What is ARDOR?​

Simply put, ARDOR is the newsletter for everything having to do with Ashavan Doyon as an author and writer.  It features blog style posts as an editorial, excerpts from current published works, and free shorts. I'll also include short articles giving perspective on my current works in progress, as well as discussions of difficult characters and why I made the choices I did (sort of a "behind the curtain" look).  

ARDOR has transitioned to the ARDOR News Briefs format and new full issues of the pdf format are no longer being developed. This archive will remain briefly while we restructure.

Older Issues - February 2017

This archive issue of ARDOR contains:
  • ​Editorial
    Valentine's Day Hunk     - Discussions of the struggles in finding cover models for gay romance novels, and the issue of the repeated face as illustrated on this issue's cover.
  • Excerpt
    Loving Aidan: Sammy stumbles into the kitchen drunk at a party, raving about men having sex. He's just witnessed Steven having sex, too much in the open, at a party. In his drunken state, his tongue is too loose—could just the idea of someone having sex with a man have Sammy jealous?
  • Short
    "A Brother's Challenge" - The Rodeo Knight opens with the clash between two brothers: Brandon, who is asking forgiveness of a sort, and Brian, who just doesn't remember. Brandon sets Brian on a path, but to do so, in the Stouten family exposes him. After Brian leaves, Brandon has to face their other brother, the one who helped his parents stage a heterosexual life for Brian. 
  • Work-in-Progress: Coming Up Roses
    American Pride is out and Loving Aidan has finally been rereleased. A bit about the upcoming schedule and what to expect for releases of The College Rose Romances and of the new Purple Horn Press, which will be publishing the stories.
ardor-newsletter-feb2017.pdf
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Older Issues - December 2016

This archive issue of ARDOR contains:
  • ​Editorial
    Soaring Hopes & Shattered Dreams     - As The Rodeo Knight was releasing, some troubling news emerged about the state of Torquere Press and my books there.
  • Excerpt
    A Wounded Promise: Russ knows that he's scared his young lover. Can a visit with his old friend Sam help him find a path to healing so he can mend their fractured relationship?
  • Short
    "Hope for Christmas" - The characters from I Almost Let You are trying to celebrate Christmas. But with the election results in, will fear keep Aaron from feeling the holiday spirit? A surprise visitor may just help the whole family to find hope for the season.
  • Work-in-Progress: An Unexpected Hero
    Book five of the College Rose Romances was supposed to be about the boy-in-a-dress. Instead an old bully has risen up and demanded attention, commanded it, and maybe even deserved it. Will we be able to forgive Jim Puffton?
ardor-newsletter-dec2016.pdf
File Size: 1060 kb
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Older Issues - October 2016

This archive issue of ARDOR contains:
  • ​Editorial
    Reflections on a Year     - Thoughts on a year of newsletter issues.
  • Excerpt
    The Rodeo Knight: A first glimpse of The Rodeo Knight shows us Brian Stouten confronted with the awful truth of the consequences of his amnesia. Will he ever be able to recover a life as Brian Pine, or is that life gone forever?
  • Short
    "When Loss is Shared" - Russell Pine is a character defined from the start by his loss. This short brings that loss into stark focus.
  • Work-in-Progress: American Pride
    A discussion about reluctant characters, how Dusty is shaping up and what he's hiding, and the planned short to reward subscribers to ARDOR.
ardor-newsletter-oct2016.pdf
File Size: 941 kb
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Older Issues - August 2016

This archive issue of ARDOR contains:
  • ​Editorial
    Love Me for Me     - On the importance of portraying characters with mental health issues in fiction as heroes and love interests.
  • Excerpt
    Becoming Rory: Rory flees the party, confused and excited about what he's done, but unsure where he should go from here, until he realizes that his anonymous fling may not have been so anonymous after all.
  • Short
    "Afterparty Blues" - a point of view alternative for Becoming Rory, this short explores how Danny reacted after the party.
  • Work-in-Progress: The Rodeo Knight
    The super secret work-in-progress is revealed! Find out more about The Rodeo Knight, the next in the Sam's Cafe Romances!
ardor-newsletter-aug2016.pdf
File Size: 993 kb
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Older Issues - June 2016

This archive issue of ARDOR contains:
  • ​Editorial
    Love on a Rollercoaster     - Rory Graeble is struggling with a lot of things; one of them is the fact that his love interest is wonderfully but devastatingly mentally ill.
  • Remembering Orlando
    This month marked the most deadly attack on the lgbt community since the Upstairs Lounge arson in 1973. Take a moment to remember the victims. Mourn the illusion of safety. Take Pride.
  • Free Reads: College Rose Romances Fiction
    When Loving Aidan came out, I released a brief short describing how Aidan and Sammy first met. With Steven's Heart I continued that tradition with a brief scene giving Steven a family blessing from the only family Michael cared about. Those short stories are reproduced here with a brand new one from Andrew's Prayer.
  • Work-in-Progress: Hot Pink Spandex
    The super secret work-in-progress is still secret for just a little longer, but there's a discussion here about inspiration, covers, and my plan to write a series of gay superhero romances.
ardor-newsletter-jun2016.pdf
File Size: 1289 kb
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Older Issues - APRIL 2016

This archive issue of ARDOR contains:
  • ​Editorial
    Those Cherished Words     - a discussion of writing and reviews. Why as an author I can't engage with reviews and what I hope readers get from my books.
  • Preview
    Becoming Rory: The next book in the College Rose Romances (Book 4!) is due out in June. Rory is trying to distance himself from his old life as Lawrence and goes to a party.
  • Short
    "When Love is Gone" - following the characters from The One That Feels, this short is a prelude to the events of the novel. It introduces Thommas, and gives readers some early insight into his feelings and relationship with Brian.
  • Work-in-Progress: Writing the Realm
    A discussion of my serialized fiction piece The One That Feels. Learn about the struggle of world building while writing by the seat of one's pants.
ardor-newsletter-apr2016.pdf
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Older Issues - February 2016

This archive issue of ARDOR contains:
  • ​Editorial
    Love is a Hot Mess     - struggling to be romantic on Valentine's Day when your characters are way better at it than you are.
  • Excerpt
    Gerry's Lion: My full length novel from Dreamspinner, this scene gives us a view into Gerry's art, and how he sees his lion.
  • Short
    "The Shades of Romance" - following the characters from The Colors of Romance, this short represents a change in viewpoint, giving a brief scene of TruClrs4vr meeting with Jeremy to convince him to help talk Theo into being willing to be romanced for Valentine's Day.
  • Work-in-Progress: The Passion Stroll
    Some insight into the differing roll of the author's new blog, why it was started when the author has been reluctant to blog in the past, and how it is imagined currently as an ongoing venue to share a cherished unpublished work serial style over the course of a year. 
ardor-newsletter-feb2016.pdf
File Size: 1040 kb
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Older Issues - December 2015

The second issue of ARDOR contains:
  • ​Editorial
    Words So Hard to Say     - a discussion of the words "I love you" and the difficulties they present for a writer of gay romance.
  • Excerpt
    Andrew's Prayer: The third of the College Rose Romances, this scene represents the first time Drew has actually talked to his mom about being gay.
  • Short
    "Booze, Boys and Beaches" - following the characters from Gerry's Lion, this short is focused on Leo. In Gerry's Lion we get to walk with Gerry onto the Sunrise, we get to feel his angst and his pain. Leo has his own set of reasons for boarding the Sunrise, and this story gives us that perspective.
  • Work-in-Progress: Lightning Strike
    A discussion of current projects, from wrapping up writing Becoming Rory, the fourth of the College Rose Romances, to my decision to take a break from writing College Rose Romances during November and instead to focus on something new - Lost, a modern fantasy tale inspired by the cover from this issue of ARDOR.
ardor-newsletter-dec2015.pdf
File Size: 1068 kb
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Older Issues - October 2015

The debut issue of ARDOR contains:
  • ​Editorial
    A Rose in Every Color     - featuring a discussion of the rose imagery in The College Rose Romances series for Torquere Press.
  • Excerpt
    The Byte of Betrayal: Originally featured in the Mending Daily Dose collection from Dreamspinner Press, this title will be a featured one dollar story during November.
  • Short
    "When Did You Know" - following the characters from I Almost Let You, this short focuses on Chris as he tries to reconcile with his mom a year after he was kicked out of the house on his eighteenth birthday.
  • Work-in-Progress: Who is Rory?
    ​In progress for over a year, Becoming Rory is the fourth in my series of College Rose Romances, and is currently being packaged up for review by Torquere Press. The protagonist is a minor character from Loving Aidan and Andrew's Prayer, Lawrence "Rory" Graeble. A brief discussion of the character.
​
ardor-newsletter-oct2015.pdf
File Size: 1068 kb
File Type: pdf
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