RJ Scott

Blogger Blog tour – Prism Book Alliance

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So…

A couple months ago when RJ approached me about a possible guest appearance on her blog, I thought, “Oh, how sweet. That would be a good way to find some more readers.”

Now I just think it is her sadistic way to to turn the table on all of us bloggers who ask writers for guest content on a regular basis… well played, Ms. Scott. 
Seriously, folks, what do you want to know about Prism Book Alliance, and myself, that you don’t already know? So I decided to Interview myself. I write interviews all the time, why not write and answer one 🙂

What is Prism Book Alliance?

Our tagline is “Celebrating diversity through literature” and I think that sums it up nicely, but in case it doesn’t here is the slightly longer version. We are a review blog that focuses on GLBTQ literature. We will consider for review any title, new or old, that features one or more main characters that would fall on the GLBTQ spectrum. While reviews are, at the core, our main focus, we also want to promote GLBTQ literature in any way we can including hosting authors for guest spots and discussing the relevant issues.

Why do you do what you do?

This is a question I get a lot. The short answer is I love to read, and I love this genre. Even before I expanded the blog and started meeting more and more people in the genre, there was just something about it that just fit for me. I have a ton of friends in the genre, on both sides of the pen. I fully believe what Dreamspinner Press author Andrew Grey said at RainbowCon 2014, the literature leads the way. It isn’t a coincidence that the rise in the acceptance of GLBTQ fiction has paralleled the acceptance of GLBTQ in society and the fight for equality.

The other answer is I love to talk books. I may be a introvert and anti-social, but get me started on books and I don’t shut up 😉

What does Prism Book Alliance offer besides reviews?

While we offer, on average, 30-40 reviews per week, we also offer readers 6-10 giveaways each week, either exclusive to us or as part of larger blog tours. We offer exclusive content from favorite authors, as well as those you don’t yet know are your favorites.

We, also, have a few regular columns for your entertainment and/or edification:

  • Five Thing Friday – This is just a fun way to get to know all the reviewers at Prism Book Alliance. Each week we tackle a different topic
  • Sunday Spotlight – Every Sunday one or more of the Prism Book Alliance reviewers will tackle a topic relevant to the genre. It could be serious or fun, current event or a diversion. You never know what we will cover until we cover it.
  • Outside the Margins – We kicked off this really great column in August that we have chosen to call Outside the Margins. I have asked some of my favorite authors and people to talk to my readers once a month about a topic that is dear to them. I have given them free reign on these, so I never know what they will cover. Our OTM authors include Brandon Witt, Diana Copland, Johnny Williams, Sue Brown, L Dean Pace-Frech, Dorien Grey, JP Barnaby, Christopher Koehler, and RJ Scott.
  • Prism Recommended Reads – This is a monthly award we offer to the best of the books we reviewed in a month. 

What is with the name Prism Book Alliance?


Oh that is a fairly boring story… I have had a review blog for about 2.5 years. In it’s most recent incarnation is was called Brandilyn Reviews Books. When I decided to expand and bring on more reviewers, that name no longer worked. One night the original 8 or 10 of the new reviewers and I were chatting on Facebook trying to come up with a new name that encompassed what we were trying to do. Since we want to be more than just a review blog, we wanted to leave the term “reviews” out of the title. There were also we too many blogs with “Rainbow” in the title, so we started wordsmithing and throwing out ideas.

I am not big on spelling things out too explicitly, I like to let people think… Prism represents the sexuality/gender identity spectrum. Alliance is a nod to all of our geeky sides. Book was thrown in to bring us back to literature in some way. The tagline, “Celebrating diversity through literature,” took even longer for us to settle on, but I think it encompasses our mission completely.

Who is Prism Book Alliance?

Well, I guess you could say that I am the “face” of Prism Book Alliance as it is my baby, but Prism would not be a fraction of the blog is without the fabulously awesome Prism team. Some review once or twice a month,. Some review once or twice a day. Most are somewhere in-between. We all have very different tastes, likes, and dislikes, but we all want to see this genre succeed, and more importantly, we believe in equality for all persons.

The Prism Team consists of:

  • Brandilyn – That is me
  • Adriana
  • Beverley 
  • Caroline
  • Christine
  • Feliz
  • Josie Goodreads
  • LeatherSkater – Our resident smart ass 😉 
  • Leisa
  • Lirtle Grafton
  • Madame Aus – coming soon
  • Optimist *King’s Wench* 
  • Paisley
  • PizzyGirl
  • Shelby
  • Teresa
  • Ulysses

I want to meet my favorite reviewer, where can I?

Well that depends. A number of us will be in Chicago in October for GRL, so feel free to find us there. Myself, Christine, Lirtle, Paisley, and PizzyGirl are all planning to be there.
Beverley and Josie are both planning to go to the UK Gay Romance Signing Event in September

Looking ahead to 2015, I will be at The Novel Experience in April, RT Conference in May, Austin Author Affair in May, and GRL in October 2015 (well that is the plan).

You torture Authors with silly questions – why don’t you answer a few?

Fine I will ask a few of the authors I have tort… err… interviewed in the past to come up with some questions…

How will the world end?

Not with a bang but a whimper…


What trope do you wish was permanently retired?

This is a dangerous question… My answer would probably change based on what I am reading and my mood…. But I would say Gay For You, or maybe just the TITLE of the trope… I used to adore this trope because of the “love so strong that what is between your legs doesn’t matter” ideal, but it is overdone and has become quite formulaic. It also assumes that people are either completely gay or completely straight. The Kinsey scale is a scale for a reason. The GLBTQ spectrum is called a spectrum for a reason. I have a hard time reading gay for you without rolling my eyes often times.

You lock three M/M authors in a room and drop in one item. Who are the authors, what is the item, and what happens?

JP Barnaby, Grace Duncan, and James Buchanan… Flogger… Do I need to paint the picture?

If Mitch left Vegas in Old Blue carrying a load of two headed frogs and doesn’t stop for 500 Miles, when does he get to the Green Monstrosity?

It’s just a matter of time…

What’s your favorite thing to wear?

Jeans and t-shirts (year round… in Houston…)

If you were having a coffee klatch, name five characters, each from a different book, with whom you’d like to share that special time with.

hmm… this could be interesting for sure. Okay sticking with M/M characters… Stefan Joss from Timing by Mary Calmes, Deacon from Keeping Promise Rock by Amy Lane, Kira from Point of No Return by NR Walker, Kyle from Tales from Foster High by John Goode, and Dylan from the Infected Series by Andrea Speed.

What is your favorite lollipop flavor, and which character in a favorite book would you like to see suck on that sucker?

Favorite flavor is probably grape, unless you want to count Sugar Daddy’s as a flavor… (the candy people, though.. anyway…I digress)… as for character I would like to see suck on that sucker… Cooper Jones from the Thomas Elkin series by NR Walker. I think he would be quite, ummm… entertaining to say the least.

What are you reading right now and what is next on your to-be-read list?

Since I am answering this about a week before it goes live, I will have finished most of what is on my immediate TBR by the time you read this. Currently, I am reading Grand Slam by JT Cheyanne and Nothing Special by Jay Northcote. Next up will be either Names Can Never Hurt Me by Wade Kelly or Murder on the Mountain by Jamie Fessenden.

Rapid Fire Time:

Coke or Pepsi? Dr. Pepper (Caffeine Free)
Alone or At a Party? Alone
Tea of Coffee? Neither – I don’t do caffeine
Any Tattoos or piercings? Two holes in each earlobe that have not seen earrings in about 15 years
Vodka or Tequila? neither, I don’t drink. At one time in my past I would have said Tequila, however.
Music or TV/Movies? Music
Beach or Mountains? Beach
Porsche or Prius? Since I drive a Prius, I will go with that.

Where Can Readers Find Out more about Prism Book Alliance?

How can Authors contact Prism Book Alliance to have their book reviewed or to make a guest appearance?

We have a handy dandy little contact us form that will take care of all your contact needs: http://www.prismbookalliance.com/contact-us/

It is seriously the easiest, fastest way to get in contact with me 🙂

Be sure to check out our submission guidelines.

Giveaway

What is a guest appearance without a giveaway? I have a $10 All Romance eBooks or Amazon gift card (winner’s choice) for one lucky commenter. All you have to do is answer a simple question… Who is your favorite M/M literary couple?

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I have so many the first one I thought of is Bear and Otter From "Bear Otter and The Kid" Both the MC's are flawed and it's a great HEA.

    ShirleyAnn(at)speakman40(dot)freeserve(dot)co(dot)uk

    Reply

  2. Favorite couple. That's tough. I'd have to say either Ty & Zane from the Cut & Run series or Mac & Gunny from SJD Peterson's Beyond Duty. I may have to change my answer once I start the Hell or High Water series by SE Jakes though…all indications are the Prophet and Tommy may blow everyone out of the water.

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  4. No question, Adrien & Jake from Josh Lanyon's Adrien English Mysteries. But next, and close to a tie, would be Jacob and Victor from Jordan Castillo Price's Psycop series. 🙂

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  5. Tough to choose just one couple. Some of my favorites are Deacon & Crick from Amy Lane's Keeping Promise Rock series and Sam & Jory from Mary Calmes A Matter of Time series. I also love Ty & Zane and Prophet & Tommy. 🙂 Thanks for the giveaway!

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  6. Hard to pick just one couple, a few I can think of include Ty and Zane from Cut and Run, Johnathan and Cole from the Coda series, John and Gabriel from Sarah Blacks The General and the Horse Lord. I have more but I already listed more than one 🙂 Thanks for the giveaway.

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  8. So many to choose from! Adrien and Jake hold a sentimental place in my heart, but I've just read the Mary Calmes Sam and Jory books and I love Ian and Miro, so they are my current favourites 🙂

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  10. This was a really hard choice as I have SO many favorite couples from many different authors. But I'm going to go with Neal and Dewalt from Bergdorf Boys by Scott Alexander Hess.

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  12. I can't just pick 1, Lane and Gresh from Sara York's Texas Soul Series…. Chance and Rory from Bailey Bradfords Love in Xxchange series…. Kit and Denny from Catching Kit by Kay Berrisford…

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  14. What a fun interview, it must have been daunting been on the opposing side of an interview. I really enjoy viewing the reviews posts on the Prism review site, so thank you to all the reviewers 🙂 Thank you for this giveaway and a chance to add more books to my collection.

    Oh this is too hard to answer, as I have so many favourite books and so many favourite couples, some mentioned already. I love Tony & Mac from the Life Lesson series by Kaje Harper, Liam and Sam from Sue Brown's 'The Isle of… Where?', Morgan & Nic from RJ Scott's 'Guarding Morgan', Nathan & Andreo from 'Acrobat', Stefan & Rand from 'Timing both by Mary Calmes and so many more. 🙁

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  15. I have so many but I'm going to go with the first couple I fell in love with when I started reading m/m books: Keiran and Gaige from ML Rhodes Draegan Lord series – so anxiously waiting for the next book to come out.

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  16. It such a hard choice to make so I'm going to name the first three couples that popped into my thoughts when I saw the question: Sam and Jory from A Matter of Time, Ty and Zane from Cut & Run, and Merq and Armise from The Border Wars.

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  17. Oh my!! There are tons!! 1) Liam and Jax from Same Page by Lily Velden; 2) Web and Cy from Frog by Mary Calmes; 3) Geoff and Eli from Love means…no shame by Andrew Grey; 4) Alex and David from Prelude by Shira Anthony…and many more!!!

    Thank you for the giveaways and posts…you helped me to discover so many authors and books that I'm almost broke!! Thank U!!!!

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  19. I always bounce back and forth between 3 couples but i think ill go with Mac & Tony (life lessons by Kaje Harper)

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  20. I have at least 3 couples who I love but there are many more, Laziel and Malachi from the Crimson Reign saga by JT Cheyanne and VL Moon, Remus and Cliff from Leopard's Spots: Cliff by Bailey Bradford and Kenyo and Dale from The Harest: Taken by MA Church. Thank you for the giveaway.

    marsh10(at)netzero(dot)com

    Reply

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