That's right. You, my dear readers, have made Of Russian Myth and Lore one of Torquere's best sellers in September.
Apart from the fact that the news has made me dance a (highly undignified, but there you go) little dance out of sheer pride and happiness, this is awesome news because this story is a charity sip. That means that the It Gets Better project is getting all of the proceeds from the sale - and Torquere matches the amount.
So if you want to read more about Tom and Mischa AND support a really good cause, go here to get your copy of the story - or you can go here and pick up some of the other stories; there's more than thirty to choose from.

Of Russian Myth and Lore is being published today! It's your once in a lifetime chance to see a Russian bear in its natural environment - in other words, Mischa's going home. And he's bringing Tom with him.
You can read more here.

To buy the story, go straight to Torquere or Rainbow Ebooks. By the way, the good people at Rainbow Ebooks are sponsoring the Charity Sip project by donating their usual share to the It Gets Better project.

Remember to check out the rest of the stories of the Charity Sip blitz. All proceeds of the sales of all those stories goes to this year's charitable organization: The It Gets Better project. Torquere Press Inc. will match the authors' donations completely.

In 2008, Torquere Press' authors decided to support a charity with an annual short story collection called the Charity Sip blitz. In the past three years, Torquere's donated more than $13,000.00 to charitable organizations that support GLBT causes.

For 2011, Torquere's authors have chosen the theme "Getting Better" in honor of the It Gets Better project, which helps LGBT youth understand that life as an openly queer adult is not only possible, but happening for millions of people, worldwide. More than thirty authors have written short fiction pieces and have agreed to donate all proceeds of the sales of these stories to this year's charitable organization. Torquere Press Inc. will match the authors' donations completely.

This year, Torquere Press is also pleased to announce that the publisher's distribution partner, Rainbow eBooks, has agreed to be the title sponsor of our Sip collection, and will be Torquere's sole distributor outside of the Torquere Books website. Please support the sponsor by visiting them at www.rainbowebooks.com.

Torquere Press and my fellow authors truly believe we can make a difference by donating to organizations that promote awareness and equality. If you'd like to help, please support the Charity Sip Blitz and enjoy some great romance!

My part of the sip, Of Russian Myth and Lore, will be available along with the rest of the sips September 17, 2011 at www.torquerebooks.com and www.rainbowebooks.com.

Oh, yeah. God, I love Mischa. Even when he's as cranky as he is in this excerpt from my upcoming Sip "Of Russian Myth and Lore."
And remember, the story is a part of Torquere's Anniversary Charity Sip Blitz, so every penny goes to the "It gets better"-project. As a matter of fact, your pennies will be doubled by Torquere Press. It doesn't get much better than that, does it? Oh, yes, it does. Because there's going to be a treasure hunt and you can win lovely prizes as well as a Postapocalyptic Gift Basket - among other things. But more about that later;).
Go here to have your first look at the story.

So, a lot of news in this post! I can finally reveal The Big Secret Secret: Torquere Press is having an Anniversary Sip Blitz next month, and it's going to be a blast. We're going to have a treasure hunt with great prizes and, of course, lots of great stories.
One of those stories is a little something about Tom and Mischa and Mischa's family. It turns out that Mischa isn't as fearless as he seems when it comes to his family. You can read more about that in "Of Russian Myth and Lore", which will be published in September.
When you buy one of the Anniversary Sip Blitz stories, the full amount will go to the "It gets better"-project - and Torquere matches the amount. I really like this cause, so expect me to plug my own and other stories shamelessly during the next month and a half. 
To celebrate, I also wrote a free story about Mischa's first time. As a Dom, of course. That's also the first time he meets Toby, and it isn't exactly love at first sight. I plan to have it up here on my website in the beginning of September to celebrate Torquere's anniversary.
More Mischa and Tom: I've been working diligently on the sequel to A Russian Bear and have made solid progress. However, this week I'm going to be really busy with real life, and then I'll start editing Himiko: Warrior, which will be published in late October 2011.
Wow, that was a lot of information! I hope everybody's having a nice holiday - or surviving getting back to work.

I really, really didn't want to let Tom and Mischa from A Russian Bear go. I'm working on a sequel right now - which is, of course, a longterm project.
In the meantime, though, I've just finished a short story taking place some time after A Russian Bear. It's about the much dreaded moment when Tom has to meet Mischa's family. However, the meeting doesn't turn out like Mischa  fears...
Writing the story, I researched Russian myths and found a Midsummer celebration that I hadn't come across before: Ivan Kupala. I do know a bit about the country (I took Russian for a couple of years), and it was really interesting to find out more. I've forgotten most of the language by now, but Mischa is a great reason to brush up on it. And apart from that, those guys are just great fun.

I thought I would give an update on my next projects. I've been busy with editing and real life for a while, but now the holidays are coming up - and I've got four weeks of uninterrupted writing to look forward to! I can't say how much I need that; I think I've been pushing myself a bit too much for a while now.
Well, here's the list:

Lately, I've started thinking about Tom again, and I just might have moved the project up on my list. I really liked writing about Tom and Mischa, and there's still so much to tell. So there just might be a sequel to "A Russian Bear" somewhere in the future... At least I have the title and the first two chapters.

I'm hoping to do a Sip about the pair as well, something about Mischa's family and past.

And then I'm thinking a lot about slave boys at the moment. One in particular. I have the whole story in my head, but I can't get his name right! So far, he's called Will. I tried to change it by googling the meaning I was aiming for. The result was: Will. Then I went to a name site to find something else. Name of the day was: Will. Maybe I should just accept it... But if you want to donate a name, let me know:).