ExtrasThis page gathers article links, information, freebies, and more for fans who are looking for a little something extra by way of Damon Suede as well as advice for writers. Please feel free to have a poke around. Event & Class CalendarsDamon may be headed your way! He maintains a vigorous travel schedule, making appearances which can include anything from teaching workshops, hosting parties, speaking on panels, or just hanging out in the hotel bar. If you'd like to see where he's headed so you can swing by and say hey, check out his Class Calendar to see where and when.
RANTS & RAMBLING:This section is a catch-all for reviews and rants related to gay romance fiction and LGBT genre writing in general. Damon is especially interested in the ways the homoerotic romance is evolving and its impact on the readers and writers. The more genres explore themselves, the more mindful their evolution. Romance mutates constantly, in response to cultural shifts and popular fascinations.. Not sure if these will be of interest to anyone, but articulating this stuff sometimes stirs the mental chili.
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ADVICE FOR WRITERS:
Since Damon is an opinionated cuss and have been writing for a lot of years in a lot of genres, he's written a few articles for writers about work-specific topics related to craft, promotion, and career development. Many of the older articles appeared at Romance University or writing group chapter magazines which subsequently republished them. Folks keep asking where they can find copies... so now that time has passed, I'm posting links and/or copies here.
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Building a Reading Order Guide to Expand Your Fandom ("A-Game Advice" Article for SiteArcade)
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How to Create Buzz Around Your Book ("A-Game Advice" Article for SiteArcade)
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SEO for Authors: Leading More Readers to Your Work ("A-Game Advice" Article for SiteArcade)
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Growing a Writing Career by Skipping Shortcuts ("A-Game Advice" Article for SiteArcade)
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Your Lucky Break: Good Fortune and Making Fate Happen ("A-Game Advice" Article for SiteArcade)
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8 No-cost Promo Ideas to Help Your Fans Find You ("A-Game Advice" Article for SiteArcade)
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Nailing Your Niche: How to Find Your Subgenre Fit ("A-Game Advice" Article for SiteArcade)
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A-Game Tips for Launching a Successful Writing Career ("A-Game Advice" Article for SiteArcade)
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Social Media for Authors: Nurture a Positive Online Presence ("A-Game Advice" Article for SiteArcade)
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Con Choice: on picking events and building great genre experiences (Guest post for Fiction University)
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Wham Bam: the power of eventful thinking ("Lecture" for Romance University)
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Event Goals: getting the most out of conference networking (Guest post for Fiction University)
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Meet Market: pitching without panicking ("A-Game Advice" Article)
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Reading Allowed: save your bacon by embracing your inner ham ("A-Game Advice" Article)
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Good Seeds: overcoming the insidious myth of shortcuts and magic bullets ("A-Game Advice" Article)
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Moving Target: using thematic MacGuffins to focus a story ("Lecture" for Romance University)
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Desire Path: of workarounds and walking where we need to go ("A-Game Advice" Article)
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Same Page: defining terms before the worm turns ("A-Game Advice" Article)
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Saving Grace: on Xenia, Hospitality Laws, and the Cats that Need Saving ("Lecture" for Romance University)
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Staking Acclaim: the hidden punch of pull quotes ("Lecture" for Romance University)
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Signing Bonus: claiming your stall at the ink slinger’s cattle call ("A-Game Advice" Article)
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Love Notes: on critique and helping colleagues hear your opinions clearly ("A-Game Advice" Article)
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First Glance: on meeting characters and making impressions ("Lecture" for Romance University)
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Imperfect Words: the unfathomable power of placeholders ("Lecture" for Romance University)
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Prize Fight: know what you’re playing for ("A-Game Advice" Article)
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Readers' Choice: on the power of set pieces and Whammos ("Lecture" for Romance University)
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Décor Wars: party style that packs a punch ("A-Game Advice" Article)
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Leap Here: on the Power of Improv for all Creative Professionals ("Lecture" for Romance University)
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Happy Returns: gauging the impact and efficacy of your promo efforts ("A-Game Advice" Article)
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Press Hard: every book deserves a dedicated release kit ("Lecture" for Romance University)
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Right Hook: baiting your book to attract its audience ("Lecture" for Romance University)
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Open Water: competing with your colleagues is for sharks and jellyfish ("Lecture" for Romance University)
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Negative Space: Making Room for a Successful Career (Guest post with Heidi Cullinan for the Pot of Gold blog)
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Just Dessert: why a whole book can’t be a happy ending. ("Lecture" for Romance University)
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CARE Package: watching Romancing the Stone with a mindful eye. ("Lecture" for Romance University)
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Hit & Myth: the legendary underpinnings of genre tropes. ("Lecture" for Romance University)
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Add Verbs: creating characters that pop off the page ("Lecture" for Romance University)
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Dark Matters: cultivating creative cruelty in romance fiction ("Lecture" for Romance University)
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Action Pact: on the promise of erotic romance (guest blog for Sinfully Tasty)
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Screw Up: on writing forward and kicking your own ass. (guest blog for Well Read)
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Feel Real: writing realistic sex (guest blog for Babes in Boyland)
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Press Here: making your website work harder
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Fictional Friction: where's the rub?
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Swag Hag: promo goodies that don't suck
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Hearing Stories: inspiration at the outset of any project
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Con Pros: girding your loins for author events
REVIEWS:
These are pretty random... in most cases, the books that elicited these comments just happen to be romances I read and enjoyed when I had time to articulate an opinion. Or books that had problems that raised interesting questions.
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Jordan L. Hawk's Hexmaker (Sweet Spot for USA Today/HEA)
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Outcast Mine (originally reviewed for Jessewave)
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Jake's Alchemy (originally reviewed for Jessewave)
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I Love You Asshole! (originally reviewed for Jessewave)
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Come Unto These Yellow Sands (originally reviewed for Jessewave)
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Dance With Me (originally reviewed for Jessewave)
Themed Wallpaper
These were designed on a whim for my CD sampler disks but people have been requesting them separately. If you're wanting some wallpaper for your computer or mobile devices, here's a small selection:
Hot Head wallpaper |
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Grown Men wallpaper | |
Seedy Business wallpaper | |
Damon Suede wallpaper |
Book Club Guides
Talking about books is one of my favorite things to do. A couple book groups who have read my fiction sent along sample questions that sparked fabulous discussions. If you're thinking of reading one of my titles with a circle of friends, feel free to download these to get the conversation going.
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Horn Gate guide
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Bad Idea guide
By the same token, if your book group comes up with a cool question or something you'd like to share, please get in touch to let me know so I can add it to the proverbial pot.
Cool Suede Gear
People have been asking, so I've built a simple store called Damon Suede Gear with all kinds of gay romance goodness... The items feature my cover art, Suede slogans, and more... CafePress allows me to offer everything from simple Tshirts to thongs to shotglasses to customized iPhone cases. Feel free to have a poke around, and if you don't see something that you know you want, give me a heads up and I'll try to build it for you.