Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Song of the Day - Freddie Mercury’s “Love Kills”

Without a doubt Fritz Lang’s 1927 sci-fi epic METROPOLIS is a masterpiece! So when Giorgio Moroder re-released the film in 1984 with a contemporary soundtrack featuring Freddie Mercury, fans of the original weren’t so thrilled. But Moroder’s version isn’t half bad and apparently its recently been re-mastered for DVD. There’s also a fully restored version of Freddie Mercury’s song “Love Kills” which I think is his best ever single. It was something of an anthem for me while I wrote THE CURSE OF THE DRAGON, which has a strong theme of unrequited love running through it. This is the old version of “Love Kills”, but I promise I’ll keep searching high and low for the restored video. Until then, are you ready for Freddie?

Sunday, December 27, 2009

The one and ONLY excerpt from THE CURSE OF THE DRAGON



Chapter 1

The Port City of Aden, Yemen

The young man known only as the Tunisian lay on the bed, naked and unconscious. Eden watched him from the balcony doorway overlooking the shimmering Middle Eastern gulf and thought to himself how beautiful the young man was; too beautiful for this line of work. Spies die young. The choices he made, the risks he braved, guaranteed that the young Tunisian would one day leave behind a good-looking corpse and a heart full of secrets. Then again, many had said the same of the handsome Dr. Eden Santiago.
Last night, Eden had met the Tunisian in an out-of-the-way restaurant in the backstreets of Aden, listening carefully to the information he had gathered regarding the rendezvous that was about to take place between the Chinese and the Yemenese black market racketeers.
Back at the hotel, after opening a bottle of Chilean wine in Eden’s suite, the two men made love. When they were finished, Eden and the Tunisian sat on the ruffled sheets of the bed facing each other, their legs entwined.
“You must be careful,” the blue-eyed Tunisian warned. “Qassim Qahtani is a dangerous man. It’s not his shipping business that has made him his millions. It’s his involvement in illegal weapons, and it comes at a cost. The cost of lives.”
Eden reassured him, “I’m only here to observe, not intervene. We need to know who’s trading the diamonds and what Qahtani is offering in exchange.”
“Then let me go with you.”
“You’ve already helped enough.”
“Eden, I’m coming. I owe the Professor everything.”
“And I owe you an apology.” Eden took the half-empty wine glass out of the Tunisian’s hand as he noticed the young man begin to sway on the bed.
“W-what are you talking about? E-e-den?” The Tunisian's speech was beginning to slur as realization set in. “Oh Jesus, you’ve drugged me with one of your potions.”
Eden’s response came with a nod to the cloudy wine left in the glass. “Potions? I’m a scientist, not a witch doctor. Take it easy now, it was a heavy dose. I had no choice, I knew you’d insist on getting involved.”
The Tunisian looked at the pale wine swilling in the bottom of the glass, his face struggling to conjure up a look of surprise and betrayal as the drugs kicked in. Then a faint smile. “You know me too well.”
“On the contrary. I don't even know your name.”
But the Tunisian didn’t hear him. With a graceful swoon his body began to sink, still conscious. Just.
Eden wrapped his arms around him and laid him down gently on the bed. “Sshh. Sleep now. You'll have a terrible headache when you wake tomorrow afternoon, but at least this way you won’t try to follow me. You won’t get hurt.”
“What—what about you?”
Eden smiled. “I told you, I’m only here to observe.”
But the Tunisian's crystal blue eyes had already closed as he slipped into a deep sleep. Eden kissed him lightly on the lips and laid the young man’s head on his pillow.
Then he stood by the open balcony door. He stood there the entire night, watching the lights of the boats on the harbor and the late-night activities of the merchant shipping port. There were three ships moored: a Suezmax-class French cargo ship, an African oil tanker which had stopped at port to refuel overnight, and a huge, rusted old Yemenese vessel. As the hours passed, Eden watched the last of the Yemenese ship’s containers being unloaded, carted from the bowels of the ship on large heavy-duty forklifts, down a loading ramp before being stacked neatly on the wharf.
Occasionally Eden glanced back into the room to make sure the Tunisian was still asleep.
And as the sun eventually rose in the east, spilling over the harbor, Eden dressed and left the Tunisian safely behind locked doors.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Here Comes Santa Claus!

I think he actually breaks his leg. Too funny! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Song of the Day - Nelly Furtado’s “Try”

God how I love Nelly. She's beautiful, clever, talented and one of the most diverse singer-songwriters in the world today. "Try" is one of my favorite Nelly Furtado songs. It's such a honest and heartfelt message that the grass isn't greener on the other side, and that perfection is something that doesn't exist at all, despite our desire for it. As Nelly says in the song, "The fewer the seeds, the more I sow." We're all guilty of it, and we all need reminding that the perfect life is just an illusion. More often than not we're already happy, we just can't see it.

Muse of the Day

Dissection of an Action Sequence

CUE THE MUSIC AT JUST THE RIGHT TIME!



I’m currently fine-tuning the climax of my new book THE CURSE OF THE DRAGON and when I need a break I tend to play movies that keep me inspired and thinking about what makes a good action sequence. The other night I put on INDEPENDENCE DAY which is certainly flawed but is basically a solidly entertaining action sci-fi film, mostly because of Will Smith’s energy and also because of the annihiliation scene a third of the way into the movie which, in 1996, blew us all away and still stands up today! One of the reasons this scene works SO well is the lack of music for the majority of it. Very cleverly, the score shuts down just as the alien ships are about to blast the heck out of us, and then when all hell breaks loose, we have no musical cues whatsoever. Nothing but the sound of cars flying through the air and buildings blowing up. The tension is extreme and it heightens the reality of the moment. Without music, there’s no predicting what will happen, no clue as to who will live or die, nothing at all for us to cling to other than the arm of our chairs. Only when Vivica A. Fox sees the blast wave coming (such a nice shot with her completely unaware son in the backseat of the car and a fiery death fast-approaching from behind) does the music kick in and propel us toward the end of the scene. Cue a mother’s determination to save her family, dog and all!!

Monday, December 21, 2009

China's First Government-Endorsed Gay Bar!



This week, China opened its first government-endorsed gay bar! And while there's speculation that many gay bars already exist in China—such as the shady Beijing Betty's which features heavily in my third Fathom's Five novel, THE CURSE OF THE DRAGON—the newly opened club was partially funded with local government money. It's a step in the right direction for China, who has an estimated gay population of 30 million but didn't decriminalize homosexuality until 1997. In fact, until 2001 homosexuality was still officially considered a mental illness in China.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Song of the Day - Koop’s “Island Blues”

I know it's getting cold elsewhere in the world, but down in Australia the summer is starting to sizzle. This song has that breezy tropical feel to it that makes me love this time of year so much!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Today's Life-Lovin' Moment!

As a huge SOUND OF MUSIC fan, this Flash Mob moment at Central Station in Antwerp gives me goosebumps and make me wanna cry with happiness. I LOVE this! It takes all your cares away and makes the world a better place!

<

Muse of the Day

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Sexy, flexy Jakub Stefano!



While I’m convinced that the buff, brown and boyishly good-looking Jakub Stefano is one of the sexiest men on the planet, I can’t help but wonder what’s going through his head based on his various (and hilarious) facial expressions as he flexes his way through this vid. I'm not sure if he's in pain or going to the bathroom in his shorts! God bless him though, he's still totally hot!

Monday, December 7, 2009

Muse of the Day

Song of the Day - Regina Spektor’s “On The Radio”

Wow! I NEVER fall for anything with kids in it, probably because I don't and won't ever have any (sad but true thanks to the world we live in). But this clip sucks me in and I don't know why! It scrambles my dissection radar and I love it! Theoretically the lyrics of this song shouldn't work at all with this clip, but for some reason it all falls together beautifully. Why? I don't know. But I love being surprised! Enjoy!

The Cleaning Hunk

I know everyone's probably seen this by now, but as someone who works in advertising and writes erotica every chance he gets (yes, I even jot story notes down on the back of parking tickets in my car when I'm rushing between meetings!) I am a true believer in SEX SELLS! I love this!

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Out Magazine's Class of 2009

The Out 100 is—well—out, as Out Magazine publishes its Class of 2009, featuring the 100 most inspiring men and women in the GLBT community. The list of honorees includes Neil Patrick Harris, Cyndi Lauper, Will Young, Pedro Almodovar (all pictured below) and 96 other wonderful, inspiring and influential people, including my new boyfriend du jour, singer Matt Alber! Check it out at http://www.out.com/out100/




Iron Man 2 & Sherlock Holmes


Well the first one-sheet poster of Iron Man 2 is out and it looks HOT, with Iron Man standing back-to-back with War Machine! Unfortunately the trailer's not available yet, so I thought I'd stay with the Robert Downey Jnr theme and show you the trailer for the new Sherlock Holmes movie which hits cinemas in three weeks time. I think it's gonna be AWESOME!!

Erotica vs Porn

Hi gang! Check my good friend, fellow author and sex expert Violet Blue on Oprah (yes, Oprah!) talking about the difference between erotica and pornography! It's a great debate and Violet has some really defining views on the subject. The segment's kinda aimed at the female market, but there is a very cute tennis coach/porn actor in some of the snapshots!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Muse of the Day

World AIDS Day—Red Ribbons Rock!


Okay first of all, OUCH yes! Pinning the ribbon onto my hunky cover guy totally hurt him, but like a true hero he didn't even flinch. Well, maybe a little pec ripple happened, but I pretended not to notice!

Secondly, what an awesome day! I just finished my shift volunteering to sell Red Ribbons on the streets of Sydney! Made some great new friends and met so many lovely people wanting to buy ribbons, pins and wristbands! My faith and hope in humanity is alive and well!

I have to admit I was very excited and a little bit nervous about starting my day (I'm not a very good salesman!) but this is the kind of fantastic experience everyone should have! The most unexpected people prove generous and loving, and there's a weird and wonderful bond that happens between strangers, like forming an instant lifetime companionship when you're backpacking. It was amazing!

While a lot of people think that AIDS is something that can now simply be treated with medicine, like an aspirin for a hangover, the frightening facts are that almost 33 million people are living with HIV worldwide today and 28 million have died from an AIDS-related illness. A new HIV infection is diagnosed somewhere in the world every seven seconds and someone dies from an AIDS-related illness every 11 seconds. This is a fight we can win! We just have to keep up the support!