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Vancouver, BC, Welcomes Book Tour September 15th

Dena Hankins will visit The Art of Loving for a reading and discussion of her new queer/trans* romance, Blue Water Dreams.  She is touring the Pacific Northwest to promote her debut novel, published by Bold Strokes Books and available through major distributors.  The tour mixes readings, discussions, erotica reading workshops, and visits to groups for transgender people and their allies.

Publishers Weekly has this to say about Blue Water Dreams:  “Seattleites Lania Marchiol, a cisgender woman, and Oly Rasmussen, a transgender man, meet by chance and quickly bond over shared interests…and when Lania and Oly set their differences aside and embrace their sexual chemistry, the scenes are graceful, sure, and spicy.”

September 15, 2014, 7:30pm-9:30pm
The Art of Loving Hosts Dena Hankins
The Art of Loving, 1819 W 5th Ave, Vancouver, BC

The Art of Loving is a sex toy shop with a mission: enhance the sex life of their customers, promote sex-positive culture, and help society become more tolerant of sexual expression.  They bring these into being through quality products, knowledgeable staff, customer education, and community involvement.

Other stops in the tour include the Gender Alliance of the South Sound in Tacoma, WA, the Gender Justice League and Gay Romance Northwest Meet-up in Seattle, WA, Orca Books in Olympia, WA, In Other Words Feminist Community Center in Portland, OR, and two events at Good Vibrations in San Francisco, CA, at their Polk Street location.

“I love these people,” says Dena.  “The characters in this queer/trans* romance are fierce, passionate folks struggling to balance magnetism and self-sufficiency, trying to love all the way to the core without losing themselves in the process.  You will be rooting for them to get it on and fall for each other.  I hope you read the book and fall for them too.”

Dena Hankins writes aboard her boat, wherever she has sailed it.  After eight years as a sex educator, she turned to writing dirty tales with far-flung settings and a queer/trans* romance novel, Blue Water Dreams.  Read more: www.denahankins.net.

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Book Tour Hits Tacoma on September 12th

Dena Hankins will visit the Gender Alliance of the South Sound for a reading and discussion of her new Seattle-set queer/trans* romance, Blue Water Dreams.  She is touring the Pacific Northwest to promote her debut novel, published by Bold Strokes Books and available through major distributors.  The tour mixes readings, discussions, erotica reading workshops, and visits to groups for transgender people and their allies.

Publishers Weekly has this to say about Blue Water Dreams:  “Seattleites Lania Marchiol, a cisgender woman, and Oly Rasmussen, a transgender man, meet by chance and quickly bond over shared interests…and when Lania and Oly set their differences aside and embrace their sexual chemistry, the scenes are graceful, sure, and spicy.”

September 12, 2014, 7pm
Gender Alliance of the South Sound
Oasis Rainbow Center, 2215 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, WA

G.A.S.S. is open to all individuals who wish to learn more about their own unique inner self, and to meet and mingle with others who are likewise on this voyage of discovery. They welcome anyone upon the vast transgender spectrum as well as spouses, significant others, friends and family.

Other stops in the tour include Art of Loving in Vancouver, BC, the Gender Justice League and Gay Romance Northwest Meet-up in Seattle, WA, Orca Books in Olympia, WA, In Other Words Feminist Community Center in Portland, OR, and two events at Good Vibrations in San Francisco, CA, at their Polk Street location.

“I love these people,” says Dena.  “The characters in this queer/trans* romance are fierce, passionate folks struggling to balance magnetism and self-sufficiency, trying to love all the way to the core without losing themselves in the process.  You will be rooting for them to get it on and fall for each other.  I hope you read the book and fall for them too.”

Dena Hankins writes aboard her boat, wherever she has sailed it.  After eight years as a sex educator, she turned to writing dirty tales with far-flung settings and a queer/trans* romance novel, Blue Water Dreams.  Read more: www.denahankins.net.

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6 City Book Tour for Blue Water Dreams

I am touring the Pacific Northwest to promote my upcoming Seattle-set queer/trans* romance, Blue Water Dreams, published by Bold Strokes Books and available now for preorder.  The tour mixes book readings, discussions, erotica workshops, and visits to interested groups.  I am available for interviews and welcome requests for review copies.

Publishers Weekly has this to say about Blue Water Dreams:  “Seattleites Lania Marchiol, a cisgender woman, and Oly Rasmussen, a transgender man, meet by chance and quickly bond over shared interests…and when Lania and Oly set their differences aside and embrace their sexual chemistry, the scenes are graceful, sure, and spicy.”

Tacoma, WA:
Gender Alliance of the South Sound, Reading and Discussion, 9/12/14, 7pm

Vancouver, BC:
Art of Loving, Reading and Discussion, 9/15/14, 7:30pm

Seattle, WA:
Gender Justice League, Visit, 9/16/14, 7pm
Gay Romance Northwest Meet-up, Conference, 9/20/14, 10am

Olympia, WA:
Orca Books, Group Reading, 9/21/14, 3pm

Portland, OR
In Other Words Feminist Community Center, Erotica Workshop, 9/23/14, 6pm

San Francisco, CA:
Good Vibrations Polk Street, Group Reading, 9/29/14, 6:30pm
Good Vibrations Polk Street, Erotica Workshop, 9/30/14, 6:30pm

About me: Dena Hankins writes aboard her boat, wherever she has sailed it.  After eight years as a sex educator, she turned to writing dirty tales with far-flung settings and a queer/trans* romance novel, Blue Water Dreams, about magnetism and self-sufficiency.  Read more: www.denahankins.net.

Image from book cover

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Proofing the Galleys

I turned in the proof table for Blue Water Dreams!

This is my first experience of proofing my own writing within very narrow parameters.  The galleys are semi-final and no changes are allowed simply to improve the flow of a sentence or to clarify something or most of the other usual reasons for making a change.  Only actual errors can be changed at this phase, and it’s tough, reading through my manuscript without seeking ways of improving it.

I found a couple of typos and a couple factual errors.  My only other changes were niggling punctuation things.

That’s it. My pre-production work is done on this book.

Now I need to sell it!  Let me know if you have suggestions – communities that might want a reading, groups I should approach.  I’ve contacted a bunch of organizations and book stores on the West Coast, but let me know if you have resource ideas!

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Blue Water Dreams Progress

Last night, I sent my editor, Cindy Cresap, the revised version of my manuscript for Bold Strokes Books.  It was tremendously improved by her input, from details of grammar to how the big scene should roll out.

She got it back to me mid-April and I’m surprised it took me so long to send it back.  In the non-writer’s world, I was working full-time and overtime, with a visit to my family in Montana in the middle of it all. The flight time was productive, but otherwise, I’ve scraped out time to work on it. In the interests of GSD (getting shit done, of course), I got a little baby computer–an Asus Transformer–and I did almost all the final work on the B train between Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn and mid-town Manhattan.

This is the real world, but I can’t help hoping that I’ll be able to focus better on the next draft.  I’ve quit my job and will be sailing the Long Island Sound for the next couple of weeks.  Our final deadline is June 15, and I’ll be able to turn around drafts much quicker without a day job.

I can’t wait to hear her feedback on the edits!

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Bold Strokes Books Press Release

Bold Strokes Books has sent out the official press release announcing their acquisition of my novel, Blue Water Dreams.  It’s exhilarating to see this book get rolling.

Wry smile into the camera

I now have an author’s page on the Bold Strokes Books website and a website of my own, here.  My other blog is sailing and traveling focused, but I have no plan to be strict in separating my world into writing and non-writing.  Funny, but everything I write feels like writing!

All that aside, I’m building a presence on the web.  Friend me wherever you find me and invite me if I’m missing out on a community somewhere.  Getting connected is my big goal right now, at least until the edited copy of my manuscript comes back for revision.

So, cue drumroll.  Here’s the press release:

October 1, 2013 Press Release:  New Title from Dena Hankins

Bold Strokes Books is pleased to announce the acquisition of  Dena Hankins’s new romance, Blue Water Dreams, scheduled for release in 2014 from Bold Strokes Liberty Editions.

Blue Water Dreams – Coming in 2014

Lania Marchiol keeps a wary sailor’s gaze trained on the horizon. Somewhere out there, the perfect boat is waiting to take her around the world in a self-sufficient home powered by wind, sunshine, and the strength of her will. When she finds it, she’ll sell her beloved antique printing press, retire her renowned literary magazine, and wave good-bye to her life on land.

When a suave filmmaker flirts his way into her literary life, Lania must fight to maintain a steady heading toward the high seas. The magnetism of wickedly handsome trans man Oly Rassmussen sends her trusty compass spinning off course and they must reimagine freedom and love in order to sail together in the greatest adventure of all.

About the Author

Dena Hankins writes aboard her boat, whether on the high seas or in a quiet anchorage. She spent eight years as a sexpert at Babeland, soaking up the most stimulating stories of human sexuality, and is honored to provide some tales in return. Being a military brat, wanderlust is deep in her, and she has been sailing since 1999, covering waters from Seattle to San Francisco, across to Hawaii, and from Virginia to Maine. Her first three publications are erotic short stories with far-flung settings—India, North Carolina, and deep space. Whether traveling in the physical world or ranging far in her imagination, she is happiest accompanied by her partner of seventeen years.

Visit Dena Hankins’s Bio Page at Bold Strokes Books

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Visit Bold Strokes Books Online Bookstore for this and other exciting titles.

BOLD STROKES BOOKS, Inc.