Excerpt

.@GoIndiMarketing #BookBlast: “The Other Half of Me” by Lor Rose #newrelease #contest

Posted by

0

The Other Half Of Me Banner

Author: Lor Rose

Title:  The Other Half Of Me

Series Title and Number: Patryk’s Branch Book One

Publisher:  Thirteen Below Press

Release Date:  September 15, 2015

Genre:  Contemporary

Tags:  friends to lovers, gay for you, rock star, secret, detective

Heat Level: 4

Pairing: MM

Length: 50,434

Purchase Links: eBook:  Thirteen Below Press  | Print:  Thirteen Below Press

 

The Other Half Of Me CoverBook Blurb: As a homicide detective for the greater Houston area, Detective Barrack Invar’s job was stressful enough without his Lieutenant breathing down his neck to do more, not to mention his girlfriend, Isabella. His partner, Calhoun, was a joke. It didn’t help that over the years Barrack earned a reputation as being a bit of an asshole at work. Things for Barrack didn’t look any brighter in the wake of a murder case with absolutely no leads at all. Until he came home to a wonderful surprise. His best friend since the age of three had finally come home.

Willow only survived. His best friend since childhood, Barrack, was all that mattered to him. Willow craved any small scraps of affection Barrack was willing to give. Every look, every praise, every touch, tore Willow’s soul because he was constantly reminded of what he couldn’t have. Barrack. When Willow unexpectedly returned home his insides burned with the need for the man he loved. The need to give control…

Barrack found his feelings towards Willow slowly twisted and changed. He loved his best friend. A man. For Barrack it was a very simple thing. Willow on the other hand could not accept what Barrack was freely willing to give. Willow did the only thing he knew. He ran.

Returning home, Willow’s fears were confirmed when Barrack refused to come with him. Barrack’s promises to follow seemed long in coming. Willow was left devastated feeling abandoned and alone.

Can Barrack convince Willow of his love? Will Willow allow Barrack to love him?

Excerpt

The energy of the crowd and passion from the band was infectious. Barrack stood as close to the stage as he could. His body ached and his eyes itched with need for sleep after a long day at work then the concert, but it was worth it. Seeing him made it worth it.

He headed for the VIP line forming next to where NRG Stadium kept their performance stage when not in use. Other bodies ran into him, one group nearly running him over with their purple VIP passes swinging from their necks. Barrack shook his head. Purple badges like theirs only allowed them into VIP after-show signings, nothing special. Black was the next level up, with after-show backstage access and a gift signed from all the band members for Christmas. White, like his, allowed backstage access before and after shows, as well as the yearly gifts at Christmas and the holder’s birthday, plus special one-on-one time with the band at a scheduled party near Halloween.

The organizers broke up the white badges into groups of seven per party to allow more one-on-one time. Hence, only twenty-one people had a white VIP badge. If a white badge didn’t come to a white party more than twice in a row, they automatically lost their white VIP status since other people would use it to its full advantage, like him.

“Hey Barrack!”

He turned to see Bridge, the band’s head of security, waving him over, then shouldered his way through the crowd, slowly making his way to the front of the line.

“Annoying, isn’t it?” Bridge’s voice had a slight rasp to it. He was a tall broad man with a stern-looking face and jaw. His hair looked swept back by the wind.

The two clasped hands and Bridge pulled him into a one-armed hug, each patting the other heavily on the back. “If I had to deal with this all the time, then shit yeah. Doesn’t it get annoying?” Barrack asked and gave Bridge one more hearty pat on the arm before releasing him.

Bridge shrugged. “Not really, no. How you’ve been?”

Barrack smiled at his old friend.  They had gotten close once a long time ago when they’d been undercover. When everything was all said and done with that case, the men had lost contact, only to be reacquainted a few years later when Emotio hit the scene.

He shrugged. “Same old, same old.”

Bridge shook his head. “Come on.” He opened the door to allow them inside. Barrack stepped into a much quieter but still busy space. Stage personnel hustled about doing whatever it was that they did. One was carrying a large stuffed rhinoceros—he didn’t want to know.

“Barrack.” Rex Louis Clark, the drummer waved and Barrack waved back. The man stood shirtless with raven black hair that shined blue in the light. A white stripe accented the side of his head. The tabloids had nicknamed him ‘Skunk’, and for good reason. He’d been known to have a bad temper. He was talking to Luxe, the band’s stylist. Why, he didn’t know since the man seemed to be allergic to shirts.

“Everyone else is in back,” Bridge said. “The public signing will start in half an hour.” Bridge patted him on the back and walked off, leading the way.

“That’s it?” Half an hour seemed like a short break after such a performance.

Bridge shrugged. “Aksel and Patryk wanted to be done early.”

“Wonder why,” he mused aloud while they turned a corner.

Bridge sighed, but it sounded more like a disbelieving tsk. He opened another door and walked inside with Barrack following behind.

“You know you’re the only fan we actually like enough to hang out with,” Bishop, the lead guitarist, said from the wet bar. His silk black pirate shirt caught the light, highlighting his exposed chest. His shoulder-length bleached hair sported pink highlights at the tips, which faded up the length.

“That one isn’t so bad,” Aksel, the bass player, said as he plopped on the couch. His purple Mohawk didn’t even move.

Titus, the piano or keyboard player, threw wadded paper at Aksel, which he caught. “Do ya mean Greg?” Titus’s slight Irish accent came through. His all white hair almost glowed in the fluorescent lighting.

“I hate him,” Bishop said as he took a long drink.

“That’s because—” Patryk Sama’el, the lead singer, walked in from another door on the opposite side of the room. “—he drinks just as much alcohol as you.” His hair was black, the sides of his head shaved into a military buzz, and the center was long, thick, and styled effortlessly to the side. A chunk of white highlighted his bangs. Diamond stud earrings decorated his ears. He had changed from his earlier outfit into skinny jeans and a loose rock and roll T-shirt. “And even we cannot afford that.” His comment won a round of chuckles and the finger from Bishop.

The singer shook his head and plopped on the couch next to Aksel. Heavy black makeup framed his eyes, as did an elegant gray and black masquerade mask. This air of secrecy heightened Emotio’s fame. No one had seen Patryk’s face, not even Emotio’s other members. Rumors soared over Patryk’s looks, but the man in the center of it all, Patryk, neither confirmed nor denied anything. Patryk Sama’el symbolized mystery, and mysteries were intriguing.

“Hey Barrack,” Patryk said with a tiny wave, looking relaxed but tired.

“Hey, guys.” Barrack entered the room while Bridge said his goodbyes. “You want a water?” Barrack asked Patryk who nodded. Barrack had to practically shove Bishop out of the way to get to the wet bar.

He retrieved two waters, then handed one to Patryk while he sat between Aksel and Patryk. “Where’s Dominik?” Another scan of the room confirmed the electric violinist wasn’t there.

Titus tossed him the wad of paper, and he tossed it back. “Good question.”

“Bathroom,” Patryk supplied with a sigh.

Barrack looked him over. Patryk seemed to have melted farther into the couch since he sat down, “Okay?”

Patryk nodded. “Just tired.”

“If I danced like you in them damn high heels, I’d be tired too.” Bishop twirled and went back to the bar for another drink.

Before anyone could answer, Dominik walked in from the same door Patryk had. He stopped short when he saw Barrack. “Hey.” On stage, Dominik was a force worthy of the band’s fame, but in that moment, he seemed tiny and timid, as if he were two different people.

His emerald-green hair had white accents. Dominik’s style was the most formal. A well-tailored suit showed off his form. The jacket was opened, exposing a white button-up shirt and loosened black silk necktie.

“You okay?” Barrack asked while getting up. “Here, sit. You look tired.”

Dominik smiled, but it seemed sad to Barrack. “I’m fine.”

“Please, sit.” He motioned to the spot he’d given up. Dominik meekly nodded and slowly made his way to the sofa. To Barrack, he seemed to move a little too gingerly. “Thanks,” Dominik said as he passed. Barrack’s gaze zeroed in on him pressing his arm to his side. A small bruise visible on Dominik’s knuckles made Barrack frown.

“Son of a bitch.” Rex burst into the room and chucked something against the wall, but Barrack didn’t see what it was. Barrack was too focused on Dominik’s barely there flinch and subsequent wince.

He covered it up well. “Lose a bet?” Dominik’s response was more subdued than usual as he sat.

Rex growled as he strode across the room to the other door. “Shut up,” he snapped. “I’m taking a shower.” The poor door almost groaned under Rex’s grip as he wrenched it open, and the reverberating slam when he left sent a crack throughout the room.

“Well he’s a ray of sunshine, isn’t he?” Bishop listed to the side with a giggle.

Patryk sighed, but Barrack could tell he was watching Dominik, too. “Stop drinking. We still have the signing to do.”

Bishop flipped him off again. “You gonna stop me?”

“And mess up this manicure?” Patryk waved black fingernails at him. “I don’t think so. Barrack can subdue your drunk ass.”

Bishop looked at him with bleary eyes. He must’ve been drinking on stage. “Wouldn’t mind ‘hat at all.”

“Barrack is off limits. He’s got that Willow fellow,” Titus said while still tossing the wad of paper around.

Barrack shook his head. “We’re not together.”

Patryk chuckled. “The way you talk about him sure makes it seem you are.”

Barrack moved and sat on the arm of the couch closest to Patryk. “Well, he does have a nice ass.”

Bishop spit out his drink. “You’re gay!”

“No.” Barrack took Patryk’s water and opened it, then gave it back. “Drink that,” he said under his breath, then turned his attention back to Bishop. “But I can appreciate a nice ass when I see one.”

“We have got to meet this Willow,” Titus said. “He’s all ya talk about.”

Barrack shrugged. “He’s busy.”

Aksel heaved himself up. “The fucker is always busy,” he said while retrieving his own water.

“Be nice,” Patryk said.

Aksel made a jacking off motion. “Suck me.”

Barrack laughed, but Patryk punched his thigh. “What?” He asked then took a drink of water.

“Don’t encourage him,” Patryk quipped, then took a swig of water.

A knock on the door stole everyone’s attention. Bridge stuck his head in. “Signing starts in 5. Where’s Skunk?”

Bishop giggled. “Ima tell you said ‘hat.”

“That’s great, where is he?”

Barrack nodded to the other door. “Showering, should be about done.”

Bridge walked into the room and to the other door. “You guys get out there and I’ll get him.”

“Better you than me,” Patryk said as he got up.

The rest of the band followed with their own brand of sarcasm except for Dominik. He sat on the sofa and looked a little pale. “You okay?” Barrack asked again.

“Yeah. Help me up.” Dominik offered his hand, and Barrack pulled him up. The man seemed too light even for his smaller physique.

Barrack watched Dominik walk. He had a slight hitch to his step. “If you ever need anything, I can help you.”

Dominik stopped and turned. The gaze that met Barrack’s could only be described as broken. “You’re a really good friend.” With that, Dominik strode off with Barrack following. They arrived at the signing and Dominik took his place between Aksel and Rex.

Bridge came up behind him. “Everything all right?”

He stepped back so he and Bridge were behind the band but out of earshot. “You know what I think.”

“Yeah” was all Bridge said, and the two lapsed into silence.

 

Author Bio

 

Lor RoseLor is a snarky, over the top genderfluid polyamorous demipansexual with dark hair and pink highlights. Although, sometimes the color varies. She is almost constantly fighting with her muse, Animus, or referring the fights between Animus and Epicene, her other muse. Lor started reading very questionable M/M fanfiction at a very young age in the closet. Literally. Though that didn’t stop her from getting caught once or twice. This early love of things M/M sparked her writing career. Without a doubt, her Christian high school English teacher Mrs. B didn’t expect Lor to fall into the M/M genre. Mrs. B did know Lor would be a writer someday because when the class had a minimum, Lor had a maximum. It truly was unfair.

Besides writing, Lor may also be found with one of her two horses, the Chihuahua or her cat. Any un-caught typos are courtesy of the cat, who shoves Lor’s things out of the way when it’s her time for cuddles or playtime… Which is about every ten minutes.

Author Links

Facebook | Website | Twitter

 

Giveaway

Signed paperback copy and matching bookmark

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Official Tour Host

@SensuousPromos #BlogTour Win a $25 gift card + Writing Tips – Gambling on a Dream by @sara_w_ellwood #ContemporaryRomance

Posted by

0

Welcome to the final stop of Sara Walter Elwood’s Book Tour for Gambling on a Dream! There are several stops on this tour so please be sure to check all of the below listed stops in the coming days. Plus every stop that you leave a comment at gains you one entry to win an Amazon or Barnes & Noble $25 gift card.  Until then, Sara shares with us the tricks of the perfect story setting!

 

Is Getting the Setting Right Important?

Does an author’s or a movie’s geographical setting ever distract you? It does me when it isn’t right. Case in point: the History Channel’s miniseries Texas Rising. For the most part this dramatization of the Texas Revolution is okay. I don’t like some of the historical inaccuracies—Like Emily West being at the Alamo and that she is from New Orleans. She was actually an indentured servant from Connecticut, who worked at a hotel at Morgan Point and was kidnapped by General Santa Anna… But I digress. I can live with these sorts of things, because as an author, I understand taking a certain amount of liberties with the truth to make a story more entertaining.

However, if the setting is completely wrong, it bothers me. Texas Rising was filmed in Durango, Mexico, which is a mountainous, dry area of west-central part of the country.  The thing that bugs me the most is that the part of Texas where the revolution occurred was in the Golf Coastal Plain. This area is not mountainous. There are not cacti and arid lands outside Victoria, Texas, or any at the Alamo. If anyone has ever visited San Antonio, you know this area of Texas is a hot subtropical area that is known for its humidity. Same goes for the area where the Battle of San Jacinto occurred, which is in present day Harris County. If you’ve ever gone to Houston, you know it is hot and humid in the summer.

So, why do I bring this up during my blog tour for my latest release, Gambling On A Dream? I strived to make sure I get, not only my geography right, but also the weather in my Texas settings. The Colton Gamblers series takes place in the same geographical area as Bosque County, which is mostly flat, with some rolling hills, stands of trees (hence the name which is Spanish for woods/forest) and grasslands. The temperatures are hot and typically humid.

I’ve been told by people who live in Texas, I get my settings right, which is something I’m happy about. J

 

~~~~~

Gambling On A Dream

Gambling On A Dream

Colton Gamblers Book 3 by Sara Walter Ellwood

June 9, 2015

With Everything At Stake…

It’s been years since Sheriff Dawn Madison said goodbye to Texas Ranger Wyatt McPherson. She’s closed the door on the heartache of her past. But when the sleepy town of Colton, Texas, is rocked by a series of shocking murders, Dawn has no choice but to trust the man who broke her heart if she wants to protect the ones she loves…

All Bets Are Off

Four years have passed. But Wyatt hasn’t forgotten the bold, Native American beauty who stole his heart . . . and broke it. Losing her and the life they had hoped to share left him an empty shell of himself. But if he wants to stop the deranged killer terrorizing the innocent kids of Colton, he’ll have to let Dawn back into his life. It’s a risk he’s willing to take, even if heartache is all he takes home…

 

Excerpt:

When the door closed with a resounding click behind her brother, Dawn pounded a fist onto the table with enough force to rattle their coffee mugs. “Dammit, who is he protecting?”

Wyatt glanced back at the door. Her older brother Talon had always had it rough, but no worse than Dawn and their younger brother. Sure, being one of Jock Blackwell’s ill-begotten sons wasn’t something he’d wish on a rabid coyote. However, Tom Madison had treated Talon like a son all his life, even giving him a third of his ranch when he retired.

Talon had changed, and not for the better. His problems didn’t come from how he was raised, or even the occasional bullying. He was a troublemaker, and nothing would have changed him.

He sat in the chair Talon had vacated. “Or the question could be what is he hiding?”

She ran her hands over her dark hair to the tight bun at the base of her skull. With jerky movements, she pulled out the band holding the twisted braid captive. As she ran her fingers through the long mass of raven silk, heat coursed through him at the memories of all that hair covering him like a blanket while they’d made love. When she bent over the table and scratched her scalp in pure frustration, all he could think about was her hair hanging down her back to brush and tickle his thighs as she rode him–her favorite position–to orgasm.

The erection was fast and furious and nearly had him groaning. Thank God, he was sitting. He forced his numbed mind to focus on the case.

“We have to find someone else who may have seen or knows something.” She glanced across the table at him and straightened. If there was ever the perfect picture of a beautiful Indian maiden, it was Dawn with her hair down. Had she ever had the stuff cut? He swallowed hard and shifted in his chair as his jeans strangled his cock. How long had it been since he’d had sex? He couldn’t remember, but refused to believe he hadn’t been with someone since Dawn.

With swift, practiced motions, she broke the trance he was under by daftly braiding her hair and wrapping it into a bagel-sized knot at the back of her head. She snapped the hair band over the bun.

He cleared his throat. “When are we talking to Chris’s friends?” His voice came out sounding a bit husky, even to his ears.

She stood, taking their coffee cups with her, and refilled them. After she dumped that god-awful crap pretending to be creamer into hers, she handed him a mug of black joe. Sipping her coffee from the extra-large, bright green mug he’d given to her for her thirtieth birthday, she returned to her chair.

“Hendricks and Kennedy are getting a list, but according to Julie, he didn’t have many friends in Colton.”

“How about Justin Vaughn? He’s always been a known dealer. Maybe he knows something.” He sipped his coffee.

She smiled, and he almost choked as he swallowed the hot, bitter brew. “Haven’t thought of him. We should talk to him. They’re about the same age. Vaughn’s working over at his uncle’s farm and garden market.”

He set his mug on the table and glanced at his watch. “I can’t today.”

“Hot date?”

Grinning, he stood. “No. I’m buying the Estrada Ranch.”

Her dark eyes widened. “Really? I heard Luis and Stella were thinking of moving to New Mexico, but I didn’t know it was a done deal. I figured it would go to either Jose or Mary,” she said, referring to the Estradas’ son and daughter. “How long has their place been up for sale? I haven’t seen a sign in their yard.”

He shrugged and reached for his hat where it sat on the edge of the table. “Luis and Stella told Mom and Dad they planned to sell the place a couple of weeks ago while playing Bingo at the firehouse. When they told me, I called the Estradas and made an offer. It never officially made it on the market. I’ve been looking for a small ranch.”

“We’ll be neighbors when you settle in there.” She cocked her head to the side. “I never knew you wanted to be a rancher.”

“You never cared about a lot of things I wanted.” His bitterness surprised even him.

She stood and picked up her mug, leaving his where it sat. As she headed for the door, she nodded toward it. “We have a policy around here. We clean up after ourselves. Something I seem to remember you have a hard time with.”

 

Purchase Links:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | iTunes

 

About Sara:

Although Sara Walter Ellwood has long ago left the farm for the glamour of the big town, she draws on her experiences growing up on a small hobby farm in West Central Pennsylvania to write her contemporary westerns. She’s been married to her college sweetheart for over 20 years, and they have two teenagers and one very spoiled rescue cat named Penny. She longs to visit the places she writes about and jokes she’s a cowgirl at heart stuck in Pennsylvania suburbia. Sara Walter Ellwood is a multi-published and international Amazon bestselling author of the anthology set Cowboy Up. She also publishes paranormal romantic suspense under the pen name Cera duBois.

 

Author Links:

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

 

 

Gambling On A Secret, Book 1 and Gambling On A Heart, Book 2

Amazon

For other links and book information check out my website page:  https://sarawalterellwood.wordpress.com/the-colton-gamblers-contemporary-western-romance-suspense/

 

 

 

 

Win an Amazon or Barnes & Noble $25 gift card

Don’t forget to leave your comment below and visit the other stops in the tour to increase your chances of winning! 

June 20th –

http://sensuouspromos.blogspot.com

June 21st –

http://authortaylorbrooks.blogspot.com/

June 22nd –

http://nickiday.blogspot.com/

June 23rd –

http://get-cozy.blogspot.com/

June 24th –

http://nicolemorganauthor.blogspot.com/

June 25th –

https://sizzlingromance.wordpress.com/blog/

June 26th –

https://kelsiebelle.wordpress.com/

June 27th –

http://thebookpub.blogspot.com/

June 28th –

http://nikkitrueblue.blogspot.com/

June 29th –

http://www.boundbypassion.ca/

http://www.noconduct.com/blog/

June 30th –

https://www.eloreenmoon.com/ 

http://sensuouspromos.blogspot.com

‘Where There’s Smoke’ by Nico Jaye #LGBT #Review

Posted by

0

I’m back over at Rainbow Gold Reviews!

@MyFamHrtBookRvw #BookTour “Star Crossed Shifters” by @catibbitts #Paranormal #Romance #Contest

Posted by

0

starcrossedshifters

 

BOOK INFORMATION

TITLE – Star Crossed Shifters
SERIES – Pepper Valley Shifters (#4)
AUTHOR – C.A. Tibbitts
GENRE – Paranormal romance (18+)
PUBLICATION DATE – May, 2015
LENGTH (Pages/# Words) – 50k
PUBLISHER – C.A. Tibbitts
COVER ARTIST – C.A. Tibbitts

Star Crossed Shifters - Book Cover

BOOK SYNOPSIS

Nick Caputo is a wolf shifter, and the new clan enforcer. He knows with every fiber of his being that Violet Tago (a shifter that can’t shift) is his mate. One kiss. One simple taste and she’ll be his.

Since arriving in Pepper Valley, Violet has ignored any burgeoning attraction for Nick, and instead crushes big time on her brother’s best friend, Brody.

Brody Westwood, also a wolf shifter, has never thought twice about his best friend’s kid sister. The fact is, he wants nothing to do with any supernatural being. After seeing his best friend, Griffin, fall in love, marry, and have children, Brody decides it’s time to settle down with a family of his own. When a new curvacous beauty shows up in town, the attraction practically crackles the air between them. But Leah Cross isn’t human…or a shifter.

Two couples with undeniable attraction. Under the Colorado sky, they are Star Crossed Shifters.

BUY & TBR LINKS

AMAZON KINDLE US – AMAZON KINDLE CA – AMAZON KINDLE UK – AMAZON PAPERBACK

Star Crossed Shifters - Teaser 2

 

 

Pepper Valley Shifters

• A Shifter Christmas, #0, A Short Story Prequel (in Mystical Xmas Box Set)
• Shifted for Love, #1 (August, 2014)
• Healing A Shifter, #2 (October, 2014)
• Twice Fated Shifter, #2.5 (in Mystical New Love Box Set)
• Shifter Under Cover, #3 (February, 2015)
~~~Star Crossed Shifters #4 (2015) ~~~

Multi-ethnic couple in passionate embrace and undressing each other during sexual foreplay - High Contrast Black and White

EXCERPT

She watched him glance around the living room before his eyes settled on hers again. Her panties dampened. She backed up against the door, her palms flat against the cold metal, and he stalked her, trapping her in place with his arms on either side of her head. Her heartbeat sped up as his eyes flashed yellow for one short moment, and she knew his wolf was close to the surface.

“Leah, I’m going to kiss you. After that, I’m going to lick your pussy until you come, and then I’ll flip you over and take you like my wolf demands.”

She whimpered at his words, her panties now thoroughly soaked. “‘Kay,” was all she managed to say before his lips descended on hers, hard and unyielding. She opened for his probing tongue and a shock coursed through her body, curling her toes, as she tasted him. He tasted of peppermint and coffee, but underneath that, home.

CHARACTER BIOS

NOTE: Pepper Valley Shifters age at a much slower rate than humans.

 

Name:  Nick (Nicholas) Caputo

Age: 30-something

Height:  5’9″

Eyes:  dark blue-gray

Hair:  Brown

Typical shift:  wolf

Tattoed

Employment:  Manager at Great Scotts Bar & Grill, clan enforcer

Since laying eyes on Violet Tago a few years back, he knew she was his fated mate.  The only problem – she only has eyes for Brody Westwood.

 

Name:  Brody Westwood

Age: 61

Height: 6’4″

Eyes:  piercing blue

Hair:  Blonde

Typical shift:  wolf

Employment: auto/motorcycle mechanic

A veteran from Vietnam, Brody is ready to settle down with a family of his own after seeing his best friend, Griffin Tago, marry, mate, and become a father.  He has no interest in Griffin’s baby sister, or any other shifter or paranormal being.  But Fate has waylaid Brody’s plans for a human mate.

 

Name:  Violet Marie Tago

50-something

Height: 5’7″

Eyes: Brown

Hair: black

can’t shift

Employment: yoga instructor

Violet has had a crush on Brody Westwood from day 1, after finding her brother after a 40+ year estrangement.  So why is Nick so convinced that she should date him?  And why does she spend most of her spare time hanging out with Nick?

CA Tibbetts - Button
AUTHOR BIO

An Oklahoma native, C.A. Tibbitts resides with her husband.

Writing has always been her passion, and she hopes to continue writing for many years to come in the paranormal romance genre, as well as other romance genres.

She loves to hear from her readers, and deeply appreciates honest reviews.

AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE – WEBSITE / BLOG – FACEBOOK – TWITTER – GOOGLE+ – GOODREADS – NEWSLETTER

Star Crossed Shifters - Teaser 4

 

GIVEAWAY PRIZES

$5 Amazon gift card
1 set of Pepper Valley Shifters books 1-3 (does not include anthologies)
1 autographed paperback Pepper Valley Shifters book of your choice (international)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This tour has been organized & hosted by
33c16-mini2bbutton

@Eyes_on_Books #BookTour: “Love Cubed” by @Author_E_LeFey #LGBT #Romance #Excerpt #Review @Wayward_Ink_Pub

Posted by

0

Love Cubed Blog Tour

 

Welcome to Moonbeams over Atlanta, Eddy LeFey! This is a review book tour and there is a contest, so read on! A copy of the book was provided for the purpose of this review.

LoveCubed

Title: Love Cubed

Author: Eddy LeFey

Length: novel

Genre: gay romance, contemporary, new adult, menage, MMM

Synopsis

Three very different young men meet at St-Frederick’s University.

Francis, haunted by his past and seeking a new life.

Andrew, the introverted football jock.

And Sebastian, the charismatic and confident hockey star.

Francis, wary and troubled, didn’t count on meeting anyone he could care for.

Andrew, closeted and lonely, didn’t think anything would matter more than his football career.

And Sebastian, content to float from conquest to conquest, never believed he’d meet someone who could hold his interest.

An encounter with a journalist causes consequences for all three.

Will they be able to take what they need from one another in order to cope?

Book Trailer

https://youtu.be/7WiSesBOsBM

 

Buy Links

WIP | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon DE | ARe | B&N

Giveaway

Prizes: 1 x $20 WIP Gift Card and 1 x ebook copy of Love Cubed

The Review:

4 Stars

bluestarclipartbluestarclipartbluestarclipartbluestarclipart

I saw the title for Love Cubed and was intrigued by it. I had to read more. It’s a ménage with jocks. Despite not being a follower of Sports-type events personally, I love to read about mm hockey players, football players, and swimmers finding love.

I’m all about three men together. That solidified it for me.

I had a month to read it. I said to myself, “I can do this.” For many that follow me here and on social media, I’ve had a heck of a year and this year is shaping up to be just as… interesting. 3 days ago I realized I hadn’t even started it and my post is on Monday. Crap. So, being my multitasking self, I read it last night while doing other things.

I had to finish it, and in the wee hours one day before my scheduled post day, I managed it.

I loved it.  There were some point of view changes that I had to re-read a couple of times to catch who was talking/thinking. I like POV changes, but they were paragraph by paragraph changes in the early chapters, so a little different writing style that was difficult follow initially. There were a lot of description–rather than action. Since some of it was catching up with other secondary characters, it felt normal for the story. A misplaced period at the end of one sentence, but otherwise proofing/grammar was good. Loved Sebastian, Andrew, and Francis. Their growth, their rising love, and how they were woven together were great. Polyamory is hard to write well, and Eddy did a great job of building the characters, including several secondary characters to give it realism. It was easier later in the book, and hard to put down, which is why I managed to read it one sitting. 🙂 Being a mathematics geek, I did enjoy the reference. I will definitely have to look for more works.

With this, I give Love Cubed 4 stars.

Eloreen Moon

Excerpt:

Francis was feeling hungry after a full day of sports, but he was also anxious to see if he could spot the photographer, who he now remembered was some kind of journalist for the National Herald. However, he didn’t want to spoil the camaraderie that had developed between him and the others—Andrew and Sebastian especially—so he decided to leave the photographer thing alone for now. He was enjoying the praise Andrew and Sebastian were pouring onto him, and the closeness. It felt good. Suddenly, he heard a shout. Someone was shouting a name he hadn’t heard in a long time. He panicked. He got loose from Andrew and he ran. He wouldn’t stop until he was safe in his room. He knew now he should never have left it.

Sebastian and Andrew saw John and Heather talking to the photographer guy, and tried to distract Francis from noticing him. Andrew put his arm around Francis, guiding him away. They would have succeeded if it weren’t for Francis hearing someone shouting. It wasn’t even his name, but all of a sudden, Francis bolted. Andrew’s and Sebastian’s instincts were telling them to run after him. However, they both stopped abruptly and turned back to the photographer when they heard John yell, “Are you telling us our Francis is really Robert Katz? The Robert Katz?”

Everyone had heard of Robert Katz. It was a scandal involving a young high school student from a very prestigious private school who had broken a sexual abuse ring involving a teacher. The accused had committed suicide. This caused a backlash toward the accuser, Robert Katz, who had then been bullied and harassed, accused of making up the whole thing. It culminated in Robert being physically abused by fellow students who were trying to torture the truth out of him. Charges had been laid. People had been found guilty and sentenced. An inquiry was started. There was a publication ban throughout the trials and the inquiry. No one was to publish pictures of Robert, to ensure he could at least try to live a normal life.

Andrew stomped his way to the journalist, followed closely by Sebastian. “That was Francis Hollingsworth who just ran off. Are you saying that he is really Robert Katz? You have proof?”

Denis sighed. “I didn’t mean for this to get out just yet, not like this. I should not have shouted his name. I could be fired for this. I know what Robert Katz looks like because I saw him at the trials. His full name is Robert Francis Katz. His mother’s maiden name is Hollingsworth. It’s him. I need to talk to him.”

Heather was the one who put a hand out to stop him. “You aren’t going anywhere near him. He didn’t deserve to be outed like this.” Heather turned to Sebastian and Andrew. “You two need to go to Francis. He’s probably locked himself in his room. God knows what he’ll do. He needs to know that people care about him—that he’s loved—before he does something stupid to himself. You both need to go and tell him how you each feel about him. Be honest with him and with yourselves for once. Do it. Now!”

Stunned, bewildered, and spurred on by the urgency of the situation, Andrew and Sebastian ran in the dorm’s direction.

About the authorEddy LeFey

Eddie LeFey started reading m/m romance fanfiction a few years ago. At one point, during a crucial point in the soap opera storyline of his favorite gay couple, the story went on hiatus. He needed a fix and decided to write his own version of what he wished would happen. Friends wanted to read it, so he plucked up his courage. Pressing the submission button was nerve-wracking, but he did it. People liked it. He wrote a few more.

Up until that point Eddy had tried his hand at writing many times. The delete button was his friend, as was starting over, and over, and over, but he could no longer do that if he wanted people to read his works.

A few of his writing friends decided to create original stories, and feeling brave, Eddy did the same. The stories were shared among a select few. They encouraged him to submit one of them. Low and behold, it is now being published.

Eddy lives in Canada with his husband Ken and his cat Oscar Wild. He is busy writing many more stories.

Email | Twitter | Facebook

image001

@Eyes_on_Books #CoverReveal: “The Breaking of Bonds” by @alina_popescu #Romance #Excerpt #Amazon

Posted by

0

 

Synopsis

A human sacrifice throws vampires of two worlds, trueborn and baseborn, into an escalating conflict. One side pushes for revenge, the other for freedom. The trueborns stubbornly hunt for Anthony and Louis, pushed by Hesrah’s desire to avenge her human best friend, Alexa. The baseborns are divided between rallying with those challenging the rule of Ankhsis and obeying the trueborns.

What emerges from the portal between Earth and Ankhsis in the middle of the turmoil rocking both worlds is more dead than alive. Neither human, nor baseborn, and certainly not trueborn. This new being will either damn them all or be their race’s most powerful weapon. Will they trust it not to destroy them, or will Ankhsis decide putting it down is the only solution?

In the end, who is guilty? Who will pay? Will anyone survive its wrath?

breakingbonds

Pre-order Links

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon DE

Excerpt

Hesrah was growing impatient; she wanted to return to the portal, so she decided she needed to push them to finally share their information with her.

“What is it that you have discovered that needed my immediate attention?”

Anhubis took out an envelope from the inside pocket of his jacket and threw it on the table. She reached out to it and found a few photos in it. Louis, strapped down to a chair, all bloody and beaten. Good for him!

“What is this?” she asked, looking at Anhubis from under knitted eyebrows.

“One of our baseborn friends – we still have a few of those – followed Anthony after the events in Juliana Park. He managed to send these over before being caught.”

“Do you know where he was?”

“Yes, but they are long gone.”

“Why would Anthony do this to his partner in crime?” she asked, tilting her head.

“God knows,” Anukh stepped in. “Maybe they were never partners. Maybe he found out who Louis really was.”

“Can you find them again? Or do I have to bring an Inner Sanctum squad over here?”

“Don’t you dare!” Anhubis said in a thundering voice, pointing a threatening finger at her. “The Inner Sanctum will not meddle on Earth. I will find them again.”

“Make sure you let me know the moment you do,” Hesrah said, her eyes boring into him.

“Won’t you be too busy guarding the portals, waiting for your precious human friend?”

His mocking smirk, more so than his sarcastic words, got to her and in a blink of an eye her fist raced through the air, connecting to his face. As he fell to the ground, she lunged and got on top of him, her fangs piercing the skin of his neck. Her nostrils flared at the spicy cologne he was wearing and she managed to squeeze a few drops of his blood before Anhubis threw her off of him. The fight would have surely escalated if Anukh wouldn’t have stepped in to stop them.

“Are you both crazy?” he hissed, a deep frown line marring his forehead. “Anhubis, you are the head of the High Council. Surely you can tell how ill-advised being inconsiderate towards humans is. And you, Hesrah! You are a part of the Inner Sanctum and your mother’s daughter. You should both be ashamed.”

When they moved away from each other, Anukh, with a half sad, half disgusted smile, said a hurried good-bye and left the room.

“If you ever talk about her like that, I will kill you with my bare hands,” Hesrah said through clenched teeth. To her, that was not a threat, it was a promise, and she suspected Anhubis knew it, as he nodded quickly and took a step back.

The Edge of Hope (Bad Blood I) by Alina Popescu

Everyone she loved betrayed her. She felt lost and broken. Getting away from the pain and embracing a new path, Alexa decided to leave her old life behind and chase a long forgotten dream in Malta. There she met a gorgeous man, bearing the scent of fresh love. He led her to a new city to explore, Amsterdam. Is the tall, dark, and delicious man a dream come true or just a risky gamble?

Alexa chose hope and new beginnings over fear and warning signs only to be brutally dragged into a world she never really thought existed. Vampires, their feuds, and her future held tightly in their hands.

Trapped in a mysterious world, Alexa gives love chance after chance. Following her quest of self-discovery in a blood bound world, will she survive the journey?

Ebook

Take advantage of the sale for book 1 – 99c on Amazon.

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU

Paperback

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | CreateSpace

About the author

Writer, traveler, and coffee addict, Alina Popescu has been in love with books all her life. She started writing when she was ten and even won awards in local competitions. She has always been drawn to sci-fi, fantasy, and the supernatural realm, which explains her deep love for vampires and is also to blame for this trilogy.

Social Links

Site & Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads |  Google+ |  Amazon

 

image001

@MoBPromos #BookBlast: “Tin” by K.S. Thomas @friedgatortail #newrelease #Amazon

Posted by

0

blogcover

Continue reading →

#AuthorEtiquette: The Do’s and Don’ts of #Book #Review Query Letters #Spotlight #Excerpt

Posted by

1

Today on Moonbeams over Atlanta we are going to talk about Author Etiquette in regards to asking reviewers to review their stories. Featured is the 6th Edition Book Reviewer Yellow Pages, released in early May, as a great resource for authors regarding their book’s review, and I’m proud to be included in this book for the second year.
I didn’t know what I was getting myself into when I signed up last year, but I’m glad I did. Not only do authors get much-needed publicity, but blog hosts, reviewers, and others in the book world get face time as well. As a reviewer and blog host, I get a lot of email. Some reviewer blogs are actually teams of reviewers (I’m a reviewer at Rainbow Gold Reviews myself) and have multiple people who manage the reviewing and the blog. Then there are the independents, like myself, that manage their own reviewing and blog.
This year the Yellow Pages has a 10-point section on the RIGHT way to approach book reviewers (pg 17) that I’m posting with permission from publisher. If you don’t know how to approach a reviewer, check it out!  At the end of this post is Forward by a well-known author, David Wogahn, that gives insight to the history of Yellow Pages and experience with his own publishing. Most of all, go get this valuable research resource and it will save you time and money.
YELLOW PAGES KINDLE COVER - 6th edition
6th Annual 2015 Book Reviewers Yellow Pages
Kindle link | PDF link | Paperback (ISBN:978-1937361235)

 http://www.bookrevieweryellowpages.com

Author Etiquette

1. Authors and publishers must realize that a book reviewer is doing them a favor. Book reviews are some of the best publicity in the world, and reviewers perform a valuable service. If you don’t agree, go spend a few thousand dollars on print advertising and see what I mean. Above all else, respect the reviewer’s time and opinion.

2. Know your genre! And don’t be upset if the reviewer doesn’t accept your genre. We all have our likes and dislikes. For example, please don’t try to submit a BDSM book to a “clean romance” reviewer. Everyone is allowed to enjoy what they want. Just move on to the next reviewer. Use our genre index to easily find the reviewers who will accept your book.

3. Even if you get a negative review, you should accept it as valuable feedback. Not everyone is going to like your book. It is never appropriate to berate or attack a reviewer over a negative review. Google the negative publicity that author Alice Hoffman received when she decided to attack a Boston Globe critic by calling her a “moron” following a tepid review of her novel The Story Sisters. Do not stalk or harass a reviewer that gives you a bad review. It’s petty, and it may come back to haunt you.

4. If your book is unedited or full of typos, then you shouldn’t be contacting reviewers in the first place. Nobody wants to read an unedited manuscript.

5. Don’t expect a reviewer to pay for a review copy. They are giving you FREE publicity, and the least you can do is pay for the review copy and the postage.

6. If you would like the reviewer to host a giveaway or a contest, that’s fine, but the reviewer should NOT have to pay for postage or the giveaway copies. Once again, this is a book promotion tool, and the reviewer is doing you a favor. You can either reimburse the reviewer for the postage costs (via PayPal or some other method), or you can send the “contest winners” their copies yourself. And don’t be a flake—if you ask a reviewer to host a contest, make sure you have copies to give away. If the reviewer prefers to mail out the copies herself, then that is fine. Either way, give the reviewer the option and let her decide.

7. Don’t bug a reviewer endlessly about your review once you have sent the book. Reviewers are busy, and many of them get dozens of review requests every week. If they give you an estimate such as “five to six weeks,” then it is appropriate to ask politely after that time period has passed.

8. Many reviewers will request a synopsis of the book to see if they like the subject matter. Be prepared to provide this, and make sure the synopsis is free of typos or other grammatical errors. When I get an e‐mail from an author that is full of errors, I usually just delete it. Do need help crafting a review request? Check out our new review request letters section (next).

9. Always visit the reviewer’s website and read the submission guidelines before you submit your review request. All reviewers are different. Some want a chapter. Some want a few sentences. Some just want a link so they can review the description themselves. Tailor your review request to each reviewer, and you’ll have much better luck getting some free publicity. 10. A quick thank you note to the reviewer is a nice touch, whether the review is positive or not. Also, once a positive review is posted, make sure you visit the blog and leave a comment. Reviewers like followers, so mention that you’ve followed their blog. They also really enjoy hearing an author’s response. It shows professionalism and class.

Foreword by David Wogahn

Book Reviewer Yellow Pages

I wrote my first eBook in 1991. In those days, like today, it wasn’t hard to do if you had something to say and a computer to produce it. But what was hard, was marketing those early eBooks. Even if you advertised the book on a service like CompuServe, Prodigy or AOL, how would you ever find people willing to tell other people about your book? I “discovered” the Book Reviewer Yellow Pages more than five years ago; April 29, 2011 to be exact (then called The Indie Book Review Yellow Pages). Newspapers and magazines were still employing book reviewers and “book bloggers” were considered an anomaly, given the same respect that big publishers were giving the new-fangled eBook formats like Kindle. Fast forward to today and those same reviewers—if they are still writing reviews—most likely have started a blog (and in fact might even be in this book). An indie author trying to get reviewed by a traditional media outlet is an exercise in futility. It’s also fair to say that eBooks have made the big publishers huge profits and now form a permanent part of their publishing operations. Book blogging today has grown into a serious business. It is a necessary marketing tool to promote books and Christy Pinheiro-Silva’s Book Reviewer Yellow Pages—now in its sixth edition—is the definitive guide to this informal network of book reviewers. Collectively they rival the promotional power of the large circulation newspapers and magazines. Individually they can help niche books break-out to a wider audience. And that’s what book marketing is all about: helping thousands of small products in scores of categories seek and find their own passionate audience. How I met Christy is a testament to modern book marketing, itself a lesson for new publishers. As a long-time reader of the pioneering eBook news website Teleread.com, I came across an article saying that her second edition was available for free. Free is still a popular way to connect with readers but in 2011 it was the fastest, sure-fire way to get your name and book noticed. Everyone had Kindles to fill-up and as a book marketer and author, who couldn’t use a free directory? By the time the fourth edition was published in 2013 it had grown to a 778 page tome. Seeing an opportunity for constructive feedback, I took to Amazon reviews to voice my ideas about what makes this guide book so important for my clients, and where I thought it could be improved. I’m happy to say that Christy read that review, contacted me, and took many of those suggestions to heart. Here are the two things you should know about the Book Reviewer Yellow Pages:

  1. It defines a standard of etiquette. Christy’s 10 rules for author etiquette should be required reading for every author, regardless of whether or not book bloggers are part of your marketing mix. I confess it is so solid that I based a section of my own book, Successful eBook Publishing (Sellbox, 2012) on her advice. The blogosphere would be a better place if every author took her admonitions to heart in all their book promotion interactions.
  2. It codifies the essential facts about a book blogger, so you don’t have to. Shouldn’t we be able to just “Google” book bloggers and fire off emails to reviewers? Nope. In reality it isn’t that easy. Trying to find the pertinent information so you can approach the reviewer who is right for your book (see point 1) is going to take you hours! There are no standard website designs for review websites, and you will need to visit each one (again, see point 1). Here is where the Book Reviewer Yellow Pages Your small investment will pay big dividends in saving time in finding the relevant reviewers, and their contact information.

But one thing still remains the same, as it did for me in 1991. You simply must get people talking about your book if you are ever going to be a successful author. A book no one talks about is even worse than a book that doesn’t make money. And that’s where this wonderful community of book bloggers comes into play. Let the Book Reviewer Yellow Pages be your Michelin Guide to the Wild West World of book review bloggers. David Wogahn President, Sellbox.com http://www.sellbox.com Publisher, PartnerPress.org Author, Successful eBook Publishing (978-0615710730)

@MyFamHrtBookRvw #BookTour “Liberty” by @KimHeadlee #Historical #Romance #Contest $0.99

Posted by

2

liberty

BOOK INFORMATION

TITLE – Liberty, second edition
AUTHOR – Kim Iverson Headlee
GENRE – Historical Romance (ancient Rome)
PUBLICATION DATE – Dec. 2014
LENGTH (Pages/# Words) – 462 pages/118K words
PUBLISHER – Pendragon Cove Press
COVER ARTIST – Natasha Brown
BOOK INFO – http://kimiversonheadlee.blogspot.com/p/liberty.html

BOOK SYNOPSIS

They hailed her “Liberty,” but she was free only to obey—or die.

Betrayed by her father and sold as payment of a Roman tax debt to fight in Londinium’s arena, gladiatrix-slave Rhyddes feels like a wild beast in a gilded cage. Celtic warrior blood flows in her veins, but Roman masters own her body. She clings to her vow that no man shall claim her soul, though Marcus Calpurnius Aquila, son of the Roman governor, makes her yearn for a love she believes impossible.

Groomed to follow in his father’s footsteps and trapped in a politically advantageous betrothal, Aquila prefers the purity of combat on the amphitheater sands to the sinister intrigues of imperial politics, and the raw power and athletic grace of the flame-haired Libertas to the adoring deference of Rome’s noblewomen.

When a plot to overthrow Caesar ensnares them as pawns in the dark design, Aquila must choose between the Celtic slave who has won his heart and the empire to which they both owe allegiance. Knowing the opposite of obedience is death, the only liberty offered to any slave, Rhyddes must embrace her arena name—and the love of a man willing to sacrifice everything to forge a future with her.

BUY & TBR LINKS

Kindle US – Kindle UK – Kindle CA – Kindle AU – Amazon Paperback – Nook – Inktera (Page Foundry) – iTunes – Kobo – Scribd – Smashwords – Goodreads

Liberty - Book CoverEXCERPT

FINGERS CRAMPING AND shoulders aching from having wielded the pitchfork all day, Rhyddes ferch Rudd tossed another load of hay onto the wagon. Sweat trickled down her back, making the lash marks sting. Marks inflicted by her father, Rudd, the day before because eighteen summers of anguish had goaded her into speaking her mind.

Physical pain couldn’t compare with the ache wringing her heart.

She slid a glance toward the author of her mood. He stood a few paces away, leaning upon his pitchfork’s handle in the loaded wagon’s shade to escape the July heat as he conversed with her oldest brother, Eoghan. She couldn’t discern their words, but their camaraderie spoke volumes her envy didn’t want to hear.

Her father’s gaze met hers, and he lowered his eyebrows. “Back to work, Rhyddes!” On Rudd’s lips, her name sounded like an insult.

In a sense, it was.

Her name in the Celtic tongue meant “freedom,” but the horse hitched to the hay wagon enjoyed more freedom than she did. Her tribe, the Votadini, had been conquered by the thieving Romans, who demanded provisions for their troops, fodder for their mounts, women for their beds, and coin to fill the purses of every Roman who wasn’t a soldier.

If those conditions weren’t bad enough, for all the kindness her father had demonstrated during her first two decades, Rhyddes may as well have been born a slave.

She scooped up more hay. Resentment-fired anger sent wisps flying everywhere, much of it sailing over the wagon rather than landing upon it.

“Hey, mind what you’re doing!”

Owen, her closest brother in age and in spirit, emerged from the wagon’s far side, hay prickling his hair and tunic like a porcupine. Rhyddes couldn’t suppress her laugh. “’Tis an improvement. Just wait till the village lasses see you.”

“Village lasses, hah!” Sporting a wicked grin, Owen snatched up a golden fistful, flung it at her, and dived for her legs.

They landed in the fragrant hay and began vying for the upper hand, cackling like a pair of witless hens. When Owen thought he’d prevailed, Rhyddes twisted and rolled from underneath him. Her fresh welts stung, but she refused to let that deter her. He lost his balance and fell backward. She pounced, planting a knee on his chest and pinning his wrists to the ground over his head.

Victory’s sweetness lasted but a moment. Fingers dug into her shoulders, and she felt herself hauled to her feet and spun around. Owen’s face contorted to chagrin as he scrambled up.

“Didn’t get enough of the lash yestermorn, eh, girl?” Rudd, his broad hands clamped around her upper arms, gave her a teeth-rattling shake.

When she didn’t respond, he released her and rounded on Owen. “As for you—”

“Da, please, no!” Rhyddes stopped herself. Well she knew the futility of pleading with Rudd. Still, for Owen’s sake, she had to try. Her father’s scowl dared her to continue. She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. “’Twas not Owen’s fault. I—” Sweat freshened the sting on her back, and she winced. “The fault is naught but mine.”

“Aye, that I can well believe.” Rudd grasped each sibling by an arm and strode across the hayfield toward the family’s lodge. “Owen can watch you take his lashes as well as yours. We’ll see if that won’t mend his ways.” The thin linen of her ankle-length tunic failed to shield her from his fingers, which had to be leaving bruises. Rhyddes gritted her teeth. Rudd seemed disappointed. “I doubt anything in this world or the next will make you mend yours.”

“You don’t want me to change. You’d lose your excuse to beat me.” Sheer impertinence, she knew, but she no longer cared.

“I need no excuses, girl.”

The back of his hand collided with her cheek. Pain splintered into a thousand needles across her face. She reeled and dropped to her hands and knees, her hair obscuring her vision in a copper cascade. Hay pricked her palms. Owen would have helped her rise, but their father restrained him. Owen blistered the ground with his glare, not daring to direct it at Rudd for fear of earning the same punishment.

Not that Rhyddes could blame him.

Rudd yanked her up, cocked a fist… and froze. “Raiders!”

Rhyddes whirled about. Picts were charging from the north to converge upon their settlement, the battle cries growing louder under the merciless afternoon sun. One of the storage buildings had already been set ablaze, its roof thatch marring the sky with thick black smoke.

Rudd shed his shock and sprinted for the living compound, calling his children by name to help him defend their home: Eoghan, Ian, Bloeddwyn, Arden, Dinas, Gwydion, Owen.

Every child except Rhyddes.

She ran to the wagon, unhitched the horse, found her pitchfork, scrambled onto the animal’s back, and kicked him into a jolting canter. The stench of smoke strengthened with each stride. Her mount pinned back his ears and wrestled her for control of the bit, but she bent the frightened horse to her will. She understood how he felt.

As they loped past the cow byre, a Pict leaped at them, knocking Rhyddes from the horse’s back. The ground jarred the pitchfork from her grasp. The horse galloped toward the pastures as Rhyddes fumbled for her dagger. Although her brothers had taught her how to wield it in a fight, until now she’d used it only to ease dying animals from this world.

But the accursed blade wouldn’t come free of the hilt.

Sword aloft, the Pict closed on her.

Time distorted, assaulting Rhyddes with her attacker’s every detail: lime-spiked hair, weird blue symbols smothering the face and arms, long sharp sword, ebony leather boots and leggings, breastplate tooled to fit female curves . . .

Female?

The warrior-woman’s sword began its descent.

From the corner of her eye Rhyddes saw her pitchfork. Grunting, she rolled toward it, praying to avoid her attacker’s blow.

Her left arm stung where the sword grazed it, but she snagged her pitchfork and scrambled to her feet. Unexpected eagerness flooded her veins.

As the Pict freed her weapon from where it had embedded in the ground, Rhyddes aimed the pitchfork and lunged. The tines hooked the warrior-woman’s sword, and Rhyddes twisted with all her strength. The Pict yelped as the sword ripped from her hand to go flying over the sty’s fence. Squealing in alarm, the sow lumbered for cover, trying to wedge her bulk under the trough.

With a savage scream, the warrior-woman whipped out a dagger and charged. Rhyddes reversed the pitchfork and jammed its butt into the Pict’s gut, under the breastplate’s bottom edge, robbing her of breath. She reversed it again and caught the raider under the chin with the pitchfork’s tines. As the woman staggered backward, flailing her arms and flashing the red punctures that marred her white neck, Rhyddes struck hard and knocked her down.

The warrior-woman looked heavier by at least two stone, but Rhyddes pinned her chest with her knee. She dropped the pitchfork and grasped her dagger, yanking it free. Grabbing a fistful of limed hair, she wrestled the woman’s head to one side to expose her neck.

The Pict bucked and twisted, trying to break Rhyddes’s grip. ’Twas not much different than wrestling a fever-mad calf.

Rhyddes’s deft slice ended the threat.

Blood spurted from the woman’s neck in sickening pulses.

Rhyddes stood, panting, her stomach churning with the magnitude of what she’d done. ’Twas no suffering animal she’d killed—and it could have been her lying there, pumping her lifeblood into the mud.

Bile seared her throat, making her gag. Pain lanced her stomach. Bent double, she retched out the remains of her morning meal, spattering the corpse.

After spitting out the last bitter mouthful and wiping her lips with the back of her hand, she drew a deep breath and straightened. As she turned a slow circle, her senses taking in the sights and sounds and stench of the devastation surrounding her, she wished she had not prevailed.

The news grew worse as she sprinted toward the lodge.

Of her seven brothers, the Picts had left Ian and Gwydion dead, her father and Owen wounded, the lodge and three outbuildings torched. She ran a fingertip over the crusted blood of her scratch, and she couldn’t suppress a surge of guilt.

Mayhap, she thought through the blinding tears as she ran to help what was left of her family, ’twould have been better had she died in the Pict’s stead.

The surviving raiders were galloping toward the tree line with half the cattle. The remaining stock lay stiffening in the fields, already attracting carrion birds.

Three days later, the disaster attracted scavengers of an altogether different sort.

 

BOOK TRAILER

 http://youtu.be/VVtiNrBAC-0

CHARACTER BIOS

I am Rhyddes ferch Rudd, which in your tongue means Freedom daughter of Red. The blood of ancient Celtic warriors flows in my veins, though I am a farmer’s daughter by the circumstance of my birth. My life spans much of the reign of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, one of a very few men ever to claim that title who did not abuse his power for personal gain—but I care not who rules and who dies in this gods-cursed empire.

More than anything—even more than my freedom—I yearn to be my lover Aquila’s equal. As a foreign slave in an empire where citizenship stands paramount, where an arena fighter such as I can only be considered the equal of other gladiators, actors, undertakers, and whores, this goal seems impossibly remote. Although Aquila is the son of a powerful Roman, he has declared that he would renounce his aristocratic status, wealth, and power for me, but I cannot in good conscience allow him to destroy himself on my account.

And yet the gods have granted the impossible to other mortals. I pray that I am worthy to receive such a boon from them, for surely divine assistance is the only way for Aquila and I to bridge the vast social chasm that separates us from enjoying a future together.

 

Mornings Journey - Author Photo AUTHOR BIO

Kim Headlee lives on a farm in southwestern Virginia with her family, cats, goats, and assorted wildlife. People & creatures come and go, but the cave and the 250-year-old house ruins—the latter having been occupied as recently as the mid-20th century—seem to be sticking around for a while yet.

Kim is a Seattle native (when she used to live in the Metro DC area, she loved telling people she was from “the other Washington”) and a direct descendent of twentieth-century Russian nobility. Her grandmother was a childhood friend of the doomed Grand Duchess Anastasia, and the romantic yet tragic story of how Lydia escaped Communist Russia with the aid of her American husband will most certainly one day fuel one of Kim’s novels. Another novel in the queue will involve her husband’s ancestor, the seventh-century proto-Viking king of the Swedish colony in Russia.

For the time being, however, Kim has plenty of work to do in creating her projected 8-book Arthurian series, The Dragon’s Dove Chronicles, and other novels under her new imprint, Pendragon Cove Press.

 

 YouTube video interview: http://youtu.be/DV5iKrEIROk

FOLLOW KIM

BLOG – NEWSLETTER – TWITTER – GOOGLE+ – FACEBOOK – PINTEREST – AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE – GOODREADS – LINKEDIN – YOUTUBE CHANNEL

GIVEAWAY PRIZES

– 5 e-copies of Liberty
– 10 note cards
– 1 autographed print copy of Liberty

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Tour Organized & Hosted By

@VivianaIzzo #BlogTour: “Knight of Ocean Avenue” by @taralain #LGBT #KnightOfOceanAve #Giveaway

Posted by

2

Knight Of Ocean Avenue
By Tara Lain

Blurb: 

How can you be twenty-five and not know you’re gay? Billy Ballew runs from that question. A high school dropout, barely able to read until he taught himself, Billy’s life is driven by his need to help support his parents as a construction worker, put his sisters through college, coach his Little League team, and not think about being a three-time loser in the engagement department. Being terrified of taking tests keeps Billy from getting the contractor’s license he so desires, and fear of his mother’s judgement blinds Billy to what could make him truly happy.

Then, in preparation for his sister’s big wedding, Billy meets Shaz—Chase Phillips—a rising star, celebrity stylist who defines the word gay. To Shaz, Billy embodies everything he’s ever wanted—stalwart, honest, brave—but even if Billy turns out to be gay, he could never endure the censure he’d get for being with a queen like Shaz. How can two men with so little in common find a way to be together? Can the Stylist of the Year end up with the Knight of Ocean Avenue?

 

Available for purchase at

 

Paperback from Dreamspinner 
Excerpt
GAGA’S “EDGE of
Glory” played in his ear. Damn. Quit.
He reached out and pawed at the edge
of the coffee table until he finally felt the phone. His fingers found the mute
button and he clicked it. Peace. He tried to roll over. Heavy.
“Merwaorwr.”
“Mewr.”
Claws dug into his
chest as the weight lifted, then disappeared. “Go back to sleep.” He rolled
over until his face and body were pressed against the back of the couch. Ouch.
His dick hurt. Sleep. Ouch.
Well, damn. Slowly
he rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. He glanced to the side.
Clancy and Yerby gazed at him like they could command him with will force alone
to open the tuna. “Hang in there, guys.”
Oh man. Not hung
over. He’d had half a beer. But here he lay fully clothed on his couch, aching
in his bones and feeling like someone had kicked him in the nuts. That would be
him. He’d done it to himself.
He swung his legs
over the side, sat up on the edge of the couch, and dropped his head. Four eyes
stared up at him. “Go open it yourself.”
Three times. He’d
wanked himself into oblivion three times while rewinding that frigging porno.
Was there one line he didn’t engrave in his brain? Every “unh, unh, unh. Fuck
me harder” was emblazoned in his memory. Jesus, Ballew. Yeah, Jesus was the
operative word. But if he was going to hell for jerking off, he’d be taking
every male in the world with him.
Of course, he didn’t
just masturbate; he wanked to gay porn. What the hell is that about? Truth?
He’d been kicked in the teeth so many times by so many women, the idea of
fucking a nice uncomplicated man kind of did it for him. Well, not seriously,
but the theory was attractive. And no, he would not be sharing this revelation
with the guys on the job site.
The bang on his door
about sent him into outer space. Who the hell? Nobody came here. He didn’t
share his address much. No poker with the boys or make-out sessions with the
girls. His place. His. Who was it?
The knocking came
again.
Shit!
He jumped up.
“Yeah?” The cats looked up at his loud voice.
“Billy, it’s Jim.”
The voice came through the door.
Jim. Billy looked
around, grabbed the laptop, closed it tight, and slid it onto the end table.
Lube. Shit. He shoved the open tube into the drawer, then staggered over to the
front door. How much did he smell like sex? Damn, his sweats were halfway to
his knees. He dragged them back up, then opened the door.
“Hi. Sorry,
overslept.” He ran a hand through his hair.
Jim Carney was a
little older than him and a good guy, if a bit of a hound dog. He grinned.
“Sorry. My truck broke down. I was kind of close to here and remembered your
address. Thought I’d see if I could get a ride.”
“Uh, sure.” He
glanced over his shoulder. It felt strange having somebody here. “Come on in. I
need to feed my cats and take a quick shower, if you want to wait.”
“Sure. Too far to
walk and all uphill.” He stepped in. “You have cats?”
Billy looked at Jim.
The guy had a tough face with a broken nose that some women liked. “Yeah, I got
two. You like cats?”
“No. Just think it’s
kind of funny that you do.” He smacked Billy’s shoulder. “You crazy cat lady,
you.”
Well, hell. “Make
yourself at home.” Kind of. He walked into the kitchen, the boys behind him,
and scooped out some cat food into both dishes. “Here ya go, guys.” He raised
his voice. “Don’t let feline haters make you feel bad.”
Jim laughed from the
living room. “This is quite a place you have. Jesus, man, what are you, some
closet decorator?”
Billy frowned and
walked into the living room. “No, I just like having a nice place of my own.”
“But you’re so
damned neat.” He was holding a glass globe Billy had found in a yard sale.
“So?” He took the
globe and put it back on the shelf.
“Nothing. No wonder
women like you so much.”
“I’m taking a quick
shower.” He started for the bedroom, stopped and grabbed the laptop, then went
into his room—small with a big bed.
He glanced at his
watch, still ticking on his wrist. Double shit. If he didn’t hurry, they’d both
be late for work. Saturday shifts were good for making extra cash, but not if
he didn’t get there.
He stepped under the
water. Too cold. Shaved so fast he nicked himself and finally got some clothes
on and hurried back into the living room. Jim sat on the couch holding a book,
the two cats staring at him from across the room. He stared back. Billy laughed.
“Have they got you cornered?”
“Shit, man, those
two are scary. What are they, ninja attack cats?”
Billy sat and pulled
on his work boots. He nodded at the book. “What you got?”
Jim held out the
book. “This is heavy shit, my man.” The copy of Jane Eyre kind of weighed down
his hand.
Billy tried to keep
his brows from scrunching together. “I just like to read. I didn’t get to go to
school too long, so I read, okay?” He didn’t say he read because it was like a
fucking gift to finally be able to do it.
Jim set down the
book and stood up. “You really are different, you know?”
“Thanks a shitload.”
“I don’t mean it
bad. You’re just—not like most of the guys.”

 

Man, was he tired of
hearing that.

 

About the Author

Tara Lain writes the Beautiful Boys of Romance in LGBT erotic romance novels that star her unique, charismatic heroes. Her first novel was published in January of 2011 and she’s now somewhere around book 23. Her best­selling novels have garnered awards for Best Series, Best Contemporary Romance, Best Ménage, Best LGBT Romance, Best Gay Characters, and Tara has been named Best Writer of the Year in the LRC Awards. In her other job, Tara owns an advertising and public relations firm. She often does workshops on both author promotion and writing craft.
She lives with her soul­mate husband and her soul­mate dog in Laguna Beach, California, a pretty seaside town where she sets a lot of her books. Passionate about diversity, justice, and new experiences, Tara says on her tombstone it will say “Yes”!
You can find Tara at
               
Giveaway

$25 Gift Card – Open International

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Presented By