friday fun five

Friday Fun Five

Happy Friday! This week’s guest is Mark of Sinfully Gay Romance Book Reviews. Thanks, Mark.

To know more about Sinfully Gay Romance Book Reviews, check out their blog or see what they are up to on Twitter (@Sinfully_MMBlog). Their ongoing triumph is running Sinfully Gay Romance, a review site dedicated to bringing you the best in news, reviews, releases, giveaways, cover reveals & more in all things LGBTQ Romance. Sinfully Gay Romance can also be found on Facebook, Google+, Pinterest and Instagram.

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1) Are there any holiday treats you look forward to every year but never eat any other time?

Oh for sure, for me being in Germany it has to be Lebkuchen, a very traditional cookie made with all the traditional Christmas spices of cinnamon, almonds, ginger, etc. Goes great with a cup of tea. Also very British, but I love a bit of Yule Log.

2) Snowy days: Go outside for playtime or stay inside where it’s warm?

Both actually, I love playing and going for walks in the snow but then coming back into a warm home with a cup of tea and Lebkuchen makes the treat even more special.

3) Bake and eat gingersnaps or bake and make a gingerbread house?

To be honest I don’t do either, sorry. For me it would be ginger schnapps rather than snaps though – lol! Can we talk about that instead?

4) What is your favorite word?

Now this is a difficult one but seeing it’s Christmas then for me it has to be “Yuletide.” I just love the sound of it and its history or etymology with its roots in the ancient Germanic, it’s fascinating.

5) Is there a candid photo of you from the holidays you just love for whatever reason?

Ahem, of course but thankfully I have successfully managed to keep them off the internet until now, phew! But yes, I have some rather embarrassing ones at the work’s Christmas Party, I think everyone has, and of course the one with the traditional fugly Christmas sweater. I think the one I love the most though is one of my father, brother and myself with our fugly Christmas sweaters on and Santa hats. This photo makes me smile as you can certainly see the love of a family and the resemblance my brother and I have to our father. Of course mum was the one behind the camera πŸ™‚ Always good for a snap shot mum was – lol!


Sinfully Gay Romance loves books! Hot ones, happy ones, Merry Christmas2funny ones, fuzzy ones, erotic ones, old ones, dark ones, soppy ones, tear-jerking ones, heart-warming ones, but most of all, the need to be ALL MALE ROMANCE ones! The blog began in September 2012 when Becs and Monique kicked things off. Since then it has grown from strength to strength, complemented by Mark joining the blog team in June 2013 and further enhanced by the arrival of Macky. Since the departure of Becs in November of last year, the site has been re-named and we are now a fully functioning All Male Romance review blog.When we have decided to read and review a book–which is sometimes like choosing from a box of chocolates–we go to work. Well, it isn’t really work when you’re doing something that you really enjoy!

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Friday Fun Five

Happy Friday! This week’s guest is Joyfully Jay. Thanks, Jay!

To know more about Jay, check out her blog joyfullyjay.com or see what she’s up to on Twitter (@jayhjay432) and Facebook. Her ongoing triumph is maintaining Joyfully Jay where she reviews books and talks all things romance.

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1) What single item in your home couldn’t you live without?

Well, aside from all the really important things like my husband and kids, food and clothing, my superficial answer is going to be my computers. Sadly I spend much of my day in front of the computer because I work from home and I run my blog. Between those two things I am in front of one for hours a day. Now the boring one is the clunky laptop I have for work. That is the one I tolerate. The fun one is the big, beautiful iMac that I use for the blog. The screen is so big I have to sometimes tip my head to see it all (yet still my cat manages to block it).Β  But I love it because it is big and fast and awesome! My second place answer is going to be my knitting needles. I recently started knitting (in November) and have become a total addict. I knit pretty much every night. Right now I am in the middle of three different shawls!

2) Cruise ship or transcontinental train?

Ohh, this is a hard one because I am solidly a beach girl. We go every year at least once and I love nothing more than to sit on the sand with a good book. So tropical climates are totally my thing. But I think I’d have to say transcontinental train because it seems cruises and my iffy stomach are not a good combination! And there is something so romantic about trains, no? I mean, I am sure in real life it is nothing like I imagine, but somehow the idea of traveling across the county, watching the scenery whiz by, and cuddling up in a sleeper car sounds intriguing.Β  Now if you could get me on a train to the beach, then it would be perfect!

3) Museum going: Art or science?

Science. I am lucky enough to live outside of Washington, DC where I have access to the many fabulous free museums.Β  I am a huge fan of the Air & Space museum and Natural History. I even like those discovery hands-on kind of places for the kids. When I travel to new cities, I always try to hit a museum there as well. I recently had a great time at the Field museum in Chicago. While I can appreciate art, I have never really been a big fan of art museums.

4) What is your favorite word?

Oh gosh, I don’t know if I have a favorite word, though I do have some I seem to fall back on quite a lot. I realize that I constantly use the word bit when I write my reviews, like “I was a bit surprised…”.Β  I have reached the point where I have to try to consciously avoid it, but sometimes I still can’t help myself.Β  I also recently read the transcript of a podcast I did on m/m romance and I realized I said “you know” so many times you could make a drinking game out of it and need your stomach pumped by minute 3!

5) In our digital age we’re exposed to a lot of pictures and images. What is one in particular that’s stayed with you?

I’m going to say a picture I saw of the Scottish Highlands. My husband and I were there three summers ago, and it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. We spent 11 days traveling around the country and we had our own rental car, so we got to drive ourselves everywhere.Β  It is amazing how undeveloped the area is, even today. We went to see some ancient standing stones and we were the only ones there, just us and the sheep.Β  When you go to Loch Ness, it is totally undeveloped. You can sail down the Loch and see virtually nothing but beautiful mountains. It is amazing, it is one of the most famous landmarks in the world, and yet it is entirely unspoiled (you can easily imagine what a place like that would turn into in the US — condos and t-shirt vendors). So that picture stuck with me because it reminded me of my trip and the beautiful country and how wonderful it is to see someplace so lovely and unspoiled.


Jay is a wife, mom, blogger, and cat wrangler. She is an avid reader and lover of beaches, lazy days, and all things chocolate and peanut butter. Jay loves m/m romance and has been reading the genre for about 5 years. She averages about 4 books a week and loves to tjoyfully jay bookalk about them with readers! When not devouring books (and chocolate & PB) Jay is busy with her blog, Joyfully Jay. Joyfully Jay reviews all subgenres of m/m romance, as well as some other GBLT romance and romantic fiction, running about 20 reviews per week, as well as daily guest posts from a variety of authors.