A short message #amwriting

Well, this is a short, quick post that I am writing again.

Good news is that I will probably get back to my blog story.

Bad news is that it might not be until after May 1st when my deadline for the M/M Romance Group Don’t Read in the Closet Even on Goodreads.com called Love is an Open Road will be submitted.  Well, I might be a little late in submitting since I have vacation planned for the end of April/beginning of May.  We’ll see. 🙂

So, if you don’t see me around except for Blog Tours and the like, you know why.

I told you it was short.

Eloreen

@BitnBookPromote #GuestPost: “Alpha Rockstar” by @EmmaRoseRomance #BlogTour #Romance

Alpha Rockstar

Welcome to Day Eleven of the Alpha Rockstar Blog Tour.

Thank you BitNTour for having Moonbeams over Atlanta as a stop.

Welcome Emma Rose!

Why I decided To Write Alpha Rockstar

I decided to write Alpha Rockstar when I was going through a rough patch in my life. Within a two month timespan, I suffered the loss of a very close family member, experienced a house fire, moved to a new house across my state, my car broke down, I was extra tight on money because of all the unexpected expenses, and I wasn’t able to work the amount of hours that I needed in order to make some deadlines for my books. It was definitely one of the lower points in my life and I was left questioning whether or not I had made the right decision going into writing full-time. I just sort of felt…numb…after wave after wave of bad news hit me. I needed to do something to get out of that place in my life.

It was hard to pull myself out of that numbness and once the dust settled a little bit, I realized that I needed to explore some of these feelings through the characters of Penelope and Marcus. Writing has been my outlet from the very beginning, so it’s sort of my go-to for getting my chaotic thoughts out into something coherent. At the core of Alpha Rockstar is a story about a woman who is struggling to act on her passion. She’s a photographer for a small-time newspaper with aspirations to follow a rock band from relative obscurity to stardom. This sort of mirrors my doubts at the time about my own career as a writer. Though the self-publishing movement has definitely opened things up for new writers, there’s definitely still a very established system that works in favor of those working within the traditional model. The situation is very similar for Penelope. She’s pursued her passion in life, but up until the events of Alpha Rockstar, she has gained very little traction for major exposure.

Added to that are her personal chains that hold her in place. She may be pursuing her passion, but she discovers that she hasn’t been fully committed to it out of fear of treading new water. What if she isn’t good enough? What if it all fails and she’s left without any money or a place to live? These are very real possibilities that she faces when making her decision to follow Marcus’ band. These possibilities are also exactly the sorts of doubts that had been hitting me pretty heavily during my low point. My book sales had been on a downward trend because of several factors, some in my control and some not, and that led me to question whether pushing forward was something that would lead to continued success or would it put me out on the street.

The real push to write Alpha Rockstar, is to describe the chemistry of the relationship between Penelope and Marcus, the band’s leader. He’s experienced a traumatic past which has made him very closed off to meaningful relationships. When he meets Penelope, her passion makes him excited about life for the first time in years and he slowly begins to discover the missing element from his own life. If you’re familiar with my work, I love showing how relationships have the power to bring our secret flaws to the surface and to heal them. It’s a very cathartic process for me as a writer and a reader and I hope it speaks to other readers as well.

With that said, feel free to check out Alpha Rockstar! It’s a novella trilogy that tells the full love story of two passionate people as they journey through themes of love, loss, hope, and redemption.

Don’t forget, there’s a Rafflecopter giveaway at the end of this post.

Cover LARGE

 

ALPHA ROCKSTAR by Emma Rose

Genre: Adult Romance

Pages: 47 (part of a trilogy)

 

Synopsis:

 

She’s reaching for a lifelong dream.

Penelope has made a living taking concert photos for the newspaper entertainment section, but her dreams are much bigger. She dreams of getting close with a rock and roll band and taking pictures of everything, immersing herself in the rock and roll lifestyle.

He’s searching for a life beyond the stage.

She gets her chance when a band on tour invites her to join them for a few weeks, but Penelope has reservations…is she being invited along because they want a photographer, or because Marcus, the quiet but attractive lead singer, wants to sleep with her? And what would she say if he tried?

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Purchase Links:

(This is a Kindle Unlimited title)

 

Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon UK

 


 

OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES:

 

Alpha Rockstar 2

 

Alpha Rockstar Book Two

 

She’s taking a chance.

Penelope is on tour with the metal band, Attack Ships on Fire, as the band’s photographer. For the first time in her life, she’s living her dream…But she never expected to fall for Marcus, the band’s lead singer. She doesn’t want to be seen as a groupie there for the band’s pleasure, but maintaining a professional distance with Marcus is nearly impossible with his magnetic personality and killer looks. But is she just a sexual object to him? Or does he want more?

He’s looking for an escape.

As the lead singer and manager for his band, Marcus is constantly inundated with the difficulties of the rock lifestyle, living on the road, and projecting a mask of pure energy representative of his persona within the band. That all changed when he met Penelope, the first genuine person he’s come across in a long time. And though he wishes for her to be treated professionally as the band’s photographer, he can’t resist her curvy figure and witty personality. Can he afford to take off his mask and let her see the person he really is?

 

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Purchase Links

 

Amazon US | Amazon UK

 


 

alpha rockstar 3

 

Alpha Rockstar Book Three

 

Penelope can sense genuine love developing between her and Marcus, but even as things heat up, there is a coldness on his part, a distance. He won’t speak of his past, and he won’t make plans for the future—unless it’s for his band.

What is going to happen when the tour ends? He lives in L.A. and she lives in Seattle. Will she convince him to plan a future together, or will she be just another casualty of the rock and roll lifestyle?

As strong as her feelings might be, there is only so far that a girl can be pushed…

 

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Purchase Links

 

Amazon US | Amazon UK

 


 

About the Author

 

Author Logo

 

Emma Rose is quickly rising as a new author with a lot to offer. She specializes in the steamy romance genre with popular series THE BILLIONAIRE’S PROPOSAL, TAKING STAGE, THREE, and STRIPPED. She self-published her first book in 2011 and has since risen to a Top 100 author in Amazon’s Erotica category, among others. Part of her quick rise can be attributed to her small, but growing, group of fans who promote her work and offer her feedback as Beta Readers, an offer she extends to potential fans at the end of each of her works. Interested fans can apply to her beta reader program and receive one of her works for free through her website: http://emmaroseromance.com/beta/

 

Rose says she is from ‘lots of places,’ having lived in various parts of the United States, New Zealand, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Below, Rose details how she became a writer (from her website):

One question that I’m frequently asked is how did I get into writing?

 

Looking back, it’s hard to believe just how much has changed in the past few years. I never gave serious thought to being a full-time writer and chalked it up as just another unattainable ‘dream job’ right along with being an astronaut or a professional underwater basket weaver.

I started writing creatively at a very young age…somewhere around age eleven or twelve. These early writings were nothing I’d ever share publicly (because, frankly, they are quite horrible!). However, it was the beginning of what I like to refer to as the “itch.”

Just what is the itch? It starts out as a very dull, barely noticeable tickling in the back my head and is usually sparked when I ask myself “What if…” It is here that the itch grows a little stronger and is harder to resist. My fingers begin to twitch in anticipation at the prospect of taking the idea that’s been bouncing around in my head and putting it into something coherent…making it able to be experienced by others.

While I never pursued writing in a serious manner, the ‘itch’ remained with me through to adulthood. In college, I had just enough space to squeeze in a creative writing class even though there was no benefit to my degree to do so (I blame it on the ‘itch!’).

And wow…For the first time in my life I had an excuse to use creative writing as an outlet again. Somewhere along the way I had fallen into the rut of settling for the practical and this one decision had me excited about life again.

Sadly, the creative writing class ended and I went back to completing my degree. After college, finding a steady job, even one that paid peanuts, was a difficult prospect. My diet consisted of peanut butter sandwiches and ramen noodles.

On a late-night whim, I decided to join Amazon’s self-publishing platform and submitted some of my creative writing pieces from college. These went on to be available for purchase in Amazon’s Kindle store. I promptly forgot completely about it until one day, about three months later, I received a check in the mail from Amazon.

Now it wasn’t that much, mind you, but when I realized that the money Amazon had sent me came from people who had purchased my work, I was ecstatic! In the little time I had off between my three part-time jobs, I wrote. And wrote. And wrote some more.

Over the course of about six months, my self-published works went from earning me a meal out every month to making more than all of my other jobs combined. It was then that I decided to make the leap to writing full-time.

This was a very big deal for me, because as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, being a writer just didn’t seem like a reachable thing…It seemed so absurd (and still does) that I have moments where I sit back and think about just how amazing this journey has been.

Sure, there have been ups and downs, but I am forever grateful to my fans who continue to support my writing. It’s because of them (and you, too, since you’re reading this post) that I can continue to scratch my ‘itch’ and create new stories for you to explore.

 

Author Links:

Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Website

 


 

Giveaway

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

1organized by

Another week goes by…

Well…I planned to have another installment of Elf Magic ready for today.

Didn’t quite pan out. 😉

Instead, I scheduled a few posts, updated my nook, rummaged around Facebook, grabbed another book to review, updated stuff on Goodreads (see Charon’s Dilemma, my free read I published with Goodreads MM Romance Group), and posted a review on my blog.  There’s also work, backing up my personal computer because I’ve read about the horror stories on Faceback with losing your WIPs and writings.  I’m in IT, so I know better anyway.  Luckily, Dropbox or Google Drive is your friend. Evernote too. And, multiple redundant backup solutions. 🙂

I will have to see if I can post another installment this weekend.  However, being on call for work will either prevent or promote this endeavor. *grin*

Now, I’m going to be really geeky and play a computer game…

 

Eloreen

Musings from the Moon

Well, the scheduled date for Charon’s Dilemma was supposed to be August 15th, but that didn’t happen.  It has been rescheduled for a date coming up very soon. I still can’t tell you when but I will be posting as soon as I see it. 🙂

So, you can watch for it here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_folder/230111?group_id=20149 (must be a member to view it) to see it as soon as it releases.

The Moonbeams over Atlanta 100 blog posts contest ended and I, finally, got to send the winner her gift card to Amazon.  She should have it by now as I just emailed it to her…

This past week at work has been insane.  Internet has not helped.  When getting a phone call on the house line can kick you off internet…you know you have a problem with the lines…

Dragon Con is coming next week.  And there is a move in my future.  Good news is it is to a spiffy, updated house and better internet.  Bad news is the move part.

This writer is going to bed before I fall over.

Hopefully work will slow down a bit and I can post more.  I do have more blogs to host and a few reviews to do.  Keep watching and maybe I’ll get some writing going…maybe a freebie on the blog. 🙂

I enjoy freebies from my favorite authors.  Not that I’ve had a lot of time to read. Maybe the beginning of September I’ll start posting a work in progress.  Then maybe, I can finish something else.

*yawn*

Night Night

Eloreen

 

Another new beginning…and an update

Well, I started my new full-time job this week.  It’s going to be interesting.  Have to get back into the swing of things and ramp up for long days and nights.  It’s just that kind of job.

Not sure how much writing I’m going to be doing for awhile, but I hope to get back to the swing of things once work settles down.

Good news, though!  Charon’s Dilemma will be published soon.  I can’t tell you when, but you should keep an eye out for when I post about it once it releases.

So, watch for it here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_folder/230111?group_id=20149 (must be a member to view it) to see it as soon as it releases.  I’ll post it here, too.  🙂

For the ebook fans, the ebooks will release within a week after it posts to the group.  I’ll post about that, too.  Because you KNOW I’m going to go grab my copy of it. *big grin*

Can I say that I’m excited?

On a blog note, Moonbeams over Atlanta has reached 100 blog posts.  There is a contest here and ends 8/13/2014.  The post will tell you how to enter.  It does have a question relating to the tour post it’s on so you will have to look at the tour.  So, go.  Enter.  There’s a giveaway for a $10 gift card to the ARe, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble retailer of your choice…

You know you want to…

🙂

Signing off.

Eloreen

 

Love’s Landscape Event on M/M Romance Group at Goodreads.com

loveslandscapes

 

 

Hello and welcome to Moonbeams over Atlanta for the new followers.  Thank you to those that have been following.

My Love’s Landscape story, Charon’s Dilemma, is starting the editing process with an editor assigned to provide feedback to me from the annual Don’t Read in the Closet Event sponsored by M/M Romance Group in Goodreads.com.  However, the group has started the Love’s Landscapes postings of the first of the stories yesterday.  When totaled, and if all authors submit, there will be 212 stories available.

Best of all: It’s Free!

To see them as they release, join the M/M Romance Group on Goodreads.  The Love’s Landscape link above will get you to the folder where they are all at.  Later this summer (maybe fall), the eBook versions and the Anthologies will release.

When mine releases, I will post it here for easy access.  Again, you have to be a member (and 18+ to join) to view them before they go the general populous.

Go read.  I will be.

Eloreen

Celebrating Historical Romances: "Into Deep Waters" by Kaje Harper

Spotlight on Historical Romances at Rainbow Gold Reviews!

And now…for an update

I’m writing.  I’m writing another story.  It will be a short story. 1288 words so far and I just got it a couple of days ago. 🙂 I’m glad when a plan comes together.  Short writing deadline but I think I can make it.  It’s flowing pretty good when I have a chance to write.  Maybe I will tonight.  Who knows? Maybe I’ll get it to a series…but not before I finish it for Love’s Landscapes.

 

Love’s Landscapes? What’s that? I picked up a prompt from the MM Romance Group Love’s Landscapes Event over at Goodreads.com group area (https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_folder/218428).  You  must be a member to see it.  I also wrote a prompt and it was picked up by a lovely author and I can’t wait to see what she does with it.

 

Below is the first draft of the description of the pictures and the prompt, so you can see what I have to work with.  It will be fun.  If you do go and look at the pictures, let me know if I did the picture descriptions justice.

 

Photo 1: A tall, good-looking man with short, roman-cut hair, piercing eyes of indeterminate color, and high cheekbones in an oval, masculine face with pouty lips is walking towards the viewer. He wears a gold crown tilted back with two red stones visible on front.  He has a brown, thigh-length fur coat with a black fur collar, a dark brown scarf, and leopard-patterned gloves.  His long black pants partially cover the top of his silver-studded black boots.

 

Photo 2: A golden-tanned man with black pants hanging hip level in a black background is facing away from the viewer.  He has short, straight, ginger hair with brown and gold highlights and a muscular back without a shirt.  His left hand clutches a long silver sword at the hilt near the left side of his head, across his broad shoulders, and cut off from the picture to his right with his right arm hanging down.

 

Prompt:

Dear Author,

As Crown Prince to the human nation, I could have anyone I choose but to end the war between the humans and the griffons, I must marry the youngest son of the Griffon King. The night before I’m to be married, I meet a man who captures my attention at first glance but before I can talk to him, he disappears. How am I supposed to marry someone I’ve never met when I’ve finally found someone who’s captured my interest? But I suppose it’s for the best because no matter what, I’m determined to end this war… I just hope my betrothed is someone I can grow fond of…

Sincerely,

[Name removed for privacy. Go see the pictures :)]

P.S. I want this to be similar to a classic fairy tale (without the evil woman trope) in a historical fantasy setting with shapeshifters that turn into griffons and where arranged marriage of same-sex couples is the norm. Sweet but no sex although sexual tension is allowed. That means kisses are okay but no frottage, BJs, handjobs, etc. No cheating, sharing, menage or open relationships and please don’t make the Crown Prince a slut! I would like him to be standoffish and uninterested in every man but his love interest. HEA is a must. Thank you for putting up with my demands!! ^_^

A Review of In Liam’s Wake: The Makeshift Soldier (Toys & Soldiers Series) By Ashlyn Forge

Liam Baldwin PortraitWelcome to the Blog Tour of In Liam’s Wake: The Makeshift Soldier book one of the Toys & Soldiers Series by Ashlyn Forge!  I am today’s blog tour host here at Moonbeams Over Atlanta maintained by yours truly, Eloreen Moon.  I have posted previously that this is coming and now it’s here!  Now, without further ado, on to the review…

5 out of 5 Stars

MM, Gay, GBLT, Romance, Science Fiction, Dystopia

I’m not very formal, nor am I lengthy.  I don’t talk about the plot, nor do I do spoilers either.  You will either decide to read it based on how the synopsis sounds to you,  how many stars averages and how the persons posting reviews line up with your taste.  There are others who provide the more in-depth reviews and they have their places.  Since I don’t necessarily remember specifics of a book past the emotional content, I leave the plots and spoilers to the others.

I was provided a copy of the book for this review.  In fact, I was going to give it a week to read the book as I had other beta reading, work, and review commitments, including posting for this blog tour.  And then I decided to pick up my Nook Color one Saturday a week and a half ago and started to read.

I couldn’t put it down.  I read for three or four hours straight. I’m not entirely certain how long it took me to read since there was this time warp where I was in Liam and Riley’s world and didn’t want to leave.  I had to finish the story, and did so in less than a day.  I do read fairly fast, but I hadn’t been sucked into a plot like that in a while.  I loved it.

It’s not a perfect story.  There were a few slow scenes in the beginning; but just as I wanted to understand what was going on in the world, the answer appeared.  This continued throughout the rest of the story.   For a science fiction/futuristic/dystopia storyline, it had its realism and moments when you want to cry.  Sometimes, I did. But, it also had its good moments and you were cheering on Liam and Riley.  It’s a coming out theme, a hurt-comfort theme, and an angst theme all rolled into one.  Most of all, there is love.  It’s not in your face.  It’s not simple.  And like life, it sneaks up on you.  You then discover that you have come to love the characters as they love each other by the end of the last word.  I think I even said “no, no, I want to know more!” when I read that word.  Something about “you can’t stop here,” also flitted across my mind. J

All in all, the characters, both main and supporting, were believable. I look forward to seeing more stories.  Half-way through, I thanked Ashlyn for intending this book to be the start of a series, because I wanted to find out more about the imps.  All of the characters moved me, especially the “alien” ones.

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel and can’t wait for the next story.  Finding an author who likes to write a series is a plus in my book.  Despite the few slow places in the beginning, I have to give it five out of five stars.  You deserve it Ashlyn.  And now I leave you with a quote from the book that I think says it well:

“Life is a struggle. It’s just as hard as, if not harder than, the blood sports you participate in. If you really want to tempt fate, you should try actually playing the cards you’ve been dealt for once.”

A revised version of this review will also appear in Goodreads under the ebook.

In Liam's Wake full cover

Synopsis

For eight years, Liam has been trapped underground in The Colony—a sanctuary so determined to stay hidden it forbids anyone from leaving once they’ve entered. His only hope of returning home rests on his best friend Riley who, on the eve of their escape, slipped into a coma.

Despite staggering debt, vengeful mutants and bounty hunters, Liam continues a seemingly never-ending quest for a cure to end Riley’s unnatural five-year sleep. Every night, Liam stares at the listless man who not only holds his escape, but his heart. The suffering can end, however; Liam must only forsake all hope of ever returning home again, abandon Riley to his fate, and wholeheartedly serve as a soldier for The Colony—the very people he’s trying to escape.

Live the life within his reach, or continue chasing the one just beyond his grasp? He need only submit.

More details and sample downloads – http://www.ashlynforge.com/in-liams-wake/

Buy Links:

Amazon (ebook) – http://amzn.com/B00FPYT5V6/

Amazon (paperback) – http://www.amazon.com/Liams-Wake-Makeshift-Soldier-Soldiers/dp/0989506010/

Kobo – http://bit.ly/1g5vJKL

B&N – http://bit.ly/HddnHT

Smashwords – http://bit.ly/Hq5Kyt

Goodreads – http://bit.ly/19mo9r9

Be sure to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below for a chance to win one of the following:

1 Paperback copy of In Liam’s Wake

3 ebooks of In Liam’s Wake

1 In Liam’s Wake Audiobook (Available Dec 15)

1 Personalized audio message from Liam

5$ Amazon Gift Card

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