We’re so pleased to have Laura Baumbach with us today to kick off the GayRomLit 2016 Celebration Countdown.
Welcome, Laura!
Hi, everyone! I’d like to thank everyone here at The Novel Approach for allowing me to be here today.
My name is Laura Baumbach. I write m/m erotic romance. I’ve been writing for fifteen years or so. I’m an RN, a wife, mother, and grandmother. I’m CEO of MLR Press, LLC. I’ve been away from writing for several years helping other m/m authors bring their work to readers. But, I’m happily back in the game.
Currently, I’m writing a romantic suspense novel, Reese Holt: The Dark Side, the start of new series for me. Reese Holt – Ex-Special Forces, ex-CIA, current Security Specialist, a mind of steel, heart of stone…and putty in the hands of a handsome math geek.
It centers around Reese Holt, an ex-Special Forces, ex-CIA agent turned private security specialist. He owns a firm that handles sensitive and impossible international and domestic security challenges. He has been a loner all his life, knowing living life on the edge every hour of every day not very conducive to a lasting relationship. He is smart, highly skilled, educated, gay, connected and deadly. He is surrounded by a loyal team of ex-soldiers he’s gathered from all branches of the service, some from around the world. He is a tough guy with a tough job that he excels at. He’s resigned to doing it alone.
Not many people would choose to spend their lives with a man who can disappear for weeks without a goodbye, sleeps with a weapon, and who’s idea of a compliment is a curt nod. Luckily for Reese Holt, just that kind of guy falls into his path. Alex Throne is the kidnapped son of a business mogul, who drops from the sky into Reese’s current mission. Reese is forced to rescued the man, and in doing so embroils himself and his team in the scheme that threw Alex in his protective path.
THE DARK SIDE will release October 2016, premiering during the week of GayRomLit Retreat in Kansas City. I’ll be there giving away signed print copies of the book. It will be available for pre-order at the end of July from select distributors. It is the start of a new series, and the second one is already in the planning stages, but I will be waiting to start it until after I finish the long-awaited sequel to MEXICAN HEAT titled TEQUILA SUNRISE.
Since I had been away from writing daily for almost seven years, I refreshed my writing skills by taking the James Patterson Master Class in writing. I found it helpful in regaining my confidence to tell a compelling story. Even those of us with a wall of writing awards can feel a little hesitancy at times, and I needed the reassurance I wasn’t wasting everyone’s time. The class and two positive and enthusiastic beta readers’ opinions got me through the process! I hope everyone who takes the opportunity to read THE DARK SIDE when it releases enjoys it and looks forward to more adventures with Reese and Alex.
In case you are interested, my website is here. My upcoming novel is listed under FUTURE RELEASES.
Follow me on Facebook and Twitter. Other great m/m titles can be found here, at MLR Books.
Recognized in 2010 by ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE as ‘a pioneer of the M/M romance genre’, Laura Baumbach is the multi-award winning, acclaimed author of short stories, novels and screenplays. Author of one of the first recognized published resource articles on the category of m/m erotic romance, For the Love Of Man, for ERWA Writer’ Resource article published in September 2008. She is the founder of the only RWA Chapter for GLBT romance author, Rainbow Romance Writers.
Laura is the author of numerous m/m erotic romances. She is busy writing her newest novel, tentatively titled THE DARK SIDE a new series feature ex- Special Forces turned Security Specialist REESE HOLT.
Currently she was named runner up the LRC Best of 2016 Awards for Best Series, and given an Honorable Mention in both the Best Contemporary Story and Best Couple categories. She was also nominated for Best Author 2016.
Her most awarded title, Mexican Heat, was a FINALIST for Best Gay Romance in the 2009 Lambda Literary Awards, WINNER of the 2010 EPPIE Award, and received an Honorable Mention at the 2009 San Francisco Book Festival, as well as several RWA chapter awards, was written in collaboration with Josh Lanyon. Mexican Heat won a coveted CataNetwork Reviewers’ Choice Award for 2009.
Laura was nominated for Best GBLT Author 2008 in the LRC’ Best Of Awards for 2008. Her adventure story The Lost Temple of Karttikeya won the 2008 EPPIE Award for Best GLBT novel. Her sequel to the best-selling novel A Bit of Rough, Roughhousing, was 2007 Reviewers’ Choice Award Winner.
Her scifi m/m adventure Details of the Hunt, a 2006 EPPIE Finalist, was selected as a Semi-finalist in the 2007 Shriekfest Screenplay competition (in its mainstream ‘buddy’ version) as well as becoming the Winner of Best Telefilm in the aTalentScout, Winter 2004 TV writing contest, and the Fort Bend Writers Guild Screenplay writing Contest for Spring of 2005.
Laura devotes herself full-time to publishing and writing. She is the owner of ManLoveRomance Press, a small publishing house that specializes in gay erotic romance, mystery and fiction. MLR Press was founded in January of 2007.
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