Gay Day Once Agay-n

Join me on Sunday, January 30th, for Gay Day at Ethan's Yahoo Group.  Gay Day is the one day a month when the best authors in GLBT Romance stop by to post excerpts of their new and upcoming releases.

The following authors will be generously offering giveaways you can enter to win:

J.P. BOWIE – NOWHERE TO HIDE

J.J. SOUTH – 33 A GAY LOVE STORY

ZA MAXFIELD – PHARAOH’S CONCUBINE

SIMONE ANDERSON – SADDLE UP & RIDE

ANGEL MARTINEZ – A DIFFERENT BREED

KATE MCMURRAY – THE BOY NEXT DOOR

ANDREW GREY – LOVE MEANS…NO FEAR

ALLY BLUE – THESE HAUNTED HEIGHTS

TRINA LANE – SIMPLY PERFECTION

EM WOODS – CHOCOLATE DREAMS

JAIME SAMMS – FINDERS KEEPERS

CLARE LONDON –THREADBARE

ETHAN DAY – LIFE IN FUSION

KIMBERLY GARDNER – TOO SOON FOR LOVE – Coming Soon

JAMBREA JO JONES – STEAMY REUNION & STEALING MICHAEL

CHARLIE COCHRANE – ALL LESSONS LEARNED Print Book of Winners Choice

The amazing Authors below will be popping in and out to chat & post excerpts from their latest books:

MISSY WELCH – KLT23

STEVIE WOODS – SACRIFICE

K.C. BURN – BLOOD RELATIONS

DEVON RHODES – MAKING HIS LIST

JAMBREA JO JONES – A FISTFULL OF EMMETT

FINNMARLOWE – A THREAD OF DEEPEST BLACK

ADRIANNE BRENNAN – PISCES F/F Coming Soon

AKM MILES – FOR GOM’S SAKE – Coming Soon

TC BLUE – LIFE CHANGES EVERYTHING

LILY SAWYER – CATCH OF THE DAY

KIMBERLY GARDNER - BLUSH

EM WOODS – JACK’S WAY

SERENA YATES – THE CHAUFFEUR & REDISCOVERING ADRIAN

JAIME SAMMS – WISHING ON A BLUE STAR

ETHAN DAY – ANYTHING FOR YOU – Coming Soon

LYNN LORENZ – REMEMBER ME? – Coming Soon

The day will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST in the Ethan Day Yahoo Group where we’ll be posting excerpts, running contests for free books, and chatting about all the new and upcoming releases from your favorite authors.

I hope everyone will stop by to catch up with your favorite authors and join in all the fun!

I wrote that? Just found this little short I wrote...and forgot about.

I was going back through guest blog posts I've done for some ideas on what to post (and what I've done to death), and found this little short story I wrote last Christmas. I had every intention of using it as a springboard to write Garrett's story...but I completely spaced it. Glad I went looking (and so is Garrett!)!

The Christmas Wish
By Devon Rhodes

This short story came to me when I saw this photo.  For all my fans out there and my fellow authors who have become friends...Happy New Year!  This one's for you!

 "Oh, this is just great," Garrett muttered under his breath, although there was no one there to hear him.

That was the problem. He was alone.

Alone at Christmas, what a cliche. So sappy.  Even he wouldn't write such tripe.

He gave the whirling, falling snow outside one last glare, then reluctantly gave up his vigil at the front window, conceding defeat. Mother Nature was apparently not on board with Garrett's plan to fill his home-du-jour with Christmas cheer and brotherhood. He flicked off the porch light, and the snow appeared to stop falling.  He wished.

When he first accepted this house-sitting gig over the two-week holiday period, he had gone into full planning mode. A huge Victorian inn up in the mountains over the holidays?  All "his"?  E-mails had flown as he invited all and sundry up for some playtime in the winter wonderland.

Oh, when the weather broke, he might still get a few takers. But it was late on Christmas Eve, and even though Garrett knew it was just another night, the prospect of rattling around all by himself in this monstrosity of a retreat on Christmas Day just took his knees out from under him.

Garrett sighed and began closing down the house for the night, the unfamiliar routine of this new house momentarily distracting him from his melancholy. Steeling himself to keep from going to gaze hopefully out the window again, watching for headlights he knew wouldn't appear, he ascended the staircase, letting his hand trail along the smooth wood banister.


Lying in bed, the random dancing of firelight teasing at his eyelids, Garrett could almost hear the voice of his grandma, reminding him to make his Christmas wish. What I really want, Santa can't bring, Mimi. Burying his head under the pillow, he wished anyway, then promptly cursed himself for a fool.


Normally Garrett slept like the dead, a trait that helped him immensely in his "career" as a professional house-sitter where he seldom slept in the same bed for more than a couple weeks. That night had been no different, so the abrupt awakening confused him at first as he tried to get his bearings.

The light behind the windowshades was hard to read, and he leaned up to take a look at his old-fashioned travel alarm. After eight. Merry Christmas to me.

The house had cooled considerably overnight, and there weren't even any coals left glowing in the fireplace of his bedroom. The baseboard heater creaked and clicked at him, so he knew it had kicked on at some point, but it sure wasn't helping. Quickly dressing, he hit the stairs, lured by the thought of the woodstove in the kitchen, that real heat which seemed to penetrate more than anything man had come up with.

He thought cynically of his Christmas wish the night before and pressed his lips together, taking a deep breath. Just another day, let's just think of it that way.

Two things penetrated at roughly the same instant: the haphazard pile of discarded outerwear and bags in the foyer and the smell of...coffee?

Garrett's pace quickened and he slammed the swinging doors into the kitchen open, almost getting smacked by the rebound as he stopped short at the sight of his three best friends in the world. They looked up as one from their places sipping coffee around the table, wood stove crackling in the corner, and to a man gave him the biggest, smuggest grins he could ever hope to see.

An answering grin spread unchecked across his face even as he shook his head in wonder.

My Christmas wish came true.

Stylish Blogger Award, Passing It On

Shawn Lane has very sweetly nominated me for this Stylish Blogger award in her post, and far be it from me to stop a rolling blogosphere stone. :) So here it comes:

For those who have been nominated, there are few criteria to meet:

1. Thank and link back to the person who nominated you, only do not re-nominate them.  

Kisses Shawn, you classy thing you!


2. Share 7 things about yourself.

• My brother just visited me at my house for the first time since we were in college. Which was a loooong time ago.
•  I've eaten rice every day this week. And I gave up coffee... I know. I'm shocked too.
• The only pet I have is Bionic Fish (aka Sahara). He is some kind of gold Danio, is the sole survivor of dozens we've tried over the past two years, and can go two weeks without food...tho he does have lots of algae to eat. Maybe he's a vegetarian, except I suspect he ate his cellmates. Never found the bodies.
• I don't have a single pastel thing in my closet. Just lots of black and jewel tones.
• This winter's stretch (Dec-Mar) is the longest I've gone without a new release since I was first published.
• I love water. I'd take four baths a day if I could justify it. My goal is to have a house at the beach...next to a river...with a pool...and hot tub...and maybe a waterfall...into the lake.
•  I once stepped on Stephen King's foot. Yes, it was an accident.

 3. Pass along this nomination to recently discovered stylish and cool bloggers.

4. Contact them and tell them about their nomination.

There are so many people I'd like to thank... Oh wait, no that's my other award acceptance speech. ;) Okay, there are a lot of great bloggers out there, and after I've left off the ones I know for certain have already received a nomination (doesn't mean I love ya any less), here are a few I make a point of stopping in to see whenever I can because they are truly stylish and cool...in the best possible way:

Thorny at I'm Just Thorny

Janna at E-Romance Reader

Chris at Stumbling Over Chaos

TA Chase at No Boundaries

Bronwyn Green at Bronwyn's Blog

Salixbabylon at Pervy Slash Whore (NSFW)

Thanks for always rewarding my blog prowls. Kisses, Love ~Dev~

I Always Have To Have The Last Word

I always think of the last line(s) of a book as having an echo effect, filling the empty void after it while acting as the summation of the story. So in a way they can be the most important sentences in a book. The last ones everyone reads. Can be a bit nervewracking to try to get right from the author's perspective. I do know that they are probably the ones I tweak the most.

Here are my correct final lines in all their glory. I was almost sad to take out the "Hero" and "Other Hero"s from the previous post. That was hilarious. It got me going on yet another tangent, which I'm building a new blog post around. Wait'll you see what randomness I've come up with next, lol. That's coming soon, but for now, The Last Words... (echoey sound effect)...


"Silver and gold. You didn’t have to convince me. Put them together, and now I know what they’re worth.”
~Silver and Gold

Jared winked at him. “Dragons.”
Rory’s eyes widened in delight.
Wild.
~One Wild Wish

And now, the three of them had all the time in the world.
~Neighbors By Day, Naughty By Night

“As long as I’m at the top.”
“Always.”
~Making His List

“Yeah. Teach me.” Chaz watched those bright eyes darken in delightful response as he raised his hand into view, holding one of the T-shirt strips. “Welcome home, Justin.”
~Remarkable Restraint

"Deal,” Jim whispered back, knowing with this swap, his life would never be the same. And he couldn’t be happier.
~The Swap

“I love you, mate.”
“I love you too. My mage.”
~A Pint Light

“Doesn’t matter where we are,” Cameron argued sleepily but with conviction. “You’re always home with me.”
~A Detour Home

And no Scarlett act this time. She eyed the hallway to the bedroom then sent an inviting look to both of her men.
No time like the present to get started.
~Falling For the Other Brother

At least, once he found him.
Now. Time to track a mage.
~from the epilogue of TTRD, so kinda tricky. So here are the final lines from the main part of the book:

His vengeful angel. Punishment indeed.

Let the torture begin.
~Through the Red Door

“Hmm?”
“How do you feel about camping?”
~Winter's Thaw

Joey could feel the warmth of that gaze clear down to his soul, as Vance continued, contentment radiating from him, "But I must admit, having my pride and Joey is the best of every possible world. And I'm the luckiest guy in any of them."
~Pride and Joey

Derek’s laughter rang out in the locker room. He gathered Luke even closer. “So am I, babe, so am I.”
~Rough Riders

“We did it,” she corrected. “I couldn’t have done any of them without you.” She paused, adding impishly. “Oh, and I’ve put the notebooks with my new goals in them in a much better hiding place.”
~Sex on Summer Sabbatical

With his new family all together now, he had a lot to be thankful for. And in a minute he was going to toast to his good fortune—many times over.
~Wet Your Whistle


Which of these are your faves? Any in particular you remember hitting you in a certain way when you finished the actual book (good or not)? And in general, have the final words of a book ever changed your overall opinion of the book, in either direction?

In the End... Who feels competitive??

Okay, back once again with a little something to liven up the January doldrums. Not another Nook, sorry! Just a little matching game with one of two books as prizes. The "first lines" meme that I did earlier sparked a comment on Shawn Lane's blog, where I said it'd be interesting to look at last lines. Well, she jumped right on that HERE so now I feel compelled to do mine as well. With a twist.

I've put the final line(s) of all fifteen of my current releases. The first person to email the correct answers to me gets their choice of either Wet Your Whistle or Sex on Summer Sabbatical (which I figured out while doing this I hadn't done giveaways for yet). Some of them were dead giveaways with the characters' names or references to the title or something else obvious, so I've substituted to keep it difficult interesting. :) So without further ado, here are my closing lines:


A) "...You didn’t have to convince me. Put them together, and now I know what they’re worth.”

B) Hero winked at him. “Dragons.”
Other Hero’s eyes widened in delight.
Wild.

C) And now, the three of them had all the time in the world.

D) “As long as I’m at the top.”
“Always.”

E) “Yeah. Teach me.” Hero watched those bright eyes darken in
delightful response as he raised his hand into view, holding one of the T-shirt
strips. “Welcome home, Other Hero.”

F) “Deal,” Hero whispered back, knowing with this ____, his life
would never be the same. And he couldn’t be happier.

G) “I love you, mate.”
“I love you too. My mage.”

H) “Doesn’t matter where we are,” Hero argued sleepily but with conviction. “You’re
always home with me.”

I) And no Scarlett act this time. She eyed the hallway to the bedroom then sent an inviting look to ____ __ ___ ___.
No time like the present to get started.

J) At least, once he found him.
Now. Time to track a mage.

K) “Hmm?”
“How do you feel about camping?”

L) Hero could feel the warmth of that gaze clear down to his soul, as Other Hero continued, contentment radiating from him, "But I must admit, having my _____ ___ ____ is the best of every possible world. And I'm the luckiest guy in any of them."

M) Hero’s laughter rang out in the locker room. He gathered Other Hero even closer. “So am I,
babe, so am I.”

N) “We did it,” she corrected. “I couldn’t have done any of them without you.” She paused, adding impishly. “Oh, and I’ve put the notebooks with my new goals in them in a much better hiding place.”

O) With his new family all together now, he had a lot to be thankful for. And in a minute he was going to toast to his good fortune—many times over.

And here are the titles to match them with:

Remarkable Restraint
A Pint Light
Silver and Gold
A Detour Home
Rough Riders
Neighbors By Day, Naughty By Night
Through The Red Door
One Wild Wish
Sex On Summer Sabbatical
Falling For the Other Brother
Pride and Joey
Wet Your Whistle
The Swap
Making His List
Winter's Thaw

Simply send the answers in an email to devonrhodes @hotmail dot com with Matching Contest in the subject line. And go ahead and play for bragging rights if you already have those two titles. :) If nobody has all fifteen right by 11am ET, Saturday the 22nd, I'll choose the entrant with the highest number right (or draw a name if there's a tie).

How well do you know my lines?? And aside from the contest, any thoughts on them? :) Good luck!

Great Author Meme...What Do You Say With the First Line of Your Book?

I saw this over at Val's, and she got it from Angelia, who mentions getting it from another LJ user. The gist of it is to list the first lines of your last ten fics/books and draw some conclusions.

I think most writers really try to draw the reader in with the first line, and in my case, many times the first line has come to me and I then go write a story around it. :) With most of mine, I seem to try to give you a sense of the character right off the bat and what they're doing/feeling. I couldn't decide which ten, so I did all my backlist, plus my next release and my work in progress. Here they are (in a couple instances I added the second line if the first was a thought or dialogue that didn't let you know who the speaker was):


There must be an easier way. Valerian grimaced as he retracted his fangs, sealed the punctures with a flick of his tongue, and let his inebriated, middle-aged snack slide down the wall to rest in a heap at his feet. ~A Pint Light

“What?” Luke shouted incredulously, grabbing Mario by the upper arms with no little force. ~Rough Riders

“This is going to be so cool!” Cameron exclaimed, his jaw slack with shock, eyes sparkling with surprise and growing excitement as he regarded his best friend’s smug face. ~A Detour Home

“This one really has nice kerb appeal. Beautiful landscaping, and it looks like the owner really enjoys gardening. Let’s see here.” The garish, loud real estate agent consulted the sheet on her clipboard as she minced her way up the front walkway. ~Through The Red Door


“Ohhh.” Tori couldn’t stifle a moan as the almost-pain of exerting muscles that seldom got use kicked in. ~Sex On Summer Sabbatical

A cool waft of air on her shower-warm skin was the only warning Erica received before large hands cupped her bare shoulders. ~Falling For the Other Brother

Loving the crisp, autumn smell of a distant leaf pile burning, Vance inhaled deeply, relishing the cool air carrying the scents of fall. ~Pride and Joey

Rhea leaned her forehead against the inner hatch door after she secured it against the coming MetaWave storm. ~Wet Your Whistle

God, I hate Muzak. Maggie switched her cell phone to the other ear and pushed her fingers through her dark, irritatingly frizzed-out hair, automatically loosening yet another snag. ~Winter's Thaw

GEOFFREY Radcliffe stared intently into the mirror, grimacing at the reflection, then wincing as the grimace accentuated his laugh lines. ~Silver and Gold

"I don’t know how you talked me into this,” Rory grumbled as Benny made wide, innocent eyes at him from the passenger’s seat of the SUV. ~One Wild Wish

“I threw up.” The quavering voice brought Corbin jackknifing up out of a sound sleep, struggling to get his bearings. ~Making His List

JASON surfaced from sleep gradually as usual, barely slitting his eyes open to ascertain that it was still just after dawn in the lengthening days of spring. ~Neighbors By Day, Naughty By Night

IT was after midnight, and Chaz Warren groaned with frustration as he removed his hand from his cock and gave up his fruitless quest for orgasm… yet again. ~Remarkable Restraint

Jim stopped short at the threshold of his boss’s office, his heart seizing with dread at the sight before him. ~The Swap

“Heads up, it’s a bunt! He’s putting it down!” Teri screamed, cupping her hands around her mouth. ~Spring Training (March 7th release)

This is probably the worst idea I've ever had.

"You know, I think this is the worst idea you've ever had." ~Current WIP

So what do you think? I see a trend. I've heard you aren't supposed to open with monologue/dialogue, but I do tend to do that, don't I? I think it gives a sense of immediacy and is intend to pull you in right away. But do you guys agree? Any thoughts on mine? Authors out there, I'd love to see yours as well, either in the comments or in your own blog post. Meme, anyone? :D

Nook Contest Winners!!

GRAND PRIZE WINNER 

Terra Pennington

2nd PRIZE

Miranda (Sweet Vernal Zephyr)

3rd PRIZE

Jason (vslavetopassion)

 Congratulations!! 

We'd like to thank everyone who entered. We were thrilled at the response and are so excited. The above winners will be contacted via email and will need to respond to Jessica (jessica@jessicajarman.com) within three (3) days to claim their prize, otherwise a new winner will be chosen.

Congratulations to the winners!

Jessica, Devon, Bronwyn, Gwendolyn, Kris, and Suzanne.


*******


And a special congrats from me to the winners and to everyone who made this so much fun! To that end, I've selected two consolation prize winners for my blog:

Desi

Brad H.

Congrats Desi and Brad, I'll be contacting you to ask your choice of ebook and format!

*********

Don't forget to check the other blogs for any consolation prizes they might be handing out! :)

Happy New Year to all!! ~Dev  

Enter to win a NOOK COLOR!!--Contest until Noon, January 11th!

Welcome to 2011! And what better way to celebrate than with a brand new Nook Color!

Six sexy authors of erotic romance are coming together with a fabulous giveaway to usher in the New Year! And entering couldn't be simpler.

 Just visit each of our blogs beginning January 3rd, and leave a comment on the contest post with:

• your name (or user name) and contact email, and
• your top two (2) choices from the author's backlist to kick-start your Nook library should you win.

Contest will close at Noon ET on Tuesday, January 11, 2011, and a winner will be drawn at 1:11pm ET from all the readers who commented on all six blogs:

Gwendolyn Cease at gwendolyncease.blogspot.com
Suzanne Graham at suzannegraham.blogspot.com
Bronwyn Green at bronwyngreenblog.blogspot.com
Jessica Jarman at jessicajarman.blogspot.com
Kris Norris at krisnorris.blogspot.com
Devon Rhodes at devonrhodes.blogspot.com

The Grand Prize winner will receive a brand new Nook Color and two ebooks of their choice from each author!

Second Prize will be winner's choice of ebook from each author's backlist!

Third Prize will be winner's choice of an available print book personalized and signed by the author!

More surprises and prizes at each blog, so what are you waiting for? The clock is ticking, and when it comes up all ones, you could be the winner!!

Details:

In order to be eligible for the drawing, you must leave a comment at each of the six blogs with your email address and choice of two books. We're sorry, but anyone who misses a blog or forgets to leave their contact info will be disqualified.
All comments must be posted by 12:00 Noon, ET, on January 11th.
• Valid entry comments must be in response to the official Contest post on each blog, although we also welcome comments on other posts, so feel free to poke around!
• The Nook will be shipped directly from the store to the winner's house. Ebooks will be emailed separately to the winner.
Winner must respond to Jessica within three days or an alternate winner will be announced. 

 I will also be drawing a consolation prize from non-winning entries on that day to win their choice of ebook from my backlist. And speaking of which, here are my books from which you can choose your top two in this entry comment! :) Visit the links below or hit my website for the blurbs and excerpts.


M/F Titles:
Winter's Thaw
Falling For the Other Brother (some m/f/m menage)
Sex On Summer Sabbatical

Menage Titles:
Wet Your Whistle (m/m/f menage, m/m, m/f)--futuristic, sci-fi
Falling For the Other Brother (m/f/m menage, m/f)--contemporary, older woman/younger man (uh, men)

M/M Titles:
Making His List
Rough Riders (previously in the Gaymes anthology)
Pride and Joey--paranormal
The Swap
One Wild Wish--paranormal
Through the Red Door--paranormal
A Detour Home
Silver and Gold
A Pint Light--paranormal

Anthologies:
Necking anthology--m/m/m menage
Gaymes anthology--m/m
Games in the Dark anthology--m/m, BDSM

********

So here we go! Leave a comment with your first/user name, email and top two choices of my books here before heading off to the other five blogs!

Optional if you're chatty today, tell me where you heard about this contest and what you currently read your ebooks on. :)

GOOD LUCK and Happy New Year!

Tick Tock,,,48 hours left to enter the Nook Color Giveaway!!

If you haven't entered, what are you waiting for?? Even if you have an e-reader, you can gift or hope for one of the books giveaways for second, third, and consolation prizes!

If you have entered, make sure you've hit all six blogs and left your contact info and choice of books! Some entrants have not left all they need to, and unless they come back, they unfortunately won't be eligible. Make sure that's not you!

Good luck, and thanks for all the kind words about my books!! :) Dev

Titles...Or, Which Came First??

Ah, titles. Almost every author I know kvetches about them, getting them right, searching for the perfect one. I don't count myself out of that number. There's been many a time I've thought of the "perfect" title...only to discover that five authors before me thought the same thing. So frustrating.

But I have shown a propensity for writing a story after thinking of the title FIRST...and not just once, but several times. Let me do a quick recap....

A Pint Light was my first title-before-the-horse, and it was a doozy. I saw the call for vampire submissions three days before the due date (which was also incidently the day I was leaving on a three week road trip with my kids). And thought to myself, since most of the genre is dark and angsty, wouldn't it be fun to do a lighthearted vamp tale? The title then popped into my head, which then conjured the opening scene...and I was compelled to write it (and finish it..in two days).  I now have a series arc of 5-6 stories, all from that little title. And all the subsequent titles were very easy to come up with as well, thankfully!

Soon after, I was contemplating writing a holiday themed story, and began trying to think of a plot, to no avail. So turned my mental energy to thinking of a theme by using holiday songs. When Silver & Gold came to mind, I stopped the search. I could immediately picture Silver (the older guy discovering to his horror he's going grey) and Gold (the young, hip blond colorist who refuses to fix it for him). It practically wrote itself after that.

My first M/F story was another title randomly popping into my head...one that took me into a completely different genre! One day I was letting my mind wander and thought about how sometimes titles are overly cerebral or clever, and why not just put it out there right off the bat, with SEX in the actual title?? Sex On Sabbatical had a fun ring to it, but to my surprise, it conjured up, not two guys (as I had been writing to that point) but an older professional woman having a fling with a young guy. Huh? Okay...back to girl parts, and as long as I'm going to be there, might as well enjoy...built a four story series, Seasoned Women, from that single title idea. Hence the Summer in the final title, Sex on Summer Sabbatical.

Another in that series was a no-brainer once I'd decided on the "seasons" approach. Let's see...spring. Spring Training, of course. And that would mean a ballplayer and a teammate's mom. ;) You'll get to see that one next, on March 7th.

I'm a sucker for submission calls, love the ideas that spring to mind when I read them (whether I end up submitting there or not, they are inspirational to me for some reason). The second book I wrote came from on of those. Two years ago, I had read a publisher's call for "Drink" theme stories, and in another of those weird mental synapes connections, the name Wet Your Whistle flashed neon in my head. Wrote it, finished it, and sent it off on April Fool's Day 2009. Quick rejection. Mothballed it to write more polished stories and just went back to revisit it around the holidays. Added 5K and did a LOT of cosmetic work on points of view, and lo and behold, got a contract offer for it on...karma drum roll please....April Fool's Day 2010.

Unfortunately, all my titles weren't so easy peasy. A few I was pulling my hair out over, pesting my friends and betas, and generally driving myself and everyone around me crazy over.

Last year's Valentine's release, A Detour Home, went through several working titles including Rough Road Home, before I realized that, oops, I already have a "Rough" title. Literally came down to, what do I put on the contract paperwork? before I settled on the final title. Even then, I put it to a vote between my editor, my beta, and an author friend. It was 2 out of 3 for ADH, so my editor and beta prevailed. ;)

Sometimes I know what I want to have the title be, in theory. But coming up with the particulars can be difficult. For example, in last summer's paranormal release about a were and a rocker, I wanted the name of his band in the title. But coming up with a band name that's, a) interesting and catchy, b) not taken in real life or in fiction, and, c) something that also works as a title, is VERY difficult! After much angst, I finally settled on One Wish for the band and One Wild Wish for the title.

Another along these lines was my story originally in the Gaymes anthology. Wanted to name the story after the team the guys played on...just had to come up with the team name. After an unproductive brainstorming session with my hub (who stuck to the "normal" team names), I finally settled on the Rough Riders. My usual search revealed that there was a series in the erotic rom genre by that name, but since it was the series title and not indivudual title, plus m/f as opposed to my m/m, I figured I'd be safe.

After all, there's very little new under the sun, and, along with character names, pen names, plot devices, and physical descriptions, titles are also hard to keep strictly original. But it all how you weave it all together, and a good title provides the perfect frame for your creation, whether you wander about with your art, looking for a frame, or carry around the frame, looking for something to fit inside...