Tuesday, May 21, 2013

"Another Win" - Lambda Literary Review of Love by the Numbers



Love by the Numbers is another win for Kallmaker to the delight of readers everywhere...
The love story is engaging and is filled with just the right amount of tension to make the nerve endings buzz…
It’s also filled with that tongue-in-cheek, ever-so-sassy humor that Kallmaker does so well…
Anna Furtado (author of The Briarcrest Chronicles) reviewed Love by the Numbers for Lambda Literary and said lovely things about it. I've already read them a couple dozen times, but you can read them for yourself too.


Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Paperback Romance Now Direct to Kindle and Nook



Two different but equally brilliant conductors inspired the basic premise of Paperback Romance. The first was JoAnn Falletta conducting The Bay Area Women's Philharmonic. The second was Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Falletta's energy and grace was mesmerizing -- and it was icing on the top that she was a woman in the field dominated by men. Some months later I then watched Michael Tilson Thomas who moved with the same sweep of energy and grace. Though taller than Falletta, when his back was turned to the audience I began to see a resemblance in motion and stature. And I began to wonder... What if, to get even the most basic opportunities in classical music performance, Falletta had pretended to be Tilson Thomas? 

Paperback Romance also presents an homage to the Harlequin with a timeless ingenue-meets-tall-dark-and-handsome story. I will confess that the character of Oscar might have a slight resemblance to John Gielgud's Hobson in Arthur. The characters of Caroline, Alison and Nick all had more to say as the years passed and there are two follow-up short stories also available (see below).

The BAWP's recording of Baroquen Treasures remains a favorite two decades later. Though Falletta left the Bay Area for the east coast and Europe, Tilson Thomas came home--and came out--keeping my classical music world nicely balanced. 

Paperback Romance is now available direct to Kindle and Nook. As always, you can find out more about the book and read a free excerpt at my web site.



If Music be the Food of Love you will want this story to play on and on ...

Literary agent Alison has been in love with her favorite author-client for years. Not that paperback romance writer Carolyn has ever noticed. She sees Alison as a close, loyal friend; she has never questioned society's conventions.

When Alison negotiates a lucrative contract for her, Carolyn seizes the unexpectedly large advance to fulfill a passion of her own. Beginning in Paris, scene of her brief, calamitous marriage, she will immerse herself in great music from the world's great orchestras. Paris brings a dramatic encounter with Nicolas Frost, the remote, driven young conductor who is creating a reputation for musical brilliance.

When the smitten Carolyn discovers the conductor's masquerade -- necessary to achieve recognition in the male-dominated higher echelons of classical music -- she is suddenly faced with the true nature of her powerful attraction to Nick.

Meanwhile, Alison has found her own consolation. But does sweet, passionate Samantha have any chance of winning Alison's affections away from Carolyn? Can there by any future for Nick and Carolyn? Find the answers in this captivating, deliciously romantic and erotic tale from one of our most entertaining storytellers.

 Fans of this book will not want to miss the short story follow-ups in Frosting on the Cake 1 and Frosting on the Cake 2.

© 1992 245 pages 62,039 words



New to Kindle - visit book at Amazon.com
New to Nook - visit book at BarnesandNoble.com 

The complete list of my other books available direct to Kindle.
Nook user like me? Here you go!

Monday, May 6, 2013

"A Fine Touch" - Comfort and Joy Reviewed at Dear Author



I was super pleased to learn that the romance review site Dear Author wrote me a love letter about my holiday novella "Comfort and Joy!" The review ends with "...the growing attraction and feelings the women experience are delicately delineated with a fine touch that makes me look forward to trying more of your work."

Reviewer Jayne also writes:
...The spark of sexual interest is clearly there and only requires the opportunity and time for Milla and Tyna to act on their desire and need for the other. I liked that neither woman appears to simply be scratching an itch or merely taking advantage of the chance for intimacy. Care is plainly there and the desire to give instead of just taking pleasure.

Read more about "Comfort and Joy."

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Writing Books for LGBTQ Youth - Saturday Night at Laurel!



This is one of those events where I hope to learn more than I teach!  Annameekee Hesik (The You Know Who Girls) will read and talk about writing the kinds of books she wanted to read when she was a teen, and Lynn Bravewomon (Safe and Inclusive Schools Coordinator with the Hayward School District) will talk about the role of books and the importance of reaching young people with inclusive, positive messages they will believe.

I've never written specifically for young readers and I might be a mom, but I've never worked with kids otherwise. So where do I fit in? As a writer, I've always tried to create characters who vividly show that it does, indeed, get better. I would certainly like to know more about young readers, so I am looking forward to hearing from Annameekee and Lynn.

But more to the point, while I didn't write the groundbreaking Being Emily, I was part of the team that selected and produced it. I'm thrilled to read from it, and I hope to honestly represent Rachel Gold's intentions as the author. I can also speak to how books that reach young people with life-saving messages can contain mind-changing messages for older readers as well.

Please make the journey to Oakland for this special night - it's sure to be invigorating for the writers and illuminating for the readers, teachers, parents and anyone committed to the security of LGBTQ youth.

Saturday April 27, 2013, 6:00 p.m.
Laurel Bookstore
An Independent Community Bookseller
4100 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland
(between 35th Avenue and High Street just off 580)

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Maybe Next Time - New to Kindle and Nook!



Years of piano lessons taught me how to read music, and left me certain that no matter how much I might want it, and no matter how hard I tried, I would never play like Gould or Horowitz or McPartland. With every note my ear told me the result fell far short of the beauty I could hear so clearly in my head. That frustration--and the maturity of acceptance of my limitations--is one of the many threads that helped me create Bree Starling, the complicated, flawed heroine of Maybe Next Time.

I'd like to think that the loss of dreams of a musical career in my teens led me to embrace writing completely, and eventually led to my first Lambda Literary Award. I'm happy to admit that this is easily my most controversial novel--some readers found Bree thoroughly unlikeable, others found the story's dueling timelines not to their liking. Yet others loved the depth and anguish in the story, and that after so many storm clouds and mistakes, Bree finally makes peace with her gift and her dreams--and the woman she loves.

Now available direct to Kindle and Nook. As always, you can find out more about the book and read a free excerpt at my web site.



Sabrina Starling doesn't need love. She has fame as a brilliant violinist and unlimited options for female company. Nothing can shake her — except the memory of her very first love. Knowing that neither the teenaged nor adult Jorie will ever return her feelings, Sabrina has escaped into her music and the arms of other women.

When injury leaves her temporarily unable to perform, Sabrina finally finds the one woman who could free her forever from the memory of those stolen Hawaiian nights with Jorie. There's one problem. The object of Sabrina’s desire, Diana, is deeply in love with Pam, the woman who has shared her life for the past eighteen years.

A family funeral calls Sabrina home to the islands, but she no long believes that the gentle breezes and possible welcome in Jorie's eyes can repair the lives she's shattered, including her own.

Karin Kallmaker's searing novel of innocent first love and dangerous seduction joins an unparalleled string of critically acclaimed bestsellers that earned her the title of Undisputed Mistress of Lesbian Romance.

© 2003 • 242 pages • 80,317 words


New to Kindle - visit book at Amazon.com
New to Nook - visit book at BarnesandNoble.com 

The complete list of my other books available direct to Kindle.
Nook user like me? Here you go!