E-courtship & Online Romances

One of the things mentioned in a number of the BTW I Love You reviews is that readers knew of couples who met online or that they themselves had met their partners through the Internet. As many of you may know, the story centers around a long distance relationship that slowly develops when two college aged guys meet online. What's awesome is that there actually may be research out there supporting the strength of online romance.

I'm admittedly kind of a geek. Yup. That's right.  So when my alumni magazine came in the mail, instead of recycling it or beelining straight to the "what are my classmates doing?" sections, I actually read those sections on research and published academia articles. *points at self* See? Geek. :)

Imagine my surprise when I came across an article buried among the technical science papers that described research done by a psychologist on online romance. According to a recent article published by University of Chicago psychology professor John Cacioppo in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, more than one-third of marriages in America now begin online, and those online marriages were both slightly more likely to rank higher in marriage satisfaction and slightly less likely to break up.

Sure, it's "slightly," but it's still statistically significant. I just thought it was pretty nifty that academia came forward with actual findings of a scientific foundation for what many of us have already discovered: "online dating may offer a larger pool of prospective partners, greater selectivity, and more advance screening." ("Citations" by Jason Kelly and Lydiolyle Gibson in The University of Chicago Magazine)

Like I said. Welcome to Geekville, population me. :)

Live long and prosper,

NJ

Giving It Away for Free

Or, where I ask for HAAAAALP from you all. :D

Soooo, I've added BTW I Love You to Amazon and Smashwords. This is just a super quickie post to ask that you guys help me get the Amazon one price-matched to perma-free.

The Smashwords edition is already free, but because you need a minimum price on Amazon, the Amazon edition is currently 99 cents. Please help me ask Amazon to make BTW I Love You a freebie, too! Note that, in the interim, I plan on donating any proceeds from the Amazon sales to the Human Rights Campaign.

BTW I Love You on Amazon
BTW I Love You on Smashwords

To request the price match, go to the Amazon page, then under Product Details click on "tell us about a lower price." Once the window appears, enter the Smashwords link - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/342531 - and indicate that the price is zero.

Thank you so much for the helping hand, folks!

Oh oh! And don't forget to check out Dreamspinner Press's Cuddling anthology when it comes out August 12th! :) You can even pre-order it here.

Wheeeeeee! Hooray - BTW is  freeeeee! <3
NJ

"Cuddling" Cover - a.k.a. Cuddle Me, Baby, One More Time

Here's the cover for the Cuddling anthology, which will include a story from yours truly! *flails* The Dreamspinner Press collection comes out on August 12th and will feature short stories all about established couples.

Isn't the cover lovely? I think it does a great job of conveying a certain kind of familiarity and tenderness that comes from an established and loving relationship.

You can check out the official blurb for Cuddling, look over the listing of stories, and, if you are so inclined, pre-order the collection on the Dreamspinner Press website page here. :) I've also included the blurb for my story, Dream Lover, below:

"Dream Lover" by Nico Jaye:  Although Brady's job as a top attorney is demanding, Chris has learned to cope with the strains of Brady's schedule over the years.  Even when Brady misses his own birthday surprise, Chris is resigned--it's not the first time he's come in second to Brady's job, after all.  However, when Brady comes home with a surprise of his own, a weekend getaway just may introduce something new to their relationship that Chris never even dreamed was in the cards.

I'll be posting more about the anthology over the next few weeks, so keep your eyes peeled!

Also, sorry about the long delays in updating. After getting back to SF, things have been kind of all over the place. I'll post more on that later, but long story short: I'm still trying to figure out my life. I guess we never stop trying to figure it out, eh? But again...that's also a subject for another post. :)

Hope you guys enjoy the story, and keep an eye out for more info on other stories within the collection.

Cheers,
NJ

SF Pride 2013 & Summer Miscellany

Hello, everyone! Here's an update post to let y'all know that I have officially arrived in San Francisco (in one piece! without any (major) incidents on the road! ...more on this later...). Yesterday I attended the SF Pride festivities, and they were awesome.

The mood was definitely celebratory what with the Supreme Court's rulings earlier in the week. I saw at least eight completely nekkid dudes (without even looking for 'em), a pair of boobs, a bajillion cute boys in Speedos and undies, fantastic costumes and tutus, and, all in all, it made me so glad to be home. San Francisco truly is a place where it's a-okay to let your freak flag fly. :) And I embrace that freedom!

It's been a hectic week or so since I arrived in SF, so unfortunately I haven't had a chance to read the SCOTUS opinions in the Prop. 8 and DOMA cases. However, I will say that, based on the coverage, I'd be curious to hear the SCOTUS arguments and opinions on the Prop. 8 case if they had ruled on the merits (and not a procedural element). Serious stuff aside, though, it was still a success, and the fact that the Court refused to stay the marriages again is hopefully a sign that the tenor of the Court is perhaps more in tune with my feelings than I had thought.

Separately, I hope you all are having a fantastic summer!

My summer started out awesomely with my little cross-country adventure. In case you missed it, I moved from New York back to my hometown of San Francisco, and I drove cross-country in June. The (minor) mishap I mentioned earlier occurred in the beautiful state of Utah. After making it through Chicago, Iowa, Mount Rushmore, and the Rocky Mountains without incident, my brother and I were in Moab, Utah, to visit Arches National Park (totally totally awesome - sooo recommended!). I kind of sort of left the gas cap on the roof of the car. And um...I didn't remember it was there until I saw it bouncing off the back as I watched it get run over by a giant truck through the rearview mirror.

*facepalm*

Yup. Awesome. Luckily, there was an auto parts store that (a) was open on a Saturday and (b) had a replacement gas cap for a 1994 Volvo (loaner car - worked out beautifully!). Otherwise, the trip was really cool, and I saw some amazing things in this great land of ours. From the top down, here's Arches National Park in Utah, Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado (moose sighting!), and Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.

In WIP news, I haven't really been working on my workplace WIP (with my lovely boys R and Q....and their hate sex on the printer machine, heh heh).  Life's just been a little too hectic, and I can't seem to focus on them. However, I do have a story coming out soon! Keep your eyes peeled for "Dream Lover" in Dreamspinner Press's August Cuddling anthology.

Also, thank you to everyone for the kind words on my latest story, the freebie BTW I Love You (available to download here). I'm so glad you guys enjoyed it - I had a lot of fun with Aidan and Jake.

I hope you all enjoy your summer! I'll be spending mine getting reacquainted with the City by the Bay, including trips to museums (already went to the Academy of Sciences last week - very nifty!), a New Kids on the Block concert next week, volunteer work, and fun local things like SF Pride that really make this city the unique place that it is. And if you're in the SF Bay Area, drop me a line - I love connecting with new people! :)

Hugs,

NJ

Free Ebook Download of "BTW I Love You"

My latest freebie m/m romance, BTW I Love You, is now available as a free ebook download (yay!). So if you'd like a copy of the story or would rather read it on an ereader rather than on the computer screen, check out the download links here: M/M Romance Group Website - BTW I Love You.

The original posting is available here on the Goodreads M/M Romance group, and if you are so inclined, go ahead and add it to your bookshelf and/or review it here on Goodreads.

Separately, on a sporty note, I saw an article recently about Tim Tebow and the possibility that he will sign on with...*drumroll*...the New England Patriots. *AHEM* As in...playing as Tom Brady's backup. And OMG did that fuel the fires! So yeah....some Man-to-Man sequel action might have begun percolating...just sayin'.  :D

I'm still on my road trip, so I won't be able to update too often. However, greetings from the Mount Rushmore area! :)

Hugs all around, and hope you enjoy the story!

NJ

"BTW I Love You" - Free Story Available Today!

Just a type-by posting to let you all know that my latest freebie story, BTW I Love You, is now available exclusively on the Goodreads M/M Romance group's page. Yay!  Downloadable copies will be available on the Goodreads book page here in a couple of weeks. For now, though, group members have exclusive access to Aidan and Jake's story here. Not a member? It's easy to join if you're 18 or older - just make sure you have a valid birthdate included on your Goodreads information. :) This freebie story is just one of over 150 stories that the group will be offering during this summer's Love Has No Boundaries event.

So yeah, get exclusive access to the story here! :D Hope y'all like the boys.

As a life update, things are pretty crazy around here. I begin my cross-country drive from NYC to San Francisco tomorrow. Yes - TOMORROW. *gulp* I know - that came up super fast! I've been packing, tossing, shipping, giving away, and donating all month. It's amazing how much I accumulated in my years here in NYC.

And um...it probably didn't help my packing timeline that I also just discovered YouTube videos that edited down the Queer as Folk series to the Brian-Justin relationship. *hides* Yes, I glommed when I should have packed. *hides again* And, yes, because I knew how it ended (*shakes fist*), every time they did something sweet or amazing or beautiful, I couldn't help but say, "I seriously love you guys, but you're gonna break my heart." Out loud. Because I um...get invested.

Anyway, huge tangent there, but circling back to the point of my post, go check out the story (if you are so inclined), and I hope you guys enjoy Aidan and Jake's tale of World Wide Web romancing. :) And if you feel like rating and/or reviewing on the Goodreads page, then that would be nifty, too.

Hugs and dark-haired heartbreakers,
NJ

SNEAK PEEK! - "BTW I Love You" Excerpt

Well, folks, I'm heading out soon on my cross-country roadtrip (I'm moving from NYC back to SF!), so I'll be a little incommunicado this month.  However, that doesn't mean I won't have a story for you guys to read - and a freebie, at that! :)

BTW I Love You will be coming out verrrrry soon (yay!) as part of the Goodreads M/M Romance group's Love Has No Boundaries writing event. This story about two college-aged boys will be a group exclusive, so you'll have to join the group to get exclusive first-look access to BTW I Love You and over 150 other stories!

You can find the blurb here, and here's a tiny sneak peek from the prologue at the very beginning of the story. Hope you like it! :)

BTW I Love You Excerpt:

PROLOGUE

The afternoon SoCal sun was bright and cheerful two days before Memorial Day weekend.  Aidan was walking back to his student housing apartment when his phone buzzed in his pocket.  He'd just taken his last final – a hellacious combination of lab and written exam for his upper div Environmental Engineering class – and the day that greeted him upon exiting the science lab was glorious.  Provided everything went well, knock on wood, he would at last be graduating next weekend from UCLA.

Aidan shifted his backpack to his other shoulder to fish out his phone.  When he saw who'd sent the text message, he grinned.

24 hrs until some fun in the sun! check your email. ;)

He glanced up to make sure he wasn't going to walk into a tree like he did last week and, seeing the coast was clear, tapped his screen to check his email. 

To:  Aidan Montgomery

From:  Jake Everett

Subject:  You & Me?

Attachments (1) 

Once the picture loaded, Aidan let out a bark of surprised laughter as his heart warmed at the sight.  Grinning, he quickly texted a reply to Jake.

If you're lucky. ;)

***

That's it for now!

I know...cliffhanger, much? :D Well, if you want to find out what was in the picture that Jake sent to Aidan, then you'll have to keep your eyes peeled for BTW I Love You this summer...very very soon.  Like...perhaps...this upcoming week. :D

Cheers,
NJ