time together, connect and enjoy everything the holiday festival has to offer.
This holiday story is set in the small town of Hawthorne Bluff and features strangers to lovers, commitment fears, and a happily ever after.
Once Upon a Yuletide Romance is a part of the multi-author series Once Upon a Holiday Story. Each book can be read as a standalone. What links them is The Hook’s Book Nook Traveling Library, a library on wheels owned by two old ladies in love. |
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CD RACHELS: Kissing the Shark (Maritime Monsters 1)Out January 20th https://a.co/d/5eZiCcD What would you do if a hunky shark shifter dude walked out of the ocean and claimed you as his mate?
I love my job at the Maritime Monsters Institute. I get to help ocean life as well as humans who shift into marine-based creatures. There’s so much to learn about the monster community, and I’d like to think my knowledge has helped all sea creatures. Dating life? Who’s that, never heard of her. But then a tall shifter strides in from the ocean. Everyone at my job witnesses him declaring his undying love for me. It’s nonsense because he doesn’t know me. In fact, he’s new to the surface world! I tell him to stop, but cutting this shark out of my life is more difficult than it seems. It doesn’t help that I find him drop-dead handsome. I never thought I could be in a human-monster relationship. I want to give this shifter a shot, but if I do, will our hearts sink or swim? “Kissing the Shark” is an adult male-male spicy paranormal romance novel set in the Creepin U monster universe. This romcom stars an affectionate shark shifter who’s lived in the ocean his whole life, and the researcher he falls head over fin for. With all the Maritime Monsters novels, a spicy good time and a HEA are guaranteed. |
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SHANE K. MORTON: Don’t Go Bakin’ My Heart Holiday (A Foggy Basin Short Story)On release Dec 7th US: https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Go-Bakin-Heart-Holiday-ebook/dp/B0DH6QLJBH UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-Go-Bakin-Heart-Holiday-ebook/dp/B0DH6QLJBH Percy- My life has turned upside down since falling in love with my old high school crush, Ben. Now that we're together and living in the same town, we're discovering each other's quirks. Ben is an absolute nutjob over Christmas and the build-up to the holidays. For me and the bakery, this time is a huge money maker for us. How can I keep the bakery afloat and keep Ben happy? The holidays have always been about work for me. Now, I have to try to make Ben's Christmas dreams come true. What do you give someone who already has everything?
Ben- it's my favorite time of year! I love everything about the holidays, and Foggy Basin never disappoints. I wish that Percy and I had more time to spend together, though. With all the planning for the new resort and the city's Christmas festivities, which I am also helping to make a reality in our bid for more tourists, I am slammed. But it's our first Christmas together, and I want to make it the best one he has ever had. I hope that my plans don't scare him away. I want to move fast, and Percy is the opposite of me. But no matter what - this will be the best holiday ever!
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Control: A Hammer Falls Novella - DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE 36K BOOK!Control is a 2.5, to be read AFTER Sons of Heaven & Hell (Hammer Falls: 2) & preferably before the Tree of Life. I never realised it would end up so important to the series but it is and it’s FREE! Grappling with a terrible truth only he knows, Leo Crow is doing all he can to prove his loyalty to the shadowy, controlling Seminary whilst keeping his siblings safe. Three things are working against him: his guilt about things he couldn't stop, a brother who won't stop researching things he shouldn't and sexy, carefree Zeke, who seems to be bringing everything up that Leo wants to keep crushed down. As Zeke tries to get closer and Leo tries to keep his distance, who will prevail? And what will the consequences be? |
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NSFW HOLIDAY EXPANSION PACK BELOW…
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NSFW EXPANSION PACK LINE - DO NOT CROSS UNLESS YOU WANT TO SEE NSFW STUFF…
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The Sam Gillespie Centre for Inappropriateness is dedicated to my book boyfriend & spirit animal ;)
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Santa Claus is comin’ ❤️😎Ok, so this is NOT my December calendar picture (I’m actually not that into December’s one) - so instead, you’re getting this full-colour Santa, complete with his bowed-up horn o’ plenty (and I mean plenty), adding a bit of Christmas magic to the stable.All he needs to know now is who’s been naughty and who’s been nice…
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🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨Queer Artist of the Month: Michael BreyetteHailing from a remote, conservative area of upstate New York, Michael never thought he’d even be able to come out as a gay man, let alone make a career in gay art. Upon moving to a more progressive part of the USA, his self-taught hobby blossomed. Since then he’s had two collections of work published, Summer Moved On (2007) and Seasons of Love (2011), and has featured in several anthologies, international magazines & on book covers. He won the fine art category in the 2009 Erotic Signature global competition and, in 2014, his work was exhibited at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art in New York and in the subsequent book "Stroke: From Under the Mattress to Out in the Open".
GO FUND ME FOR MICHAEL’S CANCER TREATMENTMichael has been diagnosed with ocular melanoma, a rare and aggressive eye cancer that has recently spread to his liver, known as liver metastases or liver mets. He and his partner Eric are doing everything they can to treat it, but need help. No donation is too small, so please consider giving to help this talented visual artist if you can. I’ve included the link below.The three fabulous paintings below are called ‘Toy Maker’, ‘Oh By Golly’ and ‘Family Gathering’ - I think they show his talent, humour & warmth brilliantly.
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💙💦🌊💧💙💦🌊💧💙💦🌊💧💙💦🌊💧💙GIF of the Month:Fun one this time (and so PG compared to normal!) - I can’t add videos on Squarespace, so for those who’d like to watch the full song ‘Deck the Halls’ by Dave & Brian, it’s here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MimYEBq-o54 (and also MERRY CHRISTMAS FAM!!):
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Ok, that’s enough clean Christmas fun
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I like the attention to detail that went into that - those hats aren’t cheap, let me tell you! Plus… well, if the neighbours didn’t know beforehand, they do now 😂Anyway, it’s the Holidays, and everyone knows those aren’t complete until you’ve seen Santa in a daddy bear orgy…
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I’m loving his naughty-and-nice eye twinkle ✨✨✨As if the silver bear love-in wasn’t enough of a Santa surprise, here’s the ‘This or That’ you won’t see on Facebook:The Christmas chocolate design that somehow made it past the product testing team (???) versus a… let’s say ‘festively hung tree ornament’ lol
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I’m choosing ‘that’, to give me a little ho ho ho every year 🎅Another way to give yourself a Happy Holiday every year is just to get a sign, then ask someone to hold it nicely. I mean, ask them nicely to hold it.Nicely.
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Luckily, it’s always a holiday somewhere 😊Not quite last, we absolutely have to have a special one for Sam - this is a bit grainy, but miiight be the only time any of us ever gets to see Darth Vader, Batman and Santa having a three-way over a sack of candy. I don’t know how they came to be together - all I know is they seem to be coming together very well 😉
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🎄 And TWO to go out on - this first one I’m calling it ‘Elf Auditions’ 😉
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🎄 And the second one is another link! You may have seen this (it’s a few years old, but it’s fun, festive & fast - literally one minute long) - enjoy!!
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Wishing you all VERY Happy Holidays full of fun & friends, love & laughter. See you in 2025!Tal X
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